Spicy King Reviews

Best Chinese food I ate in my life. I love the spicy noodles and I think it won't be a better noodles in my life.

Spicy King: wanting to have more Chinese Food but this time spicy we headed to Spicy King back in Chinatown for lunch. We were greeted and seated, given a menu and offered drinks right away. The menu was quit extensive with amazing hot/spicy dishes to choose from. We ordered the Chicken with Explosive Chili Peppers and a bowl of rice. The dish was very good, chunks of perfectly fired chicken seasoned with Szechuan peppercorns, green onions and dried red chile peppers. Definitely spicy and well enjoyed. Service and food very good.

I visited this restaurant twice for dinner and everything I ordered was excellent. The menu offered a number of traditional dishes that I rarely find offered anywhere else in the States.

We were sort of "escorted" by a lady on the street to this place and we don't usually do this but we went ahead and had lunch there. This is an authentic Chinese restaurant. They serve a lot of things western folks don't usually eat. I have to say that their food is delicious. We ordered things we recognized and the entire place was full. We had to share a large table with two other groups. We were the only non-Asians here. That says that they have good fresh food. We were very glad we came. The service is strained because the place is small, jammed, and a little understaffed for the lunch crowd. However, everyone was kind and very helpful. I would go there again and I hope with an Asian friend so I can try different dishes next time.

Having been lucky to travel in China I find many US restaurants a pale imitation. Not here the food was great the staff friendly and helpful and the menu extensive. Everyone really enjoyed the meal even those who are not Chinese food lovers. Highly recommended

I like Szechuan style Chinese food and decided upon this restaurant based on reviews. I chose the beech tree mushroom with pork dish and it turned out not to be right for me. The mushrooms were stringy and tough and the pork part was basically pork belly fat pieces. I realize this was perhaps a cultural thing where I chose the wrong dish for my tastes because I didn't like the mushrooms and the pork pieces were more fat than pork. I wanted to try something new but this dish just didn't work out for me. I saw several other dishes that people nearby were eating and wish I had chosen one of those. When all is said, the flavoring of the dish was quite good and I think this is quite an authentic Szechuan style restaurant. I would like to give it another visit and try something different because I think that this is a pretty good restaurant

We came across this restaurant quite by chance while walking in the street. Before returning we looked at the numerous Google reviews which were more than good 4.2/5 with more than 784 reviews. So we go there with our eyes closed. First of all, there were only 2 of us and we were placed on an old large 8 round table with a couple opposite.. Already the placement is not great but hey we said that it was okay if the meal was a delight. The order arrives. We ask for 2 dishes that are not very spicy. Our plates arrive and we start tasting, it was beyond spicy! So in addition, request not respected. One of the 2 plates did not have enough meat. The tea was like hot water. The rice was overcooked. Finally, we did not appreciate the payment. We had taken into account the tips price but the waitress checked the amount and forced us to change it!!! Never seen ! I wouldn't go back there.

Amazing food great service come here every time yummy Food and drinks are great Waitress are amazing 😊 Foo

Their spicy fish fillet was really good but their much advertised Chongqing Hot and Numbing Noodle was too plain without much taste. As a result, I’m giving them 3 out of 5

It's good to eat Chinese food with several people so you can choose lots of dishes and pass them around. Last night we had the best mapo tofu I have yet had in the Bay Area. Excellent chicken with explosive chili (not nearly as hot as you might think), clam soup, pea sprouts with garlic (don't pass this up; simple but elegant). Garlic shrimp was OK, and the same for the crispy pig feet. But overall, terrific. Next time we will try hot pot and see how it compares to Cheng Du hot pot. You will enjoy this food. They prove that it doesn't have to be over-the-top spicy to be good.

Very tasty and spicy food. With three entrees and two glasses of wine, it will be just above $50. And there is enough and more left over for the two of us to have them for dinner as well. Fast service and very generous portions.

Generous serves, good food. Service was ok. Located in China Town. Hot pot delicious. Good for a quick and tasty meal.

Might be my new favorite Chinese place in SF! I LOVED the decor inside — it felt like sitting in an outdoor courtyard somewhere in Imperial China, with tiled roofs peeking over tables, thatched lighting fixtures, and warm red pillars separating the dining areas. The vibe is perfect for both a catch up with friends and an intimate romantic night out. The food was, in a word, killer. Bright, fresh, and spicy, this was everything I hoped it would be. The deluxe chicken came out with its own flame burner to keep it warm, which added warmth to the intoxicatingly spicy heat already there! The sesame chicken was the perfect pairing for the spicy chicken, as the sweetness was a nice break in between bites of chili. Mapo tofu is my personal favorite Chinese dish, and this place did a good job — the firm tofu and bright, thick sauce made it the perfect pair for some white rice. I do wish there was less ground pepper and more sichuan pepper (I was surprised to not experience any of the signature mouth-numbing effect of mapo tofu from a place called “Spicy King”). The waiter came once to take our order and we never saw them again — it was a bit of a challenge to flag someone down when we wanted our bill, but otherwise everything flowed nicely. I’m not kidding when I say this is going to be the new place I take visitors for dinner in Chinatown — the decor makes it unique and fun (without being kitschy) while the flavors seal the deal (for those really looking to impress guests, I’d recommend a nightcap one block down at the mysterious Moongate Lounge!).

We ordered 8 items. The food overall was so bad we had to leave most of it on the table and did not ask for a doggie bag. I know Szechuan cuisine because my folks are from Szechuan. The noodles were over boiled, the chicken lacked the crispness that this dish must have, the green beans were lumpy just to name a few. We will not return.

Walking off the jet lag we stumbled across a small bar in Chinatown: Buddha, after a few beers with the locals we were referred to this gem, Spicy King! Amazing authentic and super warmingly spicy Chinese, I haven't been able to stop thinking about the place!

We stumbled upon this restaurant and loved it- very fresh, tasty, full of flavor. It is definitely authentic and not Americanized. I really liked it and am glad that we stopped here.

We picked here at random as it looked busy (always a good sign) and we liked the look of the menu, A huge custom motorbike was in the "waiting" area which was moved during our meal - it was loud. It also had knives on the front! I ordered a small soup and it was large - Dean had large and that was enough for several people. Not sure what we all ordered - even at the time I wasn't sure but it was all very tasty. Service was a bit slow although the ladies were rushing around a lot.

Found this hotel by luck when walking around SFO china town late (10pm) at a week night. - Service and decor was good. - Shish kebab and fried rice was tasty. - The soya sauce (!!!) that came along with dumplings had a bad smell. - The spicy chicken/beef noodle was not as spicy as we expected. but okay. Over-all: Nothing note-worthy to go back again.

We happen to be looking for other dining in SF and came across some great yelp reviews. We gave it a try and we were happy we did. As the other reviews said, nothing fancy although the atmosphere is definitely local Chinatown. Service was good, nothing over the top by any means but pleasant. Best part is the delicious food. We like spicy and you can get as hot as you want. Because we are not familiar enough to know many of the dishes on the menu we stuck to many of the basics. Hot and Sour soup, scallion pancakes, sautéed string beans (our favorite) and Kun Pao chicken. We also tried the extremely hot chicken with explosive chili pepper. If you want to try something authentic, this is the place. If you are looking for a high end dining experience, stay away. This really was one of the best Szechuan meals we have had in a while. BTW, affordable as well.

Great food with a twist. It's not your usual Kung Pao place but offers spicy Shenzen style food with exotic options (frogs, chin and similar). Not the cheapest place in Chinatown and can get crowded. Service slightly confused but as long as the food is their main focus then all good.

My family and I were convinced to try this restaurant by an employee passing out menus. Many of the other customers were speaking Cantonese which seemed to suggest the food would be authentic. Some of the staff was not the friendliest or helpful as other reviews stated. The food was pretty good. The spring rolls were piping hot, and, as the name implies, the food is very spicy, too spicy for me but I'm sure enjoyable for those that like a little more kick. We left with our noses running and stomachs full.

We came because of the reviews but indeed the food has nothing special. We had much better in other places. The duck soup had very little duck and the wooton soup was tasteless. What was shocking is that the wooton soup was priced $8 and I asked for extra egg noodles. When the bill came, the price increased from $8 to $13 a much higher price than any other soup that was having noodles and various meat. Seems like the waitress made her own price ripping off the customer. Average food and greedy waitress, we won't come again.

Based on Yelp, we stopped here for supper one evening. Very glad we did. The place is not overly large, unlike the menu which is. Service was good. If you like spicy food, do visit here. The dishes we ordered we very good. The cucumber salad was crisp and refreshing. The sauteed beef with black beans and chili sauce was tasty and spiced just right for me. The shredded pork with spicy garlic sauce was just a bit too high on the spicy side for my taste buds but i persevered because it was really that good.

I went with my family to Spicy King this past Saturday after reading glowing reviews (on another site). I found that there were more tourists eating here than locals (I guess we all read the same glowing reviews). Here was my experience: Con: 1) the service was very s-s-s-low! We made our order and waited....and waited. The ppl who came after us got their food before we did. Then to top it off, the server brought the dishes out in long internals. It felt like we waited 15 to 20 mins for each dish to come out. We ordered 4 dishes -- Flaming Spicy Kidney $15.95 Spicy Fish Filet w/ Flaming Chili Oil $18.95 Chicken w/ Explosive Chili Pepper $15.95 Tan tan Noodle $7.95 The first 2 dishes were pretty decent in terms of taste and quantity. The last two were the worst. Although the chicken was pretty decent taste wise, but there were only about 7 pieces of chicken with plenty of chili peppers. And this dish cost $15.95. You would think they would give you a little bit more chicken! I would understand if it was a seafood dish, but it was just deep fried chicken pieces. The Tan Tan Noodle should be called soupy noodle with a few baby Bok Choy. As far as I know, Tan Tan Noodle comes in a brown sauce, not soup!! And the food was quite salty. We got thirsty afterwards. Must be the heavy MSG. I guess if I ever feel the cravings to eat spicy Northern cuisine, I'll go back to Yi Yuan Restaurant in Milbrae. Don't like the feeling of being ripped off so I won't be going back. Didn't have a good dining experience.

Recommended by the hotel concierge we visited this schezuan Chinese restaurant in nearby Chinatown. First impression was the number of local people eating there. The menu is not large but everything is great tasting and plentiful. The service is good and coupled with good food made an excellent night out very enjoyable.

I've wanted to visit Spicy King for a few years, ever since being handed a flyer. We finally got here. The ambiance and decoration was exotic and promising but the execution was spotty. For example, the "numbing" beef tendon was cut rather thickly and lacked true ma la (especially compared to Z&Y's "numbing tender") or much flavor at all, as was a similar cold chicken dish. The cumin lamb was rather tough and lacked strong cumin flavor. However, their $25.95 chicken flaming pot that they brought us when we asked for a chicken version was truly outstanding -- great mala flavor, and a particularly amazing juxtaposition of pieces of sweet fresh corn with the amazing sauce. If only everything on the menu were this great!

Arrived here around 8pm on a Sunday night after a hankering for chinese. Restaurant was busy but 4 of us were seated quickly on a nice table. The menu has a wide variety of foods including various pigs feet.. we went for prawns and veg, some chicken chow mein, special rice, ribs and a chicken palm dish. All delicious with fresh veggies including carrots and pack choi that were nice and crunchy. Kids and us loved the food. All came to around $75 with drinks, nice red wine (and tax!) So great value for an evening meal. Would definetly come again.

This place was off the Main Street of "china town" and someone directed us to it. Glad we found it, we got family style meal, and everything was delicious. My husband won't stop raving about it. We will definitely visit again before end of our trip.

Service not so great, but I always make a point to come here as long as I'm nearby the San Francisco area. I love spicy and greasy food so this is the perfect place. I try to be smart about ordering to go when it's not so busy (earlier in the day or after lunch hour, before dinner time). My favorite dishes are the ones with eggplants and beech mushrooms. These dishes are actually not spicy.

We were visiting San Francisco and wanted some Chinese food so I used another application to find this little 'gem'. They were stated in reviews as specializing in spicy dishes! Absolutely! I had the rice noodle tofu bowl, really really good and had a nice KICK! My husband had the beef noodle stew, too spicy for me and I didn't like his noodles. We shared a prawn dish, a little stingy on the prawns but this isn't fast food so don't go there expecting fast! enjoy the area and the ambience! Food speaks for itself!! Very reasonable to boot

Not the Szechuan food you get in the middle of the country. Very good. Pretty busy, but not too long of a wait. We ate at the counter so we shared our dinner with three young adults from Chinatown and a business traveler from Sweden. Made the meal even better.

I am italian and, like 99% of italian people, I like good food. I also happen to have few chinese friends who introduced me to some very good chinese cuisines. One of them is Szechuan cuisine. It is very very spicy, and at the beginning I was almost crying for the spiciness of the food. But I loved it, and after a while I got used to the amount of pepper they use. The food you find here is awesome! If you want a dish which on the menu is labeled as spicy, you can ask them to make it mild and they will be happy to do it (they did it for my dad). The place is small and always full. We did not have to wait for long to be seated though. Everything we tried was very very good and all the other dishes I saw in the restaurant looked very good as well. Portions are big and prices are low!

Surprised to get a seat quickly. Friendly staff. Clean and nicely decorated facility. I only had one dish, but I liked it. It could gave been hotter, but it wasn't bad. The price was excellent. $10 for a bowl of noodles I couldn't finish was perfect. Though, there could have been a bit more beef. Go and enjoy!

Very decent Szechuan style gurment, the Chongqing hot spicy noodle, mouth watering chicken and several side dishes tasted really good.

Great food for spicy food fans. Wide variety, hot pots especially good. Money well spent. You might have wait for a while but it's well worth it

Authentic, clean and great value! We had a range of dishes that were true to form. Chicken with explosive pepper, Dan Dan, pork neck cumin and garlic cucumber. Everything tasted just like being back in Schezuan!

Quite yummy spicy food. This is Sichuan food, so expect to have spicy, interesting dishes. Picking the ones that say "numbing" ensure that you are getting hua jiao, the Sichuan peppercorn that really defines this cuisine. This food is typically called mala in Chinese, ma for the numbing quality which comes from the Sichuan peppercorns and la for the heat. It's small, so you might need to wait. No problem on a Sunday evening. Interesting.... I actually booked this online at Yelp. Yelp contacted me by text about an hour before the scheduled arrival time for me to confirm, which I did. I ended up calling the restaurant to say I'd be 15 minutes late and they said they knew nothing about online reservations. Hmmm. It was no problem to get seated after just a few minutes, but this situation needs to be looked into. The menu has pictures, so just pick things that sound or look interesting and I think you will be pleased. You can even have hot pot here though, not having tried it, I cannot compare to the real thing. For two people: two large dishes, one appetizer, two bowls of rice, two beers, $48 before tip.

My daughters are Chinese and love spicy food - the hotter the better. They loved this place. I had lemon chicken. It was very good.

For the EastCoaster, I knew that San Francisco had excellent Chinese cuisine, and I needed to try some. Unfortunately, I did not have a ton of time on this business trip. Fortunately, I did have time to stop by, almost by accident, into this authentic location that reminded me of my China trip. The hot pot was spicy, and delicious. I would love to go back and try some more plates.

Was in SF with the wife for the weekend. Walking around Chinatown it was hard to decide on a place for lunch. Picked Spicy King after seeing some decent reviews online. We got 2 entrees. The Spicy Shredded Pork and the Chicken with spicy pepper explosion. The pork dish was very, very good, while the chicken was fairly bland. The service was excellent but comparative to other places in the area it did seem a little on the pricey side. $60 for 2 dishes and 2 beers seemed a bit much for lunch. Would prob go again because we really enjoyed the pork dish so we assume must be some decent other dishes as well.

Very centrally located excellent Chinese restaurant - great decor and ambiance. A lot of local diners, and a combination of more authentic and Westernized dishes. Several pricing options make this a good value as well. Service was prompt and professional. The one caveat - some dishes were very spicy, as befits the name of the restaurant.

A little off the main street, this place is frequented by locals. We were guided by our server, who advised that one dish we were considering was "probably not for you". We appreciate that! (We were obviously tourists, and not Chinese.) The very spicy dishes could be made in a milder version. This is a fun and comfortable restaurant in a place that can sometimes intimidate visitors.

Very good food. Non-spicy as well as spicy menu selections. Came for lunch while in Chinatown based on trip advisor reviews. Was not disappointed.

We tried the place and were happy with the food and service. Just pay attention to dish prices. Some are a bit high especially when creating a hot pot. Beef noodle soup was great. Place looks really cool inside. Can get packed with local Asian customers on Friday night which is always a good sign for a Chinese restaurant. Some dishes are very cheap and taste great.

We waited quite awhile for a table in this tiny place. We were actually recruited to come in to the Spicy King on the street by a lady who barely spoke English. Normally I am a skeptic, but after a quick peak at the Yelp review, we followed the lady up the street to Spicy King, which I am pretty sure has a different name, or multiple names outside the place. The restaurant was filled with primarily Chinese families, several of which ordered the whole catfish. It looked awesome, but we were not brave enough to try it. Once seated, we ordered pot stickers, the shrimp hot pot, kung pao chicken, and Mongolian beef. Stuff was spicy so we preemptively ordered the cucumber salad to cool off. All of it was great. I highly recommend the pot stickers, tender and delicious. The shrimp hot pot contained huge prawns, chilies, corn, veggies and bean curd. AWESOME and spicy in both flavor and heat. The kung pao was good, veggies nice a crisp, but could have been more spicy. Loved the Mongolian beef, the flavor was authentic, yet not over done or rubbery. The service is mediocre by American standards perhaps. However, those familiar with eating abroad will know to go with the flow and watch others in the place. If you want something, ASK. Don't expect the staff to just offer more drinks, check etc. We had a great evening and will absolutely come back.

We went for spicy hot pot, and were not disappointed. Good variety of food to put in it, all very tasty. The service was pretty good, and we were a fairly large group split on two tables. The spiciness was intense, but just right. I doesn't look like much on the outside, but it's very nicely decorated and arranged on the inside. We really enjoyed it.

I found this place to be really good after stumbling on it using Google Maps. I had been craving for some authentic Dan Dan Noodles for three days and finally gave in and decided to go. Since San Francisco has the largest Chinatown in the world, I figured I'd find something good. Spicy King is nowhere near a "dining experience" so you shouldn't expect an ambiance that entertains, especially if you're traveling or as a tourist. However, in lieu of ambiance, you are getting very good food that is authentic and at very reasonable pricing. My Dan Dan noodles arrived quickly and they were hot. While I wish they had a little more ground pork on them, the noodles were fantastic. I saw people in there eating some very interesting dishes and was tempted to get at least two of them, but my craving was for Dan Dan Noodles and I stuck with that. I would return to this place, without hesitation. By the way, this is one of the few places I went to in the heart of the city that did not appear to have a massive homeless problem. I found myself hanging out in the street after I ate just to soak a little bit of that calmness in. Wile I wasn't asked for proof of vaccination, I did see that the restaurant carded everyone else that came after me.

After a tip from a local, we ended up in this nice restaurant. We had a great, spicy (but not too spicy) dinner: enjoyed the Mandarin dinner with spring rolls, soup, rice, cashew chicken, Mongolian beef, sweet and sour pork, and prawns. Will certainly return here.

On our trip to SF, we came across Spicy King Uncle Café in Chinatown on the first day and decided to try it out for lunch. Little did we know we decided to go back here again before we got on our flight back home. They have a good selection of mouth-watering noodles – we picked 4 and all of them were spicy, the kind of spiciness that does not kill all other tastes but gives you the numbing sensation in your throat if you know what I mean. All noodles came with lots of meat, some with nuts and spinach. Also ordered the wrapped beef patty which was crispy and very tasty. Many other tables had the spicy Szechuan hot pot and, apparently, that’s their specialty. Reasonably priced. Highly recommended.

Firstly we had to table share. Secondly the service is without any question, the worst we have ever had anywhere in the world. Words cannot describe how hopeless every single person is in the establishment. No matter what you ask for (and they can speak English), you will be ignored (15 -20times in total). The only way to try to get anything is to stand in the middle of the restaurant and ask every person who passes you at least 3 times. Despite doing that, we were still totally ignored. Drinks will never arrive, food ordered doesnt arrive. The food is an acquired taste but is mostly dreadful unless you are native chinese. I had a szechaun chicken starter which was a pile of chicken bones in chilli oil - disgusting. Supposed Dan Dan noodles (with pics to show the fried ground beef) arrive just a bowl of noodles. The house special spicy hot pot was at least edible as long as you like your food swimming in a litre of oil. For heavens sake, go elsewhere.

This was our first night in San Francisco and after having a late lunch \ early dinner at the Benjarong Thai Cuisine restaurant on Lombard Street, seeing the the sites in the area, we walked from the Embarcadero to Chinatown. While walking in Chinatown, an Asian lady standing on a corner talked us into going to Spicy King (Szechuan food) since we were getting hungry. She walked us to the restaurant and we had to wait for a table. We waited over 15 minutes for table as the small restaurant was maybe 80% full. From what I saw, while waiting to be seated, it seems that this restaurant has a loyal following of locals; but I could be wrong. Our party of 5 ordered the following: • Spicy flaming chicken (with kelp and red chillies) - $18.95 • Sweet and sour pork - $9.95 • Spicy green beans - $9.95 • Hot and sour soup - $10.95 • Beef chow mein - $7.95 • Chongqing hot numbing spicy noodles - $7.95 • Small bowl of rice - $1.25 I would have preferred to have the hot and sour soup first and not as the second last dish with the beef chow mein. Even though this is a Szechuan restaurant, we ordered 2 Cantonese dishes – the sweet & sour pork and the beef chow mein; taste-wise average at best. All the dishes were okay but nothing really outstanding. The spicy part lived up to the restaurant’s name. I like spicy food but even I found the spiciness a bit “numbing”. My spouse complained that the food was so spicy that you couldn’t taste anything else. The other 3 in our party seemed to enjoy the spiciness of the food. The smaller portion sizes were reflected in the price of the dishes. The servers were friendly but the service wasn’t very good. It looked like the restaurant was short staffed. Eventually, the lady that guided us to the restaurant was helping to clear tables in order to get us seated. We asked for water 3 times and got it on the 3rd time but we didn’t get any water glasses! I would rate the service as poor - 2 out of 5 rating. I would give it an overall rating of 3 out of 5 for the food - average. Notes and Tips: • The restaurant has seating for approximately 40+ persons. There is counter seating for 6 people. • Literally a big menu. • All the spicy dishes on the menu are shown with a small diagram of a pepper. • We didn’t have enough serving spoons. • The table we sat at had a built-in cooktop for your own cooking. We did not cook our own food. • According to the take out menu there are 3 restaurants – Spicy Queen on Geary in San Francisco, Spicy Empire in San Mateo, and Newark Café in Newark. • There are a lot of eating options available on Lombard Street.. We had breakfast at 3 of these locations – Mel’s Diner, Home Plate and Bay Watch. See reviews to follow.

The concierge at the Omni Hotel recommended this little gem to us. We were there in the later evening hours. The restaurant was pretty full -- we appeared to be the only non-Chinese in the place -- a good sign. We were seated right away when we agreed to share a table. Service was friendly and quick. Even offered us forks, which we declined. I admit we played it safe when ordering a szechwan dinner. The food was deliciously spicy. Must have the dried beans dish. So very fresh and crisp.Good value. Large helpings.

What an amazing find. Two couples both celebrating 25th wedding anniversary decided to head into China Town and came across this little gem. Absolutely wonderful food, reasonably priced and service was great. The only 'downside' - the portions are huge! We ended up ordering way too much. The dishes were beautifully arranged, the food tasted exceptional and we loved every minute (but be warned ; if it says 'spicy' on the menu - it really is hot!

Was looking for a rather traditional Chinese lunch without getting too grungy or too expensive - got both here smack in the middle of Chinatown, not far up the street from The Chinatown Gate. Had a beef soup that was make spicy and it really was! Tasted like a spice I remember from Shanghai and not from other Chinese places I had ever gone too. The 'meat' was also like in Shanghai - all kinds of materials with a few slices of muscle fibers attached. Exactly what I wanted, mostly Chinese customers.

Went to this restaurant on our first night in San Francisco. The service was fast and the food plentiful. Particularly liked the aubergine/eggplant soup noodle and the tofu with mince. Good start to the holiday.

I always had the thought that American Chinese food are tuned for the Americans as I've experience it in the 90's during my school days. This restaurant has proven me wrong. To my surprise, the food taste so authentically delicious! From spicy dishes of Chong Qing to non spicy of Guangdon, the cook(s) must be experienced enough to produce various dishes. This is one Chinese restaurant I strongly recommend!

Ordered 5 dishes. The lamb skewers were tough and very chewy. The same goes for the pork ribs. The spicy beef we ordered was didn’t taste very good but it wasn’t chewy so that was ok. The fish in oil and chili was probably the only ok dish. Service was crap and the waitresses were quite rude. The service the waitresses provided are what you would expect in China but when you are working for tips you should at least try harder. Forgetting orders, answering in annoying tones and ignoring us when we gesture you many times definitely deserves no tips. Then you chase after us for tip that’s just downright low. Provide the service if you want to be paid.

We stumbled upon this restaurant while in China Town as we were looking for a good authentic Chinese restaurant. It didn’t let us down. The braised Peking duck and house cold noodles were amazing! We will definitely be back!

We only ordered Sichuan dishes so I cannot comment on other items, but if you dont like spicy food, be aware that this place has a fair amount of mild dishes on their menu. I particularly liked the tantan noodles which were cooked with a very subtle balance of sichuan peppers, chillis, and sesame paste. This is one of my favorite dishes (i live in China) and about 99% of the time you get itn it is either too spicy, or not enough, so this was a very pleasant surprise. Other dishes looked good too. Prices are maybe a touch higher than nearby restaurants, but i was happy with my dinner so I would say it was worth it.

Walking down the street in Chinatown we were hungry and looking for a place to eat dinner. At a Street corner a lady came up to us and gave us a menu and said, "you go spicy King". We thought, "why not? " We walked in the direction she pointed. When we were across the street from the restaurant we heard the lady say, "there". She had followed us up the hill and even stood in the crosswalk like a crossing guard to assure safe crossing. She walked us to the door and motioned a hostess. I'm not sure if she is paid a commission, but I appreciated the effort although I might not have been very happy if we were not looking to eat. We ordered the general tsos chicken, chicken fried rice, bowl of white rice and spring rolls. The general tsos chicken was a bit hot for my young children, but they enjoyed the rice. I found the meal very good. Total price for everything was about $27. Although the lunch version comes with rice for $6.95. This is the dish I always get and I found the flavor very good. All the other customers looked like locals which made me feel like the place is enjoyed locally and not just a tourist trap.

Extensive menu and the dishes we chose were all very well prepared and tasty. Service was good. Prices were reasonable for San Francisco but I object to a hefty tip being suggested when an 18% service charge has already been added to the bill.

Spicy King is very indigenous restaurant in the heart of Chinatown in San Francisco. It was a little too indigenous for our tastes. However, the place was almost filled to capacity with what appeared to be many locals. Next time we want Chinese food, we are going to just go to our local, neighborhood restaurant.

At first, I really loved the various types of food available on the menu. However, I didn't appreciate being rediculed by the waitress and the Lao Ban Niang at the end of our meal...

This is a small restaurant in Chinatown. At first I was put off by the stacks of dirty dishes from the previous night but still had an open mind. I think I should have chosen a hot pot since I saw several others getting theirs and it looked great. Our dishes were not spicy, sorry I can't remember what they were but maybe the hot pot is the answer.

We had a group of five and Spicy King is an excellent Szechuan style restaurant. The food is spicy but not over the top hot. The lamb dishes are wonderful. Excellent eggplant dish and everything else was very good. Five people, tons of food, and very inexpensive for any city... especially San Fran.

We stopped in for dinner and did not leave disappointed. We ordered a variety of dishes prepared at variety of spice levels. We each thoroughly enjoyed our meals and the service was good. We were able to spread out at a large family style table off to the side of the main dining room. If you stop in, you will not regret it!

Yeah went to dine here with excitement, ordered quite a bit of food, food took a while to arrive, that's ok by me. i saw all tables were offered tea but not mine. Food was not even just ok in taste, ordered spicy pork n more 23$ something bill . Sooo sad it was a dissapointing experiece.

San Francisco's China Town has a lot of good restaurants, I make it a point to eat a lot of my meals there when I'm there on business. Spicy King caught my eye on this trip and I got the House Special Lamb Ribs. They were sooo good, not just a top Asian meal in my book, a top meal in any cuisine. As advertised (Spicy King) they were spicy - but not overly spicy (jalapeno not habanero or ghost pepper). I picked out a little bit of the jalapeno but ate all the ribs, vegetables and rice (tip: dump the diced veggies into your rice bowl - easier to manage with your chop sticks and so yummy.) The ribs were a bit greasy - but nothing unexpected for lamb. I will definitely be returning to Spicy King if I'm back in San Fran. I saw a lot of people dining family style at some of the tables (I sat at the counter) and a lot of dishes that I'd have liked to try.

My husband and I were trekking through Chinatown when we decided we needed a little snack. As we crossed the street a lady with menu's in her hand asked if we were hungry, "Yes", we said and she said come with me, best food in Chinatown, number 1. Only a half a block away we went in and were seated right away. We ordered cucumber salad, pot stickers and spring rolls. The salad was delicious covered in garlic, we loved it. The pot stickers were fried but not super crispy, just the way we like them and the spring rolls were done to perfection. Don't doubt the naysayers, this place is a hidden gem. The service may not be exactly what you expect somewhere else, remember this is Chinatown and this restaurant seems to be a local hangout. Stop by and have a great meal.

Given that this restaurant is right on the tourist trail we were surprised to find it not so busy and relatively cheap for a good, wholesome meal. We opted for a set menu but the dishes, from noodles to broths looked just as good! Service was a bit perfunctory but the food was excellent!

Despite the service or lack of service, I'm still a fan. I was here with my dining partner 2015. Coming back for another visit and was craving spice, we landed here again. We came for lunch, upon arrival it was crowded. all front tables we taken. We were shown to the back tables that were private. Just then I had the feeling we were going to be the forgotten children,,, and I was RIGHT! After we were seated it took a bit to get our menus which then they took our drink order right away. Our beers we ordered came, and at that point I made the server stay to take our food order which was the Pork Belly in Spicy Garlic Sauce appetizer and the Spicy Garlic Flavored Prawns. The dishes seem to take forever as 2 tables next to use with a party of 6 that sat after us were getting their dishes. Finally we got our 2 dishes and I have to say they were excellent. Perfect heat, the right amount of garlic and the quantity of each dish was good. Our server never came to check on us, ask us how our food was or even to see if we wanted another beer. Then the wait for the server to come back with the check which I then had to get up and ask for it not to mention I had to go back to the cash register wait for someone to process the check. Atmosphere: typical Chinatown Chinese restaurant. Service: very OK to poor. Food: Very Very Good. I will try other places though next visit.

I ordered noodles with Peas and meat sauce and it is very similar to what i have had in China. The price ($9.95) is quite reasonable for san Francisco. Very filling. overall prices range from 5.95 up to 35.00. Not a big place but had enough room. many dishes to choose from and located off one of the side streets in the Chinatown area. Fast service. worth a stop if you like spicy and want authentic sichuan food.

We loved our visit to Spicy King during our trip to San Francisco. The staff was very friendly, service quick and food delicious. Highly recommend.

Going to Chinatown the first time there are so many restaurants to pick from so I basically picked by name and using reviews. This was a decent pick, not crowded at all, the staff a bit less than enthusiastic about being there but it turned out fairly well. I had the pork belly appetizer to start with and received a massive portion of thinly sliced deliciousness soaking in a great garlic sauce. Moved onto white rice and a spicy chicken dish, again a nice large portion, plenty of chicken and about twice as much dried hot peppers. The chicken was tasty, the dried peppers a bit much, making the entire dish rather dry. All said it’s a decent place and a spot I’d return to again. My only issue was upon returning with my check the server literally hovered over me waiting to see the tip I put down. That to me is beyond the word wrong, drop off my check and let me have some space......

My wife and I were wandering around Chinatown before a concert and were walking down Waverley (not too hard since it's two blocks) and this place had a great menu and was crowded, a good sign. We had three fantastic things...1) a Flaming Pot (house specialty) of duck chin (yes, duck chin, which is the lower half of the duck head), spicy eggplant and barbecued squid. The Flaming Pot Duck Chin was awesome, but maybe not for everyone (kind of unusual). But the meat, once you picked it out of the beak was tasty and spicy. The eggplant was cooked to perfection, not too spicy, just right. The squid was very nice and tender. Highly recommended!

After reading the reviews on this place and how high it was rated compared to other restaurants in Chinatown in San Francisco, the family trusted me to try it. Good thing I was buying. 5 of us for lunch drinking water, appetizers, lunch plates, and $112 later with a 15% tip that was not deserved and we were out of there. NOTE: When I get bad service I tip 15%. When I get outstanding service I tip up to 30%. I am not one to give no tip because I was a waiter in college and know what it is like to live off of tips. Horribly slow service. We almost walked out because of not being able to order in a timely manner. Food was average. I expected incredible Chinese food in Chinatown. I will not be back.

We went to this restaurant with a large group. Our hotel recommended it. We were seated in a back section for groups. It took a little while for them to take our orders but after that the service was fine. The food was very good. We ordered our dishes on the lower end of the spicy spectrum. They were still plenty hot , so be aware if you decide to go full on spicy. Our group ordered a pretty wide variety of dishes including a vegetarian dish. All were good. I would definitely go again.

If you like traditional spicy chinese kitchen this is certainly the right place to go! Had a spicy noodle soup which tasted really good.

This was a big leap of faith for me! The first hint it might be a good choice: a long waiting line. The second: most customers were speaking Chinese, definitely not tourists. The menu was extensive but confusing. We settled on a Hot Pot dish and named our own ingredients then added different sauces. The pot was divided in two. One side had a spicy broth , the other a mild broth. There were different ingredients, custom ordered , and we could choose the sauce we preferred to put on our individual plates. It satisfied those among us who had a spicy palate and those of us without. A new and distinctive culinary adventure! I could avoid the fungus as well as the hot taste. Everyone left happy.

We were wandering through Chinatown looking for a good place to eat, not seeing anything that grabbed our eye when a tiny Asian woman asked if we were hungry, handed us a menu and pulled us all the way to Spicy King. Always up for a culinary adventure off we went. What a great and pleasant lunch. The Won Ton soup might be the best we have had. The Kung Pow Chicken was not too spicy (I could have taken it hotter) and the Sweet and Sour Pork was delicious. The portions were big, the only thing we polished off was the Won Ton soup. But take-away boxes ensured we got to enjoy the left-overs later that evening. I will go back -- even if just for the Won Ton -- but lots of other 'interesting' dishes on the menu for the adventurous taste.

We had a terrific experience last night. The food was delicious, and they helped us find both spicy and less spicy options. Maybe the best Gen Tso chicken I've ever had. Only minor issue was the arrival of our aps along with main dishes.

I really don't know why there was only one other couple dining at Spicy King the night we tried it, at prime dinner time. We each ordered our own dish plus one to split and it was all terrific. Plenty of great ma la flavor. If you like Sichuan food, definitely give Spicy King a try.

A group of us came here. We went for the hot pots that one cooks in the middle of the table. We got different ingredients that one can cook in one of two side-by-side pots. We had one for spicy and one for less spicy. The food and service were good. The fact that most of the clientele was Chinese was a good sign.

Touring Chinatown in this cold holiday weather leaves one cold and hungry. Cantonese cuisine? Too subtle. That leaves Sichuan or Hunan. Stumbled across this gem while descending Clay St. and were immediately seated to an almost packed Chinese village themed restaurant. For dinner: 1. Hot & sour soup - average 2. Silky tofu/fish fillet - very good. Medium spicy. 3. Stir fry lotus root - very good. 4. Cabbage stir fry with chilli - very good 5. Pea sprouts stir fry with garlic. - very good but a tad salty. 6. Steam white rice. We opted for more vegetable dishes as the other fish and meat dishes tend to be overly fiery for our sensitive tummies. Feeling guilty after days of not feasting on veggies. Btw, toilets conditions are questionable around here. Overall a very enjoyable dinner. Dishes are well prepared and of excellent quality Prices are very reasonable for San Francisco. Very attentive service Credit cards accepted.

Very large portions but generally nice meal. One of the busier restaurants we saw walking around Chinatown so we decided to try it out

Excellent, spicy food. Lots of locals. We had the ground pork with marinated green, beans, cucumber salad and kung pao chicken. The Best I ever had! Service was professional and quick. I highly recommend this place if you like spicy food.

Busy restaurant, good staff, good food. We ordered a set meal, it all came at once and would have fed 4 people . You can of course take away what you cannot eat

Great Chinese food! Well Priced. But Service very slow. I saw 4 empty table as we walk in. We have waited 30 minute Until a server come. Like the server forgot us. But overall the food was great!

Popped in for lunch thanks to the reviews here as I love spicy Chinese food. Had a very nice chicken dish, rice and a beer for $20.

Whether you call it "Szechuan" or "Sichuan", Spicy King  is the place to go in Chinatown to satisfy your spicy craving. A favorite for locals who know, this place has excellent, authentic food, served by friendly staff.  The dining room is nicely-decorated, with a warm ambiance and is clean and comfortable.

This modest restaurant on the edge of China Town delivers well and truly. We highly enjoyed the food. We like spicy food and we asked for extra spicy and we were not disappointed. Highly recommend the pork ribs, the spicy dumplings and the chicken I think in green peppers. The service was great and price good even when using Australian dollars. Food is certainly a cut above any Chinese we have had lately highly recommended.

Had an excellent meal for 4. 2 x Szechuan set meal was a little hot for me but the 2 x Mandarin was perfect. Plenty to eat but not over the top quantities. Best green bean dish ever - how can they be cooked, tasty but still firm?