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A-1 Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
779 Clay Street(between Grant Ave & Walter U Lum Pl)
San Francisco, CA 94108
Neighborhood: Chinatown
(415) 398-3691
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
13 reviews for A-1 Restaurant
13 reviews in English
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Review from Teri C.
10/18/2007
So, I've been dealing with some food poisoning issues lately...which means that I'm technically not allowed to eat any 'real' food. They say I should be sticking to the bland stuff...crackers, chicken noodle soup, porridge, etc.
Which leads me to this...I needed some quick "bok jook" aka white porridge for lunch yesterday and figured there were some easy finds on Kearny street, right? Wrong! The first place I inquired was a 'Wun Ton House' and of course, that meant they only sold wonton! (Note to self: check out their won ton noodles - it was busy with locals and tourists during the lunch rush). Next stop: Cheung Hing, which apparently has closed down...and then there's the place right next door. Doing a quick survey of their posted menu, I couldn't find any porridge on their menu at all! (However, they did offer Chinese food, along with sandwiches, omelets, etc.)
I start to go uphill on Clay and am watching the clock. I find this small unassuming restaurant called A-1, and their posted menu does indeed show they serve porridge! Yay! Finally found a place!
They have less than ten tables, and more than half are filled. There are some obvious tourists, and a few local eaters chowing down on clay pots dishes.
The waitress asked if it's just me dining and I respond back that I want a to go order. One order of bok jook please! She thinks for a moment, recalls that it costs $4.50 and charges me $5 for it! Uh, it says $3.50 on the menu outside! She looks at the menu, sees that I'm correct. And gives me the total price of $4.00. (Which I should note: It should have only cost me $3.80 with tax, not $4! And especially for white porridge!)
I also ask for some ginger and green onions on the side. She asks if she could just stick it on top since they don't have anything to put it on, and I say that's fine. My order goes into the back and she advises me to take a seat while I wait. I hear the conversation in Cantonese going on in the back about how I want ginger and green onions. The waitress tells them to just dump it on top since they don't have anything else to put it in, and I guess the people in the back were thinking of other ways to 'put it on the side' for me.
The wait wasn't too long and out comes my porridge. I rush back to the office to join the other gals for lunch. I stir up my porridge so the ginger and green onions are all mixed in and my first slurp tells me, "Dang, this is salty!" Now, I've been known to add salt to a lot of stuff, so for me to complain that it's salty, it must been something. I ask my gal pal to take a taste, and she confirms my suspicions. Yeah, it's salty alright. Then again, there's quite a bit of taste in this jook, more taste than I expected.
And texture - sometimes I prefer my bok jook to be thicker, not watery. They make theirs watery here. Then again, my mom makes her watery too. It's a matter of preference. I guess when you're sick, you just want plain ole white porridge without the salt and spices. Here, they aren't serving that. It's decent if you want flavor, but not so good for you when you're cutting down on salt!
Anyway, that's all I tried here...and to be honest, I never even noticed this place before. They must be doing okay to survive in Chinatown though being such a small establishment. I guess I'll have to go back and try their infamous chicken wings!Listed in: Weekday Lunch Craze - SF
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Review from Isaac L.
1/29/2007 1 photo
Chicken Wangs, Chicken Wangs, Chicken Wangs. If you dont get the chicken wings here, you're just getting regular Chinese food at this joint.
Although, the home-style taste of this place is authentic. Any of the pan-fried noodle entrees are good, the free house soup is always comforting, and the service is great.
Remember, GET THE WINGS!Listed in: Good Eats
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Review from Frances H.
Oakland, CA
5/7/2008
Heck no! NEVER AGAIN.
My boyfriend and I were walking through Chinatown on a saturday night and having trouble finding an appealing restaurant and decided that the next one we see would be the one we're eating at.
Wrong choice. We walked up and started reading the menu in the windows for A-1 and this lady comes rushing out and tells us "its so good, here's the specials its so good..." There was an awkward silence as I was against the notion and my boyfriend said we're going to need a minute to look it over and decide. The place was completely empty. It was 8ish and other places were packed. The rude waitress wouldn't give us the option of looking it over without being standing next to us with the door open urging us to take a seat.
So we did. We ordered some chow mein and another chow fun dish. The meat just didn't have the right consistency, it looked and tasted wierd. I was so convinced that it wasn't beef or chicken and it was making me sick and I simply couldn't eat it. (and no, i'm not even one of those picky eaters)
And the prices outside are less than the prices of one menu she gave us, which she ended up swapping out for another menu that had even higher prices and was hand written. We asked for our bill as she never returned to drop it off or as how anything was going and she yells across the restaurant that the total was $21 when even the most expensive menu said $16/17.
And then! We handed her the card and she says, oh we don't take credit card. WHAT? they don't advertise for not taking credit cards anywhere and even had some atm machine inside. (apparently it was broken) so i had to stay in the restaurant as she walked my boyfriend down to some bank where they charged him $3 more just for the fee of pulling out $20.
Over all bad experience.
I wouldn't recommend it. But apparently people have had better experiences then I, however I went there just a week or two ago. -
Review from Tony U.
7/5/2006
All I will say is that a large rat was running around from underneat the table in front where I sat, and, when I saw it, my temperature dropped 15 degrees Fahrenheit and, I nearly threw up.
The rat looked as if it just woke up and was disoriented. It then ran underneath a table where 5 happy tourists were enjoying their Chinese Food experience.
Aside from the vermin company, the food was horrible and not representative of the very good Chinese Food that you will find in SF Chinatown. I ate some kind of meal for two which included chow mein, fried rice, and a won-ton soup in very lousy chicken broth.
I only went here because my friend who was visiting SF Chinatown wanted me to take her to just "any chinese restaurant" to experience "good chinese food."
Regrettably, this was the only place on the whim and deeply regret taking her here. If I would have done it all over, I would have went around the corner to R&G Lounge.
They have set menus and the interior is flourescent lit with cheap counters and tables. The wonton soup was horrible and the stereotypical dishes were by far the worst of any Chinese food I've eaten in San Francisco.
I ate here some time around August 2005. -
Review from John D.
3/28/2010 1 photo
2 1/2 STARS
We took a shot on this hole-in-the-wall place because we were hungry & it looked tempting.
And, YES, it is a hole-in-the-wall. We had the chicken wings which were great and the special, beef with preserved mustard greens and pan fried (crispy) noodles, which was just fine.
The ambiance is roughly 1 1/2 stars and the waitstaff 2 stars as they are constantly shouting at each other in Cantonese & generally ignoring us.
When we asked for boxes to take home our left-overs, she called another restaurant (!) & we waited 10-15 minutes for the "to go" containers to arrive. When we asked for chop sticks to go, she gave us plastic forks!
And so it goes... -
Review from Chris T.
San Francisco, CA
7/12/2007
Ok, someone reviewed that they have rats here. Have you seen the movie Ratatouille? Maybe those critters are making those wonderful salty, spicy fried chicken wings! That's the only thing here that is crave-worthy. Otherwise, there are other better rathole dives in Chinatown.
Nice service though. They get so happy when someone even momentarily pauses at their outdoor street sign.
"Hello! Yes, yes! Hello! Bery good lunch here! Hello!"
"Oh, I was just stepping toward your doorway because someone just hawked a loogee near me..." -
Review from Caroline H.
San Francisco, CA
3/19/2006
Things good about A-1 Restaurant:
1. The A-1 fried rice; there's no description given on the menu, and really, none is needed.
2. Fast service
3. The moo-shu pork
4. The fact that it's a decent restaurant in Chinatown without someone on the sidewalk shooing you in telling you how delicious the food is.
Things bad about A-1 Restaurant:
1. No fortune cookies
2. The fact that their prices went up between the two times I have eaten there (and seem to do so often, seeing as they are penciled in on the menus).
3. The fact that if vegetables are not specifically mentioned in the description of the dish, and sometimes even if they are, none will be included. -
Review from Minhan S.
9/17/2009 1 photo
Ok. I do not bet on food when I go to a new place. I asked my friend who lives in San Francisco for any nice restaurant. And he suggested this place.
Not ok. I don't know why he suggested this place. Maybe price is cheap? Hi might not know that I don't care of prices when it comes to food. I hated their water. Taste like tap water, smells bad... I didn't drink the water until I became so thirsty. I kept drinking soup. The waitress didn't really speak English, so it took a while to order. Food was ok. Nothing special.
But I don't wanna go back here. -
Review from Gloria H.
10/15/2008
Boy, how I wish I had read about them on Yelp...
Decided to try a new place. We found a space nearby and this place looks like a hole in the wall mom & pop shop and those are usually pretty good, right? Well...
It is a hole in the wall no doubt. There are 2 round tables that they can squeeze 6-8 at best and 7 tables for 2-4? Like many other Chinese restaurants, they have their specials and specialties on colored paper strips on walls and mirrors. Some interesting dishes and some fancier ones that you don't expect at a joint like this - Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Also notice their prices are on the high side, a dumpy place in Chinatown...we figured because their main customer base are tourists. For lunch, they likely get folks from the financial district but they also have lunch specials with much lower prices to attract the working crowds.
For a weeknight, it was near packed. As expected, most are tourists having the "Dinner Special A" combo - fried rice, chow mein, S&S pork and such.
We decided on one of the specials posted: twice cooked pork shanghai noodles. We love shanghai noodles - soup or stir fried and we also like twice cooked pork so the combo sounds great, so what it was $8.95. Notice they have clay pot rice too - got the sparerib one for $6.95 (lunch time it's $4.50? - under $5).
The wait was long - we are guessing there's only one cook based on how often food came out for other patrons, also from the waitresses calling in to tell the kitchen which dish they should cook first.
We got the noodles first and was first disappointed by the portion. There were hardly any noodles AND they were not shanghai noodles, we are almost certain they used udon instead. The noodles were also all broken or chopped up - NOT one piece was longer than 2 inches - WTF? So what filled the plate? Mostly cabbage and plenty onion, some green pepper for the color and some pork. Best part of the dish was the pork - it was tasty. We would have been much better off just ordering the twice cooked pork itself with a steamed rice.
The sparerib clay pot rice came right when we were done with the noodles - good timing. Disappointed. The clay pot is in bad shape - the knob on the lid is broken and one of the ears on the side is broken off too. Upon opening the lid, I was beyond surprised at how very little spareribs were used - 10 pieces at best and these are tiny little pieces. You can get more at Dol Ho at 1/4 the price - ridiculous! Not enough spareribs also mean the rice won't be flavorful - the few pieces of bok choi on top ain't going to do a thing. The soy sauce that comes with it was a bit sour - again, WTF? How can you screw up on sweetened soy sauce? You can buy the damn bottle for $2 - Lee Kum Kee makes a great one. Ok, forget the ingredients - after all, part of enjoying the clay pot rice is the crispy part on the side and bottom...well, they flunk on that too! See my list on clay pot rice - you can get much better ones at a lower price and a bigger portion elsewhere.
They'll get 0 for price performance. Hubby was still hungry when we left! On that note, we are off to find our next meal. -
Review from Crystal O.
Campbell, CA
9/7/2010
I've eaten here before at Chinese New Year and liked the food. Our experience here yesterday was abysmal! 2 out of the 3 people couldn't eat the food so we all shared my veggie fried rice which was way too salty. Will never ever eat here again. Besides the terrible food the bathroom situation is trippy! By trippy I mean sticky, stinky and gross...
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Review from Alex Y.
San Francisco, CA
4/4/2008
Rip-off! The prices on the outside menus were half of the actual price. WTF?! My friend and I were the only ones stuck there because the lady poured us tea. Everyone who went in, left right away. I thought since the environment was terrible, the prices would be cheaper. My ass.
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Review from Dawn G.
Highland Park, NJ
11/17/2008
Bad bad bad. My boyfriend and I were walking through Chinatown and saw what we thought was a pretty typical Chinese takeout place. We walked in and asked the woman if they took credit cards. "OK!" she replied as she ordered us to sit. We ordered and the food was barely OK. I had chicken with cashews and the chicken looked like fake turkey cubes. Tasted like it too. I decided to drown the rice in soy and chili so I could at least eat something. As we went to pay with our credit card, the woman told us, "No credit cards, sorry". So basically, she lied. My boyfriend had to go find an ATM while I sat there. We paid like $27 for 2 dishes and 2 cokes. Rip-off.
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Review from Jennifer S.
San Diego, CA
4/15/2007
if you're like me, and tend to read the other reviews other ppl write, do me a favor, and for this place, don't read ALL the reviews that is written by the others, except isaac's & caroline's. i was actually pleased with this place. yes, i know that someone wrote that there was a rat running around, looking a bit disoriented, but u know what? that was 2005, and i just went yesterday, and it wasn't as bad as they wrote it ... but u know what? it's their opinion, but hopefully, my review will change your mind ...
first of all, for many non locals who are phening chinese food, this place is def worth it. my #1 question was parking ... either you are super lucky to find one on the street, but no worries, because if you are coming from union square, just drive up to powell (wow, that was really sumtin, first time driving IN THE CITY was def a nightmare, felt like my car was going to roll backwards.. i ended up driving on the wrong side too, but sHOot, it was that damn range rover that confused me since he was on the wrong side too-thankfully, i'm still alive. lol) so, if you are driving from union square, u make a quick right on clay, drive few blocks down, and make a left on kearny and quick left, and you will see a garage ... 2 hours it was like $3. not bad at all ... so don't fret)
service - OUTSTANDING! 5 stars.. the lady was super sweet, very attentive, helpful in suggesting what dishes are good since i had a difficult time debating what noodles to get ...
food - their complimentary soup was just ok... could be better, too watery for me .. make sure to get the chicken wings, it's pretty good, i like how it's super crispy, but it was a tad bit salty for me ... but u kno what? i already knew it was salty to begin with sicne it IS salt and pepper chicken wings... they have this tsukemono/non spicy kimchi on the side that was good ... not extremely salty but u know...
-beef chow mein was yummy... and their mongolian beef with rice... this was YUUUUMMMMMMAY! :D i really wouldn't mind coming here over and over ...
if you're a credit card freak like i am, a quick tip ... they don't take cards...
