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    Hunan Empire

    3.9 (196 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Order Hunan Empire Takeout or Delivery

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    Business Info

    HUNAN EMPIRE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Quiet
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Lunch for 4
    Lorissa W.

    I was curious about this Chinese restaurant as it is across the street from my favorite SF restaurant, Wildseed. The restaurant is inside a large office building that also has a garage (3 dollars per 30 minutes). It is very convenient. I took my mother and brother to the SF Botanical garden and came here afterwards for lunch. I noticed that the restaurant is very dark and looks extremely old as if it's from the 80's and time was frozen. I have to admit the ambiance is depressing. It's the ugliest Chinese restaurant I have ever been to. Lots of construction workers and office workers come here for lunch (all men). The staff looks like a large family. The service was very clumsy. A young man gives us the menus and when I told him I already knew what I wanted, he looked confused. The owner was told that I had looked at their website beforehand so he came out to get my order. I don't know why no one else could take my order except the owner. The others stood around in the back of the restaurant. Their website mentioned free vegetable chow mein with a 40 dollar purchase and since our meal was 75 dollars, I inquired about this. The owner explained the free chow mein was only for dinner time. I ordered 4 dishes. We had beef chow fun, large size wor wontons to share, dry cooked green beans, and shrimp with broccoli. The chow fun was authentic and was good but not great. The beef was tasteless and cut very small. The broccoli had a beautiful green color but soft and mushy. In fact, everything was soft enough to be on the menu of a nursing home. The shrimp was on point (succulent and not overcooked). The dry cooked green beans had a cloying hot sauce that tasted like cheap bottled sauce. I wish they would use fresh chiles to add spice. They didn't bring out my mother's rice even after all the dishes came out and I had to remind them. The food was pretty good, the restaurant is ugly, the service inconsistent and strange, and the portion sizes were average. We probably won't return.

    11. Broccoli with Chicken over Noodles
    Sharon B.

    Hunan Empire has one of the best lunch specials I've seen in SF! They have a bunch of meat+rice/noodle combos with soup for $11. The portions sizes are pretty reasonable, I even had a bit leftover. The service was very curt but efficient, similar to what you would expect from a classic takeout spot. The ambiance is nothing special either. But it's rare to find a good cheap eats spot in SF (especially in Marina) and Hunan Empire did a great job for the price you pay. Similar meals would be double the price or more at other restaurants. Will definitely be back!

    Sign
    Marissa R.

    Best orange chicken; dumplings are tasty and large; mu shu pork was delicious. Service was excellent.

    1. Mongolian Beef
    Jillian S.

    Shocked by the good reviews. The only thing that was averagely good was the bbq pork fried rice. Mongolian beef didn't even look like beef let alone Mongolian beef (pic attached). Hot and sour soup was weirdly sweet like dropped sweet and sour sauce in it. Pork dumplings tasted like chicken. Seems expensive for the quality of food. Maybe something fried that is hard to mess up like Orange chicken could be good... wouldn't go back.

    Daily soup
    Shannon W.

    I love it, reminds me of a dining hall (NICE ONE) at a college campus because they serve quick, hot food, and lunch hour specials are from 11:30 -3:30pm (correct my hours if they're wrong pls). The restaurant sits inner in the building, and you can find refuge away from the cars and business of cow hollow. I think my hunan beef had enough kick for me to feel this has Wok hei google:"translated into English means 'wok thermal radiation' or, metaphorically, the 'breath of the wok.' The menu is very reasonably priced because dishes are categorized by the protein you want, they can do so because the main ingredient is the same just depends what sauce you want it stir fried in. I suggest you change out regular rice to the fried rice, worth it. Another way this place makes me nostalgic because they have unlimited tea to wash down the msg!

    Set up my own plate!
    Claire C.

    Officially my go-to Chinese place in the Marina. With so many fancy, expensive, modern/fusion restaurants in the area, sometimes what you need is the authentic, cozy home-cooked vibe. Large portion sizes, beyond reasonable prices, and considerate staff. I've had a great experience every time I've been!

    Wor Wonton Soup ! All there soups are amazing but this one is my fav ! It has shrimp , chicken, beef and bbq pork so good .
    Catalina D.

    Love most all of the dishes but they're Wor Wonton soup is so good has shrimp chicken beef and barbecue pork lots of vegetables great broth just love it! Everything is so fresh and the owners are so nice my go to for good Chinese food!

    Inside

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    2 months ago

    My favorite place to grab lunch. Very delicious cuisine, and perfect for family orders.

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    1 year ago

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    8 months ago

    Great hot and sour. No delivery Fer with minimum Prompt delivery. Veggie items spicy items available

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    2 years ago

    Honestly my bf's and I favorite Chinese restaurant. Such yummy food and friendly staff. We love to dine in at least once a month. 5 stars!!!

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Affordable lunch specials! Yummy food for the marina area and very friendly staff! Super fast too.

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    2 years ago

    Great service and cheap lunch menu! Huge plates of not super greasy Chinese food with a great taste.

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Lovely atmosphere, wonderful service and very mediocre food. There's too many good restaurants in the City to settle.

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    Page 1 of 5

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    Popi's Oysterette - oysters

    Popi's Oysterette

    4.2(235 reviews)
    0.4 miMarina/Cow Hollow
    $$$

    Absolutely fantastic food -- cooked to order with care right in front of you. Fun, casual ambiance…read more We had the albacore tostada special (fantastic), shrimp cocktail (delicious homemade spicy cocktail sauce), and clam chowder (had twice now -- our favorite anywhere). We'll be back to keep working thru the menu because everything the kitchen turned out looked delicious.

    I'm actually very displeased with this establishment. I came here for the Chase Sapphire Preferred…read moreX Infatuation promotion (Spend $150 at a participating restaurant and get $75 credit back). Given the price point, I probably would not have come here, had it not been for this promotion. For 3 people, we ended up spending ~$130 and I tipped the rest to hit the $150 minimum in order to get the credit back. However, the restaurant put 149.04 as the grand total after tip. Why? I have absolutely no idea. Why would they short themselves of a bigger tip? Either way, I didn't end up getting the credit back from Chase because I needed the merchant to send me a copy of the receipt (the one that I KNOW I wrote $150 on) Lo and behold, this restaurant does not accept phone calls and they do not respond to their emails. On top of that, the food is not great either. Nothing here impressed me. They ran out of clam chowder, which I was most excited for, by the time I was seated. Their outdoor seating is practically in the middle of the sidewalk. The burger was so so lame. I really have no good things to say.

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    Fog Harbor Fish House

    Fog Harbor Fish House

    4.4(12.8k reviews)
    1.5 miFisherman's Wharf, North Beach/Telegraph Hill
    $$
    Family-owned & operated
    Full bar

    THE MUSSEL FRIES!!! Our table ordered them last December, and five months later I haven't been able…read moreto stop thinking about them. Bathed in aioli and fennel cream, they were worth the wait. This is the third time our group has been to Fog Harbor Fish House, and we've always had delicious food and a great experience. Our server this time was Triana, and her attentiveness and genuine warmth made my birthday celebration extra special, along with the complementary birthday dessert.

    Garlic Roasted Whole Dungeness Crab is the thing to get at Fog Harbor Fish House; reasonably priced…read moreat $58, each meaty, garlicky piece was so good dipped in clarified butter. My bf ended up sharing his order with me because I didn't enjoy my Cioppino ($42.) The seafood was bland, all tasting very much alike, & the broth didn't give off that complex spicy tang that my favorite cioppinos possess. My table started with an appetizer of Red Chili Garlic Shrimp ($18) -- from the description, we were expecting a dry, possibly sautéed preparation & were disappointed that the shrimp were sitting in a watery broth. Though I was letdown by my picks here, I know my group enjoyed theirs. We were treated very well by our waiter & by the host who gave us a beautiful window seat; we enjoyed the view of the sun setting over the bay. Not a restaurant I'd regularly return to, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it (with a few caveats, of course) to someone looking for a sit-down Pier 39 meal.

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    Fog Harbor Fish House - Fresh Local Dungeness Crab

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    Causwells - Americana Burger

    Causwells

    4.1(1.2k reviews)
    0.6 miMarina/Cow Hollow
    $$

    The Marina/cow hollow area in SF, gives off small college town vibes!…read more The streets are lined with a variety of different restaurants, shops, and so many places to explore. Causwells is one of the restaurants definitely worth exploring. First off, everyone on staff is so incredibly kind, generous, and welcoming, you'll never want to leave. There is a small bar area immediately to your left when you walk into this intimate feeling Restaurant. The bartender makes you feel like you're walking into chairs. Yes he's busy, but he acknowledges customers walking in. Very cool! We were immediately seated, and while the tables are on the smaller side and fairly close to one another, it's still created a very cozy experience. They have a nice menu that with a variety of items. The people seated next to us were enjoying the salmon and it looked absolutely delicious. We went for the burgers, because it's one of their must try items on the menu. It's a Smashburger with gooey cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and this delicious deliciously soft tasty bun. Diners tip: the burger comes with onions, and we both asked for them to be grilled. This is definitely the way to go. The burger is very generous in size, snd delicious. Perfectly seasoned, well-made, and it is that taste sensation that we all crave when eating a burger. The fries were tasty and lightly seasoned, and if you can get through the entire burger and the fries, you get a gold star. I did my usual two bites and I was done and yes, I took the rest home with me. This is a great restaurant and definitely should be on your list of places to try!

    Excellent people-watching seating outside in a well covered parklet. We stopped by just before 5pm…read moreon a Tuesday and were easily seated. Empty inside, but patio seating filled in. Have a small happy hour 3-5pm. Pros: - Food is decent. Burger was a strong 4/5 (though i asked for my onions grilled, and they were sadly raw and difficult to pull off). Salad with sunchokes and citrus was a nice bit of roughage, nice bitterness in the lettuces. - Banana bread 'grilled cheese' is an epiphany. Must try. - Cocktails were fun & IGworthy. - Vibes & location feel so perfect on a sunny afternoon. Cons: - 1 bathroom stall, can only imagine how rough this gets when during a busy dinner service. - Service was friendly, but often multiple asks for the same item, and long waits between check ins. Overall, a decent spot in an area flush with choice. Probably more of a 3.5 than a 4, but well round up here!

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    Causwells - Ube eggnog

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    Hunan Empire - chinese - Updated May 2026

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