Gourmet Carousel

Classic delicious Chinese food in an old fashioned Chinese restaurant. After a brief holiday Yin has returned to bring her beloved neighborhood restaurant and cuisine back to life!!! Just like before Dinner and Lunch!

Have not been here for many years so was curious to see/experience the latest... The menu looked promising. The crispy fried chicken, flavorful with surprisingly light & crispy skin, was very good. (As per menu, 30-minute prep time required.) Bitter melon with beef was not bad, but there was a large puddle of oil on the bottom. The special clay pot (contained some meats & seafood) was mediocre. Shrimp with lobster sauce was very salty, and unfortunately resembled scrambled eggs + shrimp instead of the expected creamy sauce. Lasting impressions: good fried chicken, very difficult parking, and unfriendly hostess/waitress.

Really kind staff! I accidentally left my passport there, and when I returned the next day, I was warmly greeted and relieved to find my belongings had been kept safe. Truly appreciated! The food was also authentic and fresh. 生意興隆！

This place was a complete disaster for me this evening. My order was 25 minutes late, cold, and terrible. The deluxe chow and glazed chicken were both way overcooked, which made the noodles mushy and the chicken was too tough to eat. The deluxe chow noodles tasted of pure dough and were also terribly under-sauced. The "pork" in the dish was sliced ham. There were only two shrimp in the entire dish. The chicken was spicy and old. It was clearly cooked and then recooked and possibly fried again. I would not recommend this spot and I would never go back. My total was near $50 for this. Gross!

no frills chinese restaurant serving a variety of classic dishes. well priced and quickly served! would come back when craving causal chinese food. sweet and sour chicken wings: perfectly crispy and cooked. loved the sauce and flavoring. must try. beef eggplant over rice: a little disappointed and lacked flavor. beef was a little chewy. eggplant cooked well though.

I received my food quickly. I was served by a nice enough lady. The soup was decent

The food is delicious here. If you love true authentic Chinese cuisine; give this place a try. The ownership just changed and now I finally have a favorite Chinese restaurant in the city. Fastest take out (ready within 12mins). I ordered the chicken fried rice and pot stickers for lunch today. The portion for a single order of Chicken Fried Rice and single order of Potstickers is enough for 2 adults. I split it with my wife and we have fried rice leftovers for later tonight. They make their own potstickers because the ingredients are full of flavour, the skin is the perfect thickness (not thick whatsoever) and they put corn kernels inside with the other ingredients. Most Chinese restaurant in the city have not satisfied my experienced palette in decades. My wife has travelled to China for work projects and agrees that this place is truly authentic. Real Chinese fried rice should not have carrots and peas; it should only be rice, choice of meat, egg, green onion and seasoning. This place does a great job and I highly recommend it. They are friendly and professional when you go inside to pay for the take out. I will definitely be a regular and look forward to trying the other menu items on their new menu. Thank you Gourmet Carousel for the tasty meal!

Had a very tasty meal at a good price. The flavors and quality of the meat were good.

Gourmet Carousel has been a long-time favorite for great food with generous portions, but reasonable cost. 30 years ago it was hard to get in the door, it was in such high demand. But times change, competition proliferates, and the pandemic took a toll. But the same great food with generous portions and reasonable cost is still there, as is the same chef and staff in this great family-owned spot.

My office absolutely loves eating here. For every office lunch we have, we make sure to come here. Their portions are a great size and their food is delicious. Their service is quick and efficient. During the lunch rush, the place is bustling with people, yet we are always able to get a table! They have table sizes or large or small groups.

This place has history. The restaurant was previously owned by a lovely family who sold their restaurant and retired. The new owners took over and tainted the reputation of the building. After a short stint of retirement, the family returned. The food with the original cooks is incredible. The portions as you can see are huge. Traditional dishes with great taste! They're known for their black bean pan fried noodles, 10/10 would rec. Service was quick and warm per usual. My favorite restaurant has returned and I couldn't be happier. Alright then, Mitchell out

Went last night only a few tables were occupied. Saw a lot of take out orders. Immediately ordered and food came out promptly hot, fresh and tasty! Crispy fried wonton in soup, Honey Glazed Chicken, Beef with green beans, Buddha Delight, steamed tofu with oyster sauce, Salted Fish Fried Rice. Authentic colorful Cantonese style cooking. Original workers came back to reopen. Warm and welcoming to see all familiar faces! Fast, friendly, tasty and easy parking!!

tasty food. Good portion. i like beef chowfun. If u req not oily they can make it. Good price.

Solid 3.5 stars. Flavors were good but in San Francisco where fabulous Chinese food abounds, we will keep exploring rather than return here. The prices were good and the service was excellent... It's on a nice corner with pretty abundant street parking on a Saturday afternoon (shockingly). We got chicken chow mein, (good)... Chicken fried rice, (pretty good, thin, white meat, chicken was fabulous, but we all ended up adding a little soy sauce for flavor) ...and Mongolian beef, disappointing (it was literally all vegetables with a little bit of beef mixed in. The flavors were good though). Not a bad choice especially if you live nearby, and potentially better dishes than those we tried, but not exceptional.

After hearing that the family of the original owners took back operation of this time honored restaurant. I was elated to recognize the female server and her younger brother who used to also serve is now a chef. We ordered their classic dishes that so impressed SF Chronicle's food critic Michael Bauer, and the presentation and flavors of these dishes rekindled happy memories of Gourmet's heyday! Food was as good as ever and the service so friendly and attentive. It was like visiting mom's for dinner. Portions are huge so great value and flavor! We are so lucky the original Gourmet is back!

The quality of the dishes is out of this world. The flavor and delicate (not greasy) textures rival those of many Michelin starred restaurants. (See: Mr.juis) I'm not kidding .. The service and good natured spirit of this family owned abode also deserves a star. Their entire credit card system was down even before I got my food! -- and when it came time for me to pay - the lady said I can come back later. You have definitely found a loyal patron in me, and many others too I'm sure. Can't wait to come back and try more - this is going to be a multi weekly go-to place! Cheers

I hope I can stop anyone from going here. While parked outside, I noticed the cook come outside. He used fingers on one of his hands to blow snot out of his nose and it was obvious some of it got on his hand. He then wiped it on his apron. He then went back in. When I noticed this, I exited my vehicle and entered the restaurant. I entered literally seconds behind him. He went straight to the kitchen without washing his hands. It's obvious this restaurant has has many problems. I am a native to San Francisco and have noticed different changes with name and management. There has been several signs stating "Grand Opening."

Hung Tao Yee Fu won ton, oldie but goodie. Its crispy won ton in a soup. Dont let the won ton soak in there which will make it soggy. I love it. I think im dreaming about it. Must go back. We had 3 meat rice noodles. That plate was two portion sizes! I said, " it's as big as your head." The buddha delight, vegetables (mushroom, broccoli, zucchini, and boy choy). Meatless Mondays. This place has so many dishes i want to order. Got to go back. Great service. Lots of to go orders. Only two occupied tables. Please go to this restaurant, can't wait to see what you would order.

For years and years, I was wondering about this restaurant. As long as I live in SF, I have never tried. Today was the day, my husband and I stopped by for the first time. It's clean, they just renovated ( I know I pass by daily), ample space. More for quick bite for lunch place. I don't know the dinner menu, but the menu we got was for lunch time. My husband had Shrimp wonton soup, I hade eggplant with minced pork over rice. Rice was little hard for my taste, but eggplant and wonton soup were wonderful. In expensive with generous amount. I would not say it's super delicious authentic Chinese but for quick bite, it's very good. We were surprised.

I waited for a bit before writing this review. First order 3 entrees and quoted 15 minutes for pick up. Definitely ready in that timeframe. Lots of food and brought back all those memories of that old school Chinese food, I grew up with. Missed that type of cuisine as so many of those type of restaurants have either closed due to rising prices, pandemic, or retirement of the owners and no future family to take over. These type of businesses are so far and few now. Gotta say, this place has been such a relief to find as my neighborhood mainstay has closed over a year ago and no one else has been good enough. Consistent all three times, I've ordered from here with the timing and quality of food. Just make sure if you want to eat here, either uber or park some ways away, as the street it's on, has the M-F 3:00pm-7:00pm traffic/rush hour No Parking/No Stopping Allowed. Restaurant closes at 8:00pm too.

I tried some take out recently and was very impressed! I ordered the Deluxe Combo Wonton Soup, Ground Pork with Eggplant and Port Potstickers. The soup was huge! and delicious. The potstickers were perfection. I liked that the dough was not too thick. The only minor disappointment, because it was so tasty, was that the ground pork with eggplant, hardly had any pork...it was like a LOT of eggplant!

This restaurant is our go to Great local Chinese food. Highly recommend the Beef Stew Chow Fun & Salt &Pepper pork chops and Hung Tao Yee foo won ton. Have been going there for years when the old owners were there and now the new owners. Service is nice and friendly Definitely will return

I frequently eat here. It is high quality, large portions, low price. My favorite is the Deluxe Won Ton soup, Bitter Melon Fish cooked with black bean sauce/extra garlic & ginger served with rice, Tomato Beef Chow Mein Hong Kong Style. Bitter melon fights cancer and diabetes per research

The Chicken & Salted Fish Fried Rice would get 5 stars from me if the chicken was actually seasoned. It was completely bland. The pieces of chicken also varied in size. Some were large filet pieces while others were thinly sliced. There was good flavor in the rice and a good amount of pieces of salted fish. Love that they added a bit of shredded lettuce in there for texture and some crunch. The sliced ginger helped with cutting down the fishiness of the dish.

Original owners are back. Portions are ENORMOUS and delicious. I'd say each dish can be shared by 3-4. Deluxe wonton soup is filled with beef, bbq pork, shrimp, and chicken--best broth of any wonton soup in the city. Hakka chicken is offered in half or whole--delicious poached chicken. Another standout dish is yu choi with shiitake mushrooms in a rich brown ouster sauce. Finally, bbq pork fried rice is fried nicely and is very tasty. Delightful owners with 35 years of experience. Come to feast and enjoy on the corner of Pine & Franklin

YIN IS BACK!!! After a brief time Gourmet Carousel is back!!!. A new owner took over for a short time and his reduced menu. Lost clientele so YIN came back to revitalize and revive the restaurant with her chef and her brother and I'm so glad she reopened this week!!! The restaurant has had a facelift and The menu is back with some new additions and the food is delicious! I've been back twice already and can't wait to come for more.

The best food with the best portions with the best price! Near secret on SF! Come here you will leave surprised happy full and with some money left! Amazing!

+ Tasty and cheap dishes perfect for a lunch break + I got the mapo tofu rice plate, which tasted amazing and just what I needed on a rainy day + Fast service and friendly staff + The prices for the food makes it even better + I saw most people doing takeouts, but it is also open for dine-in! - Limited opening hours (good for lunch, limited time for dinner)

When I got in, the place was pretty quiet and very clean! I'm sad to say that the food here was not as good as I expected. The flavor of the salted fried rice and chow mein was lacking wok hei (smokey flavor I look for in Chinese food). However, the service was nice and the food came out fast!

This restaurant is a place I often go to, because the food is delicious. However, today, I experienced rudeness from the cook. As we both met at the front door, he proceeded to go in first, exposing his ill-mannered behavior. He deliberately let the door go in my face and looked back with a smirk on his face as if he was saying, I don't hold doors for Black women. It's sad his behavior was blatant disrespect and signs of racism. He's a butt-hole and I will never eat here again!!!

Classic San Francisco Chinese spot with delicious food and huge portions. I wish I lived in the bay area so I could try more things here! The eggplant was delicious, the fried rice was delicious, the dumplings are amazing... I also recommend the Szechuan chili chicken. YUMM!

I've been going to this restaurant for over 30 years. The owners sold the business last year and bought it back and it was nice to see the "old" crew back. Solid homestyle Cantonese home-cooking style. Generous portions and reasonable prices. Huge portion of Chicken Chow Mein, salt and pepper fish, fresh clams in a black bean sauce.

One of the best Selection of food good variety of selection to select Very good flavors

My coworker and I went to this "old school greasy spoon" Chinese restaurant last week for lunch. This was our first time here post Covid. Formica top tables, as before. New menu and increased prices by about 50%. We ordered beef won ton soup, and egg and shrimp rice plate to share. And I asked for a Diet Coke. First off, when the won ton soup arrived, no soup spoons provided. I had to flag down the waitress and ask. At first she only brought one spoon. No soup bowls. She gave me a lecture that since I ordered only one soup , "I only get one spoon". WTF? I told her when I ordered that we were sharing the soup and rice plate. After waiting for about 10 minutes she returned with bowls and two soup spoons and threw them on our table! Then when my friend's shrimp scrambled eggs and rice plate finally arrived it was luke warm, and again the waiter did not provide an extra plate or extra fork so we could share. Then when she brought me my coke, it was in a can, and I had to ask for a glass with ice. I mean, she didn't even ask if I needed a glass with ice. Did she expect me to drink room temperature soda right out of the can? Again, it took around 10 minutes to bring me a glass with ice? Note: this is a small restaurant. My lunch partner could not finish her food, because it had gotten cold, and asked for two take out boxes. The waitress only brought one box. When my friend asked for a take out box so the rice could be in one, and the scrambled eggs in another box, the waitress yelled at her saying "you order a rice plate. You only get one box". She grudgingly cane back with another box after I complained that we wanted two boxes. And then she did not even give us a plastic bag to put the boxes in. In summary, the restaurant has lost its charm, food mediocre, expensive, and most of all, the waitress was very rude and providing bad service. Even though it was not very busy ( only 4 other customers), the waitress had a bad attitude, and made my lunch partner upset by yelling at her over asking for two boxes. WTF. Friggin terrible experience. Not going back again. Note: this waitress has been there well before Covid. Middle aged, speaks English and Cantonese, and wears glasses. Maybe she needs to find another job. Preferably not waitressing. Avoid this place unless you enjoy being abused.

Gourmet Carousel has received reviews describing it as being a place that serves copious portions of Cantonese food at a modest price. That news was enough to induce me to visit, especially as they are open from 11 AM through the evening on Saturday when parking is not crazy hard nearby. On entering at 4 PM I was the lone patron. That's social distancing. The owners were there with their children who livened the the restaurant so that it didn't seem that I was in a tomb. Mongolian beef and shrimp with lobster sauce were my choices for the evening meal. After an appropriate time two immense plates of food arrived making me to wonder whether I had over ordered. I had. The Mongolian beef was spiced but not so assertively that it hurt to consume it. The Shrimp with lobster sauce was replete was properly cooked crustaceans. The way I was able to polish off both courses was to push the onions, peppers, carrots and other vegetables aside to focus on the shrimp or beef. While I have had better versions of both plates, given the price, proximity to my apartment, the hours that the restaurant keeps, and having a server wearing a mask, made Gourmet Carousel well worth the visit. The food was good just not exceptional.

An old establishment came back in April 2023 under new management! A great neighborhood Chinese comfort delicious food at value prices has returned! Please ignore the photos and menus prior to April 10th, 2023. The siblings have reunited to resurrect their parents' restaurant.

My first visit back since the original owners reopened. The food was so good, absolutely delicious! And the portions were big! Great prices as well for the food portions! Ordered pork pot stickers, Mongolian beef, chow mein, white rice; all the food was so good and tasted so fresh! Service was spot on and the interior (newly remodeled) was so clean! Will definitely be coming back! Great job Gourmet Carousel!

Generous servings; delicious dishes of Scrambled egg and Shrimp...Bittermelon and Fish. Service is friendly and quick...consistent through the years.

I love Gourmet Carousel. The food is solid, I mean consistently delicious. I have been working my way through the menu, slowly, and each dish I try is better and better. top quality ingredients, generous portions, what is not to like? My go-to in the neighborhood and rejoice they're back.

So glad they have re-opened! The food was great and serving sizes are big! They have the Cantonese classics.

I used to eat here once a week!! The food and service was so good especially for a Chinese restaurant. There was this guy named Chu, don't know if that's his real name or not. I think he was the owners son. They let me call ahead and order lunch to eat there and by the time i got there the food would be on the table already. They also owned a little grocery store on Bay Street and Kearney where i worked across the street. I would order from their restaurant and they would bring it over to Tans, the name of the little grocery store and i would pick it up there. It was a great set up. Gourmets had a special dish called Soung Gai See Chow Gum Un Mein which No Other Chinese restaurant in SF had! Most never even heard of it!! Im glad to hear the original owners came back. Unfortunately, i had to move up to Sacramento for work so its been years since I've been there. The missing is the worst thing. When i was little there was a place in Chinatown that had this special dish that no other restaurant had or knew how to make. Its a combination of Chow Mein and Chow Fun with Chicken and Bean Sprouts mainly. I sure miss the Hell out of this place! Whomever reads this, try this dish. Its really good. Of course its not on the menu! Sahn Guy See Chow Gum Un Mein.

This is the first time we've been here since they "changed" ownership. It looks like they renovated a little on the inside. It's brighter than it is to be and looks bigger but it's not. We ordered everything in the pictures. The Scallion Pancakes were not greasy, but crispy, just the right amount scallions; the tomato beef pan fried noodles - the noodles were crispy but not dry, the beef could be a bit more tender, the flavor was perfect; the yo choy with mushrooms was a little on the salty side but the vegetables and mushrooms were tender; the beef stew with tofu in clay pot was delicious, the stew was tender and I loved that they put tofu on it along with lettuce; the minced pork with salted fish was tasty, instead of putting a piece of salted fish on top of the minced pork (that's how most places do it), they chop up the salted fish and mix it into the minced pork, smart idea but its was a little salty. The portions are a good size! They haven't been open too long and I think they still have some kinks to work out but I think we'll be back to try some of their other dishes. When we got there there was only one lady working the dining room but she was very friendly and attentive. We chatted about how they came out of retirement to work the restaurant again. A nice neighborhood authentic Chinese restaurant!

Nothing is the same when you do takeout. This restaurant was one of my go to restaurants for dining. Well, takeout has lost a step or three. I ordered Singapore noodles, black bean beef chow fun and of course bittermelon fish. Very hard to not order bittermelon and I'm not disappointed. The black bean chow fun is more preferred to me than the normal dry beef chow fun that is normally ordered by most people. The Singapore rice noodles was a big disappointment though, the dish was soggy due to being steamed on the way home, but I think it's more than that, I think the cook dropped the ball on this dish. There was not a hint if chicken, the dish should have bbq pork, chicken and shrimp. Bell peppers and green onions were also noticeably absent. I think I will have to get my Singapore rice noodles somewhere else if they don't clean up their act.

We have eaten here for over 30 years. Was so sad when they closed . Now they are back with the same great food.

Can't wait to go back. We ordered two wonton dishes to go. Yee Foo Wonton and Beef Stew WonTon Noodles. Wow! I was surprised they packed the soup separately so that when we got home, we could put the fried won tons in the soup and it was pure perfection. The soup was amazing. My husband had the Beef Stew wonton and he was able to add just the amount of soup he wanted to his meal. The food was so hot and freshly made. We live about 30 minutes away, and the food was still really hot when we got home. This will be out go-to stop whenever we're in SF!

Great for lunch or takeout -- food is solid at a good price point for the area. Have tried several dishes and all were tasty and generous portions-wise. My favorite "over rice" dishes-- cod and bitter melon, egg and shrimp, and mapo tofu. Takeout orders ready in 10-15 min.

One of the best chicken and salted fish fried rice pricing very fair salted and pepper pork chops and fish is very good

This restaurant is closing June 15, 2022. This place is closing after 40 years in business. After many years, their salted ribs, pea sprouts, salt and pepper squid, green beans, salty fish fried rice are still very good. So sad.

This place is so convenient and has such delicious Chinese food! I really liked the Mongolian beef

Previous Owners are Back! I went to our favorite neighborhood Chinese restaurant in Lower Pacific Heights and lo and behold the old gang was there. While the menu is still a bit limited the food was as good as ever. The place has a new facelift and they are ready to return this long standing gem to o its previous glory.

Tasty and cheap food with really fresh ingredients. There used to be restaurants like this all over SF. Now we're down to a dwindling few. Mapo tofu was the standout but everything was good.

Reasonably priced Chinese restaurant wth fresh food & vegetarian options. This place is my Chinese comfort food and my family has been coming here for years.

This place was our "go-to-place" for that very special dish Hung Tao Yee Foo Won Ton. It closed for a little while, and then reopened, under new ownership. The menu was changed big-time, and sadly our favorite dish was not there. The ambience of the restaurant was different, lackluster and dead in spirit. It was the workingman's place to have lunch, and it was always quite crowded in the middle of the day. I won't be surprised if that crowd's disappeared. We are certainly not going back there again. Maybe never.

Food was incredibly tasty! Service was quick and the honey glazed chicken was mouth watering and crispy. Also got the Singapore noodles Hong Kong style with gravy and the Yang Chow fried rice, both delightful.

The original owners are back with most of the original menu! No salt and pepper calamari but all of our other favorites were as delicious as we remembered them.

Looks and reviews can be deceiving.... Itchy and dirty place, rude service, definitely not the best Chinese food in SF. Meat in beef and broccoli was old and not well prepared. Chicken in rice was old and rice was hard after we took it home. Hot n Sour soup was too too sour. Customer service comes first and the waitress lacked that!!

We're so excited they are back.. we've been going here since the early 90's..fresh,simple clean tasting, portions are huge.. service is quick and friendly.