I do not understand the people who LOVE this place...Chinese abuse is the attitude du jour??? I have stopped going there after REPEATED abusive waitstaff created a situation where i began to wonder why i am PAYING them for such awful service, horribly snotty attitude, and sub-par cuisine. For whatever this is worth, I hope you all realise that Eliza's on California is the joke of the neighborhood, all the trendy kids seem to love this place but it's not for the food, the prices, the service, the parking, or the decor. (They have not changed it for over six years. Wow, where does all the money go anyway?) If you check citysearch comments on this place, you will see what I mean. It's overrated, overpriced, oily, greasy chinese 'fusion' food that is served with a smirk and a pitcher full of attitude. Last time we were there, we had a friend out from across the globe and wanted the waitperson to take our picture. She refused and when my friend decided to take the picture instead, she WALKED PAST the camera as we were taking the picture and HELD HER HAND (as in 'talk to the hand') in front of the camera. Huh. Haven't been back since. SAVE YOUR $$$ and go elsewhere. SO not worth it. Update 12/06: Woah, this place is SOO empty these days! Ya think Yelp had something to do with it? Ya think? I like to think so. It used to be that you would drive by and see hoardes of people waiting to eat there, but no more... read more

My wife and I were pretty excited to have learned Eliza's was still around on California street since their Potrero Hill location which is the one we frequented, had been closed. So we got there and everything was fine up until the food arrived. Let me note, my wife and I got into a minor argument. I had ordered The Sweet and Sour chicken over rice which is what I frequently had at the other location. I took a bite and it tasted a bit smoky and burnt. In fact, I could see some black spots in parts of the chicken. I said to myself "oh well I can deal with it." and continued eating. But no. It was to disturbing. So I asked the waitress and she brought me the manager or at least the "acting" manager. As soon as I tell him what was going going on, he leaves. He then returns telling me that the food was fine, that he tasted the batch from where my food came from and it tasted absolutely normal. I said "no, it taste burnt." He then went back and returned with a bowl of the sweet and sour chicken I was eating. He ate it in front to prove to me the food taste as it should. At this point I was upset and insisted he bring me the menu so that I may choose something else. He then noticed my wife hadn't said anything and looked upset, so he bluntly asked if everything was ok between us. I immediately told him that wasn't his business. Long story short: he insisted on the food and continued to get into our marital disagreement. Finally i told him I wouldn't eat it nor would I order anything else. I requested the check and he was charging me for the food that I did not eat because "nothing was wrong with it." I demanded he adjust the amount and so he did. His last comment as I walked to the door was "dude I have a girlfriend, and you just have to keep it inside." advising on how to, I guess, comunicate with my wife as if he knew what was going on. Ladies and gentlemen, I work in a food industry and if someone says their food taste bad or funny, I take it back without arguing with them for 10 minutes and on top of that, I don't barge into their lives asking them whether or not they have solved their marital issues. I am there to make sure their experience at my restaurant is great. read more

Really disappointed by the small portion sizes. Wish I had listened to the other reviews. They charge more than other Chinese restaurants in the area, but the portion sizes are made for toddlers. Toddlers who aren't hungry at that! This is the first time in my life I received a to-go box that was 3/4 empty. Beware! read more

I really like their sunflower beef --- it's a bit spicy. The service is competent - no one has ever been rude to me here except for the woman who barked "We're closed!' when I came in one day shortly after 3pm. I had a cold and I just wanted some soup! I also find it irksome when places like this list a "$9 per person minimum" on their menus. If I want to come in and order a veggie dish that costs $7.15, is that really such a problem for them? Stuff like that just makes this place seem a little less welcoming. read more

The BF and I are regulars at the Potrero location but we hate this one. Where the staff at 18th street is welcoming, learned our names and preferences, and always hustle, the staff at this store are snotty, brusque, and slow. It's a much less comfortable layout and I feel the food often comes out cold. read more

I've fallen in love with their Spicy Eggplant w/ Prawns and brown rice. So good!!!

If you are a 6 oz. gerbal, then the portions here may fill you up. If you're a normal human, the portions are a joke. You can eat 6 dollars worth of food in one bite. And its 12 dollar meal. Seriously, I dont know how this place stays in business... food was decent, but not any better than the 9000 other Chinese food places that serve actual meals and not over priced snacks. read more

It has been too long since I have eaten here. I just don't make it to the city as much as I use to although it may be worth a drive up there soon. The food really is wonderful. The best Chinese food I think I have ever had. I have tried a few things but I most always get the cashew chicken. You may have a long wait on the weekend but it is worth it. It is just a sign that it is fantastic food. The restaurant is rather small so that is part of the problem as well. The prices are a little higher but I think the quality, price, and ambiance of the restaurant all go well together. The price is fitting. read more

I really like the food here. The decor of the place is really neat. They have a glass bar with little glass fishes and kelp. The ambiance of the place is pretty nice for the affordable food. Plates are around 8-12$ and two entrees can def fill up two. I would reccomend the Hot and Spicy soup. Its really great here. I also like how they offer brown rice for those of us who like to be a little more healthy. The green beans and bean curd entree is great but ask for the bean curd (tofu) to be prepared extra spicy. BUT THE BEST THING HERE IS THE HONEY WALNUT PRAWNS. OH MY GOSH. SOOOOOOOOO GOOD. You must try at least once. I am sure they are horrible for you but they taste just amazing. The sauce that cover the prawns is creamy and sweet and the walnuts add the perfect crunch. My favorite in the city. read more

Eliza's has great food. I've been eating Chinese food in SF for 45 years now and I'd say it's some of the best. But their staff is sooo rude it always puts me in a bad mood when I go there. Enough of a bad mood that I usually only go back every 6 month maybe. Their location on Potrero Hill wasn't too different. I don't see how it can be so hard to get staff that can have a minimal level of politeness. Whenever I call in to pick up, they hang up on me as soon as they get my enough to put my oder though, they rush you even when they aren't busy, they just kind of through the food on the table, etc, etc. So for good food, this is a good place. And for being treated like shit by their staff, this is also a good place. read more

If there's a "chinese restaurant for white people who don't know/want real Chinese food" in SF, this is it. If the food were at least good, that'd be ok. Overpriced, low quality "chinese" food. The place doesn't deserve ZERO stars (yelp should have that option for some other places), but certainly no more than 1. read more

the food is OK; tastes like they add sugar... pretty decor horribly rude management and staff i arrived one day close to the end of lunch, more than enough time for them to heat something up but was told i was a disturbance by coming late (~1:30pm) and i should never come again what kind of business would say that to a customer?! i work too hard to give them any more of my money read more

After my experience tonight I realized that we are witnessing the decline of a once great restaurant. Eliza's was a pretty great place last decade, when we started eating there. And up until tonight, we were truly regulars, bringing our family to dine in or for take out at least 2-3 times per month. We could count on unique, flavorful dishes with fresh ingredients, hold the gristle. Also the presentation was always refreshing with flowers, kiwis and other pleasant accoutrements. Interestingly, the one thing that has been a constant over the years has been the rough service (with the exception of the nice gentleman who usually works the front). Almost like the treatment you'd get (and expect) at a great French restaurant. When the food is great and the atmosphere buzzing, the haughtiness just goes with the scene. But tonight, as I was driving on my way to Eliza's to pick up the food we had ordered to go, I came to the conclusion that it's just not worth it anymore. We ordered the food about 30 minutes prior -- when I was 5 minutes from the restaurant, I called Eliza's to ask if they would bring my order from the kitchen to the reception area, since I was so close. As I explained to Jen, the rude lady that answered the phone, I would be double parking to pick up the food, so wanted to shave a few minute off the process. Her answer: "No!". Not, "sorry sir, were very busy now" or "I'll try my best." Just "No". I could not believe the curt and terse response. Needless to say when I arrived at the restaurant I asked to speak to the manager, who had the nerve to say, "we don't offer curbside delivery service." Maybe important to point out that the time was 7:45pm and the restaurant half empty. Lots of staff were slowly shuffling around, failing to acknowledge me or any of the other guests who walked in. So does a restaurant with rude service deserve a one start review? Not necessarily. The food quality is the kicker. We got home to kung pao chicken with almost no chicken -- just a bunch of zucchini. Starchy skins on the potstickers. And the biggest disappointment was our once favorite mango beef. A decade ago, the beef was tasty, the mango crunchy with freshness, and the garnishes popped with liveliness. Tonight: soggy, greasy and limp. Photo uploaded so those of you Eliza's veterans can see the difference. Bottom line is this: Eliza's needs to make some changes to breathe air back into the standard they set a decade ago. And maybe add curbside pickup service, since the tables are not full. Until that happens, I'm going to eat at one of the 1,000 other great Chinese restaurants in San Francisco. read more

Eliza's - soggy mango beef - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Best Chinese. Really. So darn good BUT the the service is HORRIBLE, actually it was nonexistent. I am having a hard time rating it because I want to give it 5 for food and none for service. Yelp really needs a separate category for service. Can only really recommend for take out. Everything we had was great; hoisen green beans, Mongolian beef, hot and sour soup, mushu pork, crab Rangoon and Eliza cakes. read more

Screw authenticity; this food tastes good. And I'm happy to pay an extra dollar for fresh ingredients and pleasant ambiance.

i'm a have to agree with mia there. there are few restaurants that i find unacceptable; few places where i would leave 0% tip and eliza's in pac heights is one of them. i went once and received such rude and obnoxious service i swore i'd never go back. several months later, i was dragged there against my will thinking perhaps things might have changed. this time the waitbots were even more rude than the first time. there is a difference between brisk and being brusque. the waiters at alice's, eric's and eliza's potrero are all brisk but manage to be polite. the wait-bots at eliza's pac heights are NOT polite. water was spilled on me, apologies were not rendered, i was interrupted several times while placing my order, the bot WALKED AWAY from the table in the middle of my question. every interaction was accompanied by sighing and eye-rolling from several different completely inattentive bots. if that weren't enough reason to avoid this place, the food was small, of mediocre quality and overpriced. this place is so horrible, it is worth an organised boycott. i actually don't understand why this one is so terrible and the rest are so much better. eric's is actually my favourite chinese place in the city and they seem to be owned by the same ppl. BTW, the best part of this restaurant is the bathroom, it's got crazy art on the walls. if you simply must experience this place, just go in and ask to see the menu and when they aren't looking, sneak into the bathroom to check it out. do not worry if they sneer or spit at you, it's the same treatment you'd get if you were a paying customer. read more

Unless you're the type of person who goes to a restaurant to admire its decor or the art that is displayed, you probably won't be impressed by Eliza's. Eliza's is a beautiful restaurant, no doubt, but you'd have to be a real glutton for punishment to endure the bad customer service and the mediocre, small-portioned and over-priced food. I'm surprised that this restaurant is still in business. read more

Service sucks! Food is mediocre....If you are from San Francisco, you know what quality in Chinese food should be. And be careful with ordering for pick-up, remember to check your order before you pay and leave......they have a tendency to mess up on your order!!! They forgot to add rice to 2 of our 4 lunch orders and ended up blaming us for not checking.....Not cool, esp. when your office is far from the restaurant and the parking around there is terrible!! If you're craving Chinese food, look elsewhere! read more

Just gave Eliza's another try using take out. This is no exaggeration: the Mongolian Beef had more than HALF the carton filled with rice noodle FILLER (I call them "packing peanuts"). So, we payed 10 dollars for half a carton of mongolian beef. The sesame chicken was easily half a carton filled with these julienne-sliced carrots and onions, with the chicken on top. I will just warn you that with take out they are measuring their pennies by putting crap at the bottom of every dish to minimize how much meat they give you. If you want delicious food and a decent value, try New Country Sky or Tai Chi restaurant--both in the same neighborhood. read more

My fav chinese spot in SF. Crab rangoon and mango beef are to die for. Can't beat the lunch deal either!

Called at about 1:20pm this afternoon to place an order for pickup this evening at 5pm for a board meeting. They wouldn't take my order and said very rudely "We are busy. Call back at 2:30 to place order." If I could give them no stars, I would. No thank you. Goodbye. read more

I've been to Eliza's from time-to-time for years... It's not a favorite but it was tasty enough for our go-to Chinese take out nights. The last two dinners were terrible. The "Chicken Divine" (we were told it was comparable to Moo Goo Gai Pan) had very little sauce and we were sifting through to find safe bites of chicken. So gross. The fried rice sealed the deal too... It was ridiculously heavy and if we were sitting at a table I would've sent it back. The head chef and owner should be embarrassed... It was that bad. We'll never go back... Updating to add that I just glanced over a few other 1-2 star reviews and found similar complaints. I usually search by most recent customer reviews but definitely read the 1-2-3 star reviews before you go here... This place just isn't worth the hope you may get a 3-4 star experience. read more

I'm kind of finicky about Chinese food. Whatever your take on California-fied versus traditional, the Mongolian Beef here is amazing. I find the food in general to be fresh and tasty, and the atmosphere to be pleasant, though the staff aren't gonna win any personality contests. read more

The food is pretty good but I just find the servers so rude every time and it's a real turnoff. Also my husband must be gluten free. for a health condition, and they are extremely unaccommodating and annoyed about it every time. If it wasn't right in my neighborhood I would look for another spot but for better or worse convenience will prevail! read more

I really liked this restaurant, until... first, the portions got smaller, then, we went on a double date and I got food poisoning. It was really embarrassing -- I actually got sick at the restaurant and spent about 30 minutes in the bathroom before we had to awkwardly excuse ourselves and try to make it home quickly. read more

I always come to Eliza's when I'm in San Fran. They have the best Szechuan chicken in the city. And their Mongolian beef is to die for!

Better than most Chinese joints in town, especially when it comes to the decor and lack of greasy dishes. I'm always amazed at how quickly they get the food out to you, which sometimes leads me to question how "fresh" it really is. The only downside is they don't deliver, so unless someone has a better rec, I'll keep ordering from Tai Chi. read more

By far my favorite restaurant in San Francisco! We visit often (this location + Potrero Hill location) and have never had a bad experience. The food is superb! My husband and I especially love the hot & sour soup, the celery salad, the Hunan beef, and the spicy basil chicken. TASTY! read more

My favorite Chinese food place in SF. I used to eat here about twice a month but then they closed their Potrero Hill location near me. Their dishes satisfy your Chinese food cravings, without making you feel like you've participated in a greasefest. I have been searching for another nearby go-to Chinese food place and so far nothing has come close. Looks like the next time I can't control my rainy day Hot & Sour soup cravings, I will be making the trek across town. read more

Best Chinese food ive ever had in the Bay Area ! Must try the mush pork , very good! With great service

Eliza's used to be my favorite Chinese restaurant 5 years ago because I loved the food, while tolerating the horrendous customer service. The food quality has declined and the customer service is borderline unbearable. I honestly can't wait for this restaurant to shut down... and be replaced by a top notch establishment like Patisserie B or Tataki. Can someone please start a petition to evict Eliza's from our neighborhood? read more

Warning - they don't have a website and all prices online are 3 years old. I ordered for pickup and thought the amount charged on my card (with no itemized receipt) seemed high. Sure enough, after checking the menu online, I had been charged about 20% higher. The Spicy Tangy Chicken at $8.95 on Yelp is actually $10.55 and the white rice at $1.50 on Yelp is actually $1.95. I called to understand further, and the woman on the phone said that they don't update the online menu prices and that if I wanted I could get a paper menu in person... in 2016. She also said that most of their customers are return customers so they would know the prices, so I pointed out that they are then hurting their NEW customers. She said she just works here, so I asked if I could speak to the manager then, and she hung up. That's why I am here. The Spicy Tangy Chicken tastes fine although it is full of some sandy black flakes that really keep you on your toes. read more

love, Love, LOVE Eliza's!!!! Been coming here for many years. Always good quality, fast service & de-lish!

Eliza's is a great choice for consistent, tasty chinese. Lunches are a crazy value, and dinners are, too.Their garlic scallops are to die for. Brown rice is oh so good Plenty of healthy choices, very friendly staff who take the time to know you. Check out the artful mosaics throughout - even the b-rooms have fanciful tiles. read more

Quite possibly the best Chinese food I've had in SF. Definitely go for the Shanghai Chicken.

it's official - my favorite chinese restaurant in the city. eliza's is clean, fresh and just solid on all counts. they do takeout just as well as they do service in the restaurant. the restaurant itself is super clean in side, the staff is super nice and professional, presentation is great and it's not too salty or greasy. all around great quality and fresh chinese food, which is super hard to come by. favorites to order: hot + sour soup sizzling rice soup mongolian beef (might be the best i ever had here) honey walnut prawns potstickers cashew chicken fried rice (so good here. so good!) in a week, i've been there twice and i'll definitely become a regular here. read more

omg i'm salivating just writing this review. this is a must-go every time i'm in the Bay. The food is delicious!!! must try dishes: - drums of heaven - chicken salad - eggplan with prawns (O M G - my husband who doesn't even like eggplan is a convert b/c of this dish!!!) - Special beef (not sure the actual name) - Peking duck (they scrape off all the fat!!! so it's just meat & skin, O M G) - honey walnut prawns ok the list can go on forever, you get the idea. They are meticulous with the smallest details like scraping the fat off the duck. They use the freshest ingredients, filet mignon for the special beef!! everything is fresh and tasty. Sure it's fusion and not your traditional Chinatown chinese restaurant but who likes those greasy sub-par restaurants with 2 day old scrap veggies anyway. I can see why people think the servers are rude but they are actually very nice & accomodating. GO TRY IT NOW!!!! read more

this place is across the street from my house. literally. i make my husband pick up our take-out and i watch him through the window because i can't wait too long before i need that kung pao tofu in my mouth. it is delicious. the sauce is perfection. very spicy but not too spicy. and they have brown rice! the only thing that sucks is that they are very inflexible when it comes to the menu. they won't add any steamed broccoli to my tofu. they won't add any tofu to my steamed broccoli. if everything is so goddamn fresh, why can't they make any substitions, or additions even? i don't mind paying for it! i just want broccoli with my tofu! all the meat eaters i've taken here have fallen in love and every single time we have one of them over they beg to go to eliza's. my husband wants to eat there every other night. the other nights he wants pizza hut, so that might not be a good gage of taste but i swear it's a really great restaurant. cute too. fun decorations and i haven't ever had to wait more than a few minutes for a table. on the very rare occasion that we actually get our asses off the couch, that is. 7/17 edit: on the plane to texas we read the in-flight magazine and found out that robin williams loves this place. what? he also just had a benefit for my workplace. i saw the back of his neck (hairy) at work but have never seen him across the street. will update you if i do. read more

This is my mother's favorite - simple food for a simple midwestern mother - if only my mother was really that simple - the food is good and clean but i always have to wait even when i order it to go read more

Had a Mother's Day celebration and was sorely disappointed by almost every element of the dining experience. The service was abysmal, the wait staff had all of the personality of a group of worker ants. My soon to be brother in-law found what appeared to be a large sharpened plastic object in his won ton to which our waiter dismissed with a shrug. Molasses moves faster than our order did from kitchen to table. Questions arising from our cryptically coded bill which had to be translated was met with gruff resistance from the manager. The food quality was below reproach and overall it was as dull and uninspired as the restaurants decor. Glass bamboo and brushed aluminum panels - "Holy shit! Am I in Ikea?" My opinion would be to forgo this joke of a restaurant for any other Chinese food delivery in the city. - Aidan (husband) read more