Best Family Style Restaurants in Civic Center / Hayes Valley / Van Ness

It’s a fun spot with tasty food at a moderately premium price. There is better Chinese food to be had in San Francisco, but the vibe here makes it worth the occasional trip. We had the chrysanthemum salad, which was very tasty and fresh though I didn’t much care for the dressing. It seemed a little bland to me. We had the xiao long bao, which I usually love. These were very tasty, but nothing special. The fat noodles were great. The sauce was a little sweet to my taste. The winner for me was the tofu clay pot with minced pork. Wonderfully spicy and full of interesting flavors, offset by the creamy creamy tofu. Really beautifully prepared.

Regardless of whether you eat with your eyes or with your stomach, you won’t be disappointed. My husband and I had dinner here last night and we couldn’t be more thrilled. The restaurant itself is absolutely gorgeous and the food is outstanding in every way. The menu is interesting and innovative. We enjoyed appetizers of Carne Crudo and Insalata Tritata which were absolutely delicious. Our entrees of rockfish and lasagne verde were perfect. We sat at the bar which was lively and festive considering it’s the holiday season. The staff is super friendly and the vibe is lively and fun. A definite must try if you haven’t already!

Made reservations for a group of 8 for dinner before the symphony. Our overall experience was fabulous! From start to finish the food and cocktails were scrumptious. If you order the lava cake expect a wait and it's worth it!

Staff was fabulous!!! Very friendly and attentive. Food was good, nice variety and well styled.

Absolutely incredible meal! Everything about it from start to finish was near perfection! Firstly, the hospitality is on point. A server is always right there when you need them to be and they made the amazing suggestion to get half an order of each of the pancakes rather than a full order of one. The servers that come around with the trays of food also know what they’re doing. When I ordered a single oyster for myself and my partner made a comment about not liking oysters, the servers gave us an extra one for free just so my partner could try it. This was an absolutely amazing opportunity to show not just above-and-beyond hospitality, but also that the restaurant truly believes in the quality of its food. And you know what? My partner did say it was the best oyster he ever had! They’re known for their quail however, I just think it’s not meaty enough of a bird for how it was prepared (Most parts were more breading than quail). As for everything else I tried, I just can’t think of any criticisms at all. I guess I could complain about my glass of rosé but that’s entirely my fault. I went with sparkling when I should have gone with still. The hit of the night were the blue corn-pepita pancakes with braised bacon and coffee butter. I wasn’t even going to order it until the server made the suggestion and I’m glad they did! The pecorino and ricotta pancakes are good too just not as good. The wedge salad is all the right balance of flavors with a nice crunch of lettuce to feel extra bright and fresh. The fried brussel sprouts are paired with an incredibly deep cashew satay sauce. The umami richness is impeccable. The almond financiers with duck liver mousse are another example of perfect balance in flavor. The financiers are light and fluffy and the mousse is smooth and delicate. I thought the burrata and bread dish came a too late into the night for us to fully enjoy however the peanut milk was the perfect cap to our evening.