- Empress of China (838 Grant) is pretty, decorated with temple artifacts and grand chandeliers, and has nice, sixth-floor views over Portsmouth Square, but unfortunately, their food isn't as good as the setting. Go here if you prize surroundings more than what's on your plate.
- Gold Mountain (644 Broadway at Columbus) serves good dim sum.
- Hang Ah Tea Room (1 Pagoda Pl.) claims to be San Francisco's oldest dim sum house, opened in 1920, and it's still pretty much the same as when San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen wrote called it "jammed with Old Worldlings who haven't forgotten how to dawdle their way through four hours' worth of snacks." Besides the usual steamed pork buns, dumplings and sticky rice, they also serve homemade, fruit-flavored ice cream and pearl drinks, made from tapioca and fruit. Pagoda Place is up the hill from Grant off Sacramento above Waverly Place, and you'll have little doubt where to find this place, with about a half dozen signs pointing the way.
- Jai Yun (923 Pacific St.) is one of the San Francisco Chronicle's top-rated Chinatown restaurants. The chef shops daily in Chinatown, changing the menu based on what he finds. Specialties include foo yung abalone, quail soup and basil-mushroom stir fry.
- Utopia Cafe (130 Waverly Place) Hong Kong cuisine are clay pot dishes are the specialties in the often-overlooked spot on Chinatown's most colorful street. Try salt-and-pepper chicken wings or thinly battered bite-size fried smelt (small fish) that some say are as addictive as potato chips.
- You's Dim Sum: (675 Broadway) Don't expect much in the way of explanations here, but if you know your way around a dim sum menu or are comfortable with the point-and-nod method of ordering, you can get enough food to fuel a whole day of sightseeing for just a few dollars.
More: Self-Guided Chinatown Tour | Visiting Chinatown | Chinatown History | Chinese New Year
