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Once you step beneath the gateway on Grant Street and meander the alleyways, into the restaurants and bakeries along Jackson, Clay, and Washington Streets, you might be surprised at what you’ll find. A food market, along Stockton, is a riot of exotic fruits, vegetables, and other delicacies. Restaurants feature the cuisine of (mostly) China’s Guangdong Province, or Cantonese style. A lot of the Chinese, though, have moved out and into the Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods. This is a trek from downtown, set against the breakers and not the bay, but if you want the real deal, venture there. Not far from Chinatown is also Little Saigon, in the Tenderloin—many restaurants are run by ethnic Chinese who emigrated from Vietnam.
Infectious energy fills the space at Chinatown's hottest new restaurant, where Cantopop music stars gaze down from the walls and their music infuses the small space. (The restaurant's named for the biggest stars, or "Four Heavenly Kings," of the music genre.) Mister Jiu's alums Franky Ho and Mike Long offer their fresh take on Cantonese classics like fried squab, rich clay pot with bacon and sausage, and casual, homey dishes of their own like mapo spaghetti.
It's been compared to a Chinatown version of Eataly, but George Chen's ultra-ambitious market, restaurant, bar, and fine-dining-experience project is its own unique place. The main ground-floor Market Restaurant excels at a wide variety of specialties from dumplings to duck, served in a refined, industrial-style dining room surrounded by different cooking areas; upstairs, the intimate Eight Tables is one of San Francisco's most elaborate special-occasion tasting-menu experiences.
For seriously good local roast in Chinatown, head to this tiny storefront at the entrance to St. Mary's Square.
Claiming to be Chinatown's oldest bakery, this packed space is a must-stop, with the goods to back up its rep. Try the moon cakes and egg custard tarts. Cash only.
At this line-around-the-corner, no-English-spoken bakery, the delicious dim sum is strictly to-go, so picnic at Woh Hei Yuen Park on Powell Street or Portsmouth Square.
Dine here, like President Obama did, for fresh, simply prepared Cantonese cuisine, especially the seafood—from tanks that occupy a corner of the main dining room—as well as kid favorites, such as stir-fried noodles, cashew chicken, and fried rice. Dim sum starts at 10 am, but there aren't any carts—you order off a paper sheet, and the dumplings come out of the kitchen piping hot.
Enjoying the barbecue pork buns and curry chicken at this Chinatown icon dating to 1920 is a bite into both culinary history and San Francisco's past. Located on an alley, it's one of the smaller, more homey, and less frenetic sit-down dim sum choices in the city, with a small dining room simply decorated with pieces of Chinese art and a few Bruce Lee movie posters.
Brandon Jew's ambitious, graceful restaurant offers the chef's delicious contemporary, farm-to-table interpretation of Chinese cuisine that sometimes tweaks classic dishes with a California spin (hot-and-sour soup with nasturtiums) or enhances fresh produce with unique Chinese flavors (local asparagus with smoked tofu). The elegant dining room—accented with plants and a chrysanthemum chandelier—provides beautiful views of Chinatown, while the tasting menu breathes new life into it.
Salt-and-pepper Dungeness crab is a delicious draw at this bright, three-level Cantonese eatery that always has a packed crowd for its crustacean specialties—crab portions can easily be split for three—and dim sum. A menu with photographs will help you sort through other Hong Kong specialties, including Peking duck and shrimp-stuffed bean curd. Much of the seafood is fresh from the tank.
San Francisco's signature Sichuan restaurant is a wonderful place to sample the often spicy, mouth-numbing (that's the "mala" heat, then the cooling effect of the peppers and chilies) cuisine of that northern China region. It's a long menu, so ask for advice from the servers. Be sure to book in advance for dinner, as the place is equally popular with visitors and diners from all over the Bay Area.
