Great Eastern Dim Sum Restaurant, San Francisco

Reviewer: Foodnut.com

Great Eastern Restaurant

649 Jackson St (Near Grant)

San Francisco, CA 94133

415-986-2500

Great Eastern Dim Sum Restaurant, San Francisco

When we get asked, “where do we get the dim sum in Chinatown?” The answer usually is.. Great Eastern Restaurant San Francisco has been serving Cantonese Chinese food in this location for many years. They serve dim sum during lunch and traditional items during dinner. We visited for dim sum lunch lunch, early on a weekend day. Great Eastern Dinner was reviewed on a separate visit. President Obama famously ate here in 2012. Our last visit for dim sum was in the fall of 2023.

Be sure to read our Introduction to Chinese dim sum article and Chinese restaurant San Francisco post.

Cuisine – Cantonese Chinese
Location – San Francisco Chinatown

Great Eastern San Franciso_interior decor

Decor, Vibe – Great Eastern is a fairly Busy, loud Chinese restaurant with Asian artifacts and wall decorations. Some tourists, big family gatherings, and some Caucasians were dining. Decor hasn’t changed in years.

Great Eastern Restaurant, San Francisco Menu

You order on their paper menu and items are slowly brought out to you. Great Eastern has 83 different types of items on the menu, pretty standard classic variety, not a lot of modern inventive dishes. Some classics are not found on very many menu’s any more.

Prices rose in 2023 to start from $6. (Was $2.60 in 2011) These are actually pretty reasonable for dim sum now.

Great Eastern Food Picks:

Deep Fried Meat Dumpling ($6) or Ham Sui Gok were hot out of the fryer and very good. Thick-skinned, nice minced meat filling. 9.5/10

Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll ($6.90) was had tasty big shrimp, chewy rice noodle wrapper, and a nice soy sauce. The har gow was actually better than this. 7/10

Deep Fried Sesame seed ball ($4) arrived freshly made. Larger than most. Hot with a thick skin but just the right sweetness of black sesame inards.

Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf ($6.90) had 3 small ones but was very good. Three of these bad boys. Rice was cooked just right, lots of filling, and a small egg yolk and Chinese sausage inside. 8.5/10

Steamed Chicken Feet with black bean sauce ($4) was made the classic way, with massive quantities, and hit the spot 100%.

Steamed beef balls ($4.70) had three medium sized meatballs with a smattering of peas underneath. Not too salty and all in all a solid.

Steamed Shrimp Dumpling ($6.60) or Har Gow were four medium-sized bites of dim sum. Shrimp was excellent. Wrapper was done well. 8.5/10

Steamed Pork Buns ($6) had 3 medium sized buns filled with tender red pork.  Better than average. 8/10

Baked pork buns ($6) are 3 old school ones. We like the other milky style better. 6/10

Snow peas sprouts with fries scallop and shrimp Dumpling ($4.70) – 3 pretty big dumplings that were flavorful and still pretty hot. Nice balance of shrimp and pea shoots.

Zhiu Zhou or Chiu Chow dumplings ($6.60) were very well done, big and messy dumplings, filled with pork, no peanuts. Lai Hong Lounge does a better one. 7.5/10

Turtle Shell Jell-O ($5) is an acquired taste that combines black grass jelly with some sugary syrup on top. Well done, slightly bitter aftertaste.

OK:
None

Pans:
None

Conclusion – Great Eastern Restaurant and R&G Lounge have been our goto places for Chinese food in San Francisco’s Chinatown and continue to be. The food continues to be very good.
While places like HL Peninsula and Koi Palace on the San Francisco Peninsula offer top notch food with many exotic specialties, Great Eastern continues to deliver solid traditional Chinese dim sum.

Service – Service was decent although you need to track down the server for most actions.

Value – Pricing was in line with other dim sum restaurants and cheaper than many.

Alternatives – Nearby restaurants include R&G Lounge, Cityview, and the expensive Yank Sing. Bund Shanghai across the street, has gone downhill. Hong Kong lounge in the Richmond district offers good value but average quality.

Verdict – Great Eastern Restaurant is a solid Chinese restaurant in San Francisco for both lunch and dinner. Their menu is available in Chinese and English, making it easy for all to order.

Restaurant Map:


Great Eastern Restaurant Overall Rating: (Very Good 2.5)

Come Back?

Food Rating: (Very Good)
Service Rating: (Good)
Atmosphere Rating: (Very Good)
Value Rating: (Very Good)

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:Full Bar
Attire:Casual
Hours:Daily 10am - Midnight, Sat-Sun 9am-3pm
Parking:Street
Reservations:Yes
Prices:$2.60 - $15

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5 Comments

  • Z&Y Restaurant Restaurant Review, San Francisco | Foodnut.com
    March 4, 2011 at 12:02 am

    […] Z&Y Restaurant serves up average Sichuan food, stick to Cantonese food while in Chinatown. Great Eastern next door is far better. They advertised a 15% off code on yelp but didn’t honor it. If you […]

  • City View Restaurant, San Francisco | Foodnut.com
    June 2, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    […] for newbies. It is probably the best dim sum in San Francisco’s Chinatown along with Great Eastern. You can find cheaper dim sum but the quality and service will not be as high. Head to Koi Palace […]

  • Great Eastern, Chinatown, San Francisco | Foodnut.com
    January 22, 2012 at 11:57 am

    […] during dinner. We visited for dinner on a busy weekend night right before Chinese New Years day. Great Eastern dim sum lunch was reviewed separately. Great Eastern has an extensive menu, live seafood in tanks, and some […]

  • Hong Kong Lounge, San Francisco
    May 25, 2023 at 8:20 pm

    […] – Nearby restaurants include really cheap but marginal Good Luck. Yank Sing, Great Eastern. Koi Palace. Asian Pearl […]

  • Lai Hong Lounge Restaurant Review, San Francisco
    June 16, 2023 at 2:51 pm

    […] place that caters to locals wanting good value in a meal. Solid bets in Chinatown for Dim Sum are Great Eastern and […]

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