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    Lai Lai Restaurant

    3.8 (510 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 2 weeks ago

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    LAI LAI RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Eggplant With Tofu & Basil / 茄子豆腐
    Maggie W.

    I had a wonderful time dining at Lai Lai with my boyfriend after arriving at SFO. The eggplant with tofu and basil was such a delicious dish, the savory glaze paired with the basil helped bring out a very umami flavor in the eggplant and tofu (which soaked it all up!). The orange chicken was also delicious, the breading was yummy and crisp. The white rice here is perfectly fluffy and comes in a decent portion for one. The hot and sour soup was enjoyable! I wouldn't say that this was a standout dish, but it did come loaded up with delicious toppings. The bamboo shoots and tofu were plentiful! The service here is also very quick, I wish the owners continued success.

    Luncheon menu
    Arron P.

    Came here for dinner and was satisfied. This return visit had friendly service and quiet interior. The food was delicious and old school Chinese. I recommend and will eat here again.

    Veggie Chow Mein / 素炒麵
    Mireya M.

    Came here with my mom after landing in SFO. I absolutely loved the service here, they were just so prompt and checked in frequently about needing anything. The food itself was absolutely delicious, it gives classic home made Chinese food. We ordered the egg rolls (deliciously crispy), green beans (bomb), honey walnut prawn (perfectly made), veggie chow mein. Everything was wonderful. It's such a mom and pop spot which makes it very cozy inside the restaurant. Love it so much and can't wait to come back!!! (:

    Salt and Pepper Fillet of Fish
    Valerie P.

    This was recommended by my family to try. It was my first time, and it was amazing! The restaurant itself was very quaint and cozy. Gary provided great service and served us with a smile. We had the corn soup, lemon chicken, salt and pepper fish, and walnut prawns. Everything we had was delicious. The workers made sure our waters were always filled and that we had enough tea during our meal. I would definitely go here again!

    Walnut Prawns
    Farrah F.

    It's an old outdated restaurant but the service was great and the food we ordered was very flavorful and delicious for the price and the portion it was worth it for me.

    Wonton Won Ton Soup (Whole, 32 oz) / 雲吞湯

    1st time order from the restaurant. Almost $16 for the wonton soup. Only 8 small pieces wonton with a plain soup( you can taste the soup is the water they cook the noodles ) With tax and tips it's gonna be $20. Regardless their price. The wonton didn't taste good either. Not like the original wonton. You only taste the ginger flavor inside. With such price and the quality of the food. I won't come back.

    And gonna lie a little, bummed out that they sold out of egg foo young but next time I got to come earlier as it was 30 mins before closing
    Teddy S.

    Best egg foo young I had in a while Very friendly staff looking forward to trying more

    Spring roll, noodles, fried rice and sweet and sour pork.
    grace m.

    I had lunch there earlier today. The staff were amiable and the service was prompt. I ordered the lunch menu spring roll, noodles, fried rice and sweet sour pork and pork bun. ; I was unable to finish the entire meal due to the generous portion sizes. I enjoyed the food and took the leftovers home for my husband, who also appreciated the meal. The pricing is fair and accessible. I strongly recommend that friends and family consider trying this establishment.

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    1 month ago

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    14 days ago

    The food is OK, it used to be good but the owners seem to be greedy. They don't give enough food to go very limited. Their service is good.

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    7 months ago

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    7 days ago

    Food was horrible. Service was not great, I found bugs there. I would never eat there again. Disgusting!!

    Business owner information

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    Gary L.

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    11 months ago

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    2 months ago

    Best Chinese restaurant in town. Highly recommended. Great service. Friendly atmosphere.

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    Page 1 of 13

    Lai Lai Restaurant Reviews in Other Languages

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    Ben Tre Vietnamese Homestyle Cuisine - Pho dac biet

    Ben Tre Vietnamese Homestyle Cuisine

    3.8(1.2k reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $$

    Always a great stop for a quick bite of pho when you're in the area. I always get their bun rieu,…read moredac biet, or five spice chicken. For appetizers I normally get their beef carpaccio or spring rolls. For drinks I always get their thai tea! Food is always consistent, it's pretty much what you would expect for a vietnamese spot. Nothing too special but never disappoints. Usually pretty busy and packed but usually seats you right away. They have lots of tables inside and it's pretty spacious. It's a great place for gatherings or group meals. Service always on point too. Food comes out super quick, and theres always servers walking around if you need anything.

    Nice decent side portions! Beef carpaccio was very flavorful and refreshing. Growing up in SJ…read morethough, the hu tieu dry noodle was a little disappointing since you could tell the idea was there, but the execution was a bit lacking. The ingredients are not true to the recipe and were substituted with several things that altered the overall taste. The noodles and sauce were decent but not enough to redeem the dish in my opinion. Like the other locations, the interior remains very similar and the staff like most Vietnamese places were half run by Hispanics. Since it's located along el Camino real, parking can be tricky unless you circle to the back and park along the street.

    Photos
    Ben Tre Vietnamese Homestyle Cuisine - Interior

    Interior

    Ben Tre Vietnamese Homestyle Cuisine - 11. Nem Nuong (Grilled Pork Meatball)

    11. Nem Nuong (Grilled Pork Meatball)

    Ben Tre Vietnamese Homestyle Cuisine - 29. Bun Rieu (Tomato Crab & Pork Vermicelli Soup)

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    29. Bun Rieu (Tomato Crab & Pork Vermicelli Soup)

    Rice Monster - Grilled Unagi Rice Monster

    Rice Monster

    3.9(62 reviews)
    0.4 mi

    I agree with the other commenters that this restaurant seems to have some consistency issues…read more Ordered the pork ribs clay pot rice and added lap cheung to it. The first thing I noticed was that there was really not many pieces of ribs, maybe they made the ribs portion smaller to make room for the lap cheung I ordered? The dish description also says that it includes taro, but I didn't have a single piece of taro in my pot. Strangely, although this place seems to share a kitchen with Social Eatery, the rice was cooked much more poorly here, which is obviously a shame for a place specializing in clay pot rice. It seems like the rice had too much water added, so it was a bit overcooked - you couldn't feel the "single grain" mouthfeel texture you should expect from well-cooked, high quality rice. Since the rice was too mushy, it obviously didn't crisp well either. Though it had some small amount of bits stuck to the edges of the metal (not clay!) pot, it was definitely not the super crispy, well browned "faan ziu" I expect, and not at all like the pictures featured in some earlier reviews of this restaurant.

    Rice Monster used to be a go-to for claypot, because they were consistently flavorful, generous…read morewith meat, and worth the price. I also appreciate how thoughtfully they pack their claypot meals to go, which used to make ordering delivery feel like a safe bet. Unfortunately, the quality has really fallen off. The first few times I ordered, the bowls were packed with flavor and protein. This most recent delivery was a huge disappointment where the food had a laughably small amount of meat and mostly dry, bland rice. For what they charge, it felt like a total rip-off. Sad to see such a solid spot become so hit-or-miss, because the claypots used to be genuinely great.

    Photos
    Rice Monster
    Rice Monster - To-Go: Unagi Sizzling Rice Bowl

    To-Go: Unagi Sizzling Rice Bowl

    Rice Monster - Grapeholic - Mango Pomelo Sago with Tea Jelly

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    Grapeholic - Mango Pomelo Sago with Tea Jelly

    PPQ Dungeness Island - Millbrae - Indoor dining is back!!

    PPQ Dungeness Island - Millbrae

    3.9(491 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $$

    This is the perfect spot to grab solid Vietnamese-Chinese seafood right by SFO. Definitely come…read morehere with friends, order as much seafood as your heart desires, and prepare to get messy in the best way possible because everything absolutely slaps. The menu has so many great seafood options, especially if you're a crab lover. They offer a variety of different crab flavors, so there's a good chance you'll find one that fits your taste. The crab was flavorful, saucy, and so satisfying to dig into. They even give you bibs upon request, which honestly feels necessary if you're planning to go all in. The prawns were also a highlight. They were a decent size, cooked well, and perfectly seasoned. We also ordered the garlic noodles, which were great and exactly the kind of buttery, garlicky carb moment you want with seafood. The green beans were a nice addition too and helped balance out the meal with something fresh and veggie-forward. The only thing I'd probably skip next time would be the raw oysters which didn't taste as fresh. Their fried chicken was delicious though! Service was friendly, and the food came out quickly, which made the whole experience even better. Honestly, we couldn't have asked for a better casual seafood feast. It was so good that my husband and I actually came back two days later just to get the fried chicken and crab again. That pretty much says it all.

    Oh how PPQ used to be one of our favorite places to get fresh crab cooked different ways. Now it is…read morejust a restaurant that is overpriced and average. This location in Millbrae is big and good for large parties. Parking around dinner time is always challenging but we always find a spot using some patience and circling. Food is not as good as it used to be but some dishes are still solid. One example is the peppercorn crab, a family favorite through many years. The tiger prawns were overcooked and the grilled pork was tough to chew. For seven of us, we got the special for six and added a couple of extra dishes. Service was also subpar because PPQ no longer offers fried banana with ice-cream. Dessert is just Mitchell's ice-cream on cones. We heard the table next to us get asked what flavors they wanted. Our dessert came with two of each of the three flavors offered, coconut, green tea and mango. The other disappointment was the server/restaurant couldn't even bring themselves to just comp us one extra cone seeing there were seven of us. For the price we paid, there are plenty of other better restaurants on the peninsula to give our business to.

    Photos
    PPQ Dungeness Island - Millbrae - Charbroiled pork rolls

    Charbroiled pork rolls

    PPQ Dungeness Island - Millbrae - Veggie Rolls

    Veggie Rolls

    PPQ Dungeness Island - Millbrae - Salted Egg Tofu

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    Salted Egg Tofu

    Mingalaba - Mango salad. Pretty good.

    Mingalaba

    3.8(2.8k reviews)
    2.9 mi
    $$
    Established in 2008
    Locally owned & operated

    This was literally the most delicious of this kind of food I've ever had, and at rather reasonable…read moreprices! They have a lot of the same dishes you see at American 'Chinese' restaurants but it was cooked and spiced so well as to put it in a completely different category. I visited on a Friday night with my older parents. We were seated after just a few minutes, and the hostess was very courteous with updates. The coconut chicken soup was amazing, very creamy! Rainbow chicken was also very savory. I'd highly recommend the House Special Noodle. Noodles seemed to melt in your mouth, for lack of a better phrase. Just delicious. The staff and even the customers really went above and beyond in terms of courtesy and politeness, too. My mom had recently had a major surgery that required her to use a walker. Everyone was very helpful and kind.

    Check your bill carefully before adding a tip…read more We were a party of three having a regular lunch, and gratuity was automatically added to our bill. No one mentioned it to us. I have absolutely no issue with tipping. What I have an issue with is quietly adding gratuity to a three-person lunch bill without clearly telling the customer. Had I not carefully reviewed the bill, it would have been very easy to add another tip on top of the gratuity already charged. What makes this even stranger is that I have dined here with my husband before and this never happened. This time, without him, gratuity was added automatically. I don't know why we were treated differently, and I won't speculate about the reason--but the inconsistency made me extremely uncomfortable. If automatic gratuity for a party of three is Mingalaba's standard policy, it should be clearly disclosed and consistently applied. If it isn't, then I think customers deserve an explanation for why it was added to our bill. Ladies, especially--check your bill before you tip.

    Photos
    Mingalaba - Coconut soup

    Coconut soup

    Mingalaba - Mango Salad

    Mango Salad

    Mingalaba - Pumpkin Yellow Chicken

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    Pumpkin Yellow Chicken

    Quail + Crane - Yuzu panna cotta

    Quail + Crane

    4.4(120 reviews)
    0.8 mi

    Quail + Crane -- An Incredible Breakfast Experience…read more We stayed at the Hyatt SFO for a little staycation and received complimentary breakfast at Quail + Crane the following morning. I honestly wasn't expecting breakfast to become one of the highlights of our stay, but it absolutely did. First, the setting is beautiful. Sitting there enjoying breakfast with the gorgeous view immediately made the morning feel special. The freshly squeezed orange juice was fantastic, and I have to give an unexpected amount of praise to the fruit plate -- possibly the best fruit plate I've ever had. Everything was incredibly fresh, perfectly ripe, beautifully presented, and actually tasted as good as it looked. Then came breakfast! I ordered the Eggs Benedict with Dungeness crab, accompanied by potatoes and greens, and it was phenomenal. The eggs were beautifully prepared, there was a generous amount of crab, and everything worked perfectly together. My husband created his own omelette with bacon, ham, spinach and cheese, also with potatoes, and his meal was equally fantastic. Everything arrived fresh, hot and beautifully presented. But what really took our experience to another level was the service. Our waitress was the ONLY server working the entire room, which was completely full, and somehow she made us feel as though we were the only people in the restaurant. I genuinely don't know how she did it. She was attentive, warm, personable and never once made us feel rushed or forgotten. Watching her take care of an entire dining room while still providing that level of individual attention was impressive. She deserves tremendous recognition. We also had the pleasure of meeting Shawn, who I believe was a manager, and he embodied hospitality. He personally welcomed us, asked how our stay was going, whether we were enjoying our view and Club Level accommodations, and of course how we were enjoying the restaurant. It never felt like a scripted manager check-in. He was genuinely kind, professional and interested in our experience. That interaction stayed with us. We would happily return knowing Shawn was in the building because he made us feel that well taken care of. My only constructive feedback would be regarding our initial interaction with the host. The welcome felt noticeably less warm than the rest of our experience. We were asked to wait approximately 10 minutes despite several tables appearing to be available, and the interaction was fairly dry, without much of a greeting or smile. It wasn't a major issue, but because the hospitality from everyone else was so exceptional, the difference stood out. A warmer initial welcome would make the experience seamless from beginning to end. That said, once we were seated, Quail + Crane absolutely knocked it out of the park. Beautiful views, fantastic food, incredibly fresh ingredients and service that made an already wonderful staycation even more memorable. Shawn and our incredible waitress -- thank you. You are exactly what great hospitality looks like. We will absolutely be back.

    Unfortunately, this restaurant had gone downhill. The view is still very beautiful, and there is a…read moremajor premium for it. Seating is decent depending on where you get seated and how crowded the restaurant is. When we went this time, it was much more crowded and we got seated at a tight area where servers slid behind me and another seat that was less than a foot away rather than walking around to a wider area. Service was alright and food was served promptly. No top tier service despite the price being equivalent to our experience at the Rosewood on Sand Hill. If I am paying that much, at least have the staff be able to explain each dishes and the origin of the food. Lastly, the food was worse than before. The Chilean Sea Bass was slightly overcooked. The Pad Thai and Shrimp Fried Rice were okay, since they are hard to mess up. The dumpling soup was okay and it being in a bowl made of plastic felt a little off putting considering the price. The California Roll was very expensive despite not being anything special. The cheesecake dessert also got smaller than last time and they gave less fruits than before. The only dish that tasted great this time were the Aloha Island sushi rolls, which were $34 for 4 bites. Portions are also on the smaller side at this restaurant, and having to order extra food to be full when it is already expensive is not great when the food had gone downhill. I really wanted to like this place, but I guess not. Also the manager recently changed.

    Photos
    Quail + Crane - Spectacular art and light fixture

    Spectacular art and light fixture

    Quail + Crane - Solo dinner post Adverum Board SLT visit. SF, CA. 10/25

    Solo dinner post Adverum Board SLT visit. SF, CA. 10/25

    Quail + Crane - Cocktails

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    Cocktails

    Lai Lai Restaurant - chinese - Updated September 2026

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