32 Best Chinese Restaurants in San Mateo

“On a Tuesday night 7pm, there is still 15 minute wait. This place is popular. You order off a QR code and the system supports multi user ordering for the same table. The skewers are tasty. I wish the skewers are spicier so next time I will put in an extra request. You get a birthday gift bag if you show your ID on the day of your birthday!“

“Vegetable fried dumplings, soy sauce noodles, and green onion pancakes were all incredibly good. Staff was supremely helpful, kind, and personable. Highly recommend!“

“Have you ever had Fujian cuisine before? Now you can at Taste of Shaxian in San Mateo! All of the dishes were very simple, but surprised us with a lot of flavor! Whether you're a fan of dumplings or not, this place has good ones and a bunch of other must-try dishes all priced very reasonably. For 2 people, we ordered just enough to be comfortably full.

* Shaxian Wonton Soup
* Soup Dumplings Combo
* Spicy Cold Noodles (highly recommend!)
* Braised Chicken (bone in) Clay Pot w/ Rice (highly recommend!)“

“Super tasty! Shortly after I sat down for lunch they immediately served me a steaming cup of hot and sour soup that I polished off. I love it when food is served piping hot. Next came the Mongolian beef and noodles I ordered. I will just saw wow wow wow. Perfectly cooked and seasoned. This was probably the best Mongolian beef I have had. Hands down. Fantastic no frills lunch spot. The way good food is supposed to be. Can I say awesome again?!“

“I had the shrimp, cod and chicken fried rice. First time I had shrimp w heads on, and it was very good. My favorite was the cod with tofu. The chicken fried rice was a little burnt so after tasting it I was sad I wasn’t able to enjoy this one. Over all I was happy with the service and fresh food.

Vegetarian options: Tried the green beans. They were fresh.“

“The choices of vegan ingredients for the dish are great and you will definitely find something you like - veggies, mushrooms, tofu or dumplings! You pay for the weight and therefore are able to create your own dish as you wish, considering the ingredients as well as the volume. There are three vegan soups available and a great variety of toppings that can be refilled as wished. Really nice concept and definitely a recommendation!“

“This family owned restaurant is a gem. Food is delicious, I highly recommend their handmade pork with Napa cabbage dumplings. They are so good that I buy the frozen ones to enjoy at home. While dining, I can always hear others coming in to purchase them too. Also try the soup dumplings! Authentic Chinese food with great service. The restaurant owner Allen makes you feel right at home.“

“Stopped by for lunch on a Saturday. The food was overall very flavorful, and spicy! We got the cauliflower dry pot, Fuqi Feipian, Dan dan noodles, and a lamb skewer.

One thing we appreciated was that the dry pots were smaller than most other restaurants we have been too (also cheaper) so you're able to order more dishes in one sitting, instead of the dry pot being enough for two people. The Dan dan noodles were technically not on the menu, but the owner/employee let us order it still.

Overall, highly recommend, a great restaurant with reasonable prices.“

“If you want delicious Chinese food from a place that’s been in business for decades, this is the place you go.

It’s not fancy and some of the employees aren’t super friendly but some are, and the prices are affordable and the food tasty.

You’ll be happy you came!“

“look for the 3 item specials but also the cho chow mein, Mongolian beef and beef noodle soup are all really good. fast service and friendly.“

“I love their fried rice very much. It reminds me of New York City Chinese food. I'm also a big fan of their beef chow fun and sweet and sour chicken. Delicious.

They have a tofu basil dish that's good for vegetarians.

They're also on DoorDash if you live on the peninsula near San Mateo.

Vegetarian options: I like their mushroom dishes and their tofu basil dishes. They are tasty for vegetarians.“

“Superb Shanghainese cuisine with modern twist. For instance, chilled cucumber with chili oil. Tang Yuan in micro size. All very good, reasonable portions, and not salty or greasy. Went there for dinner on Wed and returned for lunch the next day!“

“quite good and competitive price. Missing Taiwan a lot!!“

“My girlfriend and I visited this restaurant on Thursday night, and it was a fantastic experience. During dinner, there were only about five tables occupied, making for a relaxed atmosphere. The decor is authentically Japanese, while the playlist had a chill vibe with American pop hits.

We ordered one sake and a few skewers, and I highly recommend trying the Beef Tongue—it’s incredibly tender and flavorful. The other BBQ skewers were also delicious.

Another highlight is the happy hour from 9:30pm to 11:30pm, where you can get buy-one-get-one-free beer.

Overall, I’d rate the food 5/5, drinks 4/5 (the sake was a bit strong for us), and the restaurant itself 5/5 for the ambiance and experience.“

“Great food, the people are very nice!“

“Really great Sichuan food. The food here is authentic, they make their own chili oil in house. The spiciness was very well balanced with the flavor.

Had the stir fried chicken with heavy peppercorn, green beans, and jelly noodles and it was all delicious.“

“These were delicious noodles. They were fr ah and chewy. Sauce was nice.“

“Delicious and comforting noodle soup. If you don't know what to order, get the original soup. If you come during lunch, the lunch special is a good deal. It's exactly the same, but cheaper and it comes with a side. Some places will have smaller portions for their lunch deals, but this place does not. We ordered a soup separately to test and it turned out I could have saved three bucks and got a free side.“

“We had six people and ordered 8 dishes. It was so scrumptious that I forgot to photograph after the first dish. We had Chilli beef, Sea Bass tofu soup, braised pork feet, Yun-nan Noodles, baked fish, stir fry lettuce hearts, stir fry Chinese squash, and wild mushrooms clay pot rice. Perfect combination of meat and veggies.“

“They only take cash which is a personal grievance of mine but the food definitely makes it worth it. Their beef curry particularly

Parking: Shared lot with the seven eleven that has a good number of spots especially since there usually won't be too many people in the restaurant“

“I've been coming here for almost twenty years and they never disappoint. The staff are super friendly and the food is delicious. It's a relatively unknown little place, but by far my favorite in San Mateo. I recommend anything on their menu, but I personally LOVE their chow mein and sizzling rice soup.“

“Having enjoyed their dishes many times for months, It’s beyond “Very Satisfying”! Excellent, delicious food! Quality well maintained although it is a hard time under C-19. Hygiene suggestions n requests well followed! Thanks 🙏 Customer Service outstanding! Highly recommended 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍“

“Food is super fast, just like Hong Kong. The Portuguese fish baked rice is really good. They call it Lisbon fish rice here. We also ordered ox tongue spaghetti, the sauce is just okay, it was supposed to be tomato sauce but it was more like a gravy. I've had better of this one.

If you're craving Hong Kong food, this is a decent choice. There aren't that many on the peninsula.

The service is so fast that they were literally taking the plate out from under me while I was still trying to finish the last bite. At least they didn't pull the spoon out of my hand 😂“

“太棒了，肉品沒吃多少，倒是吃了好幾磅的櫻桃🍒“

“One of our favorite places for the last 17 years, small family owned and operated, the salt and pepper wings and great, the won ton soup, the cream cheese won tons, and the fried banana with whatever ice cream they have are some of my family favorites....“

“Hot pot is pretty good, this place specializes in lamb but has beef, pork, chicken and seafood options (limited), high quality ingredients and the broth is delicious. Lots of Chinese/cantonese people who eat here. Icecream tastes very cheap, but overall, a great hot pot place“

“food place for family and hang out“

“Usually they are fairly on top of things, but this restaurant has always had something good. It seemed rushed packaging of our food & yep, 1 of the top lids wasn't snapped down properly. & sauce was pooling at bottom of bag.

Parking: Restaurant is on El Camino. But it's a really sharp right. & an immediate sharp Rt to free parking Behind building. Or of u luck out & get parking!

Dietary restrictions: Just let them know. So far they've been very accommodating. They'll do it; just ask!“

“Great food!! Lots of options for vegetarians. Staff is so friendly and helpful. Favorite Chinese restaurant in foster city. They even have a section for take out. The food is served in take out containers which is a win for me as they fill it up and it’s easy for leftovers. You must try if you are in the mood for good Chinese food!!“

“Surprisingly, the Nepali food is excellent and worth trying in town! ?
I've wanted to try it for a while, and I finally visited. All the food was delicious and the service was also excellent. The outside table was cute and had a heater in the chilly afternoon.
We tried Chicken Momo Steamed, Vegetarian Momo deep-fried, Lamb Biryani ?️, Garlic tikka french fries, Butter Chicken curry, Roti, and Mango Lasasie. Everything was good ?? Biryani was too spicy for me.
My favorite was chicken mono and butter chicken curry. I should come back again!“

“Cute little shop, super decorated with murals with HK streets vibes. Super long, authentic Chinese menu for both dessert and street eats like noodles and rice platters. Also has basic american dessert like cheesecake. Got their grass jelly fruit bowl, a bit small for 2 to share but the others like banana split or sweet crepe is a lot.

Kid-friendliness: Dessert“

“We met friends and 6 of us shared family style meal. My favorites were fried rice with salted fish and chicken, Buddha's delight and combination chow mein. The other items were fine but I like more sauce to noodles especially chow fun. Service was nice and efficient. The pork belly took a while to cook, I think I like a thinner cut but that is my preference. It was flavorful and had nice texture.“