Eliza's

If you’re ever in SF and looking for a great Chinese restaurant for you and family stop by here and you won’t be disappointed. In fact I personally have been to many Chinese restaurants but never experienced such amazing tastes and special dishes. And if you are lucky when chef Vincent is around he will come chat with you and show his hospitality and friendliness. Over all 11/10 for me! A must go!

The food was good with fresh ingredients. They were a little overwhelmed on Christmas Eve. The place is also better for a small group of people then for a big family style gathering.

Casual atmosphere. The Pan Fried Crispy Noodles (Hong Kong style) was great. By default its vegetarian. Extra charge for chicken. Also had Cashew Chicken, which was good.

Love the food here!! It’s different from the Chinese food I’ve tried in Asia but every dish was tasty. It was my second time and the owners are nice.

We've been eating here for 20 years, and never been disappointed. The food is wonderful, delicious, and skillfully prepared. Staff are friendly and efficient, and the decor and environment is warm and inviting. The lunch specials are a bargain, and perfect for individual meals. A personal favorite is the Twice Cooked Pork, which is the best I've had anywhere, including in China. Can't recommend highly enough. A+

I have probably eaten here more than any other restaurant in SF. I first came almost 30 years ago (when they first opened) for the very delicious and affordable lunch specials. Then I discovered they have the Best Peking Duck I have ever had (better than the top restaurant in NYC!). (weekends only, and sometimes they run out by Sunday)... Love their soups (sizzling rice, hot and sour...) and onion cakes with peanut sauce and moo shoo pork to start; and I have many favorite entrees: Eliza's Spicy Eggplant (not spicy!); Mongolian Beef, Vegetable Chow Mein, Sesame Chicken, Sweet and sour Pork, etc. etc etc. Its VERY cold in the winter (they only have space heaters) which is why I only put 3 stars above for Atmosphere. Really the atmosphere is fine! when its not cold outside! There is also always take out!

Nice service but portions a bit small compared to other Chinese restaurants. Atmosphere is a bit dull but nice for a casual catch-up with a friend of family dinner. We ordered fried rice, vegetables, and chicken for the 2 of us and it was the perfect portion (no leftovers)

Best Chinese food I’ve ever eaten and the service is fantastic the older gentleman that usually waits on us remembers every order without ever having to write anything down and every time I’ve been there our party orders at least 10 different items so that was impressive! Also the food is served quickly and the hostess and wait staff are very friendly I highly recommend this restaurant! Especially their mushu pork…YUM!

This place has been a staple restaurant of San Francisco and my family's house for 20+ years. The Honey Walnut Prawns are fantastic, Mongolian Beef is tasty, and the staff treats us so well every time. Would recommend to anyone who is hungry!!

Don't come here unless you want to be disappointed or the business changes their attitude. Used to come here over 10yrs ago and thought to give them a try again. So I decided to take some friends and share the great experience I had with them. It was a huge let down. We went for dinner and ordered a few dishes. The service was lacking almost like the staff didn't care to continue running the business anymore or something. The food was horrible, tasted nothing like Asian or Hunan food. Some of it even tasted like that harsh chemical cleaners from poor sanitary conditions and they didn't care to cover the food when they were cleaning. Good luck if you want to try this place. I recommend spending your hard earned money somewhere else.

Check out this review of Eliza's on Tripadvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g60713-d508329-r953059828-Eliza_s-San_Francisco_California.html The attitude of the staff/owner seems to be a common complaint of other diners as well (see reviews below)

Eliza's spicy eggplant is excellent. There was a lot more than just eggplant in there which surprised me as I didn't read the menu very closely () but it was tasty! Eliza's chow mein was also really tasty. The fried rice was a little wet and intensely seasoned for my taste but not the worst ever. The green beans were solid. Compared to some of the other Chinese takeout spots I felt the value for the price was a little less, slightly smaller portions and not necessarily a higher quality. Overall we would certainly go back though!

The food is solid. Love the Mongolian beef. Wish the portions were a bit bigger. Friendly service. Website prices are way wrong so they should fix that.

Extremely pricey Chinese food. The food is not greasy, which is why I think they are popular. The ambiance is nice, but the wait-staff are the most unpleasant people., no pride in the work. You won't feel warm and fuzzy at this restaurant.

I have reviewed this neighborhood restaurant before as we order take out once a month. Today we decided to eat in... For apps we had the Haukaw and Siomai Combination. Followed by the Crab Rangoon. Both were tasty, freshly steamed and met our expectation. Next we had Mandarin Eggplant. This is our all time fave. It tastes even better when you eat at the restaurant! We ordered Eliza's Spicy Chicken. The were decorative Veggie that were crisply sautéed along the sides. Very good and one of our faves. Lastly, we had some Mushroom Chow Fun...delish! All the dishes were so much better as dine-in! But take out is not bad despite the time in the container. A neighborhood must!

Delicious food! Our party of 7 ordered many dishes. I had the vegetarian Moo shu and the vegetarian spring rolls. I would definitely return. I was surprised that it was almost empty on a Saturday night.

Hadn't been to Eliza's for several years. Pleased to say it is as good as ever. My favorite dishes are lotus root with prawns and chicken chow fun. Service is attentive.

Michael Bauer doesn't go here weekly for nothing! Went here for Chinese new year w two buds. Very pleasantly surprised- and quite frankly- we wondered why we haven't been here before?! The style of food is cleanly presented, light in fat and not too greasy -- and just very well executed. The duck was very tender on inside and the skin was very crispy. Yes there was more meat than bone!! - even the potsticker appi- a typical dish that doesn't leave impressions- was Better than good here - like- almost handmade ..?! Point is- each dish that we ordered and will order in future will likely be as good as the experience we had here. Cheers

I've been coming here for over 30 years. This place is the bomb. I don't know why anybody would give this place a bad rating. Awesome food and great prices.

We have been coming here for years. Have never had a bad meal. My favorite is Eliza's Spicy Eggplant, my husband loves String Bean Chicken. But everything is delicious

Quick update: These were delicious too: Sweet and sour pork Fried rice Pot stickers Vegetarian moo shu

Love this place. I've been going here and their old Potrero location since I was a baby. I've seen other reviews complaining about the service, but Charles at the front is always friendly and I appreciate that the staff don't constantly interrupt your table. The food is great and always consistent, never too oily. Try the sesame chicken, Mongolian beef and the potstickers in house!

If you are craving Hunan style Chinese food with a California twist, give this family owned restaurant a try! For vegetarians, they have plenty of options here and will customize dishes as well. We started coming to Eliza's during the pandemic and quickly became addicted to their portobello shrimp bok choy dish. If you like mushroom/truffle flavor, the sauce in that dish has plenty of it. The portobello mushroom is sliced thinly and has a great texture and reminds my fiancé of abalone. Tonight we came here to dine in for the first time. They were pretty busy on a Saturday night, we waited 5 minutes to be seated. The interior design is interesting, it has an eclectic mix of modern art and traditional golden Chinese religious idols (Buddhist I think?). Overall, flavors of all our dishes were on point, service was attentive, we'll definitely come back to dine in soon. Garlic eggplant appetizer- very flavorful, garlic adds a nice crunch, generous portion of garlic. Pairs well with the sweeter soy sauce marinade. Nicely grilled. Hot and sour soup (we got it vegetarian)- one of our favorite dishes of the meal and hit the spot on a cold night. Honey walnut prawn- tasty, shrimps are on the smaller side and a bit more breading than I prefer. Portobello and bok choy (we got it customized without shrimp)- our favorite dish, never disappoints. Umami mushroom flavor pairs so well with the bok choy. Sweet and sour pork- well balanced, good amount of meat, bell peppers, pineapple, tomato, carrots.

The food is straight ahead Chinese. The chicken salad and soups are excellent, some of the stir fry less so. The portions are not generous. My main complaint is that the prices on the menu online are about 25% lower than what they charge. I asked about this and they said the prices as listed were out of date because of the site. The problem is that I got th list from their website.

I am apparently on a nostalgia tour of SF restaurants. I used to come here all of the time, like 15 years ago. This will set some context for you. The food here is good, very good in some cases. I am going to go ahead and recommend you get take out for reasons I will explain in a minute. First the food- It is hunan/mandarin style Chinese. I always get vegetarian mu shu. On my last visit it was as good as I remembered. The portion size has shrunk but as my husband noted when we got the bill, it was our first meal under $100 in a long time. We also got hot and sour soup, chicken with cashews and mongolian beef. The food was hot, fresh and everyone enjoyed it. You got the feeling everyone there was a regular. They all greeted the owner (I presume) familiarly and seemed to have established their regular order. A very neighborhood kind of place. I wish we had gotten take out because the restaurant was cold AF. I think it was even colder than it was outside. We did not take our coats off the entire time. There was a space heater behind us but it didn't help much. The decor is very dated (like it would have been very cutting edge in the 90s) and kind of run down. It made me a little sad because this is obviously someone's business and they made it through the pandemic but maybe just barely. Kind of like they are going through the motions but their heart is not in it anymore.

Really disappointing experience from a customer service standpoint--I've been a loyal customer for years, and spent hundreds of dollars at this restaurant. Recently, I decided to try the sizzling rice soup for the first time...the menu makes no mention of the soup containing shrimp/prawns and I certainly couldn't infer that information from the name "sizzling rice". Anyway, the soup came with shrimp which I am deathly allergic too. I asked to exchange the sizzling rice for another soup (due to my allergy) and they refused. They said I "should have known" sizzling rice soup comes with shrimp. I couldn't believe it. Extremely disappointing customer service experience given years of loyal patronage. Won't be going back.

I hadn't been here in years and it was still as good as ever! The interior is so nicely decorated and the food is great. I love their mushu pork it's always a good go to.

Good food, great service, family friendly I will recommend calling ahead plus parking is scarce.

Excellent food! Great staff. Seating is pretty spacious, at least your not right on top of other diners

Best/tasting Chinese fusion eats and attractive presentation! Order the specials like sunflower beef, spicy chicken and prawns, portobello shrimp, and combo appetizers. Prices are reasonable too! The gentlemen server will take care of you!

Best Chinese food in SF by far. I've been coming here for probably around 20 years. Doesn't get better than their fried rice and mongolian beef. It's out of this world.

Maybe I'm eager with the five stars since I've only been there twice but here's why. On my first visit, the host made a face when I made my vegetarian selection. Is it a bad dish, I asked. Of course not! He said, but better for sharing. You might want something more interesting as a stand-alone. He suggested a kung pao tofu. Boy was I glad! I hadn't seen a tofu version anywhere before so this was a treat. I really enjoy kung pao but mainly order tofu dishes these days. Go try it out! Cute custom decor items too!

Eliza's is the best Chinese food in the city. This spot is as good as it gets and service is always so welcoming.

I trried the Szuechuan Tofu w/ white rice. I liked it. Big portion and ready quickly.

Finally, it seems almost safe to begin to have a bit of a life again. The pandemic may not be over but it's close enough to done, at least for me, now. My plan is to go to one restaurant a week, but early enough so there won't be too many people there. That's my precaution. This week it was Eliza's. The reason was that it is close to where I live; and it is open for dinner early enough so it is possible to get in, get out, and have time to walk the dog while there is still light. Two main courses were dinner for tonight: mu shu pork was very nicely done. A good mix of pork, egg, mushrooms and thin pancakes. A second dish was Mongolian beef. It came piping hot but was only OK. To me it seemed much too sweet although there was the merest hint of other spices. Service was OK and the owner and my server were both wearing masks. That's a good thing. I will be back but maybe next time the Mongolian beef will be replaced with Peking duck.

This has been my go to restaurant for 30 years. Back on Potrero Hill I would eat here 3-4 times a week. Anytime I go back to SF it's my go to spot. It's not over the top. It's not nuvo or bespoke or any of that crap. It's just good food and leaves you happy and satisfied.

Consistent quality Chinese food for decades; lovely glass decor and flavorful choices. Have been going here for 20 years most recently last week. My favorite is lotus root prawns with ginger

Had takeout from Eliza's last night and it was wonderful as usual. For our family of three, we ordered the mango beef, Szechuan eggplant with prawns and the beef chow fun. The mango beef has been one of our longtime favorites with crunchy mango bits and savory beef. The slightly sweet sauce was especially delish over white rice. The beef chow fun always has the right "wok hei" or umami of a stir-fried Cantonese dish. The Szechuan eggplant with prawns was a new one for us. It was especially tasty with a slightly crunchy texture to the fried eggplant with savory shrimp and is very slightly spicy. This is pretty much a can't miss place for lunch or dinner plus it's a local establishment that has served the area for ages and has survived the pandemic. Cheers to Eliza's!

DO NOT EAT HERE THE DINING EXPERIENCE IS TERRIBLE STAFF ARE RUDE AND TAKE OUT EXPERIENCE IS EQUALLY UNPLEASANT. BILLS ARE NOT ITEMIZED AND YOU GET NO GREETING, NO POLITE BEHAVIOR, gruff, very unfriendly, they literally look past you. Who wants to be treated like that before eating? ***This Yelp profile says they have 3 food safety violations***: "Standard not met: Food separated and protected. Standard not met: Food Safety Manager Certification and Food Handler Card Standard not met: Food contact surfaces that are clean and sanitized" Gross. The staff are MISERABLE. They are rude, give you dirty looks, sneer, and never say hello, greet you or thank you. Maybe they are prisoners because they hate customers and receiving their hate and hostility gives you indigestion and also makes you feel like a chump for giving them your business and money. By the way, the reviews are right, it is very $$$. Dinner for two, two dishes white rice, no sides or apps after tax will run you over $50 easy and remember that will come with a heaping bowl of contempt. The reviews are true, they never ever give you an itemized receipt and to me, they always round up and also charge up to $7 for a side of white rice. I have always hated not getting an itemized receipt. The rudeness and lack of civility works well to get someone to just sign the bill without asking questions so they can get away from the really bad vibes from the staff as quickly as possible. They hate you, and the two women who work there are so incredibly angry and hostile. They must be related to the owners otherwise they would have been fired. Hey owners, your staff are doing everything to make sure people are insulted and feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. Read your reviews. People are complaining about being treated badly, being over charged, seeing staff clean tables with soiled napkins that customers used after they leave, pay attention!! Your staff are bad for business and driving customers away. Eliza's on California is run by nasty people who do everything to ruin your meal. You don't deserve our business and from the looks of the reviews your staff and you have done a good job ruining your reputation with once loyal customers and new ones who will never return.

My partner and I had dinner at Eliza's the other night and it was delicious. We learned from who we think is the owner that the business has been here for over 20 years and their food speaks to that! They made the hot and sour soup vegetarian for me and the eggplant dish was full of flavor and perfectly crispy! We also ordered chow fun which is like chow Mein but with a different type of noodle (thin rice noodle), this dish was also very good. My partner order the spicy tangy chicken and finished the whole plate. We're so excited to come back to Eliza's.

We live around the corner and we've always been curious about this spot. It did NOT disappoint. The owner was incredibly kind, and clearly hustles to make sure everyone is taken care of (I think only two people including him run the front of house and take out orders. Bravo.) Over the months we've had the Mongolian Beef, dumplings, fried rice, hot & sour soup, garlic eggplant, chow mein and fried rice and everything is 10/10. Best dumplings we've had, and they do not skimp on the to-go fried rice! The decor is pretty 90s but we love laughing about it, it's a quirky spot we love it. We are regulars now :)

Always the best stop for yummy Chinese when passing through SF! Food comes out fast and it's well done

This place's pictures do not do it justice. It's being great for many years. We did take out. There were a couple of tables indoors. Wow for the 25 minutes we ordered and waited, so many cars and people came to pick up their food. this place is as popular as always. We got the mango beef, chicken with basil (spicy), two types of pork and shrimp dumplings. Wow the dumplings are so good, the skin chewy, fresh, perfectly formed, the filling delicious and traditional. Highly recommend. Hard to park. Order take out before hand.

This restaurant has the best hot & sour soup I've ever had. Also their mapo tofu is excellent.

No customer services, actually kinda means specially the white hair guy After I paid the money and he return my charge back on the top of the paper bag Over cook my broccoli beef Price is kinda acceptable Clean place But he complained to someone said who closed the main door which is I don't even know who closed the front door Seriously not a good experience at all and I have no reason to go back to this place even I am Chinese and I love Chinese food but not this place

Eliza's is the old friend you've forgotten to call for a while, and when you do, remember his or her importance to you. Years ago, I enjoyed eating at Eliza's for its delicious food and variety of menu options. I happened to be in the area at lunchtime, and remembered it. Their lunch specials are quite reasonably priced, and offer just the right amount of food. Service is quick. I chose vegetarian kung pao with tofu, which is quite flavorful and light. The vegetables taste very fresh. Notice the gorgeous glass artwork to the left as one enters. Think of Eliza's as a friend to keep for years.

I love this place!!!! I normally steer away from Chinese food due to tons of Sodium and MSG in the dish but this restaurant was so good with their ingredients!! I didn't feel bloated or puffy at all! This is now my favorite Chinese restaurant in the area. Super friendly service and the food was very tasty

The best Chinese food outside of Hong Kong. Have followed the family through 3 restaurants in 20 years: Oak and Potrero and California Street. Love it and them!

We came in with a lovely party of 10 friends and family, for a 7:00 reservation. They close at 9:00. It was a cold night and freezing in the restaurant. There was no heat on. We had to eat in our heavy coats. I saw one portable heater at the end of the restaurant, being used by an employee on her break. I've never been so cold in a restaurant. The food was delicious. The service was good, but they began rushing us out the door at 8:30. I wouldn't eat in the restaurant, again, but carry out might be better. The cost was pretty average. The bill for 10 of us was about $420.

I was working near by so I looked up restaurants in the area. Decided onEliza's. I order a Mongolian Beef over rice to go. They informed me that they only sell it À la cart and only. I said ok, then can I have a side of rice. I went by about 10 minutes later, I paid $18. I thought that was expensive but paid it anyways cause I was hungry. The beef was a little burnt and had no flavor(not even slightly hot). The beef was on top of some shrimp like chips to absorb the fat. They was not that much meat. I then looked at their menu and the Mongolian Beef was $10.18 and the rice was $6 plus tax. I was ripped off. I know prices might have gone up but please....I would never again eat here. TOTAL RIP OFF. I would have given it a quarter star if I could.

I don't like having to download a program just to see your menu! Really? You can't post your menu to look at without a damn app to download?

I've been here multiple times and this place never disappoints me! The service is wonderful; the waitresses are super friendly. My favorite is the peking duck-- the skin is crispy and thin, and the duck is very lean. The sweet and sour shrimp is also very good, and the portions are generous. Highly recommend Eliza's, and I will always come here to satisfy my cravings.

Food, portion, presentation was decent. I would have given this a 3 star if the service was good. There were probably 3 tables occupied ( one was a group of maybe 5 people). By the time we got there, most of the guests were already eating but for some reason, this very rude older man doesn't seem to notice us whenever we try to call his attention to order. It happened about 3 times and I just couldn't understand why. I don't notice the kitchen being busy with online orders either. This old man (manager perhaps) is just pure rude! I would never go back nor recommend visiting the place.

Of all the Szechuan and Hunan restaurants I've visited in the Bay Area, Eliza's has the best food, albeit smallest portions, of any. Unfortunately, they also have the rudest wait staff I've encountered anywhere outside of Paris. Last Sunday, our waiter felt the need to bring up his recollection of the substandard tip I'd left the last time he'd seen me in the restaurant. He'd mistakenly associated this with my discovery of the fact that, unlike every other Szechuan, Hunan and Cantonese restaurant in the western world, Eilza's fails to offer complementary tea with the meal. I want to assure this waiter that, if he received less of a tip than he'd assumed was due to him, it would have had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the restaurant charges patrons for tea. I'm an old-school tipper. The amount that I leave reflects nothing but my feeling about the quality of service I received on that day. As a restaurant patron, I don't expect to be met with the kind of arrogance, abruptness and downright rudeness that I've encountered from every member of the wait staff at Eliza's. I still go there occasionally and ignore the snub, because the food is superlative. But let's be clear about what is what. If my livelihood depended on tips from customers, I'd make a little more effort to hide my contempt for them. Just saying...

beautiful decor/atmosphere and delicious food! we had the sizzling rice soup, crispy pan fried noodles, lemon chicken, and chow fun. would go all the time if i lived here!

Nothing exceptional but for the price you get decent food, decent service and decent ambience. I would recommend this restaurant as a go-to if you want a solid no-frills meal.

Very kind people. I walked down for a quiet lunch alone and it was pretty good Chinese food. I had the spicy lotus root and shrimp with jasmine rice. It was really delicious and pretty decently priced for SF. Not a very fancy place. It's just a quick bite kinda place.