Old Mandarin Islamic Restaurant

"The Yang family behind Old Mandarin Islamic keeps the neighborhood fed as it has for more than 30 years. Locals and travelers line up for the restaurant’s halal menu which offers items including cumin lamb, beef pancake, and clay pot specials. Online ordering for takeout is available on the restaurant’s website." - Paolo Bicchieri

"On cold nights, many of the regulars who crowd Old Mandarin Islamic’s small, scruffy dining room would order one of the spicy Beijing-style hot pots — a warming antidote to the chilly Outer Sunset fog. In general, this San Francisco institution, one of the only places in the city that specializes in Chinese Muslim cuisine, is a great place to feast on lamb — stir-fried with cumin, braised, stuffed inside of dumplings, or boiled in a clay pot. Chile-heads will want to test their endurance against the side dish/condiment known as la si ni, or “spice you to death.”" - Dianne de Guzman, Eater Staff

"More than 30 years on San Francisco’s west side hasn’t dinged the phenomenal fare at Old Mandarin Islamic Restaurant. Sure, it’s the only destination for halal-friendly Chinese food in the city. But heading here on Christmas Day is also smart since the well-spiced cumin lamb and sugary warm mochi feel like it was made by an old friend, just for you." - Dianne de Guzman, Eater Staff

"On cold nights prior to the pandemic, many of the regulars who’d crowd the small, scruffy dining room at Old Mandarin Islamic would order one of the spicy Beijing-style hot pots. The restaurant, which specializes in Chinese Muslim cuisine, is a great place to feast on lamb whether stir-fried with cumin, braised, or boiled in a clay pot. Chile-heads will want to test their endurance against the side dish slash condiment known as la si ni, or “spice you to death.”" - Lena Park, Eater Staff

"Head to the foggy outer avenues to find this family-run Chinese restaurant, which has been serving both the neighborhood and the Bay Area’s Chinese Muslim community for more than three decades. Owner Shuai Yang, whose parents opened the restaurant in 2001, says the restaurant set out to serve the kind of Northern Chinese food his parents grew up eating in the Xinjiang province of China. To this day, the restaurant serves an entirely halal menu of Chinese dishes including regional specialties such as cumin lamb and crispy beef pancakes." - Dianne de Guzman, Paolo Bicchieri