House of Nanking
San Francisco, CA 94133-5106
Phone: (415) 421-1429
- Price:
- $
- Cross Street:
- Jackson Street
- Hours:
- Mon-Sat 11am-10pm , Sun 11:30am-9:30pm
Editorial Review for House of Nanking – by Gina Goff
The Scene
The no-frills, two-room space replete with dusty, tiled floors and unbalanced wooden tables is clearly not the draw at this wildly popular Chinese restaurant. Cardboard boxes of pantry goods are stacked within sight of diners and the menus are tattered and stained from years of handling, but the chaotic ambience serves more to charm than to offend.
The Food
No-nonsense waitstaff presents customers with a lengthy list of entrees, but ordering off the menu is uncommon. Instead, the mom-and-pop owners who double as servers take delight in ordering for their customers (and protests are futile). Old standbys, such as mu shu pancakes--stuffed with succulent shredded pork, scallions and scrambled eggs--and juicy, sesame-battered chicken, are flavorful. Riffs are rare, but the prawn and green onion pancakes tossed in peanut sauce are a delicious departure from typical Chinatown menu stock.
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Insider Tips
What to DrinkWash your meal down with a crisp and light Tsingtao beer.
Know Before You GoWaiting over an hour for a table is not uncommon; make a reservation if you're in a hurry.
User Reviews for House of Nanking
12/27/2008 Posted by nilisf
this place used be one of our favorite, today however, we have decided to never go again! we waited about 40 minutes outside, we were seated near a toilet, the owner/waiter came to ask us about our order and became rude and irritated when we asked questions about various items. He made me feel like a nuisance rather than a patron. then when my daughter went to the bathroom, a waitress came a nd took her chair away saying we already had 3 chairs and she was quite rude in her manners too. The food was very oily, too sweet and the white rice was dry and seemed old. I dont know how they get away with such a filthy kitchen and bathroom....it is worse than a third world toilet...beleive me it is bad. dont go...tourists...dont waste your time...please...boycot the place!!
Pros: nothing
Cons: everything
12/05/2008 Posted by Seattleite17
My mother and I were visiting San Francisco and wanted to find a great Chinese place in Chinatown. We were shocked to find that we were put at a tiny table pushed up to our neighbors tables on both sides. The menu was extremely limited and even when we did order, two of the dishes that were given to us were the incorrect order, and they despite our protests our waitress told us that they were what we had ordered (when we looked at the menu we were certain we were ordering snow peas, NOT eggplant). Even more shocking to us was that we weren't provided with chopsticks and had to ask - twice - for chopsticks to be brought to our table. In the end our waitress was eating her own dinner and completely neglected us - leaving us at our table for a full 20 minutes after we were finished without clearing our plates or giving us our check. After asking three times for our check we finally stood up to leave, at which point they came rushing over to give us the check at last. An experience we would never want to repeat...
Pros: Nothing
Cons: Terrible waitstaff, pushy waiters, below-average food
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