Four Kings, San Francisco

Reviewer: Foodnut.com Four Kings 710 Commercial St San Francisco, CA 94108 415-688-1500 Four Kings Website

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. Last visit was in Early 2026.

Four Kings without a Reservation

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 4. Opentable priority notify when available is crucial. Reservations are released 3 weeks ahead. They can accomodate parties of 6 or 8 if you are lucky!

Walk in lines form 45-60 minutes before they open. 10 people are let in when they open. Approximately 16 people can fit in the counter. We were #6, then 4 people joined others in front of us! We came too late for the first round and had to wait 90 minutes. (They will text you when ready) The lines are for their counter seating but we got a table once. The small counter makes meals bearable/shareable for only parties of two or three.  The Friday line in early 2026 could result in a shorter 20 minute wait.

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! We’ve been here 3 times already.

Insider Tip – Line up 45-60 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. On our second visit, there was a big lag to order.
Verdict – Four Kings had food that was better than expected. They definitely take classic Chinese dishes (Many Cantonese), spin, and elevate them. Great ingredients and lots of care is taken. Prices are high, and not cheap. The word is out, so it will be harder to walk in.

The key when dining here is to balance larger dishes like steak, pork chop with smaller expensive ones like the squab.  Next time we have to try the black bean clams

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. Small selection of small and large plates and some sides.

Daily Specials on the chalk board in June 2025 included:

• Rabbit Skewers liver or kidney $6 for 2 (2026 had Squab skewers)
• Mouthwatering tomato $14
• Sizzled Abalone Vermicelli w/ginger scallion $32
• Whole fried petrale sole with fermented mustard greens $45
• Sliced chicken wintermelon soup $45
• Chong Qing Fried hot rabbit $58
• Hojun Yuzu Sake $30 carafe/$60 bottle

Website Four Kings Menu

Four Kings Food Picks:
Three Colored Steam Egg ($8) came out super hot from the steamer, just like grandma made them. Great with rice. 8/10

Salt & Pepper Squid Skewer ($9 for 2) was one of the weaker dishes of the night. 7/10

Sichuan Cabbage ($6) is really really spicy. 7/10

Sichuan Potatoes ($11) are not as spicy as the cabbage and possess a vinegar flavor. 8/10

Chiu Chow green beans ($14) are nice long beans but a little over spiced at 4 out of 10. 8/10

Cold Cut chicken ($12) is a boneless chicken wrapped in skin, topped with green onions, garilc, etc. Nice but not great. 7.5/10

Salt & Pepper Shrimp ($25) was a special in 2026.  Very nicely crisp with 3 out of 10 spiciness. You can easily eat the shell. 9/10

Chong Qing Fried hot rabbit ($58) is consistently on the specials menu. Big ball of fried goodness. Its super crunchy with a numbing sauce that hit the mark. 9.5/10

Escargot with milk bread ($) is also a winner. Nice balance of the tender escargot with some starch to sop up all the gravy. 9.5/10

Mapo Spaghetti ($22) is a twist on noodles with some mapo sauce meat. Nicely done, slightly spicy and numbing but not a big dish. 9/10

Chinese Sausage + Bacon Claypot with egg on top. ($29) takes 30 minute but is well worth it. Lots of Chinese meats on top of soy sauced rice. Be sure to scrape up all the crunchy bits. 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 with the meat slightly red. A nice version of the classic with some deep aged meat flavors. Comes with lemon and some seasoning salt. Twice as expensive as most. Limited to 15 a night. 10/10

HK Black Pepper Steak ($58) really hit the spot. High quality steak cooked medium rare sizzling on a bed of onions and greens with a huge wade of butter.. It is sort of pre-cut into big chunks.. Bigger portion size than expected. Ask for a fork! 10/10

Scallop Vermicelli ($12) reminds us of Sai Kung in 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. On another occasion without it, you could taste the smokiness more. 8/10

Yam Leaves ($15) are a sizeable dish of green cooked to al dente.  Some might like to cooked to a more tender state. 8.5/10

Mango Pudding ($10) was a stellar dessert. Not too sweet and very balanced. A mix of flavors and textures of strawberry sorbet and the mango pudding. Waitress said we should get a bit of each item in every scoop. 10/10

Shaved Red Bean Ice ($10) is a play on the classic Red Bean Ice Float.  Lots of fun with beans, boba, and some premium ice cream. A bit too much ice. 9/10

Cherry Douhua ($10) was East meet West. Nice warm dessert with the sweet cherry sauce helping give this dish lots of flavor. 8.5/10

Do you agree with our review? Have you found other similar restaurants that are better?

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