What a fun place. It's an open air dining and cocktails spot. Feels like maybe a converted basement for a large building. They have individual cooking stations. One for bbq, one for drinks, one for pasta, one for dumplings and another for desserts. Spread throughout the party's open floor plan. Lots of visual interest as well, even a fancy store within the location. The food is on point and well presented. Our food was great! Like great with everything. Go try it, it's a fun scene.
Very different from the Chinese restaurant that we are used to. The portions were a tad small but the food was excellent. We had the Kung Pao mild along with the crap meat spring rolls. The waitress forgot the rice we ordered with the meal. We ordered dessert which we rarely ever do. Not from this area but highly recommend it.
Dena Aslanian-Williams
+5
Wonderful food and retail emporium. Upscale and modern with good food, drinks and service. Nice retail store for gifts, souvenirs and food items, large bustling restaurant and bar downstairs and a swanky bar upstairs. Something for everyone under one roof energizing a long dead spot on Broadway.
Absolutely delicious! We didn't stray too far from the dim sum menu because it was just so good. Strongly recommend the Sichuan "working hands" dumplings, the Char Siu pork "crunch" baked buns, and the brulee egg tart for dessert. Exceptional service as well. We'll be back!
Definitely the best Chinese food I have tried in SF. I love the clean,unique Chinese design and delicious food.
Strongly recommend!
Don’t listen to the bad reviews. This restaurant is a amazing. Great food, service, and atmosphere. My husband and I are visiting from AZ, which has corporate food chains everywhere, and we were amazed at the professionalism and deliciousness of this restaurant. It’s a breath of fresh air for us!
Charmaine Underwood-Graham
+5
Absolutely loved everything about our visit. The decor and ambiance were fantastic. The staff fabulous. And of course, the meal and drinks were stellar. Simply spot on. Thanks to the GM who came to our table to introduce himself and chat with us. A wonderful experience.
Amazing space. Reminded me of Eataly in NYC but on a smaller scale. Great food and service. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting San Francisco Chinatown. Love the interior design and decor on the walls.
Fresh & unique combinations. Green beans w garlic& mushrooms are to die for. The black (spicy) egg was incredible w roasted red peppers. Dim sum is so light & flavorful. Great tea selection & wonderful chili sauce. Light & spacious - great ambience.
Amazing food nice big portions with great flavor, everything is made fresh, and gluten-free. I will be back. Loved it!!💕
Food is excellent, service is Gr8. Very friendly and clean place. I would highly recommend this place. We love it. And we definitely visit them quite often.
I give it 5 stars for the "experience". If you are looking for an inexpensive, very authentic Chinese restaurant with minimal or no wine selection then this is not the place for you. Is it Americanized? Yes, somewhat. But many dishes are still authentic. Just like many of us, Chinese American. We value authenticity but we also like to follow the trend. The bar, shop, merchandise, and total ambiance provide more than. A restaurant. It is an entertainment, in my opinion.
Everything was amazing. The food was all good. The only downside I can say is deciding what you want to eat! The fried rice and noodles could use more seasoning by default, but I can’t fault that as the soy sauce, ginger vinegar, and spicy sauce is there to season to taste and are all delicious. If you only order a couple of things get the pork dumplings and mango dessert. The dessert has shaved mango ice on top of a sesame ice cream, and little pops of fruit gel sprinkled on top with chocolate crunch.
It's a go to spot for anyone who enjoys Chinese food. It's upscale family style Chinese dining. The restaurant is well done and setup. Nothing is bad on the menu but I love their chicken dumplings in chilli broth, noodles and the Peking duck buns. They make the buns in front of you in a behind the glass . Kyle Ryan the manager of the restaurant is incredible and makes sure food and service are both on point.
Another great thing is they can seat large groups and they cater to all dietary restrictions making it a superb place for celebrations.
Fantastic experience at China Live! The server was incredibly helpful with their extensive recommendations. Although the exterior is unassuming, inside you're greeted with a lively, bustling atmosphere and chic decor. We adored every bite, especially the soup dumplings, and even had delicious leftovers for the next day. A must-visit spot in SF for an exceptional and joyful dining experience!
China Live lives up to the hype. Like others said in previous reviews it gets loud, especially if you’re seated by the open kitchen. But the food is banging, every entree and appetizer is a great experience. We ended up going with the shrimp, filet mignon, and a few apps. The beef on the steak melted in my mouth with each bite. Another standout was the garlic noodles, probably some of the best I’ve had in the city. It’s the perfect compliment for your main dish. Definitely check out China live, it’s well worth all the accolades.
Food is great! Love the drink~ open kitchen is amazing - can see how things are getting cooked and prepared.
One complaint me and my family had: it’s soooo loud… our heads hurt after dinner here…
The food was decent after I received the right entree. The service was good and attentive. However, it was a busy night and we were seated by an open door when the temperature was in the low 60s. I was a bit cold and wanting to leave soon after the smell of cigarette and marijuana smoke wafted in. Also, the open door cooled our food more quickly than we were eating it, and we didn’t want cold food.
We went here for dinner. I particularly really liked the century eggs! We also got the fried dim sum and kung pao chicken. All were nice although I would say a bit pricey. The atmosphere was good and service also good.
Come hungry!! We had a terrific experience, every dish was delicious, surprising us with different flavors. Recommend pecking duck salad, Hong Kong fried egg noodles, vegetarian fried rice, tamarind sweet and sour pork ribs, charred Chinese broccoli. It was a lot of food and worth it.
This was our best meal on our 6 day California vacation. The hand rolled shrimp rolls and sesame Duck buns were our favorite but every thing was absolutely incredible. Our server, Joshua, was absolutely amazing, helpful and so friendly. You will not regretting eating here. Please open up a location in Nashville!
This spot was awesome. We started out with the Famous Sheng Jian Bao and they were delicious. For our entrees we had the Shanghai Fat Chow Mein Pork, Shrimp, Chicken & Seasonal Vegetables and House Famous Kung Pao Firecracker Chicken. The food was amazing. Mike was our waiter and he was awesome. Went above and beyond. Highly recommend checking this spot out. They also have a cool robot that brings out the take out
Best place ever for atmosphere, really buzzing. Superb food too, great waiter and staff with excellent service.
Nice shop with great cards, crockery, cook books, vases and other bits and pieces too.
Loved this place very much.
China Live has definitely established itself as a well-known Asian restaurant in San Francisco. The food here definitely leans on the fusion side but you can still taste the more traditional roots in some of the dishes.
I came here as part of a large group dinner for work and was really impressed by how well the restaurant was able to accommodate our size and needs. The staff was attentive and made the experience great!
We ordered a little bit of everything, so you can’t go wrong with the options. The cocktail menu also nicely paired with the food. Id definitely come back but it is a little on the pricier side - though worth it if you haven’t been yet!
Awesome experience. Staff was super friendly. Kudos to our server Michael. He really made our first visit very enjoyable and he was very knowledgeable on the dishes. Dishes were on point! The Sheng Jian Bao and XLB are highly recommended. The Peking Duck 5!pickets and Sichuan Red Chili Prawns with spinach are very good and definite must try.
Atmosphere was very nice. Love the idea of having items spread across the restaurant so you can peruse and purchase while you wait.
Definitely recommend making a reservation beforehand.
See you soon ChinaLive 😊
Really good food and super fast service. The portion size is huge. Ambience is nice. Would recommend getting a reservation and trying dimsums
Came for dinner with a big group so got to try a bunch of stuff - which is always nice. Everything tasted delicious and the service was pretty quick too. Especially loved the pecking duck and Dutch crunch buns. Shaved ice, carrot cake and matcha lava cake were divine too!
Quite loud though and only realized on my third visit that service charge is pre-added.
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