R & G Lounge

Let's start the new year on a positive note. Let's bring it back to my roots. Before I was eating Roasted Leg of Lamb Paninis, going to gastropubs, sipping on Ginger Pear Martinis, buying suits at Ted Baker (damn I just bought another one, they're so cheap right now), and knowing the difference between crudo and sashimi I was growing up on Chinese food. No, not that sweet and sour pork, moo-goo-gai-pan, chop suey stuff. Good ole home cooked Chinese food. For those who don't have a Chinese mother handy, I would suggest you visit R&G Lounge for a good, authentic Chinese meal no matter who you are.

What did I mean by that? The "no matter who you are" part? Well, I'm really not trying to point out racial divides, but when it comes to Chinese food there are three categories: 1. The Chinese of the china...uh..people. They come from the mainland, order in Chinese, and the only silverware on the lazy susan is the soup ladle. 2. Then you have the ABCs or "American Born Chinese." Whether born in San Francisco or Omaha, these kids order by number/Chinglish/saying stuff like "Honey Walnut Prawns with Candied Walnuts," and have the affinity for a combination of chopstick and silverware usage. 3. that leaves everyone else. From the Mr. Smith's to the Ms. Jackson's to Mr. Obama, these folks order by numbers/point/smile and hope, and use forks. I admit I dance the fine line between all three groups...

So how is segregating different populations a positive start to a new year? Patience people! R&G Lounge does an exceptional job at serving the needs of three groups with entirely different palettes. There are not too many Chinese restaurants where you will see a table with mainlanders, a table with Midwest tourists, and a table from the Joy Luck Club happily and heartily eating under one roof. From the Hong Kong cafe style seating below to the higher end dining room up top, you even have differing atmospheres to serve everyone.

And if you think I haven't (through a preposterously long and unecessary story) explained how good and far reaching the food is, just go there and try the: (006) Salt and Pepper Fried Live Crab - jew eem ja hai, (016) R&G Special Beef - no clue on the translation, (20408) Baked Black Cod - gook shuit yue.

TIP: Order in Chinese if you can. There are varying reasons why. Depending on what I order I'm screwed 33.333% of the time.

R&G has been in our regular rotation for Cantonese food for several years now and although we've now moved to LA, we miss it all the time. But when we were planning our intimate family wedding celebration, we knew we wanted it here!

From the initial inquiry with Chelsea to the day of set-up and communication with Jim and the rest of the team, everyone was so accommodating to all of our needs. They also offer a full tea ceremony package, which includes everything you might need, so this was perfect for us to not have to buy anything additional and it was all set up when we arrived. Once the tea ceremony ended, they quickly broke it all down, so guests didn't have to wait to get seated for dinner and the food came out at a great pace.

Throughout the night, we got so many compliments from our family about how good the food was and they were so fast with getting all our drink orders out (even with 8 tables to serve).

We're still thinking about the crab and already have plans to return when we're back in SF. Thanks for making our celebration so memorable, R&G!

I recently returned to R and G Lounge in San Francisco for the first time in about six years. I made a reservation online for a Friday night and parked in the Portsmouth garage down the block. Conveniently, they validate parking if you spend at least $60, which is a nice since parking in Chinatown can be difficult.

We arrived on time but still had to wait about 15 minutes for our table, despite the restaurant being busy. However, once we were seated upstairs, I noticed there were plenty of empty tables, which made the wait a bit puzzling.

I had already decided on the Banquet Menu A for our party of six before arriving, and I was pleased with the choice. The food came out quickly and was absolutely delicious. My favorites of the night were the fish maw soup, the salt and pepper crab, the beef, and the chicken. The portion sizes were just right for our group, and the price was reasonable given the quality and quantity.

Service was attentive throughout the meal, making it a good spot for large groups or anyone craving a classic Chinese banquet dinner. I would definitely consider returning for another gathering.

Our Uber driver recommended coming here for great food but make a reservation. We were seated within 5 minutes of our reservation time. Three levels to eat. The ambiance was very homey and familiar; excited people enjoying their food.

What a wonderful experience! We had family style and there was so much food. We ordered prawns with honey walnuts, special beef secret recipe, seafood combination in clay pot, minced seafood with lettuce cups, fried rice mixed with egg white & egg yolk in a spicy sauce, sticky fry sticky rice, Prawns, Clams, & Scallops Sautéed with garlic noodles.

So delicious and would highly recommend!!! Our server Vincent was also excellent!

I visited here not because I was trying to find the best Chinese but to visit a place that a lot of yelpers go. They're currently only a 3.7, but they have a few unique dishes you can't get back home. Interesting tid bits about R&G, they bring your table hot tea without asking, they bring a small dessert at the end of your meal as well.

Our group tried the salt and pepper dungeoness crab, steamed chicken, 2 orders of roast duck, bok choy, eggplant, and steamed tofu.

I really enjoyed the dungeoness crab. Wow. It's addicting and salty. The next best dish was the eggplant. It's cooked with green onions and a lot of ginger. The roast duck was really good, too.

Dungeonness crab - they provide crackers and picks for all patrons at the table, and you may need it for the harder pieces. Very tasty dish, and I highly recommend trying it at least once.

Eggplant - really tasty dish as well

Bok choy - another solid dish

Roast duck - served with a ginger sauce that's like honey. Pretty solid dish

Steamed chicken - good but pretty standard dish that has a bit of salt in it... at least in the garlic dipping sauce

Service is really good here as well, based on our experience.

While visiting SF we really wanted to try so good Chinese in China town & stumbled upon this place. We went about midday & got lucky cause we missed all the traffic. We didn't make any reservations and were sat right away & ordered quickly. The service was great! They brought the food out fast and everything we got was absolutely delicious. The honey walnut prawns were so good! I have nothing bad to say about any of the dishes all well worth it & the amount is Insane! Definitely family style. Felt authentic & I would return if in the area.

The service is lovely and the food is delicious. Now that we've got that out of the way...

There are rumors to dispell

1. You must make a reservation. No! First come first serve!

2. You must make a reservation in Mandarin. No. You can show up as an English speaker.

3. There is a secret menu, like In N Out, that you must order in Mandarin. Nope. There is no secret menu. No animal style anything.

I would definitey return.

I lived in the Bay Area for 10 years and it had to take me visiting SF again to finally get around to try R&G. My recommendation, if you have a friend who speaks Chinese, bring em along. She helped us navigate some of the more authentic dishes on the menu. The setting is about what you expect, basement dining in a very well lit room. And the service ran like a super well oiled machine.

Of course I got the salt and pepper crab. We did it with fried chili and garlic. Those bits were honestly the best part. I had like 6 amazing bites of crab and the rest was just doing what I could to harvest the meat. I'm glad I ordered it but it's probably a one and done for me on that.

Our friend ordered the baked eggs and clams. That was something new for us. The clams were very briney and the eggs had a very silky texture. First bite was strange but it got tastier as we went along.

Definitely recommend the stir fried beef and scallops with green beans. That was an instant crowd pleaser as were the Singapore noodles. No matter where we go, this dish never disappoints.

If we ever came back we would probably order differently and be more adventurous.

This place is very authentic - down to the seating and the interior decor. The menu is sizable and all the dishes we got were great!

- R&G beef: tender, vaguely sweet, very yum (we ended up getting another order)
- Walnut shrimp: crispy ! sweet !
- Fried tofu with shrimp on top: very tender on the inside, a savory experience
- Green beans with scallops: so good, and scallops are huge and super tender! had some salty crunchy macadamia nut things on top
- Peking duck: comes with fluffy buns instead of wraps, and scallion and sauce with no cucumbers, but the skin is sooo crunchy and the meat is super juicy
- Fried rice: honestly I don't even like fried rices at most places, usually nothing to rave about, but this one slapped

Even though the restaurant was busy, our food came out in a reasonable time. Staff were very nice and boxed up our food for us at the end. There is a paid parking garage nearby, and street parking.

They have been around for as long as I can remember. Actually since 1985, now that is longevity for Chinese restaurants. Multi level building so it is a good setting for small parties, our group was 4 tables, 40ish people. Our host ordered the banquet menu; everything was top notch.

What stood out for me of course was their famous salt and pepper Cantonese style Crab, tender and soft with stir fried seasoning. Another star is their Sea Bass, so tender and yummy, then the Peking Duck was how it's supposed to be, and even the Fried Rice at the end had a nice kick to it. What a wonderful and memorial meal.

amazing authentic! really good food quality! Service is also great! Environment is clean and tidy.
We ordered what the server recommended, the short rib beef soup. The soup has a great pleasant aftertaste（汤非常鲜美）！