Papa’s kitchen — Restaurant in San Francisco

★☆☆☆☆

I wish I could give this place zero stars, but apparently Yelp doesn’t allow negative numbers. Papa’s Kitchen at 1705 Haight Street unfolded into a disaster from the moment I walked in. The moment—the only friendly moment—was the first five seconds when the hostess awkwardly grinned at us before remembering her register duties.

The food? Don’t get me started. The orange chicken, which I foolishly ordered, was a friggin’ horror show. Imagine biting into a dry piece of white meat smothered in enormous, crunchy slabs of garlic that tasted like they’d been excavated from last week’s trash. Totally discordant with the idea of “orange-flavored” chicken—and around $16 to boot. I’d have been mad paying half that for something less atrocious  .

Portions? Sure, if you’re starving and desperate. But generous doesn’t mean good—this was more like a train-wreck payload of mediocrity. And just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, the service pulled the rug out: I’ve seen warmer receptions at DMV offices. One local reviewer even braved to say the place offers “comfort food… generous portions,” but honestly, those were strokes of delusion .

To top it off, upon returning home, a surge of guilt set in—my wallet lighter and my stomach morally scarred. This place is neither vital nor comforting. I’d rather eat cardboard in a power outage than step foot here again. If you’re not looking for culinary trauma...

Absolutely Horrible Experience – Worst Customer Service Ever

We are strict vegetarians, so under no circumstances would we knowingly order pork. After waiting 15 minutes for our food, we were finally served — only to discover after my daughter had already taken a bite that they had given us meat dumplings. This was deeply upsetting, not just because we don’t eat meat, but because it goes against our religious beliefs.

When we calmly went back to let them know, expecting at least a basic apology, the woman at the counter accused us of ordering pork. No apology. No accountability. Just deflection and blame. Then she casually said it would take another 15 minutes to make the correct order — but still did nothing. After more waiting, I even offered to pay again just to get it resolved. Only then did she finally start preparing the correct dish.

So in the end, I paid twice for their mistake. All of this could have been avoided with a simple apology and a prompt correction. Instead, they chose to argue and delay, making a bad situation worse.

This place clearly needs a serious lesson in customer service and basic respect for people’s dietary restrictions. Mistakes happen — but it’s how you handle them that matters. And this restaurant...

Solid and authentic Chinese food in this newly renovated shop run by a husband-wife duo. Fiona single handedly takes care of front of house while her husband whips up delicious dishes in the back! I’ve been coming here for over two years at least once a week and can honestly say the fast casual Cantonese fare here is much better than what you’ll find on Clement.

Faves: Wonton soup: you can ask for it with classic thin egg noodles or soft medium-width rice noodles. The handmade wontons might be the best I’ve had in SF. The soup is a flavorful yet clean and light chicken broth that they make fresh daily. Honey prawns: perfectly fried, just enough tang to balance out the creamy sweetness Beef pho: a solid bowl if you don’t want to make the trek out to the Sunset Mongolian beef: wayyyy better than Venus, the next closest authentic casual Canto spot Beef pan fried noodles: classic HK dish, love the mushrooms...