Asian cuisine restaurants San Francisco

On the east side of Chinatown, you could almost walk past it without seeing it. Yet R&G Lounge is a must; it's even one of the favorite addresses of former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle! While the service isn't necessarily the most extraordinary, the cuisine is top-notch. The secret of their success: the freshest seafood. Specialties include salt and pepper crab and shark fin soup, but the restaurant is also renowned for its mastery of vegetable cooking.

Marufuku is a popular ramen restaurant in Japantown, with a very chic, designer Japanese setting, which has even opened other outlets in North Cal (in Oakland and Cupertino in particular). Two star ramen on the menu: the authentic Tonkotsu Hakata ramen, featuring a milky, umami-rich pork broth simmered for hours, with fine artisanal noodles. And Paitan ramen with white chicken chashu, seasoned boiled egg, green onions, kikurage mushrooms and bean sprouts. Excellent izakaya appetizers and quality sake. Delicious and affordable.

Don't be put off by the bright green frontage, unsightly neon lights and mediocre appearance of this little Chinese boui-boui, where you'll find great seafood and fish at all hours. There are plenty of Middle Kingdom specialties to choose from, starting with the excellent Peking half-duck, as well as Wonton Noodle Soup and dishes spiced with Sichuan pepper, for example. Portions are gargantuan. Late eaters will be delighted to learn that this restaurant stays open until 11pm every day, a rarity in San Francisco.

Elegant decor for this high-flying Japanese restaurant, which takes you straight to the Japanese archipelago with two swipes of its chopsticks. You first pass through a small, relaxing courtyard, then take your seat in the wood-panelled interior room, where each table is separated by panels that allow a certain intimacy. The à la carte menu features exceptional dishes in the purest Japanese tradition, combining simplicity and freshness. Skewers and sashimi are particularly good. One of the best Japanese addresses in town.

In Chinatown, this family-run Vietnamese restaurant is very authentic. It's frequented by many Asians throughout the day, which is a good sign and convenient when you've skipped lunch. Indeed, the dishes are delicious, especially the Pho soups (the most popular in the house, a beef noodle soup ), bo buns, spring rolls and imperial egg rolls, hearty and crispy. We recommend one of the very original special dishes.

Call siam in the heart of Russian Hill. Owner and Chef Toi Sawatdee offers a map where curry is king, and a wide selection of vegetarian dishes.

Sanraku is one of Nob Hill's top sushi spots. You can eat there while watching the chefs create their wonders at the bar. If they are not too busy, they will even be happy to chat with you and share their knowledge. The decoration is a mix between contemporary Japanese-inspired posters and old-fashioned American furniture. For those who are allergic to raw fish, the udons, special lunch menus, and the donburis (fish or meat on a bed of rice) are excellent and more economical. A very good address

This somewhat isolated restaurant in Richmond's district is worth a visit, and if you explore the Golden Gate Park, you can easily go there. On the menu, dumplings made with talent and tradition including the few insiders who know the address! Vegetarians, pork or seafood are all recommended. Stuffed brioches are also delicious and perfectly accompanied by a steam ravioli base. Perfect to regain strength before returning to the park museums. 

A magnificent gastronomic stopover in Vietnam at this two-storey restaurant with outdoor patio. Dine on the first floor, in the large, tropical dining room, then head upstairs for a cocktail at the bar, where you can listen to guest jazz players on certain evenings. On the menu, a fine selection of dishes blending Vietnamese and French inspirations. Specialties include swordfish stew with green bananas and rack of lamb with curry. A real delight. On the other hand, the bill is rather salty.

In Japantown, which is bursting with good addresses, this restaurant is very much in the Japanese spirit. Take a seat at the bar, equipped with screens, to order your sushi. We recommend tempura rolls, California-style dragon rolls and lobster rolls. Get ready, they're delivered by a little electric train that runs along the bar connected to the kitchens! When it arrives, it rings, and don't forget to send the wagon away!

This establishment opened in 2015 and decorated with a Michelin star in 2016 offers to discover sushi made following the traditional technique known as Edomae. At the helm is Chef Jackson Yu who has been practicing this traditional cuisine for nearly 20 years. The fish comes from the Tokyo fish market every day (!). Two menus are served each evening, composed by the chef, who suggests you let yourself be guided in this culinary experience, no à la carte dishes. But you will have understood, everything is gathered to spend an exceptional moment.

In a pretty impersonal room, you will be used as excellent sushi with good value for money. The card is varied and the prices are really interesting. You can also eat good udon soups or good grillades grill. A good address for an economic lunch and also the advantage of being a block of the Golden Gate Park and its large museums and gardens.

In the heart of the Chinatown district, this typical restaurant is very popular with the locals. Located in the basement of the building, the room is filled with large round tables where San Franciscans come to dine with their families. On the menu, more than 240 dishes (!); so much to say that the choice is large and that one finds there all the great classics of the Chinese cooking. The soups are particularly good, as well as the Mongolian beef, a delight! Authentic and surprisingly economical, certainly one of the cheapest restaurants in town.

In Japantown, restaurants are plentiful. Only one stands out for its playfulness: Tenroku. Slip onto a stool at the helm of this restaurant, and watch the circular conveyor belt parade sushi made by the minute. This gustatory duck fishery is color-coded for price: green, red, white, black and so on. Everything is spelled out on the menu in front of you. The sushi prepared is quite simple, even the more expensive ones, but the experience invites you to try new dishes quickly, and the atmosphere is popular and pleasant.

In Japanese, Kui Shin Bo means "person who likes to eat". This restaurant in the heart of Japantown is a great address for epicureans who want to try excellent sushi and ramen. The special rolls are particularly creative and ultra gourmet. You can also opt for even more exotic dishes, popular Japanese specialties on the menu, delicately presented: donburi (a kind of chirasi with lots of ingredients), soba and udon noodles, okonomiyaki (savory pancake) and other exquisite Japanese dishes. A very fine address.

This Chinatown restaurant offers specialties from southwest China, Sichuan. A region with delicious hot pepper. The house is a classic in the neighborhood, it doesn't look like much, but you can go in with your eyes closed. This simple room, with its print-covered walls and strange, elongated lights hanging from the ceiling, is an unrestrained delight! We loved the pork ravioli served with an ultra-fine spicy sauce, as well as the aged duck eggs, fish fillets and fried green beans.

This restaurant dedicated to contemporary Chinese cuisine has a modern design with a concrete ceiling and large wooden tables, all organized around the kitchen. Go for the Sichuan pork dumpling with hyperfine sauce, the small duck sandwich and the green beans with mushrooms. All washed down with a 2017 Mayacamas chardonnais, it'll go down easy... The house also has a cozier VIP restaurant, a whiskey lounge bar, a tea room and a boutique area to leave with tea, cookies and condiments.

In this elegant Japanese restaurant of wood and raw concrete design, you sit at the counter to watch the cooks prepare sushi and take your time choosing a sake, the bottles of which are displayed in the background. The menu changes daily according to fish arrivals, but guarantees a wide selection of sashimi, nigiri and chirasis. On the small plates, the Tombo tatai of just-seared Hawaiian tuna served with a spicy bouquet of black radish and chrysanthemum leaves is divine, as are the special rolls.