Eliza's
2877 California St
(between Broderick St & Divisadero St)
San Francisco, CA 94115 (415) 621-4819
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Mon-Fri 5:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Sat-Sun 4:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
95 reviews
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
"I go here every Christmas Eve with my parents (what a cliche), because this is some of the best Chinese food in the city. John, the manager…" read more »
148 Reviews for Eliza's
Was definitely skeptical after reading the list of unhappy yelps. But was more than pleasantly surprised by the friendly, efficient service, and great eats. Everything was absolutely fantastic, tasty, fresh & nicely presented. Yeah, the decor is cheeeeezy, but does it matter when the food's so good?
ummm i Didn't like it...
I didn't like it at all....
Something about the food here turned me off WAAAAAAYYYYY OFF
We had Hunan Lamb, Eliza's Chicken [ which was the best dish we had ], and the appetizer combo [crab ragoons, pot stickers, egg rolls & Drum something or others]
It wasn't good for me or my man...we wasted 30 bucks on shotty Chinese. Maybe I just don't like it that authentic, since thats what I"m getting from the other reviews. "Its soooooo authentic!" Well i like my food processed and my CHinese food Americanized!
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SERVICE: To all of you who say the service sucks, you just don't get it. Eliza's is not about the service.
DECOR: To all of you who say the decor is tacky have 0 sense of humor and need to feel cool by 'things'/places rather than on the inside. Eliza's is not about the decor.
PRICE: Affordable...fantastic for the amount of food.
FOOD: Ah ha...here we go. The Eliza's cakes, the Eliza's Chicken, The Mongolian Beef, The Princess Prawns, The hoision string beans...
My mouth is watering. Best Chinese food I have ever tasted.
Anyone who knocks Eliza's is shallow or simply prefers to have their ass kissed.
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This is a fabulous restaurant and I can't say enough good things about it. I heard about it a few years ago and just never got around to trying it until last night. All I can say is I haven't got one complaint about my experience--not one. The food was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious, the service was fantastic, the atmosphere was lovely and the prices were very reasonable. I can see why there are so many good reviews here and why people have been telling me to try Eliza's all this time. So do yourself a big favor and dine at Eliza's. I know the parking situation is pretty bad over there so if you can use public transportation all the better. And if you want to have Eliza's at home, just call them and place an order for pickup (they don't deliver, unfortunately). Just bring someone with you to drive the car around the block because double-parking is a big no-no on California Street and you don't want to get a ticket and ruin your dinner now do you?
Good food, super busy! This ain't your young and hip scene - This is where you come if you:
1. Have kids.
2. Have been married for 50 years and this is your Sunday night date spot.
3. Stumbled in off the street and are young and hip (us naturally).
4. Are generally over the age of 65.
The lady was highly unamused that my name was Eliza. -1 star for that and the not-so-friendly service.
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I dont know what the rest of the people are talking about but this place is Very good!!!! The food is delicious! I love the mangolian beef and the chow main. It is very pretty inside and a good place to come have dinner
DELICIOUS!
I never expected a good Chinese spot to be out in this neighborhood. My close friend told me about this place and so he took me here to prove how good it was. My first impressions of the outside was "this place?" but once I walked in the ambiance was pretty cute. I liked their decor. Funky, but in the likes. I automatically thought it was going to be another pan-asian restaurant but the servers and cooks were Chinese.
The food presentation when they delivered plates made me want to take a photograph with it. The taste is SO-DAMN-GOOD. Flavorful and is real Chinese food. I would rather go here then any restaurant in Chinatown.
LOVE IT!
One of the best chinese places in the city. Everything always seems REAL fresh. The potstickers are the dank! Also try the hoisin string beans... sweet, tangy and a little bit to them.
They don't deliver but the lunch special is a steal!
I picked up 8 orders here for lunch and it was under $100. what a bargain!!!! the service was very fast and friendly. i've also dined in and they were always very nice. for a chinese restaurant, they are also very clean. i especially dig the lucite clear plastic countertop with tropical fishes. tacky? ok, maybe not in my home but i dig.
as for the food, i've had GREAT chinese food elsewhere. for the price, it's a good deal. it's clean and cheap. and it's way better and more authentic than pf chang's. can't go wrong.
My boss always goes to Eliza's for lunch meetings....and she is a very picky lady! The atmosphere is a bit odd (perhaps "caverness" as my boss would say- wierd lay out) ....So naturally, I was very anxious to finally try out Eliza's, the somewhat caverness yet modern Chinese restaurant. We started out with the potstickers- 6 to our order, which was perfect for the three of us to share. They were huge and perfectly cooked- I love when the outside has a crunch to it. For our entrees, we ordered (family style) Mongolian Beef, Kung Pao Chicken, and Eliza's Special Eggplant with Prawns & Chicken. The Kung Pao Chicken had nice flavor and I enjoyed the texture the peanuts brought to the dish, in addition to the basil (love basil!). The beef dish stood out- it was fabulous. Slices of beef in a sweet sauce on top of crunch wonton like things (I don't know the correct term for them). I also loved the Eggplant dish because the eggplant slices melted in your mouth. The bell peppers and jalapenos added nice flavor, and the shrimp was perfectly cooked.
Overall, I recommend Eliza's for good quality Chinese food. I have not eaten Chinese food in a long time, due to past experiences with greasy food leaving me with a stomach ache. However, Eliza's is different; ingredients are fresh and flavorful. It's a great value too, which in this city, is always a plus!
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We had a delicious meal here! We were exhausted from a crazy work week, spirits a little depleted and ended up here on a whim. Eliza's lifted us up!
The decor is a funky mix of zen, bamboo and fishes! We liked it! At 7:30pm the friendly staff greeted us right away.
Our meal was awesome. Crab rangoon was rich, creamy, crispy wontons that were a tasty reward for a hard week. Not something we'd order all the time, but I think they are a little addicting.
We also ordered two specials, the spicy eggplant with prawns was super. They lightly tempura the eggplant in a way you've never had before and the combo with the prawns and sauce was just perfect.
Our other special entree was their fillet Mignon and that was just incredible! The meat was tender, and it comes with little shreds of lettuce and green onions. It wow'd us for sure!
We also got the special chow mien and some brown rice. We had way to much food. It was hard to stop eating the specials but we did bring food home that we can't wait to have as leftovers.
I would call this place more of a fusion restaurant then strictly Chinese, and we loved it!
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Eliza's gets criticized by people who think it's Chinese food for white people. Well, fine, just let me say this: most people would not like "real" Chinese food. Most people would not want to eat jellyfish, chicken feet, civet cat, shark fin, and steamed-in-shell armadillo. Most people do not want the head of the chicken proudly sitting on top of a pile of chicken that has been chopped up, bones and all. Most people do not want peasant food--which, due to the demographics of Chinese society, is what the bulk of it is based on. (Does anyone think 700 million peasants eat Sunflower Beef every night?) If you complain about Eliza's being "americanized"--fair enough, but I'd be curious how you like your turtle prepared.
Decor. The decor is tacky, inconsistent and ugly. One could look at it all and think it's an attempt to be casually hip, utilizing a carefree style of decorating, but the result is it looks like a style bomb misfired inside. But at least it's not your classic Chinese eatery with an orange-red awning and bright gold lettering, so Eliza's gets points for that.
Rudeness. Let's address that. The staff is very rude. They're particularly rude at lunchtime at both locations, when they try to hustle you in and out so they can seat someone else at your table. Also, the last time I tried to get something there, one of the waiters asked me, "Have you already ordered?" "No, I haven't." I said. "Well, we're closed..." the waiter said, with the intonation in his voice that I could stand there all night, but I wouldn't get to order until lunchtime the next day. And with that he turned on his heels and walked away. Now that I think about it, I've never been treated so rudely in a restaurant.
Oh, and another thing. I live in the neighborhood. The staff, including cooks, loiter in the neighborhood before the lunch session, hanging out on nearby street corners, outside the nail salon, and Martha Bros. coffee. For hours. These people need something else to do with their time or Eliza's needs to bring them inside off the street. They're obviously not allowed inside until absolutely necessary. It's the classic story from China--people at the very bottom get treated like dirt. Think about what kind of management would do that, and how they might make decisions about the food you eat.
Food. Ah yes, the food. As someone else mentioned, isn't it odd and scary how all the food is glistening wet? It's like Chinese food made up for a lap dance, except it lacks the sparkles and the overpowering odor of cheap perfume and strawberry scent. Otherwise, the food really is not bad.
Price. Lunch is quite affordable, but dinner is overpriced. Very overpriced. Two plates, one order of potstickers, and an order of rice for $30. Huh? It would be one thing if it were worth it.
Parking. Parking here is bad. It's not unusual to see four cars double parked outside owned by people ducking in to pick up their order.
I really wish Ming's Diner was back and Eliza's would just go away.
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This is my go-to Chinese place in SF...how lucky am I that it is within a stone's throw from my pad!
Simply cannot go wrong with Eliza's Spicy Chicken...the right amount of crunchy, fresh veggies and perfectly crispy chicken that soaks up the delicious famous sauce. The Mu Shu is amazing too...as is their hot and sour soup. In fact, I haven't had anything at Eliza's that I did not like.
They do close a tad early (take out only around 9p) but always a dependable standby. As my buddy Matt puts it, it's a "sure lock" on a second or third date...not sure why, but I gotta try that out.
I think the food is really good. The lemon chicken is perfectly crispy on the outside and just the right amount of zest to it. It's kind of modern on the inside, which is a rare find for a Chinese spot.
Sometimes, when you have to go, you have to go...
...I needed to make a pit stop, parked in an open spot on California, and Eliza's was right there. A bunch of Chinese people were heading in, I guess the people who worked there. I said, hey, can I use your bathroom, and pointed. He nodded, and so I went to do my business...
...and then someone unlocks the bathroom door as I'm in the middle of doing my duty and he starts yelling at me, "HEY! We're not open yet. What the ---- do you think you're doing? This is like you're breaking into our house! I should call the ----- cops!"
WTF...! You've never gone somewhere just to use the bathroom before? And I asked someone who worked there. I actually asked a group of five people who worked there...
I finish quickly and am practically thrown out by the owner and his dumpy rabid attack dog Cantonese wife -- I swear she was foaming at the mouth.
I don't think there's a city ordinance against using a restroom without being a paying customer -- what would they arrest me for, illegal #2?
Rest assured, I'll never be a paying customer here. Happy Year of the Rat, Eliza's - may you be infested.
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I don't know anything about chinese food, but thought it was decent food.
I don't know that I have ever had AMAZING Chinese food, but I definitely enjoyed the decor.
I wasn't paying attention to what was ordered or how much it cost but it was a nice gesture by our friends after we helped them move.
I would definitely go back, hopefully with more of an appetite (I had lunch about two hours before dinner).
The level of english didn't seem to be that high.
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Ok, people. Yes, the food is slightly better than your average delivery, but lets be honest, the service sucks with a capitol S. I have only lost my cool once in a restaurant and it was here. My dinner was extra greasy and I asked them to take it back. They said no, and I reminded them that I asked for reduced oil when I ordered.
Both the server and the manager were nasty, and not in that Carnegie Deli/Soup Nazi "I love to be hated" kind of way. They are meanies plain and simple. Oh, an the decor reminds me of my gay uncle's condo circa 1991 after he cased in his Koala Blue stock.
Sit down. We need to talk. No, no, let's not call it an intervention, let's just say it's time we had a serious chat.
Eliza's is not Chinese food. I don't know what it is, I just know what it's not. Can it be tasty? Sure! Can it satisfy that strange craving for MSG and weird chemical additives? Absolutely! But so can Cheetos, and it's a lot cheaper and won't force you on a crappy trip though the early 90s. This place is like PF Changs, except it was decorated by the same person that did Melrose Place and they wanted to make it "Chinesetastic!" They failed.
Did you ever notice that all Chinese food is covered with some thick, gelatinous, dark, shiny sauce? Shouldn't THAT be scary enough to turn you away? No? Ok, how about the fact that for glorified Chinese take-out with brisk service, you're paying an OBSCENE amount of money. Pork fried rice should never cost that much! What the hell people?! It's leftovers! Fried! Together!
But I digress. If PF Changs is too far away or if you really feel like you must eat that crap, go ahead. I freely admit that on occasion (even as a Chinese person, actually raised in Hong Kong) I crave the weird American-Chinese food, but for me, I'm all about the Panda Express. I might even consider going to PF Changs. But in the name of Mao and all things Commie, don't go to Eliza's.
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I don't get this place at all. It's been recommended to me time and again... and I've tried it time and again... and the food just doesn't have much flavor. I like spicy, strong, full tastes, and the food here has none of that. Very average and bland, IMHO.
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Eliza's is absolutely BOSS. Some of the best Chinese food I've had in the city (& the check will remind you when it comes...they's expensive!).
But this review is more about the DECOR of the place.
It's like you're eating on set for 'Lethal Weapon' or something. They've got the same polite but quiet waitstaff, very modern decor, & those fascinating giant fish tanks. You can almost envision members the Chinese Mafia sitting around in a darkened back room wearing $5,000 suits & counting neat stacks of crisp $100 bills. An older gentleman sits behind a desk. He's the man in charge. A much younger man with a scar across his cheek stands smoking an unfiltered cigarette off to the side. He is flanked by two much larger burly men, who only accentuate his badassity. This man is dangerous, & clearly not to be fucked with. It will take one, or perhaps TWO extraordinary cops to take down this operation.
If I had the money to eat here every night, I'd wait around for two gentlemen resembling Mel Gibson & Danny Glover to walk in. It's bound to happen one of these days...
What I'm getting at is this: Eliza's would be The Perfect Restaurant to film a Shootout scene in a Buddy Cop Flick. So eat there at your own risk. Plus the food is really good, which is an added bonus.
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I came here many years ago and wasn't very impressed. It is still just the same. Medicore Chinese food in a white person's environment that really would be more at home in Walnut Creek. However, there apparently is quite a market for such fare as this place always seems packed whenever I go past.
Dinner at Ton Kiang is in a whole other country compared to this place--like maybe China.
So, two stars for running a successful business!
It's clean and upscale chinese. The presentation is beautiful and the food is good. I can't say I'd go a lot and it's a block away from me. I rather get the cheaper, better tasting version at Ben Wah.
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I love Eliza's on 18th Street and obviously this is the same group (Levis and white shirts gave it away before I even peeped the menu). To be truthful, I've only used this one for take-out lunch -- over abundance of rice but the food is good and the price is right. This one might be as good as 18th Street if I gave it a chance but, for now, have to stay at 4 stars (which is pretty good for a lunch spot). By the way, there's always lots of teenagers at lunchtime (school on the corner).
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Nice work. Tasty steamed potstickers. Really liked the baby bok choy it was served with. Fresh, fairly flavorful meal. The wait wasn't even that bad for 2 on a Friday night.
This is chinese food for people that dont really like chinese food.
I just dont get it. Its always packed so it could just be me. I always take away, so I have not encountered "rude" service. The interior doesent tempt me to stay. Its very 80s and not in a fun way.
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I am not a huge fan of Chinese food in general (usually too greasy/sugary/heavy for my taste) but Eliza's has given me hope! We eat there at least 1x a month and try to order different entrees so I've tried a handful and they are ALL delicious. You HAVE to get the crab rangoon (to die for) and the sweet and spicy soup is amazing. Off the top of my head I recommend the mango beef, the spicy eggplant dish (chicken and shrip), the chinese prawns, and the hunan beef. I've always had prompt, friendly service (dine-in or take out) and the prices are decent for a Friday night out with a few Tsing Taos!
Absolutely terrible place. I have been eating out for 30+ years. If I were to look for a restaurant with a worse service I would be very hard pressed to find one! Once when our order was 40 minutes (YES 40 MINUTES!) late the answer was "if you don't like this place don't come back" from the guy who is the main guy at the door. When I requested to talk to a manager surprisingly I received the same answer from "the manager". And the food is mediocre at best. I will not go back!!!
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Dear Yelp,
Easily one of the best lunch specials I've ever had in SF. For about six bucks (plus tip, if you believe in tipping), you get a bowl of soup, an entree with your choice of rice, a pot of tea, all the water you can drink, and a fortune cookie. Now that's what I call a good deal.
Are people really rating this place based on the decor? If anything, the biggest eyesore is the uniform that the wait staff wears. You'll feel like you're walking into the Gap, circa '95. So much denim. None of that even matters though, because you won't have time to form an opinion on the aesthetics. You're literally in and out in ten minutes, which is far less time than I've waited at any In N Out during the lunch rush.
The food is your typical Americanized Chinese. Clean, no MSG, stupid metal chopsticks. With Eliza's, it's the price and the service that keeps me coming back. Also, they serve this really good soup on Wednesday. I recommend it.
I give Eliza's a fantastic score of 4 out of 5 stars.
Love,
James
Eliza's serves the best Chinese food that I've ever had - seriously. The hoison green beans are to die for and the steamed dumplings are incredible. Fresh and flavorful food, quick service and a great ambiance. Their only downfall is the fact that they don't deliver!
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Good for take out. Dining in is nothing special...no ambience and average service so you might as well take out. Overall, good chinese food.
Food is good, and the service is a bit moody. I can walk from my place to Eliza's in five minutes, and within that perimeter, Eliza's wins my vote for good, filling Chinese food, if a bit spendy compared with other places. Crab rangoon. Mu shu. Sunflower beef.
Interior is more contemporary -- colorful and neon, not like your traditional Chinese restaurant with all the little temples, etc. Refreshing.
Parking is a bitch in this neighborhood, so recommend you walk or take a cab or the bus.
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Great prices at lunch and beautiful atmosphere.
Not going to defend my Chinese food cred, and I've only been here twice - once for dinner and once for lunch - but both times the food has been great. I just had an excellent lunch, in fact. Hot and sour soup that made my nose run (that's a GOOD thing!) and a tasty shrimp and lotus root rice plate. Shrimp were fresh; veggies were good and crunchy, and the sauce was light yet flavorful. Brown rice option and included tea are definite pluses. Service was fine too.
I would consider Eliza's more Chinese fusion than authentic Chinese. I'm not saying the food is bad. It was pretty good. Just not authentic Chinese cuisine.
We finally ate here at a friend's recommendation, who was of course present to guide us through our experience.
We were all hungry so we went all out: combination appetizer platter (crab rangoon, potstickers, fried chicken drumstick, spring rolls, shrimp chips), sizzling rice soup, special prawn, hunan beef, sesame chicken, and szechuan broccoli.
The appetizer platter was okay. The spring roll was standard. I tasted a bit of the chicken drumstick with an interesting seasoning. It almost seemed to be fried in panko bread crumbs. The crab rangoon was weird - fried wonton filled with a lot of cream cheese and hardly any crab. Definitely my least favorite item of the evening.
The sizzling rice soup was good: chock full of scallop, shrimp, water chestnut, fried rice, chicken.
Our friend thinks the sesame chicken is the best dish served at Eliza's. It was definitely the most interesting dish: the chicken is cut in strips and on a bed of julienned carrot, celery, green onion, zucchini and sprinkled with sesame and black sesame seeds. This was a tasty Chinese fusion dish.
The hunan beef was very tasty but essentially mostly deep fried batter in sauce with snow peas. The flavor and texture were good but there was very little actual meat.
The szechuan broccoli was disappointing. Regular broccoli with szechuan sauce on top. I ordered it thinking it would be chinese broccoli.
The special prawn dish was okay. The prawn was stir-fried with sugar snap peas in a red sweet and sour sauce.
Two of us had brown rice and one had regular steamed white rice. Our friend who ordered the white rice complained that it was like Uncle Ben's - not sticky and soft like true Asian rice.
Service was efficient though somewhat impersonal.
All in all, I'm glad I ate here. I enjoyed the meal overall but would not eat here if I had a hankering for authentic Chinese food.
I'm usually not hip to Chinese food, but we all wanted to eat before heading-out to get totally loaded for New Years. Something cheap, fast, and filling near Solstice? Hey, look! It's Eliza's.
We sat down and I made sure to order a "clean" chicken plate and a vegetable delight. Not to be outdone by my "healthy standards" others opted for the chow mein. The chicken and veggies weren't that bad; actually, it was really delicious and didn't have that greasy salty vibe that most Chinese places have. The chow mein was different story: it came in a big bowl and had a red sauce. For a second I thought we were teleported to Bucca De Beppo. Regardless, we were full and satisfied and prepped for bringing in 2008.
Checkout the bong collection on the wall in the back dining room.
This place came sort of recommended. The dishes were okay, but not spectacular. I ordered walnut prawns, hot and sour soup, beef with black bean sauce and sesame chicken. When I picked up the order and got home, I was surprised to find out that the soup did not make it, but got veggies instead. Maybe a sign...maybe I'D ORDER VEGGIES IF I WANTED VEGGIES! Anyway, it kind of spoiled the dishes a little for me, but in the end I was satisfied. I would also like to commend Eliza's for the comfortable uniforms. Simple. Jeans and a white shirt. I wish I could wear jeans to work.
eh... the food is ok... but nothing to write home about -- or to yelp about. the ambiance is kinda cool, kinda tacky. richard p. says it well when he writes 2 stars for running a good business. the place does seem to have it's share of fans, but unless you live in the neighborhood and want some quick chinese food, i wouldn't recommend it. there are much better options in sf...
My favorite restaurant of all time...
If you are ever in San Francisco, this is a great place to stop.
I have been in Los Angeles for nearly a year, and I have found not ONE good Chinese food spot, maybe because I am always compariing everything to Eliza's, and no place is like Eliza's.
I was the first to hold a large event here almost a year ago (my college graduation) and although they don't usually "do" large engagements, it was amazing.
As for the restaurant: the veggies are crisp, fresh, and all of the dishes are cooked to order. No need to worry about chicken that has been sitting around all day, or veggies that are overcooked from boiling in a hot gravy waiting to be ordered.
This restaurant is very vegetarian friendly. All of their vegetarian dishes are good, and they have a lot of different vegetables...
The facility is beautiful, and the bathroom is always clean.
Now, on to the staff.
Um, what can I say? Not very friendly... To the point and quick. The only one who may crack you a smile is the manager, Richard (nice guy)
I think the dishes are reasonably priced, beautiful, and there is something for everyone.
Parking is a HUGE problem, so give yourself plenty of time to park if you have a date or meeting there.
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The differences between Eliza's Potrero and Eliza's California (in terms of food) are minimal -- with the exception of one dish that's served here that you won't find at the one in Potrero:
The kick-ass sea-bass with black bean sauce served over a bed of crispy rice.
Ok, I have to admit that over the years the quality and execution of this dish has not been the most consistent, but I still am fairly pleased everytime we order it.
We frequent this Eliza's more since we live closer to this location than the Potrero location, but I have to admit that we haven't dined-in in years (we're usually getting take-out).
I miss this place. They have some great dishes. It is great for groups although expect a wait. Some of the food can be a little greasy, but all in all some tasty Chinese Food.
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