Lee’s Deli

Broccoli cashew salad: A
Krab salad: A
Tuna salad: B+
Cooked mushrooms: A–
Steamed fish: A
Mandarin chicken: B+
Orange chicken (battered): C
Fried shrimp: B–
Chow mein: B+
Fried rice: C
Shrimp dumplings: A (when they’re fresh)
BBQ pork bun: B+
Green beans: A–
Steamed broccoli: A
Service: B
Cleanliness: B+
Freshness: B–
Speed: A–
Selection: A–
Good for a quick lunch. Decent selection, you just have to be lucky and get there when they’ve put out new batches of the hot foods. Or fall back on their cold bar, which usually seems fresh.
Don’t bother coming late — the last couple hours they’re open they usually start shutting down half of the buffet bars and everything left is old/​stale.

Nothing super remarkable, but hard boiled eggs are currently 50 cents piece not a bad deal. ($ 0.50)

Lee’s may be your run-​of-​the-​mill deli and salad bar, but finding anything fresh in the Financial District after 7pm that won’t break your bank, nor require you to dine in, is easier said than done.
I was impressed with the selection in both the salad bar and the hot food bar. I went with a mostly plant-​based meal starting with a seaweed salad, a quinoa-​edamame salad, and some fresh veggies. Everything was delicious, which, to be honest, surprised me given the lack of atmosphere and energy in the space. I’d recommend the edamame salad, especially if you’re into feta (or, like some of us, obsessed).
There’s no inside seating, so grab your to-​go container and head out to their little garden terrace to eat, or get your steps in and walk to the Embarcadero.

I come here quite often because of all the options they have.
I love that they have a salad bar with lots of choices and sushi. They also have a fruit bar and a hot Chinese food bar. I love the potstickers here!
They charge by weight so be careful with the heavy foods!
You also have the option to customize a sandwhich, which i love!
They also serve soups too. Lots of snack foods, drinks, a few desserts.
They even have a breakfast food bar in the morning!

I come here for my morning, I need to stuff my face before my shuttles leaves me. Like everyone says, it’s not the best food, but it’s cheap and I’m able to get a quick bite without any long lines. I do agree, the chicks at the register are sneaky. Apparently, there is a 25 cent employee handling fee? WTF, is that? There are charging 25 cents for handing my food? Check your receipt!!!

When I moved to the Bay Area, I was so excited to find a place like Lee’s Deli. I’ve never been to a place where you can get like anything under the sun that’s quick and fairly cheap — being from the Midwest and all. If you come to Lee’s, you can get salad, sandwiches, buffet style Chinese food, soup, ramen, chips, CRONUTS. It’s a one-​stop shop to get anything for a decent price and at usually a 3-​star food quality. When you are doing so many things, it’s hard to do one thing well. I still love Lee’s though.
I sometimes will stop in here for breakfast, because where else can you get scrambled eggs, tater tots, and Orange Chicken? I know that’s a weird medley, but it makes me a happy camper to be able to get whatever food medley I want and only pay $ 3 – 4 for it.
Lee’s is good if you want a quick and cheap sandwich, a medley of lunch buffet things at probably a 2 – 3 star quality (that you get to pick and choose), or just a few dim sum items:
(1) Sandwiches: Lee’s sandwiches are very cheap. I can get a banh mi there for around $ 4.50. It’s not the best banh mi in the world, but it’s quick and cheap. All other banh mi places in FiDi are at least $ 6. Most people I see come in here either come for the sandwiches or the buffet. Breakfast sandwiches are good too, except I stopped coming in here for them because they were really bad for my health and my waistline. When I asked for a bacon and egg sandwich, I GOT a bacon and egg sandwich. They really loaded on that bacon.
(2) Chinese Food Buffet: I’ve often opted for the buffet. I’m not a fan of the salad area or the limited sushi options that Lee’s offers — I can get a better salad or sushi elsewhere. But for the buffet, I will usually get the Thai spicy chicken, the Orange Chicken and some of the vegetables. None of the buffet food is like out of this world, but it’s decent and I usually end up spending about $ 6 – 7 for lunch there. The noodles and rice here are just ok, and sometimes not very good. I usually stay away from those. If I’m going to eat those calories, I might as well opt for the Orange Chicken, which tastes much better.
(3) Dim Sum: Lee’s has a limited dim sum selection: shrimp dumplings (har gow), bbq pork buns (the white fluffy kind), shu mai, vegetable dumplings. I think there might be a few more things, but that covers most of what they offer. The quality is probably 3 stars, not terrible but not insanely delicious. Worth getting if you have a dim sum craving in FiDi.
I’ve never tried their ramen area or soups, but that’s because there are so many other things to eat here. And I find myself going back to the same things all the time.

I definitely wouldn’t call this place the best dim sum/​chinese food in downtown SF, but it’s a pretty great place if you’re looking for a cheap and quick eat.
It’s a buffet style deli, where you can serve yourself an assortment of dim sum and chinese food. They also sell sandwiches here too. You are charged for how much the food weighs. It’s about $ 7/​lb.
I usually get about 3 dim sum items when I get lunch here and it costs $ 2 – 3. Not too bad if you’re looking for something cheap in the middle of DTSF.
If you’re okay with mediocre food, which sometimes I am, then give this place a try!

One star is too much for the nasty, uncivilized people working at this Lee’s.
A) Worst bagels in San Francisco — Miniscule «slice» of cream cheese place on bagel. Terrible.
B) Prison-​like guards watch your every move at the salad bar. If you taste even one noodle they try to charge you 35¢. Dumb!
C) Nasty, nickel and diming cheapskates running this one. Over charged my friend’s credit card too.
The worst Lee’s in San Francisco!

If you need a quick sandwich Lee’s is okay. It used to be better and the quality has definitely gone down hill but prices are very reasonable and the help is quick, polite, and efficient.
I would def stay away from the salad bar and the hot item bar… it just looks old, bad, nasty etc.
Best sandwich is the fresh turkey! Still 5.75

They will cheat you if they get the chance. I have caught the taller skinny Chinese woman cheating me, as well as a friend. I simply do not trust them any more, and for good reason; watch when they ring you up, and yes check your change.
Sorry but it really pissed me off so one star it is.

I am so glad that I found this restaurant which offers many kinds of traditional Chinese food. Maybe not so traditional, but the taste is good enough for me. You can select hot food or cold food (salad) there. They only cost by weight. I choose hot food. They offer shrimp dumplings (so delicious)，steamed dumplings with soup inside (also deserve a try), noodles, rice (not good, so hard), and so on. The fish, beef, curry chicken are also delicious.

DO NOT GO HERE!
When I saw them making my chicken breast sandwich which already had mayonnaise mustard, they were adding other ingredients like onions and I told them specifically, «Sorry, just lettuce and tomato.» They literally took the onions from my sandwich and threw it back into the «clean pile» of onions and NOT in the garbage — cross contamination among foods which is definitely a NO NO!
If they’re doing this for my sandwich, what more do they do in the back where they prep the food containers or for other people? On top of that, they don’t even have their Food Score available on display. What kind of things are they not doing correctly?
Note: I also have read the food score on the government website and they rate it at 90. I’m not sure if they deserve that score as of today. That was at December in 2014. I’m reporting this restaurant for «mishandling food.»

I am a definite fan of the buffet style, pay by weight. I would like to think I’m an expert at it because I was trained well by Whole Paycheck, oops, I mean whole foods. When their rate is $ 8.99/lb you gotta be light handed, youknowwhatimean? So the price is here is perfect for me! I think it’s around $ 6 per pound, I could afford to be heavy handed!
I decided to get salad in the clam shell container. which is gonna be lighter cuz lettuce is really light, right? Well I was wrong! I still ended up paying for over a pound of food, the total was like $ 8! When I got to the register, I was like «why yes I WOULD like a receipt» because I like to look at the weight of whatever I get. It helps my accuracy for future visits. The cashier gave me the receipt with the total but it didn’t have the weight on it! I swear I didn’t put too much on it. Only lettuce… and like one slice of avocado and some rice noodle. I think it was the weight of the clam shell that jacked it up.
Usually I can get it around $ 7-​$ 8 at whole foods so I’m surprised I got it to $ 8 something at some place cheaper like lee’s deli. Rip off! Next time show me the weight on the receipt!!!
Oh yea and the salad was no good either. The avocado was hard and not ripe. The dressing (fat free vinaigrette) was really sour and had a funny taste to it.
Maybe next time I’ll stick to the greasy looking Chinese food instead. Maybe it’s good?

Lee’s is a nice place to go for a personalized lunch. They have two large buffet tables with a salad bar w/​sushi on one and hot food w/​on the other. They also have a sandwich area and a soup area with ramen and daily soups. The clam chowder was tasty. Among all that they have a baked goods area with yummy pastries and stuff.
My only qualm with this place is the quality of the food. While it’s all very tasty I have one multiple occasions noticed my food wasn’t cooked through all the way. It’s not sanitary and can get people very sick.
I would hope they fix this because I think this location is awesome. Fast lines, always stocked and pleasant service.

A buck ninety-​five for a bagel and cream cheese! Quick grab and go breakfast for me on my way to the office.

Horrible service: was passed back and forth between employees like a hot potato, neither could communicate effectively (or understand basic English). The net result was 3 different attempts to make my sandwich, eventually I got 50% of what I asked for. When I complained the second employee could not figure out why and the original employee helping me provided me with a smug grin and told me to take the sandwich and that she made and that she did indeed provide me with the toppings I asked for (apparently she read my mind and this translated to a piece of soggy lettuce).
I recommend Lee’s Deli if you enjoy being yelled at in a foreign language and being told to pay for something you didn’t order.

A very nice store to visit for lunch plus there are a variety of options to choose from. I was actually craving for dim sum, this is when I came in and decided to look through the available options. Items at the hot food and salad bars are freshly prepared. Some available items at the hot food bar include rice, noodles, dim sum and BBQ pork buns. Whether you crave for dim sum, rice, noodles, salad, sushi, sandwiches, burgers or hot dogs, Lee’s Deli have it.
I only came in for the pork and shrimp dumplings. The dim sum is fresh and not super greasy which satisfied my dim sum cravings. Overall, positive first experience here. The food is delicious and staff members were very friendly. I will be back to try other items on the menu.
*The utensils are up front by the cash registers!*

Remember the Rush Hour scene where Chris Tucker starts complaining about that box of grease to the guy at the takeout window. It went along the lines of «Damn Chin, that’s some greasy sh*t». It all goes downhill from there when the old man starts to cuss him out in Cantonese, linkified to refresh your memory
.
They have several sections in this place. There’s a sandwich section, hot bar, cold bar, and ramen/​noodle bar. I have eaten at most of them with the exception of the sandwiches. Let’s start with the hot bar. There’s a pretty standard fare: beef, chicken, dim sum, fish, along with chow fun, chow mein, steamed rice and shrimp fried rice. You should NOT get anything fried on the menu. It’s a box of grease and nasty. Examples: egg roll, orange chicken, fried fish, and fried chicken. They are horrible, dry, and you’ll regret it later. The chicken curry, marinated beef, and chow fun are good. The white rice was stale. This section is rated 2 stars because you can go to Ming’s or B&M for similar food.
The ramen bar (it’s been a while) is not bad. I remember getting soya broth and a good topping of BBQ park with my noodles. It was under $ 10 and while it didn’t compare to a real ramen join, it was fine in a pinch.
The cold bar is probably what you should stick with. It’s tried and trusted because if you ask me, getting a salad wrong requires a lot of work. You have a good selection of leafy greens and sushi too if you so desire. Also a selection of fresh fruit if you’re looking for a healthy alternative. I think I will stick to this section from now on.

Though prices at Lee’s, and pretty much everywhere, continue to rise, from $ 1.75 to $ 1.95 for a bagel with CC, to be exact, (which I’m told is still very cheap, but it’s the principal of the thing!) I still find myself yearning for their array of yummy foods.
As mentioned in my last review, I don’t much like the buffet food since I don’t know how long it’s been sitting out, and since I prefer sandwiches anyway, I usually opt for the deli menu for breakfast or, more rarely, lunch.
I’ve been on a kick lately for ordering up a sesame bagel with light cream cheese, sprouts, tomatoes, and sometimes pickles (my friend’s preference). It’s oh so good, and I don’t feel like a cow at my desk after downing it. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, y’all, so make it count!

Almost a dozen Lee’s Delis dot San Francisco’s Financial District. The delis are designed for quick, convenient, and tasty meals (typically, breakfast or lunch) for workers on the go. This Lee’s is located on the ground level of the old Bank of America building near the busy intersection of Market and Montgomery Streets. This is close to the Wells Fargo building as well as the Montgomery BART station. The deli is next door to McDonald’s.
My sister introduced me to Lee’s at their 1^st St. location. I was impressed by their speedy service and varied menu. There was a breakfast buffet, a smörgåsbord of breakfast and lunch sandwiches, burgers, wraps, soups (including Asian soups like wonton soup and ramen noodle soup), a salad bar, a hot food bar, and assorted snacks and drinks. I even saw banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) on the menu. Everything applies to this location, except for perhaps the banh mi (I didn’t see it on this location’s menu. Then again, I didn’t look too hard.).
It’s neat how there are different stations inside. For example, apart from the aforementioned salad and hot food bars, there’s a separate station for Asian noodles and for deli sandwiches. The salad and hot food buffets are priced at $ 6.95/lb. All food is served in disposable to-​go containers.
We stopped by for a snack and picked up some ramen. At the noodle station, you can select from three different types of Japanese noodles (ramen, udon, soba) and four different types of broth (shoyu, miso, tonkotsu, udon). Each bowl of noodle soup is $ 5.20 and you can add additional ingredients from $ 0.50-$ 1.25 per ingredient. Additional ingredients include items such as broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, chicken, BBQ pork, and fish cake.
Everything is made fresh at the noodle station. The ingredients are stored on display behind a protective glass casing. The ramen was OK. It wasn’t very «authentic» and felt more like a premium brand instant ramen more than anything. It certainly wasn’t of the quality of a bowl of ramen from Izakaya Sozai (Inner Sunset) or a restaurant in Japantown, but one wouldn’t expect it to be. However, for someone who’s busy/​active, as people in the Financial District often are, it suffices.
They sell Odwalla drinks here, which I’m a fan of. I recommend their fruit smoothie blends. Very healthy and delicious too.
Service is efficient.
There’s no seating inside of Lee’s, only seating on a small, enclosed, outdoor patio on the sidewalk. It’s great for people watching.