Old Mandarin
| Address: | 3132 Vicente St, San Francisco, CA 94116, USA |
| Phone: | +1 415-564-3481 |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–9:30PM 5:30–9:30PM 11:30AM–9:30PM 5:30–9:30PM 11:30AM–9:30PM 11:30AM–9:30PM 11:30AM–9:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 21
EV
Eve Chou
Be smart and take some tums before your meal. The food here is spicy but worth every tingle and loss of taste buds. The extremely hot pepper (la si ni) is extremely hot. It has bits of chicken and eggs in the dish but it is hidden under the numerous amounts of peppers. I think they use both jalapeños and the Thai chili peppers. Get the sautéed green beans! It comes with fried tofu and its just so good. The Mongolian beef has the wok flavor found in really good Chinese dishes. The lamb dumplings are pockets of tender with a hint of gamey meat. Some might say its too gamey but dip it in some soy sauce and their chili sauce and you will be happy. The beef pancakes are thin pieces of juicy beef sandwiched between two crisp fried dough. It maintains all its juices until you take that first bite and then its overflowing to your fingers. The sautéed shrimp with cucumbers were a nice addition to our pile of food. It was not spicy and the one thing that help ease the burn from some of the other dishes. Be warned now, you will sweat and your mouth will hate you a little but it is true: no pain no gain
JO
Johnny Wang
Came out to this part of town a few weeks ago for a haircut appointment I didnt actually have, and decided to make the best of things by knocking off one of my bookmarks. Stopping in for a late lunch and a mostly empty restaurant, I ended up ordering their Mandarin cumin lamb, which was pretty solid: great flavors, quite a bit of kick, and, of course, the expected greasiness of Chinese restaurant food. And, having come alone, and right around their afternoon lunch break, the owners actually invited me to eat with them! If only I werent so full from my own meal already :( ***Accessibility Info*** Venue - A medium-sized restaurant thats easy to get around when empty, but maneuvering may be a bit more difficult when the place is packed. Bathroom - Didnt check them out.
ED
Edrick Pascual
Definitely spiciest dish in SF. But lacks flavor its just really spicy. Plenty of parking, the dishes come out quick and hot. Restaurant is clean and waiters/owner are attentive. Also, had the beijing beef pancake and eggplant in spicy dark sauce. Both these dishes was nothing special. Came to try the spicy dish but they also have other specialty dishes, like crack fish, numbing chicken. Downside Cash only no credit cards so bring cash. Would definitely come back and try other items.
NA
Naeem Chandani
Came here @3:30 on a dead Friday afternoon. The hot and sour soup was great and the small serving is well suited for about 3-4 people. The egg rolls were good thou they were vegetarian. The spicy beef noodle soup was just ok according to my friend but i never tried it so i wont comment on that. Great that this place is halal. Customer service is great and prices match the quality! Would definitely come back!
DA
Dave Young
Stir-Fried Pancake with Vegetables!!! (Vegetarian) Housemade noodles made from a giant housemade wheat-flour crepe that’s sliced into thin, linguine-like ribbons, then stir-fried with onions, cloud ear fungus, julienned vegetables, and egg. Dosed in soy sauce and well crisped, this is a dish for those who love their noodles chewy and dense. Also, try their Mandarin Cumin Lamb... but ask for it extra spicy.
VA
Vahid Jamali
Been to this place around 4 times now over 2 years and everytime we come up here, the food is amazing. The mandarin beef, beef noodle soup, chicken corn cream soup, etc were all great tasting dishes. Tasted like the real chinese thing. This is literally a hole in the wall place. So if you want to come, just come before peak time or youll be waiting 30-40 minutes for seats. Will visit again.
AL
Alan Kwan
The hot pot is pricey and not great. The soup is bland and the price is high. Much better off going to an AYCE hot pot place. But as for the actual main dishes, they are great. Especially all the house specialty: beef pancakes, cumin lamb, all lamb soup, etc. But combined with the poor service and the auto 15% tip even for a party of 5. This average out to about 3.5 stars.
HA
Hamilton Carter
This is the first time Ive been to a Halal Chinese food restaurant. The Halal part, in my case, meant I had dumplings made with lamb rather than pork. Yum! If youre used to having sweet sauce with your dumplings, youll have to ask for a little bucket of hoisin. Then, just add in some of the soy vinegar at the table and youre set. The one bummer: no fortune cookies!
KH
Khurram Shafique
We ordered sesame chicken...The food is okay but their serving is too less. Usually the chinese dishes come with rice but they dont serve any rice so we ordered rice separately but the quantity was hardly enough for one person. I wouldnt recommend this place since its expensive and you dont get what you pay for.
TA
Tariq
The EXTREMELY SPICY PEPPER aint no joke. Delicious food overall, can be ridiculously spicy. It was a bit of a trek for my wife and I from our hotel near Union Square, but totally worth it. Try the beef pancake, which was more or less a keema paratha shaped like a quesadilla.
JU
Julio Santos
Nice place to try real Old Mandarin. Tried the mongolian bbq beef plate and the flattened fried beef dumplings. They both came with cole slaw like sides that paired pretty well. Good portions. My friend and i shared and we still had leftovers.
MO
mohamed tanany
we had a horrible experience at this place, we were so excited to try halal Asian food , sweet and sour chicken was so freaken sweet , and we ordered another thing that did not taste anywhere near good, I was so disappointed !!
DA
David Kanter
We didnt order the hot pot (which is what they are known for), but this mostly a solid, but undistinguished Chinese place. If I lived nearby, Id probably go at least a few more times to figure out what is great on the menu.
NA
Nathan Manousos
This place is so far out you are practically in the ocean. Pretty unique Chinese food that you wont find at a lot of other places. Try the lamb dishes and the hot pot for something you wont get at most Chinese restaurants.
PA
Patrick Au-Yeung
Very good northern Chinese style hotpot, very authentic, even down to the staffs Mainland accent. The lamb is fantastic. I am, however, biased, since Im more of a Taiwanese Ma-La-Guo fan. Hence the 4 stars instead of 5.
AD
Adnan Yusuf
Food is pretty good, and its all halal. Plenty of variety, portions are generous. The taste was not as zesty as of expected, but that could be just me. The place is tiny -- thats the only true pseudo-negative.
SO
Somebody Porter
Not your run of the mill Chinese restaurant by a long shot. The cumin lamb is incredible. Well worth trying, but best to get there at an off time as its generally fairly full during typical mealtimes.
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Ross Yeh
This is a great neighborhood find. If you like a different kind of Chinese food with Islamic twist and cumin flavor, this is a good place. Thats right. You wont find a pork dish in this restaurant.
JO
Joanne Lee
Tried their top 4 rated dishes and all were good. Recommend stewed fish in fiery sauce, lamb ribs cooked in claypot, spicy tripe, Chinese chives pancake, cumin lamb, and veg dishes.
JU
Jubeda Azam
Food was good, service was ok. Cashier not polite at all. Did not give us our change. She should not except to be paid a high tip , especially if ur service is not tht great
KE
Keira Chu
Not many Northern China cuisine in the city, as most places in the city are Southern China cuisine. The place/ambiance can be improved, but the food is authentic.
