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The Empress by Boon, San Francisco, CA
Award-winning

The Empress by Boon

4.1 (1447)
$50 and over
Chinese
838 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108-1738

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
animated flamesBooked 9 times today
Experiences are available.

About this restaurant

  • Fancy
  • Great for scenic views
  • Good for special occasions
Empress by Boon is San Francisco’s must-visit epicurean destination, offering a seasonal menu in modern Cantonese gastronomy. Michelin-starred Chef Ho Chee Boon applies traditional techniques to fresh, local ingredients to produce distinctive contemporary dishes infused with Cantonese flavors.

The spacious restaurant occupies the former location of Chinatown’s celebrated Empress of China with striking city views. Reimagined by Chef Boon and team, the Empress was brought back to its former glory by embracing modern design elements while incorporating restored original features, creating a welcoming atmosphere that pays homage to the history of the beloved location.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Fine Dining
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    Chinese
  • Hours of operation
    Dinner Tue–Sat 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (415) 757-0728
  • Website
    http://theempresssf.com/
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Executive chef
    Ho Chee Boon
  • Location
    838 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108-1738
  • Award-winning
    1. MICHELIN Plate 2022
  • Neighborhood
    Chinatown
  • Cross street
    Clay Street
  • Parking details
    Public Parking available at Portsmouth Square Plaza Garage. Entrance at 733 Kearny Street.
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Non-Smoking, Private Room, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Featured in

Experiences

  • Empress by Boon Prix Fixe Menu

    $118.00 per person

    Multiple dates available
    We offer a prix fixe menu that showcases Chef Boon's focus on using only the freshest ingredients available, while offering unique taste combinations not seen in other Cantonese cooking. Our offerings change often to allow for a truly seasonal menu to be executed.

Menu

The Empress by Boon's menu was last updated on 6/6/2025.

Prix Fixe Menu

  • Crispy Vegetarian Bean rolls, Pine nuts, Pistachio / Tiger Prawns with sesame vinegar sauce, watermelon

    • Jasmine tea smoked Short Ribs bun

      • Steamed Shrimp and Squid dumpling

        • Guilin stir- fried Quail

          served with pancake

          • Live Boston Lobster

            with lemongrass curry and milk

            • Noodles with ginger, scallion, spring onion

              • Wok-fried Asparagus with Chicken in hoisin sauce

                • Braised Pork Belly with cloud ear mushrooms

                  Last updated: June 6, 2025

                  What 1,447 people are saying

                  The Empress by Boon reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

                  Overall ratings and reviews

                  Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

                  4.1
                  4.1 based on recent ratings
                  • 4.2Food
                  • 4.1Service
                  • 4.5Ambience
                  • 3.6Value

                  Noise • Moderate

                  Loved For

                  • San Francisco Bay Area

                    Chinese

                  Review summary

                  AI-generated from verified diner reviews
                  Empress by Boon offers an exquisite dining experience with "delicious dishes" and a "very good atmosphere." The restaurant excels in providing "authentic Cantonese flavors," with a menu that is both "balanced and versatile." Guests often highlight the "amazing service" and the "spectacular views," creating a memorable dining adventure.
                  1,447 Reviews

                  1. Joe

                    San Francisco Bay Area1 review

                    5.0

                    Dined on May 31, 2025

                    1. Overall 5
                    2. Food 5
                    3. Service 4
                    4. Ambience 5
                    Very good experience! delicious dishes, the restaurant atmosphere very good.

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                  2. shalley

                    San Francisco Bay Area1 review

                    5.0

                    Dined on May 29, 2025

                    1. Overall 5
                    2. Food 5
                    3. Service 5
                    4. Ambience 5
                    It’s my first time dining here. Love the food and atmosphere so much!

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                  3. Benny

                    San Francisco Bay Area1 review

                    5.0

                    Dined on May 28, 2025

                    1. Overall 5
                    2. Food 5
                    3. Service 5
                    4. Ambience 5
                    We had an amazing dining experience! The dishes were not only incredibly tasty but also stayed true to authentic Cantonese flavors. It was a lovely surprise when Chef Boon personally came to our table to greet us — such a thoughtful touch. We’re very excited to return and see what’s on the next seasonal menu!

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                  4. Chad

                    San Francisco Bay Area3 reviews

                    3.0

                    Dined on May 25, 2025

                    1. Overall 3
                    2. Food 3
                    3. Service 2
                    4. Ambience 4
                    Review of Empress by Boon The food at Empress by Boon was good—well-prepared, flavorful, and filling especially the dumplings. However, the experience was overshadowed by how extremely overpriced everything felt. While the setting is undeniably upscale, the value just didn’t match the price point. Service left a lot to be desired. Our main server, Tommy, was noticeably unfriendly, which took away from the overall experience. To make things more confusing, the bartenders and servers seemed to be working off completely different drink menus, leading to miscommunications and frustration. All in all, while the food itself was satisfying, the lackluster service and inflated prices make it hard to justify a return visit.

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                  5. Hilary VIP

                    Los Angeles6 reviews

                    4.0

                    Dined on May 18, 2025

                    1. Overall 4
                    2. Food 4
                    3. Service 5
                    4. Ambience 5
                    Third or fourth time dining there. Solid dining option. Chef Boon came out to our table and was lovely. Thoroughly enjoyed meeting him.

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                  6. Jason VIP

                    Chicago / Illinois2 reviews

                    1.0

                    Dined on May 17, 2025

                    1. Overall 1
                    2. Food 1
                    3. Service 2
                    4. Ambience 4
                    The food is really bad for the price. Any decent Chinese restaurant in Bay Area is better than here. The presentation is a Michelin wannabe but not nearly as refined as it should be. Menu is greasy and worn out. It’s like a fake Rolex that merely got the looks from afar. The interior design is the only thing that is good. Anybody with sufficient experience with Chinese food would agree. The restaurant won’t last long unless they turn it into something else. (The first dish with crab meat and caviar is really bad, it even got tiny shells in it that might damage your teeth) it is a joke. Don’t go there just because those don’t know anything about Chinese food tell you to go. If you really wanna check it out. Go for drinks only. Honestly as someone who travels the world and have tried so many Michelin Starred and other restaurants, this experience is among the worst when it comes to the food quality.

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                  7. Steve VIP

                    San Francisco Bay Area5 reviews

                    1.0

                    Dined on May 11, 2025

                    1. Overall 1
                    2. Food 1
                    3. Service 1
                    4. Ambience 1
                    Dear Chef Boon, I’m writing to express my deep disappointment with our experience at Empress by Boon on Mother’s Day 2025. Given your Michelin-star credentials and the reputation of your restaurant, we arrived early for our 2:00 p.m. reservation with high expectations for a special, celebratory afternoon. Upon arrival, we were told to wait. It was an odd exchange, but we agreed and were seated at the bar. After 30 minutes, we still hadn’t received our cocktails. When they finally arrived, the drinks were underwhelming in both execution and presentation. Despite numerous empty tables in the dining room, we weren’t seated until 3:00 p.m. Once at our table, no one offered to refresh our drinks—not once during the entire meal. Trying to stay positive, I asked the server—while we were still receiving menus—what the two most popular appetizers were, and we placed our order immediately. Her response was oddly hesitant, as though the question caught her off guard. She provided little guidance. In hindsight, we should have left—there was an available reservation at Kokkari. By 3:30, we still had not received any food. When the appetizers finally arrived, they consisted of just two egg rolls and two dumplings for a table of four. I pointed this out to the server, whose response was an offer to 'bring me a knife.' A simple heads-up that these items were only two per order would have made all the difference—we gladly would have ordered more. The Peking duck, which we had been excited to try, was served cold—not lukewarm, but cold. The entire service felt joyless and disconnected. For a Mother’s Day brunch, there was no celebratory atmosphere, no sense that this was a special day. The team appeared rushed, inattentive, and indifferent. When I tried—politely—to raise some concerns, they were ignored without acknowledgment. Ordinarily, I tip generously. In this case, the service did not merit any gratuity, yet the automatic gratuity and health fee left us no choice. More im

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                  8. Ari VIP

                    San Francisco Bay Area4 reviews

                    3.0

                    Dined on May 11, 2025

                    1. Overall 3
                    2. Food 5
                    3. Service 2
                    4. Ambience 5
                    Every dish was outstanding, service was exceedingly slow and felt disorganized.

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                  9. Brian VIP

                    San Francisco Bay Area9 reviews

                    3.0

                    Dined on May 11, 2025

                    1. Overall 3
                    2. Food 4
                    3. Service 2
                    4. Ambience 5
                    Our third time visiting Empress was by far our worst experience. While the food quality was good, service was horrible and incredibly slow. Our meal took 3.5 hours! When we sat down there was a dirty glass on the table, and we asked for a replacement. We were told it was just from the heat of the dishwasher and didn't need to be replaced. Dishes were slow to be serviced - we had to hand items to passing wait staff to clear our own the table. Overall, it was incredibly disappointing. If I'm going to spend $1100 on dinner for 4 people, I expect higher quality service. It is unlikely that we will return for a fourth visit.

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                  10. OpenTable Diner

                    San Francisco Bay Area1 review

                    2.0

                    Dined on May 4, 2025

                    1. Overall 2
                    2. Food 1
                    3. Service 3
                    4. Ambience 3
                    Quality of the food was not great, especially for the cost. Service was good, the place is nice, but for a prix fixe meal for 2 that is > $300 you expect better than bland Chinese takeout food. A few dishes were delicious, most were bland and massively under-seasoned. A few were just terrible. I would not return or recommend it to anyone. The view from one room (not all) is incredible, but sipping mediocre cocktails over poor quality takeout is not worth it.

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                  FAQs

                  The Empress by Boon is rated 4.1 stars by 1447 OpenTable diners.

                  Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

                  1. Home
                  2. United States
                  3. San Francisco Bay Area
                  4. San Francisco
                  5. Chinatown

                  Make a reservation

                  2 people
                  7:00 PM
                  animated flamesBooked 9 times today
                  Experiences are available.
                  Google Map for The Empress by Boon

                  838 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108-1738

                  Dining areas

                  Additional information

                  • Award-winning
                    1. MICHELIN Plate 2022
                  • Cross street
                    Clay Street
                  • Neighborhood
                    Chinatown
                  • Hours of operation
                    Dinner Tue–Sat 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
                  • Price
                    $50 and over
                  • Cuisines
                    Chinese
                  • Dining style
                    Fine Dining
                  • Dress code
                    Business Casual
                  • Parking details
                    Public Parking available at Portsmouth Square Plaza Garage. Entrance at 733 Kearny Street.
                  • Payment options
                    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
                  • Executive chef
                    Ho Chee Boon
                  • Additional
                    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Non-Smoking, Private Room, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

                  Featured in

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