HK Lounge Bistro, San Francisco

Reviewer: Foodnut.com HK Lounge Bistro 1136 Folsom St San Francisco, CA 94103 415-668-8802

HK Lounge Bistro in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood takes the place of burned down Hong Kong Lounge 2 that was in the Inner Richmond district. This spot opened in 2023.

Be sure to read Foodnut’s Guide to Chinese Dim Sum Lunch

Decor, Vibe – HK Lounge Bistro consists of a single room that is not very large, stuffed full of tables. Nicer decor than most dingy Chinese restaurants. It was clearly packed with locals with a mix of races. Many probably were old customers trying the new spot.

HK Lounge Bistro Menu

HK Lounge Bistro’s Dim Sum Menu has all the classic along with a couple specialty dishes and some older school dim sum items that you order from the check off menu. Specialty noodle and rice dishes are available from the menu. Prices are higher than expected indicating a slant towards non Asians. Stuff just comes out when ready. $2 tea charge, even if you drink water.

HK Lounge Bistro Signature Dishes – Coffee pork ribs, Dumplings, Fried items

Service – HK Lounge Bistro had fair service with servers running around in this small space. You check off what you want and the food starts to appear in a couple minutes. The servers aren’t really concerned with much else, like ensure things are going ok.

Value – Prices are very high, portion size is typical, quality average to below average, making HK Lounge Bistro a fair to bad value.

Alternatives – Nearby restaurants include expensive Yank Sing, Great Eastern. HL Peninsula remains our favorite spot with high quality and much more innovation.

Verdict – HK Lounge Bistro is one of the few places in the SOMA district serving up old school traditional Chinese dim sum. Prices are higher than expected. Quality is average.

HK Lounge Food Review:

Shrimp Noodle Roll ($14) was about average. Medium sized shrimp. 7.5/10

Steamed Turnip Cake ($10) is old school with one big chunk.  Soft and tender. 8/10

Shrimp Dumplings or Har Gow ($14) is always a litmus test. These included 4 that were over gingery with a thick wrapper. 6.5/10 – This dish costs $8 at HL Peninsula and is far better.

Sticky Rice with Lotus Leaf ($12) wasn’t very sticky and didn’t even have an egg. 6/10

Baked Pork Buns ($12) looked pale and proved below average. 6/10

Fried Pork Puff ($10) were hot out of the fryer and good. 8.5/10

Pan fried Tofu Skin ($12) was crispy and filled with meat. Nicely done. 9/10

Fried Sesame Balls ($9) are an endangered species.  These are old school, hot and good. 8.5/10

Old Hong Kong Lounge 2 Food Picks:

Glazed Coffee pork ribs ($6.95) with house made whipped cream is a new school classic with 4 deep fried boney ribs coated with a strong coffee flavored glaze. Cool whip on the side made it interesting.

Shrimp Dumplings ($5.95) or Ha Gow had 4 large, piping hot dumplings that fell apart. Flavors were good though.

Vegetarian Dumplings ($4.50) this is GREEN but tastes better than it looks. Vegetarian must order.

Peashoot chicken Dumplings ($4.95) are unusual and not present on many menus. Reasonably good dish.

Durian Puffs ($5.25) were 3 flaky and delicate crisp puffs.

Deep Fried Pork Dumplings ($3.95) had 4 small ones fresh from the fryer. Not much meat though.

Fried Sesame Balls ($3.50) included 4 small balls filled with a not too sweet sesame paste. Recommended.

Steamed Sesame Balls ($3.95) had 3 small soft glutinous pastries filled with black sesame. Fairly sweet but good.

Deep Fried Egg Puffs ($3.25) looked horrible but are Excellent. As good as Koi Palace! Cheap too!

Restaurant Map: