Went to Chef Li for Father's Day. Maybe it was different because it was Sunday Brunch. There was an excellent soup before the duck dinner. I had sweet and sour pork which was delicious. Service excellent. Sunday ambiance better. Ha lol my car q read more

Authentic tasty Chinese food. Authentic experience too, as in you will not get good service but the food speaks for itself. It's just the way it is! I sat down and server brought plates utensils to me, did not say hi to me, didn't give me a menu, I got up and got it myself Table/menu are sticky The have Roast pork and char siu which you can get a rice plate with some cabbage on the side. Tried the fish clay pot, I like that. The eggplant is done differently here as in it's cooked in a sweet and sour sauce instead of a Chinese gravy. Interesting and I actually was surprised I liked it, the flavors worked well Ton of catering orders done. Can get large party trays, tell them how much you want: 1 or 10 lbs tray Or however much Menu in English and Chinese. Parking is hard here read more

See all

Came here recently for lunch. Had the beef and black bean sauce chow fun and wonton noodle soup with duck. Food was awesome, I especially liked the chow fun, which was very smoky; they got a good wok! Wonton soup was good too but that's not really my thing. Duck was excellent. Plus they give you this free appetizer soup that could fill you up if you're not careful. Service is not the greatest but that's to be expected. Parking sucks but that's expected too. Excellent value for what we got: 30 bucks for those 2 dishes. Easily enough for 4 people. Highly recommended. It would help if you speak Cantonese or at least are comfortable enough to order in this environment. Takes a little bit of assertiveness. Don't take it personally. read more

Food: 3 combo plate with roast pork, bbq pork, and chicken $15 meal deal that includes soup. Bbq pork was a bit on the dry side, but it came in big pieces. Crunchy skin on the roast pork was chefs kisses. Chicken was juicy, flavorful and not fatty. Comes with a side of veggies. Quick in and out without a long wait for to go. Casual dining restaurant with friendly staff. Peer in the window to see the poultry for the day. Duck, roast pork, bbq pork, and chicken are the main protein. read more

Chef Li's Cafe - 3 combo rice plate - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

I love coming here for their roasted duck and cha siu. It's the best roast duck in San Francisco. I also get a box of rice here because it's so soft and pairs well with the duck and bbq pork. I always get extra duck sauce every time. The butcher lady and the owner is always so nice and quick with their service. I come here so often that they recognize me. You can dine in or take it togo, which I always do togo. I recommend this place for anyone looking for good roast duck. read more

See all

Came here with a large group for a family get-together- there are few large tables with lazy susans, the seats packed close to each other. Unfortunately there's only a single unisex bathroom for the entire restaurant, and that was out or order last I went. The good is reasonably priced and comes in large portions. The salt and pepper chicken wings and pork chops are my favorite. All of their classics hit the spot and nail the texture and flavors of what you'd expect. read more

Chef Li's Cafe - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

You know a place is good when your Asian parents choose the place. They swear that this place has the best Chinese roasted pork / roast pork. It's pricy at $14.99 per pound. The salt and pepper fish was light and fluffy and not too salty. read more

See all

LOW PRICES GREAT FOOD Hey, we're living in inflation times but somehow this restaurant is able to serve most dishes under $14 a plate. Go support this business to keep the prices low! BEST BEEF CHOW FUN I argue that they have the best in San Francisco. Thick noodles, lots of beef and bean sprouts. I even noticed they took the time to properly clean the sprouts by chopping off the ends so they are more presentable. Not oily or salty. BBQ ROAST PORK SKIN CRISPY LIKE CHIPS Juicy bbq meats. All very tasty and competitive as other top SF BBQ meat restaurants. Also recommend the pig intestine with sour vegetables. Their ginger onion sauce for the steam chicken is extra gingery. Which I like. Ginger is not cheap bro!! No more hot pot service, though. They stopped offering it. Server ladies were decent. Not completely rude but not overly friendly. They accommodated all our small kids needs. Very clean atmosphere with some nice antique Chinese decor. Tall ceilings. Round tables with glass lazy susan. PARENT NOTES One bathroom only. No changing table. One high chair available. Enough space for stroller parking. read more

See all

Ordered to-go meats at this authentic Chinese restaurant, located off of San Bruno Ave in San Francisco/Daly City area. We ordered about a month ahead of time, but was not really necessary since they had all the meats prepared and the only request was to have all of them chopped up into bite-size pieces. Of course it's first come first serve but when I came to pick up early afternoon, there were still plenty of option's available which meant they were well stocked. The only downside is the parking. It's not the greatest around San Bruno Ave. Plus the staff speaks limited English but sufficient enough to get what you'd want. Overall, very economical for price. We got 3lbs of their roast pork, one roast duck and two steamed chicken for $120 to feed 19 people for a post Thanksgiving meal, which is sure economical They also have a dining area to seat for one or a party of ten for a chill and causal indoor dining experience. Check out my pics. read more

See all

Excellent roast pork with crackling and charsiu pork. They served both plates with braised cabbage and the charsiu gravy was spot on. The dried salted fish and chicken fried rice was salty and satisfying. It is a new flavor at first, but oh so addictive! All the portions were huge. Our server was disappointed that we were not taking home leftovers. I explained I didn't have a kitchen to reheat anything and I was as stuffed as a charsiu bao. read more

See all

Really good, great portions. The food isn't hot though but I still really enjoyed it! read more

Chef Li's Cafe - 3 meat plate - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

I went to get take out they give me good amount of the food and service was good and fast since there were no people around think it was almost closing time, their ducks and chicken always taste so good it was quiet overall I always enjoy eating there, no music play so it easy to talk read more

See all

Difficult to order difficult to understand! No on line order available although the web page indicates otherwise. It's been a bad experience and I won't be ordering from Chef Li ever again! read more

This is my go to spot for Chinese food outside of SF Chinatown. Service is ok and their Togo gets pretty busy.

I asked a homie where I could buy a whole roast pig for an important event. The homie who understands the lingo recommended me this spot. At first I thought he was talking that hole in the wall with that step up into the kitchen with them Pokémon cards that remodeled but when he gave me the address I was amazed like what ? This store? The fire pit roast Chef definitely has a roast degree pHD as it clearly showed all the way through. I been here a couple times for the hot pot but this was my first time grabbing the bbq. This whole suckling pig so far is the best I had. Super lightly salted and the skin crispy AF! The meat was baby tender Thank you to the staff and management. This place is a one stop shop for Chinese food, bbq and hotpot read more

Chef Li's Cafe - Suckling Pig - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Came here for Christmas dinner, and it was lively, busy, and lines out the door. Chef Li's Cafe surprised me with what they have to offer. The front end of the restaurant/cafe/eatery is a fully loaded Chinese BBQ shop with freshly roasted duck, soy sauce chicken, duck wings, BBQ pork, Chinese fastfood for take out including chow mein, fried chicken, sweet and sour pork and more! The back-end restaurant seats a whopping 50+ with 3 large family style tables and 2-4 seat tables for smaller parties. Tables are also modular for hotpot. However, I would say their specialty truly seems to be their Chinese BBQ and Chinese food. What we ordered: Duck Wings Roast Duck 5/5 Soy Sauce Chicken 5/5 Gai-lan Walnut Shrimp Sweet and Sour Fried Pork Chops (4/5) Salt and pepper fried shrimp Lamb and Tofu stick claypot Egg drop corn soup Rice All relatively delicious and price point was great for the portion size. Fast service and great atmosphere inside. Nice spot for family meals read more

See all

I came here many time right before the pandemic. I started coming back here this pass couple of months. The food the service are excellent. The duck is cheap comparing to other placed in the city. They're very nice people. read more

Good food, affordable prices. Staff is kind to customers who are English speaking only.

I would go to Chef Li's if you are looking for a local place to eat at a reasonable price. The food is excellent. I ordered a chicken chow fun, and you know it is good chow fun because of the smell of the wok in the noodles. Chef Li is a women-owned business; she is there daily to meet and greet customers. The ambiance is that of a welcoming Chinese restaurant with large and small tables, but they could also make hot pots and serve some other special items like spicy broiled fish. Roast pork is also great. They make their items in-house. read more

See all

I have been to this place a few times for breakfast or dinner. I think the food is decent and their price is very reasonable. Would love to come back.! read more

Chef Li is good. I ordered takeout from there, and it was ready about 15 minutes after I placed the order. The food was good i ordered beef chow fun read more

4.5 stars! Roast pork and duck over rice may just be the best I've had. Better than Cheung Hing, Wins AND Meng Kee. The duck was juicy and flavorful and the roast pork was rib cut so you get all the juicy meat with just the right amount of fat. Hard to find parking around the area. Dish came with a heaping bowl of house soup which really hit the spot. The 2 item bbq rice plate was only 11.50!!! I dug in before I had a chance to snap a pic. But, I'll be back again soon for the steam chicken and bbq pork! read more

There are rumors the staff from the defunct Wing Hing restaurant down the street are now working here. I came here to see if that was true. Nope, I didn't see anyone I recognize. Maybe they are working another shift. I noticed Chef Li's awning changed their Chinese name from 好滋味 to 永興 (Wing Hing). That can't be a coincidence right? My sentiments remain the same. Hopefully the nice people from Wing Hing all landed a new job or have retired. My tomato beef crispy noodles $13 was excellent. It wasn't overly soaked with sauce and crispy. Good job staff at Chef Li's. read more

See all

Great food! Five stars for the food! One star off for not being car friendly. There's nothing wrong with the environment except for the bus and road noise. What do you expect from San Francisco? It makes it feel more like Hone Kong. You can do hot pot here if you want! read more

Chef Li's Cafe - Pig Intestine with pickled vegetables and bell peppers - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Really wanted to enjoy a local Chinese restaurant so ordered several entrees: salt and pepper fish, peking pork chops, chicken with broccoli, roast pork and a beef chow fun. The only entrees we thought were tasty were the fish and roast pork. The other dishes looked like they were soaked in oil sadly. Service was barely okay, it took about 20 mins for the food to be ready and the waitress wasn't too friendly. Don't think it's likely that we will return there so our quest for a good local spot continues. read more

This is my new favorite spot in my neighborhood. I've walked by a million times and never went inside but then the pan of Pig Ears and Chicken Feet in the window was calling my name. Pig ears served chilled with a nice crunch. Not quite spicy enough but I added some red oil at home and they were yummy. The skin on the white chicken feet had a nice bounce to them. These 2 alone I would come back for again and again. Very clean place and the girl working the front was super helpful and friendly. Thumbs up! read more

Chef Li's Cafe - Pig Ear & Chicken Feet - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

My boyfriend ordered a chicken noodle soup, not sure what the exact name of it is on their menu, and found this metal thing. We realized it's those steel scrubbers!!! I'm so glad he didn't eat it and saw it . read more

See all

I come here whenever I need party trays, and have introduced them to friends and family. Recently I ordered their party trays again, but the experience was horrible. I called a few times to add more items and repeatedly ask if it was enough food for my party. They kept saying it's enough, but when I went to pick up the trays...I realized they're a lot lighter and smaller than before. Not only that, but their prices did not match the menu that they gave me just two weeks ago...and the boss had the audacity to tell me they haven't changed prices in years. Funny thing is when my coworker called to order, the boss gave her discounts and free food items...she NEVER did that for me. The boss seems to be picking on me because I ordered 7 items that clearly should have been $244, but she charged me $276...no wonder why she didn't give me a receipt! It's also not the tax, because usually the tax is included. I got the receipt from my coworker and not only her food was priced correctly, they even took off $36 and made that item free....6 items only $202...and it was a LOT more food than my $276. How did I know? Because I was at that party! Side note: I paid cash too, so not like I made them foot expensive credit card fees! I understand everything is going up, but don't be here charging people different prices...especially when I was the one who introduced that coworker to order from you guys! The only reason I come here was because your mom personally called me and told me about your restaurant after hers closed down. She was such a nice lady, but you are so dishonest. I'm never coming back, thanks to your disgusting business practice. read more

See all

Very good bbq. Lunch special especially good. Ladies at front are also generally nice and helpful!

Didn't want to cook and definitely good to support a local spot that survived the pandemic. Their menu has changed to adapt to pandemic living, but hopefully they will eventually return to include their AYCE hit pot. Ordered a variety of things from the menu because they don't have the 3-item menu anymore (hopefully this comes back too!), so had to make my own rice. Lol. Curry beef is good, delicate curry flavour and lots of lovely bell peppers and onions. Spicy eggplant with pork was good, but needed to choose between being spicy or not (it was unfortunately rather confused). The rock cod with corn really stood out as the rock cod fillets were perfectly fried and remained crispy (where not covered with sauce) for over 20min. The corn sauce was just right in terms of sweetness and salty. Wish I had taken pix because there wasn't anything left. I've ordered party trays here and the noodles and fried rice don't disappoint. Salt/pepper chicken wings are also a winner. 5lb of each of the above disappeared within 30min at a party of 20! read more

See all

Place is really good and seems to stay busy. The meats hanging when you walk in is interesting. I ordered online but I guess they don't use that anymore so I had to order again and wait. The bbq pork rice was plentiful and delicious. Could use some sauce. read more

See all

Their food is fresh! Love the taste! They don't dissappint. Love that it is in my neighborhood!

They switched owners and they sell ducks right? Went to get a duck, told them specifically one duck and they switched it on me and got me the burnt duck that was already small. That's not even the worst part. They literally took a few pieces from the cut before they put it on my takeout box... this happened TWICE... I'd advice whoever buys hot food (like ducks or chicken to go) here to watch carefully the one who gets the duck and cuts it. Make sure they do not short change you or someone switched your order before you get it after you pay... Their string bean dish is good. But I think the people who sell at the front sectioned be watched more carefully... I'm not the only one this happened to. Myself alone had been shortchanged twice, both times my box was short a few pieces of the whole order... can we address that? Don't need money back or anything, just maybe a change of monitoring your employees because that is just bad taste in business to customer relations. Thanks for listening! read more

Called the restaurant to complain that there were broken/cracked egg shells in my order of shrimp with scramble eggs & rice. The woman who was Chinese kept saying she does not speak English & kept on hanging up on me after three times of calling Chef Li's Cafe. Terrible experience. No quality control & preparation of food in their kitchen. read more

Chef Li's Cafe - Cracked pieces of broken egg shells still mixed with the food preparation. Every time I took a bite there were pieces of egg shells. - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Headed here during lunch for some Char Siu (barbeque pork sliced), also got a rice plate togo with some favorites, let me breakdown everything I had and how it all faired Got a 2 combo plate one side of plate was spicy season tripe, and tripe and what I thought was meat but it was a dark grain of some sort I really don't know the name. This dish was served with piping white rice, shredded steamed lettuce and the two options of my choice the spicy tripe was delicious, slightly rubber but the seasoning was heavy and thick you can tell it is good when you pinch the sauce and your finger sticks together hell yeah!!!! The other portion of my dish was what I thought was a meat and more tripe, oddly it was tripe which again was good but the meat was semi hard grain kind of looked like dark sea coral, oddly like chewing into baby canned carrot but a bit harder Also sampled the Char Siu which was just ok not super sweet, it was semi tender most slices did not have the fatty / meaty of 60/40 or vice versa more like all meat on most slices, meat was tough, and rubbery. Sadly I will have to pass on this dish next time Food *** for the spicy tripe dish **** Everything else was *** Price $$ Service **** helpful staff Ambiance *** standard old school look, al la carte in front read more

Great place for take out. When you do feel like cooking, come here and get Chinese BBQ over rice is cheaper than cooking at home.

The roast pork 90% fat 10% meat, if you love eat fat this is a great spot of choice. Also, I asking them for 1lb and they gave me 2lbs instead, asking me is that okay. What do you expect me to say? Personally I am 1000% NOT RECOMMENDED unless you had a good health and FAT LOVER. read more

See all

Thank you Jeff for letting us know about their move from the previous wing hing. Otherwise we would have never known!! We are there long time customers since 90's. Really loved the taste of the duck and soy sauce chicken. Bbq crispy pork is also yummy. So glad we were able to see the lady Server there as she had helped us for more than 2 decades Yay read more

Chef Li's is a great place to go for a quick bite or even a family dinner. The place is like a typical Chinese take out restaurant with options running from roasted pig to roasted duck or soy sauce chicken and everything in between. I usually order ahead of schedule and ordering 3 entrees takes about 15 minutes, 20 at most. They are very efficient and I never get wrong orders. read more

My hubby and love their salt and pepper fish and garlic eggplant. Chef Li's is our favorite spot to get take out in our neighborhood.