Looking to feed a large group Chinese food in the Sunset District

[paddyh]

I'm told Sunset is best, and we can get there on Muni! Any good suggestions for a group of 20 or so?
thanks!

[alanbarnes]

Okay, fools rush in where angels fear to tread, but nobody's come right out and said this...

The Sunset? Really?

I'd buy a recommendation for the Richmond. My experiences are nowhere near extensive enough to provide a decent compare / contrast discussion of the places there, but even Gertrude Stein would admit that there's a "there" there.

Even then, it's a mighty long ride on the 38 Geary to get where you want to go. Chinatown is close by. It may be full of places you don't want to go, but that doesn't mean there aren't any viable options.

Seriously, you've got a bunch of options that don't require putting twenty people on the bus for the better part of an hour. Consider them.

[mrs bacon]

Would the Sunset location of Beijing work for a group this large (just asking because I haven't been there yet)?

[Pandora]

It probably would as I think it's not that busy there. I like Beijing restaurant the best for the OP's request.

[ML8000]

If the Richmond is in play, I'd consider Kirin on Geary. Otherwise, I'd go to R&G. I went to a banquet in the summer and it was excellent. If anything, I wouldn't head to the Avenues but Southwest to Millbrae and Daly City for HK Flower Lounge, Zen, Koi Palace, Asian Pearl, etc.

-----
Koi Palace Restaurant
365 Gellert Blvd, Daly City, CA 94015

Asian Pearl
3288 Pierce St, Richmond, CA 94804

Flower Lounge Restaurant
2033 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94602

[K K]

I would pick Hakka Restaurant in the Outer Richmond.

[Keesey]

I will second this rec for Hakka Restaurant. They have an amazing Thai Basil Clam dish there (that's more of a thai flavored dish, but still done really well!). Love their "stuffed" tofu as well. The waitstaff is stellar! Chinese restaurant service can be a bit brass and quick, but there's a head waiter there, which could also be the owner, who really makes you feel right at home. The only drawback is the location.... it's is in Outer Richmond... practically by the beach. So it's cold and very foggy there. You would have to take a regular bus out there - the 31 Balboa.

The South Seafood Village rec is also good too.

San Tung is also close by but that's more Korean/Chinese fusion. Their dry fried chicken wing is famous in SF. Though a group of 20 is probably far too large for their very crampt space. Do try to go with a smaller group at a separate time.

[tranewreck]

I third vote for Hakka in the Richmond (ignoring the fact that you can't get there from here).
Peking, Outer Sunset, has been fairly empty on my last few visits and expect, with an advanced call, could easily handle your group. One block from the N train.
I live near South Seafood Village (SF branch) and my last two meals there were more miss then hit.

[scarmoza]

San Tung has a small room in the back that just might fit 20 - I've never gone with a large enough group so I don't know. I would call them to find out more info.

[kc72]

Unless that room has changed over the last few yrs, it won't fit 20.

[Keesey]

I've sat there. Will fit maybe 10 - 12 or so. I feel it's actually more crampt because the walls restrict the chairs from scooting in and out.

[ML8000]

sfbing hits it on the head...lots of good questions.

That said, consider: Eight Immortals, Ming's Diner. Decor will be very basic in both but they are in the Sunset and both have the room.

-----
Eight Immortals Restaurant
1433 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA 94116

Ming's Diner
2129 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA 94116

[Sarah]

Easy to get to -- good dim sum -- haven't had dinner --
http://www.southseaseafoodvillage.com/

[Chandavkl]

Excellent suggestion. Plenty of room for a large group, nice ambiance on top of the food. They also have a branch in Millbrae, which probably has the best concentration of Chinese food in the Bay Area. (That's an entirely different subject.)

[sfbing]

Fair warning: I think they have been having some trouble maintaining quality since they opened the Millbrae branch. Sometimes, the food is fine and sometimes, not so much. My last visit, the lobster was not as fresh as I would like it and there were some temperature issues with other dishes. It is a pleasant uncrowded place that can easily accomodate 20 people with good service though.

[sfbing]

I think a little more information would be helpful, since you nixed R&G on a previous thread...
1) How much money per person were you thinking of spending?
2) What type of Chinese food are you looking for? For example, what type of dishes were you thinking of ordering? Nice place or hole in the wall?
3) Are you thinking of preordering a banquet (which would be most efficient and cost effective considering the size of your party)?
4) How long of a commute? Where are you starting from?
5) What's the time frame? I ask because Chinese New Year is next week and restaurants are usually packed and pushed to the limit.

[paddyh]

Good questions, thanks.
I nixed R&G, in fact everything in Chinatown, on the advice of a SanFran Chinese food freak (in fact several) who advised heading west for better, better-priced food.
I don't want to spend much more than $30 a head, after T&T
I don't care what kind of food, except Hunan is probably too spicy. Taiwan/Sichuan/Shanghai/even Canton is OK
Banquet? Probably. But there appears to be an astonishing margin for rip-off in many advertised banquet menus compared to my usual Chinese eating haunts in LA's SGV.
I'll be setting forth from downtown SF, having arrived from Menlo Park.

[sfbing]

Hmm. I live in the sunset and I personally don't think there is any Cantonese food that is better than R&G in the sunset. Less expensive, sure, but not better. Here are my picks in the city not in the sunset:
For really unusual (and probably beyond your budget): Jai yun (sort of shanghainese) in Chinatown is a possibility. Better deal for lunch than dinner.
Far away from downtown, good food, and can't be beat price: Hakka Restaurant in outer Richmond
Slightly closer, crazy crowded with kind of a peculiar set menu arrangement at dinner: Hong Kong Lounge.

-----
Hong Kong Lounge
5322 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94121

[Windy]

I'm with sfbing and question the advice you've gotten from your friends. No idea why you are having 20 people schelp across town for unexceptional Chinese food.

R&G is in a different league from the other places mentioned here (nothing wrong if you lived in the neighborhood).

If for some reason you don't want to eat downtown or in Millbrae, the Richmond has better options than the Sunset.

[Robert Lauriston]

$30 a head including tax and tip isn't enough for dinner at Jai Yun.

-----
Jai Yun
680 Clay St, San Francisco, CA 94111

[PeterL]

Hunan food is too spicy and yet Sichuan is OK? Also if you compare prices in the Bay Area with SGV you're going to be forever disappointed.