Chinesemenu.com's Ratings & Reviews will let you know if it's worth your time or not in over 75 cities.
Comments(25)
Reviewed by:
Raman S. on:
3/10/2013 5:52:00 AM
A good alternative to R&G Lounge across the street. This place is less crowded and food is equally good. We tried their ginger and scallion crab and fish fillet with stir fry vegetables and they were all good. We would like to go back and try their speciality lobster with noodles. This place was reasonably clean for a China town restaurant. This is not a fancy Chinese restaurant but they try to provide good service.
Reviewed by:
Sonia C. on:
3/3/2013 9:47:00 AM
Chef from R&G - need I say more?! the crab - definitely BETTER! the light tempura style coating is SO much better than R&G's heavy handed flour and ???. the peking duck...served like I was back in Hong Kong. skin and meat on one serving dish with the bones on another. The buns...fluffly and light. Pea shoots...light and always a hit with hubby. And I HIGHLY suggest the pan seared soy sauce prawns. Um...seriously, I can eat all of it myself..of course, sharing is BEST. GO!!
Reviewed by:
Diana Y. on:
2/5/2013 12:28:00 AM
---------LUNCH ONLY-------This review is strictly for food only. Because if I had to review the "cleanliness" of the restaurant, it'd prob get knocked down to a three haha. But, honestly, I expected it since it's a Chinese restaurant =xANYHOW, the food is pretty good! It's very flavorful, great price, and service is quick (perfect for lunch). The garlic string beans, walnut shrimp, and chicken were my particular favorites.Service and decor are pretty on par with the rest of Chinatown's restaurants. If the water spots on the glasses disgust you, just ask for a new one (although I can't promise the new one will be better). But food wise, I'm a fan.
Reviewed by:
Darlene P. on:
1/28/2013 5:25:00 PM
My friends and I walked into this restaurant because Chinatown was the last of our stop in our San Francisco tour, and we figured it was fitting to have Chinese food. Unfortunately, the restaurant that we wanted to try had a 45 minute long wait, and we didn't have the time to wait, order & eat dinner, then make it to SFO in time for a flight.One of my good friends is Chinese, so I left her with all the ordering and that was an adventure in itself. We had to order through 3 people before getting our orders in. The first two people that attempted to take our orders either didn't know the menu at all or couldn't understand us, which I find weird because we had all languages covered to be understood. We finally got to put our order in, so we sat and waited.We were given Sweet and Sour soup to begin with, and normally I would eat the soup. This time around I didn't mainly because my friends and I agreed that the soup was too peppery.Onto the main dishes, we ordered Pan Fried Noodles, which were okay. My friends and I have had better in Chinatown in Los Angeles, New York and in Boston. Then ordered a spicy green beans dish, which wasn't too bad. We also ordered Honey Walnut Shrimp, which probably saved our dinner from being horrible.Would I recommend anyone coming here? Most likely not.
Reviewed by:
Kenny C. on:
12/28/2012 5:11:00 PM
Delicious foods. Good service!
Reviewed by:
Zoey W. on:
11/12/2012 2:37:00 AM
I've been coming to the Garden for breakfast every time I visit SF but have never tried their dinner until this trip. Most non-Asian customers order the American style breakfast (eggs, bacon/sausage, potatoes, toast) but I tried their Chinese porridge and cruellers (like a savory donut) and it is simply delicious. It was hot and freshly made. I chose the porridge with Chinese thousand-year-egg and pork and the big bowl will definitely fill you up.For dinner, we ordered the soy sauce chicken and jelly fish for appetizers, prawns in special house sauce and lobster with ginger and scallions. The chicken was okay but the jelly fish was so yummy. The prawns were in-shell and seemed a bit over-cooked. The lobster were chopped in pieces, cooked and arranged back in the shape of a lobster. It was fantastic! They also gave us a complimentary bowl of soup (Chinese greens) which was yummy but be forewarned, I found a chicken foot in my bowl. It must have added to the flavor. After our meal, they brought us 2 small bowls of complimentary almond paste soup for dessert, which was also tasty. Our bill came out to $70 which was reasonable considering all the food we ordered. The service was friendly and attentive, there were 3 servers who paid attention to us during our meal and brought clean plates when ours were full of bones and shells.The Garden's dining room and restrooms are clean, which is indicative of their kitchen. I would recommend The Garden for great Chinese food whenever you visit San Francisco.
Reviewed by:
Freckles H. on:
11/10/2012 8:46:00 PM
I wrote this place off as a tourist trap, but had to come for a family dinner. I was pleasantly surprised! I'm still thinking about their delicious yellow curry crab and DEEP FRIED Peking Duck buns. Omg they were so good, especially dipped in the curry sauce! I've never seen that before and am a huge fan now.I recommend their sweet sticky spareribs and chicken (which was deboned) w onion & ginger. Servings were small for a Chinese restaurant, but service was excellent. Our dishes were changed out numerous times.Very happy with the value and cannot wait to go back for curry crab and deep fried buns! The manager of the place was real friendly and made us feel welcomed.
Reviewed by:
Sarah C. on:
10/26/2012 2:56:00 PM
Absolutely disgusting. Definitely the worst Chinese food I've ever had in my life. I had the vegetable egg rolls. Greasy and bland and mushy inside, served with a horrific fluorescent sauce of some sort. Also had the Mao Po Tofu rice plate. Inedible. This is supposed to be a nice, spicy dish. The waiter said it had veggies with it. What I got was a plate of slimy tofu with FROZEN VEGETABLES (like those horrible little cubed carrots and peas, along with another overcooked, slimy unidentifiable vegetable that may have been a pepper). It was served in a gross, gelatinous, bland brown gravy. Spice (a defining feature of the dish) came from some jalapenos that they had thrown in. It was served with a side of just okay rice. Ugh, I could barely look at it let alone eat it. I had like 3 bites, then told them what I thought. They took it away and were barely apologetic (although the waiter did kind of laugh at my expectation that they would have fresh veggies). Of course they charged me full price. They also advertised vegetarian plates, but they were served with soup with pork. No vegetarian option for the soup, no offer to substitute, no discount. Worst dining experience in recent memory. Stay away.
Reviewed by:
Tiffany D. on:
10/25/2012 2:29:00 AM
It is one of those chill, dining restaurants where one eats with family and stay there for a couple of hours.I like the ambiance because the waiters don't rush you out and they are not busy during peak hours for dinnertime. Their Hong Kong styled based food is pretty good. I do like their steamed fish and their fried tofu with shrimp, eggplant and bell pepper with black bean sauce.http://www.yelp.com/biz_…http://www.yelp.com/biz_…The other dishes we ordered, such as the fried calamari and cold jellyfish appetizer lacked the flavor that would make the dish spark and taste great.In general, this place located in Chinatown is very doable.
Reviewed by:
Jetter A. on:
10/11/2012 4:17:00 AM
Nice place to run in and get a quick bite to eat. Haven't tried the crab yet that some have raved about. It should be good as I hear the chef is from R & G Lounge. (not confirmed, just something I heard) Wasn't impressed with the Salt and Pepper Chicken wings because it was four wings or two whole wings for $5.95. for something that pricey, it should have been excellent. I'm not at a steak house, I'm in Chinatown for goodness sakes! It's should have at least been eight pieces. Aside from all that tho, Brian our server was excellent. I was impressed by his professionalism and obviously takes pride and his job very seriously. If I had a restaurant, I'd hire him in a second!
Reviewed by:
Randy L. on:
10/4/2012 5:47:00 PM
False Advertising...Was on my way to my usual spot Kam Lok to get a beef chow fun for lunch today and I saw a sign that said "special on beef chow fun today for $4.95 (written only in Chinese with neon ink)" in front of the Garden Restaurant. I said scored! Went in, sat down and ordered without even looking at the menu, thinking, "they can't screw up on this common dish right?"The dish came pretty quick and it was ok. The noodles were thin and on the chewy side, which probably meant the noodles weren't fresh. After I scarfed down the food, the tall male waiter handed me a bill for $6.95 plus tax which totaled $7.54. I asked him about the discrepancy and he said my dish is not the special for the day. I showed him the sign in front and he said only the two signs "directly" in front of the restaurant showed the correct specials and prices. It didn't make any sense to me at all and I didn't want to argue over 2 bucks so I just told him not to put the other sign out as it was confusing. He said thank you and took my money.I know, I know, I probably should've asked about the price first before ordering. I will just stick to my regular spot that provides better and cheaper food with a smile in the future.
Reviewed by:
Omar L. on:
9/13/2012 9:07:00 AM
The a-la-carte for place was ok. I had coworkers telling us it was as good as R&G but a lot cheaper.Service: A smile wouldn't hurt, seriously. We had 3 people come take our orders and seemed to rush us even if we said we needed a few minutesFood: lots of rice (seriously) took up half the plate, but it was "ok" next time we'll try to the group style menu, hopefully food will be better.Parking: It's China town...look for a parking garage, there's one across the from the Hyatt.$7-9 for lunch a la carte, isn't too bad...
Reviewed by:
Bad News S. on:
9/5/2012 9:08:00 AM
Surprisingly good Chinese food in a good, comfortable dining environment.We rarely eat in this area but tried the Garden Restaurant after reading some reviews and hearing good word of mouth stories about the place.We had lunch here on a Sunday morning and found this to be a very good Cantonese restaurant -- better than average Chinese food, pleasant service, and a pretty clean and comfortable dining environment. Prices were reasonable for what you get.The Lobster Noodle special is one of their best dishes. Its well prepared and they give you an entire Maine Lobster cooked "Cantonese" style. Although this is not on the printed menu, its displayed on signs all over the place. It has gone up in price to $15.In addition to the Lobster Noodle special, we also ordered their 7 Course Meal for $69 which provides soupand a choice from their high end priced items (Peking Duck, steamed whole fish, etc.), and four choices from their medium priced items. If you are with a big group, this is a pretty good bargain. You can fill out the meal with some well prepared items -- Peking Spareribs , chicken with black beans and asparagus, beef with assorted mushrooms, and filet of fish with chinese broccoli (gai lan). The dishes were all prepared well; a bit of oil but not too much, and not alot of salt so we were all pretty impressed with the flavors and freshness. While some of the dishes are westernized for western tastes, all of the dishes were good and tasty.I think if you are looking for simple, well prepared, reasonably priced Chinese food in very clean and comfortable surroundings, then The Garden Restaurant should be a place you should consider. I gather from other Yelp reviewers that the place recently underwent a change in ownership/management and older reviews were based on the previous regime. If that's the case, it might explain why the service staff here were above the usual sullen (bordering on rude) service you get in alot of small Chinese restaurants. The people who served us were friendly, energetic, and seemingly interested in serving us. We parked in the garage in Portsmouth Square, and the restaurant does give you partly validated parking for 2 hours with a minimum purchase.I'm giving this 3 and a half stars with an extra star for the very clean environment and above average service.
Reviewed by:
Z F. on:
8/30/2012 11:39:00 AM
I recently went to this restaurant with my wife and 2 year old son and had a very pleasant experience. Upon entering with a crazy 2 year old, they were warm and welcoming. Obviously they had experience with kids and allowed us to pick a convenient table and were very attentive.We ordered lobster noodles, green beans and wonton soup. Our son is usually picky, but ate almost everything. My wife and I didn't hold back and polished off the rest of the food.Some restaurants are annoyed when you bring kids, but they actually were thoughtful enough to strategically place all plates, food and water out of his reach.Then we got to go across the street and play at the park. We'll be back!!
Reviewed by:
Chris T. on:
8/9/2012 9:28:00 AM
After factoring in the lobster noodle special, Garden Restaurant earns 3.5 stars. It offers authentic Cantonese fare at reasonable prices and in a clean and tidy setting. Since the restaurant is located at the perimeter of Chinatown and next to the Hilton, the menu also offers plenty of "safe" touristy lunch specials (in the spirit of cashew chicken, etc.) for tourists and the faint of heart. On the other hand, Cantonese food veterans will enjoy the roast duck wonton soup with veggies was probably above average Chinatown cuisine and the surprisingly tasty lobster noodle special (well-priced at $14.99 with thin or broad egg noodles). I don't know how long the special will be available, but without it Garden Restaurant is safely in the three-star zone.
Reviewed by:
Lauri H. on:
8/4/2012 5:44:00 AM
Not a very busy place when we came in, but the service was decent. The Kung Pao chicken was great, with fresh vegetables. The portions were huge.
Reviewed by:
Gaby M. on:
8/2/2012 10:21:00 PM
It was ok. There was no orange chicken, which is basically all my kids eat. We had the kung pao chicken and it wasn't spicy at all. We also had the sweet and sour pork, and it left little to be desired. Pork fried rice was boring and bland. Egg rolls were so so but a little too greasy. The wait staff was behind us like vultures waiting for us to finish and I'm not sure why it's not like it was a super full house and it was no where near closing time. Over all it wasn't the greatest experience, but it was edible and the place was clean.
Reviewed by:
Gloria H. on:
7/15/2012 2:25:00 PM
Came here for their lobster noodle special. $14.99 with egg noodles or $17.99 for the pan fried rice noodles.The space is open, spacious and clean. It has a diner feel, maybe because of the booths. The wall with bottles of wine is interesting, as is the selection.Their menu is limited and definitely prepared and priced for the non Asian tourists. The waitress who took our order didn't speak very good Cantonese and a bit pushy.We had:lobster wide egg noodles - $14.99 - pretty good, I liked the ginger slicescrab with ginger and scallion - $19.99 - not bad but the crab is definitely on the small side.We didn't finish both orders so it'll be a nice snack at home with some cold beer.
Reviewed by:
Jali D. on:
7/13/2012 10:33:00 AM
Came here 2 days ago on 07/08 in the evening after a full day of the Fillmore Jazz Festival and a movie with the SO.It looks a lot different from the last time I visited. The white paper-as-table-cloths were gone, the Asian decor had become walls decorated with numerous bottles of wine sitting on modern looking wall racks. We walked in and the two of us were seated at a large booth. It was so large that we ended up sitting on the same side.The Garden Restaurant's lobster noodles (with the wide flat noodles, not the skinny ones) is a favorite of my SO and it was his suggestion for the night that brought us here... But once we went in, we discovered that there wasn't any type of lobster noodles listed on the menu nor on the the chalkboard sign outside the restaurant door where I saw it written the last time we came for lobster noodles here. Not to fear, the waitress indicated that they still made them. Since I was craving something hot, we also added an order of crab meat soup, which neither of us had tried before. The waitress nodded and smiled as she took our order, advised us that the soup came in a medium size, then walked away, coming back with two empty bowls and serving spoons for our soup.Then came the weird part. Shortly after another waitress came up and asked what kind of noodles would we like in the lobster soup. Huh? I tried to explain that we didn't order lobster soup, we ordered lobster noodles and crab meat soup, but she seemed to become more confused before yelling back at our original waitress in Cantonese. Finally, she asked us to please give her our order again so she could write it down. She left looking a bit upset, then returned again only to take back the two bowls and the serving spoons that the other waitress had placed on our table.When our soup came (and it was more a large size than a medium), it was our original waitress who brought it to our table, started speaking unintelligibly, neither in English, nor Cantonese, nor Mandarin, and then - upon discovering that we no longer had bowls and serving spoons - became upset and walked back to the other waitress, speaking angrily the whole time. Perhaps they could work on their communication next time...?Otherwise the lobster noodles were good as usual - we always enjoy savoring the large chunks of lobster meat - and I really liked the crab meat soup although the SO thought it was bland and proceeded to adjust his portions with salt. Although instead of the house special crab meat soup we pointed to on the menu, I think they brought us the fish maw and crab meat soup - but the SO didn't notice and I wasn't going to make a big deal of it.It all came out to $27, which is not bad for a whole lobster with noodles and a large bowl of soup for 2. When we asked for the check, our original waitress handed us the bill and started speaking unintelligibly again, but while we thought it strange, we ignored it as we were already on our way out after paying and needed to catch a bus.We'll definitely be returning as the lobster noodles are as good as ever, however we will be more aware of waitresses muttering unintelligible things at us and the not-so-good communication with each other over what was ordered.
Reviewed by:
Thugnificent M. on:
4/11/2012 9:23:00 AM
Lunch special! This place is packed during lunch, not with just work people on lunch break but with actual Chinese people. You know it's gotta be decent. The lunch specials are $4.95. Usually beef/chicken broccoli or something familiar. Always cooked fresh and always a health portion. A def must for a quick cheap lunch.
Reviewed by:
james y. on:
2/16/2012 3:25:00 PM
I came here for lunch with my co-workers at 12:00 on Friday. There were a couple people seated but it wasn't to busy. We were seated right away and we gave our orders right away.Everything started going downhill from then... our waitress never came back and 25 minutes has gone by. Finally we were able to get the attention of one of the waitresses and told her that we need to go. We asked for our check and to pack up our food to go. They gave us our check immediately and never came back with the food... another 10 minutes went by and we had to ask.They told us it'll be another couple mins... now its been 35mins and we saw several tables that sat after us received food before us.After we left we finally got to eat our to go and they were cold and disappointing. I don't think i'll come back here after this.
Reviewed by:
Brandon C. on:
2/5/2012 3:41:00 AM
On my last day on the west coast, I stopped in here with my other attractive travel-mates. It was one of the best decisions we made on the trip.While the owner forgot part of the order, he was very up-front about it. The food came out quickly and was very delicious. The Diet Coke tasted fresh like it had been recently canned.I want to move to San Francisco and live in The Garden Restaurant, surviving on nothing but their General Tsao's Chicken and whatever the tofu thing was that my friend got.
Reviewed by:
Patti G. on:
1/30/2012 9:19:00 PM
We came in around 7 and were seated immediately. The decor isn't really impressive, wonderful orchids tho. It had a great mix of customers. The waitress took our orders and then... She kinda disappeared. Took bout 20 mins for the food to show up. Not feeling too hot, I tried asking for 'Tea with honey' and I guess she was having problem understanding me, My boyfriend then repeated that I wanted tea with honey. And she said fine. When she returns she brought 2 cups of lukewarm tea without honey.The food wasn't spectacular, place wasn't memorable, and not touching the wait serviceWhat led me to this place was the online menu that I have found online. I was trying to order out but I couldn't call. And after reviewing the menu. The prices have changed and increased. Its not an arm and a leg, but theres a bit of a difference. I assume that it's because under new management.
Reviewed by:
Denton S. on:
1/9/2012 3:29:00 PM
OK, I read the other reviews for forgetting about the bad old posts, and we are glad we did.We had 10 people in our group, our waitress too awesome care of us, the food was great, and there was plenty of it.I would actually give it 4 stars if it was normal, but the fifth star is to make up for the old bad reviews.
Reviewed by:
Lynn T. on:
1/6/2012 6:13:00 AM
If you don't know.... there is a new Boss for this Restaurant.Yes, it has a new friendly Owner, new management and a new chef.Seafood is served fresh!Here are a few of my recommendations:Fried Rice with Egg Whites & Scallops is really good and non-greasy.A Must Try is the Fried Dungeness Crab.Typically I struggle with eating crabs because it can be a bit messy.But it's well worth it here.The crab meat falls loosely from its shell and tastes delightful.Just thinking about it makes me want to go back for more. (Drooling)The Peking Duck is really good. Buns are sweet and the Roast Duck isn't too salty. My boyfriend could eat a whole plate to himself because it's so tasty.Overall my experience was pleasant.Interior is updated and clean so don't be fooled by its cover or surroundings.Tip: I learn the Chef was from a local well known Chinese restaurant so trust me when I say you'll be satisfied with the quality and price from this restaurant.Prices are fair and affordable.Check out the family dinner menu.Prices are really reasonable.Parking Garage is conveniently across the street and the restaurant offer validation as well.I AM A HAPPY RETURNING CUSTOMER!!!Photos will be uploaded soon. :)
AVG:(NaN)
