House of Nanking
San Francisco, CA 94133-5106
Phone: (415) 421-1429
- Price:
- $
- Cross Street:
- Jackson Street
- Hours:
- Mon-Sat 11am-10pm , Sun 12pm-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.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
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
05/01/2008 Posted by ChineseChef
My friend found the restaurent on this website. He wanted to taste the food, so I went there with him. why I didn't like this place: 1: no one greated me when I was walking into the door. 2: there was no ice in water glass, the water wasn't cold enough 3: menu was a piece of very old paper covered by plastic with lots of hand writeing notes on it. 4: only one person can take order. 5: the price is high for what you getting. 2 eggrolls for $5. they were some size with spring rolls. 6:plates were all broken on the edges 7: no chinese food flavor. fried calamari was too sour, and the sauce too watery. the sauce for sesame chicken was so lumpy(the slurry didn't dissolve well.) 8: RICE WAS COLD AND LUMPY. AND SERVED IN A STAINLESS STEEL BOWL I can not believe there are people rate this restaurent 5 stars?????
Pros: I may take my non-asian friends to this place
Cons: everything else
04/07/2008 Posted by CorinaShin
I read and heard about the great reviews that restaurant has but I did not have a pleasant experience when we ate there. My husband and I saw one of the waiters sneeze around and onto plates of food and still served it! I'm very questionable about their sanitary practices and I'm pretty sure the restaurant is in violation of safety and fire hazards. We were seated at the same table with a different party and I had to yell to my husband across the table just to speak to him. We were very rushed- the waiter gave us the check within 5 minutes of serving our food. Their food was OK- we ordered the dishes that were recommended on the menu such as their potstickers and calamari. Portion sizes are not that big and I truly was not satisfied. I can't see how this restaurant is so popular.
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