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Silver House
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
2224 S El Camino RealSan Mateo, CA 94403
(650) 571-1298
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 9:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
194 reviews for Silver House
Review Highlights
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"seafood to fu clay pot- lots of seafood and tofu and so D..." In 24 reviews -
"...ASPARAGUS - yummy dish with black bean sauce that goes well..." In 9 reviews -
"They do good consistent Cantonese food here." In 12 reviews
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194 reviews in English
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Review from Agustina P.
Stanford, CA
4/8/2012
Eastern Sunday. We arrive at 12 and we were the only costumers. At 12:20 the restaurant was half full.
The ambience was friendly and casual.
We ordered:
Pekin duck with buns ($13)
Ong choi with garlic
Pan fried pork chops w/ salt & pepper
Chicken chou mien for the kids
Everything was delicious. Our server was very gentle and precise. Definitely, coming back soon. -
Review from Jim C.
Redwood City, CA
5/5/2012
Tried Silver House after a number of friends recommended it but was rather disappointed.
- Fish with vegetables - standard/ok
- Beef Chow Foon - asked for dry beef chow foon and they gave us this wet dish that did not even resemble anything close to what we ordered. It was lacking flavor and the noodles were so clumpy, mushy, and unedible the next day.
Bottom line: I think I might have to un-friend a few people, esp when asking for restaurant recommendation. -
Review from Michael L.
San Mateo, CA
4/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
Can I get a plate of 'eww' and a side of some more 'ewwww'?
This place is garbo. Can't figure out which is worse: the food or service? Oh, the bathroom? Wow.... wtf is that thing? I've been in nicer port-a-potties. -
Review from Robert H.
Concord, CA
4/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
I am honestly surprised at all the positive reviews. At best the food is so so. We had a group visit for the first time for lunch (lots of Asians for those curious) and we have all had better food experiences. We ordered from both sides of the menu and every dish was so so.
Try it yourself -
Review from Bebe W.
San Mateo, CA
5/14/2012
I'm not a big fan of any chinese food places in San mateo, except for maybe Champagne's dim sum. Anyway, I reluctantly went to Silver House and was pleasantly surprised. i don't remember the food being this tasty, and I would visit again. We got chicken mu shu, Buddhist's delight, salted fish and chicken fried rice, yee mein, and beef tendon stew. The food was a little greasy, but I rarely eat here so it didn't bother me.
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Review from Michelle W.
San Jose, CA
4/3/2012
This place has been my family's go-to restaurant for... as long as I can remember! (20+ years?) We love all the servers and the food here is very consistent.
We always get their unique daily specials on the white board (Chinese side doesn't have the same dishes as the English side.. ask the servers if you can't read chinese!).. but some of my favorites that we get nearly every time are:
- House Special Crispy Chicken: they pour hot oil on the chicken to make the skin super crispy, but the meat is still ridiculously moist inside, and the sauce is to diee for
- Steamed Egg: this is awesome over rice. They add bits of preserved egg, salty egg and egg yolk into this steamed egg and top it with green onions and soy sauce.
I miss coming here nearly every week, but my visit last night made me feel nostalgic. -
Review from Louis A.
Beverly Hills, CA
4/3/2012
I've tried a ton of Chinese restaurants around San Mateo and believe this is the best one in the area.
Quite a few people on here recommend the Beef Stew Clay Pot. Evidently, they must enjoy sucking down star anise because it's SOOOOO overpowering in this dish, that's ALL you taste. Be sure to inquire about what is "fresh" on the "Fresh Seafood" section of the menu because the owner told us he had a couple items, but they sold out and everything else on the menu was FROZEN.
I know I've ripped a little here, but seriously, the other stuff is pretty good and I would definitely go back. Just don't expect LA quality...but then again...you can say that about almost every Bay Area restaurant. -
Review from Cat A.
3/29/2012 1 Check-in Here
I've been coming here ever since my family moved to the Game back in 1996. This place has literally not changed. The staff has seen me grow up- from a rambunctious 7 year old to a grown ass woman paying for her family's bill, I will never stray from Silver House.
The quality of their food is consistent, if you're looking for real Chinese food. I'm not talking about that sweet-and-sour shet either. Get some real Chinese food or go to Panda express at Hillsdale mall already.
My family went here for dinner when my mom didn't want to cook, so that was pretty much once a week. I don't want to brag and say we're VIP, but lets face it-- We've been supporting their establishment for over 15 years. The place can get pretty packed, so I suggest you drop a member of your party in the front so they can get on the list while you look for parking. Don't even try their parking lot unless it's lunch time. A bunch of Asians with their benzos trying to park/back up in a small parking lot = you get the picture.
My dad, who is part Chinese dad always ordered food by what he remembered his family made as a child and also what other Chinese
families ordered. Because of that, we've came to a select set of dishes we rotated every week:
Salt and Pepper Squid- I still can't find a place that makes it like they do. It's not fully deep fried with a batter like how other places do it. I hate batter, and there isn't in this one
Tofu clay pot- Mom always made us order at least one vegetable dish. This one was one we could all agree on. Braised tofu, shitaki mushrooms, carrots, bok choy (yeck), and this brown sauce.
Crispy Chicken- I'd always steal the shrimp crackers and dip them in the salt. I'd also grab a few pieces of the breast. Today, at 27, I still do it.
Beef Stew Clay pot- Always good
Tofu/preserved egg casserole- I don't know what the eff it is called, but I can NEVER find it at another restaurant. I try explaining what it is, but it's practically impossible. It's in this glass dish that takes the longest- a soft tofu consistency with 5 kinds of egg? Duck, Preserved, Scrambled chicken egg, and maybe some more? Lord have mercy, my life changed when my family discovered this dish
Steamed fish of the day and fried- Just learned how to cook this at home, so maybe I won't order this as much.
Pea sprouts/gai lan/ ong choy- All good- order them with garlic stir fry
Silver House, I'll never leave you. I've been to Hawaii, Seattle and back-- You are the HANDS DOWN, BEST CHINESE FOOD I've ever experienced.
OH- and this place used to have ties with Riverside Seafood in the city. But it ain't the same... -
Review from Alex L.
San Mateo, CA
3/20/2012
I've been eating at this Cantonese place since I was a kid. Silver House was the neighborhood restaurant we ate at when Mom and Dad didn't feel like cooking.
The service is rough, but that comes with the territory. I turn a blind eye and ear to the servers' attitude because I've gotten used to it, and also because the quality of the food hasn't dropped off after all these years. (Some would say this attitude also lets you know you're eating at a "real" Chinese restaurant.)
Whenever I take my family to dinner at Silver House, I always order the same dishes I've enjoyed since I was a kid - the chicken bathed in hot oil (So much crispier and moister than Peking Duck!), razor clams (when in season) and off-the-menu items like the giant pea-pod stems (rich with chlorophyll flavor) and the salt-and-pepper battered eggplant (crispy and light). We also go for the congee and fried bread sometimes on the weekend. We haven't had a bad meal here in ages.
After all these years, I still eat at Silver House with my family. That should say a lot about this place.
-Alex L -
Review from Jay S.
San Francisco, CA
4/1/2012
I have not been here in years and decided to come back since our favorite Lil Shanghai is closed for a month... Surprising the food is still really good...love love the fukien fried rice... chicken salted fish clay pot = excellent, bok choy beef gin mein = yum without the grease, the pea spouts with whole garlic... delicious and refreshing...need to come back and try more food..we asked for no MSG and experienced no after effect .... yay and to top it off, the food came out so fast I thought the chef must have mind read us while we were reading the menu...
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Review from Naomi K.
3/13/2012
I think this place is an average Chinese restaurant. The hotpot, roast duck, mu shu pork, sharkfin soup, and mixed vegetable dishes were all typical. Everything was good, but not exceptional. The service was decent, although I'm sure it helped to have someone order for us. The prices are reasonable and parking in the front was surprisingly easy.
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Review from Christina G.
Los Angeles, CA
How many updates can you write on reviews??? Favorite (local) Chinese restaurant. Clay pot beef stew was so tender, and the strips of bamboo were so good and not too big so you don't choke on it. Beef Chow fun (not dried this time), we always get that, and the fried bean curd with sauce on the side...and little mushroom pieces in the sauce are one of the best parts. THANK YOU for the free red bean dessert, my uncle celebrated his birthday here and I do agree, I'd want a birthday here too...or at least a nice dinner gathering here. is perfect.
I will probably find a new favorite restaurant soon, but at this moment, this is my favorite. Can't rave about it more. Things come and go so quickly but when it's good, its GOOD.Listed in: ASIAN STYLE
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/11/2011
Gotta love Silver House-- not to be confused with Silver Fish accross (ish) the street! I came here… Read more »
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Review from Mona B.
Paramount, CA
3/14/2012
Ok, so this is the best Chinese I've ever had! My boyfriend and I were visiting Frisco and stayed in San Mateo a couple nights...we walked in to check out the place and it was non-stop busy--we figured it must be good, so we ordered ours to go. YUM! Everything we had was amazing...he's from New York and said that it was the best Chinese he's had too (and we've had some pretty good stuff in NY). This is a must whenever we go through San Mateo again.
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Review from Moo S.
10/1/2011
What's not to like? First of all, you don't come here for the ambiance. It's good Chinese for those days that you wanna subject yourself to a food coma.
I like ordering the following:
Salt & Pepper Pork (I'm convinced they coat it with crack)
Eggplant & Minced Beef Clay Pot (warning: oily, so don't order if you're an oleophobe)
Braised Tofu with Vegetables
Pea Shoots Stir-Fried with Garlic (not on "regular menu," must be in Chinese - we saw it being served and pointed to it = universal language)
Chicken Salted Fish Fried Rice
Yeah, the service can be aloof, but it's always prompt. Watch out for the guy up front who has perfected the art of looking at you down his nose (it becomes quite endearing if you've been here as many times as I have). I don't care, I'm not here to make friends...now pass me that pork... -
Review from Lou G.
Palo Alto, CA
11/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
It was a Saturday, a little after lunch and the place was empty. Either we came at a bad time or the food was that bad were my first thoughts. I didn't have my phone so I couldn't check any reviews. Either way I was taking a huge gamble.
I'm usually not a fan of sweet and sour fish fillet but this place hit a home run. Golden, crispy outside tender rock cod inside topped with delicious sauce. That dish is a must get. The house special chow mein was outstanding, it wasn't too salty or greasy. I found myself trying to stop eating but my hand overpowered my mind and kept forcing the food into my mouth. Decent service.
All in all I stumbled into a great Chinese restaurant. I will drive a few extra miles to eat here.
Will I be back?
I recommended this place to a few folks, so you bets believe it! -
Review from Jessica Y.
San Mateo, CA
3/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
Been going here for years. Good cantonese food, bit pricy. But good quality.
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Review from Anh W.
11/12/2011
I came here for dinner with my fiancee one night. We ordered their set menu A: pot-stickers, wonton soup, bbq fried rice, sweet & sour pork, and kun poa chicken. The food was not good at all. The price is ok considering there are 5 items in this meal. However, it is overpriced in terms of quality of food. The fried rice and chicken tasted the same. The sweet & sour pork was not really good. The pot-stickers were a little greasy.
The service wasn't great. We felt they were not very attentive. We had to wait forever to get our check and our food boxed.
In sum, we will not go back again. -
Review from Nathan W.
Alameda, CA
9/13/2011
Who says you need to go to Chinatown for great food and offensive service???
The food here is very good. I ordered the shrimp chow fun in lobster sauce off of the specials board for lunch recently, and was not disappointed. Very tasty, and it being served in a small wok was a nice touch. It came with good soup and bad tea...
The decor here is generically Chinese. The help seems to look at all of the diners with disdain. Definitely worth a visit, though... -
Review from MiKA D.
1/25/2012 1 Check-in Here
Their crispy peking duck with buns is the business! This is the only reason why I come here. It's broasted, crispy and it melts in your mouth! I also had their fried whole fish, the chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, salt and pepper pork chops and the yang chow fried rice. I am definitely coming back here!
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Review from Tiffany C.
Irvine, CA
9/16/2011
As Nathan W. aptly implied, Chinese food ain't real if there ain't crappy service! I'm taking that into account as it contributes to the genuineness of this Chinese restaurant. I don't know why people consider this place a Chinese-American joint; clearly, the waiters speak Chinese (and the Chinese menu is more extensive than the English) and the only reason I can gather as to why they have menu items like "Lemon Chicken" is to satisfy American customers.
I always go for the chow fun, deliciously pan-fried thick rice noodles. They have a shrimp chow fun and beef chow fun. The shrimp chow fun, with "running egg" is a tender, flavorful (I think they might use MSG, not sure...) egg noodle dish that I've always considered to be my comfort food. Oh and I forgot to mention that I'm Taiwanese, I'm not sure if that would contribute to the merit of this review. The beef chow fun is stir-fried with bean sprouts to give it a good, soft-yet-crunchy feel.
I can't vouch for the American-Chinese dishes because I never get them, there are always quite a few non-Chinese folks dining here so regardless of what the restaurant serves, I'm sure it caters to a wide variety of ethnicities. Silver House has a variety of menu items, with grammatical errors in all the right places, so you are assured that you're in a real ass Chinese restaurant. Food comes with Oolong tea, of course, and you can ask for forks and knives if you're a non-limber finger type. Lots of vegetarian options too, if you're a non-meat type :)
My mom used to get her hair cut next door at Mayfair, and whenever she went to get a cut she'd order a "Salted Chicken" to go. That's just a rough translation, and it seems to be a favorite among her and her very Taiwanese friends.
Parking is somewhat of a pain. If you don't find parking on El Camino, there's a tiny, crappy lot in the back of the restaurant that is shared with Mayfair. Just turn onto 22nd or 23rd and mosey your way in there. It's very compact, so beware. -
Review from Shoji I.
Belmont, CA
8/15/2011
FINALLY. I finally found some really good chinese food outside of Chinatown. It was a surprisingly long search. My family usually go out to either Chinese or Japanese food and while we had found some pretty good Japanese food, we had yet to find a good Chinese solution. Silver house is awesome.
We have 14+ people family outings, so we can order a lot of dishes everything has been superb (mongolian beef was the only weak dish). I would name all of the dishes, but I'll list my favorites:
Salt and pepper crab
chow mein
roast duck
Sea bass
many more....
Decor wise, its a chinese restaurant, perfect for large families or children. Just go the Silver House and order, I am sure you will like what you get. -
Review from Ann L.
6/12/2011
Went to dinner at Silver House. It's Cantonese food that's pretty good, but expensive for me since we live in the East Bay. It's more expensive in San Mateo that's for sure.
Dishes we got:
FREE Chinese house soup - they give it to Chinese people, not the Caucasians - it'll scare them. Sat night it was a peanut beef soup. Ok.
Steamed pork w/ preserved veggies - Tasty, I like it. Didn't notice it being too salty too. $11
Pea shoots w/ garlic - on the wall special. It was tasty enough. $12
Boiled clams - lots of little clams w/ cup of soy sauce/green onions. We liked it. $11
Huge red container of steamed rice $3 - hate haven't too pay for rice.
FREE hot tea. They asked us if we wanted iced water - that was nice.
Asked them to give me Fortune Cookie - I hate the Chinese tapioca dessert.
Credit cards taken. My bill was over $40 w/ tip & tax.
B. said the bathroom was through the kitchen, didn't use it.
Street parking in the front, I think there's a parking lot in the back since people were entering from the back of the restaurant. -
Review from Randy F.
Updated - 6/4/2011 10 photos
** Make sure to request no MSG **
We returned to Silver House for a second visit and found the crowds much more reasonable at lunch.
The same great food items (clay pot, Foo Kien rice) mainly made to stand out by the excellent "wok hay" or cooking heat that the items are all cooked with.
The one negative is that I forgot to ask that no MSG be put in this time, even though they said they had to put some in when I asked last time. This time, since I didn't ask, I immediately felt the stereotypical effects as we ate. Dry mouth, headache, fatigue, etc.
Loved the taste of the food, but I'd rather have it a tad more bland without the MSG effects. Will make sure to make that request next time.
-1 stars for that, but I still think the food is amazing and MSG, is used quite commonly in many cuisines when used in moderation.
Silver House accepts credit cards, but not American Express.Listed in: AmEx Outcasts!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/16/2011
Silver House is the real deal. Who knew great Hong Kong level Cantonese cuisine would be on an… Read more »
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Review from Kristie G.
San Mateo, CA
1/22/2012
Good...the deep fried crab and the beef chow fun. Everyone was pretty good, but this is not the place if you can't handle a little oily food. The fried crab was nicely fried but wasn't seasoned as well as I would have liked. The beef chow fun was very good but doused in oil that I felt like I needed to drink tea to wash it down after every bite. We also got pea sprouts, but since it's pretty hard to screw that up, it's hard to review.
Love the place and would go back if my parents were in town. -
Review from J l.
San Francisco, CA
1/21/2012
I'm Chinese and this is where I go for Cantonese-style Chinese food in my neighborhood. That should be a strong enough endorsement alone. Silver House is a friendly and casual restaurant. I usually get the live lobster, about 1-1.5 lbs for around 19.95. Fried with ginger and scallions it's fantastic. We also get the clay pots (i.e. tofu, mushrooms with either seafood or chicken) quite a bit. This place is very reasonable, it's consistent and it's tasty. Silver House is also not as greasy as a lot of the other Millbrae fare nearby. The salt and pepper crab is pretty good, but R&G in the city is better. There's parking in the back, which makes it very convenient.
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Review from Curtis C.
San Mateo, CA
8/19/2011
This is a very typical Chinese-American joint. Since there so much good traditional Chinese food in the area, i usually avoid it. I was out with a couple of my friends and everything was closed. Silver House was open.
The place was clean and the waiters non attentive. The prices were above average.
The food there was decent but nothing amazing and out of the ordinary. Try some of the better cantonese joints around San Mateo if you can. -
Review from Sara L.
6/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place is the best! Really good food, fresh ingredients, authentic, and just all together a lively atmosphere. I know a lot of old school Chinese folks in the area, and they all say this is their favorite Chinese restaurant.
You can't go wrong, everything is good. Although I would definitely encourage you to be more adventurous and get some of the weirder-sounding things. If you can read the Chinese on the walls, I think they have some even more authentic/exotic items you can order. (If you are feeling extra brave, you can always just point to one and say you want it)
It's a lil pricey for Chinese, but it's well worth it. -
Review from Ken K.
Updated - 4/13/2011 1 photo
Somehow with Yummy World next door closed for vacation this week (or for whatever reason), the food at Silver House tasted especially good during a visit over the weekend.
And I'm not talkin' bout M$G.
Likewise the cheapsters who preferred value with a lil quality (and the crystallized flavor enhancements) had no choice but to mosey over to Silver House, and thus the place was packed again.
Why flog a dead horse, this place's secret to success is not really a secret.
And that is, execute really well and consistently but not fantastically. This is done so that the bar is not set so high that will raise expectations and standards (like Koi Palace: the bigger the bar, the harder the fall) and you have a place that will very likely stick around for years to come (and still get heavily visited by locals, regulars, Cantonese expats).
A few words to the wise:
Mmm (Ho) Lok Mei Dzing = hold the M$G, yo / don't put dat chit in please.
Dems da magic wurds to the waiter when you put in the order. Otherwise it might get used by the chef if you don't specify. And that's where the reviews go north and south.
I'm sure you can request in English too.
No M$G = no flavor? Well these guys didn't stick around 20++ years for nothing. They can still kick ass without it.
Daily house soup is the classical Cantonese "lo foh tong", stewed for hours with multiple ingredients, and it fweakin hits the spot. Ours was pork ribs/bones, veg, seaweed, peanuts where even the solids retained a ton of flavor and a delight to the bite. A very thick nourishing stock with natural sweetness, that rivals (or at times surpasses) the run of the mill cheap Cantonese along Taraval, Noriega (ie what I call Sunset Cantonese). In fact you can think of Silver House to be similar to Sunset Cantonese, except at a higher refinement level (and pricier entrees, we're talking $9 to $16 depending on the dish). Probably the only Canto joint in town where slow fire stewed soup is included in the bill (along with dessert soup).
Too many things on the menu of course. I tend to avoid the Chinese American or Americanized items, or things that don't fall on my palette radar. Then there's the Chinese placard menu that's generally quite good, and the white board menu (left side in Chinese is the good stuff, the right side in English can be hit and miss and are mostly different)
Steamed pork patty with scallions and conpoy (dried scallops) - comfort food, nom da stuff with rice. Good solid Cantonese does not have to be high end seafood extravaganza. This is in the same category as steamed egg custard (with or without clams) or "jing shui daan". Stuff that is fundamental but at times hard to nail down if you try to DIY.
Fu Yu Jieu Si Tong Choy (fermented tofu paste, chili pepper/jalapeno stir fried water spinach/ong choy) - $12 but this was one of the best ong choy/hollow stem veg preps I've ever had. Specials white board (Chinese) item, so ask to translate, or bring a Chinese reader with you.
Chinese white board special menu item and they might be able to make it on the spot even if not listed: Fujian bamboo steamer tofu (Fuk Keen Lung Jai Dou Fu)...humongous pieces of soft tofu drenched in magic sauce with finely minced pork, peas (yes a bit of an oddity), some shrimp. Almost like Fujian fried rice, but w/o the rice. Comfort food yet again.
On the Chinese only placard menu, there's a $19 sizzling iron plate sea bass (could also be rock cod) filet with scallions. They debone the fish completely, so all you are left with are chunks of fish with the skin on that almost taste like fluffy fish phat with a slippery smooth skin.
Most claypot dishes here kick ass. For something more adventurous and down to earth, perhaps try the fish belly + roast pork + garlic claypot. Heck most claypot items can be requested off menu within reason . Don't like salted fish? Try the chicken tofu claypot and request no salted fish, it takes on another dimension of its own.
Still no recent signs of steamed razor clams of the Atlantic variety with the dope ass jalapeno steamed fish style soy dip sauce, but when it does make its majestic appearance on the Chinese white board, it is absolutely not to be missed.
Again the owner/manager/cashier is of the serious cat type. But don't worry, you don't come here for him and he probably knows that.
Oh yeah do not go during lunch. No free house soup and dessert...only dinner.2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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9/18/2010
Nevermind the fact that Silver House was not even full on a Friday night or the fact that their… Read more »
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Review from cholada c.
Union City, CA
Updated - 1/19/2012
Just want to give them two thumps up for their best food and service. We go there a few times a year and they continue to hold up the quality of their fresh and delicious Chinese Cuisine.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/18/2009
Silver House is the one of the best Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area.
We have been eating there… Read more »
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Review from James L.
Mountain View, CA
1/28/2012
My family has been coming to Silver House for over 10 years. This is our old standby for solid, reliably good Chinese food. I always stuff my face full when I come here!
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Review from Maria W.
San Jose, CA
12/5/2011
I've been coming to this for over 30 years. I have never had bad meal. Everything is good. Salted fish is very good. Tomatoe beef how mein is very tasty. Love place. Good authentic Chinese food that mom use to make.
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Review from josh j.
11/25/2011
This is some seriously good Chinese! THE CRISPY CHICKEN IS THE BEST I'VE EVER HAD; IT IS DEEP FRIED DELICIOUSNESS, CRISPY BUT STILL MOIST. Of course, like so many good Chinese restaurants, it doesn't have the greatest ambiance, but the food is fantastic. Good size portions with reasonable prices.
The service, overall, is fine, except for the guy up front, who, comically, loves to look at you down his nose, it's like being in a Seinfeld episode, classic. If you're in NorCal and looking for a Chinese flavor feed, this is the place. -
Review from Sherri C.
4/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
We found ourselves in San Mateo starving a couple hours past lunch time. We pulled out the smartphone and checked out what was nearby on Yelp. If Ken K., Anita L. and Helen Y. say this is an awesome place, then it must be the place to go.
We had the won ton soup, mixed mushrooms, and fish fillet with Chinese greens. The meal was great. The food came out piping hot, authentically flavorful without being overly salty. And the staff treated us just fine, despite hubby being the only non-Asian in the entire restaurant.
I would give Silver House 3.5 stars except for one small problem. To say this politely, about 2 hours later the meal didn't have a happy ending...but I don't think it's fair to drop their rating, as I may have experienced a sensitivity specific to me. Hubby had no issues. -
Review from Mona W.
Don't blame me for being a little partial but it had been a long time since I had some decent authentic Cantonese food. I have passed by Silver House many times but never thought to even try it out. For some reason I have always perceived Silver House as one of those very Americanized Chinese restaurant that couldn't do anything right outside of the sweet and sour pork and sesame chicken. I was wrong.
Came here for a very late Sunday lunch (~2:30pm) simply because I ran out of options. Most restaurants already closed by then. Even though they are open between lunch and dinner hours, I was still rushed by our server to order because the kitchen staff were about to take their lunch break. I had literally 3 minutes to look at the menu. At the end I just picked one of my all time favorite Cantonese dish and took our server's recommendation for the other one.
Our lunch was Stir Fried Beef with Golden Needle Mushroom and Salty Fish, Eggplant and Pork Clay Pot. They were both served promptly. Note that these dishes are on the Chinese menu without English names so I am just giving you a loose translation.
The stir fried beef was tasty. The meat was tenderized and the seasoning was adequate but not too overwhelming. Nothing spectacular about this dish but it is authentic and quite likable. I also like the fact that it is not soaking in oil.
The clay pot dish was what our server recommended and it was good. The salty fish used aren't the best quality but this dish is overall well balanced. The eggplants maintain a very good firm texture and the pork is nicely seasoned. An excellent dish to eat with your rice.
Their clientele seems to split between Chinese and White. Quality of food is probably around 3.5 stars. Rounding up this time because .... well.. I am just partial to authentic Cantonese food in the Peninsula.Listed in: Chinese Restaurants, Cantonese Food in South Bay…
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Review from Chris O.
6/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Not bad but not great either. I got the black bean sauce string beans with beef and it was tasty although I have a feeling they cheated by using lots of msg, not that I'm afraid of the stuff, I just think of it as cheating is all.
Decor was average, the service was good from one waiter and the other was terrible so we had a good cop, bad cop experience. -
Review from Eric Y.
2/23/2011 7 Check-ins Here
Ran out of placed to eat in Millbrae so we used Yelp and my Google Android Navigation on the phone to find a new palce to eat. 100+ reviews with 4 stars? Chinese restaurant? I thought that was impossible. Most Chinese places automatically get 2 stars knocked off for poor service and shady servers, but this place was 4 stars? I couldn't believe my eyes.
We were greeted by several people, which doesn't happen when you go to other restaurants. One of them brought us to a small table for 4 but overheard us saying that's a small table. Then they said u can go for the 8 people table with the spinner if you want! SWEET! At most Chinese places, you would need to kill the owner for them to give you a large table!
Anyways, we picked the 38 Dolla Set Menu!
Within 2 mins, Soup of the Day arrived at our table. Within another 2 mins, the first dish came to our table! WOW fast food style!
Yet, quality is damn good. Everything was flavorful, not one thing disappointed. All four happy Chinese after dinner! Definitely coming back to this place more often as it's cheap and easy! oh not to mention, friendly!
P.S. who needs Asian Pearl and Kitchen? They should close now! -
Review from Debbie T.
San Francisco, CA
3/11/2012
REALLY good crispy skin chicken, moist inside and an ample portion. We had the cheapest set menu. It was perfect for 4 of us w/ leftovers to take away. Surrounding tables ordered dishes I'd like to try sometime. Looking forward to having lunch there.
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Review from Niina I.
South San Francisco, CA
7/27/2011
I am pretty picky about Chinese food, but I could recommend this place to other people. We had Beef w/ eggplant in black sauce and chicken w/ asparagus in black bean sauce. The eggplant was a little bit too oily for my taste but was pretty tasty. The chicken was.. hmmm the flavor was good but the chicken itself had that typical Chinese chicken that has the fake softness to it. I didn't like the texture of it but overall well done.
The place has a tacky Chinese decoration (sorry no offense ;P). The lunch comes with a small soup with broiled eggs and veggies in it, it was actually pretty good! Under $10 for most lunch menu so it's not bad. Oh and they give you a huge bowl of rice too~. How generous :) I'll give this place 3.7 star! -
Review from jenny k.
San Mateo, CA
3/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've been coming here with my family for as long as I can remember... So long that the waiters have seen me grow up and know me by name. One waiter in particular is able to list off all the things that we normally eat (and could probably order for us if we didn't change it up every now and then). You definitely don't go to Chinese restaurants expecting modern decor or a quiet meal and this place is no exception. However, even though the decorations don't change (minus the festive lanterns every now and then), the food is SO good. Typically the food comes out really fast and there's the complementary daily soup and dessert (or fortune cookie) to enjoy as well. There's one waiter/boss that is sometimes pretty surly and unhappy looking, but don't take it personally. He's always like that!
Some of my favorite dishes: (since I know the names in Cantonese, these may or may not be the same English translations that are on the menu)
Salt and Pepper Tofu
Salt and Pepper Pork Chops
Dry-Fried Beef Fun
Beef Chow Fun w/gravy - with Gailan (Chinese Broccoli) instead of Bok Choy
Beef Congee (only available on the weekends) -- I wouldn't recommend getting the Chinese donut with it though since it isn't made-to-order and sometimes comes out cold.
Singaporean Fried Rice Noodle
any of their garlic stir fried Chinese vegetables
PS: If you come right before the new year, they give out calendars (both big ones and smaller desk-sized ones). -
Review from Jeff S.
Foster City, CA
4/4/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Once I met my friends in Foster City one of the first places they took me for Chinese food was Silver House.
Now i've been coming here with my own family ever since.
We always seem to order too much food due to the dishes all being so yummy!
My favorites are the Empress seafood soup, ANY of the clay pot dishes which always come out sizzling! also the cripsy chicken always comes out tender and jucy.
My grandmother is a little put off by the service but now that we are regulars a smile is now on their faces when they see us come in, don't be put off by their aloofness at first, the food is definitely worth it!
