Mandalay Restaurant
Burmese restaurant · Presidio Terrace
4348 California St, San Francisco, CA 94118
Highlights
Burmese stalwart serving noodles, soups, salads & mains in warm surrounds
Burmese stalwart serving noodles, soups, salads & mains in warm surrounds
"San Francisco is home to an impressive number of Burmese restaurants but the first and, therefore, oldest is Mandalay, the Richmond District institution that opened in 1984. It changed owners (within the same family) but continues to offer Southeast Asian specialties including mango chicken, Burmese curry beef, and fish chowder. The must-order item at the no-frills, yellow-walled restaurant is the tea leaf salad, a textural delight made with fermented tea leaves, fried garlic, dried shrimp, sesame seeds, lemon, green pepper, and roasted peanuts." - Paolo Bicchieri
"One of San Francisco’s oldest and most well-regarded Burmese restaurants, Mandalay also offers its full menu for delivery. The restaurant’s colorful, crunchy Burmese salads — including what’s probably the best-fermented tea leaf salad in the city — are great to-go options, as are the intensely flavorful soups and noodle dishes." - Dianne de Guzman
"This California Street Burmese restaurant is known for its tableside tea leaf salads and uber-attentive service, with numerous family members making stops with ginger lemonade throughout the meal. In 2024, Mandalay was named an America’s Classics winner, with the foundation recognizing the innovative restaurant as a high watermark in a city with plenty of fantastic Burmese options." - Paolo Bicchieri
"There are several great Burmese spots in the Richmond but Mandalay did it first, opening in 1984, back when tea leaf salad was a novelty to most. It’s known for homey standards like samusa soup, as well as specials like the Rangoon spicy fish along with fragrant noodle dishes and the best fermented tea leaf salad in town — a rendition of the classic without lettuce or cabbage. The restaurant received the America’s Classics Award from the James Beard Foundation in 2024." - Paolo Bicchieri
"Though it isn’t the flashiest or the most crowded, Mandalay might be best of San Francisco’s Burmese restaurants — certainly it’s the one that makes the least compromises to accommodate Western palates, which in general means bigger, punchier flavors. Whatever you do, don’t skip the best fermented tea leaf salad in town. It’s a rendition of the classic that’s available without lettuce or cabbage to tamp down the deliciously pungent flavors or diminish the outrageous crunch of the nuts and seeds. The restaurant also received the James Beard America’s Classics Award in 2024. Must-try dish: Try the homey samusa soup or any of the fragrant noodle dishes." - Paolo Bicchieri
