The Lucky Creation Vegetarian Restaurant — Restaurant in San Francisco

Located in the heart of Chinatown, Lucky Creation is the best of the Chinese vegetarian restaurants in San Francisco. While not the biggest or necessarily the cleanest, it has terrific food at good prices that can’t be found anywhere else. From their delicious dim sum (e.g., turnip cakes, bean curd sausage, dumplings, steamed buns, seaweed roll, gluten stuff) to their wonderful dishes of taro-stuffed tofu, eggplant, and green bell peppers with a sizzling black bean sauce, bean curd curry with bok choy, and lemon bean curd skin on their voluminous menu, you are sure to come away not only fully satisfied but also plotting your next visit. Too bad they don’t have a brown rice option. Lucky Creation is truly a gem in the rough.

[Update: March 2019] I go here whenever I can and I've been doing so for about a quarter century now.

Although not everything is strong on their really big menu of veg Chinese food, there are some foods that are simply outstanding.

I especially want to shout out my fav: #18, Stuffed tofu, eggplant, and pepper (stuffed with a taro mixture) in a sizzling black bean sauce. It is not only excellent, delicious, and filling, but you literally cannot get this dish anywhere else in the world.

I typically like to eat in and have tea with my meal, but today was a quickie, so I got some dim sum to go. I seriously can't get enough of their dumplings, but the turnip cakes, tofu skin rolls, seaweed rolls, and other stuff is really good, too.

I always walk in hungry and happy, then eventually leave full and happy. As...

Ten years ago, my wife and I were visiting San Francisco and wandered into Chinatown. Walking Washington Street's steep hill took a toll. So, when our legs began to ache we looked for a place to re-energize.

As luck would have it, we had paused in front of THE LUCKY CREATION, a vegan eatery.

This small, neighborhood eatery is not a fancy restaurant. Locals, stand in a queue, carring bowls and boxes. At the glass reception case, an employee fills, weights, and charges for their delicious specialties. The business is cash only.

A decade later we are back in San Francisco with a few hours between our last meeting and the plane home. So we decided to see if The Lucky Creations was as good as we remembered.

The tiny eatery had not changed in the years that have passed. Still the same size. Still dispensing prepared food from a glass display case under the checkout register.

The servers couldn't be more helpful. Seating took about ten minutes. The menu is printed in both English and Mandarin, and is still delicious. Servings are generous and far from Americanized. My favorite this trip, is the deep fried, stuffed bean cakes.

This tightly packed restaurant has little room between tables. It is not wheelchair accessible. To get to the restrooms you pass through the hot kitchen. (There were four cooks stir-frying foods.)

Metered parking is difficult to find. Taking Uber/Lyft, or taxi is a good idea. Or, if you're fit,...

This place has been such a staple in my life, such a go-to place, it never even occured to me to write a review - I'd rather just go eat there again! But seeing the ridiculously low current rating for Lucky Creation here (only 4.2) I wanted to do try and nudge it in the right direction - UP.

Listen, I get it: The place isn't fancy. To non-Chinese customers who've never been there before, the service may seem gruff. But they have been dishing out an incredible, delicious variety of very affordable vegetarian Chinese food since the world was young.

My experience there has always been more than good. Example: When I lived in SF I ate there several times a month. Then I moved out of state and didn't get back to LC for four or five years. When I went back the first time after that break, and was standing outside, one of the waitresses saw me, recognized me (!!!) and waved me inside - AND she asked me if I wanted my favorite dish, the Sweet & Sour Pork. AFTER YEARS she remembered all that. So, for me, as a white woman, I can say that those customers who are put off by the service...Give it time. These are actually some of the nicest restaurant owners I have ever known.

And the food is ALWAYS AMAZING. Sweet & Sour Pork, Almond Chicken, the Gluten Puffs, etc. It's the only thing that makes me wish i still...