Lime Tree Southeast Asian Kitchen

First time going to this place and I was definitely satisfied. No wait since we got there before the dinner rush. Fast service and good food!
The menu was simple but I was torn between the roti pratha and the martabak, but in the end, I opted for the latter; and boy, oh, boy it was delicious! They did not skimp on the meat on the Martabak and the curry sauce complements it well. But even without the curry sauce, it tasted pretty good!
We also got the Hokkien Bee Hoon and it was simple, yet flavorful and delicious. It had lots of shrimp, squid, and fishcake. It was a good portion that can be shared by two.
We got our bill and the server forgot to charge us for the can of sprite we got. She brought it to our attention, but when we asked how much it was so we can pay it separately, she declined and just told us it’s fine. So sweet of her! Instead, we estimated the price and added it onto the tip
It was a very nice first experience with Malaysian/​Singaporean food and we will definitely be coming back to try the other items on the menu!

I’m from LA and every time I visit my dad in San Francisco I’m always looking for the best malaysian food. Finally, I found the place! The food is sooo good! Our server she is a sweetheart. Next time I’m back in SF will definitely go back to Lime Tree.

Chef Ming served up a feast!!! On Clement Street between 9^th and 10^th Avenues his restaurant Lime Tree is a stand out in this Inner Richmond District enclave of Asian restaurants and markets. The menu is Southeast Asian and takes you on a voyage of flavors. Here is what our family had: Roti Pratha (a flaky tender cross between a flat bread and a croissant), Corn Fritters (light and crispy sweet corn and minced shrimp puffs), Black Pepper and Garlic Mussels (small plump mussels in a sauce you will want to spoon up afterwards), Hainan Chicken Rice (this rice dish is cooked in broth and ginger, legend has it that it cures colds), Beef Rendang (the Indonesian Boeuf Bourguignon, slow cooked tender and deeply flavored beef stew), Sambal Okra and Green Beans, Char always Teow (rice noodles stir-​fried with shrimp, egg and Chinese sausage), Nasi Goreng (Indonesian fried rice), and a perfectly steamed Branzino (a fresh sea bass, the light buttery flesh enhanced by ginger, scallions and a light soy sauce). My family and I have patronized the restaurants on Clement Street through 3 generations. Chef Ming’s Lime Tree is exceptional — an impeccably fresh, tasty, interesting cuisine; affordable prices; a friendly staff; a spacious simply decorated dining room with a large skylight and high ceilings — a welcome addition to Clement Street indeed!!!

I was truly blown away by the service Ming and staff provided! The food was so flavorful and beautiful. Love this place. Thanks for the amazing meal and hospitality! My employees loved it and I will be back soon!

No wait for a table, quick service and very good food. Portions are large and cheap for the quality of food. The music was also on point, mix of girl pop and 90s ballads. love it!

i love this place!
generous portions and everything on the menu is tasty. i definitely recommend their fried rice. they must put crack in it because i keep coming for more.

Lovely! Affordable. Super clean and delicious food. Very kind owner and waitstaff. Leftovers or take out comes in fabric bag. Isn’t that thoughtful?

This Lime Tree location has been one of those spots that my friends and I visit every so often, and it never disappoints. I have to hand it to them because we usually roll deep, usually with 6 to 16 people in our group. We try to come at hours when it is not too busy, but even so, a large group can be challenging to handle especially for a small restaurant like Lime Tree. And you may ask, «If you’ve visited so often, why do a review now?», and the answer would be that I’ve seen a pattern of great eats, hospitality, and wow factors culminating into an event that sparked a desire to put pen to paper (or quill to parchment, fingers to keyboard, chisel to rock; whatever floats your boat).
So what was this said event? T’was the night before another not-​so-​splendid monday at the office (which may or may not be where I’m writing this right now). I called this location about a half hour in advance to let them know that our group of 15 would be arriving at 8:00. An oversight on my end, but it was only an hour before they were closing. Nevertheless, they accommodated us and arranged one long table reminiscent of Mr. Incredible having dinner with Mirage (you must have seen that movie! No? Okay…) We ordered a variety of dishes, mostly different forms of fried noodles and soups, and there wasn’t a single dish to gripe about. Personally, I had the java style fried noodles with chicken and shrimp; it had a nice aroma and a slight kick to its flavor. I also had the roti pratha on the side, which is best described as a flaky saucer of awesomeness.
One of my friends made the note that Lime Tree always treats us so well, and I agree with that statement with no reserve. They kept our cups filled and gave us take-​out boxes before we even asked for them. But another notable act of their hospitality was that they gave us an appetizer of chicken wings on-​the-​house. The owner came out to greet us personally, and he asked us what we thought about the appetizer; seems like he was experimenting on a new dish and seeing how customers reacted to it. We thought that the wings had a unique and tangy zing to it, and I made sure that the owner knew that he should feel free to part with his recipe. Much to no avail, of course; he was transparent about the impending death he would receive if he were to relinquish the secret recipe to us.
With so many bigger restaurants and chains around, it’s refreshing to see a nice little restaurant (that is possibly family-​owned) thriving with business. My prediction is that we will continue to visit this location every so often because of all the positive experiences we’ve had. And I would with no hesitation recommend this place to someone looking for some good eats with unique flavors and aromas.

Food: 3 stars.
Singapore Curry Noodles was good. The portion size was big and the lime went well with the mushrooms and the chicken. I’ve heard that this Lime Tree gives bigger portions than the one on Irving.
Roti was alright. It was thicker than other Roti I’ve had and was more naan-​like.
Corn Fritters — Not a fan. Reminded me of popcorn chicken, but with corn instead.
Beef Rendang — it was tasty, but it came out first and was lukewarm by the time my Curry Noodles came out. That was a tad dissapointing.
Service: +1 star for service. Waiter/​Waitress were nice and accommodating. They give you nice reusable bags for taking food home as well. Menu was a bit confusing as there were 2 – 3 laminated pictures of food on our table with no text that ended up being menu items. We didn’t even know we could order those items until after we already ordered our dishes.
4 stars overall. I’d go back to order the Singapore Curry Noodles again. I probably wouldn’t get the Roti/​Corn Fritters/​Beef Rendang. I still want to try the Hainanese chicken rice though.

Fantastic. I always love this place. I used to go to forcing street location. This new location is a bit bigger so it feels less like a secret but the food is still great.
Get the fantastic sambal okra. It’s a solid small but not as powerful as what you find in Indonesia or Singapore.
We always get the roti. So flaky and delicate with the rich curry.
I am always a fan of the garlic noodles as they are a bit different with some tomato added for brightness. There are better ones but this is more unique
I also recommend the soto Madura which is a rich and complex soup. Try if you have never had it.
I love the staff and owners. Very friendly.

The Singapore curry noodles are really nice, but I would say don’t try the «chef recommend «beef.

My first time with Malaysian/​Singaporean food, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was a hole-​in-​the-​wall kind of place and the neighborhood was kind of dead, but the food was excellent!
I had the Roti Pratha and the Garlic Noodles with chicken. Both were really tasty and flavorful without being spicy (per my request). The service was prompt and it was worth the trip to try out food from another corner of the world!

This place is yum, I was really skeptical before walking in however it turned out to be great! I got the laksa and my fiancé got the soto madura, I also asked for chili sauce and they brought me a super spice homemade chili which was amazing. The laksa was basically a coconut base soup (that tasted a bit like yellow curry) with sprouts, rice noodles and prawns and it was amazing. The soto madura was a beef soup and we got the ginger rice, the soup was great and so was the ginger rice (don’t pass up on the ginger rice).
For the 2 dishes my bill came out to be 23 buck, very affordable for the quantity and quality of the food.
Ooo and we couldn’t finish our food so we packed some and they gave us a tote bag, pretty cool.

Having the roommate home means we typically order delivery. This was the case on Sunday, August 23^rd around 8pm. We ordered dinner through Eat24 (
). There was a delivery charge of $ 5.
*Martabak: crispy roti stuffed with minced meat, green onion and eggs ($ 7.99)
*Singaporean curry noodle: glass noodle stir fried in their special curry sauce, served with shredded chicken ($ 7.99)
*Garlic noodle: noodles tossed in garlic sauce with chicken ($ 9.99)
*Sambal green bean: wok fried green bean with spicy sambal sauce ($ 9.99)
*Hainan chicken rice: steamed chicken served with rice, cooked in broth and ginger ($ 11.99)
*Pork spareribs: pork spareribs in tangy soy-​vinegar sauce, on a bed of spinach ($ 10.99)
I’ve been to Lime Tree’s other location and the food here is as good as I remember. The Martabak and Singaporean curry noodles are great basics. The roommate liked the Garlic noodles. Cooked al dented with lots of garlic flavor. The chicken in the Chicken rice was cooked perfectly, but I wanted the rice to have more chicken flavor. I mostly tasted ginger. The Spareribs were tender and meaty. The only thing I’d pass on next time were the Green beans. There was an overwhelming fishiness to it. I didn’t mind it, but the smell made the roommate lose his appetite. Like having dinner next to an open bottle fish sauce.
I still really wanna try the chili and black pepper crab. Guess I’ll be coming back during crab season?

Quick tips:
–This location has chili crab and black pepper crab — but call in before 6pm day of if you’re going to try to get it!
— Ginger rice. Always go with Ginger rice over white rice
— Roti, Roti, Roti
Now, for the other, less important stuff:
The waitstaff is super friendly and accommodating here and they accept reservations last minute for a larger party.
— Sambal Udang (Prawns in sweet/​spicy fish sauce) were nice and tasty.
— Beef Rendang can be hit or miss. I’ve gotten it when it was really good but also another time where it was meh at best
— Char Kway Teow — Flat rice noodles with egg and co… the group was way too full to finish this, but it tasted fairly good
–Thai iced tea was salty

Pretty good selection and prices aren’t that bad. The veggie stir fry was very good.
The interior is small but very clean and nicely decorated.
The staff is extremely friendly :)

Wow, tastes like homemade and has friendly service, clean operation.
Just dropped in for a late evening bite. Noticed this place building up a while back, now it’s open and they are doing a nice job. Just got noodles: the Mie Goreng Jawa, and boy were they great! Really generous portion and just enough garlic and spice to keep me interested, great mouth feel and other flavors. Definitely gonna come back and try some more of their offerings. Service was efficient and friendly, bathrooms clean.
I’m holding back a star because the prices are a little higher than expected and I want to try some more dishes before calling the place a «5.» But they certainly are contenders here, great job on those noodles!

I took my roommate here for her birthday dinner. We’ve been wanting to go here for awhile, and we were glad we got the opportunity.
We started with the rothi, and it was so soft and yummy with the curry sauce that we ordered a second! I got flat noodles with shrimp and Chinese sausage. It looked and was yummy! Even the presentation was beautiful! The portion was large enough for lunch the next day, but it’s really best eaten fresh. I also got Thai iced tea, and I liked how it wasn’t overtly sweet.
I recommend this place. The food is reasonably priced, especially for the area.

Im glad to see a new Malaysian /​Indo restaurant to take the place of the other one that closed down last year in the same location.
The Beef Rendang was very tender and well seasoned with Indo spices and went well with the ginger rice, the Roti Pratha was very fresh & hot and the curry dipping sauce was a good balance of flavor with the bread.
Service was very prompt and friendly, the servers are very attentive and helpful if you need some recommendations or questions on the dishes.
the noodle dishes are also very good, I liked the flat rice noodles with shrimp and the garlic noodles, I’ll try the Singapore curry noodle next time.
overall, I liked this place a lot and give it a thumbs up!

Great prices for the amount of food that you have! unfortunately I was sick when i came so i didn’t as much as I normally good but from what I could eat, it was bomb!
Got the shrimp laksa and roti– roti was simple but delicious! flakey and soft and hot– hmmmm just warms the stomach!
Shrimp laksa– very tasteful, great soup, lots of shrimp, what’s there to complain about?!
The service was good, came around just the right amount of time, filled water often, and just very sweet people overall. Highly recommend if you’re in the area. :)