Spicy King

Very authentic mala food. Portions are quite big and value for money. Recommend 水煮牛肉 spicy beef.

We stumbled into the restaurant while on the family vacation walking in the Chinatown. That was 5 years ago and we still to this day trying to find a restaurant in our town Chicago with our own Chinatown that would at least come close. Hands down , the best Chinese food we have had. Alll four of us still remember it. Great atmosphere and service as well.

The best Szechuan Chinese we’ve had outside of China! So authentic and full of flavour. It was so good we had lunch once and dinner 3 times over 3 days. If we are ever back in San Francisco we will be back.

Ordered delivery and was not disappointed. Food was delicious and authentic- especially the Hand Shredded Cabbage Stir-Fried with Chili, Chongqing Numbing Spicy Noodles, and Tea Smoked Duck! Highly recommend these 3. Just okay was the Dan Dan Noodles. Spicy Wonton w/ Chili Oil was also good though it wasn't spicy enough.

We came here for lunch the day of the Chinese New Year parade. We got 3 dishes for 2 people. I was surprised how good the honey walnut shrimp. Crispy batter, large shrimps with a nice bite. The spicy beef and twice cooked bacon was delicious.

The atmosphere was great and the staff were very friendly. However, I was disappointed with the Mala Xiang Guo. It felt like they used low-quality ingredients to save on costs even basic vegetables like bok choy were missing.

My son and I stumbled upon Spicy King when visiting China Town, and we loved our meal there. The atmosphere was great. It seemed modern and traditional and bold and precious all at the same time, and it worked! Our waitress was kind and gave made recommendations for dietary restrictions. We were served a nice pot of tea. I had the house cold noodles and green onion pancakes, and both were delightful. My mouth is watering now thinking about it!

Got the mapo tofu and scallion pancakes to split between two, the serving size was large enough we were both sated at the end :) Food was absolutely delicious

this is my go to restaurant for szechuan food! it's a bit difficult to get parking in the area but once you do it's worth it. definitely a restaurant where you have to order the right thing. i've tried basically half their menu so i'll rate what I've had! house cold noodle 8/10 : my dads favorite thing to get! highly recommend ordering it with extra sauce. the flavor is so good and it has just the right amount of numbing. dan dan noodle 6/10 : not the best. noodles were cooked well but the broth did not impress me. hot and sour soup 10/10 : so good. spicy, flavorful and thick. all hot and sour soup should be made this way hot and sour noodles 10/10 : my personal favorite dish from here and the most authentic i've had compared to the ones i've had in China! the bean sprouts pair so well with the broth and sweet potato noodles, very spicy wonton soup 10/10 : the broth is not oily and rich in flavor. the wontons were also packed in meat. simple but nothing to complain about mongolian beef 7.5/10 : the beef is cooked very tender with a lot of onions! people I was eating with found it lacking in flavor but I personally thought it was well seasoned, up to preference lamb skewers 8/10 : genuinely really good but there is SO much pepper on them. difficult to eat without your lips hurting but the flavor is great OVERALL great food and great service! the staff recognizes me every time and is happy to accommodate for seating/any needs. it can get a bit slow if it's busy but that can't be helped. the atmosphere of the restaurant is generally cozy and doesn't feel too cramped. i've noticed the portion sizes vary between dishes but most are shareable. will always come back here and update my review as I try more dishes :) most importantly! if you don't like spicy food DON'T come here and waste your time writing a bad review. that's the whole point!

I'm not sure if this was an error, but this place had no real Szechuan pepper flavor in any of the dishes. There was no numbing. The only thing I thought stood out was the wontons in spicy chili oil. Everything else was pretty mid. The server seemed busy and forgetful. The restaurant is cute with what you would expect in a Chinatown establishment. But spicy? I'm not so sure of that.

We came on a weekday around 4pm for a quick bite after walking around Chinatown. We were the only customers at the time and got seated pretty quickly. The restaurant has a cozy atmosphere with beautiful artwork along the walls as well as gorgeous koi fish that greet you as you walk in. After ordering, the food came out pretty quickly within a few minutes. The vegetable spring rolls were hot and crispy and came with a dipping sauce which was delicious. The cumin lamb came out in a sizzling hot pot and the flavors were well balanced, with the nice sweetness of the grilled onions pairing with the spice and umami of the lamb. The food was enough to feed 2 people, so if you come in a larger group, you may want to order accordingly. It is a little pricey for the amount of food you get, which is why I knocked it down a star.

If you're looking for a chinese food dining experience that combines exceptional food with top-tier service, this restaurant is a must-visit. The menu offers a wide variety of delicious chinese food dishes, each prepared with fresh ingredients and expertly seasoned. Every bite is a testament to the care and skill of the kitchen staff. What really sets this place apart, though, is the service. Our waiter was incredibly attentive, offering recommendations without being intrusive and ensuring that our glasses were always full. It's rare to find such a perfect balance of fantastic food and personalized service. I can't wait to return the next time I visit San Francisco!!

I was craving 酸辣粉 (sour spicy vermicelli) really badly, and Spicy King was recommended to me by a friend. The interior looks like a classic Chinese spot, eccentric decor, reasonable prices, one server. The noodles were $13.95 for a bit bowl, but no protein included. The flavor was great! I asked for more sour and less spicy and they delivered. I'd come back to try their whole fish and other more popular dishes!

Good spot for Sichuan food in Chinatown but definitely on the pricy side with small portions, hence my 3 star rating. I'd give it a 4 for the food itself. I'm a wimp when it comes to spice and don't eat a lot of Sichuan food, so I'm not an expert by any means, but I thought the dishes we ordered here were flavorful. My part of 3 came for Saturday lunch a little after 1 and the restaurant was pretty empty. The restaurant looks small from the outside but was much bigger inside than I expected. Dector looked a little bit old but was still nice. The menu has mostly spicy dishes (I assume most of them are standard Sichuan dishes?) but also has some non-spicy options as well if you're a spice wimp like me. We ordered 3 dishes to share: Szechuan chili pepper with pork ($18.95) - pork was very tender and flavorful. This dish was the spiciest of the three as they sauté the pork with a ton of jalapenos BBQ cumin lamb ribs ($28.95) - my favorite of the three dishes! It's marked as spicy but was manageable and had a lot of flavor from the cumin. I wish there was more lamb ribs though... for the price, it didn't have enough meat Braised peking duck with steamed buns ($28.95) - would skip this dish as it's a small portion (sad given the price). I also didn't particularly enjoy the duck which was a bit sweet We shared one bowl of rice ($2.25), which was enough for us. I read some other reviews that service was slow and the food took a while to come out, but that wasn't the case for us, probably because it wasn't that busy when we came. I saw another table sharing a whole fish cooked in a spicy broth. Would like to try that next time I come.

Decent Szechuan spot in Chinatown, but probably wouldn't be my first choice. We came here during the peak of Lunar New Year celebrations so it was extremely packed, but so was everywhere else in the area. The garlickyness and savory qualities of each dish were pleasing to the taste buds, but the spice wasn't as intense as I would've preferred. My friends were suffering a little though since they have lower tolerances LOL so it worked out for the group. The spiciest dish that we ordered was definitely the 重慶辣子雞 (Chicken with Explosive Chili Pepper). We were initially shook at how large each of these dishes appeared at first glance, but the quantity was not that much since most of it was covered in chili peppers. I'll give this establishment the benefit of the doubt due to LNY, but I wanted to say that the service was unbearably slow even after we had already been seated (ex: requesting extra bowls, waiting for the check). The waiters actually forgot a table next to us to which we kindly pointed out to them. Thankfully, the ordering process and speed of the food being made was efficient, which we appreciated since that's the most important anyway.

Came pretty hungry and neighboring restaurants had long wait times. This restaurant had a few open tables, clean and modern interior (good for date nights), and food was pretty good Twice cooked bacon was a big hit and so was the cabbage. The eggplant was pretty spicy and the scallion pancakes were ok. Some of the portion sizes were a little smaller than I expected. It had enough vegetarian options for our friend

I've been coming here for years but haven't been here recently so when my other favorite Chinatown restaurant is closed I decided to come here for lunch. Boy was that a mistake. Service is not bad per se but food takes forever especially for lunch. The place is definitely understaffed so I waited for food for over 50 minutes which is crazy for lunch. The food is decent as they do try to do traditional dishes a little differently. For example, they used pork neck meat for the stir fried pork which is quite unique and they also added long bean so that was great. The pork kidney is so so. I wish they have frogs in the menu. What I also like is that they use a small grain rice which is great and shows that they care about food taste. Overall good enough for food if you have time to wait.

Extremely average. Service was adequate. Pretty' much the only place open later. Most people dining were tourists who must have gone off Yelp reviews. This place is ok, but don't think I'll return.

Two of us shared the chongqing mao xue wang ($32.95) and a bowl of rice ($2.25). We weren't that hungry so we even brought the leftovers of dish home! They charged us $0.30 for the box and $0.25 for the bag which I do not understand but all is good because the dish we ordered was so delicious...!!!! The Chongqing Mao Xue Wang is a spicy broth that has pork blood, pork stomach, beef, fish, tripe (not a lot), wood ear mushroom (I think), and some cabbage pieces and bean sprouts. It comes with a hot pot stove and will be boiling hot! It is extremely flavorful and does have that spicy kick! We paired it with rice! Honestly a bowl of rice is a lot so I recommend sharing a bowl of rice! The staff are nice, friendly, and chill. If you hear shouting, they're just talking amongst themselves about restaurant or personal business lol I liked the chill vibes. Restrooms are clean! Parking may be hard to find so good luck. I can't wait to come back when I'm in SF, Chinatown!

Ordered the spicy sour noodle soup, cold noodles, stir fried tripe, and couples delight. There are good, okay, and bad dishes. The spicy sour noodles were good, would recommend. Stir fried tripe as well, a bit too oily for my liking but flavor and taste were good, and tripe was cooked tenderly. Couples delight was okay, not too much flavor and tasted boiled and bland. Lastly, would not recommend the cold noodles, lacked flavor and noodles were falling to pieces even though noodles tasted undercooked and were clumpy and dry. Overall, great indoor decor, clean and spacious, only one waitress but service was fine, dish quality can vary!

We dined here on a Saturday evening it was surprisingly empty for a medium sized placed located in Chinatown. We were seated right away. Our family of 5 ordered 6 dishes; Appetizers : 1)BBQ lamb skewers (2/5) 2)Hot and sour chicken soup (2/5) Entree: 1) Shredded pork Hunan style (5/5) 2) Mongolian beef (2/5) 3) Pork wonton soup (4/5) 4) Sautéed sliced lamb with pepper (2/5) Beverage: Large Sake (5/5) The waitress was warm and gave us the round table. We had to ask for the green tea to be served. Overall food was flavorful but some dishes were a hit or a miss. I would recommend going for pork dishes here as I think they taste better than the other meat dishes. Ambience wise the place is a run down Chinese joint with red carpeted floors. They can definitely make the place cleaner and more cozy to compete with the other spots in Waverly place.

Delicious and authentic Chinese food, found in a hole in a wall spot in Chinatown! While the interior ambiance may leave something to be desired, the authenticity of the flavors is just fantastic. Be warned that you are charged extra for tea and rice here. The mapo tofu has a spicy, lingering heat in a silky smooth texture. The spice creeps up on you and builds as you eat it. There were a little too many peppercorns for my liking (since if you eat one, it's extremely overpowering on the palate), but overall the flavor is complex and intense. The cumin lamb is delicious! The lamb doesn't have any game-y flavor to it; you mostly get the earthy spiciness, balanced by the onions. The eggplant is fantastic. Sweet and savory, soft in texture, it's so good with your rice! The eggplant is soft in texture to the point where it's almost melting on your palate. It's a little expensive, but I assume due to how expensive Chinatown rent is. Overall, I'm excited to come back for more authentic Chinese food!

1 star cos 0 isn't possible. Food was alright. Best thing was the spicy wontons in chili oil. Rest of the food was subpar. There was a cloud of flies swarming the dining area. We thought that was bad enough before we heard the sound of a NAIL CLIPPER COMING FROM THE KITCHEN - which is fully within view from the dining area. THE WAITRESS WAS CUTTING HER.... I have to stop because I keep gagging.... SHE WAS CUTTING HER NAILS IN PLAIN SIGHT OF CUSTOMERS in the kitchen!!!!!!!!! I feel sick just thinking about it again. We had to leave immediately. But before we could leave she came back like she wasn't just CLIPPING HER NAILS IN THE KITCHEN, she said "ew" as she swatted flies away and handed us our bill. Nightmare situation. Where's Gordon Ramsay when you need him. He would have shut the place down on the spot.

This is the second time I've been here. First time was with a group, we played it safe, got a mix of more American style dishes and a little bit of spicy for about a 4 star food experience. This time we ordered beef in flaming oil, which was very good, and cumin lamb ribs which was pot-licking delicious and fueling this five star review. Flavor was so unique and out of this world.. Much more complex than cumin lamb at other places. Highly recommend.. If you order the right thing.

Really enjoyed the cold chicken and boiled fish. It's quite spicy, so be ware of that when ordering! Food was decently priced and came out in a timely manner. Would definitely come back again. The rice was a bit too wet but other than that it's pretty good.

We had a party of 5 total and one of is vegetarian so we made sure to get most of the dishes that were vegetarian, most of their food has lots of meat involved and looked amazing so I was nervous I wasn't going to find much but we did and it was so delicious, there was enough food for everyone to grab comfortably and we even had some leftovers with the rice, chicken and eggplant. The ambience was very old school, that's the best way to describe it, old school dark and comforting. A good place to go to for that late 90s Chinese restaurant vibe. The service was quick and very attentive. - White rice (5/5) - Cucumber salad (5/5) - Green onion pancake (3/5) - House cold noodle (5/5) - Eggplant with garlic sauce (6/5) - Wonton with spicy chili oil (5/5) - Orange chicken (3/5) - Sake (4/5) Our total came out to $180 w 20% tip added which I felt was reasonable specially split between 5 people. Would definitely come back again.

Best won ton soup. Sent my taste buds on a carousel of well-seasoned, aromatic bliss. Now the iced tea? WOOOOO 6 stars if it were possible

[4.3/5.0] Very good szechuan spot. Got the lamb, mao xue wang, and spicy dry pot. Love the mala flavors in the mao xue wang and the spicy pot. Rice is a must for these dishes. The lamb is so good, very good wok hei as well. Love the fermented black beans for extra umami. The lotus root on the dry spicy pot is crunch and super flavorful. Really love the variety of ingredients in the dish, same goes for mao xue wang. Everything I got was very good!

This place is pricey and some of the dishes are hit-or-miss. I came here with my family and ordered the Mapo Tofu, Szechuan mouthwatering chicken, Hot and Sour fish soup, and the Kung Pao Chicken. While the Szechuan mouthwatering chicken was delicious and well-seasoned, the mapo tofu was disappointingly bland. The Kung Pao Chicken was also a little too sweet for my taste, but the soup was delicious. There was a bit of wait when we came, since the restaurant itself isn't big. We were able to park in the nearby Portsmouth parking lot and walk here, so that is convenient. We also had great service, but they charge you for takeout boxes if you have leftovers. If you're looking for Szechuan food, this place is alright, but order selectively.

I love dan dan noodles and I think Spicy King has my favorite dan dan noodles in SF! Portion sizes are large and I revel in the spiciness of everything. I also really liked the Slice Pork Belly with Spicy Garlic Sauce appetizer--it was huge and the juxtaposition of flavors was very good. The pork belly is sliced thinly and seems like it oozes the garlic sauce. I will be back to try more dishes! It was very easy to call and order ahead for takeout. Service was prompt, friendly, fun, and funny, and I also thought the decor inside was cool with the motorcycle and fish.

Would skip this if you're looking for a satisfying szechuan/hunan spot. Almost everything we ordered managed to miss the mark for me. The sliced pork belly with spicy garlic sauce is a classic appetizer but theirs is one of the worst I've had; the pork slices were not thinly sliced enough and the garlic sauce did not have nearly enough garlic. Sweet and sour spare ribs were so difficult to chew and dry on the inside. Couple's delight was ok.

We came here for lunch. The rice is very hard and it seems like it was rice from last night and not fresh. The food itself is alright but a bit overpriced and small portion.

I am shocked that this place does not have a 4-5 star review on Yelp! This is one of the best Asian restaurants I've ever been to. It's not perfect, but it's really good. The portions are big, and the food tastes good. Not everything we ordered was at the same level, for example the Scezuan Pork was 'ok' while the garlic sauce eggplant was one of the yummiest dishes I had in a while. The service is great, and the place has a good atmosphere. The outside can be a little misleading, the bright pink/purple signs say one thing, and then the inside is totally different, very cozy and warm. It's a very 'down to business' type of place, fast and efficient service. I noticed that many people seemed local, but some looked like tourists (us for example :) ) I'll absolutely come back. Also, it's open relatively late, which I found very useful because we didn't have to choose between shopping and going to dinner.

A small hidden sichuan food spot in china town, my friends discovered this gem in in summer of 2021. The food is authentic, flavourful and what I love about it is that as a vegetarian I can tell they give immense attention to their veggies. The vegetable sides like the green beans or the bok choy are stars by themselves. My favourite thing to order is the Dan Dan noodles (without pork). The broth is so rich and thick and flavourful. And it's also great the day after. The tofu with red bean is also incredible. Ideally I give it 5 stars but I thought the last time I went it didn't hit just as much, but there is absolutely no reach to not try this place at least once! For more check out @caffeinatedcabernet!

Tried: --------- 1. Whole cooked fish (Mala flavor): One of the few places that does this. It's not as flavorful as I've had it in other places but still hits the spot. 2. Chicken with explosive chili pepper: Probably my favorite dish here. It's crispy chicken with chili spices. 3. Spicy beef with chili oil: Also a good item to order. 4. Bacon lotus root: This was a good vegetable dish. 5. Dry cooked string bean: Great vegetable dish. 6. Cucumber salad: Fine 7. Szechuan watering chicken: Portion was a bit small for the chicken. 8. Drunk chicken: Portion was a bit small for the chicken.

There are wayy too many options to choose from! And almost everything looks super delicious. Since the name has it, we had to get something that has that extra spice in it. We took the mini seafood house pot, it had a lot of veggies and seafood dipped in the spicy broth, was simply delicious. And it's a good size for 4 people to eat. We had other dishes too. The mini house combo pot is definitely worth a try!!!

We tried smoked duck, dam dam noodle and Mongolian beef. The first two was so so but beef was ok. So 3 starts is fair enough .

Okay, good location at China town San Francisco!! Ambience = 3.5 Service = 4 Food = 4.5 (I only posted one pic, but had couple of other dishes, I have no particular complain on food)

There's usually no wait for this place. We got seated right away, however there was only 1 serve so the service was really slow. Lamb Ribs with Explosive Chili Pepper - not spicy and the lamb was over cooked a dry. The picture on the menu looks completely different than the actual meal. Chongqing Hot Numbing Spicy Noodle - not spicy but the broth was very flavorful. The noodles does soak up the broth so eat it fast! Chinese Herb Flavor Hot Pot - hot pot with a huge variety of items from seafood (shrimp and fish) to spam and beef.

Very unassuming looking restaurant. Fantastic and authentic Chinese, with a specialty in Sichuan cuisine. Really good menu with many dishes that I want to try. Had a delightful fish dish and would happily eat here again. Good service. Only one outdoor two top.

Absolutely love this place - they have one of the best spicy pork intestines and spicy chicken dishes I've tasted. It's authentic and flavored so well. I've been coming here for years now and they have added some potatoes to the spicy pork intestines dish, swapping out some pork intestines. I'm assuming it's from inflation but the dish is still good! Their green beans are a must try with every meal for meat lovers and vegetarians.

This has become my go to place whenever I'm in Chinatown. It's a great spot for small or larger groups or just two. They serve authentic food that is tasty and spice level can always be adjusted. This time we went for the spicy and numbing beef tendon and the cumin lamb. The beef tendon is a cold appetizer, very flavorful and tasty. Perfectly bouncy and chewy and just wonderful. The cumin lamb was a hit too. Very tasty, perfect balance of onions and meat and well seasoned. The service is fast and friendly. I love it here.

My boyfriend and I were recommended to try this place since we love spicy food and BOOOOIIIII, this place did not disappoint. We got the Szechuan dinner special (20.99) , which feeds 2 people (but it honestly could feed at least another person), and added bbq squid and 2 beers. It came with hot and sour soup as a starter which was so savory! All I know , was that it had chicken and vegetables, but the caldo itself was addicting good. I knew we had more food coming and I couldn't stop. The apps: the green onion cake that I thought was similar to a tortilla. Dunk it in the soup! BBQ squid- bland not my favorite. I even threw it in the soup to give it more flavor and it did not help. Potstickers- I've never had a bad tasting potsticker, have you? This one is your average potsticker. Main course: Kung Pao Chicken: delicious. I feel like you can't mess up Kung pao. The cucumbers in it were delicious. But like I said I started with the soup so when this came out , i was nearing fullness. Green beans: charred green beans with peppers and maybe charred black beans? Didn't really dig Also have to mention that the spicyness of this food isn't like eating a hot pepper where your mouth burns but it is the type of spice where your nose runs away. . They serve you complimentary tea in the beginning and have beer available. Hope y'all enjoy

The food is great and the service was excellent! Would go again with a large group. Location is perfect in the heart of Chinatown.

I've dined here before covid and I ordered pickup during covid via Caviar. I really enjoyed both dining experiences. The dishes are flavorful, authentic, and large. Mapo tofu - One of the best mapo tofu dishes I've had. Lots of soft tofu, and rich mapo flavor that's not too numbing. The rice here is also nice and sticky, and serves as a particularly great base for soaking up the mapo sauce Sliced lamb with pepper - the lamb is sliced super thin and has lots of spicy flavor Lotus with chili - crispy, refreshing lotus that helps offset the oil from the mapo tofu and sliced lamb

I got the Dan Dan noodles and Wontons in spicy chili sauce. Loved both! Some of the best Dan Dan noodles I've had.

I love this place! Every dish we had was great. Such great variety and those numbing peppers Great on a cold night. Ambiance was also great. Never too packed. Service was attentive.

There many places to eat in China town but this place definitely knocked my socks off. True sichuan tongue numbing dishes. Had eggplant, flaming oil beef and chanqing noodles. Everything was 5 stars. Good service and clean restrooms just a bonus.

I came to Spicy King on Christmas Eve, so the place was packed, to be expected. The waiters got our order completely correct (ordered 5 in total) and were generous about serving size. The order did take a while to come in though (although the place seemed understaffed imo) Mapo tofu (3/5)- Contains peppercorn and the numbing spice so it was slightly tough to get through the entire dish. Not a huge fan, but that's my personal opinion. The dish in general was well done though. Eggplant (4.5/5) - this was phenomenal. A beautiful blend of spices, and this dish had the perfect level of sweetness to it. I felt like I could eat the entire thing in one sitting. Highly recommend this Overall, great place!

We were swiftly seated and service was good. Food was not good, and our friends did not even eat their food. We may have simply chosen not the best dish, but it was rather disappointing. They were also the only one open during the day when others nearby was still closed, so we chose this place. I can't recommend.

I thought i was ordering a drier style dan dan noodle but it was definitely a noodle soup. It wasn't bad though it was a little one dimensional. I liked the texture of the noodles, which reminded me (and maybe were) instant ramen noodles, but in a good way.

Tasty and refreshing cucumber salad Flavorful and spicy Dan Dan noodles Crispy and hot pancake with onions

Best Szechuan restaurant in SF! I've tried many places and nowhere compares to Spicy Kings beef noodle soup

Food (4/5): authentic and delicious Sichuan/Chengdu style dishes. The cucumber appetizer, fu ji fei pian, and spicy boiled fish are my favorites here Service (4/5): service can be a little slow during peak times, but besides that they try their best to accommodate Ambiance (4.5/5): very spacious, and classic Chinese restaurant vibe, reminds me of my time back in Beijing

This place is awesome! I would highly recommend the big tray fish. The thing comes in a mountain of chilis and oil.

Eh, left a lot to be desired. It seemed like every table ordered a huge fish, so maybe we didn't order the right stuff. I typically order the fried Szechuan chicken, fish fillet, and green beans at Szechuan restaurants but decided to order unique dishes here -- We ordered the: - Hot Numbing Chicken Giblets Pot: all chicken organs, I didn't like the sweet and sour sauce - Couples delight with pig ear and beef: too dry and the beef was bland and chewy - Pork Intestine in Hot Chili Pepper: this was actually really good. Well fried, juicy, spicy Also not cheap sooooooo. Not worth it. Go z & y nearby, that place is worth the wait.organs,

Great food! Fast service, just a bit too many fruit flies in the corner where we sat.