Top Chinese Noodle Restaurant in Pacifica
Soul Rice
683 Manor Dr, Pacifica, CA 94044, United States
Not gonna lie, Im impressed.A restaurant dedicated to fried rice and a few dudes that go with it? Tell me more!As you can see from the picture, big ol portions. They thinly cut the meats (I got beef and Chinese sausage) and the mushrooms(I forget what kind) are a nice touch. I wouldve preferred a darker mushroom like shitake, but with the truffle it prob wouldve been too rich/umami forward.Speaking of truffle, its got good balance -never overpowered. *I do have a higher tolerance for that rich taste so Im bias*I wouldve loved bigger cuts of meat and more egg, but Im not hurting over it either.Heads up - the pork chop is more like tonkatsu at Japanese restaurant rather than Hawaiian - thin crust/pork cutlet, and thinly cut. Very good, I just wish it had tonkatsu sauce lol.Coming back for the chicken wings next time?TLDR solid 4.5/5. Very solid meat/rice ratio, balanced flavor, generous portions. Worth the 5 stars for putting out a truffle rice thats? and committing to good fried rice.
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Must Be Dumpling
1235 Linda Mar Shopping Center, Pacifica, CA 94044, United States
Delicious new dumping restaurant in Linda Mar. Food came out quickly and very hot. We enjoyed the braised eggplant, pork & corn dumplings, the green onion pancake and the pork & crab xiao long bao. Would recommend all of these dishes. It is very popular and still heard them accept a take out order close to closing. Great addition to the area, will be back!
Top Pot
63 Bill Drake Way, Pacifica, CA 94044, United States
This place is FANTASTIC. I went here for the first time tonight, and was just blown away. I had high expectations because the reviews were already so good, and they met them and were even exceeded.First off, the inside of the restaurant is surprisingly spacious, as well as clean and orderly. They have different seating options depending on if it is shared or individual hot pots, but all of them are fine. The menu is extensive and straight forward. You select your options using a dry erase menu, and then they bring it out. In addition to the usual hot pot staples, they also have tasty appetizers and desserts like crab rangoons, beef short ribs, freshly fried Chinese donuts, ice cream, and fried dough with evaporated milk. And yes, as many other reviews mention, the biang biang noodles are EXCELLENT!The final thing I have to really sing the praise of is the service. The staff member we had waiting on us was SO kind, thoughtful, and attentive. Near the end of the meal, my mom wanted to sample things so she was requesting single items. Like just one single fish ball, and just two pieces of Chinese donut. The waitress did not even bat an eye at these requests, and she did indeed come back with a single fish ball, and sample size portions of the Chinese donut. It was going above and beyond! She also made sure to ask if we wanted ice cream since it isn’t on the menu and she wanted to be sure we knew they had it! I gave her a generous tip because she honestly made our night better with her cheery and helpful presence, and she even came back over and thanked us. No thanks was needed, we just wanted to thank her!All in all, Top Pot was a wonderful experience and I definitely plan to be back!
Kennys Cafe
640 Crespi Dr #1, Pacifica, CA 94044, United States
High Celery Content, Low spiceWe ordered 3 dishes from the dinner for two. On the plus side, the fried rice alone was enough for two of us. However the vegetarian egg rolls were heavy on celery (which I dont care to eat). The egg rolls were a bit unusual in that they are regular wonton wrappers that were then breaded and deep fried. The crispy outer shell was a nice change, but the oil it was fried in had overtones of a gamut of other things fried in the same oil. And the filling was about 45% celery. In addition, this preparation method left the inner egg roll limp and oily.We also ordered Mongolian Beef and Chicken in Spicy garlic sauce. We asked that both be prepared hot and spicy. Both were rather bland. Both also had a high celery content. The beef in the Mongolian dish was tender, but tasted like it was originally intended for a stroganoff dish - it tasted very much like Worcestershire. The hot and sour soup starter was tasty. Could have used a bit more heat and sour, but we ate it all... which we cant say about every rendition of that soup.The specials the night we were there included prime rib. The menu caters to Americans, and that is probably a clue that the Chinese food is toned down, too.The service was good and attentive, and the portions very generous... but way, way too much celery and not enough heat in the red letter spicy dishes for my taste. Extra spice can be added from a squeeze bottle of what appeared to be red pepper paste, but it proved very heavy on vinegar.All in all the soup and pork fried rice would have made a decent meal for two, but the bland, celery-heavy main dishes were disappointing.
Ju Fu Restaurant
1045 Terra Nova Blvd, Pacifica, CA 94044, United States
Love this place ... One of my favorite casual traditional (as opposed to fancier SF options) Chinese places in the Bay Area, and definitely the best in Pacifica. Food has FLAVOR and well prepared. Even something as simple as chow mein -- many places Ive been to in Bay Area serve flavorless and dry -- Ju Fus version is very tasty and nice sauce. Unlike many other Chinese places, they have some dishes using chicken breast, but also dark meat in many dishes -- but if you want a dish that they usually use dark meat with (e.g., orange chicken, Kung Pao chicken) just ask and theyll do it with white meat. Owner/chef is a sweetheart, and his son, who is a server, is a double sweetheart and very professional. Young lady who serves is very nice but sometimes hard to communicate with on phone, so make sure to reconfirm your order if youre ordering to-go. Highly recommend Ju Fu -- worth the drive to the back of the valley!!
Ocean Fish Sushi & Grill
455 Oceana Blvd, Pacifica, CA 94044, United States
The Sushi was decent for take out, but not the absolute best Ive ever had. I am glad I tried it!!!BUT... the menu posted on the door and the ones available to take, are not updated in pricing.I walked up to the door, took a picture of the menu on the door, went to my car to review it, and called in an order and was given a total. I didnt think about the cost until I started to review the order in my head, while i was waiting fir it to be prepared..When i went in to pick up the order and pay... I saw why the order didnt add up and why it was FAR MORE than what I expected to pay. I asked about the difference in pricing and was told that the accurate pricing was listed online.Hmmm, I informed the manager that legally they had to post a sign that indicated that their pricing wasnt up to date or to take the menu off the door until it could be updated. Check your receipts when you pay. The break down in cost is on the copy they keep.Definitely worth trying, but understand what youre paying for. ?
Uoyakutei Japanese Restaurant
4408 CA-1, Pacifica, CA 94044, United States
Recommend waiting until > 1 month after grand open before your first visit to Uoyakutei Japanese Restaurant. They have issued right now.Combined two visits on 6/24/16 & 7/6/16 into one review. Experience was same for opening day & about 2 weeks later.Service needs MUCH improvement. Both visits I was left standing at the door wondering if I seat myself or wait. Gave up finding the lack of attention to entering customers a problem & took an uninvited position at the bar. Placed my hands on bar and found the spot I had chosen was left dirty from lunch. Moved over a place to a cleaner location. Waited more and then gave up to wash my hands from bar stuff. Came back and still did not get attention from the wait staff. Finally a sushi chef handed me a paper take-out menu to get me started. Some time later after being flagged down by the chef a waitress finally stopped by to take my drink order. Theses kinds of problems continued throughout the entire meal for me and others.Worsening the problem of dining area management was that call-in orders seemed to be given preference over the customers in the dining room as far as attention went.1st visit:Miso SoupUnagi SushiMaguro SushiCalifornia RollHot Tea2nd Visit:Agedashi TofuHouse Special - Tuna Lovers RollUnagi SushiHot TeaI would qualify the food on both visits too be both average appearance, average texture, and average flavor. Nothing special. Nothing surprising. I was a bit disappointed in the house Tuna Lovers Roll. I expected better presentation and flavor than I received for something that was supposed to be a house specialty.Other things I noted about the preparedness and cleanliness of Uoyakutei:- Bar area not cleaned and set up for evening service.- Bathrooms not cleaned for evening service.- Front entrance area windows still not cleaned since before grand opening and 2 weeks later.- Excessive time for wait staff to notice customers, seat them, and take drink orders.- Empty dishes not cleared during the meal.- No offers to refill drinks during the meal.- Better overall management dining area needed.- Phone orders override attention given to seated customers.- One sushi chef kept sucking on a Starbucks Iced Coffee and sat it down right next to the food in the seafood refrigerator to keep it cold.- One waiter seemed to prefer telephone service. This left the other person being ambushed by tables that were not under her care that wanted to place more orders or have drinks refilled.- Bar seating was disturbed by orders being sent out in the middle of the two bar sections.- Bar seating area used as a take-out staging area.- Bar seating area used to store extra clean dishes and utensils used for the tables.- Wait staff seems to have problems using their Point Of Sale equipment. This back up new customer orders and slowed down exiting customer payment.- TV left over from previous tenant bar was dead on the wall. This required all bar customers to turn around to watch TVs on other walls.- Not all menu items were available for consumption.- No alcohol license.- Initial first day opening was not set in stone for one specific day.The problems above and a few more speak to larger issues. Their Grand Opening sign should have been reserved for a later time. Poor service and lack of preparedness tells me Uoyakutei should have used their first month open as a Soft Opening to work out the problems. I would guess the owners have some chef experience. But need more management experience and involvement to help smooth out Uoyakutei.Nothing that I received I would ever qualify as the worst sushi. Unlike another Yelper I did not get sick later. Nor was any of the Agedashi Tofu cold or dry. But I was also not impressed with the value of the experience for the money spent dur either visit.Give Uoyakutei try. But do so later after they get on their winning game.
Moonraker
105 Rockaway Beach Ave, Pacifica, CA 94044, United States
This is a lovely spot to cap off a day spent on the coast. The interior decor is warm, even if a little dated. My main criticism was extremely poor table management by my server team. I thought at first it may have been due to the fact that I was kind of dressed down for a white tablecloth restaurant. But I watched many other folks similarly attired (jeans / fleece hoodie) also be seated. I was, however, the only one top that I could see. I sought out this place because I specifically wanted the kind of service I observed the tables around me receiving.For starters, it was more than 10 minutes after being seated before my server greeted me, (on her way to other tables) and then another 5 minutes before she finally made it back. My candle was never lit (literally the only unlit one I could see in any direction). I refilled my own water glass, assuming it was expected, until I noticed the busboys refilling other patrons water. So I deliberately left mine empty, which is how it remained for the rest of my meal. I had to request bread. My appetizer arrived in a reasonable time, as did my meal. However, my finished appetizer plate was left on the table for the entire meal, and my mussel plate was left on the opposite side of the table, which I had to actually stand up to reach for after my entree was delivered. During my time there, I observed two parties seated at tables adjacent to me receive more attentive service.As for the food, the calamari appetizer was perfectly cooked and the garlic aioli was delicious. Im not sure if the red sauce was supposed to be cocktail or marinara, but it tasted mostly like catsup.The mussles w/ frites was decent, but the sauce really overpowered the mussels - it could have used a little less mustard and a little more white wine. Unfortunately the duck fat fries were a bit undercooked for my palate, and didnt have much of that delicious duck fat crunch. Perhaps the oil temperature was a bit low?If I ever get back to this part of the country I would give them another chance, but I was sadly disappointed this time. 8/26/23; 8pm, T32.
Thai Original BBQ
793 Hickey Blvd, Pacifica, CA 94044, United States
The Great S-8 debate. Chicken, beef or both. Both of course. Well we actually split it per 2 people we come here with.Despite having no relation to many Original Thai BBQ's all across the west coast, the headquarters does offer franchising, the menu's are basically the same and consistent. My early 20's were spend trying the entire menu out in Vegas and now I just get an S8 and maybe split something else with my friends. The sate is the same, night, day, any Original Thai BBQ.Being that Filipino food is pervasive in Daly City I was sure I'd get my fix around midnight so we played Ro Sham Bo for where we would eat, Thai or Chinese. We would inevitably eat the other on another day anyhow so it wasn't really a point of contention, just decision. We knew it was good, we'd been here before, but one thing I noticed was that the portion sizes have shrunk AND the prices have gone up. Ok maybe the later wasn't enough to go caps on it, but the first part for sure. Since we go SATE each time, we noticed. I'd say you get a full 20% less meat per skewer and even one less overall. The amount of rice shrank too. Peanute sauce had declined on flavor. Oh lord, what had become of our consistent flavorful Thai place. The décor was the same, the service the same, the menu the same. Had the price risen with inflation, no, it had gone above the inflation rate, so something must have changed.We peered back at the menu noticing almost all the sides had gone from mid $7 to mid $8 with a few topping out just below $10. Veggie only dishes $8.50, no noodles, no meat, basically just sauce. This is Daly City, not the City. $10 for Tom Yum soup. Come on now. $10 for papaya salad. That's a 5 ingredient dish. Tom yum soup is good, but needs more fresh herbs to garnish. Larb needs more shrimp paste, papaya salad also needs more shrimp.Ok now that I'm off my high horse the décor is inviting, dark walls, the tables are nicely separated and not to crowded in either room. Service is good, perhaps could be more attentive on the drinks and need of napkins.I took an extra star from them for giving less and charging more. I can understand if prices go up, but it's a good thing my friends were less hungry because I was about ready to order another noodle dish just to fill up, I'd already had an S8 and eaten my 1/3 of the drunken noodle. Good thing my friends were less hungry and I ate another 1/3 of the noodles and that satiated me because I was close to still ordering another side. That's how much things have shrunk.