Smile House Cafe
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Came here on Sunday for lunch and it filled up very quickly. There was a sign up sheet by the entrance for customers to sign in and waitlist. The menu was quite extensive and showed illustrations of the food. We ordered the following: Fried Egg Pudding $10.95 - It came piping hot and crunchy on the outside. This seemed more like a dessert, especially when it was accompanied by a plate of condensed milk dipping sauce. Baked Ox Tongue with curry cheese $17.95 - This had 4 -5 pieces of very tender tongue. However, it was overwhelmed with cheese and not enough of the curry sauce. Baked Fish Fillet with Cheese Cream sauce $15.95 - This was delicious. The fish was fried in one piece and then covered with corn, mushrooms and cheese sauce. Baked Pork Chop with Tomato sauce $15.95 - The tomato sauce really complemented the baked pork chop which was topped with melted cheddar cheese. This was decent and as expected. Staff were very quick, efficient and informative, when responding to our food questions. Overall, a great local family eatery with decent food and HK cafe vibes.
Back when Smile House Cafe first opened, I was both excited and a bit hesitant. The former because it's always awesome to have another HK cafe around, especially one that's so new and clean; the latter because of all of the tepid reviews they seemed to be getting. Since I figured a lot of their issues might have to do with being so new, I figured I'd wait for them to work out the kinks before finally check them out...and it seems like it worked! Though, perhaps I didn't need to wait THIS long... The first time I stepped inside, what immediately struck me was how the look of the place has been updated and refreshed compared to their earlier photos on Yelp. Similarly, the menu has been updated as well, with a fancier sort of look that's a lot less cluttered. While some past items have fallen off, such as their bibimbap and mini-hot pots, you'll still find a ton of HK staples to choose from - a mix of appetizers, soups, noodle soups, macaroni/instant noodles, baked spaghetti/rice, classic Chinese dishes, lo mein, butter toast, milk teas, and desserts. In addition, they also have an interesting impressive selection of pasta dishes, teppan plates, and puff rice, which aren't quite as common to see. -- (#A013) SPICY WONTONS As simple of a dish as this may be, it was still far better than others I've had. The wontons were delicate and plump, the filling was porky and juicy, and I love that instead of sambal, they used chili oil instead, which tasted great. -- (#BG01) SMILE HOUSE SPECIAL BAKED PORK CHOP WITH TOMATO SAUCE Not my favorite version I've had, but not too shabby either! Plus points for all of the gooey cheese on top and the pork chop was nice and juicy. However, the sauce was a little wet/runny and tasted a bit sweet from all of the tomatoes. -- (#N010) BEEF BRISKET AND TENDON NOODLE SOUP Pretty solid. I added wontons (+$5.95 for 6 pcs) and I iked how soft the skins were and how flavorful the filling was. A couple of chunks of beef were a bit lean/chewy, but the rest, as well as the tendons, were really tender. The broth didn't stand out, but it was more than fine. -- (#P002) TEPPAN SLICED BEEF WITH RICE Maybe it was because of my low expectations, but this was surprisingly good! There slices of beef turned out pretty good, the rice was well cooked, and I really liked the sauce that everything was cooked in. -- (#W011) CHICKEN STEAK WITH BLACK PEPPER SAUCE OVER RICE Ehh...not amazing, but not terrible either. The chicken thigh was moist and I liked that there was a good amount of mushrooms. That said, I do wish the skin had been crisped up (it was a little mealy) and that the sauce had been thicker. As far as service goes, ironically, I actually thought it was one of the highlights every time I've been here. Maybe it's because I wasn't expecting much, but the workers have always been really warm and friendly, they greet customers almost immediately, they're attentive and not pushy (refilled our teas multiple times unprompted, didn't try to nudge us out, etc). and our orders have always come out relatively fast. In fact, if anything, our dishes have come out suspiciously fast! While everything that I've tried thus far has been pretty good for the most part, one thing I will note is that the portion sizes do feel a little light. In particular with the Chicken Steak dish we had, but also with the Teppan Beef Plate as well (though, to be fair, it's also because I just wanted to eat more of it). That being said, Smile House's menu prices aren't terribly high, so at least they don't feel horrendously short on value. Plus, if nothing else, it leaves room for us to try the desserts the next time we're here!
Had to update their review as I haven't eaten here in a while. Ordered the Teppan Sliced Beef over rice again with mango yakult as my choice of drink. The mango yakult is delicious - you can taste both the mango and the yakult. Teppan slice beef over rice is always delicious! I loved the corn on top of the rice, makes it taste sweet and balanced. Total price I paid for the meal and drink was $30.85 with 15% tip included. Service is excellent per usual. Ideal spot for family, friends, and dates! Highly recommend with my utmost respectful regards.
I went to Smile House again recently, and I think I came on an off day. We were seated immediately and greeted by the server. The restaurant was lively and very homey, as per usual. He got our orders swiftly and the food came soon after. The food was much more bland than how I remembered. There was a lack of sauce with all of the baked dishes, there was no flavor. I did not enjoy my meal much, but the fried milk custard was a new item we got and ate with no issues! We also got a black sesame soup for dessert, and that was delicious as well. Smile House Cafe is still one of my favorite restaurants, but I would like to go again to make sure that this day was just an off day!
Another HK style cafe in the sunset area of SF, this spot has been around for years now. They don't offer breakfast sets on the weekend which kind of sucks. Service is more polite than your usual brisk service from these kind of shops. Menu is extensive and I opted for a simple HK cafe staple of baked pork chop with tomato sauce over rice. Pork chop was huge and uncut, had too much tendon and fat to cut around. I would've appreciated more edible meat. Milk tea came in a to go cup which wasn't as nice as a regular teacup. There are better options elsewhere in the sunset area
Either we didn't order the right thing or the food wasn't very good. I was impressed with the outside window. You can see out but you cannot see in with the advertised dishes in front. Back to food. We had daikon beef brisket soup. Brisket was nicely done but the soup had a strange taste. The cabbage soup was bland. Its like me boiling cabbage and serving it up with goji berry. Either put more goji berry and add some Chinese dates to flavor it up. The curry fish did not look appetizing. Add spaghetti add $1. Spaghetti is pretty cheap, shouldn't warrant add $1. Curry was ok, not enough sauce to cover spaghetti. This restaurant was very busy last night. Service was good. You hailed them down and they quickly come. I dont think i will come any more, "sad smile:
Not sure why the reviews are all so negative but I really enjoyed dining at Smile House. Service was good and food tasted close to home (Hong Kong). This is definitely a local gem in Sunset. I ordered the fishball noodle soup and the broth clean yet flavorful, highly recommend their sizzle beef dish as well.
There were many choices of food on the menu. The waiter was friendly but not able to recommend the right vegetarian food when I asked him. They served me the wrong dish and just threw the menu to me for reordering. Overall the food tasted great and the restaurant was clean.
A classic Hong Kong cafe in the Sunset district! They stay open later than other restaurants in the area so it's a good choice if you wanted a later dinner option. Came on a weekday night after 8:30 pm and we were seated immediately. There was one main worker taking orders and he was very efficient and quick with service. I got the baked pork chop with tomato sauce over spaghetti and the portion was huge. The pork chop pieces were huge but hard to cut, so it felt like I spent more time cutting than eating. The meat was a little chewy but not bad taste wise. My friend got the hai nan chicken which seems like one of their best dishes. Overall still a solid spot for Hong Kong cafe style food and I'll have to try other items on the menu next time!
LOVE THIS SPOT! The people are the friendliest ever, had the best experience here. The stir fry noodles are so good, definitely will be my go to order for the next times I visit. Ambiance is bright, spacious and welcoming. Highly recommend!
I'll start off by saying the food was delicious and the portions were huge. Both dishes were so filling and came out piping hot. I had fun mixing the pepper rice and the baked cheese over the noodles was straight out of the oven. However, the last time I went, there was a tissue in our water pitcher. We let the waitress know and she looked at it and brought us a new one in silence. A small apology or acknowlegement would've been nice, but that's okay
3.5/5 Their service is highkey so Hong-Kong vibes like they're FAST, WITTY, and NO BULLSHIT! The restaurant is run by two dudes and they're ZOOMING the entire time like literally rushing from table to table making sure the customer has whatever they need. They're always packed and the place is full of Cantonese speaking people so you know this is a locals spot. Their menu is HUGE like there was so much flipping to be done. We did have to order everything in one go because their kitchen is packed and they gave us the dessert before the main stuff. We got the: HK style French Toast - 3/5 pretty average but I thought the toast itself could've been better like more peanut butter and fried more Cantonese Fried Milk - 2/5 could've fried it more Baked Seafood with Tom Yum Cream Sauce - 3/5 the tom yum was pretty light ngl we got one more noodle dish but i forgot which one BUT it was pretty mid so does not change this review LOL Overall, not bad but also not good. Shoutout to the hardworking staff though; one of the homies be sweating from running around.
Came here for dinner. Easy street parking. I was immediately greeted and seated. Came with a party of 3 and we all ordered different pastas and shared. Everything we ordered was so tasty. Fast, reasonable, good service, clean, comfortable, lots of space and I did not feel rushed to go. We stayed to chat and drink our tea/drinks. Ordered a cold almond tea, passion fruit soda, black ink squid pasta, smoked salmon in white sauce pasta, and beef mushrooms in e-fu mein noodles. Everything came piping hot in minutes and we all eagerly shared and devoured our dishes! Everyone truly enjoyed their meal and will return & try something different.
26 days ago
This is a HK cafe I frequent often. Lots of options, food is good and consistent, and workers are kind. Their menu is great, there's pictures of a lot of the items and there's a lot of options for everyone! They can get busy on the weekends but it tends to move pretty quickly as they're good about taking your order fast and food comes out pretty quickly. My favorite dishes are the Hainan chicken, I love their ginger sauce! For those of you who aren't used to this, it is served cold. I also like the baked seafood pasta. Sometimes I do wish there was a bit more seafood in it. I also crave the salt and pepper chicken wings often as they get an amazing light fry on it and the salt/fried garlic on top gives it the perfect flavor. They are also big and juicy. Honestly, you can try something new every time you come here. Some of their items come out with really unique plating. They even have lots of drinks and dessert, although they don't always have dow fu fa. Their menu is limited past a certain time for late night but still plenty to choose from! read more
TLDR: Affordable, casual, good service, bad food. Was surprised to see this place w/ only 3 stars. I've been here a few years ago and it was a good experience. But after today, i'm starting to understand.. Service: 5/5 everyone was very kind and the vibe was good. Server even asked about the food and what can be improved upon. Ambience: 4/5 very casual, upbeat place. But also I saw a large beetle running up the wall. Food: 3/5 by far the most important part of a restaurant and was unfortunately disappointed. Ordered 3 diff items and they all fell short. Usually I can still eat foods if they're not my favorite but these flavor combos made it difficult to keep down. I'm guessing they switched owners/chefs at some point and that's when the food really went downhill. Overall, wouldn't recommend. sad to say this since this place is nostalgic for me. Although I would say the amount of items and variety they have on the menu is a plus. There are unique drinks and desserts too. read more
4 months ago
Came here on Sunday for lunch and it filled up very quickly. There was a sign up sheet by the entrance for customers to sign in and waitlist. The menu was quite extensive and showed illustrations of the food. We ordered the following: Fried Egg Pudding $10.95 - It came piping hot and crunchy on the outside. This seemed more like a dessert, especially when it was accompanied by a plate of condensed milk dipping sauce. Baked Ox Tongue with curry cheese $17.95 - This had 4 -5 pieces of very tender tongue. However, it was overwhelmed with cheese and not enough of the curry sauce. Baked Fish Fillet with Cheese Cream sauce $15.95 - This was delicious. The fish was fried in one piece and then covered with corn, mushrooms and cheese sauce. Baked Pork Chop with Tomato sauce $15.95 - The tomato sauce really complemented the baked pork chop which was topped with melted cheddar cheese. This was decent and as expected. Staff were very quick, efficient and informative, when responding to our food questions. Overall, a great local family eatery with decent food and HK cafe vibes. read more
Back when Smile House Cafe first opened, I was both excited and a bit hesitant. The former because it's always awesome to have another HK cafe around, especially one that's so new and clean; the latter because of all of the tepid reviews they seemed to be getting. Since I figured a lot of their issues might have to do with being so new, I figured I'd wait for them to work out the kinks before finally check them out...and it seems like it worked! Though, perhaps I didn't need to wait THIS long... The first time I stepped inside, what immediately struck me was how the look of the place has been updated and refreshed compared to their earlier photos on Yelp. Similarly, the menu has been updated as well, with a fancier sort of look that's a lot less cluttered. While some past items have fallen off, such as their bibimbap and mini-hot pots, you'll still find a ton of HK staples to choose from - a mix of appetizers, soups, noodle soups, macaroni/instant noodles, baked spaghetti/rice, classic Chinese dishes, lo mein, butter toast, milk teas, and desserts. In addition, they also have an interesting impressive selection of pasta dishes, teppan plates, and puff rice, which aren't quite as common to see. -- (#A013) SPICY WONTONS As simple of a dish as this may be, it was still far better than others I've had. The wontons were delicate and plump, the filling was porky and juicy, and I love that instead of sambal, they used chili oil instead, which tasted great. -- (#BG01) SMILE HOUSE SPECIAL BAKED PORK CHOP WITH TOMATO SAUCE Not my favorite version I've had, but not too shabby either! Plus points for all of the gooey cheese on top and the pork chop was nice and juicy. However, the sauce was a little wet/runny and tasted a bit sweet from all of the tomatoes. -- (#N010) BEEF BRISKET AND TENDON NOODLE SOUP Pretty solid. I added wontons (+$5.95 for 6 pcs) and I iked how soft the skins were and how flavorful the filling was. A couple of chunks of beef were a bit lean/chewy, but the rest, as well as the tendons, were really tender. The broth didn't stand out, but it was more than fine. -- (#P002) TEPPAN SLICED BEEF WITH RICE Maybe it was because of my low expectations, but this was surprisingly good! There slices of beef turned out pretty good, the rice was well cooked, and I really liked the sauce that everything was cooked in. -- (#W011) CHICKEN STEAK WITH BLACK PEPPER SAUCE OVER RICE Ehh...not amazing, but not terrible either. The chicken thigh was moist and I liked that there was a good amount of mushrooms. That said, I do wish the skin had been crisped up (it was a little mealy) and that the sauce had been thicker. As far as service goes, ironically, I actually thought it was one of the highlights every time I've been here. Maybe it's because I wasn't expecting much, but the workers have always been really warm and friendly, they greet customers almost immediately, they're attentive and not pushy (refilled our teas multiple times unprompted, didn't try to nudge us out, etc). and our orders have always come out relatively fast. In fact, if anything, our dishes have come out suspiciously fast! While everything that I've tried thus far has been pretty good for the most part, one thing I will note is that the portion sizes do feel a little light. In particular with the Chicken Steak dish we had, but also with the Teppan Beef Plate as well (though, to be fair, it's also because I just wanted to eat more of it). That being said, Smile House's menu prices aren't terribly high, so at least they don't feel horrendously short on value. Plus, if nothing else, it leaves room for us to try the desserts the next time we're here! read more
8 months ago
Had to update their review as I haven't eaten here in a while. Ordered the Teppan Sliced Beef over rice again with mango yakult as my choice of drink. The mango yakult is delicious - you can taste both the mango and the yakult. Teppan slice beef over rice is always delicious! I loved the corn on top of the rice, makes it taste sweet and balanced. Total price I paid for the meal and drink was $30.85 with 15% tip included. Service is excellent per usual. Ideal spot for family, friends, and dates! Highly recommend with my utmost respectful regards. read more
I went to Smile House again recently, and I think I came on an off day. We were seated immediately and greeted by the server. The restaurant was lively and very homey, as per usual. He got our orders swiftly and the food came soon after. The food was much more bland than how I remembered. There was a lack of sauce with all of the baked dishes, there was no flavor. I did not enjoy my meal much, but the fried milk custard was a new item we got and ate with no issues! We also got a black sesame soup for dessert, and that was delicious as well. Smile House Cafe is still one of my favorite restaurants, but I would like to go again to make sure that this day was just an off day! read more
11 months ago
Another HK style cafe in the sunset area of SF, this spot has been around for years now. They don't offer breakfast sets on the weekend which kind of sucks. Service is more polite than your usual brisk service from these kind of shops. Menu is extensive and I opted for a simple HK cafe staple of baked pork chop with tomato sauce over rice. Pork chop was huge and uncut, had too much tendon and fat to cut around. I would've appreciated more edible meat. Milk tea came in a to go cup which wasn't as nice as a regular teacup. There are better options elsewhere in the sunset area read more
Either we didn't order the right thing or the food wasn't very good. I was impressed with the outside window. You can see out but you cannot see in with the advertised dishes in front. Back to food. We had daikon beef brisket soup. Brisket was nicely done but the soup had a strange taste. The cabbage soup was bland. Its like me boiling cabbage and serving it up with goji berry. Either put more goji berry and add some Chinese dates to flavor it up. The curry fish did not look appetizing. Add spaghetti add $1. Spaghetti is pretty cheap, shouldn't warrant add $1. Curry was ok, not enough sauce to cover spaghetti. This restaurant was very busy last night. Service was good. You hailed them down and they quickly come. I dont think i will come any more, "sad smile: read more
11 months ago
Not sure why the reviews are all so negative but I really enjoyed dining at Smile House. Service was good and food tasted close to home (Hong Kong). This is definitely a local gem in Sunset. I ordered the fishball noodle soup and the broth clean yet flavorful, highly recommend their sizzle beef dish as well. read more
There were many choices of food on the menu. The waiter was friendly but not able to recommend the right vegetarian food when I asked him. They served me the wrong dish and just threw the menu to me for reordering. Overall the food tasted great and the restaurant was clean. read more
8 months ago
A classic Hong Kong cafe in the Sunset district! They stay open later than other restaurants in the area so it's a good choice if you wanted a later dinner option. Came on a weekday night after 8:30 pm and we were seated immediately. There was one main worker taking orders and he was very efficient and quick with service. I got the baked pork chop with tomato sauce over spaghetti and the portion was huge. The pork chop pieces were huge but hard to cut, so it felt like I spent more time cutting than eating. The meat was a little chewy but not bad taste wise. My friend got the hai nan chicken which seems like one of their best dishes. Overall still a solid spot for Hong Kong cafe style food and I'll have to try other items on the menu next time! read more
10 months ago
LOVE THIS SPOT! The people are the friendliest ever, had the best experience here. The stir fry noodles are so good, definitely will be my go to order for the next times I visit. Ambiance is bright, spacious and welcoming. Highly recommend! read more
1 year ago
I'll start off by saying the food was delicious and the portions were huge. Both dishes were so filling and came out piping hot. I had fun mixing the pepper rice and the baked cheese over the noodles was straight out of the oven. However, the last time I went, there was a tissue in our water pitcher. We let the waitress know and she looked at it and brought us a new one in silence. A small apology or acknowlegement would've been nice, but that's okay read more
2 months ago
3.5/5 Their service is highkey so Hong-Kong vibes like they're FAST, WITTY, and NO BULLSHIT! The restaurant is run by two dudes and they're ZOOMING the entire time like literally rushing from table to table making sure the customer has whatever they need. They're always packed and the place is full of Cantonese speaking people so you know this is a locals spot. Their menu is HUGE like there was so much flipping to be done. We did have to order everything in one go because their kitchen is packed and they gave us the dessert before the main stuff. We got the: HK style French Toast - 3/5 pretty average but I thought the toast itself could've been better like more peanut butter and fried more Cantonese Fried Milk - 2/5 could've fried it more Baked Seafood with Tom Yum Cream Sauce - 3/5 the tom yum was pretty light ngl we got one more noodle dish but i forgot which one BUT it was pretty mid so does not change this review LOL Overall, not bad but also not good. Shoutout to the hardworking staff though; one of the homies be sweating from running around. read more
Came here for dinner. Easy street parking. I was immediately greeted and seated. Came with a party of 3 and we all ordered different pastas and shared. Everything we ordered was so tasty. Fast, reasonable, good service, clean, comfortable, lots of space and I did not feel rushed to go. We stayed to chat and drink our tea/drinks. Ordered a cold almond tea, passion fruit soda, black ink squid pasta, smoked salmon in white sauce pasta, and beef mushrooms in e-fu mein noodles. Everything came piping hot in minutes and we all eagerly shared and devoured our dishes! Everyone truly enjoyed their meal and will return & try something different. read more
1 year ago
Smile House Cafe definitely makes me smile! The food from here is always so good and fresh and hits the spot. Portion size is large as well. What we ordered: - Hoi Nam chicken with yellow rice (get this with extra scallion oil -- too good) - Salt and pepper calamari - Spicy beef tendon Need to try their dessert next time and other menu items! read more
5 months ago
Food was awesome as was picked by the waiter as a leap of faith. Not salty, sweet, and just right. Highly recommended and just ask the waiter to pick if you feel too overwhelmed with the selections. read more
Definitely have to visit taraval street more often! I accidentally came across this gem! First of all, it's open decently late ( in sf ok!) it's open until 11 pm, and that saved me! Secondly ITS VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY. My friend is vegetarian and it's SUCH a chore to find places that work for both of us. Luckily they had a few decent options for my friend, And they were good! I liked the tofu! Anyways, I really enjoyed my meal! I got the pigs foot or pork's neck. Either way it was Spectacular. Okay the portion size was stupendous, i had leftovers for days! Well worth the wait. Took a little while for the food to come out but it was worth it. My pigs neck came with 3 different sauces which I wasn't expecting. It added so much dimension and I really liked the tang. Definitely an experience! Also the pig skin was so delicious and crunchy. I also loved the interior design they had going on. So colorful and vibrant! Don't the mustard color, but they really made it work. They made me like mustard. Also a lot of tvs everywhere, so I was always entertained! Definitely coming back! read more
2 years ago
SOLID GOOD FOOD Was it the best tasting HK food? No, but it nailed the essence of HK diner food. The ingredients were fresh. The flavors were very light. Not oily. Low sodium. I like that they bring out a thermos of hot tea and a water jar with cold water with a slice of lemon. They use disposable paper cups for drinks. That's different! Not the best Hoi Nam chicken. A little dry and not strong Hoi Nam flavoring. Tossed noodles very good but a little dry. Rice was fragrant and well cooked. NICE WAITRESSES AND FAST SERVICE Usually Chinese establishments would have mediocre servers but this place when we went had nice servers who made a little small talk and was fast to take our orders. No frowns to be found here. UPDATED BUT A LITTLE WORNED DOWN Interior decor was bright and spacious. Mostly booth and bench seating. Looks like it's been upgraded within the last 5-8 years. However you'll see some spots and stains here and there. CEILING TV No sound but fun Chinese shows with Chinese captions playing from one of the walls. PARENT NOTES Two bathrooms. No changing tables. Good place for families and young kids. Patient servers. read more
1 year ago
I've been to Smile House a dozen of times so this is a much deserved and belated review. First the service, the waiters are attentive and friendly. They will speak Cantonese or Mandarin to you if you look Asian, so ABC's, wake up whatever part of your brain still remembers from your Chinese school days. And for the rest of you, good luck. I'm kidding, they always speak English to my Asian husband who has perfect Chinese pronunciation for exactly one item they don't have on their menu. As far as the food goes, the Tee Pan Beef Fried Rice is a must-try. The dish comes out sizzling hot on an iron-cast dish and the beef needs to be stirred for it to be fully cooked. They've helped us stir it before when everyone at the table looked like we've never stepped foot in a kitchen before, so I'm sure they'd be happy to do it if you asked. With stirring the rice in as well, you get crispy bits of slightly burnt rice which tastes so well with the flavorful and tender beef. Another favorite is Vegetable and Tofu in Fish Bone Soup - We have almost always gotten this soup with every meal and it tastes the best with water spinach which isn't always available because it's seasonal. I like the water spinach because the soup gets into the hollow parts of the spinach which makes the soup and spinach complement each other really well. We've also gotten this dish several times - the Shrimp Roe Beef and Wild Fungus over e-fu noodles - love the texture of these noodles. I'm a noodles lover in general, and I feel like with every bite of these noodles I'm never getting enough of it - the only kind of addiction I don't plan to find a cure for. Mixed stir fry vegetable - We've only gotten this dish once, but I definitely recommend it - the lotus root is crispy and the wood ear mushrooms are slimy and crunchy. It's a sizable portion for a table of two - we had leftovers. The hot HK-style milk tea is strong and it comes in a cute stylish ceramic tea cup. And here's the main reason I come here - the Tofu pudding. We order this at the beginning of the meal and they always time it so well to serve it right as we're done with our meal. It's served in a ceramic dish with a lid on it with a side of syrup. And the tofu is always piping out. Just hot enough where you don't burn your tongue if you slurp it up in half spoonfuls like I do the minute the dish lands on the table. They don't let you do takeout on this one because of the way it's prepared but it's always worth the reason to sit in. For the health-conscious, the overall saltiness level for most dishes here is really good for a Hong Style restaurant. I don't feel a desperate need to chug water during or after the meal and the food is delicious. read more
2 years ago
11 months ago
Tried some desserts last night at Smile House Cafe. All the Puddings are SO GOOD. We ordered to share with each other cuz the portion was a bit large. Due to the rainy weather, there aren't many people in the restaurant. It's not crowded and we don't need to wait. Service was still good and staffs were very nice. Smile house is my favorite dessert place now and they open till 11pm now, good for people that want a night time snack! read more
My friend suggested going to Smile House Cafe, it's a Hong Kong style cafe restaurant with a huge variety of dishes. I took a quick look at the menu and decided to try the dry beef chow fun. I asked for less oil, less salt and it came out perfectly tasty and light. 100% passed my Chinese restaurant test. The restaurant is clean and the servers are nice. We sat near the front of the restaurant so it was a bit hot during lunch time since the restaurant is south facing. No matter, the food is good and prices are reasonable. Allow extra time for parking. read more
Hits the spot! Their HK cafe menu is EXTENSIVE and most items have HUGE portions. If I ever crave chinese style baked spaghetti, this is the place. Usually there's plenty of seating when I go but I've had a few times where there was a wait. Parking around the area isn't the easiest but the food makes up for the frustration! read more
1 year ago
Arrived close to closing but still got seated. Service was great and food came out really fast. We were the last ones at the restaurant after they closed and they didn't kick us out lol. Mapo tofu ($13) Chicken steak with black pepper sauce ($16) Stir fried noodle with black bean sauce ($16) Salted egg fried pumpkin and shrimp ($15) Food was really good but the chicken steak was very dry and over cooked. Mapo tofu wasn't spicy at all because it was cooked in a similar black bean sauce to the noodles. read more
Oh my, I was reading the previous reviews before heading over to this restaurant. I was a bit nervous about dining there but it actually turned out to be a good experience! They are spacious with lots of tables. The host seated us quickly and when I began to look through their BIG menu, I wanted to try so many dishes. (I need to come back with a big group next time so we can order lots!) The teppan sliced beef was delicious--tender, flavorful, and perfectly cooked on the hot stone plate! The service was impressively quick, making for a seamless and enjoyable meal. Highly recommend this cafe for authentic Hong Kong cafe style food! This definitely reminded me of the times I would goto a HK cafe with my family as a little kid :) read more
It's been on my list for over five years. Why didn't I come here earlier? Circumstances, priorities, it just plain forgetfulness. A friend who lives in Palo Alto told me this was his "late night snack (siu yeh in Cantonese)" back then. Being only ten minutes from home, this Sunset District eatery is only ten minutes from home (non-rush hour times). My recent cuisine craving has been Hong style foods ranging from drinks like milk tea and to lemon tea to snacks like curry fish balls and fried egg pudding; from meals like baked pork chop with tomato sauce and beef brisket and tendon noodle soup to desserts like sesame sweet soup with dumpling to pomelo mango sago soup. Heck, their menu is 24 pages long. Studying photos, reviews, and their menu, I knew what I would order the moment I sat down. Being a rainy Friday late afternoon, I parked in a metered space right in front ten minutes before they opened. As I saw people intermittently going in, I peeked in and asked whether they were open at 4:58 pm. The man raising the window blinds offered me a corner table on the right. The waitress offered me a cup of hot tea as I took pics of the menu. I started with a hot Hong Kong style milk tea (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=24&select=ZuXUFy8GJnqYtaK5yn1ylA). It was served hot and smelled soothing as I waited for it to cool. The 1st half of the drink was okay as it remained temperature hot for quite a while. For my main meal, I ordered the Teppan sliced beef with rice (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=0&select=IFdDXHtvGuWIt25lrSI5FQ) (photo taken after a quick stir); this was how it looked when it arrived the table, lower right (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=0&select=r-x2sNkdu39qi18B9EkNiQ). This is how it looked after fully mixed (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=0&select=nfpCeafY1JfUJGPH6__vAQ). It was delicious and a very complex dish with such simple ingredients. I loved that the beef came rare, giving me the option of deciding the degree of cooking I preferred. The waitress warned me to mix the ingredients so all of the ingredients (rice, corn, beef, and sauce) cook evenly on the sizzling iron platter. When it came to eating it, I was in a panic mode from the urgency of the waitress' voice in mixing my food so I mixed and ate while listening to my food sizzle on that platter. When it finally cooled, I was in a relaxed mood end enjoyed my food. The bottom pieces of rice were crispy and chewy from the heat as I tried to keep my beef pieces on top to keep some of them at least medium temperature wise. I will get this again on another visit. Back to the milk tea, as it cooled, the flavors from the tea shined more. It was not a typical teabag variety tea and I forgot to ask the waitress what variety tea they used. As I waited for my meal, a group of four diners and another with two came in to eat. By the time I finished my meal about 30 minutes later, the dining room was half full. The menu reads like a dictionary which makes a future visit likely after I study the choices more carefully. There were a number of reviews on the baked pork chop over rice or spaghetti but the reviews are mixed on it. I look forward to coming in again. read more
2 years ago
Smile House-- a staple in the Parkside area. Inside this Hong Kong styled diner are many booths, tables, and assortments of Cantonese dishes. There is a decent amount of seating, but come during peak times and you may have to wait. We ordered the beef sizzling Teppan and the lots can noodles. For the amount of food and price you get, it's pretty worth it. The beef comes out sizzling and flavorful with sauce. The Latka noodles were definitely more than enough, with a flavorful coconut seafood broth. This is the spot to come to when you're too lazy to cook, but want something delicious for dinner. read more
1 year ago
NICE Find. Love the Staff, clean place, and yummy food! We had Mongolian Beef, Fillet of Fish in Cream of Corn, Brisket Curry, Baked Pork Chops and more. Had a wonderful time here. read more
My husband and I have been going here since college! What's great about them is that service is fast and they open late! I'm not too sure about their hours now but they used to open until 2AM how wild is that! The restaurant always has a loud environment. The staff is always very nice and playful as well! A bunch of jokesters! Haha. Food tastes great and consistent every time. My husband gets the: Teppan Steak with rice. I get the Chicken Black Pepper Creamy Pasta! Minus 1 star because it's not the cleanest restaurant and parking is kind of hard! read more
7 months ago
1 year ago
9 months ago
I was really hoping the reviews rung true, but this is just sad. Ordered the Salt & Pepper chicken wings. Super bland, zero flavor, no salty taste whatsoever. wings are TINY. Never again. read more
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More info about Smile House Cafe
1030 Taraval St
San Francisco, CA 94116
Parkside
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(415) 682-4006
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Ask the Community - Smile House Cafe
What are the actual business hours? We drove by at 7:30 and the place was dark and closed. But yelp says they were supposed to be open 'til 8:30
They seemed to have seal up the glass as of last week so obviously not reopened yet. Anyone know when/if they are reopening?
They're open for take out as of June 3rd
Is this place closed? Anyone knows what happened to it?
Heard they were closed for vacation, open currently.
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67 reviews that are not currently recommended
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