Qing Shu

One of my favorite restaurants in the city. Design your own soup by choosing from among sixty-ish nourishing and funky ingredients (all types of mushrooms, greens, noodles, meats, dumplings, roots, etc) and then cooking them in your broth of choice. My favorite is the Szechuan Pickled Cabbage Soup, but others are good too. The people working here are kind and friendly, and there's always hot barely tea for free. Would particularly recommend to warm up and nourish after a botanical garden adventure.

i love it. so many fresh ingredients and a top notch custom sauce bar. excellent value and great service too.

Very tasty noodles soup at a nice mom-and-pop Chinese restaurant. I customized my dish and as you can tell from the finished bowl, it was horrendous! (kidding) Go here if you get the chance!

qianlu yuan

This is hands down my favorite spot for Malatang in San Francisco. They’ve got tons of options, and the broth choices are amazing. I’m hooked on the Sichuan spicy broth — super flavorful and seriously satisfying. Just a tip: if you don’t eat a lot of spicy food, check with the staff before ordering because it can get pretty hot. But if you love spice, this is the place to go. Ordering is easy, the selection of meats and veggies is huge, and it’s perfect for nights when I don’t feel like cooking. The staff are always friendly, the vibe is calm and relaxed, and the prices are very reasonable. In a busy city like San Francisco, it’s rare to find somewhere that’s both quiet and delicious — this place checks all the boxes.

Neal

Excellent ingredients, great broth, spotless everywhere, free drinks an unexpected bonus. I decided to finally visit this restaurant after seeing it a few times and it did not disappoint. If you don't know what malatang is, you choose a bunch of ingredients and a soup and the staff cooks it for you. Everything looked pretty fresh, but I mostly had beef and lamb with ramen noodles in pork bone broth. After paying a little under $15, I was on my way to the sauce station when I saw that they also offered water, jasmine tea, and some kind of grapefruit juice drink for free. The tea was hot and not too strong. For the sauce, I chose to mix soy sauce with sesame paste and garlic because it's a reliable combination that works with anything. My order was brought out about five minutes after I paid. Everything was cooked well. The broccoli had a slight crunch, the fried tofu wasn't soggy, and the ramen was still a little chewy. The meats were all tender. I decided to try the broth and it had a rich flavor on its own. I finished feeling full and went to the restroom, where I was delighted to see it squeaky clean and smelling fresh. This is an excellent place to get malatang and the price ($14.99/lb) is comparable to other spots in the city. I'm sure their menu items are good too.

Caleb Thomas

This soup was delicious. My friends got their make your own bowls and good selection of sides as well. Their hot chilli oil is a flavor bomb

Krish Sigler

Delicious! Love the concept, all the ingredients were fresh and there was a ton of variety, and the final cooked soup was great! And it's reasonably priced (if you don't go too crazy). I got the green peppercorn broth with lamb, lotus, cabbage, and lots of mushrooms. Will definitely come back here to try all the other varieties.

Rachael Passov

One of my go-to places for dinner in the area now. Choose your own ingredients soup place. Ingredients are healthy and fresh. <$10 easy if you don't put too much. Most I've ever paid is $15 when I added a ton of fresh fish fillet. So, good prices as well. And the experience is fun. Note that there is only one vegetarian broth at the moment, the tomato.

Michelle Vo

a genuine gem in the sunset! Opens late (til 10pm), perfect for chilly nights that yearn for a hot bowl of soup. Price is by weight! It’s $14.99/lb, but you can definitely do less than a lb and have plenty. So, if you’re only craving a small bite - this spot is great. Notable favs: - Wide vermicelli glass noodle - Decent sauce bar (garlic, sesame paste, black vinegar, green onion) - free iced oolong tea - the beef rolls, cow throat, pork tendon I love hotpot, and to have a huge bowl of tomato broth with all of my favorite things for $12? A plate of duck wings for $3? in SF that’s unheard of, but QingShu’s got you.

S Lee

When I first wandered into this store, I let out an audible gasp. I wish I was kidding. This was such a unique concept (to me at least), I've never been at a hot pot place where you got to pick and choose your ingredients and then pay by the weight. Such an innovative idea! If you're someone like me with a limited stomach capacity, this is the place for you! You can get a perfectly portion bowl of hotpot without the fear of wasting anything. This would also be a perfect spot if you wanted a quick bite, the food is cooked very quickly and you can have your customized hot steaming bowl in under 15 minutes or so. I arrived around 5pm on a weekday, so there wasn't any line and seating was very open. I can safely say that I'll not only be back, but I'll also be bringing friends. This is such a perfect gem, I can't help but want to share it with others!

Tammie L

I am happy to try out this new restaurant. It is a fun experience for you to pick your own ingredients and the amount of each ingredients. And then select your broth. They will cook it and bring your noodles to your table. I have a small stomach, so I am loving I can pick how much I want, and no more eating too much. The servers are very polite and helpful. they tried to explain everything to any customer who need help. Restaurant is clean and tidy.

Daisy Jia

Came here on a whim and was craving malatang. Chose the spicy pickled cabbage broth and it was bomb. Service was pretty quick, but it was a weekday night. My hubby and I loved it so much we came the next night to have it again. You pick your own ingredients and they charge by weight. We are both hefty eaters, so our total was around $56 (tip not included). Would eat here a 3rd night if we could.

Juan Pablo Mendoza

One of my favorite restaurants in the city. Design your own soup by choosing from among sixty-ish nourishing and funky ingredients (all types of mushrooms, greens, noodles, meats, dumplings, roots, etc) and then cooking them in your broth of choice. My favorite is the Szechuan Pickled Cabbage Soup, but others are good too. The people working here are kind and friendly, and there's always hot barely tea for free. Would particularly recommend to warm up and nourish after a botanical garden adventure.

euro

i love it. so many fresh ingredients and a top notch custom sauce bar. excellent value and great service too.

Derek C

Very tasty noodles soup at a nice mom-and-pop Chinese restaurant. I customized my dish and as you can tell from the finished bowl, it was horrendous! (kidding) Go here if you get the chance!

Shalina Omar

Went here on a whim and so glad I did! The mala tang style involves putting vegetables, meat, tofu, noodles, etc in a basket. You pay by weight and choose a broth. The woman at the counter was super helpful in giving advice about the broths, sauces, and appropriate amount of food. We tried the Szechuan green peppercorn broth, kimchi broth, and the classic Szechuan broth. And we got to try the hot and sour. Everything was delicious! The kimchi and the green peppercorn broth are both lightly spicy, whereas the classic and the hot and sour are definitely more spicy. Overall, a great customizable experience in a casual setting. I good place for groups of people with both omnivores and vegetarians or groups with people who eat different amounts of food. I’d definitely come back.

Super delicious!!! Then I caught a cold and asked them to give me some ginger slices, and they gave me a lot! Super nice🥹

I love this place. 4.1 stars is shocking. I come here as much as possible and bring every single friend I can drag here. I love the Szechuan broth and the pork bone broth. It is pretty affordable and just delicious. This is my favorite restaurant in the whole city. What a little hidden gem. I highly recommend and the experience is so fun and different. The quality of the food is consistent. Just try it if you are thinking about it. It is a great spot in a great neighborhood and off the beaten path.

Nicole Chen

Super delicious!!! Then I caught a cold and asked them to give me some ginger slices, and they gave me a lot! Super nice🥹

catherine temple

I love this place. 4.1 stars is shocking. I come here as much as possible and bring every single friend I can drag here. I love the Szechuan broth and the pork bone broth. It is pretty affordable and just delicious. This is my favorite restaurant in the whole city. What a little hidden gem. I highly recommend and the experience is so fun and different. The quality of the food is consistent. Just try it if you are thinking about it. It is a great spot in a great neighborhood and off the beaten path.

Isabelle Jeremiah

My moms broth was too spicy for her and the staff gave her a mild broth without us even asking. Nice people, great food. Kimchi broth is gas.

Good quick and a very fair price. Kimchi soup is the go to for sure. Not all the ingredients are the best so pick carefully. Overall a good experience and would go back.

Ordered the “Fantastic Vegetarian Combo（素食减脂套餐)” came out around $17. The noodles are separate and also had a drink with it. The portion is definitely enough for two people or two meals. I got the Szechuan Spicy broth, it was hot after a while. I would go back or recommend it to someone if in the mood.

El Rivers

Good quick and a very fair price. Kimchi soup is the go to for sure. Not all the ingredients are the best so pick carefully. Overall a good experience and would go back.

K M

Ordered the “Fantastic Vegetarian Combo（素食减脂套餐)” came out around $17. The noodles are separate and also had a drink with it. The portion is definitely enough for two people or two meals. I got the Szechuan Spicy broth, it was hot after a while. I would go back or recommend it to someone if in the mood.

This place would be ok for a quick bite but the person who chops the mushrooms needs to be fired. Twice I received mushrooms that were not chopped up so they were raw.

I hate writing negative reviews but i just gotta say this place was stomach churning. I came cuz I heard that the pickled chili broth was genuinely super spicy… they must have looked at me and thought I couldn’t handle that because my food was like a 3/10 on the spice scale. That was super annoying. The thought of a brain melting meal aloud me to ignore how warm the fridge section was, how old the meat looked, how the veggies were slightly wilted, how there was just 1 too many flys for comfort, and how the place just looked a little grimy overall (I can overlook a lot for a delicious meal). I was trying to enjoy my food but I just couldn’t. I bit into a piece of tofu that tasted… really off… and I just got up and left. I wouldn’t even be writing this if my food was as spicy as it was supposed to be but that was just too much for me.

Amber Robles

This place would be ok for a quick bite but the person who chops the mushrooms needs to be fired. Twice I received mushrooms that were not chopped up so they were raw.

This is has to be one of the most questionable dining experiences I’ve ever had. I had a friend who swears by this place and I thought to finally try it. It’s also $15.99/lb like a lot of other places. I came in at 4:30pm. Everything looks like it’s been sitting out for awhile. There was also a bug in my soup. Several flies are buzzing around. The sauce bar is empty, no water, no free tea like how people say there is on here. Do not come here for atmosphere. It’s dead.

Regine

This is has to be one of the most questionable dining experiences I’ve ever had. I had a friend who swears by this place and I thought to finally try it. It’s also $15.99/lb like a lot of other places. I came in at 4:30pm. Everything looks like it’s been sitting out for awhile. There was also a bug in my soup. Several flies are buzzing around. The sauce bar is empty, no water, no free tea like how people say there is on here. Do not come here for atmosphere. It’s dead.