Z & Y Restaurant

It’s one of my favorite place to eat spicy food. Very good & tasty! If you come to the weekend please be early cause you need wait half hour or more. So many ppl in here

Amazing food. Dan Dan (Tan Tan) noodle are a must have but service seems to be a bit hit and miss. There will most likely be a line but it is worth the wait if you want authentic Chinese food.

I have mixed feelings for this place. I came in with a few friends and they were not open yet but we did come 10 min before they open (not knowing the time they open). The service here seems really rude and stuck up. The food on the other hand is great. The chicken with explosive chili peppers is the go to thing for me. Then again I would only come back if the service is better.

My first experience with z&y was really pleasant, but it disappointed me for my second time here today. The pictures shown on the menu were quite different from what the real dishes are. The portions for all the dishes were small. We ordered 6 entrees for 5 people, but most of us weren’t full at the end. And the price is high for the portion they served…
The dish «小米椒爱上小公鸡» was supposed to be crispy chicken, as I’ve had in China. But here it’s more like «口水鸡». Very differently cooked, and they shouldn’t give it the same name if they are cooking it in a totally different style…

The sign says open and the door was open so we thought that the restaurant would be OPEN but went inside and the server said they’re not even open yet. Uh okay. Stop giving us mix signals please.
Service in the beginning was not that great. But throughout our meal, the service starts to get a little better.
Now for the dishes… We ordered the spicy chicken explosive chili, spicy wonton, tan tan noodle, scallion pancakes (it was ok), and their house special fried rice. I LOVED everything except for the tan tan noodle. The tan tan noodle left a weird tingly numb feeling after taste in my mouth for such a long time. However, it was still good. Just not the after effect. The spicy wonton, according to my friends, was very spicy like volcanic spicy. I thought it was a good hint of spiciness to it. Can’t go wrong with spicy wonton! Now the dish that I was looking forward to the most would be the spicy chicken with explosive chili pepper. Literally when the dish came out, I was in shocked. The dish literally covered in chili pepper. At that point, I knew I was going to enjoy it very much. The spicy chicken wasn’t that spicy for me. Perfect amount of crunchy on the outside and super juicy on the inside. My mouth is literally salivating as I’m describing this LOL! My bf liked it so much, he got another one for to go.
For the fried rice… Oh my gosh. I don’t know what the secret ingredient in this dish but it was so good I couldn’t stop eating. Like what is it in that dish??? Sigh. Sadly I live 6 hours away from this place. When I do come back, I will definitely be coming here!

Wow, have I been missing out.
Went tonight for the first time, had the dan dan mian, beef pancake and the garlic bean sprouts and everything was delicious (though a tad heavy on the oil).
The dan dan mian was the most frangrantly numbing (a positive attribute) sauce I’ve ever tried and the beef pancake was an interesting blend of sweet and savory at the same time — sweeter than expected.
Definitely recommend for bored tastebuds!

We ordered scallion pancakes, eggplant with garlic and Chicken with red chillies. All the items were AMAZING!!! Spicyingly delicious.
But customer service in this place is horrible. This one waitress snapped at us and all the other customers who were waiting to get the table. She wouldnt even look at us and just bark with one word answer. Like seriously??? I was so tempted to leave no tip. But our food runner was ok so I did anyway.

WARNING! EXTREMELY SPICY, REPEAT SPICY! I order tan tan mien and the sauce numb my tongue and mouth. This dish is the most spiciest dish ever! Food is good with exotic spices. The bad thing about the restaurant is that you can’t add on items because they are too busy. Prepared to wait long because it get crowded during around 11:30. Spicy dumplings were okay. The green onion were defiantly my favorite dish!

Very busy restaurant– we went at 3pm and still waited about 30 minutes for a table for three. Highly recommend calling ahead to make a reservation!
We had the fish in sour vegetable soup (酸菜鱼), wantons in spicy peanut sauce (红油抄手), kai lan and garlic stir fry (蒜蓉凯兰) and spicy pork stir fry (回锅肉). All very well done, and the wantons were our favorite!
Have to wait about 15 minutes or so for the dishes and they came one by one in intervals so if you plan to eat there do allow plenty of time for serving.

I came here with a group of 12 and got to sample 10 dishes. Overall, the food was delicious and authentic – I would definitely come back. It’s a small place and not very fancy but the service is great, especially if you speak Chinese:)
Recommended dishes:
Shui Zhu fish!
Fried lobster
Eggplant (although really small portion)
Dongbo pork
Chicken soup

If nothing else, this was an incredibly unique meal. I came here for lunch after hearing from some SF foodies about its merits (and that Obama dined here, duh) and didn’t really know what to expect. I thought that I had tasted authentic Szechuan cuisine before, but after this meal, I am pretty sure that I had been previously misled. At Z&Y, I followed the advice of a fellow Unilocaler and decided to order two very Szechuan items — the tan tan noodles and the silky tofu (see photos for texture). First of all, both dishes were HUGE despite being listed on the menu as appetizers. It would have been more than enough for two people to share. Each dish had a very distinct taste, and I couldn’t really even pinpoint what I was experiencing at any given time during the meal. They simply invoked sensations that I hadn’t felt before. I kid you not, when I ordered a glass of tap water halfway through my meal, I thought it was seltzer water because my tongue was tingling and sizzling so much from the unique «afterslowburn» of the noodles that it didn’t know any better. When the food makes your flat water seem carbonated, you KNOW you have a very distinctly Szechuan meal in front of you. I opted for the hot tea instead of the water from then on out.
From a logistics standpoint, I arrived at noon and waited less than five minutes. I sat at the communal table in the back and conversed with two friendly New Yorkers throughout the meal, and that communal sense was also an added bonus to the total restaurant experience. Can’t wait to go back to try the explosive chili chicken!

Went to this place last night, and the food was PHENOMENAL. Really, the best chinese food I’ve had in San Francisco. I’m not surprised it’s recommended in the Michelin guide.
Other posters are out of their minds. Some people have complained about the service — the service we had was excellent. We had a little bit of a wait, which is not surprising because the restaurant was PACKED, but were seated promptly after the last table was evacuated. We had a waiter who came just to answer questions we might have about any of the dishes — he was attentive, knowledgeable, and funny! We then had a separate waiter who took our orders. Everything came out quickly.
The restaurant did not feel ‘grimy’ at all. It wasn’t spectacularly polished (I don’t think anyone is expecting it to look like friggin’ Hakkasan, it’s an authentic sichuan chinese restaurant), but it was kempt.
And the food is the real star of the show. The dan dan noodles were rich, perfectly spiced, delicious — a great chinese alternative to spaghetti and meatballs. The scallion pancakes were piping hot, fresh, and evenly fried. The spicy beef with flaming chili oil was incredible — my favorite dish of the night. I couldn’t stop eating it. The name implies that it is too hot to handle, but it’s really not — a great balance of spiciness and savoriness, well mixed with cabbage in a hot broth that keeps it warm for 20 – 30 minutes. We also had the green beans which were well cooked, snappy, fresh and flavorful, and the chicken with peppers in a mini sizzling pan, also quite good.
Sichuan food is famous for a lot of things, including their particular peppercorns — western palates are not necessarily used to these, as they leave an almost metallic residue on the mouth, but I found that they really enhanced the food and added a nice saltiness to the savory/​spiciness of the rest of the dishes. I just wouldn’t trust reviewers who complain about this element, since it’s a fundamental part of Sichuan dishes.
This restaurant is the reason why professional food critics and the Michelin guide exist (and why the latter once again designated it on their 2015 Bib Gourmands list). I’m not a crazy expert on Chinese food, but it is outrageous that this place isn’t 4+ stars.

I had the tan tan noodles and Kung pao scallops. Both were fantastic! I ordered them «medium spicy» and the packed the perfect amount of heat. I ordered them by delivery, and it arrived hot and fresh. I particularly loved Kung pao scallops and sauce!
All fantastic! Thanks for the delicious taste of San Francisco!

This is my go-​to for Chinese food, primarily because of their szechuan cuisine! If you’ve never had szechuan style food, it’s a different kind of spicy. It will definitely awaken your senses but your mouth won’t be on fire. It’s a smoky kind of spicy, and has a mouth-​numbing sensation from the chili oil. This is why I come here. You can’t find this kind of food very easily! Not all of the dishes are szechuan, but if you like smoky and spicy, definitely try one of those dishes!
My favorite dishes are:
— Scallion Pancakes
— Chicken With Explosive Chili Pepper
— Wonton With Spicy Peanut Sauce (Szechuan Cuisine)
— Tan Tan Noodle (Szechuan Cuisine)
— Silky Tofu With House Spicy Sauce (Szechuan Cuisine)
Z&Y usually has a wait when you arrive, and they do not take reservations, but the wait usually isn’t very long. The ambiance is VERY casual but what else do you expect in China Town? People come for the food, not the décor! Service can be slow at times because they are always packed, but I love the food, so it has been worth the wait.

Food was pretty good and not terribly expensive. I came here with a friend after a week in Yosemite, so anything that wasn’t trailmix was A+ in my book. My main complaint was the line. The food does not warrant the hour long wait for a table we had, and the server mixed up our order with another patron’s. I don’t typically mind either of these that much since the volume for the night was a bit ridiculous, but our checks got mixed up as well which just made leaving a pain.
We had the mapo tofu, explosive chili peper chicken, scallion pancakes, spicy fish soup, and calamari. The spice is a bit toned down, but it’s hotter than the average person enjoys. Everything was well cooked and delivered in a timely manner, and if you want some decent szechuan food, drop by when it’s not so busy.

Z & Y Restaurant is pretty much the memory I have of this place; just the name and not much after that. I was so excited to try my first Chinese restaurant in Chinatown San Fran and as we all know excitement leads to disappointment. We where in the area to try some Mai Tai down the street, when we notice 3 or 4 restaurants with lines outside. How could you go wrong. So we picked one. Maybe not the right one.
While the food was not horrible or outstanding; it was just OK. I guess we ordered the wrong items. Now I love a restaurant that is full of spicy food and red hot chili peppers, but the wife wanted no part of chili peppers. Bummer.
The highlight of the meal was a pancake beef app. While I can’t remember all the ingredients; I do remember it was delicious. Great flavor and combo of textures. Very, very tasty. A must try.
Dan Dan Noodles just OK. Very soft noodles. Way overcooked. Dish I felt was American Chinese, not must spice. I like that Sichuan style; chili sauce and lots of fire. Like I said OK dish, but it was not offensive, just meh.
The last dish brings me back to my opening line «Z & Y Restaurant is pretty much the memory I have of this place; just the name and not much after that». The entrée just did not leave an impression or memory; good or bad.
TIP: order dishes with red chili peppers. From my vantage point I saw some delicious looking dishes coming out of the kitchen. All with chili peppers.
TIP #2: leave anyone behind that does not like spicy, fire or extreme heat with their food.
Service was average, but efficient. CC friendly. Seems to always have a wait.
Overall, would I go back; YES. Z & Y Restaurant deserves a second chance. They did nothing wrong with service or food. I was just told not to order chili peppers with food. What a mistake this was. Next time order chili peppers and leave wife at home.
I’ll Be Back…

This is now my go-​to Chinatown spot. Yes, the wait is hellacious, but get there early and check yes I’ll share a table. Grab a drink across the street. Expect 30+ minutes.
The exploding chili chicken (or something like that) is basically just fried chicken but the presentation is just so instagram-​worthy. I like the mung bean jello in chili oil a lot. The beef pancake rolls were a big hit, not a special dish or anything but just done really well here. Hot & sour soup I don’t normally get but it’s definitely hot here. yum. I forget what else we had, but would love to try fish and noodles next time.
Service is nice but not prompt. you may have to ask a few times for rice or water, but they’re doing the best they can in this crazy place! Reasonable prices too yiss.

We got curious and decided to try this resto in San Francisco’s Chinatown. We were lucky to list our names at around 544pm. We just beat the big line-​up after we were seated, after 30mins of waiting.
When we got our dishes, we were not surprised why people line up and wait to dine at this small, yet very busy resto. The host and the servers were very efficient, in getting the table ready and seating the customers. The food takes a while to get served. I say this to set the proper level of expectation. The food is worth the wait.
To start, we had the Seafood and Tofu soup, which was a safe option with the kids. They ate that with the white rice.
We had the Dong Po pork. The meat was tender, which almost melts in your mouth. It was a bit spicy, so we couldn’t serve it to the kiddos.
We ordered the Frog legs with Chili in hot pot. It had the right amount of spice that went well with the tender meat. It smelled good too.
We also had the Cumin Lamb, which the adults loved. We ate up all that we ordered and didn’t leave anything to take home.
The bathroom was a bit of a challenge since we had to go downstairs. And it’s only one per gender.
The waiting area was small for the crowd that was waiting. So there were waiting patrons who were almost leaning against my husband’s back while he was seated on the aisle side. To top it off, they had some supplies delivered at the same time we were dining and the delivery guy had to pass through the dining patrons. The guy brought a few sacks of maybe rice, flour and sugar through the dining area, down to the staurs that lead past the bathroom. And he had to do numerous trips. But what can I say. The experience made it more ‘Asian-​ly’ authentic! ;)

Michelin bib gourmand Chinese restaurant owned and run by Chinese folk? This I gotta try. This place was crackin at 5pm on a Sunday! At 530, there was already a line forming. A lot of people, myself included, tend to stay away from Szechuan joints if they can’t eat spicy foods. Fear not, my comrades! This place has something for our kind!
Red Chili Oil Wontons — Plump wontons topped with crushed peanuts, red pepper flakes, and scallions, and swimming in a pool of red chili oil. Despite how fiery red the dish it, the spicyness is quite tolerable. BOMB!
Basil Eggplant — If you like eggplant, garlic, and basil, order this dish and thank me later. I asked them to reduce the spicy level but they ended up just making it non spicy. My tongue was not complaining about that one.
Sour Greens & Lamb Claypot — I was expecting a HK-​style claypot, but this was moreso a soup in a claypot. Packed with lamb, sour greens, mushrooms, vermicelli. It was surprisingly the spiciest dish we ordered. Watch out for those peppers in the soup — they pack a punch. Easily enough for 3 people.
For a place so popular with non-​Chinese, you’d think they’d have better service. Took 3 tries for them to get us 1 glass of water. But I guess you can say their service is authentic haha
*5% OFF IF YOU PAY W/​CASH!!*

This place is packed, and for good reason!
I always wonder why this place has a huge line outside – now I know why. The sichuan food here is LEGIT, son! The water-​boiled fish is crazy good, with a good amount of oil but not too much, large chunks of fish mmmm, and cabbage that didn’t taste dry. We also got the garlic spinach, which was done very well – the garlic flavor was cooked deep into the spinach, and every bite was heaven.
The décor inside is nice, with a red lighting/​furniture theme that gave a warm, family vibe. Eating here reminded me of how it’s like to have a warm meal with a big family around a giant round table.
No wonder this place is so packed! Definitely one of the best places to visit in chinatown, and worth the wait.