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    Silver House

    3.8 (531 reviews)
    ModerateChinese, Noodles
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 3 weeks ago

    Silver House Photos

    Business Info

    SILVER HOUSE ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Recommended Reviews - Silver House

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    Reviews With Photos

    Christine W.

    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.

    Quaint, clean, appealing interior
    Bennett L.

    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!

    Seafood Tofu in Claypot

    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.

    Fried tofu, salt and pepper, beef with snow peas
    Linda D.

    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.

    Fu King rice. They charged $12 more in addition to the set's price of $25. Not worth it and this was not communicated well.
    Natalie M.

    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.

    Elise D.

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

    Fish
    Pandy P.

    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

    walnut shrimp and noodles.

    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

    Clay pot eggplant and seafood
    Jane C.

    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

    Shrimp and scrambled eggs over fried rice. Lunch special $13 $3 up charge for fried rice.
    Mia S.

    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.

    rear entrance
    Louis L.

    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.

    Cashew chicken

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    Hao C.

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    5 months ago

    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.

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    5 months ago

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

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

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    Page 1 of 14

    Ask the Community - Silver House

    Are you open today 12/31/21?

    With Covid-19's social distancing, how many people are seated at a large table?

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    Craving protein? This spot has got you covered for seasoned skewers over a warmed plate…read more I came here on a Saturday evening and there was no wait! I came with a friend and got seated immediately. In terms of service, there wasn't too much interaction with the staff since you order via QR code, but they will come over and put your receipt on the surface of the table and check off your items as they bring them out. Initially, my friend and I thought they grilled the skewers on the plate at the table; however, it comes pre-cooked and grilled, and the plate itself is there to keep your food warm. I looked under, and it's "powered" by a bunch of tea candles. Between both of us, we ordered some skewers of enoki mushrooms (which was my favorite, super tender and flavorful), some beef skewers, a beef skewer with lychee (super unique), beef tongue (a bit tough for my liking), and chicken skin (extremely crispy, somewhat hard to pull off the skewer). I want to call out again the beef with lychee since this was an item I do not see often. It was interesting because the beef was seasoned well and when combined with the lychee, it added a refreshing note; however, the lychee's textural profile was similar to fatty beef, which personally threw me off a bit as someone who tends not to like fatty cuts (if you are a fan though, you'll like this). Overall, this spot is an okay place to check out if you're in the area. Parking in this area of San Mateo is limited, but the restaurant itself has a lot of tables, so it can be good for bigger parties.

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    Cheung Hing

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    Hands down the best Cheung Hing around. Dining here is good because the location is a fair size,…read moreclean and bright. Service is always consistent and the servers are friendly. Recently I stopped to pick-up dinner with the plan to have leftovers. I called my order in and was quoted 40 minutes for my order to be ready. My order consisted of salted fish and chicken fried rice (this location has the best around SF and the peninsula), bitter melon beef, chicken chow mein, Thai style fried vermicelli (my favorite dish here), salt and pepper chicken wings. We also received a complimentary bbq pork fried rice. Everything was fantastic and we had plenty of leftovers for a few days.

    San Mateo location, my usual favorite Chinese food…read more Won ton soup - might've been the first time I've ordered it here. Felt like having won ton soup to help a cold and cough. Big won ton filled w pork and shrimp. Bok choy Broth not much flavor, in a separate container since this was a take-home order. Curry Beef Stew I've never had Curry beef stew before, prefer chicken, curry, but for some odd reason, I decided to order this dish. It was underwhelming and I won't order it again. The Curry sauce itself was OK but the big long pieces of beef were somewhat gross, lots of fat. They added plenty of slices to onions and a few pieces of green pepper and Julienned carrots, but that's about it for being called a stew. So I learned my lesson by not sticking to my usual order, and won't order wonton soup or curry beef stew again.

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    Ox 9 Lanzhou Handpulled Noodles

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    Established in 2012
    Family-owned & operated

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    I've been to this place before and although it didn't make me a solid fan that I'd want to visit…read moreevery so often it did leave an impression that it's ok for a quick bite. I recently went back since I was in the area. The food is just as I remembered. The sauce is slightly overdone but the noodles are good enough. They did offer slightly more variety than I'd expect from this kind of restaurants. I think it's alright but probably not worth paying for parking in San Mateo for this. What I mean is that if you happen to be in the area then it's fine to dine here but probably not worth coming here just for the restaurants as there are alternatives outside of San Mateo where you don't have pay for parking. However the reason I gave 4 stars is that they give you enough meat on the noodle to make it slightly better deal even though everything in the Bay Area is overpriced. The service is really efficient and friendly enough. The restaurant is small and long) do I wouldn't suggest larger parties.

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    Little Shanghai Restaurant

    Little Shanghai Restaurant

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    If you are looking for a spot that carries the "Shanghai native" approved restaurant, this is one…read moreof it. I've visited many times, and the consistency of the authentic flavors keeps me coming back. The menu is a deep dive into Shanghainese classics. My personal recommendations: ​The Staples: You can't go wrong with the Xiao Long Bao, Stir-Fry Rice Cakes, and the Sweet Spare Ribs. The Spicy Pickled Stomach and the Small Shrimp are favorites of mine. Their Cold Noodles and Yellow Croaker are excellent representations of the cuisine. ​If you visit during the week, check out their lunch specials. ​Service & Timing The kitchen is generally quite efficient. While a few specific items might take a bit longer to prep, most dishes arrive at the table surprisingly fast. Just be prepared for a crowd--it gets very busy during the lunch rush! ​There is a small, limited parking lot behind the restaurant, but it fills up fast. ​If there is an event at the San Mateo Event Center, street parking becomes very challenging. Plan to arrive a few minutes early or visit on a non-event day to save yourself the headache. Whether you're a fan of traditional Shanghai comfort food or just looking for a solid Chinese lunch, this place is a must-visit. It's officially approved by my friends from Shanghai, which is the highest praise a restaurant can get!

    Prices have definitely gone up, but portions are still solid and the food was tasty overall…read more However, the service felt very rushed and a bit stressful. We were approached almost immediately after sitting down, and even after asking for a few minutes to look at the menu, the waiter kept coming back quickly, which made the experience feel pressured. We ordered pan fried buns and stir fried string beans, plus complimentary peanuts that were a nice touch. The waiter also recommended a "Chinese broccoli with beef" that wasn't on the menu, which felt a bit unusual. The restaurant was quite crowded with very close seating, so the ambience felt lively but cramped. Overall, good food, but the rushed service and tight seating affected the experience. :(

    Photos
    Take out portions
    Take out portions
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    Pig's ear with five spice
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