House Of Nanking

12/11/11

For adventurous souls only

by coolray at Citysearch

Thought we'd have to wait forever on the SantaCon Saturday night just before 8 pm but ended up in a pocket and got in pretty quickly. Fortunately the owner came over to take our order, and when he heard that this was our first time he offered to create our dinner. My friend, who isn't an adventurous eater, agreed and the rest is history.

We weren't real hungry, so he created a soup around my crustacean allergy that my friend loved (a fish soup with wonton, tofu and cellophane noodles and an unique spectacular beef salad with tomatoes and mushrooms.

The owner/chef is a maestro - creating as his mood strikes, as well as how he reads his customer. He demands respect in the traditional Chinese way, but deserves it. He's good.

What a treat. I can't wait to go back and see what he conjures up next.

This restaurant is cutting edge and for adventurous souls. It's also cash only.

Side note: I don't understand some of the bad reviews I've read here. This is NOT a white tablecloth/gloved service experience. There are plenty of other places (R&G down the street is excellent and fits that model) to go to for that without dissing this place.

11/24/11

If you're hungry - DON'T GO to House of Nanking

by patty valdivia at Citysearch

Asked the server what she recommends... in her accent - told us that we were eating the food and that we needed to decide what we wanted. We ordered and asked if she thought that was enough food for our party. She said she didn't know what we would eat. Food was good but drinks were not what we ordered and we never got the ice we requested. When we tried to pay with a debit card, the server said they prefer cash. We asked if they take credit cards, she said yes but would rather have cash.

We paid the exact amount of the check - with the cash we pulled together and walked down the street and had a lovely dinner at McDonalds.

06/29/11

Not so good

by sajaan at Citysearch

It is strictly Asian fusion food. Menu is Chinese but the food is strictly Asian fusion with Thai spices. Limited choices, long wait lines, cash-only, no customer service.

02/23/11

Sorry, I don't see the attraction

by Yuckie at Citysearch

Next to my one star CitySearch says "Eh". No. Not "Eh". Not even close to "Eh". This was really bad, to the point where I 'm goin to tell the hotel concierge to stop sending people here.

Service was very slow, and when someone finally took my order and brought food, it tasted like it came from Panda Express. But Panda Express doesn't make my tummy feel like this.

02/26/10

great fun and great food

by dmanm at Citysearch

The food is wonderful, however, it is best to tell the server that you would like a meal and what you don't eat (ex. "I vegetarian") and let them bring you whatever they choose...at least that is how it used to be. Once when I was there a guy sat next to me and ordered Chow Mein. The owner said to him "you no wait in line to come in here and order chow mein, you go next, order chow mein" and brought him something else.

• Pros: the whole experience
• Cons: they are in SF instead on near my house in Somerville