prkee
(28) reviews
9/17/2007
 |
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “
The place has history and it's different than what you expect a restaurant to look like. The waitress pulls the food from downstairs with some kind of pulley system. Food is cheap and not that bad. It's kind of dirty though and I don't think they did too good on the last inspection ... ”
|
|
|
L. W.
(1) review
12/26/2006
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “
Sam Wo is famous for their Jook, rice rolls and raw fish salad. The price is cheap. For that, don't expect great service. There's only one waitress for the whole floor. I nearly got my head chopped off when I was a kid, I stuck my head into the dumb waiter shaft to see what the hell was in there. The wooden stools, historical marble tables, lever windows and one of the most narrowest buildings in San Francisco makes this place a SF landmark. ”
|
|
|
geordie
(83) reviews
11/8/2006
|
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “ Surreal. A fun place to go with a bunch of people.
You go there not for the food but for the experience.
Get a great meal for under $5.00 and the entertainment is free.
”
|
|
|
bess
(30) reviews
10/23/2006
|
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “ Hmm, yes, definately an experience. I'm glad I went but I can't really see myself craving Sam Wo. The dumb waiter was cool. The food was...good. The third floor was rowdy. Super cheap. Everyone should go for the experience.
”
|
|
|
jhelitha-13
(177) reviews
9/28/2006
|
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “ The place looks kinda dirty, but hey...it's Chinatown. However, you can get a very good noddle soup with a very very cheap price. The place is tiny, but they got a second floor. If you happen to be in the area of Chinatown and don't know where to go for lunch, just go here.
”
|
|
|
samarati
(443) reviews
8/20/2006
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “ No, no,no,no no... This place is a low budget tourist trap. I've eaten here 5 times since 1973 because my stupid visiting relatives read about it & insisted we must indulge. They are New Yorker's looking to be annoyed about something while in beautiful San Francisco. The food here is cheap, greasy crap. I had the oiliest donut in my life here. Simply disgusting. I, too, knew and was annoyed by the famous waiter Edsel Ford Fong, back in the day. Really, to spend your valuable short lifespan on earth to be insulted by a curmudgeonly waiter in a crappy dive restaurant is not a good use of time. You're cruising Chinatown? Go ahead buy some cheap trinkets, have your photo taken at the entrance to the Bank of Canton. When you get hungry, Go someplace else! Sam Woh & all the other cheap restaurants in Chinatown are sub-par. ”
|
|
|
wyld4yoo
(212) reviews
8/1/2006
|
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “ I can't believe I forgot about this place, but I used to come here all the time. Not for their gourmet chinese food, but for the hole in the wall atmosphere and the amusement of watching the old lady pull your food up using the "dumb waiter"(food elevator for those who don't know what that is). The best dish I think is the beef and eggs over rice.
”
|
|
|
TJ WALKUP
(25) reviews
7/24/2005
|
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “ chinese food on ACID! Edsel Fong was the most famous ill tempered waiters in the world. Known for his nasty disposition and his frequent abuses of his customers. I had the pleasure of being yelled at by Mr. Fong and other staff. It's expected...go with it. First off you have to walk through the kitchen to get to seats. Nothing hidden! The cooks waive there cleavers saying "hello!". They are cutting heads off fowl and chopping veggies and steaming up all kinds of stuff. No jerkin off in the soup or spitting in the chicken dishes. I am not saying its totally clean. But nothing malicious is being done to your food there. Everything is fresh and the food is very inexpensive. Closterphobic seating. Note(wide folks of which I am one). Fellas if you need to use the bathroom just remember to go in backward if it is No.2 and forward if it is No.1. it's small. The dandelion tea is beautiful! The Chow fun duck is fantastic. Everything is delicious. Try anything there and you will be satisfied. ”
|
|
|
chowdawg
(121) reviews
2/5/2005
|
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “ ahhhhhhhh the trip down memory lane of our halcyon days of youth in chinatown...ahh chinatown... for those of us who occasionaly forget this place which was run by the despotic waiter Edsel Ford Fung, it still sort of sucks but the food is passable and you can still tell people back when stories and yes the jook is good...but it is really no longer that mecca of fun... ”
|
|
|
basicallyhungry
(30) reviews
1/31/2005
|
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “ Bring a six-pack and enjoy your visit. Something to experience at least once, though I've been there at least 5 times...but not in years. Can't imagine that it could have changed much. ”
|
|
|
wjboring
(180) reviews
1/15/2005
|
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “ This place is a KICK. I love it, twisting through tiny stairwells to find a table. It's fun to expeience, I like to take out-of-towners here - They think it's authentic Chinatown, maybe it is. ”
|
|
|
chris1
(116) reviews
1/14/2005
|
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “ The food isn't great & the service is not friendly, but everyone should check this place out at least once. I've been there a few times, but it's not the food that draws me back, it's the novelty of it all. You enter through the kitchen & head up a narrow flight of stairs to the eating area. They have small rickety stools & tables that out great grandparents probably sat at. It's an experience. ”
|
|
|
lady chan
(130) reviews
11/5/2004
|
|
|
Cuisine:
Chinese
|
Chinatown |
| “ Sam Woh's has been here forever. The hey days with Edsel Ford Fung are gone but it is still the best place for JOOK, rice soup that is cooked for hours {can get a raw egg or meat to go in soup} and yue wat-think chinese sashimi salad. multiple ingredients {other than the fish} that you squeeze lemon on and toss together..yummy, yummy The rest of the food is just barely OK. you actually enter at the kitchen and climb up 2 or 3 flights until you find an open table. An SF institution ”
|
|
|
Add
to favorites
Printer
friendly page
Facebook
Delicious
Reddit
technorati
Yahoo
Google
Furl
StumbleUpon
