Happy Chef Cafe American Grill

If you’ve ever been to Little Henry’s or Americana Grill, then you know exactly what kind of food you are getting… much like some other people have said. In fact, I go to all 3… actually I prefer Little Henry’s a bit more over Americana Grill… but Happy Chef is sort of in a different area.
They got solid American/​Italian and some Asian dishes here. Good comfort food. I haven’t been disappointed in any of the times Ive eaten here. Theyre pretty flexible if I want to add on side dishes or alter some items as a reasonable request either.
I actually dont find their bathroom to be so bad… sure its small and not 5 star hotel clean, but I dont find anything particularly disgusting about it.
Service here has always been with a smile and the owners are good people.
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UPDATE: Just tried going here yesterday. IT HAS CLOSED DOWN. darn. It became the To Hyang Korean restaurant.

I’ve passed this place by a million times but never walked in until I was waiting to get my phone fixed at the Sprint store down the street. I got the spicy vegetarian coconut rice noodle soup, and I think I died and went to noodle soup heaven. Yes, Happy Chef, the restaurant with the cheesesteak sign, has noodle soup that kicks butt. Another time I got locked out of my apt and spent a nice afternoon here drowned in another noodle soup, watching tv and getting my teacup constantly refilled by the friendly owner.
I like this place.

Well this place is exactly like Americana minus the Vietnamese food. It has Italian-​American food but the Chinese version. So the food is pretty good, but not quite as good as Americana.
So, I would say its like Americana’s little brother.
Good place to get stuff to-​go when you’re busy.

Food = a botched up version of Chinese/​Italian/​American.
They have selection on the menu, but unfortunately they can’t always deliver it for your tastebuds. The food is sometimes hit or miss. I have tried their ox-tail…it was like cooked in a ketchup-​based sauce! Ick. I have tried their burgers – nice and juicy and good flavors. I have tried their steaks and pasta dishes, which is hard to screw up, so it was fine. Their sandwiches are disturbing unreal – weird meat, big buns/​bread, etc, and lacking good flavor.
Service = friendly. And that’s about it. They take your order, leave you be, and then bring your check.
Décor = diner-​esque. Boring. It’s a small place too.
Parking isn’t exactly easy in hthis area.
Prices = cheap. But the food is sometimes hit or miss.

Their sign specifically says «Philly Cheesesteak», in big ol’ bold-​faced type. That would make someone automatically think, «Hey, this place must be good at making cheesesteaks if they’re just going to advertising right there on the sign outside…».
WRONG.
I learned something new from Happy Chef today… If I walk 4 blocks and visit Smart & Final, I too can make a cheesesteak like theirs! Just about everything in the sandwich was sub-​par, the and it even came out with half-​melted cheddar singles as the cheese.
You don’t even use cheddar cheese on a cheesesteak!
The menu said the BBQ sauce is «rich & smoky».
I guess my taste buds were born yesterday.
The only redeeming quality of this place is the service – the owner is super nice & even asked if I liked everything. I didn’t have the heart to say his cheesesteak sucked, so I just smiled & said «all done!».

I love the food here! Yeah, it’s not comparable to real 5-​star restaurant, but, if you want some comfort food in a restaurant where you can just sit back and enjoy it, Happy Chef is the place to go.
I’ve been to Americana for YEARS! And when Sam opened up Happy Chef, my husband and I had to try it. We prefer Happy Chef because the food is consistently good. I haven’t had anything bad yet and we’ve tried most items on the menu. The portions may be a bit smaller than Americana’s but the quality is better. The restaurant is also more quiet and you don’t feel rushed to finish your meal.
But the best thing about this restaurant is the owner, Sam. He always greets you with a smile and personally asks how the food is. So, if you’re not happy with it, let him know and he’ll improve it somehow. We definitely would and do go back to this restaurant!

Thought this place would be similar to Americana and some other similar type restaurants that offer Italian/​Vietnamese. When it first opened, I wanted to try it cause it would be an alternative to Americana if I was ever in this part of the neighborhood. But seems like they are always empty so had my doubts about going in.
After we did go in, I still had my doubts because we were the only ones in there other than the waitress that helped us. Well, there were a couple of kids around. Probably the owner’s kids. So we ordered and I guess a lot of times you just have to order certain things on a specific restaurants menu to get it right. But I was in the mood for noodle soup (When am I not), so I ordered the Phở. Regret. It was one of the worse I’ve had.
After eating there, I just rememberd saying, «Well, at least we finally tried it»
But will never be back. Too many other good options around.

My wife and I go here at least once a month.
This place is where a dollar goes far. If you stick to the basic fare such as breakfast, sandwiches, Vietnamese, Italian you will get extraordinary bang for your buck. The portions are enormous.
This is not fine dining, but there are some gems in the entrees such as the half of roasted chicken. Biggest drawbacks are salads and vegetables. Most people will not like they way they are prepared here. At its core, this place is a diner run by a friendly family. Items such as steaks and benedicts should be avoided because namely «who would order such a thing from a small Vietnamese/​Italian/​American Diner??»

This place is wonderful. Going into a place where everything is 9.95, you should already know what to expect. This place meets all of those expectations. HUGE PORTIONS.
Best bang for the buck so far. I am going here for my birthday.

been here just once, decent low priced food. I hear they have Phở’ too. friendly service. clean tables. Real close to Kragen auto parts.

2.5 STARS
I’ve read some of the reviews so far, but I can’t seem to agree with them. I do agree that the price is good and the portions are huge, but I ordered a cheesesteak I believe it was a while back. It was probably the one the WORST sandwich ever. The stars are for prices and large filling portions. It might have been what I ordered, but it wasn’t pleasant. Maybe one last shot?

Actually 2 ½
Just came back from this restaurant and just want to say that the chef must be happy because he’s laughing all the way to the bank! Although the price is quite decent but man!!! I ordered the $ 10 steak. I’m not sure what kinda steak was but it was 10 bucks aight. I know what yalls gonna say! What do you expect from a $ 10 steak right? I’m not even gonna call it steak. I’m gonna call it meat aight. Let me just say that I drowned the meat in A1. I ordered this meat med. rare and I usually order steak med. I tryied to be on the safe side. Nope I should have said pumping wit blood! may be it would come out medium!
I didn’t want to complain that much because my friend new the owner and he was actually really nice hmmmmm… he was a «happy chef»! But I think he should concentrate on happy customers instead. He actually heard my complaint and said sorry but atleast offer me a free dessert or something. But he tried to be cool.
I know it was 10 bucks but come on mang!!! Didnt have to do me like that. My friend said that he used to own Americana Grill on Balboa st and I think the food there is a little better but service here kicks there arse.
None the less, I am going to give this place another try becuase there sandmiches does look good and the owner was quite nice. I will definitly update this review once i go there again. DON’T LET ME DOWN THE NEXT TIME CHEF!!!
ohhh yeah! ThIs place is hella small. FYI.

We went here for a late lunch recently and although I just had an iced tea, this place keeps coming back to mind. The reason? Hugest. Menu. Ever. Seriously, in addition to the menus brought to us, additional menus seemed to be the main decoration. From where I sat, I could see literally probably a dozen pages posted on the wall, on the dividing screen next to me, and probably even on the ceiling.
My husband had a breakfast of eggs, bacon and sausage, which he reported to be not so great, but not too bad either – kind of greasy. Although this should be taken with a grain of salt, because he’s not into American-​style breakfasts at all, and prefers the «Irish brekky.»
The waiter we had seemed like maybe he was the owner, and he was super-​attentive, maybe because we were one of only two tables in the restaurant and because it was about 4:00 on a Sunday, which is admittedly an odd time to go to a restaurant. He refilled my iced tea probably four times, which was nice.
However, there was a TV up on a shelf which was blasting cartoons super loud, and that was pretty distracting and annoying.
Go here for a cheap, fast lunch if you’re looking for the largest selection of menu items ever. But, I couldn’t help wondering how on earth they kept such an inventory fresh, since they had pretty much every food known to man on the menu and probably not that big a turnover.

What I look for in restaurants are great food at a great price. Everything else is secondary. This place had excellent food, large portions (enough for a second meal!) and low prices! The pasta dishes are overflowing and the menu is extensive. Daily specials are a good choice. More of a lunch place than a dinner place.
Mmmmm, tummy fulll.

As a previous person said, it is kind of homey… if your home has both the Disney Channel and the radio on in the background.
The service was fast, but strange. Have you ever been to a restaurant where 2 people at your table got their soup/​salad before the rest of your party even placed their order???
It look like the owner’s mom and 10 year old daughter were working, which was kind of quaint. The daughter would ask you do you want some water then go back to watching Zack and Cody.
I had the Beef Tongue with Spaghetti, very tender and tasty… no it’s not like French kissing a cow. Noodles were al dente, not mushy as some Asian-​cooked spaghetti I’ve had. The soup du jour was corn chowder. It had a little too much white pepper and wasn’t creamy as I like. This place is like Little Henry’s but with more variety and maybe the food is a little better, since some say LH has slipped a notch. Some in my party thought her Phở’ was a little bland. Still you gotta appreciate the variety (American, Italian, with a smatter of Vietnamese and Hawaiian thrown in.) and great prices. Oh yes they do have appetizers like Breaded Calamari, but it is not on the main menu. You need to ask for it.

Everyone says that San Francisco has great restaurants. Yes, but as a cab driver I am looking for good fast food at reasonable prices. A place where I can relax for a few minutes, read the newspaper and enjoy a meal without going broke. With Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches starting at $ 4.50 and a roast chicken sandwich with french fries for only $ 3.95 Happy Chef on Geary Blvd. (near 3^rd Avenue) falls right into that catergory. Good food, fast service and great prices!!! And the selection is amazing — everything from grilled salmon steak ($ 10.95), roast chicken with pasta ($ 8.95) to New York steak ($ 14.95). So check it out and tell Sam, «Phil the cab driver sent you.»

Fantastic food and decent prices ($ 6 — $ 9 depending on your entrée. The last time there, I ordered the Spinach Chicken and I thought… «didn’t I order this from somewhere before». Sure enough, my fiancé with her super human memory reminded me that Americana and Little Henry on Balboa towards Outer Richmond has the same flavor and sure enough, we recognize the owner when he came out with our food.
Picture this: Half of a 3lb chicken you’ll find at Costco, slightly deep fried and litterally smoothered in half-​and-​half and crème spinach sauce with a generous helping of rigatoni and piping hot veggies, soup or salad and 2 pieces of garlic bread for $ 8.95!!! HUGE PORTIONS, so you’ll definately take some home for those late night midnight snack cravings!
Sorry Unilocalers, if that doesn’t make you hungry, then your not human!
Overall, the place sits abut 10 tables of 2 and 4s, so you may want to arrive early. They have lunch specials too if your in town at that time. The owner is great, and very friendly, but sometimes his young daughter presents the food in a weird way. Picture a high schooler holding out a hot plate of food with two hands and offering it to you like your some mythlogical god or pharaoh… yeah. kinda weird :|

When I was pregnant, I had this huge craving for italian food (especially ravioli!). Anyway we stopped by Happy Chef by coincidence. It was near my OB-​GYN and there was a coupon in the Entertainment Book. Love love love their food. Like everyone says, big portions, decent prices.
Taste just like Americana Café’s and Little Henry’s, which coincidentally is where the owner used to work. DH had the philly cheesesteak and he liked it very much. Definitely will go again.

Two Words. ABC Burger. Nuff Said.
God Bless ‘Em!

This is one of those places that leaves me torn between 3 and 4 stars, and a second visit might well boost my rating were I to order the right thing, but let me tell you about what I did experience when I went.
The soup to start was a really tasty tomato-​potato that was clearly made fresh on the premises. Simple, but somehow light and hearty at the same time and just the thing on a chilly evening. The beverages, as mentioned, are generous and my Thai iced tea was good. Unfortunately the pasta with pesto that I ordered was not so hot, and I suspect it’s because the basil was not the freshest. The sauce wasn’t *bad* per se, but it was pretty bland and really oily, and in this case the generous portion size didn’t work in the meal’s favor. That being said, the service was attentive and friendly and flexible and the overall experience was positive. Maybe I should try a sandwich instead if I go back, though I do wonder about the wrap warning offered up by Cyn.