11 best spots for Chinese takeout in San Francisco, according to restaurant pros

Recommendations are a dime a dozen, but in Pro Tips, we go directly to the source, asking food and beverage experts for their professional opinions on the city’s best burgers, dive bars, and more.

San Francisco, home to the oldest Chinatown in the U.S., has a well-earned reputation for Chinese cuisine. Here, landmarks serving delicate cha siu-filled noodle rolls sit just a few blocks from James Beard Award-nominated joints with modern menus rooted in Cantonese flavors.

No surprise, the city’s Chinese takeout scene is just as robust and varied. (GrubHub and other delivery apps offer nearly 100 options for Chinese food.) In every neighborhood, favorites emerge: in the Inner Sunset, dry-fried wings from San Tung; in Chinatown, clamshells stuffed with Cantonese-style shrimp siu mai from Good Mong Kok Bakery; in the Inner Richmond, silky mapo tofu with pork from fast-casual Mamahuhu.

With so many excellent options to choose from, we turned to chefs and restaurant owners with longstanding ties to the city to narrow down the list. Here are 11 of the best spots for Chinese takeout in San Francisco, according to the folks who really know.

House of Pancakes, 837 Taraval St., Parkside

Five years ago, Yoshimura lived in the Sunset and made it his mission to try every Chinese restaurant in the area. Of the dozens he’s tried, House of Pancakes is the clear winner, for both Chinese pancakes and hand-pulled noodles. “Whenever I travel out of town, I always crave Chinese food,” Yoshimura says. So, when the stars align, he gets takeout as he’s driving back to the city from the airport, pulling into this hole in the wall with a Sunkist-orange awning to collect his order: comforting lamb hand-pulled noodle soup, a crispy beef roll pancake, and a smashed cucumber salad. “There’s a big variety of pancakes on the menu, but the sesame pancake is not what you think it is,” he cautions. “It’s a thicker-style sesame pancake, almost like an American pancake. I’d recommend the beef roll pancake, as it’s very original and delicious.”   

Spices, 291 6th Ave., Inner Richmond

Blachman-Gentile’s introduction to Spices came by way of a 2013 episode of the “Munchies” podcast featuring Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese Food and Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu’s. Blachman-Gentile, then an aspiring chef, fell in love with what he fondly refers to as the restaurant’s “playful take on the classic Szechuan version of the dishes.” Over the years of going to Spices, he has honed his order, but his list of recommendations remains lengthy (and consists mostly of spicy dishes). He never skips the explosive chile wings or fried fish, fish in flaming red oil, and sizzling cumin lamb, adding cabbage and eggplant with garlic sauce and basil for a bit of roughage. If that’s not enough — or maybe for the next visit — he recommends the spicy beef tendon, pig ear in red oil, stir-fried potato strips, and twice-cooked bacon.

House of Nanking, 919 Kearny St., Chinatown

On the weekends, you can often find Kidera with his family feasting on fried rice with dried scallop and egg white, Shanghai soup dumplings, and shrimp rice rolls at Koi Palace in Daly City. But on weekdays, Kidera doesn’t miss a chance to hit up Chinatown staple House of Nanking for lunch. His typical order is house sizzling fried rice, sesame chicken, sizzling rice soup, and Fang’s crispy honey beef short rib with bok choy. “Even when I take it to go, it’s always smackin’.”

Taishan Cuisine, 781 Broadway St., Chinatown

If you’ve ever wondered where to find Chinatown’s best salt-and-pepper tofu, the staff at Four Kings has a power ranking that might help. Because one of the restaurant’s cooks is vegan, they’ve pretty much tried them all. Most of the taste-testing happens Wednesdays, a holy day at Four Kings, since the restaurant is closed but the team is on-site doing prep. From the outside, Taishan Cuisine is a nondescript restaurant with a dizzying menu of Cantonese specialties and dim sum. But after some externs from the Culinary Institute of America, Singapore, put the restaurant on Ho’s radar, the Four Kings team discovered why it’s a cult favorite with locals and industry folks. “When Franky took me there for the first time, I was hungover as hell,” Long says. “The chicken and cordyceps soup brought me back from the dead, and my allegiance to Taishan has never wavered since.”

San Tung, 1031 Irving St., Inner Sunset

There is no reservation system at San Tung, just an oversize white board propped up in the entry where you put your name and pray for a short wait — which means that even before the doors open at 5 p.m., there’s always a line. But if you call ahead for pickup, as Wong recommends, you can skip the wait entirely. Fan favorites like dry-fried chicken wings, mu shu pork, potstickers, and pork dumplings are “no-brainers” to Wong, who grew up in the Bay. Every now and then, she’ll add the diced dry-fried chicken to her order. “You end up getting a lot more sauce with the diced version, so there’s extra to drizzle on your mu shu pork wraps.”

Wing Lee BBQ, 501 Clement St., Inner Richmond

On a bustling corner in the Inner Richmond, succulent roast ducks glisten in the window of this takeout-only joint, a siren song to passersby. Leong, born and raised in San Francisco, has frequented Wing Lee BBQ for 15 years. She comes at least once a week and always orders the roast duck and roast pig. Ask for the middle of the pig — “the meat with the ribs” — for the best bites.

Eric’s Restaurant, 1500 Church St., Noe Valley

Don’t ask Jossel to pick just one spot for Chinese takeout; it’s a near-impossible feat for a chef who has lived and worked in the Bay for more than 30 years. Instead, he has a favorite spot for specific dishes: For tingly mapo tofu with pork, head to Mamahuhu. If you’re in the mood for sizzling rice soup, House of Nanking is the spot. To snag chive dumplings and warm sesame balls, Good Luck Dim Sum on Clement Street is your best bet. But it’s the Shanghai chicken — a simple dish of diced chicken breast and pine nuts, tossed in a secret spicy “chef’s sauce” — from Eric’s Restaurant that he’s most fond of. “It’s like getting together with a familiar friend from the 1990s.”  

Good Mong Kok Bakery, 1039 Stockton St., Chinatown

Since opening her Mission scoop shop in 2017, Lang has budgeted a few extra minutes to swing by Good Mong Kok when she’s in Chinatown, stocking up on dried tea leaves. Stepping to the front of the line at this humble, cash-only spot, she rattles off her “must orders” to the women behind the counter, who packs it up with impressive efficiency. The list includes baked cha siu baos, turnip cakes, pork siu mai, har gow, and sesame balls and white rice cakes to share with friends. “Go early to beat the lunch line, then swing by Ten Ren for a delicious milk tea,” Lang says.

Mamahuhu, 3991 24th St., Noe Valley

Nemenchok’s favorite spots for Chinese takeout, like those of many of us, have to do with proximity. When he’s headed home from Fiorella’s Noe location, Mamahuhu is his go-to. “I especially love the chrysanthemum salad — it’s surprisingly refreshing and delicious,” he says. After a busy day of work and school, he and his daughter, who live in Potrero Hill, like to swing by Spice Jar in the Mission for Mongolian beef and the signature fried rice with shrimp, chicken, and mint leaf, which “always hits the spot.” (Hot sauce on the side is a must-add.)

Dumpling Kitchen, 1935 Taraval St., Parkside

Wesley’s advice for a great Chinese takeout meal? Find yourself a business partner like Juianna Yang, who orders the entire dim sum menu for the Kiln staff. “She used to get it for us for staff meals at Sons & Daughters, and we’ve carried that tradition on here at Kiln,” Wesley says. Even if you don’t have a Yang in your life, Dumpling Kitchen is solid. Wesley and his wife like to grab and go two orders of har gow, xiao long bao, pea tendrils, and Shanghai-style pan-fried pork buns from the neighborhood joint.

Yuanbao Jiaozi, 2110 Irving St., Outer Sunset

Despite being the chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant, Hou is no snob. “Just being frank, no shame in Panda Express orange chicken,” he admits. But his favorite spots for Chinese takeout go beyond the national chain.For hand-pulled noodles, Terra Cotta Warrior’s version with cumin lamb reigns supreme. But when he’s in the mood for dumplings — one of his “top five food categories” and “realistically, the only thing I always have in my freezer” — Yuanbao Jaiozi is king. Pork-and-shitake dumplings are a must, with an extra side of chile oil, and dan dan noodles just to round out the meal.