Brandy Ho’s

Still THE BEST Chinese I’ve had anywhere. Sadly, I only got to eat lunch there once this past visit. And lucky us, we went on New Years Eve for lunch — the place was empty. We were able to watch the «Maestro» cook our food and he rocked as always.
Get the fried potstickers with garlic/​ginger sauce. The sauce is awesome!

We were in Chinatown looking for a good restaurant and came upon brandy ho using Unilocal.The food was mediocre and tailored towards non Asians. It was a Friday night and the restaurant was busy so our service was okay. The waitress took forever to refill our water. We did get our order and food quickly so that made up for it. Being from out of town, I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone who is visiting San Francisco.

Service and food were both amazing here. My husband and I were looking for a great Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. We stumbled upon this place. It was clean and immaculate in fact. Service was awesome. Food was off the charts good. I had lemon chicken. It was the best I’ve ever had. We will definitely be back.

We ate dinner here on Christmas Day. The restaurant was very busy but the owner got us a table quite quickly. We ordered Hot & Sour soup and two entrees. The soup came out quickly, but was very mediocre. And our entrees took 30 minutes to come out and weren’t very flavorful. The prawns were dry and the beef with onions was soft but also flavorless, and both dishes were listed as «Chef’s Specialities». The service was okay. If it were not Christmas Day, we probably wouldn’t have gone in and we definitely will not be going again.

Came here with a party of 3. The décor was something out of the 1950s, and the decoration was contemporary Christmas; Some would see that as a detraction, I thought this added to it’s charm.
Our waitress was friendly. I really liked the deep-​fried wantons, as they weren’t too fried, and the sauce they came in was absolutely delicious. It was hard to describe, but it was like your typical hunan spicy sauce, only more sublime and delicious.
We got Gong Pao Chicken, The sweet and sour pork, and the Brandy’s Special.
The pork was barely breaded, and was actually really good. I didn’t like the Brandy’s Special very much, but everyone else I was with did though. I loved the Gong Pao Chicken and S&S pork though.
It’s good to have a reliable Chinese spot in North Beach, and this is a good spot to get Chinese food that is a nice medium between American and authentic Hunan cuisine (which btw, in the menu, they have a nice little story about Hunan cuisine and their own restaurant).

I used to love coming here.
I’d sit at the counter, so I could watch all the kitchen magic happen.
Back in the day, late 80’s, early 90’s or so, this joint got mad attention. I remember hearing about it on The Frugal Gourmet on PBS. According to the chef, Jeff Smith, it was all about those dumplings. «The best dumplings in SF…,» he said. I had to go.
I personally loved their spicy chow mien. And the whole experience of sitting at the counter & watching the cooks just made me happy.
But then, something happened. What exactly that was, I don’t know. The quality went noticeably down. It went from very tasty Chinese to very mediocre Chinese.
And the stench of bug spray wafting through the restaurant, however mild it might be, is never a good thing.
I miss the old Brandy Ho’s. Please come back.
2 stars.

I do not eat fast food, but I would rather have panda express. This is the most bland chinese food I have ever had. I tried it 2 times bec. i had heard it was good but was extremely disappointed.

If a Denny’s Diner, Cheesecake Factory and Pei Wei had a kid it would be Brandy Ho’s. Hard working staff, decent Asian fusion food and ok prices. Open kitchen and they churn the food out fast. Almost too fast. We asked for our dishes spicy and they did abide, which was refreshing. The deep fried dumplings were by far the highlight. I’d come back for just those. Definitely skip the onion cake unless you like stale air and cardboard.

This place used to be my favorite Chinese restaurant. We ordered delivery tonight and it was so awful, I’m never going back. Here’s what we ordered:
First, Brandy Ho’s Chow Mein: The chicken tasted rancid — just awful. The shrimp and beef were okay. The noodles were dry. The oil they used didn’t taste good — like it had been recycled too many times. I don’t just love chow mein, I looove chow mein. It takes a lot for me to have to be unhappy, so that’s a sign that this one was subpar.
Second, Gon Pou Shrimp and Beef Hunan: Ugh! Totally disgusting! I don’t think any of the ingredients had gone bad like the chow mein. It was just gross. I think something’s off with their recipe. It had really awful smell and taste.

Best lunch specials in town! Prices range from $ 7.50 to $ 10.50. Each meals starts out with hot and sour soup (the best), onion cake or dim sum, and noodles with peanut sauce. The onion cake and dim sum were bomb! I ordered the gon pao spicy and my friend the garlic chicken. Both were delicious! I would almost say the gon pao is better than Henry’s Hunan. Anyway I know they claim to not use MSG but I swear I went into a food coma after and could not stay awake. I will be back for sure!

Good service, but below average Chinese food.
This place seems a bit out of touch with the times and needs much updating. That would be fine for a Chinese restaurant had it had fantastic Chinese food. But it did not. The food had flavors that were just a bit «off,» and missing elements of the dishes themselves.
If you want to get specific, I felt that they could not even get something as basic as hot and sour soup right. It lacked spice and the vinegar used was just off.
Too bad, as this place used to be iconic in SF.

Absolutely delicious food. Juicy meats, crispy vegetables. Very nice service. Nit cheap but worth paying for it. Great choice of tasty beers.

I have always been impressed by good Chinese, and it’s great here! The food is always good. Though not what many would call «authentic» Chinese, I honestly don’t know why someone would complain if it tastes great!
Many dishes on the menu are slightly Americanized, true, but they still taste amazing. My personal favorites are the Deep Fried Dumplings with garlic ginger sauce, Hot and Sour Beef and Kung Pao Chicken. Get this served with a generous portion of sticky rice and I’m in heaven.
I have been in this restaurant many, many times and have enjoyed the food every time, but it does vary in quality from visit to visit. Not a lot, but enough to tell. Personally it doesn’t bother me but if you go once and aren’t satisfied with some aspect of the food or service, don’t let this deter you from another visit. Overall, a great addition to anyone’s short list of restaurants to visit in San Francisco.

We swung by tonight on the way home, hungry, just wanting some hot and sour soup and General chicken. Walked in and ordered takeout.
Less than 10 minutes later, we were handed a bag. Yay!
Except when we got home 10 minutes later and set out our plates. The hot and sour soup was gloopy and lukewarm. Popping it in the microwave made it hot, but barely improved the taste.
The General chicken was flavorless, just discs of cheap, bland chicken. Ugh. Such a waste of money. Horrible food.

I have been here several times already. This 4 star review is based on today’s experience. We did not get greeted by our usual waitress but some guy and gal dressed in black, maybe managers.
Took them awhile to get our order, had to ask twice for forks, not for me, but my two coworkers. The food is good, hunan style chinese food.
I usually get what my coworker gets, slice beef with veggies with brown rice. Special #1. Today I decided I wanted noodles, doesn’t say chow mein or noodles in soup or stir fried, just noodles. To my surprise, they were in soup. They weren’t bad, just surprised. My lunch came with soup, green onion pancake, cold veggies.
If you check in on facebook, you get a free fountain soda. Which I did, had to prove it to him.
Service was ok. It could’ve been better.

Brandy Ho’s has been a favorite of mine since the 80’s, and they still manage to make me happy! But looking at many of the reviews, people order the least interesting things on the menu! Their specialties (IMO) are the smoked duck and smoked ham stir-​fries, which are amazingly tasty, smokey, spicy and full of crunchy vegetables. The meat sauce noodles are chewy, rich and filling; the cold spicy sesame/​peanut noodles are another favorite. Curry shrimp stir-​fry is so full of flavor and goes well with cold beer.
I am also very happy with their service, and they do keep their place much cleaner than what you might expect. Their open kitchen is really orderly and clean, and the flames and racket from the stir frying is fun to watch. And Brandy is often there keeping his eyes on the ball.

So happy! My favorite waitress ever PATTI still works here – she’s great, ask for here! I still love Hot & sour chicken with brown rice. Don’t be discouraged if you visited their spot in the Castro. The kids there never got it right. North Beach is their original location & it’s still excellent. If you’ve had a rough night, this is the tonic. So good. Btw «medium» = spicy here. Deep fried dumplings are excellent as well. A true San Francisco classic– No MSG!

Excellent service, cold Tsingtao and amazing fried dumplings. I have never had Hunan food in China, so I’m not sure if this is «authentic» or something that is more geared towards Americans, but I thought that it was little different than your ‘standard’ Chinese takeout food.
–Fried meat dumplings in the house ginger sauce, extra spicy were the highlight of the meal. Perfect consistency on the outside and flavorful meat filling on the inside. Served in a stainless bowl and tossed in a ginger /​chili oil /​green onion sauce. Amazing.
–Beef and string beans ordered «medium hot.» Good level of spice, and the green beans were very delicious. Cooked through but still crispy which really set off the dish.
–Gon pau chicken ordered «medium hot.» This was our least favorite dish. The chicken was not that tasty, and my overwhelming recollection of the plate is that there were way too many onions in the stir fry and not much else.
I would definitely eat here again and maybe try some different items on the menu.

My family has been going to Brandy Ho’s for years for late night dinners. We love it! We usually come around 8−9pm randomly on both weekdays and weekends and are never disappointed. It’s a bit hidden in Chinatown and parking can be tricky but it is totally worth it.
They call it «Chinese/​Asian Fusion» and I guess that is the perfect name for it. It’s authentic Chinese meals but with a twisssst. The customer service is great; they are always so friendly and helpful when it comes to navigating the menu and explaining ingredients. Most of the plates are around $ 10 and everything is family style, so super cheap if you are splitting the bill.
Some of our favorites are:
Steamed Dumplings — these are the best dumplings you’ll get in SF! *drools*
Si Foo Chicken with Black Bean Sauce
Gon Pao Chicken Hunan
Brandys Pork with Sweet & Sour
Old Country Scallops
Special Fried Rice
We will always come back for more!

Tuesday, May the 5^th 2015.
What an outstanding place for Hunan cuisine! The food is great, excellent ambience and an incredibly friendly staff. Be sure to tell your server the level of spiciness/​heat you desire, they are very accommodating, we will be back on our next visit.
Jon Uditsky
Los Angeles

Vor der Tür schon weist ein Child «NO MSG» darauf hin, weshalb ich hier zum ersten Mal schon vor Jahren eingekehrt bin und seitdem regelmäßig wieder herkomme: ohne Glutatmat.
Für mich der beste Chinese in SFO, wenn man authentisches Hunan Food mag und keinen Wert auf pompöse Einrichtung legt.
Hier geht es sehr puristisch zu, offene Kochküche, überaus flinkes Personal und humane Preise.
Hier ist nichts nicht scharf. man muss es schon dazu sagen, denn obwohl ich sonst immer sehr scharf mag, habe ich mit medium meine Probleme. Einmal habe ich ein Essen zurückgeben müssen, so sehr habe ich mich überschätzt.
Pech hatte ich noch nie, jedoch wird man auch im Falle des bloßen «mir schmeckt es nicht» sofort mit kostenlosen Ersatz befriedigt, bzw. es wird einem ein Dessert aufs Haus angeboten.
Alles in allem immer ein Besuch wert, obwohl es inzwischen schon 3 Locations gibt und die Gefahr des Qualitätsverlusts besteht.
war im Mai wieder dort und so was von enttäuscht. man hat hier nichts in die Renovierung gesteckt. die Toiletten sind 1A die gleichen wie ²⁰⁰⁵⁄₁₉₉₈. Das ganze Flair… ich spüre es nicht mehr. oder liegt es daran, dass man, je mehr man rumkommt immer schwerer zu begeistern ist? ich weiß es nicht. jedenfalls gehört es nicht mehr zu meinen stammlokalen in SFO.