This place is just alright! We ordered an array of dishes here and felt that everything was just 'okay'. We got some vegetable mixes, pork belly in clay pot and chicken in a clay pot. It tasted very savory which was nice but a bit too salty for my taste. Nothing stood out as very spectacular. The pork belly was perhaps the best thing and it goes well with the vegetables and rice. I think this is standard food but there are perhaps other better restaurants in the Outer Sunset region of SF. Staff were nice! Perhaps the dim sum is the better option to try here, but we didn't try this here. read more

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Great place for Dim Sum. Authentic Chinese food. It has two levels of dining area. The restroom is on the lower floor. The tea is $1.75 per person. They are having a new item called "Pork & shrimp bean curd skin roll in dried scallop soup ". Highly recommend it. read more

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Delicious dim sum! This was our first meal in San Fran. We came in and we're immediately seated. We ordered a bunch of dim sum dishes: shrimp crepes, shrimp dumplings, pot stickers, duck, egg custard tarts, pepper short ribs, veggie spring rolls, coconut jelly and deep fried shrimp dumplings. My favorite was the duck (so delicious!) And the two shrimp dumplings (lots of succulent shrimp). Everything tasted fresh and homemade. Yum! Prices werent that bad either. Good first meal in San Fran! read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

My husband and I was in the city to see Christmas celebration, and decided to walk around Chinatown. I was craving for some good dim sums and dumplings (how can you not, especially when you are in Chinatown), but unfortunately as it was already close to 8:30 pm, most places were closed. But, Great Eastern Restaurant came to my saving, which was open until 9 pm and accepted us! This was our first time visiting this place. Firstly, let me share about the ambience. It was a proper restaurant, spacious, with easily 30 ish tables, clean and well maintained. However, despite being a Saturday, it was not as crowded. Outside of us, there were 3 other tables occupied, one of which was a big family (10-12 folks) celebrating birthday. Now moving to the main aspect - Food! This is what we ordered: They serve you a complimentary pot of hot tea, which was utterly refreshing considering it was a December night, and the hot tea was truly a relief. 1. Zhu Zhou dumpling - 3 pieces 2. Mushroom Pork Shrimp dumpling - 4 pieces 3. Singapore Style Rice Noodles 4. Spicy Chicken Schezwan Style The dumplings were quite tasty, especially the Zhu Zhou, but the Mushroom Pork Shrimp felt a little on drier side. I have eaten dumplings across many Chinese restaurants, so I can say with fair amount of confidence, I know what a good dumpling is like. There was a table soy sauce and red chilly sauce for the dumpling, but the red chilly sauce was little too salty for my palate. Moving on the main course. We chose those 2 items, since they had the spicy mark and we both love our food spicy. However, both the dishes didn't feel sufficiently hot for us. Schezwan dishes are suppose to feel hot on our tongue, which the dish definitely lacked. It was more bland and even had bit of sweet undertone, which didn't sit well with us. The Singapore Style Rice Noodles was loaded with shrimps, pork and veggies, which I loved, and had the right curry spice flavor, but not well seasoned so again felt slightly bland on our palate. I was definitely impressed with the portion, as we both couldn't finish it and we did a take out. The next day for lunch, I reheated the noodles and added some salt and curry powder to it, making it more flavorful. For the Schezwan Chicken, I reheated it and add some chilly oil, which definitely did the trick of making the dish hot. All in all, the food was 4.5/5 in portion but 3/5 in flavor for us. Will I visit again? May be not, considering there are many other restaurants in China town I'd like to explore, before deciding whether to return here. read more

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We love this place. The food is amazing, the service is fast and the servers are friendly. Lots of tables and a bright, clean place. Great place for large groups. read more

Amazing Dim Sum. Everything ordered tasted very flavourful, fresh and hearty. My favorite items ordered were the Rice Noodles stuffed with Shrimp, Beef and BBQ pork. They poured a sauce over it to elevate the flavor. Another favorite was the pork soup dumplings. Careful though, it's filled with hot broth, so eat it carefully. I definitely look forward to coming back again. read more

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We found Great Eastern on Yelp when we were looking for dim sum. It was a great combination of old faithful dim sum dishes and one new try. They also serve wine and beer. We ordered the chicken feet (one of our favorites, although the server double checked to make sure we knew what we were ordering. I thought it was considerate service.), fried shrimp dumplings (yum!), and the turnip cakes (something new). Everything was wonderful. If you think you don't like turnips I highly recommend trying this dish here. Now I want to try making it at home. I would return! read more

Solid place. Food is on the sweet side, but still tasty. Service is good - the server is literally wearing a suit. The clay pot is pretty worth it. Also why is their fortune cookie in French? read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Stewed pork w salted cabbage $20 Spicy chicken $19 - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Stopped by for some dim-sum. From the pictures, found out President Obama was there several years ago. Thought that was very cool fact about this restaurant! This place was bustling with people. Outdoors and the indoor seating was packed. We were seated in the basement/lower level of the restaurant! We ordered several shrimp dim-sums, chicken buns and fried rice. Flavors were spot on and it really hit the spot. We requested for forks early on but they never arrived until much later. They were really busy here to ask for a better service but food was fantastic! Enjoyed our food very much. read more

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This restaurant is located in the heart of Chinatown and is known for it's dim sum. Although there are no dim sum carts, maybe that prevents one from overordering...lol. We ordered the seafood with vegetables dish, gai lan (Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce), and shrimp har gao. It was all excellent. Everything tasted flavorful and made with fresh ingredients. If you haven't tried the gai lan, you have to order it! read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Seafood with vegetables - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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We loved the dumplings, spring rolls, and beef with broccoli. My kids enjoyed it the staff was very friendly.

Hidden gem of delicious and authentic food. Extensive menus and dim sum menu with pictures (helps me). It is much larger than it looks with a downstairs as well, so do not be shy - come on in. The service was fast and nice, the tea was good and hot. The food was by far the star though! Quickly delivered after ordering and fresh/steaming. Open seating with large and medium tables. Would work for large groups well. read more

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Overall just a mediocre experience. Nothing stood out. Decent presentation but taste was not impressive. Portions were not that big for the price we paid. Almost $150 after tip for 5 dishes. Will try others instead. read more

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So, I have come here every time I'm in sf. I love dim sum and this place has some great dim sum. This time we added dishes from the menu and can I say delicious. We had so many different dishes I couldn't keep up. Unfortunately though the lower stars are from the lack of organization this restaurant has. I saw 3 people get seated before others because they spoke Chinese. I had a reservation and they were trying to put other people before me. Sorry I made reservations for 9 2 months ago. This wasn't going to happen and I had to get nuts. Literally the manager wasn't managing and one of the waiters was cashier. He was overwhelmed, credit cards machine wasn't working. I think I counted 4 waiters who were overwhelmed and working so hard and I felt bad for them. Uber drivers waiting forever for their orders. I didn't want to even see the kitchen but I give props to EVERYONE who worked that shift. Christmas not organized in a Chinese restaurant was something else. Unreal. The restaurant was busy busy with customers but it was great to see people enjoying food. The ambiance was loud, crowded, a bit stressed but when the food came it was delicious so it was ok. read more

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Beware! - Bathrooms FILTHY! Food not bad. Ambience: Old & stuffy. Service: No water on table. After bringing food, waiter disappeared; never came back to see what else we needed. read more

Pretty good, affordable restaurant for dim sum. Got tons of food that only came out to about $160 for 5 people. It's sort of loud inside the restaurant so if you're trying to talk to someone at your table you might need to talk louder. There's a downstairs and upstairs to the restaurant. The upstairs is the ground level / the level you enter on. read more

Went to this place with a group of 17 people! I had placed a reservation a week in advanced through Yelp for 15 people. I called that morning and they were able to squeeze in 2 more for the reservation. When we got in, it didn't seem to matter anyways if we had a reservation or not... maybe it was the time (12:45-1:00pm ish) but the rush was over. They split my group of 17 into a group of 6 and 10- we were sitting across the restaurant from each other! The food was great and came out fast. It just took a while to order. It's a good sit down place with a group and it has 2 levels so there's many tables. I'm sure there are a lot of cheaper and more grab and go dim sum places nearby (Good Mong Kok) but if you're looking for a group sit down meal this is a good choice! read more

I must have read 20 reviews to find a good Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. After eating 4x in seafood restaurants I felt my veins clogged w so much butter n cream in chowders n crab. Great Eastern only had 3.5 stars but I looked at the pictures n checked it was Cantonese cuisine, i stay away from Shanghai cuisine, I was in all of China n the communists killed the good Chinese food, I was in a famous dim sum frequented by Deng Chao ping n wasn't impressed. Hong Kong famous cuisine is all Cantonese. I ordered fried shrimp the rectangle shaped not the dumpling looking one, it was so delicious 5 stars, the shrimp scallops asparagus in XO sauce was heavenly good, also 5 stars, I haven't had XO sauce since I left NYC. The wonton soup broth was bland n was lukewarm I should have told them to reheat it. I came back today to have the Peking duck omg it was so delicious I should gave ordered the whole duck. The crab w salt n pepper was $63 when I was told it would be $56 but I didn't complain, it was ok, in OC the crab would be cooked flambé style 4 flavors but it was fried here n garlic was bottled garlic not fresh garlic, the hot n sour soup was delicious but too hot. The stair down to the bath room was dirty n dark I was spooked n afraid of monkey pox lurking in dirty ramps. That said I was lucky n had esp to choose this amazing restaurant that Obama came w his huge entourage in the Beast (limousine) so did Tim Cook so trust me it's really 4 stars. Why is it not 5 stars? Food on my 1st day could be hotter n they didn't have sriracha, they had Chinese hot paste which tasted fermented n they didn't have the pink vinegar I love w the dim sum n duck. I'll be baaaccckkk! read more

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Dumplings for DAYS!! While in SF, one of my friends told us about this restaurant she visited on with her family on a previous trip. Of course we all agreed we had to try it for brunch! One piece of advice is to go hungry!! There are so many options so chose from that you will want to try it all. Make sure to fast before your visit so you can try it all. My friend did most of the ordering and I don't think there was anything I didn't like. My favorites were steamed pork buns and friend shrimp dumplings. We also ordered the Singapore Noodles which are my husband's favorite and he loved it! Super happy we got to try this place out. We definitely left full and satisfied. Also, I can see why Obama visited this place, must try! read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

GE is our go to for dim sum in Chinatown when we have visitors in town. Exactly what you want for a dim sum experience; big restaurant with lots of buzz, great food, surrounded by locals, and the ability to walk around Chinatown after your meal. read more

unironically the best dim sum ive had, no glaze but theres no wait to get sat down, the ambiance feels really dynasty like and the food is just amazing. DECENT PRICE TOO. read more

Bad experience with them over charging us. We couldn't tell what they put down because we cannot read the receipt it was all in Chinese except the final total which was with plain numbers. It's hard to tell if we were charged more than we did but if we didn't they price for the dishes were significantly huge. read more

Came here for for Sunday brunch. They are very under staffed right. Lots of open tables but they don't have enough workers to clean. Waited about 20 mins to get seated. After we got seated we ordered and the food took about another 20 mins or to come out. All the food came out steaming hot. They all tasted average. read more

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There's an influencer that said that the best Chinese restaurants in metropolitan cities have 3.5 stars on Yelp. Great Eastern is one of them. The dim sum is my favorite in the city, and deserves the higher price tag compared to other restaurants. A lot of people are complaining about the price, but have you ever tried to make dim sum at home? Crystal dumpling wrapper is notoriously difficult to make, not to mention getting it perfectly thin. The time and effort it takes to make each dish makes you question why it's priced so low but people don't bat an eye to spend $15 on avo toast. That being said, the dim sum is fantastic. I always get snow pea and shrimp dumplings, shrimp & mushroom bean curd roll, and a few other dishes. I *always* have to get the s&p chicken wings! Such an underrated dish. They don't serve the food on carts here and everything is made to order, so each dish comes out piping hot. Service is great. I think the people complaining are expecting Americanized service where they check up on you 5X, but that's not what I want in a dim sum place. Flagging down the waiters and not getting a smile is what I'm looking for! They're still very attentive and on top of it. read more

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We came here because we saw that former President Obama had visited this restaurant before. Outside there's a picture of him with the staff. I do not know when this visit took place, but overall, the food was ok and tasted fine. We ordered quite a few dishes including the mapping tofu, sweet and sour fish, vegetable fried rice and a few more. I thought the mapo tofu was not very authentic, as it did not possess the characteristic numbing flavors typically seen in Sichuan dishes. Tea is automatically served when you are seated and overall the staff are relatively attentive, though not the most. One part of the dining experience that bothered me was how our server gave us all our dishes first and served the rice last. To me, this is out of order and really prevented us from digging in until we received everything on the table. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Unfortunately they never tell you that the tip is already included in the bill ( everything in Chinese) , doesn't matter how many people, they already add the tip. Be aware. ( I am thinking how many thousands of people double tip them ) I think it's dishonest by not telling customers that tips already included. read more

Growing up in SF's Outer Richmond aka the Avenues, I don't frequent Chinatown for authentic dim sum. Chinatown is a tourist trap, but when friends are in town, this is the place to take them if they request to dine & shop in Chinatown. The locals & natives of SF know better. There's a plethora of dim sim restaurants in Outer Richmond; the best Chefs reside there. Overall, Great Eastern satisfies our craving for dim sum. There's always plenty of leftovers to take home. Extra star for Yelp reservations. And yes, President Obama was here! 'Til next time ~ happy dim summing & see you on Yelp (SYOY)! read more

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We didn't even get to eat here because of the rude waiters!! We came in and they gave us a ticket to wait for a table. All is well until we see another family come in AFTER us, the water gives them a ticket, and shortly after everyone in front of us gets seated and then that family gets seated as well. We go up to the man in charge of seating to ask why the family was given a table before us and he responded with "They needed a bigger table." So then I ask "Do I need more people in order to get seated?" and he just walked away..... This isn't the way to be served. We were simply ignored. There are so many other restaurants to go to in San Francisco, but these people do not deserve your service. read more

I took a some coworkers here for lunch because one had not had dim sum before, ever! The dim sum was solid, in terms of taste. Service was a bit slow though especially for us who only have an hour for lunch. Maybe dim sum is not meant for just an hour. read more

WATCH OUT The Yelp reservation. The restaurant opens at 10:30AM, but on Yelp reservation, you could reserve your spot as early as 10AM. We came here around 10, and waited 30 mins. Once it opened, we were seated immediately. People here are very efficient. Food here is good, but not as good as Hong Kong Lounge. My ranking is 1: chicken feet; 2: bean curd rolls; 3: fired shrimp balls; 4: pork ribs with tarp; 5: egg yolk custard buns. The most average ones are shrimp dumplings and sui mai. This place is for sure a much better place than house of dim sum that is just a few blacks away. If you come to Chinatown and have a slightly bigger budget, you should for sure try here. read more

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A tour guide recommended Great Eastern Restaurant for dim sum so we decided to check it out. First, I asked a man at the front desk if we could possibly be in and out in 30 minutes because we had to get our car out of a nearby parking garage before being charged more-- and he said yes! My daughter and I were promptly seated, and given menus and hot tea. We decided to share four dishes: four different types of shrimp dim sum and one custard. As promised, the dishes came out quickly. The servers simply crossed out which order they delivered from our copy of the order sheet left on the table. Everything was fresh, hot, and delicious! The total bill came to around $26 which included tax. The only reason I am deducting one star is because we paid in cash and they brought us back the wrong change. It was only short by $2 and we were in a hurry so we didn't bother asking about it. read more

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Food quality - Overall food quality was average, with some noticeable weaknesses. Strengths: 1) The fried eggplant stuffed with shrimp was good with a good proportion of shrimp and eggplant without one overpowering the other. Weaknesses: 1) Fried calamari had a thick batter and squid was rubbery but overall had good seasoning. 2) Shrimp dumpling was a bit disappointing since the wrapper was loose and everything was falling apart. This was the case with the other dumplings too. 3) The fried dough with rice wrapper didn't come with hoisin and seasame paste like you would expect. The wrapper didn't wrap the the dough tightly. 4) Overly strong oil taste in the fried shrimp dish but not too bad. Service - Quick turnaround of food. Asked for chili oil and hoisin sauce that never came. Staff were in a rush as you would expect in a busy restaurant. read more

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[Great Eastern Restaurant] Local recommended authentic Chinese restaurant serving both dim sum and Chinese classics in the center of San Francisco Chinatown Legit ordered everything. I obviously had to start with Pork and Thousand Year Egg congee. Ordered hella classics of Dim Sum like the shrimp cheong fun, pork buns, dumplings, chicken feet as well as Chinese classics such as the Cantonese style roasted duck, sautéed black bean clams, sautéed spinach, etc In summary, we went ham on this place. I kid you not this was the best dim sum Asian restaurant I have ever been to. We loved it so much that we talked about going back everyday to eat while out there. 11/10 This restaurant is also famous since Obama came and dined there. *see last slide and on their website http://www.greateasternsf.com 649 Jackson St San Francisco, CA 94133 read more

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Super busy for the Lion parade event. Short wait but worth it. The food was delicious, especially the steamed Cha siu bao. No fatty parts or gristle, nothing but well-seasoned pork stuffing (Yum). The only dumpling I would not do again is their Shanghai Dumplings which come in a tin foil cup, better XLB elsewhere. Har gao and the fried shrimp dumplings (huge - BTW) are delicious. read more

A must-stop in SF's Chinatown Every dish was simple, yet really well crafted. Although I wish the dim sum menu was more extensive, the dishes we did order were so tasty! I especially loved the pork baos which have a sweet, fluffy bread and tender pork inside. Special note to the Peking duck which you can get half sized (we were able to share this among 3 people). The skin was crackly, crispy, and had a yummy layer of fat! Sensitive stomach rating: bloated but doin okay read more

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The food was ok... they automatically charge a tip, which i don't agree to it because a tip should be based on service. I told the owner about it and he was laughing totally not respectful and wrong!!!! Never going back.... Oh and the restauran was not that clean restrooms were dissgusting!!! read more

Hubby and I stopped by here for lunch on Friday 11/3 for my birthday. We were seated immediately. We shared an array of dishes. Everything was incredibly tasty and the price wasn't bad either. The portion size and flavour is there. Ambiance is nice too. Service is quick friendly and everything is clean. Needless to say we had an excellent experience and would love to come back next time we are in SF! read more

The food was good, nothing special but the service was hands down the worst I've ever had. Would not recommend.

First time here. Recommend by the Hiltons front desk. Friendly service. Clean. Courteous and most of all food is excellent.

Decided to go to Chinatown for good cheap Chinese food and the place we usually go to had a line a stumbled across Great Eastern. It looked good and was busy so tried it. The food was bland nothing outstanding. We had 5 dishes and was $140 with tip which is outrageous for Chinatown. After we both got sick. There are so many good cheap options in Chinatown. Would not recommend Great Eastern. read more