Service is 5/5. Excellent service. The servers were very nice, cordial and attentive. The prices are on the high side but the food tastes better than some other restaurants. The dim sum was temperature hot which is what I like. The food stayed hot for a while. Some dim sum were good but then a few could be better. I was hungry and forgot to take photos of other dim sums we had. Overall great service and would return. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - November 2025 - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Good for traditional chinese dishes and they treat you pretty good been coming here for a decade + Quiet chill atmosphere , prefer it over the loud dim sum places with too much yelling read more

Of all the options in Chinatown we found ourselves standing in front of Great Eastern when hunger struck! After a quick Yelp check we figured if it was good enough for our POTUS when why not give it a shot! The dining room had good a/c and was open with comfortable seating, which was a bonus since we had been hoofing it around town all morning. Service was friendly and attentive. Food was served hot -- made to order. We especially enjoyed the pork-mushroom-shrimp shumai (dumplings), as well as the har gow (shrimp dumplings) and ham sui gok (deep fried sweet glutinous rice meat dumplings). Highly recommend if you find yourself in Chinatown and craving dim sum. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Freshly hung duck and bbq pork - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Food came quickly. Everything tasted high quality. My favorite were the potstickers and the green beans!! read more

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Great Eastern Restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown is an absolute visit if you're looking for sit down dim sum service. There's a lot of space in the restaurant as we were seated with no wait during prime lunch time. They have multiple menus (both those with Chinese letters, English, and pictures), perfect for those ABCs who need a little bit of both. The plates/baskets are served steaming hot, and the flavors are spot on. Apparently Obama himself stopped by when he was in town, which adds a little extra level to the whole experience. Whether you're grabbing brunch with friends or just looking for a great meal in Chinatown, Great Eastern is definitely a spot you don't want to miss. read more

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This is my absolute favorite sit down dim sum spot in San Francisco! I've never had a dish here that was less than amazing. My favorites are the salted egg yolk custard bun, black sesame mochi and shrimp and leek dumpling. Do note that they do increase the prices of their dim sum items in the evening. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Food was average yang chow fried rice was good too bad fried chicken is sold out so we hafta settle for peking duck which is also good crispy noodle was good as well as the beef soup, dimsum is below average. Its still a good place to go for chinese food in SF read more

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Well-known Chinatown restaurant and always crowded. The ambience is, well, loud. Service is not bad but hurried. Food is fine for the price but varies by dish- stick to Cantonese cuisine. One of the cleaner places in Chinatown, but not exceptional. read more

A great choice for dim sum while in SF Chinatown. All the standards are well done. They have excellent roast duck and the hard-to-find steamed LoBokGo (turnip cake). Their shrimp is always cooked perfectly and their Jasmine tea very nice. It can get a bit noisy when the restaurant is full. Nice decor, OK restrooms. Easy to understand, well illustrated dim sum menu. read more

We come to Great Eastern about once a year. It's in a pretty convenient location, right next to the Portsmouth Square Plaza Garage. This restaurant always seems packed, I think for good reason. Quality is consistent and dim sum dishes are made to order. Nothing stands out as exceptional, but we haven't had dishes at the bad end of the spectrum either. Here is my list of dim sum we ordered in descending order of preference: Pan Fried Leek & Shrimp Dumplings - shrimp + veg is my favorite filling and the outside wrapper is just delightful - slightly chewy with a sear from the pan fry Deep Fried Red Bean Balls - these are standard sesame balls but they fry them nice and crispy Rice Noodle Roll Stuffed with Shrimp - standard offering - we prefer this over shrimp dumplings Steamed Chicken Claws - tasty sauce - and that's really all you are eating for this dish Baked Pork Buns - flavorful filling in a nice soft yeasty bun Steamed Beef Tripe - a healthy portion of lightly seasoned tripe Deep Fried Taro Turnover with Minced Meat - my friend calls these footballs - hard to go wrong with these, but they were on the greasy side. Deep Fried Bean Curd Skin Rolls with Shrimp - same greasy issue as the dish above. Not sure how they get around that - tighter bean curd wrap or some more grease absorbent paper? Steamed Custard Bun with Egg Yolk - on the runniness scale, this was a 3 out of a max score of 10. Passable if you're craving this dish but not something you would write home about. Snow Pea Sprouts and Shrimp Dumplings - these tasted fine but they were a nightmare to get out - they were sticking to the steamer basket and breaking apart read more

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Solid dum sum spot -- nothing crazy but does the job. This is one of the many dim sum spots in Chinatown. I typically get takeout from one of the takeout only places, but wanted to dine in this time and ended up here. They give tea complementary which is nice, as most places don't. We got the shu mai, pork spareribs, baked bbq pork buns, and steamed custard egg yolk buns. The shu mai were good, though I've definitely had better -- these were less juicy and plump as some others. The bbq pork buns were also a lot smaller than other places though the flavor was pretty good. I reallyyy liked the spareribs though. I think they do these so much better than other places, and would definitely recommend trying them. The egg yolk lava buns are also fantastic -- perfectly runny, sweet, and salty. Prices are much higher at these dine in spots as opposed to takeout, but it is for the experience. Service is as expected for any dim sum spot haha. Not too friendly, but gets the job done. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Shumai - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Always excellent dim sum at awesome prices at Great Eastern. A stable in Chinatown for decades, Great Eastern still serves YUMMY freshly-cooked-to-order dim sum at great prices. It is suggested that you come before 11am, as there's always a line past 11am, especially on weekends, Just a warming, while you can "make a reservation" on Yelp!, there is always a delay upon arrival to get seated, as this not the type of restaurant where they will "hold tables for reservation arrival", in order to keep prices down. However always a great dining experience here where the food is great, prices are reasonable, and service is super fast and efficient. Love it. read more

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First time eating dim sum here when we're visiting san fran chinatown. It was crowded with the locals and most of them were elderly so I know it must be a good spot. The parents approved so it's a solid dim sum place! They wanted to come back the 2nd time lol. Will come back again when I'm in town! read more

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Came here for weekday dim sum- our server was attentive and friendly. The food performed as expected and I like the chow fun with crispy grass carp fillet. Both The herbal soup style and dry chicken feet were ok but I like the soup one more. The other ones that we ordered don't deserve a shout out here. Will return for other dishes read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

For a family style meal, I really enjoyed this restaurant. The roast duck was so juicy and flavorful. Service was great, and k really enjoyed the house blend of tea given to us when we were seated. read more

It was a Kung Pao Christmas, festive and fun. Full of Chinatown charm and lots of dim sum. Families and folks from all faiths and origins -- tourists and locals alike -- came for the noodles and stayed for the cheer, washing it down with Tsing Tao beer. ‍ Cashew chicken was tasty and fresh and the scallops ensconced in shrimp paste were intense. I would recommend for sharing with the table, rather than as a single entree. Shrimp and cilantro dumplings (not pictured) weee zesty and moist. Service was a little slow and disjointed due to the Christmas holiday, but servers were doing their best to deal with the rush. Ambiance was family oriented and bustling, with an upscale casual decor - there were tablecloths and the waiters wore smart green jackets. This place is fun and friendly and a good go-to for satisfying your craving for dim sum. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - 60. Chicken with Cashew Nuts - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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We had a party of 9 with 4 children under the age of 11. We didn't have to wait too long on a Sunday after 11:00 a.m. for a large table. The dim sum and the chicken and fried rice dishes were delicious!!! Some of the best Dim Sum we've ever had. The kids liked trying the different dim sum and chose their favorites. The staff were nice and helpful. The bathrooms were clean. It was a nice day trip for our family and the kids will remember this trip and the food for a long time. read more

SOLID CHINESE JOINT. Hands down the best I've had in San Francisco so far. I was beyond pleased with my family dinner on Friday night. Will defenitly be coming by when I am in town. Made reservations for 5:30pm on a Friday and surprisingly, it wasn't very busy at all. We we were immediately seated and served some really good hot tea. Menu was very extensive and had just about a little bit of everything you would find in chinese cuisine. Prices and portions were very good. Every plate we had was served family style. We started off with a couple appetizers and ordered the veggie fried egg rolls and the pork/veggie gyozas and they were both so good! Would have to rate both a solid 9 out of 10. The chow mein was amazing, would have to rate that dish a solid 8.5 out of 10. Mongolian beef was another star with a solid rating of 8.5 out if 10. The honey walnut prawns and the fried rice were a little disappointing and needed more flavor in our opinion and would have to rate those dishes a 6 out of 10. Again, this place was still very good and would rate them an overall solid 8 out of 10 as a whole. On your way in, take a peak at what's hanging outside their door. You will find pictures of former President Obama from a previous visit there. You know this place is legit if you got presidents stopping by. Make sure to consider them if your craving some chinese food. You won't regret choosing them. read more

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Great Eastern is a classic dim sum restaurant in Chinatown. We were a large group, which was great since we got to try so many dishes. The plentiful pictures on the menu were also so helpful since none of us spoke Chinese. In general I love shrimp dishes, and I can happily say the Shrimp Dumplings and the Rice Noodle Rolls Stuffed with Shrimp were delicious. Some of my other favorites during our meal were the Steamed Shanghai Pork Dumplings/soup dumplings and the Roast Duck. The staff here were very kind and patient as we figured out our order. It can be hard to nail down a server sometimes but don't give up! I would only come here though if you have a very flexible day since the crowds and serving time can be unpredictable. Overall, this was a great visit! read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Mid The restaurant is a typical Chinese restaurant. Pretty architecture, sticky floors, and all the likes to the traditional Chinese restaurant. The service was A1 and they people were very attentive. The food was a little underwhelming as the food was either too bland or too salty. Not bad if you want "Chinese food", but this isn't the traditional Hong Kong food we were looking for. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Best fried shrimp paste in Chinatown, everything else was good but fell short of exceptional. The service is hit or miss but that's pretty normal in Chinatown. The decor is pleasant and spacious considering the location. read more

We ordered lots of different dishes. The food didn't come all together but rather dish by dish. If you prefer all together, tell them. The shrimp and chicken noodles were not flavorful. They lacked something. Turnip cake was good. Stuffed eggplant was good but it was swimming in oil. Shrimp and cilantro dumplings were good. Steamed garlic pork lacked flavor. Chicken claws(feet) were delicious. Good flavor. We usually order more to bring home, but this place didn't meet the general standard for dim sum in San Francisco. Unfortunate. read more

We have been on a quest to find a new Peking duck place after our favorite one stopped taking DoorDash orders for duck. And i think we finally have found our place! When I arrived, the place was packed with Chinese people, which is a good sign. The duck was smaller than I'm used to, but it's in part because they go through the trouble of deboning everything for you so that you can just place the duck in the buns and eat! The duck was very juicy and tasty, the skin perfectly crispy. No fat on the duck. The duck buns were pillowy soft and complemented the duck perfectly. It came with hoisin and green onions. Definitely a treat on the way to our dr appt. We will be back, maybe next time to even try some of their dim sum. read more

This restaurant has been on my list to visit for a LONG time, it just happened to be close by and we had time to scope out for a dim sum spot to eat brunch at. Food here is great especially the har gow and siu mai along with the ham sui gok! It was light and crispy being perfectly fried (meaning clean oil) which was a plus in my book. Waiting for a table was not too bad however it was a bit hard to get attention from the staff for a menu to order our food and the wait was even longer for the food to start coming out to our table. If I didn't know how to speak Cantonese then the service would have been more troublesome. Regardless, the experience was decent and I would come here again to eat. Con was the cleanliness of the restrooms downstairs because it literally smells like a public restrooms on the streets of SF! Big no no to using the restroom there, I would rather go elsewhere to use the potty. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Food was extremely mediocre, especially for the price. The server was rude, didn't care at all. He thought we were done and almost took out menus when we had only been seated 10 minutes prior. He clearly did not like us. Also, an automatic tip was applied which is just BS. I fought it and got him out less, should have put zero. Don't go here. read more

Here's a polished version: --- A colleague recommended this spot, which gained fame when Obama dined here as President. The dim sum was excellent, with a wide variety to choose from, but the roasted duck was the true highlight of our meal. The restaurant has an old, authentic Chinese vibe--nothing fancy, just simple, honest, and delicious food. read more

Not only do they apply an automatic tip that they do not inform you about, the food was very mediocre at best. The worst of it was the service was just absolutely awful. The server had come up to mine and my husband's table and took our menus away and had said we were finished? We politely told him no we just sat down and his entire demeanor had changed almost as if he could not be bothered by us. I am sorry I am not the Obamas themselves but it was just an awful experience and I just did not feel like I should not be eating there. If you have any color at all in your skin please do yourself a favor and just don't bother because I left more upset than I came in. read more

Food and service were okay. Staff was mixed -- the man in the red apron was very attentive, but the guy in the suit was dishonest about the restroom key, telling my elderly mother someone had it when no one was there. It felt like he just didn't want her to use the nearby restroom, forcing her to go downstairs instead. Not acceptable, especially for elderly or disabled guests. This place needs to be more accommodating and respectful toward those with mobility needs. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Dishonest man. - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Very average. We were sat in the back corner of the restaurant after we spent the day at the Autumn Moon festival. Service was very poor overall. The roast duck we ordered came out fridge cold and when we told a server it's cold, he just said yes it's cold. Then we asked our server and our server went and warmed up the food. Very bad service. I would not go back. read more

The food was good but not to great of service. We got there and had 30 mins wait. We sat down and it would take forever for someone to wait on us. We ordered and we would run out of water or our beverage and would have to wait a few minutes to be waited or refills. The ambiance was so loud. I was needing to talk loud so we could have a conversation. I would pick up food next time because it is good but thats it. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

I ordered the Steamed Crab Meat Dumpling expecting, well... crab. What I got instead was a plain pork dumpling with no trace of crab flavor, texture, or even aroma. Just pork in a foil cup. I've had crab dumplings at plenty of other dim sum restaurants, and this was nothing like it -- not even close. To double check, I asked the waiter if this was the right dish, and he confirmed yes, this is the crab dumpling. So either this restaurant's idea of "crab" is wildly inaccurate, or they're just mislabeling dishes. Neither is acceptable. This experience felt misleading and disappointing. If you're coming here for dim sum with any expectation of authentic ingredients or transparency, you might want to look elsewhere. read more

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Great place for authentic dim sum! My friend and I are visiting from out of state and we wanted authentic dim sum while in SF. This place did not disappoint! We ordered a wide variety of food and shared it all! Great portion sizes and great flavor! The staff was quick and attentive. We both loved the seasoning and flavor from the green beans! The steamed pork dumplings are always a hit and so were the pan fried dumplings. The chicken dumplings in broth were ok. The broth was great but the dumplings could have been better. Over all it was great and I'm excited to go back! read more

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Great Eastern Restaurant is my to go for dim sum when in Chinatown. The service here is always good no matter how busy they are. Ordering dim sum is done by submitting a paper menu with the items you want versus ordering from a cart full of dim sum. Everything is delicious and keeps me coming back. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - soup dumpling - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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#1 dim sum in Chinatown area I'm went there most of the time Price is good great for family too read more

Finding a good dine-in dim sum restaurant proved to be a bit challenging, as most of the top reviews were for take-out spots. We decided to try Great Eastern Restaurant based on the reviews. We arrived on a Saturday around 11:20 AM, and while the place was packed, we only had to wait about 10 minutes before being seated. Arriving later could/will result in a longer wait. Once seated, we ordered drinks and ordered our dim sum from a paper menu, which we handed to our waiter. Our dishes started arriving within 10 minutes, all of them fresh and served hot. The portion sizes were typical, and everything tasted quite good. The atmosphere was lively and bustling, with many large groups dining. The restaurant is large offering seating on both the main floor and downstairs. Overall, the service was attentive, and we left satisfied. We're happy to have found a new go-to spot in SF Chinatown. read more

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Growing up in the Bay Area, my family and I frequented some dim sum restaurants in Chinatown. As an adult, it's been fun to go back to these and try out "new to me" places, like Great Eastern Restaurant. I mean, Obama's picture with some restaurant workers helps too. Anyways, my party of 4 arrived on a Monday around 12:30 and were immediately seated in the main dining area. We were surprised that most tables were also filled, and there was a mix of patrons relaxing and those passing by for a quick meal before walking around the city. Food ordered: 1. Shrimp Dumplings: 5/5 This was my star of the meal! The shrimp filling was delicious, but most surprisingly, the dumpling stays in tact as you eat it. You get to enjoy the dumpling instead of fidgeting around to get the filling and some wrap if you eat your dumplings in two bites like me. Because shrimp dumplings, aka crystal dumplings are made of a "hard" starch like tapioca or rice flour to give it it's transparent sheen, it's hard to get it right. Great Eastern got it right. 2. Sautéed Green Beans with XO Sauce: 5/5 Okay, this dish was a very close second place. We usually order green beans if we need a veggie, so we had to get this after a morning of walking. I love XO sauce, but I don't think some of my party did. So for those unfamiliar, it's a dried seafood (usually dried scallop) sauce that's used in Chinese cooking to add umami and salty flavor. Very delicious with any veggie, and this was no exception. Yum. 3. Steamed Chicken Claws: 4.5/5 Steamed Chicken Feet were my favorite after my second experience with them when I was young. Once you get over the texture, you can experience the flavor, and I think that's what is so special about this dish. My partner and I loved Great Eastern's Chicken Claws, but our friends were trying it for the first time and could not finish (texture) so I have to give it -.5 because it's not everyone's favorite upon first tasting. The flavor was delicious and not overly salty which some places' versions can be. 4. Steamed Pork Bun: 4.5/5 This is a steamed BBQ pork bun, so it is more on the sweeter side than it is salty. The bread was fluffy and the filling was good. Solid good bun. 5. Turnip Cake: 4.5/5 My party and I enjoyed the turnip cake. It was a little weird that there is no sauce drizzled on top upon serving, but we just added some soy sauce from the table condiment tray. The turnip cake had a little less turnip and more starch than I would deem a perfect turnip cake, but it was delicious nevertheless. 6. Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf: 4/5 If I am extra hungry going into dim sum, this is my go-to dim sum dish. The sticky rice steamed in the lotus leaf gives the rice a slight refreshing yet warm herbal/licorice taste, and compliments the savory Chinese sausage and pork beautifully. This was a little clunky since there was a sausage piece and a pork chunk, and then the rice surrounding it, so you couldn't really get the meat flavor with the rice without explicitly trying to do so. 7. Rice Noodle Rolls stuffed with Beef: 4/5 I'm not usually a rice rolls gal, but if I do, I will order the beef one. I've learned over the years, that this always has the most flavor, as the filling usually also has cilantro. So, if you are not a cilantro fan, this is NOT for you. The other contender would be shrimp rice rolls which we also got and review is below. 8. Rice Noodle Rolls stuffed with Shrimp: 3/5 Rice Rolls are fine with shrimp and if you are trying to be healthier, I think this is the rice roll for you. I'm personally not a fan of the shrimp falling out of the rolls and having to play tag with my rice roll and shrimp pieces. But, it's a solid choice and I have my shrimp moments. 9. Deep Fried Taro Turnover with Minced Meat: 2.5/5 This is essentially steamed taro paste with minced meat and fried. I like to get this as a dessert, as most dim sum places make the taro paste a little sweet. Great Eastern's fried taro turnover is not sweet. It was not bad, just not what I expected, and I prefer a sweeter paste to balance the saltier meat filling. Overall, my experience was pleasant and I walked out with some new dim sum favorites. The Shrimp Dumplings and Green Beans with XO Sauce were unanimous favorites but lots of the dim sum dishes were delicious. read more

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Beware: they automatically adds tips!!! WITHOUT NOTICE on the menu or anything. Wouldn't mind paying tips if they had good or decent customer service, but they don't. Wanted to order second round, waiter never came to even give us a pencil to order. When we asked why was tip was auto added, their answer was that they add 15% before the tax amount & 18% after tax onto the total, which that doesn't make sense because that becomes different total amounts. But overall, I think they're pretty scamming for not telling customers so that customers could double tip them... would not recommend. read more

Located on a busy street in Chinatown crowded with Chinese restaurants serving all sorts of traditional food, from dim sum to Szechuan, Great Eastern Restaurant is an establishment with classic lazy Susan tables and familiar dim-sum-house decorations, with plenty of seating both upstairs and downstairs (though downstairs wasn't open when we went). It was busy when we walked in on a Friday night at around 7:30pm (upon recommendation from a Chinese friend who had said that even Obama had come here), but my party of two was able to get a table right away. It's an eclectic mix of Americans ordering the more classic Chinese-American dishes (such as fried rice and chow mein) and Chinese locals seeking more traditional fare - there's truly dishes for everyone here! Service is neither overly friendly nor fast, but we ordered within 15 minutes of being seated, and were provided free watered-down tea. The bathrooms are located downstairs, and aren't the cleanest, but are functional. We ordered the 42. Roast Duck & BBQ Pork with Jellyfish ($21.50) and the 81. Oxtail Stew with Red Wine in Clay Pot ($21.50), which was plenty of food for both of us! The roast duck is tender and juicy, though the skin wasn't as crispy as we'd like, and there were some more gristly pieces that we couldn't eat. The BBQ Pork is plump without being overly fatty, and it's seasoned with a sweet, savory marinade - some of the best we've had! The jellyfish was also a pleasant surprise, reminding us of tripe crossed with noodles, although it was quite salty. We felt that the meat was very generously portioned for the price! The oxtail was melt-in-your mouth tender, bathed in a sweet, thick, red-wine sauce, almost reminiscent of a boeuf bourguignon. There's a lot of extra fat on each bone that we didn't eat, but some people do. The carrots were sweet, but we felt they got overly mushy in the sauce. The green onions were a nice addition to the dish! We asked for the check, and our server brought it out along with some free fortune cookies. $47 without tip is pretty good for a generous portion of meat for two in the Bay Area! However, it did take our server over 15 minutes to come back with our credit card, as the restaurant was quite busy and appeared to be understaffed as well. Disregarding the slower service, Great Eastern Restaurant serves tasty food (ranging from Americanized-Chinese to authentic dishes) at reasonable prices - I'd definitely return in the future (and perhaps witness another Obama sighting?)! read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - 81. Oxtail Stew with Red Wine in Clay Pot ($21.50) - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Amazing dim sum and service was quite impeccable. If I had 5 more stomachs I would have loved to try out all they had to offer. We did not get to try the rest of their menu but I would have loved to try their non dim sum variety. All the dim sum we did try was really fresh and it was brought to us in a timely manner. Our faves were the red bean sesame balls as well as the dumpling with the clear broth. It reminded me of a matza ball soup but asian style. Quite tasty and I honestly would have drank a trough of the soup. So delicious! The tea and warm sake were also lovely. Come this place a go. Well worth your time if you have an appetite. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Inhaled it all! #dimsum - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

The food is pretty good but not outstanding. For the price, I thought the portions were going to be bigger. We got egg drop soup, beef chow mein, and sautéed shrimp and vegetables. Personally I added a little more salt and pepper to each dish to make it more enjoyable. The service was great; everything came out efficiently and our waiters were very nice. They even had the courtesy to point out the included gratuity so we didn't double tip. read more