I asked for a recommendation and the waiter served me singapore style rice noodles. I loved it! It was surprisingly light and fresh, and completely unique to me. Thin rice noodles, capsicum, onions, bean sprouts, curry powder, sesame seeds, probably some other ingredients, and three kinds of meat! The shrimp that came in it was also surprisingly fresh and tasty. The other two (bbq pork and chicken) were standard. The portion is for two people. It cost me $8. Yay! I'm a fan. Note: They had two menus. One for dim sum and one for everything else. Everything you'd expect in an American Chinese menu, plus more. read more

Big Lantern - Singapore Style Rice Noodle (w/ Chicken, BBQ pork, and Prawns) - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Bad. Just...bad. I ordered the general orange chicken and shrimp dumplings through eat 24. The chicken was SO tough I could hardly bite into it--severely overcooked chicken with way too much dough and drenched in orange sauce. The shrimp dumplings were ok. read more

Big Lantern - Deep fried batter drowned in orange sauce. Not good. - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Get take-out dim sum with a friend and eat it together sitting in Dolores Park on a sunny day with Tsingtao beers! Unforgettable!!

Came here because Mission Chinese Food was closed for Independence day. When we first arrived I thought we were in the wrong place because it was so empty. The whole place had another party of 3 and ourselves for the night. The only reason I thought of coming here instead of another place because of all the people who mentioned this place that had gone to Mission Chinese Food . The place is not a $ restaurant, the only thing under $10 is the lunch specials. Most items were around the $11 boarder. For the price we paid, the amount of customers that the business had that night and what we got, I totally do not believe the place is worth it. Our Mao Pao Tofu was nothing special, our spicy fish had a few pieces of cod and our Tea lamb was overcooked and tasted more like beef. read more

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My first order from here while in SF housing sitting. The food is awful. The broccoli and beef was 1/4. and 3/4 rice. The egg foo young was like mush and both orders had a "weird taste" to it. I live in West Sacramento and we have good Chinese food there. Not as expensive as this and you get much more real Chinese food. Full of flavor. I wasted my money and would nit recommend this place to anyone. read more

The best fish egg foo young I ever had. This place is my top 5 picks for Chinese cuisine.

We ordered delivery, so I'll focus on food and service. Food: Great selection of meatless options, but some of the options are not what you'd expect. I love meatless General Tso's chicken and order it when I see it, but Big Lantern only offers meatless General Tso's meatballs. Though different, I asked my fiancé to order the meatless General Tso's from Big Lantern because I generally like meatless meatballs and General Tso's sauce. Unfortunately, when our food arrived almost two hours later (our first delivery was stolen, per the restaurant) I was very hungry but also very bummed. The meatless meatballs are really Italian tasting, and the sauce is good but very watery and runny. Overall, I feel that a frozen meal would have been more convenient, better tasting, and had better texture. Service: Our delivery was incredibly late, but we were told someone stole our food from the delivery person during their first attempt to get to our place. Other than that, service was good. Overall, I was not impressed and cannot recommend their vegetarian/vegan food. Since my omnivorous fiancé likes this place, I expect to have more than one opportunity to review them and intend to update my review if my opinion changes. read more

Good vegetarian dimsum choices which is the main reason to come here Cold Sesame Noodles were a solid B+ read more

Big Lantern - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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We are an SF native family living in the Mission over 35 years. Over the years our family has grown and before COVID19, this was our favorite place to eat on special occasions or just because. They know how to accommodate big families and they are super friendly and the food is off the hook! If you want good Chinese food this is the spot I highly recommend :) read more

This place is my favorite for Chinese. I'm vegan, and there are pages of tasty dishes. The staff is always friendly and give great service. I moved away from San Francisco, and the first place I go from the airport is Big Lantern. read more

I was starving (as usual) upon my arrival to work ( I work graveyard) it was close to 10pm and I needed delivery (NOT PICK-UP) I was really wanting Chinese food and my normal spot was closed. I am big on Yelp reviews in my venture to try out a new restaurant. It is usually a pretty good gauge of yea or ney. I decided on Big Lantern because the pics looked delicious! AND the reviews were positive. I ordered the chicken chow mein (with special instruction to cook the chicken well done) and the basil chicken same request for well done chicken ( I don't fare well it it is not firm in texture) enough about me ( too late?) the food arrived earlier than est time given. I was pleasantly surprised!! The chow mein had that almost grilled flavor from an expertly seasoned wok I imagine.. the chicken was firm as requested BUT it was still tender!!! The basil chicken was a spicy ..generous collaboration of sautéed basil and YES! firm but tender chicken! Score! It was more than enough to share. My order could have easily fed 4 maybe 3 really hungry adults. My co worker would not leave my office without the deets of where all that wonderful goodness came from. We order food A LOT.. Big Lantern will soon be in heavy rotation around the workplace I'm sure! read more

got takeout from this place tonight and it was kinda disappointing. i got the spicy noodles and my friend got the curry noodles. the spicy noodles wasn't really the traditional chinese style. they just gave me some chow mein with a cup of chili oil. for my friend's curry noodles. it didn't look like there was much curry in it either, and the whole dish just seemed very dry. overall we were kinda disappointed about the food. read more

I went here for dinner with a few friends last night and was pleasantly surprised! I had always walked by big lantern but never actually stopped in to eat. The food: We were in new years recover mode and accordingly we really enjoyed the spice fried rice with bbq pork and the dim sum sampler. We had one vegetarian in the group so we got the veggie pot stickers (the meat eaters loved these as well) and the vegetarian delight which they were able to make a little spicy and came in a delicious sauce. The service: Waiters were attentive and re-filled our water frequently. It wasn't crowded so we were able to have a nice leisurely meal. Is it the most amazing food I have ever had? No. But it is really solid, a decent price, convenient location, with no line. They have tons of vegetarian friendly options which makes it easy for a group of people with diverse dietary needs. I definitely will be back. read more

My partner and I love delivering from here. The food is decently priced, great flavors and delivers very quick. Our favorite dishes are the Sesame Chicken, green beans, and mapo tofu. Great stuff! read more

Love this place! Great for groups with mixed diets (vegan, veg, regular) Judy always a great hostess!

Ordered 2 things of lo mein and the 5 nut dumplings for FIFTY DOLLARS. The lo mein tasted like noodles and water with undercooked veggies... the dumplings were mediocre. Overall, horrible food and ridiculously overpriced. Will never order from here again read more

Big Lantern - Lo Mein - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

What pulled me in at first, 6 months ago, was the fact that they had all-day dim sum AND it could be delivered. Then, I started working closer to the store and decided to try dining in. I haven't stopped going since. Any time I have to work near Big Lantern, there's no doubt that I am eating their on my lunch break. That means I'm eating here 1-4 times a week. I really do find it that good. 98% of the time, I am greeted and served by the same waitress. Her name is Judy, and she is awesome. I think she told me that she has been working there for 20 years. She's always really friendly. From their dim sum menu, I really like and recommend: siu mai, chee cheong fun, char siew bao, and tofu skin roll (lol don't know how to spell that one in English). From their appetizer menu, I really like the spicy chili oil wontons. I mainly go there for their lunch specials now, though. From 8.95 and up, you can get a small bowl of hot and sour soup, and a combo plate entree that can come with salad, rice, and a nice helping of a main course. I've had a ton of their lunch special selections, but the ones that stick out to me the most and are my favorite: broccoli chicken, broccoli beef, crispy chicken, and ginger spring onion beef. They have dishes for the Americanized palate, and they also have more "authentic" dishes. That's why I feel like I can go there so often, because they can appeal to a few different palates. Today, I ordered the ginger spring onion beef, and it was the most like my childhood... the way the ginger was cut, the flavor of the sauce, it was all perfectly done to how I like and remember ginger spring onion beef from when I was younger. I told Judy that it was especially good, and she mentioned that it was because the boss had cooked it this time for me. She says he will hop in to cook when the other cooks are busy. Overall, I dig the vibes at this place, and I will continue eating here. It feels very homey, no frills, and reminds me so much of home cooking. Thanks, Big Lantern! read more

Vegans and vegetarians beware! They have stopped serving meatless chicken. They have substituted vegan meatballs in all their menu items. They are terrible, no replacement for the meatless chicken at all. Bland, mealy and definitely NOT Chinese food! They did not create new menu items in their Eat24 and Grubhub listings, so you might not notice the change until you get them. This is a bit dishonest, because each item on the menus has ratings, and they claim that over 9000 people have ordered the General Meatless Meatballs. They most definitely have not. This is the last straw with this restaurant. The rude owners and slapdash cooking made this a grade C eatery before, but now it gets an "F". read more

Disappointed! I found a dead green caterpillar in their pan fry noodle:((((. It made me throw up read more

Big Lantern - I ordered their food through Doordash and saw a dead green caterpillar in their pan fry noodle after eating almost half of the plate . - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Fam. If you respect your body and your stomach in particular, you will not eat here. My friend wanted some meatless chicken, so we decided to check this place out since they have an entire section on their menu dedicated to imitation meat. We went with the Braised Tofu with Bok Choy, General Meatless Chicken, and Sesame Meatless Chicken. Okay let's begin with the tofu. If any of you eat tofu regularly, you know you need to season it for it to be consumable. Unfortunately, Big Lantern did not follow these general tofu preparation guidelines. What we received were soft blocks of plain tofu swimming in thin gravy surrounded by large chunks of bok choy. I tried, fam, I really tried to enjoy the tofu but it was inedible. The bok choy was chopped into huge pieces that were extremely difficult to consume in one or multiple bites. I ended up slathering this dish in sriracha. Let's move on to the chicken. The General Meatless Chicken was funky y'all! It tasted bitter and sour-- as if the meat itself was bad. I did enjoy the cashews and veg that accompanied the chicken though. As for the Sesame Meatless Chicken, that was probably the tastiest dish out of the ones we ordered. It had your typical Sesame sauce, and the chicken was prepared in the most appealing way out of the two chicken dishes we ordered. It was fried, however, I would have appreciated if the fried shell was a tad bit crispier as it turned out to be on the soggier side. I do want to note that the service was pleasant! Everyone was nice and accommodating to us, so I don't want the quality of food to overshadow the other aspects of this place. Unfortunately, I don't plan on returning any time soon. About an hour after dinner, I experienced stomach pains, which I believe were a result of the food served here. With all of this said, I rarely eat "Chinese American" food so my standards for what Chinese food are pretty high (grew up in Singapore). Check it out if you wish! read more

When I want casual vegetarian/vegan Chinese food, I eat here. I am not expecting super healthy, fancy plates and neither should you. I have eaten in a few times, and had delivery at least 10 times. Every single delivery arrived in 30 minutes or less. I ordered delivery today and it took 20 minutes from the moment I phoned. I always call the restaurant directly to avoid extra fees. My usual order is garlic noodle and kung pao tofu. This lasts me at least three meals so I get my money's worth! The garlic noodle is a must. Also, any place that offers an extensive list of non-meat items is on the top of my list. read more

Late last night, I was looking for solid "old school" Chinese takeout- nothing special but the kind of classic fair that originated in SF and became the standard for what many Americans know as "Chinese food." Big Lantern was the only one willing to deliver after 10 pm, so I decided to give them a try. The food arrived on time and smelled delicious- somewhat nostalgic for my wife and I, who sometimes appreciate the kind of Chinese food you would find in most inner cities. The cream cheese wanton (crab Rangoon) was as expected; the egg rolls were crispy, the fried rice was good though we had to use the soy sauce for a slight lack of salt. The combo chow mein was classic with a bit of bbq pork. However, my moment of SF Chinese Food nostalgia came to a halt when while enjoying an egg roll, I bit down on a sharp piece of plastic that may have been chipped from a plastic utensil or tool. My wife refused to eat any egg rolls because of what I found in mine. Being a restaurant owner myself, I understand that mistakes can happen and decided to just shrug it off and let the restaurant know in the morning. However, I woke up at 3 am in the morning and ended up puking it all out. My wife is sound asleep, and the only thing that she didn't eat was the egg roll. read more

I have ordered from Big Lantern for years. In the past, the food was fresh, not that expensive, and delivered oh so quickly. Doesn't hurt that I'm nearby. But this last delivery was a major disappointment and their costs have exploded. I mean, $7.95 plus tax for 5 potstickers? Outrageous! That is $1.59 per sticker. Ugh. Also bought the Singapore noodles, which were dried out and overcooked. Vegetable fried rice was full of that peas and carrots filler bullshit. These guys know about Postmates, right? And that Postmates will easily draw business away from them? They should be worried. Not sure I will order again. read more

Our go-to for Chinese take out in here in SF. We always order the pork fried rice, orange chicken and mushu chicken. The pork fried rice is my favorite - it's not too oily and it has loads of veggies, egg and of course, pork. Hubby gets the orange chicken. It's sweet, crunchy and comes with broccoli! Super tasty. The mu shu has been hit or miss. This time there was barely any chicken and the tortillas were sticky. Maybe they shouldn't heat them at all and let us fend for ourselves. :) Great staying in and movie night restaurant! read more

Okay, first I want to start of this review by commenting on people complaining how long they got their food. Don't give them a low rating star for your food being delivered. Blame the delivery company, not the restaurant. When we ordered from Yelp24, they quoted us 55 mins. My husband and I were killing time by shopping at Petco for our new dog. We are a 10 min drive from Petco. We completely lost track of time and started racing home. I even made a comment saying, "well everyone else on yelp seem to get their food late, maybe he's not even there yet." WRONG! He was right on the dot 55 mins. Shame on me for judging! My husband ordered the Hong Kong style chowmein with prawns and I ordered the Hong Kong style chowmein with seafood. The noodles were crispy and they put the sauce and ingredients in a different container so we wouldn't have a sloppy mess! Great thinking. My husband and I don't share food because we're big eaters and we usually finish our meals, but this place gives generous portions! My husband also ordered the General Chicken! Lots of meat and less breading. Sauce was perfect amount and it was also delicious. We had the rest for leftovers and it was as delicious as it was fresh! Way to go Big Lantern!! read more

Big Lantern - Hong Kong style chowmein with seafood! - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I'm housesitting for friends in the Mission and wanted to find a decent Chinese takeout place. I figured from the reviews that my favourite dish, sesame chicken, would be a safe bet. Boy was I wrong. The chicken was drowned in sauce that was so salty and strange tasting that I gulped down four pieces because I was starving and just arrived from out of town... but I couldn't even finish it. What a waste. That being said, staff was kind and friendly throughout the transaction. Perhaps their other dishes are better - but I'll be saving my money to try someplace else. read more

This place is operated with the expert efficiency I hope for in a restaurant, whether you dine in or order delivery. I am so thankful for a sit-down place in SF, where I can be seated, eat, pay, and leave in 30 minutes. It's not the absolute *best* Chinese food, but definitely hits the spot when you need it. Get the BBQ pork pineapple fried rice and the dim sum combo. read more

This is our go to Chinese restaurant in the city! It's not greasy at all and the vegan options are wonderful! We love you Big Lantern!

This restaurant doesn't look impressive from the outside, even the inside seems a bit rundown. What's special about this place is the vegetarian dim sum selection. If you have vegetarian friends, you know how hard it is to go have dim sum with them because most items have meat or seafood. This place has many veggie options, as well as many of the standard non-veggie selections. We only tried the dim sum so far, but the lunch/dinner menu also seemed pretty extensive. We came on a Sunday morning when they first opened at 11:30 and there were no lines. Parking could be a challenge in this area but it's close to the 16th street BART station. Would come back again if I am in the neighborhood. read more

Big Lantern - Dim sum menu - many vegetarian options - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

They have a little bit of everything. I only eat plants; and my diet is covered very well here. I am a fan of the five spice meatless chicken. If you are trying to find a place to sit down and eat veg past 10:00 PM in SF (ikr?) Big lantern is the place. read more

Greates food ever tasted on planet earth best ever thank you hmm what else do u need outta me uhhhhhhggggg

This is exactly what it should be. Assuming the owners are Cantonese by the high quality of the dim sum, but multiple generations with the immigrants take on some dishes (like the chiar su rice noodle wraps). It's OG San Francisco, with an aging dining room that harkens back to the early 40s China Town (but in the Mission). I really enjoyed all of the Dim Sum items I tried, they were very fresh! read more

Have only done delivery so I cannot speak to ambiance nor service, but delivery staff has always been prompt and courteous and the food, ALWAYS on point! What I like: Steamed Wonton with Red Chili Oil, Cucumber with Garlic and Chili Sauce, Combination Wonton Soup Steamed Spare-Ribs, Turnip Cake with Meatless Chicken, Taro Vegetable Puff, Rice Noodle Roll (With: B.B.Q. Pork), Shrimp Toast, Stuffed Eggplant, Sauteed String Bean, Garlic Noodle (With: Vegetable) Highly recommend! read more

This place is one of my favorites. Do they make everything well? No. Avoid the hot and sour soup. Also they need to work on temperature when it comes to soups, as well as the chili oil dumplings (I've gotten them delivered to my table barely warm). But with that being said, this place make most things well. The quality of their meats could improve, but are decent. The menu here is big 90% of it is very good, and reliably so. The people here are wonderful. The portions are a appropriate for the money you pay. The Mongolian lamb, won ton soup, asparagus w/salmon, and the general Tso's chicken are exceptional. This place is open late. Big lantern is arguably the most reliable tasty Chinese restaurant in all of SF. read more

I've ordered take out from this twice now. Each time I specifically noted no shellfish in ANYTHING due to an allergy - Both times my food arrived, there was shrimp in my fried rice and shrimp in my shumai. Upon calling the restaurant and complaining they insisted there wasn't shellfish in my order, both times. Clearly, they don't understand that SHRIMP IS A SHELLFISH. Really disappointing they can't follow instruction because I do enjoy some of their dishes. Be careful if you have a shellfish allergy because the cross-contamination is REAL. read more

Although the Yelp call to action button says "free delivery," when you order through Eat24, there is a minimal $1 flat rate delivery fee. Not a biggie but just awareness. Ordered the dim sum combination for $11.95, which includes 3 pork buns, 3 shrimp har gow, and 3 shumai. Amazing deal, considering separate orders run around $5-$6 each. Also snagged the potsticker appetizer, 5 for $7.95, and a few orders of sesame balls (great size, and thick mochi). Great option for party finger foods and delivery is a breeze. Would definitely order again. read more

The dumplings were okay at best. Sesame noodles had the taste and grit of sand or dirt. All of the food delivered was cold. The delivery driver was obnoxious. First, he refused to come to the door and waited outside calling me to come down outside the building. Second, when I got there, the first thing he said to me was "tip's not included"! Obviously I knew that and had cash in my pocket to give him. As I went to sign the credit card receipt he directed me to "give at least ten percent" on the receipt. I am a good tipper and had the cash in my pocket, however, do to his obnoxiously rude initial statement, demand for "at least ten percent" and his refusal to actually come to my door, there was not a chance he was getting a tip! Tips should not be expected, but rather given as gratitude for good service. His service was simply awful! read more

First time we have ordered dinner for my family at Big Lantern through EAT 24 and they totally screwed it up. After 60 minutes we were told the order was out for delivery. After 90 minutes they were a no show. The phone number on their website is a fax number so could not reach them. After 120 minutes EAT 24 reached the restaurant and they could not even find the order. They offered to rush in 30 minutes and discount 30%. They should have comped the entire order in my opinion. We cancelled as it was now too late to eat and we were ticked off with them. We will be going back to Red Jade for future Chinese orders. They get it right and usually deliver within 30 minutes the first time (and also have much better pricing). read more

By no means is Big Lantern the best dim sum I've ever had in my day, but it's also not the worst. As the third quip when rolling across these here Yelp stars proclaims: it's A-OK. The big appeal of this place is the price. Whereas you might drop a Franklin on a dinner for two at some trendy spot elsewhere in the Mish, you can leave this place satiated for about $25 on average (based on three previous encounters here). It's also pretty quick, so if you're just looking for a solid base to counteract the impending booze binge down the street, it's a good call. Of the stuff I've tried, I really dug the sweet rice tamales, the vegetarian puff, the shrimp dumpling and the pork bun. The last item has a tendency to be a little dry at times, but when it's good, it's pretty pleasant. Don't come here expecting miracles that some traveling foodies expect to find at every corner of San Francisco. But come here to save a buck on some pretty decent Chinese grub. read more

Having an open kitchen in restaurant design has been in vogue for the past couple of decades. The theory, as I understand it, is to allow the customer to delight in watching the talented chefs as they work their culinary magic. My experience is that more often than not, you only catch glimpses of cooks who routinely carry out their duties with mechanically uninspired movement. Big Lantern uncovered the secret as to why restaurants opened up their kitchens in the first place. The man preparing our food was like a samurai... only of the Chinese chef variety instead of a Japanese warrior. Otherwise exactly the same. His assistant would stock the cart with ingredients while he deftly wielded his large wok over a raging fire, throwing ingredients into the mix and tossing them high into the air. Pure artistry. The results were tasty. They weren't the exactly the height of culinary perfection. I'd rank it somewhere in the range of PF Chang's but cheaper and with considerably less pretentiousness. Oh, they deliver too. read more