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Reviewer: Foodnut.com Four Kings 710 Commercial St San Francisco, CA 94108 415-688-1500 |
Why did we dine here? – Four Kings is a Cantonese Chinese restaurant in San Francisco Chinatown. It is started by alumni Franky and Mike from nearby Michelin starred Mister Jius. Considering that this is one of our native cuisines, we just had to give it a try. The spot has also garnered extremely high reviews on Yelp.
Hard to get reservations! We could not get reservations, so we decided to line up. Warning, The restaurant is not big, so bookings are hard. Most of the tables are for parties of 2, only 2 tables for bigger parties. Using Opentable notify when available is crucial. Reservations are released 3 weeks ahead. On the weekends, lines form 45 minutes before they open. They are for their counter seating. The small counter makes meals bearable/shareable for only parties of two or three.
Stylish interior with lots of little knickknacks, Canto Vinyl, avante garde knick knacks, Cantopop blasting.
If you’re a fan of Cantonese food, definitely give this place a try. Kudos for them for helping to revive Chinatown!
Insider Tip – Line up 30-45 minutes before opening
Cuisine – Cantonese Chinese
Location – Chinatown San Francisco
Opened – March 2024
Service – Four Kings service was better than expected, lots of water, refills, menu explanation, and lots of attention.
Verdict – Four Kings had food that was better than expected. They definitely take classic Cantonese dishes, spin, and elevate them. Great ingredients and lots of care is taken. Prices are high, and not cheap.
The key when dining here is to balance larger dishes like steak, pork chop with smaller expensive ones like the squab.
Is this restaurant worth a 5 minute drive? Yes. 30 minute? Yes. 1 Hour? Maybe
Four Kings Signature Dishes – Pepper Steak, Pork Chop, Fried Squid
Four Kings’s Menu is fairly concise compared to other Chinese restaurants.
Four Kings Food Picks:
Three Colored Steam Egg ($8) came out super hot from the steamer, just like grandma made them. 8/10
Salt & Pepper Squid Skewer ($9 for 2) was one of the weaker dishes of the night. 7/10
Mapo Spaghetti ($21) is a twist on noodles with some mapo sauce meat. Nicely done, but not a big dish. 9/10
Pork Chop Rice with Tomato Egg ($29) surprised us. Breaded pork chop topped with cheese on a bed of rice and more. Wow. A hearty dish. 10/10
Fried Squab ($45) uses one week aged squab that you can see in the kitchen. It is fried just right. A nice version of the classic with some aged meat flavors. Twice as expensive as most. Limited to 15 a night. 10/10
HK Black Pepper Steak ($48) really hit the spot. High quality steak on a bed of onions and greens. It is sort of pre-cut.. 10/10
Scallop Vermicelli ($18) reminds us of Sai Kung Hong Kong. Tender scallop on a bed of vermicelli noodles. Too much butter in the noodles. 8.5/10
Fish Fragrant Eggplant ($15) had bonito flakes on top and anchovies blended in. Those 2 touches were not necessary. 7/10
Mango Pudding ($10) was a stellar dessert. Not too sweet and very balanced. A mix of flavors and textures of strawberry and the mango pudding. 10/10
Do you agree with our review? Have you found other similar restaurants that are better?
Restaurant Map:Four Kings Overall Rating: 
(Excellent
Come Back? 
| Food Rating: | (Excellent) |
| Service Rating: |  (Very Good) |
| Atmosphere Rating: | (Very Good) |
| Value Rating: | (Good) |
Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary
| Alcohol: | Beer, Wine |
| Attire: | Casual |
| Parking: | Street |
| Reservations: | Yes |
