Hunan Home’s Restaurant

Good food and very nice people. Busy place we had a little wait but everything is good. We will comeback.

Good food, mediocre service. Was in the city and read the reviews on their orange peel chicken and Mongolian beef. Both were pretty good and didn’t mess up my stomach like most Chinese food places do, so that’s a plus :)

We’ve been here twice now, and have had a great experience every time. The Orange Peel chicken is by far our favorite. The dumplings were also delicious, even for a non-​dumpling fan.
Don’t expect overly enthusiastic service, but they get the job done. We’ll bring guests here, for sure.

** This food is so good it ruined me for other Chinese restaurants. **
OH MY GOD! This was an amazing experience. We got in at the right time, when they were not super busy, but I can see why the January 3^rd reviewer complained. The place filled up fast after we got there. A friend was in from Chicago and I wanted to show him Chinatown. I asked Siri for a Chinese restaurant near me and this came up on a list and it had great reviews and two «$» out of four — so not too expensive. We had to walk almost a mile but it was more than worth it. The staff is very friendly, the food has a delicate but full flavor, and the food came quickly (something like 8 – 12 minutes after our order). They even charged my iPhone (which had just died) so that I could take a picture.
The place is small but clean, and I got a chance to go downstairs a few times and peek around the back a bit (they don’t know this yet). It is very clean downstairs and well organized, but packed with fresh vegetables. I *highly recommend* anything on a sizzling skillet. The presentation is far beyond anything I have ever seen. They bring a super-​heated iron skillet and place it down and immediately place «mostly cooked» food on it (99% cooked) and when the food his the skillet it sizzles and steams (for about 20 seconds) enough to fog your glasses. Everything was good, but I preferred the beef and chicken — both «softly flavored,» not overly seasoned, but saturated with flavor, and extremely tender. Best of all it is off of the trolley (cable car) lines, so it is easy to get to. This will be my go to spot whenever I am in SF. I don’t think they take reservations. You may call to find out.

Went to Hunan Home for the first time on New Years Eve. Everything we ordered was AMAZING (hot and sour soup, fried dumplings and Kung pao beef). The owner was funny, helpful and so nice!
Highly recommend! Will definitely be heading back next time we are in San Francisco!

UGH! This WAS our family favorite restaurant in China Town until last night. 30 minute wait on a Saturday night, that’s no problem. A 15 minute wait JUST FOR menus after being seated, 30 minutes between each appetizer (3 of them), and another 30 minutes between each entrée (3 of them) is completely unacceptable and was deliberate. Did I mention we were never checked on? Or that we had to flag someone down repeatedly for water, and tea? Never once offered anything else to drink. We were sitting RIGHT in the middle of the restaurant and every time a waiter or waitress zoomed by, they refused to make eye contact. Our party of 6 was extremely patient and honestly we should have walked out. We watched every single party seated after us receive their food and leave before we got all of our food. The food that was brought out was warm, leading me to believe it had just been sitting downstairs in the kitchen. Why?
Extremely disappointed, and they have lost our business.

This is exactly what you expect from a quality Chinese food restaurant:
Excellent food
Terrible, dated and rundown décor
Awful but efficient service
Full of ethnic Chinese (always a good sign)
Clearly serve you last if you are white.
Would absolutely return here again as the food was incredible. Just be sure to have realistic expectations of everything else.
P. s. Another appropriately ironic sign pointing to the quality of this restaurant is that it was recommended to me by my business partner, who is Jewish, and ate here for Christmas two years ago. The stereotypes just keep coming…
So why five stars? It was perfect for what it was. We loved it!

IT’S JUST A HYPE. What a disappointment… Earlier this week me and my family went to Hunan Homes because of all the hype it has been getting on Unilocal.4 stars and over 1000 reviews? Sounds promising. When we first attempted to come to Hunan Home’s (without a reservation) it clearly didn’t work. The wait was 40 minutes to 1 hour. A few days later we called and made a reservation. I was so excited to finally try this place!
Walking in, the atmosphere is friendly and kind. The restaurant is pretty loud due to all the customers it gets. The décor is kind of old school but I like it. So far so good… Until we get the food. Everything on the menu seems so good and we ordered our food. We ordered: Sizzling rice soup, Orange chicken, Bread (steamed), sizzling seafood, and the chicken and snow peas.
SIZZLING RICE SOUP: Absoutley disgusting. It tasted like old leftovers dumped into a metallic broth mixed with loads of oil
ORANGE CHICKEN: This was ok, but not the best I’ve had. I didn’t like how fried it was. I feel like without the batter it would be horrible
CHINESE BREAD (STEAMED): This was ok too, the bread smelt very strongly of yeast. It was soft and fluffy and came with condensed milk to dip it in (??lol??)
SIZZLING SEAFOOD: Probably the best thing we got. It was mediocre and nothing special at all. Chinese takeout level!
CHICKEN & SNOW PEAS: Looked like actual vomit, would not even order this one.
ALL IN ALL, Hunan Home’s is seriously nothing special at all. Please do not read these 5 star reviews and think this is the holy grail of Chinese food in SF, because it’s far from that. I would not come back. Service was friendly and prompt, prices were reasonable.

Another place found through fellow Unilocalers. We were starving and it was our first ever experience in Chinatown. We wanted to eat at a memorable place. This place was so busy so I knew it must be good. There was another place across the street that was busy but I took the opinions of my fellow Unilocalers. We didn’t wait to long because there was only 2 of us. Our waiter was funny and service was quick. Highly recommended.

I was looking for a restaurant open on Christmas Day for lunch with the family while visiting my brother. I was a little worried about what might be open but then I remembered Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan talking about the Jewish tradition of having Chinese food on Christmas. So off I was to search for a fabulous Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Well, apparently, everyone else had the same idea — most of the best restaurants were packed. Relying on Unilocal,I found this place, the wait wasn’t too long even though the restaurant was quite busy and the very nice hostess even offered to call me once our table was ready so we could wander around for a bit.
The food was very solid. We had the sizzling rice soup (quite good), the pork bao (which I didn’t try since I don’t eat pork but looked good), the Peking duck which was served moo shu style (also good and I usually don’t like duck), the shrimp with lobster sauce (quite good although a bit salty) and the chicken with string beans (also good but a little salty). The one less than stellar part of our meal was the rice which was a little on the dry side. I wouldn’t hesitate to return here!

The first time I visited Hunan — the original on Sansome or Kearny, I don’t recall — my mind was blown. It was in 1980-​something, I think. I met Henry Chung, bought the cookbook, and Henry even signed it.
Henry’s gone now but I have been to Hunan-​related restaurants since (I can never tell which ones are Henry-​Chung-​related and which are copies) and all were good but none matched my memory. Until now.
I don’t think this place is Henry-​related but no matter — this visit reminded me of those days. The food was as good as I remembered and I thought, «why can’t there be any Chinese food like this in the South Bay?» (There used to be but I don’t see anything of this caliber anymore.) (But, I digress.)
The hot and sour soup was classic. Too often H&S soup has the hot, has the sour, but that’s it. Without an underlying foundation, it comes up shallow and uninteresting. Not here — this was meaty and big, complex and rich. I could make a meal of this.
Where are the onion pancakes I remember from the old Hunan? Missing, unfortunately.
Hunan’s headliner was always the Harvest Pork, made from slices of ham, smoked on-​premise. This did not disappoint and was as I remembered it. Savory and smoky, not too salty and not too spicy (which I have experienced at other Hunan-​y places). This was spot-​on.
Mongolian beef was well made though oddly did not have the classic rice noodles. No matter, it was great and not too spicy.
Shrimp with walnuts — a crowd pleaser and well executed: Crispy, saucy, crunchy.
Several other dishes were all equally well prepared.
Service was efficient and courteous.
Winner, winner, stir-​fried dinner!

My mom, aunt and I were in Chinatown for the day and were looking for a place for lunch. Thanks to Unilocal we found this restaurant. There was no wait time and we were immediately seated at a large table. The restaurant was pretty full which is a good sign. We were greeted right away and our waiter took our drink order.
Their menu is quite large but we all ordered off of the lunch combo menu. Each entrée came with a cup of hot and sour soup and a rice (.50 extra for brown rice). The soup was spicy and delicious! We ordered the kung pao chicken, broccoli beef and mongolian beef. The sauce on the broccoli beef was delicious. My mom’s kung pao chicken was good, but not at all spicy. My aunt’s mongolian beef was good but she said it wasn’t the best she’s had. The combo prices were more than reasonable and the portion sizes were more than fair.
The service was great, the food was good and the prices were reasonable. I would recommend this place. I didn’t rate it higher because it was just average Chinese food, in my opinion.

I came for lunch on Sunday around 1:30, and our party of 4 was seated within 15 minutes. We ordered the sizzling beef, roast duck, salt and pepper pork, gai lan (chinese broccoli) with oyster sauce, and brown and white rice. Our food came out quickly, and everything was really good!
My favorites were the duck, which had perfectly crisp skin. It was pretty fatty though, but that made it even better. The fried salt and pepper pork was super flavorful, and the batter wasn’t greasy at all. My bf liked the sizzling beef the most, which literally came out on a sizzling hot plate.
Service was surprisingly good! I dont expect much from places in Chinatown, but the servers were like friendly Chinese parents haha.
I’d definitely come back to try some of their other dishes!

We came here with high expectations — a benchmark of one of Chicago’s best, if not the best, Chinese restaurants where we’ve been going weekly for over 20 years. Hunan Home’s Restaurant did not come close and actually left us feeling ill.
We ordered:
Appetizers:
–Fried Bean Curd
Entrees:
– Tea Leaf Duck
– Steamed Chicken
– Kung Pao Vegetables
A fair warning about the Steamed Chicken — this was supposed to be Hainan Chicken, but it comes drenched in oil and swimming in yet more oil. The dish was unbearable to eat but I was hungry and didn’t want to be a pain. I was left with a violent stomach ache the entire day. The Kung Pao Vegetables didn’t score very high marks, either. The Tea Leaf duck was probably the best thing we ordered.
Beyond the food, the rest was okay. The restaurant is tiny, but service is quick and prices are great (on par with the rest of ChinaTown).
Would not return.

Yikes, this was a bit of a misstep. I didn’t have enough time to properly research where to eat in this area and we ended up here. We just got the xioa long bao and another type of dumpling (I forget).
Then we saw a woman who looked like Paula Deen walk in, accompanied by her farmer-​like husband wearing suspenders, and she says to the waiter, «This place has the best Chinese food!» in a loud, midwestern-​y voice. Oh no.
It was then we realized almost everyone dining there was white.
The dumplings were nothing to write home about. I was hoping to find something better than the lackluster dumplings we have in San Diego, but I didn’t find it here. They weren’t terrible, but I was sad I wasted a meal during my short trip to SF here.

Seeking out a good Chinese or Cantonese spot in San Francisco is in some ways the definition of finding a needle in a haystack, and while there are some great options, Hunan is pretty much your typical option. You won’t by any means be disappointed, but you won’t be blown away either.
Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere?
Even on a weekend evening the abundant seating at Hunan is such that you likely won’t be waiting longer than 30 or so minutes, which is a rarity in the city. From there, while the ordering process and food delivery can take a bit of time it’s not impossible to be in and out in an hour or so. Dumplings in particular come out quickly, so keep that in mind if you’re hungry from the get go. Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
The benchmark by which all Xiao Long Bao are and should be compared is without question Din Tai Fung (
), which run $ 1.05 each. At $ 1.16 each, the XLB here at Hunan are a bit more expensive, but they’re a bit larger in portion size as well. The other standard Chinese dishes run just above $ 10 and maybe a bit closer to $ 15 once you bring the necessary rice into the mix, which is in line with the market rate. Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
My party of three enjoyed our meal here at Hunan, but nothing really blew us away. The Xiao Long Bao was fine, although lacked a bit in flavor, and my Kung Pao Chicken was a bit weak with nearly twice as many vegetables as chicken. The other two in my party opted for the Chicken Fried Rice, and while I’ll credit the hefty portion size neither seemed overly thrilled and didn’t end up finishing their dishes. Hunan is a bit of a jack of all trades, and while they don’t shatter the competition with any one dish they do everything reasonably well. Single Star Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
There’s simply too much competition in the area for Hunan to really stand out in my opinion, but they’re a jack of all trades that will satisfy just about any party. No Star Granted.

I’ve been to Hunan Home’s now on a number of occasions. Here’s the thing, though… I’m not a lover of Chinese food. But, Hunan Home’s is getting a 5-​star rating. WHAT?!
Lots of selection and the food is REALLY good. Better yet, it’s right around the corner from LiPo — get yourself a Mai Tai and then come for a delicious dinner. I highly recommend the Peking Duck. The best part is, if you’ve never had Peking Duck before, your server will make the first few «burritos» for you so that you know how to finish things off!
Definitely give this place a try. You likely won’t be disappointed (and if you are, go have a Mai Tai… you’ll feel better).

I’ve been here twice. Food here is not reflective of true Hunan cuisine as all, not to my surprise since it is situated near busy financial district. Dishes here are typical Americanized Chinese food, such as sweet and sour pork, orange chicken, etc… If you think of this not as Chinese food, but as American asian food, this place is quite acceptable.
What I did love about this place is the braised beef wonton noodle soup. WOW… it was so flavorful! I will be back just for that.

Accueil détestable, nous avions plus l’air de les gêner qu’autre chose…
Soupe au poulet décevante…
Je recommande tout de même les nems, les raviolis et les noodles !

Oh me oh my. What a great foodie experience. I love xiao long bao & that’s what brought me here. The XLB was really delicious. Prefect amount of dough and meat. I’m used to the typical vinegar and ginger, but this places substitutes that for a sweet soy sauce scallion peanut sauce that is to die for. It really made the meal for me. Now my one and only complaint is that the XLB were steamed touching each other, so they burst open, juices flowing everywhere, before I could savor it.
The environment is something like a home living room. The décor is very Chinese, and I felt like I was at my grandmas house. The staff consisted of older women and gentlemen. They were friendly, although we had some trouble with language. But in the end we got our order and I was extremely satisfied.

One of the items on my San Francisco bucket list was to eat at a restaurant in Chinatown.
In my search of authentic Chinese, of course I turned to Unilocal.Hunan’s Home had over 800 positive reviews so I thought it had to be a sure thing.
We walked there from The Embarcadero so we didn’t have to worry about parking. There were meters on the street out front but I didn’t see any available spaces. The interior was what you might find in other Chinese restaurants: a fish tank near the entrance, zodiac placemats and faux bamboo in the dining room. It was lunchtime but we didn’t have to wait for a table.
Our server was ready to take our order before I even got a good look at the menu. I don’t think he was trying to rush us. I think he was used to dealing with people who hurry to get in and out during their lunch hour and he was trying to be efficient. He used Chinese characters to scribble our orders on a mint green notepad… loved that.
I got Egg Flower Soup and Moo Shu Chicken. The soup was filled with clots of scrambled egg instead of light ribbons of egg. It tasted fine but clearly someone in the kitchen didn’t stir the soup properly. It wasn’t served with any crispy fried noodles either for some reason.
For the Moo Shu they brought out two plates – one for the Chinese pancakes and plum sauce, another for the chicken and vegetable filling. The vegetables were overcooked (with browned edges) and the flavors weren’t interesting. I ate less than half my order. My dad just picked at his Fried Rice and my son was indifferent about his Chicken Lo Mein.
After our meal, the server brought out fortune cookies, orange slices and a pot of jasmine tea. I didn’t think I would like the tea since there wasn’t any honey or sweetener to go with it but it had a nice floral flavor. The oranges were the sweetest I’ve tasted in a long time.
None of us thought the food warranted so much acclaim from Unilocalers. Our entrées were so mediocre. One star for helping me check the item off my list, another star for the service and one half star for the food. 2.5 stars.

On y mage très bien. Les enfants ont adorés nous aussi.