Some of the best Cantonese food in the Bay Area can be found here. It's super affordable with Chinatown vibes, so it may not be very fun to eat in (or pick-up from), but the food is yummy if you order the right ones. They excel at chow fun, fried food, crispy skin poultry, fish fillet and oysters. My go-tos: * Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings - addictive. They half each wing so each piece has a single bone, making it easy to eat like a drumstick. The flavor needs improvement, but the batter is very addictive -- crispy, fluffy and crunchy (if ordered when the batter is fresh). * Stir-fry Fish Fillet with Broccoli - the menu lists this with mixed veggies, but I prefer this with regular broccoli. This used to be the best fish dish around. Super flavorful. They source the fish from a place that filets fresh sea bass, but that place had gone downhill and they often sub tilapia instead. * Shrimp with Scrambled Egg Chow Fun (wet) - the chow fun is silky smooth, wide in width, and slightly charred. None of that shriveled, dried-up fun you get elsewhere. * String Bean - crispy and deep-fried They also do these really well: * Salt and Pepper Live Crab - as good as R&B Lounge. Crispy batter and freshest tasting live crab with no pee smell. Good during crab season. * Roast Duck - very crispy skin. I find that dipping the meat in their sauce plus the pool of sauce on the plate makes this flavor better than Cheung Hing's. I love the roast duck from Cooking Papa (Santa Clara), but their skin is not crispy. * Crispy Skin Chicken - get the one that comes with two sauces; dipping is essential for best flavors. If you order anything Salt and Pepper style, come early evening because the batter deteriorates over time. There was a stretch after Covid when they cut costs and swap out some perfect ingredients with cheaper ones; and not add salt to some veggies perhaps for health benefits, but glad that most of that have been walked back. read more

I ordered food to go. I ordered the fried flounder and was told on the phone it's going to be about $30. Once I picked it up they told me it's weighs more and will cost $45. I won't be ordering fish anymore From here. I order the appetizer salt and pepper chicken wings. When I took a bite, there was only one bone with a little meat. Why would they remove the other bone to the chicken wing. This would be time consuming. The flavor was good but I strongly doubt it was chicken wing. What I believe they sold was pieces of chicken thighs left over from cutting off most Of the meat. If they are misbranding the food, the restaurant is misleading customers. I don't plan on returning. read more

Silver House - Salt and pepper chicken wings??? I don't think it wings. It only had one bone - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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I remember coming here for the sizzling fish filet with ginger and scallions. So glad they still see this dish. It's so good. Everything was good. I live in Hawaii and their Chinese food isn't as good as Bay Area Chinese food. It was nice to come and eat here before heading home back to Hawaii. So so delicious!! read more

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I have fallen in love with their mapo tofu lunch special. The tofu is the perfect texture of melt in your mouth.. and the mapo itself is flavorful and not too spicy. It's a standout dish IMO and the service is friendly. Bella is lovely and provides top notch service. Definitely added to the rotation for lunch! read more

Some of the best Chinese food I've had! Wonderful customer service here and they always give you big portions.

We ordered from here as our regular Chinese place was closed. I ordered a black bean sauce beef chow fun and the noodles were hard and not cooked through. read more

We have been coming here for years and the food is consistently good. Dishes come out pretty quick and there are many choices in the menu along with specials posted on the wall. read more

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Favorite chinese restaurant in San Mateo. Quick service, lots of seats, delicious food, with parking in the back. Been here over 4 times and the quality is consistent. So many choices on their menu, and the highlights for me are: - claypot eggplant dish (魚香茄子） - salt and pepper pork, its so crispy and tender - any clam dish, clams are HUGE Typical chinese restaurant ambiance, has english menu and chinese menu, so definitely well suited for any customers. Not loud, and can accommodate large groups. read more

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The American holidays are always a good time for Chinese restaurants, they are always open, provide lots of food at reasonable prices, and are abundantly located around the Peninsula. On a cold, dark, rainy night approaching New Year's Eve, when most restaurants are closed for holiday vacations, we found another jewel in the Cantonese food scene here in San Mateo. Silver House is a no-frills Chinese restaurant serving good Cantonese food 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The menu is fairly extensive, ranging from seafood, to poultry, to hot pots & clay pots, but our taste is more simple: basic stir fried noodles & braised tofu & vegetables. I've tried this combination at many Chinese restaurants around the area, and Silver House does a pretty good job at it too! Parking is tricky. There is no parking lot, you have to basically park on the El Camino, and hope that it isn't too far away from the front door. Inside, it is a clean, small-ish restaurant with seating for around 50 people, with a range of small, cozy intimate tables, to larger banquet type tables to accommodate larger parties. No reservations necessary, and not long of a wait from seating to serving, as the food comes out quickly & hot. Service is good from the men that work here, they are friendly, conversational, polite, and social. The women are more standoffish, reserved, cold, and less talkative. In general, the service is quick and the food came out in less than 10 minutes. The decor is nice, red lanterns everywhere, art on the walls, and flowers on every table. This restaurant was small, quaint, clean, and appealing to eat in at. Our table was comfortable and the waiter came back a few times to check up on us/refill our tea/and to have casual conversation. The food was good. Not overly greasy, not overly salty, it tasted fresh, clean, and authentic Cantonese. Portions were ample and the price was about the same as you'd expect from a casual Chinese restaurants around here in San Mateo. We got two dishes, tea, and some dessert for around $30 and with tip, we still made it out for under $40. Comfort food, Cantonese food, clean & cozy restaurant, courteous service, and Christmas time... all the perfect C's for Chinese food during the holidays. Will be back again as we will be adding this to our rotation for good Chinese food any time of the year! read more

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This resto has been around for a very long time, at least 30 years! Not sure if they have the same owner. Since I gave up meat for Lent I could only order vegetarian food. There is not much option under "vegetable" that qualifies as vegetarian dish. Fried tofu it is then. I feel that the salted/peppered tofu don't have enough saltiness but it was nice and crispy soft tofu. I sprinkled extra salt to correct the taste to my liking. The same with the chow mein, need a bit salt. I wonder if it's because I came here after a long hike that I need salt replacement. Hubby said the beef with snow peas tasted pretty good. At 3:30pm there are a few occupied tables, the servers are pretty efficient. Price is reasonable. Plan to come again once I can eat meat. read more

Silver House - Fried tofu, salt and pepper, beef with snow peas - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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The quality of the food has declined noticeably over time. Unfortunately, the customer service has also gotten worse. In particular, one of the female waitresses often seems angry and comes across as unfriendly, which makes the dining experience less enjoyable. read more

We got a set of $25 that came with a beef soup with egg drop, scallops, fried prawn, and chicken with ginger. We asked to substitute the fried rice that comes set with the fu king fried rice instead (on the menu, the price difference is $2). In the end they ended up charging $12 additional though the gentleman said it'd be $2 to $3 more. The portions are small for the set and the scallop dish didn't have any flavor. It is not worth it considering you can go across the street to Silver Lake and get better food and service. Was disappointed by this meal. The fu King and chicken ginger dish were yummy. Was all this worth $62? Absolutely not. Wish they explained that getting a different rice would be $12 more since we would have not gone that route. We were bummed out by that. Would probably not go back. read more

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Restaurant that survived gentrification. Food without sugar bomb, the right way. Real chow-fun not one of those noodles that are flat but cannot be called chowfun. Clay pot also delightfully coming literally sizzling. Nothing too fancy and that is exactly why it is great. read more

Silver House - Seafood Tofu in Claypot - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Drive a few circles before finding a parking space in front of the restaurant. Not the owner's fault tho. Saturday dinner was PACKED. Fortunately, the staff was fast and accommodating. Table ready in 10 minutes (waitress with Ming-Na haircut was always attentive and kind) Cherrystone Clams 4.5/5 $9.95/lb Fresh, steaming hot, and perfect flavor without being too salty. One was enough for two people. Some sand, but they're clams. What do you want? Spinach with garlic 4.5/5. $16 Big portion and good spinach and garlic flavor without being too oily or salty Pork belly with preserved vegetables 5/5 HuggggGGE slabs of decadent pork belly. It'll take a year off your life, but it's worth it. Largest pieces that I've seen in a long time YMMV Want to gate keep bc they have a great reputation already , but gotta be fair Ambiance was lively (terrific for families with kids) and prices were average for these days. I wasn't expecting much since the restaurants around Silver House were just ok. I was pleasantly surprised. Silver House is certainly a must go for this frequent Guangzhou foodie. read more

Good reliable food. I have very good sizzling rice soup. Better than most. Easy call ahead for pickup. read more

It's a no nonsense Chinese Cantonese cuisine restaurant where food is above average for the right prices. We just had four simple dishes to share for lunch... including 18% tips comes out to $22 per person. Singapore style fried rice noodles 3.5 rounded to 4* (Nothing special but just tastes good.) Silky eggs shrimp on wide rice noodles 3.5* (Eggs & shrimp are done well but would be nice if the wide rice noodles were pre-fried; quality of the rice noodles can be better quality; too soft & breaks easily) Combo seafood/meat with pan fried yellow noodles 4.5* (This is quite tasty especially the yellow noodles are crunchy & not thick) Garlic fried pea sprouts 3.5* (chef did a good job here, but maybe the pea sprouts are not in season) There's nothing to write home about for the decor... just simple & dated. Service is good. Responds quickly if needed extra spoons or forks, etc. It's a family style home cooking type of restaurant with good chef... Will be back if in the area. read more

It's over decade since my last visit. Food is still good. It's has your classic Mom & Pop, casual neighborhood stop on a larger scale. We ordered the ginger crab and the tender beef with Chinese broccoli. The ginger flavors were subtle and perfectly balanced--not overly salty--and everything tasted incredibly fresh. The service was good; we were greeted and served by a gentleman with a twinkle in his eye and a warm smile. With easy street parking right out front and on the side streets, it's definitely worth a return visit! read more

AMAZING FOOD, The service is exceptional ... we are treated royally. Recommend fully without hesitation. read more

Silver House - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

We are frequent patrons of Silver Lake across the street. This time we decided to give Silver House a try. Our mistake. We went for the $25/pp set that comes with beef tofu egg drop soup, fried pawns, chicken with scallion and ginger, scallops with peas, and shrimp fried rice. We asked to substitute the shrimp fried rice ($15) for the Fujian fried rice ($17) which was $2 more for the full-sized order according to the menu. The guy advised us that it would be a $2-3 extra charge for the substitution. We happily gave the go ahead. The soup, the chicken dish and the Fujian fried rice were delicious. However the portion quantity other than the rice was laughable. The bill came out to $25 x 2 for the sets, and an additional $12 for the Fujian fried rice. When we asked them why the upcharge was $12 when the guy told us it would be $2-3, the lady explained that by substituting the fried rice, they gave us the full-sized order instead of the default portion size that would have come with the set. So you are telling me that if we hadn't done the substitution we would have only gotten $5 worth of the rice and that's supposed to feed 2 people? 2 stars for the decent food but shady pricing practice and portion sizes. read more

Very delicious. In this tour the best restaurant. If you like seafood. Choose it . Crab , fish is both great. full of hometown taste . It is traditionally Chinese taste read more

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walnut shrimp is pretty bad I've had walnut shrimp in many places and this is by far the worst one. The lady that greets you is super rude to top it off read more

Silver House - walnut shrimp and noodles. - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Super longstanding restaurant in San Mateo- full of locals and their families. Don't come for decor or a clean bathroom. Stay for the food! The best roast duck in the Bay Area! Consistent delicious Cantonese cooking! Fresh veggies and great fish dishes and soups. Quick service read more

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Service 1/5 I personally received no service. I came in looked at the menu to see if I'd be interested in anything. I decided I was. Upon seating myself while a staff member stood there he then asked if it was to go or dine in. Hhmm... If I've sat down after not being offered a table one would presume it's dine in. Nonetheless I confirmed it was dine in and not to go. Food 4/5 My food was brought to me with a wide mouth serving spoon for a party of one. No offer of a fork nor a place setting with utensils. During my entire dining experience not once was I asked if I needed anything or how my food was. The dish itself was what I expected in flavor. However, some parts of the egg were cooked too hard and brown. I specially stated when ordering I do not like my eggs cooked hard or to have brown on them. That appears to have taken on deaf ears. Once I was full I asked for the check and a to go box. Ambiance 3/5 The ambiance was clean, and standard. Nothing to rave about. If I had received genuinely customer service I'd consider returning but that was not the case. Customer service is important as it's US who are helping to keep your business running. read more

Silver House - Shrimp and scrambled eggs over fried rice. Lunch special $13 $3 up charge for fried rice. - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Been to this restaurant for many years but seems like they've been heading downhill on both Hygiene, Food Quality and Services for the last few years! Their bathrooms, carpets etc. are soaked with heavy oil and grease! Tough to walk into their place for foods. Services are sporadic as the servers don't really greed their customers when they come in and serving the food plates are temperamental at time! read more

Every time we get together with families in San Mateo, we tried different kind of food. This time we visit Silver House, the restaurant that my mom used to like very much. It's on the main street, so if you're lucky you find a parking spot in front of the restaurant, if not there're a few spots in the back alley or you have to park on the street some how. The restaurant is clean and simple, it was a Sunday night so there're quite a few people eating. The chef name Wang came and help us because my sister has been coming here quite often. We ordered quite a few dishes, most of them are Cantonese style dishes, the fried eggplants are our favorite, very crispy and tasty, everyone seems to like it very much. I had a craving for Chow Fun and it was excellent too. Every Chinese restaurant I eat, I always tried the Wor Wonton soup, and this place does have good soup with plenty of meats of all kinds, the wontons are tasty, but the bowls they served are too small to hold all the wontons and soup. My nephews love the shrimp crispy chow mein and it's quite good, but the noodles are not crispy throughout but I think that's the way they cook it. The salt and pepper shrimps are crispy and excellent. The Beef with bitter melon is very delicious, not bitter at all, and great sauce. The eggplant hot pot is quite flavorful. The Kung Pow chicken was gone in second due to being to tasty. I didn't get any peanuts at all that I recalled. The price here is quite reasonable and one thing nice is the service, very attentive and fast. We had some leftover to take home for Monday's lunch and chef Wang actually put some more meats for me. Quite surprising. It was a great lunch for me the next day. Every time we want to go to Chinese restaurant in San Mateo, I always request this Silver House from my sister. It's consistently good. read more

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Great traditional Chinese food! Affordable with large portions. We came here right as it opened on a Saturday morning, and there was no wait. Service of the place was great. It's definitely a little bit of a hole in the wall or not noticeable off the street, but very delicious and satisfied my cravings. read more

Came here with a few old friends. I hadn't been here in years and for a minute wondered if I was supposed to go to Silver Lake across the street since folks were late. The food is okay. Average, but nothing memorable. There's better to be had. We ordered the following: Beef Stew claypot - It wasn't very flavorful which is odd for a claypot. Salt and Pepper Porkchops - Needed more breading. Beef Chow Fun - This wasn't bad and was probably my favorite of the four dishes. Spicy Eggplant - Never been an eggplant fan, so I'll abstain from opining on this one. Service was passable. Again, nothing memorable to me. The one big annoyance was that we had a party of five and they included a mandatory gratuity on our bill. It's not common to have a mandatory gratuity and even less so for a party of five. So average food and mandatory gratuity. No thanks. Definitely not going to be in the rotation. read more

Food is delicious. We order the fix menu for 2 for dinner! I highly recommend this place! Service is ok Parking is a pain! read more

Been coming here for over 20 years. No soup today and they no longer have the dessert but we always enjoy the food. We love all the salt and pepper items, chicken wings, tofu, and fish. All of these are super good and had to get multiple orders of each for 11 people. Steamed tofu we had to order by showing a picture but we get 2 orders. Was here on a weeknight so it wasn't too busy and we were able to sit and talk for awhile. read more

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I hesitated to write this review, but as a frequent visitor, I felt compelled to. I've never experienced this at any establishment--being told that the server was busy talking to her cousin after I let her know we were ready to order. This happened around 6:15 PM on March 24th. She could have at least said that someone would be right with us. Instead, we waited for her to finish her conversation, but it was taking longer than expected. The service was disappointing, and the owner should be made aware. EDIT: I appreciate your response, but I want to clarify that I did interrupt a conversation between your customer/cousin because supposedly cousin of yours was showing you pics on his phone. I waited until I thought it was appropriate to let you know we were ready to order. However, instead of acknowledging us professionally, she mentioned she was busy talking to her cousin. I simply wanted to share my experience, as I believe good customer service is important. I hope this feedback helps improve future interactions. read more

I've had this craving for some old fashion beef chow fun with gravy for about a month. My Uncle Joe indulged me and allowed me to take him to lunch there; the Silver House restaurant recommended to me by a friend in the area. We ordered the chow fun, garlic sautéed pea leaf, and salt and pepper chicken wings. You know that taste when you get to eat exactly what you craved? That was our meal. The food was delicious in that comfort food non-fufu way (no California cuisine here). I wish I would always know exactly what I wanted to eat. This was definitely the taste on my palate. Like watching your favorite athlete or sports team dominate, this meal was just right and very satisfying . The waiter was also very good and attentive; he had that I think I know and trust you demeanor. The hometown ambiance of the restaurant was also perfect. Thank you Silver House! You are my go to place in San Mateo! Gene Y. read more

Somewhere between 3-4! Food wasn't bad and service was fine. A bit slow towards the end, but luckily we weren't in a rush. Our favorite was the salt and pepper wings. Not pictured - chow fun and Peking pork chop. Price was fair. Would come back to try other items! read more

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I have been eating at Silver house for decades and quality is always consistently good . Hard to find parking at peak hours and you don't come here for ambiance . But the food is always delicious and quantity is large . Try to order their specials which are posted on the walls ! read more

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Pretty standard legit Cantonese joint. Very old school and not the prettiest or fanciest place, but who cares if the food's pretty legit. Lots of options and good selection. Got the following (not all pictured) 1. Walnut shrimp: alright, standard, this is always good right. Not that generous for the portion though. I've had way better walnut shrimp elsewhere 2. Pea shoots with garlic: can't go wrong with this. Standard and pretty good 3. Seafood clay pot: came with fried oysters (not the freshest and a bit gloopy with the coating). Also came with some tofu and cabbage. Standard and pretty good. 4. Steamed catfish: standard canto steamed fish. Catfish can get a bit muddy tasting in some parts. Not the best steamed fish I've had but alright. Overall, everything here was pretty standard and legit. Not the best Cantonese food you'll have but it's decent and can't really go wrong. read more

Silver House - Seafood clay pot - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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This is the spot--full stop. Get their oyster clay pot. We've been here probably 20+ times. The food is always great. The staff is friendly.

Good service and the Food was so delicious . The waitress was very kind and helped with the Togo boxes. I recommend this place .

Food is delicious. Service is pretty attentive, more than what you might expect at other Chinese restaurants. Love the kinh do pork chops and pan fried noodles! read more

came for a saturday lunch since i was craving authentic chinese foods. all the old chinese people were here so i figured it would be great. we got the walnut shrimp, salt n pepper pork chop, beef chow fun, and pea shoots. the shrimp was plump with good flavor. enjoyed the walnuts too. the pork chops were tender with great seasoning and not a lot of fat. the beef chow fun was pretty standard. the peashoots were good with sliced garlics roasted in. overall a pretty good lunch. read more

Food is very tasty and family style ambiance and always great portion of food and amazing services

This is my go-to neighborhood spot for Chinese food. A San Mateo staple that's been here for many years. No frills and always hits the spot! So many dishes to try, so I will definitely be frequenting as long as they're in business. read more

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