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Four Kings
Cantonese
Walls plastered with Polaroids and faded Cantopop posters set the mood at this Chinatown restaurant, where the cooking is as high-energy as the room. The menu is compact Cantonese with a loose, playful hand: claypot rice with bacon and sausage, mapo tofu spaghetti that shouldn't work but clearly does. Reservations vanish fast, and the walk-in line forms before doors open. Bon Appétit and Esquire both named it among America's best new restaurants in 2024.
Twelve honors, in evidence:
The record strongest first
- Food & Wine Squab · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
- The New York Times The Restaurant List
- Esquire Restaurant of the Year · The Best New Restaurants in America
- San Francisco Chronicle #1 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- Eater Restaurant of the Year
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Chinese food and restaurants in the Bay Area
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- Condé Nast Traveler The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco for Casual Diners, Twelve-Course Tasting Counters, and Late-Night Eats
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
One number, weighted & current 91
How we scoreThe dishes from the writeups
- Fried squab Condé Nast Traveler
- XO escargot with milk bread San Francisco Chronicle
Nearby in the record closest first
- R&G Lounge Chinese Eat · 67
- Sam Wo Restaurant Chinese Eat · 68
- Hon’s Wun-Tun House Cantonese Eat · 67
- Kapari Restaurant Turkish Eat · 62
- Golden Star Vietnamese Restaurant Vietnamese Eat · 62
- Outta Sight Pizza Eat · 43
- City View Restaurant Dim sum Chinese Eat · 65
- Moongate Lounge Drink · 77
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