Had a nice, chill dinner at this awesome restaurant! Ordered the tea leaf salad, balada, coconut rice, potstickers, walnut prawns, fish filled with black bean sauce, garlic pea shoots, fried eggplant, mango lassi, and coconut milk with pearls. My favorite is the walnut prawns and the tea leaf salad, walnut prawns had an amazing sauce, and great flavor. The tea leaf salad was very enjoyable and the flavors blended perfectly, they also hand mix the salad at the table. The balada is a MUST order, it's perfectly crispy, and very buttery, it's like roti, but soo much better! Coconut rice is very interesting, you imagine sweet coconut flavor, but instead get a wonderful mix of sweet, savory, and light, salty notes. Garlic pea shoots were great too, not too much oil. Mango lassi was great as well, not very sweet. Service was really good! Overall, a great introduction to Burmese food! 5/5 stars all around!!!

Really good Burmese food. I went here with some work colleagues. The food and service were excellent. I highly recommend the Burmese pancake "Balada". There is a "secret" menu options. This Shrimp dish in the picture was one of them and has great flavor profiles.

Truly delicious cuisine. Highly recommend

Excellent service, excellent food. Obviously a very popular place, I recommend booking! But we (2) got seats from walk-in - but that was 430pm!

We went in here for Mother’s Day. It’s pretty crowded but we got seated pretty quickly and the service was amazing. Great ambience. Food was great, tea lead salad, samosa soup and basil fried rice were amazing. We will return again.

Service was A+, we got the food and everything so fast. The tea was such a cool experience, I love tea but this hit differently because I literally watched this tea evolve in front of me. I’m not vegetarian but the friends I went with were and I loved it, we got the spicy chill tofu, we got samosa, paratha and a curry and everything was so so so so amazing. If I ever am craving Burmese food, you know where you will find me.

The flavor is full and the boss woman is friendly. Every table usually orders tea leaf salad and it is indeed great (spicy, ask for accommodations). The salad is mixed in front of you so it's a nice short show. Coconut rice was done right as well. Another thing I recommend to order is BALADA, nice snacks to share and it's of great flavor.

Laphet thoke and balada w curry sauce is the best.

+1

Great food. It would have been nicer to have more veggie options. I really loved the Burmese fried rice. The Burmese iced tea wasn't that good. The togu curries and samusa salad was super! The ambience is great and cute. The people are really nice. I guess because the food is great and place is great, it's always crowded :)

I can’t believe I’ve lived so close to this gem and hadn’t been previously. We arrived at about 6pm on a Saturday and informed the server we were in a bit of a rush to get to another commitment. They got our food out quickly and we’re very kind and understanding. The food- wow. One of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. Everything was so fresh and packed with flavor. We got the green beans with coconut rice, mango salad, and lemongrass noodles with tofu. Our favorite was the green beans and rice. Can’t wait to go back with a large group to try the whole menu.

Highly recommend if you want to try different cuisine. Coconut chicken noodle soup is awesome. The staff was so helpful to split the soup so we can share. Balada is so crispy and perfectly with the curry sauce. Mango chicken was good with no doubt.

Absolutely delicious! Bright colors and flavors. Best tea leaf salad in SF. Highly recommend the fish chowder (moo hin nga) - very ginger forward and not fishy.

+1

Been a Very long time since I have eaten here. Still excellent! Mandalay chicken and samusas are my favorites! The Rainbow salad was very tasty. The Salt and Pepper shrimp was perfectly cooked. 🍺 selection is pretty good. The Sierra Nevada IPA went well with the food. Definitely come back again!

+3

Authentic experience, good service or I might say the servers were over-enthusiastic to keep your table clean. Taste was amazing and their beverages also made it a good experience. Although the beverages are very expensive if not the food.

+2

Update: 4-5 years later, everything below still holds true! Some of the best service I've ever seen in a restaurant. Attentive, friendly, helpful, creative, aware, and very quick - these folks really have it dialed in. Our wait staff understood all aspects of pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan at our table, and was very clear and helpful as to each specific dish and what modifications could be made. Food: anywhere from pretty good to excellent, depending on the dish - with bonus points for novelty since I rarely eat Burmese. It seems they fry their own tofu which makes a world of difference. Decor: dated but authentic. Someone taking care of the Orchids up front really knows what they're doing.

Wow. This was just as good as I remember from several years ago. Had a variety family style and it was all good. Especially loved their prawn dish with the mango sauce. Yum.

Great tea leaf salad, samusa and mango chicken They were all good, but not outstanding in terms of flavor. Recommend the salad and samusa from taste of burma Mango chicken was good, but almost just an upgrade/gourmet version of orange chicken with mangoes instead.

It’s a beautiful Burmese restaurant. The service is excellent. The atmosphere is warm. They offer special cocktail, and the foods are well prepared and delicious. Love this place.

+6

A colorful and flavor rich experience. The satay was juicy and fresh. The prawns were perfectly cooked. The papaya salad was refreshing delicious. Worth a visit

+2

This place has been on my radar for a very long time, made even longer due to COVID. Dine-in is now open, outdoor only, and I had the opportunity to stop by for lunch; it was absolutely delicious! The savory and not-at-all spicy Rangoon fish paired with coconut rice and flower tea all came together for a perfect meal. I'm looking forward to coming back to try my other Burmese favorite dishes, with the tea leaf salad and mohinga fish soup at the top of that list!

Mandalay is perhaps the most famous of SF’s (relative) abundance of Burmese restaurants. The decor transports guests to a different place. The dishes were plated beautifully and mixed tableside. But something about the flavors didn’t vibe with me, especially the lychee shrimp. The saffron rice was the unexpected hit. The Mandalay special noodle was really nice, like a milder, less soupy cousin of khao soi. Still, this was an awesome experience especially for those unfamiliar with Burmese food.

+2

This place indeed had solid Burmese food. You can taste the freshness from the toasted peanuts in the tea leaf salad to the okra in the shrimp and okra stir fried. I would say that the food here is a bit more refined than any average restaurant yet the atmosphere of the restaurant is quite down to earth. In any event, this is a solid place if you are looking for Burmese food.

Mandalay had a big impact on me last summer -- I'm still thinking about the food today. I had never had Burmese food before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I did some extensive Yelp searching while waiting for a table on a Monday night. We started out super strong with the fish chowder. It was aromatic and fragrant, savory, warm, comforting, and so tasty. Our waitress was thoughtful and had the soup split into 2 bowls so we could easily share it. I would absolutely get this again. The balada was amazingly flaky and buttery. The sauce was good but a bit sweet, so I preferred some of the other sauces we had later. I would get this again just because the balada was so good. The dry pan fried green beans were very well cooked. I loved the sharply savory nuggets of flavor. It tasted similar to the green beans you would get at a Sichuan place. The lychee prawn special had a great sauce that goes well with the balada. It came with 5 prawns which were less tender than I would like (I like my tender farm-raised shrimp). The mango lassi was kinda weird, a bit salty. Overall the fish chowder was supreme and the balada was also so good. Those alone were absolutely worth the wait and hype. Our waitress clearly knew her menu items and gave good recommendations. The mango chicken at a table nearby looked really good too. I'd absolutely come back.

+1

Amazing restaurant in SF that feels like a hidden gem but has a long line instead. All the dishes we got were hits. The inside of the tofu they make was kinda like bread/a sponge in the way it absorbed all the sauce and flavor. Incredible texturing. The samosa soup was very much like a South Indian sambhar with pieces of samosa. I also highly recommend the flaky, paratha flatbread with the dipping sauce for starters. 6/5 service

+1

As an big admirer of Burmese cuisine, I was determined to break away from my usual haunts, Burma Love and Burma Superstar, and venture into uncharted territory. That's when I stumbled upon Mandalay, and I must say it did not disappoint. The food was absolutely exquisite, evocative and satisfying, with every dish hitting the right spot. Although I savored everything I ordered, what really stood out was the tea leaf salad which surpassed all my expectations and even outshined other reputed eateries. The cocktail menu was equally impressive, but since I wasn't in the mood for an alcoholic beverage, I tried the ginger lemonade, which was refreshingly invigorating and whisked me away to a tropical paradise. In conclusion, I highly recommend a dinner at Mandalay, followed by a visit to their adjoining cocktail bar, for an ideal evening out.

+6

First time here & ordered lunch special (Mandalay chicken & Burmese noodle) & regular dishes (ginger salad & Burmese style curry with prawn). Everything tasted delicious & seasoning right on spot, not too salty, sweet, etc. Pretty impressed with the ginger salad. Will definitely be back if around the area. Price is reasonable with great customer service.

This is the best place to get your Burmese fix. Wait staff are so friendly and the food hits the spot. The ginger lemonade is the perfect punch to go with your food! My all time favorite dish is the Mandalay Special Noodle. And don’t skip out on the Balada appetizer!

Three of us had dinner on Sunday night. The outside sidewalk dining area was great and kept us warm. We had an appetizer Balada with a dipping sauce. Tea leaf salad Soup was Burmese hot and sour and then volcano beef and mango chicken. All the dishes were exceptional. The service excellent. The food was fresh and hot. All three of us commented on how good a meal experience this night was

Best Burmese in SF! I love their tea leaf salad, it has less romaine than other Burmese restaurants. I also love Mandalay noodles, Mandalay beef, coconut rice, dry pan green beans. Their drinks are too expensive but I’m happy with water. Delicious food!

Around 3 PM they allow only outside seating which people who know SF would realise is quite windy and even in July end we had to get our jackets from the car. The service was good though and so was the food. Mango lassi was good but Mandalay chicken was a bit chewy and sweeter than our expectations. The tea leaf salad which they agreed to make without the shrimp sauce was good and 2 portions of vegetarian sambusa soup was sufficient for 5 of us. All in all we were happy with our decision to select the place.

+6

OMG so good. My friend introduced me to this place years ago but I haven't been in such a long time. Took my family out when they were in town this past weekend, and they all raved about it. The good thing about going with a big group is that you can try literally everything on the menu. Come hungry! The drinks are really good. I got the Burmese iced tea which is similar to Thai iced tea but they don't make it very sweet, which I like. I'd rather save my calories for food haha. Got the tea leaf salad, and the papaya salad. Also the specialty egg noodles and some rice noodles. The coconut noodle soup was really good also. Also got the volcano beef, and basil pork belly which were off menu. Ask about these. I really wanted to have the tapioca coconut drink for dessert, but didn't have any more room in my stomach. Will have to go back. Not much in the way of dessert, but you don't really need it! I can't say enough about this place, and I really should go back more often!!!

Recent winner of 2024 James Beard Foundation America’s Classics Award !!! Stellar food and atmosphere — whether outside on the parklet terrace or inside in a quaint dining room complete with Buddhist altar. Tea Leaf Salad, wonderfully funky and satisfyingly crunchy in more than 3 ways. Rainbow Salad, near life changing, with two types of noodles, fried tofu, assorted vegetables, and tubers. Vegetarian samusa, you won’t miss the meat. Chin Mong Jaw, this dish comes with a full-rounded flavor from vegetable ferment. Nan Gyi Dok noodle, savory comfort. As a meat lover, I found the vegan/vegetarian dishes here to be top-notch. Excellent, friendly and attentive service.

+6

Always tasty, always great service. Very authentic and one of a kind restaurant. We come from Marin here every 2-3 weeks. My fav dish here is beef curry, authentic Burmese food, pancakes bread and jumbo prawns with pepper stir & fry that has the numbing taste. It’s for those who enjoy a good spicy dish.

Omg!!! We were here a few years ago and are back in SF and couldn't wait to eat here again. It did not disappoint. There were 4 of us. We had the tea leaf salad, it was super. We had the volcano lamb chops, a definite do again, the Mongolian beef, which was crispy and fenominal, and the mango chicken. It was an epic meal!!! A definite gem.

Just had the best Burmese food ever!! The tea leaf salad?? Life-changing. The mango chicken? Absolute perfection—sweet, spicy, and everything in between. And the service? 10/10, so friendly and fast. If you haven’t been here yet, you’re seriously missing out!!

Mandalay SF in the Richmond neighborhood is clearly a high demand spot and for good reason. Even with a reservation made a few days in advance, there was a short wait, but it was absolutely worth it. The overall experience stood out, especially the warm and genuine hospitality from the staff, which immediately made us feel welcome. We started with the tea leaf salad and platha with dip. The server kindly suggested the freshly made platha, and it turned out to be a great call. Both dishes were fresh, flavorful, and a perfect introduction to Burmese cuisine. For mains, we ordered the chicken satay, basil spicy chicken, asparagus spicy chicken, and chicken noodle soup. Every dish had bold flavors and a distinct Burmese character that set it apart from other Asian cuisines. While some dishes leaned a bit on the oilier side for my personal taste, the flavors were still excellent and memorable. The cozy, intimate atmosphere paired with attentive service made the meal feel special. I would definitely come back again and strongly recommend making a reservation in advance, especially on weekends.

20250608: Mandalay is a colorful place for Bermese dishes. To start, my friend and I shared a tea leaf salad, which included table side mixing of fermented tea leaf pesto, sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried lentils, peanuts, diced tomatoes, jalapeños, and something I can't recall. We followed that with my friends choice of lamb curry and my choice of white fish in black bean sauce. (I missed the black bean sauce from Coastal Seafoods in Wayzata, MN,) To accompany our dishes, we shares some coconut rice, and we each had Heineken 0.0s. We were not disappointed. Everything was great.

Food was really good Liked their tea leaf and mango salads - tea leaf salad a little different without any green leafy vegetables Enjoyed the mandalay special noodles - strong kaffir lime and lemongrassy taste which I absolutely love! It’s like khow suey without the soupy base Also had the jumbo prawns with chilli - also recommended Good food! However they rushed us through our dinner, hovering around our table to clean up dishes as soon as we finished.

This is one of our favorite places. The tea salad is wonderful and filling. You can make a good healthy and flavorful meal out of that alone. We come here about once a year and bring people with us. We always have a wonderful time. The staff is eager to please and efficient. They handled my friend's dietary restrictions and menu inquiries gracefully. I recommend you make a reservation, because there's often a line. They won't seat you until your whole party is there. They still have some outdoor seating if heat lamps are warm enough for you.

Hyeran Lee

One of my absolute favorite spots in San Francisco. We bring any guests who come to the City here so they could experience the best Burmese food in town. We love all of their menus but we don’t skip ordering mango chicken! Soooooooo good!!!

Chris Tran Burton

The food here is that good. We have been multiple times but one of our favorites is the specialty noodles and the mango chicken. The flavors are deep and complex. We also love that they can make some of the dishes gluten free for those who have celiac. Some of it is substituting flour based noodles for rice noodles.

Lisa D. Goff

Absolutely love this place. For context I live in a bit of an Asian-food-food-desert so always need my fix when I come to SF. The special mandalay noodles are superb — such interesting flavors and textures that work so well together. Took the Sumara soup home this time and that was simply wow. This place is a winner!

Theresa Baem

One of my fav restaurants in California. The flavour bombs in every dish wow me every time! I’ve loved the off menu dishes every time (amazing garlic prawn, beef volcano with tender beef…). Tea leaf salad is ofc a must order but I also appreciate their delish papaya salad. Overall an absolutely amazing restaurant with extremely kind staff!

Michelle Chan

For a stretch of time, Mandalay wasn’t just a restaurant—it was me and my son’s sacred haunt. Burmese food, in all its layered brilliance, felt like Chinese, Indian, Southeast Asian, and Vietnamese cuisines had a wildly flavorful baby. And Mandalay raised that baby with reverence. The tea leaf salad was our shared obsession: crunchy, filling, and tossed tableside like a ceremonial offering. Each bite was a masterclass in texture and complexity—fermented tea leaves, crispy garlic, roasted nuts, and a tangy brightness that lingered like a good memory. Presentation across the menu was consistently beautiful, but never pretentious. Just honest, vibrant food that felt like it came from someone’s home kitchen with a touch of flair. The space itself radiated authenticity—not curated, not performative, just deeply rooted. And the service? Always warm, always attentive, never rushed. It was the kind of place where you felt known, even if you weren’t. Then came the James Beard award. Well-deserved, no doubt. But with acclaim came the crowds, and the lines grew longer than our patience. We haven’t been back in years—not because the love faded, but because the wait did. Still, Mandalay remains etched in our culinary memory as a place where flavor met ritual and where me and my son knew we could get a great meal and have a great experience together.

Maddy Land

Really amazing restaurant. All new flavors for me and it was unbelievable. Highly recommend.

Mitch Bacci

Amazing meal all around! Stopped by for lunch and had a wonderful meal. Had jasmine tea, rainbow salad, balada, pork and pumpkin stew, mandalay noodles, and mango sticky rice for dessert. All were delicious and came in decently sized portions. Staff was friendly and attentive. Will definitely return!

+2

Scott White

Delicious food. We had to wait a little but I think you can expect that. The food, atmosphere, and service are wonderful so they get busy. We started off with an appetizer sampler, which gave us a chance to try many of the delicious treats. We also had the tea leaf salad, which is a must-try. So good. For main meals we had the mandalay special noodles (so good, light, and refreshing), the mandalay chicken, and rainbow chicken. Everything was so delicious. And capping off our meals we had mocktails, which were amazingly good. Try the mandalay special ginger lemonade, and a house special punch.

+3

Benjamin L

For Burmese food in SF, this is a top spot. The drinks were on point and overall a good experience. Food was definitely well seasoned without anything being too salty. The tea salad was quite interesting and reminded me a bit of Indian chaat. Rice is not included so may need to order some on the side to go with the dishes. Staff was very friendly and bathroom was clean. Reservation is recommended.

+6

A Burmese restaurant tucked away, didn't try a lot of different dishes, the tea leaf salad surprised me as there was no other greens! Not sure if this is more authentic, but I'm more used to the Burma Superstar tea leaf salad. The final presentation after it was mixed up, definitely was not the most appetizing. The crispy chicken was truly unique and the presentation was artistic. The coconut rice was with coconut flavor which I thought was well done! And on each table, there's a dish of spice!

Really enjoyed the food. This place is apparently the original Burmese restaurant in SF. A lot of the decor felt authentic and we enjoyed the overall feel. The service was awkward and forced. They kept asking if I was ready to order about every minute to 45 seconds. Felt a little pushy to get some other stuff on the menu too. We had the chicken curry and their noodle dish. The curry was succulent and the noodle dish was even better than the sister store of the famous Burmese Star imo. Amazing mix of textures and flavors. Notes of bay leaf wafted and was almost freshly aromatic as your chewing, but the coconut chicken with noodles felt like comfort food. If you like Thai, Indian, or Burmese, this is a must try in SF. Would give a 3.7 if I could, or a 4.5 if the service wasn’t so awkward.

This is a take out review only. The house special fried rice was fantastic. Good spicing, lots of egg, chicken and pork, plus a little shrimp. The portion was large enough for leftovers too. It was packed on a weeknight, reservations seem like a good idea.

Staff were really friendly when I came to dinner with a friend. We tried the rainbow salad, beef curry and the paratha. Flavors were good and everything was very affordable.

4 stars. I went here with friends for friends bday. The bday girl made a reservation at 7, but it did not matter. The waiter called "party of 4?!!" but some other group of 4 that just came in was seated. We were seated around 7:20. We recommend the restaurant to call names instead of number of people. However. The food was AMAZING! If you are familiar with asian spices, please get the Mandalay chicken salad. So amazing. It was the best thing we got tonight (personal thought).

Great food. The service was impeccable but felt rushed a bit. There is no parking in the area. The salad experience was incredibly solid A

Nice seating area atmosphere and great service. Unfortunately, I thought the flavors in the food were unbalanced - the chili tofu relied completely on its spiciness for flavor while the Burmese Style Noodles was bland.

Came here on a Saturday at 12:30 and there was no wait. The customer service was good. We ordered the tea leaf salad and mandalay chicken and coconut rice. When our food came out they brought the mandalay chicken they gave us steamed rice and said our coconut rice would be another half an hour so we ended up cancelling that. Overall the food was flavorful, the atmosphere was nice and the service was good. The dishes were a little pricier than I would like for the size/quality.

Our wait here was one of my longest wait times in recent memory given we had a reservation. There's a constant crowd outside up until closing, which makes sense given all the James Beard Award signs hanging around the front door. For me, the Khao Soi to tea leaf salad made up for the wait, both with plenty of crunchy pungy-sour-salty elements that highlight the dishes here. Generally most dishes are not as sweet as in many Burmese or Thai restaurants in the area; if anything the dishes have a more sour component, which I think comes out in full flavor in the Mandalay Special Noodle. There is also still no lack of flavor and plenty of body in the broths and sauces. We also shared a Mandalay Chicken -- very similar to Orange Chicken with good serving portions -- and a Curry Dipping Sauce. Not sure I'd come back given how the line is handled. You're probably going to have to spend similarly to Burma Love or Burma Superstar to get full here, but there's definitely a larger variety of flavors to try!

The Tea Leaf salad is a must try. Also loved the combination fried rice and Walnut Broccoli Chicken. I will also recommend to try the Walnut Broccoli Chicken. Also would recommend sweet dishes, I found some of the spicy dishes very oily. I ordered Singapore Style Noodles which was very oily as well as the Mongolian lamb. They were so oily that I was feeling uneasy after the food. The service was also really sad. We ordered 4 main course dish and they were served one by one. Even the rice came 10 mins before the chicken. My son ordered the Mongolian Chicken that came at the end when everyone was done with the food. Didn’t expect such bad service from such a good restaurant and even when it’s not completely busy.

+6

Most of the menu is marked spicy but all the mild things I tried were great. Also There is a $30 vegetarian appetizer sampler that isn’t on the menu but that you can ask for. Quite good.

Must get: lamb rack, Mandalay special noodles, and chicken curry. The special beef was good too but tasted just like orange chicken (had better ones at Chinese restaurants). Tea leaf salad was mostly peanuts and I personally prefer the ones with more leaf.

Amazing, bright, refreshing flavors. The noodles were cold but not sure if that was to be expected. Would take the lemon coconut chicken to go and then add more meat and heat up. Wish we ordered the mango chicken instead. The tea salad was not our favorite but everyone ordered.

+1

First time trying Burmese food and wow it was extremely delicious. At first, the dishes seem very wild and a bit overwhelming but the flavors all come together and it's absolutely delicious. I highly recommend the Balada!!

Got tricked was 2$ away from 20$ minimum spend per person but made us order extra dish

Daniel Changhoon Sung

Overall fine. The food felt overpriced for the portion sizes. We ordered the Rangoon beef and its noodle dish, and the meal was okay. The portions were small, definitely not enough for two people, so you’d realistically need to order three dishes to feel satisfied, which quickly adds up on the bill. The service was good overall, but a bit pushy at times, especially with repeated suggestions to order appetizers or desserts. Felt less authentic.

Tejaswini Lele

We had a wonderful dinner here on a Sunday evening. Even though the place was busy, we lucked out and were seated right away, no waiting! ​The service here is truly exceptional. Everyone was friendly, and we were fortunate to have Shelly as our server. She is a genuinely warm person who provided perfect menu recommendations and ensured our food arrived quickly. The service was fast and attentive throughout the meal. ​For the food, the Noodles were the absolute highlight; they tasted fantastic and are a must-order! The Tea Leaf Salad and Chili Tofu were also delicious. (The Samusa Soup was the only item that was just average for us.) ​The ambiance is lovely, and for those driving, there was plenty of street parking available, which is always a plus. Highly recommend this spot!!

+3

Tu Lam

I can here in a Saturday about 12:30. By 1pm the place was hoping busy. Parking in the area is very difficult. We got The chicken samosa as an appetizer, a tea leaf salad, basil beef, Mandalay special noodles, and a coconut rice. It was all very tasty. I liked the Mandalay special noodles the best while my friend liked the basil beef. The noodles had a bit of cilantro on there which she doesn't care for, but I really like and that might be why. The basil beef was very tasty and we saw other items we want to try in the varian near future . It was a lot of food for two people. Even though we were quite stuff and we didn't finish our food, it makes good leftovers. We still ordered a dessert dish to share. The bill came out to $63. A person with tip. Service was good. The police did end up getting a bit loud the busier they got. I felt the food came a little too fast because before we even finished the tea salad and the samosas more food came and we didn't have enough space on the table.

Gangadharan Esakki

Nice food and great ambiance. The food was delicious but if you have dietary restrictions like vegan/vegetarian there are options available as some of the dishes are made with fish sauce so let the waiter know prior so they can make alternatives.

Katarina Makmuri

Ordered the tea leaf salad, rainbow salad, basil beef, and mandalay noodles. Rainbow salad was incredible and the table’s favorite, although more of a noodle dish than a salad. Mandalay noodles were a letdown after that, like a more boring version of the rainbow salad. The basil beef was too sweet and reminiscent of Americanized Chinese food. Service was good, and the tableside mixing was fun.

Carey

If you like Burmese cuisine, you would probably like this restaurant in SF. Randomly found it in Richmond. It was lucky to get a table quickly without reservation. Great service and nice atmosphere. I ordered tea leaf salad, Mongolian lamb and Mandalay noodle. Lamb and noodle were good, tea leaf salad wasn’t good as expected. To be honest, I’ve been a better Burmese restaurant in Bay Area but this one not bad in term of great service. Packing is very challenging in this neighborhood.

+5

Been to quite a few Burmese restaurants and this one didn’t hit the mark for us. The food was a overall good, but when you order two of the same thing and you get two different items, then get told they’re the same thing it just doesn’t make us want to go back. If you do come here I recommend ride share since parking is a pain in this neighborhood.

+2

Just not as good as Burma Superstar. I love the idea of finding a Burmese place that's as tasty as Burma Superstar with less of the wait, but I just haven't been able to do it. This one is good, it's just not that same level. Highlights: balada (esp the curry dipping sauce), rainbow salad, rangoon lamb (so tender!) The staff is friendly and I'd probably come back if I was in the area, but not when I'm hitting a real craving.

I thought the lamb was too oily and tasted meh. The string beans were decent. Service was kinda bad, I was left without water a lot. I was put at this tiny table right beside where the waitstaff brought dishes out and it was unpleasant since waitstaff kept rubbing against me. I suspect you wouldn’t get put here unless you are alone though.

The service was lovely, very accomodating and I felt welcomed. The food overall was a bit of a let down. The tea leaf salad was good but exceptionally heavy on the peanuts and oily - one to be shared between a few. The chicken was enjoyed but very standard and certainly didn’t meet expectation of ‘charcoal grilled’.

It's a restaurant with a very good business, so people will wait in line and eat, but I found the atmosphere of this place with memories of the days when I often went on business trips to Myanmar, and the staff were friendly and the atmosphere was good, but cleaning the empty plates so quickly seemed to care too much about table turnover. Why did everyone give 5 stars,, oyster sauce, and liquid MSG? I had to keep drinking water when I got home. In the past, if you deliberately insisted on the name of Myanmar's glorious time country as Burma, it is a good enough business, so I look forward to developing it into a place that introduces Myanmar culture and tradition more. It's good to use the end of Asparagus to prevent the waste of ingredients, but to do so, restaurant have to tap the back part with a knife and use it gently, or you have to cook it first and put the front part in later. It was so hard that I couldn't eat . And compared to the ingredient composition, the price is high compared to both sides, And compared to the composition of the ingredients of the food, the price is very high, even considering that this is Sanfrancisco, which is high cost of living place. We had a 1 drink , 2 hot tea, 2 soup , ,3main dishes and 2simple dessert drink .

Mandalay serve Burmese food aka Myanmar. The food was ok however the service kinda very unorganized. We made reservation before hand however when we arrived 3xactkybin time, 5 different times we were asked if we have reservation and when we said yes they keep telling us please wait for the manager. Anyway we had to wait 14 minutes before finally get to our seat. The food were ok the Thai salad is one 9f Burmese food is good, the Mandalay eggplant is crispy however too sweet, the satay chicken need more seasoning Singapore rice noodles was balance however their serving is too small for the price. And by 7.00pm they already runout most of the dishes and dessert.

+4

This had high Yelp rating and was raved about on reddit so decided to try it out for lunch today. Considering the price, the food is mediocre at best. The Volcano beef is a secret menu item and it should remain a secret because the beef was so sweet that it overempowers the flavor and there was barely any meat. The tea leaf salad was very salty and it had a weird aftertaste to it. The appetizer was decent but the dipping sauce was on the sweeter side. The coconut rice was not fragrant and it was a very small bowl. We were still hungry but we couldn't finish the salad or the beef 😕.

+1

daisy s

Super pricy. Small portion. My first time ever to see someplace to sell not even a full cup Mongo smoothie for $10…..The taste was just ok. Nothing special.

Andrea Santos

maybe we ordered the wrong things or came too late but mandalay left me wanting more. supposedly the best burmese in town, i found myself preferring burma superstar nearby. also felt rushed by the staff, trying to take our plates every minute tea leaf salad: good but burma superstar is better samusa: pleasantly surprised and a sleeper hit, would recommend curry chicken: wished it was spicier, forgettable special noodle: pretty tasty but also forgettable volcano beef: enjoyed the beef flavor, solid

+1

I was excited about this restaurant and looking forward to some great flavors but found the food very underwhelming and oily. Maybe it was what I ordered but there just wasn’t much flavor in my red curry beef. Also gave me quite the belly ache. Sadly I won’t be going back.

The food was fine and the service was good. However they very clearly are trying to milk you for money at every step to the point of being scammy, which completely ruined the experience: - the most egregious was when we ordered a soup for the table and they helpfully offered to split it into smaller bowls. When the bill came, they sneakily charged us for 3x small personal soups, which is not how anyone would interpret the original offer - coconut rice was $5.5 and 1/3 the typical serving size of rice. - portion sizes were small. About 3/4 the size of an average restaurant. - soft drinks like coke were $6. I get that you can choose not to order it, but seriously why

Davorin Robison

If you go to Panda Express for orange chicken and think, “huh, I really wish they added a cup of sugar to this,” then Mandalay Restaurant is for you! Everything is quite expensive. The $16 chicken satay may have had 80 grams of chicken in it. I also was served dirty silverware (pic attached). But that’s fixable. The sugar-drenched Mandalay Beef can’t get de-sugared.

Food was great. Did not mind pushy service trying to upsell on drinks and apetizers, and slow service, part of charm. However at very end my date bite on piece of glass found in ginger salad. Luckily we think it was only piece. Lady boss apologised offered to deduce apetizer which we refused. Really did not want to write bad review (hate to do this), but reading another review where person found metal piece in their tea salad I had to post, mainly as it does not seem to be isolated incident.

We were really excited to try this place but I wish that we hadn't. This is the type of place that reminds you that there's more to a good restaurant than delicious food. Really good food but service was bad enough that the food didn't even matter to us. If you really want to eat here, I recommend getting takeout.

+6

I've been here with a friend once and by myself and had the unfortunate experience of landing here again. The people are incredibly rude and the service is really really slow. It's my understanding that the food used to be good but that is definitely not the case anymore. Would highly recommend trying out other burmese places nearby - they are awesome! The portions were insanely small - pictured is an untouched tealeaf salad which also did not have any lettuce?

I have never had a worse experience here and I've been going here and recommending ppl for years. No more. We were a table of 5. I've never had more pushy services in a restaurant. They were constantly trying to up sell me. Every dish they recommended was a more expensive replacement. The portions were tiny and they served us off the menu items(secret menu...) that wern't priced and were considerably more expensive then the original dish we ordered. The secret seafood Paella tasted like caned clams and they up sold us because the prawn dish we ordered would be "too small for the table". They combined orders and shorted us (Mandalay noodles) portions. They gave us 3 rice when we only ordered one and the manager was angry when we mentioned it when the bill came. Every 5 minutes they were trying to take our plates when they still had food on them and rushing us through courses. They kept suggesting we didn't order enough. This place used to be a pinnacle neighborhood spot. I would not go here again if it was free.

I’ve never had such a bad experience going to a restaurant before. I visit the restaurant with my mom for dinner on August 9. The restaurant is decorated amazingly and in a traditional way. The restaurant was full and noisy (not in a negative way). We waited for around 15 minutes before being seated. Then the experience got worse after this. I ordered 3 dishes the balada, the tea leaf salad, and the Mandalay special noodle. The 2 tables on my left side and right sides ordered AFTER me but they got their dishes BEFORE my table. The servers checked in with those 2 on both sides multiple times for the food quality and to refill the drink but not even once for my table. The customers on that day are mostly white and also those on my left and right sides are white so I somehow understand why. The worst thing is we waited for more than 15 minutes from the second dish for the last dish (the Mandalay special noodles). We kept looking around and raise hands for attention but the servers were too busy so they skipped us. Then finally a lady noticed and confirmed that she would check with the kitchen. She then brought the final dish after 10 minutes without any apologizing. I asked for a to-go box and was ready to pay then after 10 minutes another lady came with a receipt but not the to-go box. Then I have to wait for more than 5 minutes after asking for the to-go the second time I was excited to try this restaurant since I saw it everywhere on Instagram and SF Food Reviewers but I was left with a huge disappointed

I wish I could give a Zero star for service. Pathetic service, we were let in at 8:45pm close to their kitchen closing hours. We asked them whether we will be able to sit and eat food till 9:30 pm at least to which they happily said a yes. 1) as soon as we got out table, we were told by our server to take our time and order the food, but the manager came and said we have to order the Appetizer, main course and desert , drinks all at one goo. Which we agreed and ordered. Coming to food now, Any Burmese restaurant has Tea leaf salad served with lettuce and cabbage in it, our server forgot to get the lettuce, we had to remind her for the lettuce. Second dish we ordered was Lettuce Tofu wrap with was super bad in terms of quantity. We ordered a Burmese chicken curry that was amazing with the coconut rice 10/10, total banger… We even ordered a vegetable Burmese rice, that was very bad.. almost no salt not spice. Felt like some dry rice with lentils in it. I will never go back to this place and will not recommend anyone. The quality has just gone down… About the service we had 3-4 servers including their manager coming and asking us indirectly to eat our food fast and leave. They started taking away our plates as soon as they were empty, one server even asked me if I was going to pack the rice or eat it at the restaurant. I felt very awkward at this point as the server was wearing her bag pack and handed over the cheque to me as she was ready to leave and end her shift. I understand everyone needs to go home, if that’s the case please do not let the customers in after 8:30pm. Our total bill was $182, not worth a single penny…

Way overpriced for its worth. Firstly, waiter’s manner was terrible. When I was deciding and asking questions, he just went straight “you are not decided, I will be back after 30 minutes”. Secondly, food. I have been to several Burmese restaurants in SF, none of them tastes close to this. This is NOT Burmese food to me. The people running the restaurant all speak mandarin, the menu has a couple of American Chinese food things like walnut shrimp. It’s more like American Chinese food with some South East Asian style mixed in, but the fusion doesn’t work. Panda express tastes better. Maybe people who haven’t experienced much Asian food could be happy about this, but as someone who eats Asian food all the time, I would say this is not the authentic Burmese food you would be expecting.

Anonymous

I usually don’t write reviews, but I had to speak up about this experience. Me and my mother came in here at the start of dinner, and had to wait a hot minute to get a table because nobody was up front and the servers were busy serving food. That’s no issue, I get that they had jobs to do and I don’t really care about waiting. When we were acknowledged, I asked for an outdoor table which the first server agreed. Me and my mother were waiting out there for a while (again, not usually bothered by waiting), and a new server came up to us and stated we had to move indoors because construction was going to start on the outdoor area. It was a bit irritating since we were previously told we could sit outside, but I get that not all people could’ve received the information. We moved inside, and were seated again. The new server we had was pretty rude, seeming disinterested in our order and by what happens next, she definitely was. We waited around 25 minutes for our food; the people who sat down after we were initially seated got their appetizer before us. I was hangry at this point and felt totally ignored. I still loved Mandalay’s food so I tried to wait it out, but we had to walk out of the restaurant after they gave the people next to us OUR order, the people said that it wasn’t theirs and before I could even speak up, the server sped back into the kitchen. I was fed up at that point and we left. The atmosphere was also very bad. There was constant doordash beeping going off and nobody was keeping the orders in check, so every two minutes the beeping started. I also don’t know where the staff went? I felt bad for the two young servers having to work the restaurant on their own. Our server sorta just disappeared into the kitchen, and came back out to take the order of another table that was already helped. The old man (no offense, don’t know his name) came out twice to turn off the doordash and I never saw him after. None of the staff seemed be have a set section or direction to what they were doing, it was very chaotic. TLDR; There was a long wait, they messed up our order and gave it to the people next to us, never gave us our food despite waiting 25-30 minutes (They seemed to be prioritizing doordash orders) and our server didn’t have a good attitude. We came at the start of dinner, so the restaurant wasn’t packed either. Their food is normally delicious and I am so sad that this experience happened. I don’t want to go back again, the food wasn’t worth the mediocre service (kudos to the server with the messy bun who also soyjacked us when we left, and the guy server who looked stressed as hell. Y’all deserve the tips)

Mark Landon

The food is good but the portions are a joke. It’s $20+ for an entree that barely serves one person. Do not order this if you’re trying to feed a family, or if you do double or triple your order. The tea leaf salad, I kid you not is maybe 5 bites. Extremely overpriced for the pittance of food they give you.