This place is hilariously underrated on Yelp in my opinion. I fully expected to see 4.5 stars, based on how popular this place is during the lunch rush and how good the food and portions are! I consider this place a step up from American Chinese food in terms of taste -- it has a lot of your typical takeout items but the flavors are more authentic Cantonese in my opinion (as in not as salty, seasoned more mildly in a way to let the ingredients shine). There's usually a line during lunch hours unless you arrive at an off time. The customer service is friendly and efficient. They had a lot of dishes available and I saw a worker refill different trays while I was waiting in line. I got a 3-entree plate for $14 ($15.26 total with tax). They really load up the plates and this can easily last 2 meals. I got half chow fun (flat rice noodles) and half chow mein as the side. The chow fun tasted like how I'd want chow fun from a Cantonese restaurant to taste -- with a good wok aroma flavor. For the entrees I got eggplant tofu, fish fillet and bok choy, and mushroom chicken. The chicken was juicy and the mushrooms and zucchini complemented it well. The fish came in pretty large pieces and the bok choy had a nice garlic flavor. The eggplant tofu is pretty light on sauce, the eggplant texture is neither too solid nor falling apart. I like getting lunch here and eating it across the street outside the federal building where there is a lot of seating. read more

See all

Ordered at around 3:30 yesterday and got the sweet and sour pork along with their General Tso's chicken and found a very unexpected and disturbing surprise... i found a cockroach in the food. I immediately reached out to the store to let them know about the situation, and instead of taking accountability or offering a refund, I was told to bring the food back. Asking a customer to transport contaminated food back to the restaurant after finding a roach in it is extremely unprofessional and concerning from a food safety standpoint. This experience completely ruined my appetite and confidence in the cleanliness of this place. Situations like this should be handled with urgency and concern for the customer, not brushed off. Would not recommend at all. read more

Emperor's Kitchen - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

If you're looking for flavor, it won't be found here. Don't be deceived by the long lunch-hour lines. The food may look good, but it is greasy, bland, and flavorless. The sweet and sour pork is neither sweet nor sour. The broccoli beef is equally as oily and unseasoned. The chow mein is alright. With what you sacrifice in quality you gain in quantity. The portion sizes are huge and cheap. Although the food might not taste great, you get a lot of it so if that's what you're looking for, you found the right place. The setup is pretty similar to Panda Express (except I'd say Panda is better). You select how many entrees you'd like, walk down the line and choose them. Emperor's Kitchen is really small. During the work week, you will find a long line out the door of people getting takeout. There is no seating available inside, which is probably for the better because I wouldn't say this place looks the cleanest. I'd say, only come if you are hungry and looking for a cheap meal. read more

Emperor's Kitchen - Sweet & Sour Pork, Broccoli Beef, Chow Mein - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

The food is fresh and delicious. One of the few spots where the food once cooked is displayed and you can pick what entrees you want. Very simple and easy. Perfect spot for those on a lunch break from work to grab something ready. read more

Delicious fried chicken, nice assortment of hot entrees from kung pao chicken and shrimp with assorted vegetables to general cho's chicken, - lunch line is long but moves fairly quickly. Great to order in advance for work parties. read more

If you're craving semi-greasy Chinese American fast food at a good price, this is the place. I've gone there every couple months or so for years and it's pretty much exactly the same every time (even most of the dishes). Consistency matters! They no longer allow seating inside. It's cafeteria point-to-your-selection style mostly, though the trays are clearly labeled. They even have a small selection of dim sum, which I've never had there. A stuffed two-item plate with your choice of rice or noodles (I like the chicken chow fun) is currently about $12, making it one of the most affordable hearty lunches in the area. The two ladies who work the front are efficient and kind, but not in your face about it. Sometimes this is exactly the kind of meal you need and I hope they never leave the neighborhood. read more

Emperor's Kitchen - 2-Item Combo is still under $12: Sweet and Sour Pork, Mushroom Chicken, and Chicken Chow Fun - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Was told about this place by my colleagues at work so I had to give it a try. It's a simple place but good portion size and great value for money! Tried the chow fun which was tasty, the General Tsao chicken which was crispy and just spicy enough, and the Mongolian chicken had a nice sauce with lot of onions. Overall a good place to grab a quick lunch while at work. read more

Emperor's Kitchen - Mongolian chicken, General Tsao's chicken and Chow Fun - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Orange chicken was great , steam rice had a nice taste to it , was not impressed with the chow mein or the broccoli and beef ... service was fast , wish they had placed more chowmein in my container , def not going back ......3 stars ! read more

Great prices for us to be in this economy to be honest and it's great portion size even if there not filling up the plate, the ladies are always nice sometimes they can get overwhelmed so they're very not sociable. They get your food ready get you out the door pretty much what it gives. I like that they just added the orange gate in the front super cute. Would I come here of course all the time for a budget eat and a great portion of food definitely here and my recommended time would be to come around either the opening or lunchtime or a hour or two before closing. That's when it's the freshest in my opinion. my favorite is the salt and pepper pork chop. I sometimes get a whole box of it for $20 and the Mongolian chicken breast is delicious now when they do have that flaky fried fish available I try to get that because that is top three on my menu for sure however keep in mind there's no seating so this is a grab and go read more

One of my favorite to-go Chinese spots in SF. Give you large portions (if you ask for more) and they supply delicious pork buns- my favorite. BUT... they only supply X amount each day & they run out by late afternoon. You cant go wrong with fried rice, bbq pork & orange chicken combo with a Thai Ice Tea. Very popular place, always a line during lunch hour. Either get here before 11a or after 1p for faster service. Very friendly service & always smiling. Known for their quick service, no time to stay. Im here at least once a week. See you there :) read more

This place is always packed so just make sure to go before noon when all the high rise suits come out haha. I usually grab half plate of fried rice/chow fun and Spicy Pork & General Tsaos chicken. Besides that the rest of their plate addons could be hit or miss depending on the day (the curry chicken is great too!) and they do have some other dumplings I haven't tried yet. Definitely one of my go to when I want some quick & cheap chinese food and the portions are always good! read more

February 10 th 2025 approximately 3:30 pm The chinese lady with the long black hair was very rude to me I ordered a fried rice and fried pork chops and beef broccoli etc once I paid for the chinese food she threw my plate and money at me that is poor customer service they need to get rid of her or boycott this restaurant. read more

Came by at lunch to buy a 2-entree plate. This is now $11 but still cheaper than other places at the Loin. They really pack the food into that box as well. I can make this stretch for two meals. Food is still good. My only complaint is why is all of this so cold? If it sat on a steam table it should be relatively hot. This is at the beginning of lunch service, not the end. Everything was stone cold. I had to nuke the lunch. read more

See all

Good place for fast buffet style Chinese food. Emperor's Kitchen is a great place for fast take out Chinese. There is no seating, to go only. The food is inexpensive but good enough for work lunches. They serve chow mein and fried rice with your choice of meat or vegetarian entrées, they also serve shrimp dim sum and pork shu Mai but they must get it from Chinatown, because they always seem to run out of them quickly. So get there early if you want dim sum. The service is fast and pleasant but no one who works there ever smiles. They have standard Chinese dishes daily. General's Chicken, Spicy Eggplant and barbecue pork are usually served daily with other entrees that they alternate. Located across from the Courthouses in Civic Center, a fast and easy lunch and take home place. Very reasonable prices for the area, you can get a big meal for 10 to 12 dollars. I usually share with my wife who loves their shrimp dim sum. read more

I love their generals chicken the most, but, they have a bunch of other great to go items in the steam tables all day. The service is fast and efficient with huge portions and great meal deals. 3 large entrees plus rice or chow Mein for around 15 bucks!! It's a huge value and my go to for Chinese like they make. read more

Walked in and could smell the fresh fish stewing! I was dashing in for a quick Chinese food lunch. The food looked appetizing. I was surprised they were open as the location caters to the downtown office workers. read more

I work in the area and Emperor's Kitchen is my go-to for lunch when I need something fast and usually fresh. I like anything with veggies. The 2 entree combo (with either rice or noodle) is large enough to split into two lunches. If you go at noon on a weekday, there will likely be a line but the ladies running the counter are quick and efficient! A no fuss, strictly takeout place. read more

Quick and easy, and the lady serving the hot food was nice. For a Chinese fast food take out place, they actually take credit cards! Wow!

Very good. Very fast! The General Tso Chicken was fabulous as was the fried rice. Being around the corner from my workplace I will be back. Excellent choice for those needing to grab a quick bite. read more

Great food and service! Very nice people! I really enjoyed the General Tsao's Chicken! Definitely recommend getting that!

food is very delicious and fresh we catered quite a bit from here at my jobs events i will definitely continue order from here

I work near this restaurant and only went because it was suggested. Wasn't sure if it was a bad day but as soon I walked in there was no customers (this was during lunch time) I knew at that moment I should've went to another place but still proceeded to buy. The fried rice was old, as well as the chicken wings. My stomach started immediately after, had to leave work early. I tried eating it again later that day and the same thing happened. Do not recommend unless you're familiar w their tasting. read more

It's a real Panda Express. But better. Fast. Cheap. Food. I love their generic fried chicken wings. Reminds me if my childhood eating the same batter fried chicken. You get a lot of food for three items for only $10 read more

Tight budget and needed to order food for a work luncheon. Luckily, the party trays at Emperor's Kitchen were extremely affordable. Each tray contained 5 pounds of food. Entrée tray for $22 and side tray for $15. But I ordered their party tray deal. $88 for 3 entrée trays and 2 side trays. Score! I was quite nervous about the taste and quality since I've never eaten there. Good thing people found the food to be fresh and without much grease. Whew. === Their lunch combos are cheap too! 1 entrée item with rice or chow mein: $3.99 2 entrée items with rice or chow mein: $4.89 3 entrée items with rice or chow mein: $5.75 Hot & sour soup: Pretty disastrous. Watered down and barely any ingredients. But it was free. Oh wells. Eggplants with tofu: Huge pieces of eggplants! Cooked perfectly where it still had bite to it and not overly mushy. A little bland in taste. General chicken: Lean meat in perfect bite size. Light sweet spicy glaze. Quite good. Chow mein: Chewy noodles with a bit of grease. Not bad. Overall food is average in taste. But definitely a good option for work luncheons. read more

Emperor's Kitchen - 2 item lunch combo - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Cheap prices for tenderloin for the amount of food you get. However, the service and taste is a bit underwhelming. They were out of the chow fun when I went to order, and the lady didn't bother telling me that. I didn't even know it was available and just got chow mien, which was so bland! I saw another customer later with chow fun and was like WTF!? sadness. Anyway, the only entrees I'd recommend here are the fried chicken wings and the orange chicken. The chicken isn't going to be healthy for you, but its fried to perfection: crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, juicy in a way you know its bad for you. The orange chicken is good, if you're into that whitewashed asian food(even the authentic chinese in me can appreciate it upon occasion). I have also tried their yellow curry chicken and sweet/sour pork and both were not good. They were just simply not tasty, or not seasoned correctly. I do believe their quality of ingredients isn't too bad, considering the price. They also pile on the food for you, so they don't skimp on portions. There is some seating available in the restaurant, but its generally more of a grab and go place. I may return one more time to try out their chow fun and some other entrees, but that's super low on my food priority list! read more

Not very customer friendly. Bought food and they didn't let us use the restroom. Alot of the dishes they had were out. read more

See all

I was walking down on Larkin to Civic Center Bart & saw the sign for Happy Hour M-F 3-6p, well it was Fri & about 4pm. Found out No Happy Hr prices for Dim Sum - boo! I still got 3 for $2.25 shrimp dumplings & 3 for $2.25 chive & shrimp dumplings, my total with tax was $4.88, I paid Cash, but they take Credit Cards. Nothing special, I ate them once I got home. Steam table prices: 1 item combo $3.99 2 item combo $4.89 3 item combo $5.75 Happy Hr deal M-Fri 3-6 p.m. & All Day Sat - 3 items for the price of 2 Hrs: M-Sat 9:30-6:30p read more

Emperor's Kitchen - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

was given horrible customer service did not let me use Apple Pay for a sweet-and-sour which the sweet-and-sour OK sauce it was very small. Will not be going back to this business again is not recommended for professional customer service. read more

This place is dishonest. I went there during happy hours twice where they advertised 3 for 2 entrees but the Chinese lady always charged for that 3 unless you pointed it out. Make sure you check the charges when you order. read more

Well I didn't expect the dim sum to be good but I didn't expect it to be worse than frozen dim sum. Those har gow are pretty bad. Mealy, mushy, bleh. The shumai are ok I guess, but really nothing to write home about. I work near here and I would have loved if I could have gotten some decent dim sum so nearby. Alas. read more

Hate to bag on a 'mom and pop' but this place needs to be better. Cold stale dim sum at restaurant prices for a cheapy take-out. BBQ steam bun that was room temperature and rock hard (not kept in steamer). You can't serve people these and call them dim sim. Would cut them some slack if prices were more value-based. Overpriced for the lack of quality. read more

Emperor's Kitchen is a typical chinese restaurant with scoop to go options, food precooked at the steam table. lunch combo specials w/chow mein or fried rice: 1 item 399 2 item 4.89 3 item 5.75. 3-6 p.m. special: 3 items for the price of 2..... dim sum review only: dim sum offerings slim on memorial day. siu mai looked dark and mysterious. har gow -pristine white but these were the last 4? so passed. *bbq pork buns (3) 2.25 -pretty small buns with nice fluffly dough containing semidry, tender bbq pork minicubes. -actually not bad but not a good value compared with other dim sum takeouts, thus 2 stars. (3 star quality) take outs -may have awaken cashier/owner? from his boredom upon entering -professional, smiling, friendly service. -metered parking (even on memorial day!) didn't pay, already ran out of change. got some change here. nice guy! -if i worked around here, i would definitely return. parking a major issue. chinese lessons mandarin parking meter ting che ji shi gi read more

Walk into Emperor's Kitchen on your average weekday around noon, and you'll find a line 10 deep with a mix of city workers in blaze orange vests, Federal Building suits, and haggard looking Hastings students. This is one of hundreds of small, Chinese restaurants in the city that you order at the counter ala. Subway Style (point at the pre-cooked food, and they build you a plate). Having had experienced more of these little joints than I am comfortable admitting, I can say this. The service is friendly and attentive. The vegetables are fresh. And the food is...well...it's a good, cheap lunch. This is not a secret little hole where foodies congregate. This is not even very authentic (food is certainly geared towards an American pallet), but....you can get a generous helping of LoMein, Beef and Brocolli and Yellow Curry Chicken for five buck. And by 'generous', I mean EASILLY enough to feed two people. No way I could plow through a take out order. The food is expected. It's greasy. It's yummy. Won't be a lasting food memory, but it will make for a kick-ass $5 lunch if you're in the mood for Chinese. read more

Emperor's Kitchen - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Foods from steam table are not hot enough, some items are even cold. Wondering if either forgot to turn on the steamer or intentionally not to turn on. When I called the restaurant to report the situation, the staff just talked over me without listening what I said. Restaurant location - 3 stars Food quality - 3.5 stars Food presentation - 1.5 stars Customer service - 1 star Price - 4 stars ------------------------------- Overall, barely make 3 stars. read more

Emperor's Leftovers is more like it. We went in the afternoon, so everything tasted old and horrible. Dim sum costs 2.50 for 3 little pieces. (that's more than 80 cents a piece). Wouldn't go back. read more

Good + affordable + clean = happy. The food is always fresh. It's obvious that the cooks enjoy their jobs and are not solely focused on profit. Some dishes (Mongolian chicken &Kung pow chicken) could use more flavoring. I think they default to mild as opposed as too spicy. There's little hot sauce on the tables. If eating in bring your own sarachi sauce. They give good portions. Rice or chow mein plus 3 entrees and a soda for 9:70 during lunch hours. Lastly the place is clean. Very clean. That's major for a Chinese restaurant in the tenderloin. Seating is limited so it's best to grab and go. read more

The best chicken wings in the City! OK, maybe I'm exaggerating; but maybe I'm not. They are delicious though. The best thing about this restaurant is that the food is FRESH. No soggy leftovers here; the cook is continuously bring fresh dishes out, and The People are lining up to buy it as fast as it appears. Everything I have had is excellent, the noodles, veggies, and meats are all cooked properly and are well-seasoned. The Mongolian chicken is a personal fave, with the perfect meat-to-veggie ratio. And The Ladies are very nice, and give you an adult portion! read more

This is the best steam table Chinese deal I've had in the Bay Area. It's very conventional American style-Cantonese. Sweet and Sour Pork, Beef Broccoli, General Tso's Chicken, Chow Fun, Potstickers, that kind of thing. Not greasy or over-salted. I always come in for the Happy Hour special after 3 p.m. weekdays. Two items for under $7 and the third item is free. I always give the ladies a deuce tip cause I come from a restaurant family and I know they don't make much. Make sure you get in before 5:30 p.m. weekdays. Today (Tuesday), I was there at 5:55 and everything had been cleared away. Very nice, the ladies speak English, smile and say Thank you. It takes a while for new immigrants to catch on and be outgoing and friendly with strangers, so don't think Chinese are rude. This is all part of the American experience for them. Five stars not because it's exotic or novel. Five stars because for judging in its category, it's a clean, pleasant experience, with tasty flavorful foodin generous portions at a great price. read more

Happy hour special- 3 items for the price of two. Portions were so big I decided to just get two even though I came during happy hour. Clean, tidy and customer service was typical Chinese restaurant service. It's a sit down and grab-and-go type of place. You really gotta choose right too. I got the yellow curry with chicken and potatoes with fried pork chops and white rice. Smax!! read more

Good, cheap, AND FAST!!!! Who says you can't have all three! I gave this place a shot due to it's close proximity to Harrington's Pub. Prices were visible from the street, and a peek in the window showed portion sizes to be more than adequate. The Chow Mien is pretty good. Broccoli and Beef is on par with what you'd get at a sit-down restaurant. Curry chicken and kung-pao chicken are excellent, and everything else looks pretty good. Presentation consists of mass quantities being crammed into a 3-compartment deli tray and service is extremely curt, but lets face it.....this is steam-tray Chinese in the tenderloin, and not fillet mignon in Nob Hill I generally get my order to go and wash it down with a frosty pint at Harrington's, just half a block up Larkin. Service is minimal and ambiance is on par with that of a coin-operated laundromat, but your order comes lightning quick. It's an excellent bang-for-the-buck if your MO is pay-up-and-nosh-elsewhere. I've been back about half-a-dozen times.... read more