A tasty dumpling spot in Chinatown. We ordered a handful of items that came out pretty quick. We got seated right away but didn't get acknowledged until 15-20 minutes after we sat down. We were seated in the corner and it felt like we were put to the side. I would rather wait at the front if we had known all their servers were busy. There was a weird smell where we were sitting that threw me off, however the food was tasty.

Here's a polished version: --- A colleague recommended this spot, which gained fame when Obama dined here as President. The dim sum was excellent, with a wide variety to choose from, but the roasted duck was the true highlight of our meal. The restaurant has an old, authentic Chinese vibe--nothing fancy, just simple, honest, and delicious food.

We have been on a quest to find a new Peking duck place after our favorite one stopped taking DoorDash orders for duck. And i think we finally have found our place! When I arrived, the place was packed with Chinese people, which is a good sign. The duck was smaller than I'm used to, but it's in part because they go through the trouble of deboning everything for you so that you can just place the duck in the buns and eat! The duck was very juicy and tasty, the skin perfectly crispy. No fat on the duck. The duck buns were pillowy soft and complemented the duck perfectly. It came with hoisin and green onions. Definitely a treat on the way to our dr appt. We will be back, maybe next time to even try some of their dim sum.

Finding a good dine-in dim sum restaurant proved to be a bit challenging, as most of the top reviews were for take-out spots. We decided to try Great Eastern Restaurant based on the reviews. We arrived on a Saturday around 11:20 AM, and while the place was packed, we only had to wait about 10 minutes before being seated. Arriving later could/will result in a longer wait. Once seated, we ordered drinks and ordered our dim sum from a paper menu, which we handed to our waiter. Our dishes started arriving within 10 minutes, all of them fresh and served hot. The portion sizes were typical, and everything tasted quite good. The atmosphere was lively and bustling, with many large groups dining. The restaurant is large offering seating on both the main floor and downstairs. Overall, the service was attentive, and we left satisfied. We're happy to have found a new go-to spot in SF Chinatown.

Of all the options in Chinatown we found ourselves standing in front of Great Eastern when hunger struck! After a quick Yelp check we figured if it was good enough for our POTUS when why not give it a shot! The dining room had good a/c and was open with comfortable seating, which was a bonus since we had been hoofing it around town all morning. Service was friendly and attentive. Food was served hot -- made to order. We especially enjoyed the pork-mushroom-shrimp shumai (dumplings), as well as the har gow (shrimp dumplings) and ham sui gok (deep fried sweet glutinous rice meat dumplings). Highly recommend if you find yourself in Chinatown and craving dim sum.

Solid dum sum spot -- nothing crazy but does the job. This is one of the many dim sum spots in Chinatown. I typically get takeout from one of the takeout only places, but wanted to dine in this time and ended up here. They give tea complementary which is nice, as most places don't. We got the shu mai, pork spareribs, baked bbq pork buns, and steamed custard egg yolk buns. The shu mai were good, though I've definitely had better -- these were less juicy and plump as some others. The bbq pork buns were also a lot smaller than other places though the flavor was pretty good. I reallyyy liked the spareribs though. I think they do these so much better than other places, and would definitely recommend trying them. The egg yolk lava buns are also fantastic -- perfectly runny, sweet, and salty. Prices are much higher at these dine in spots as opposed to takeout, but it is for the experience. Service is as expected for any dim sum spot haha. Not too friendly, but gets the job done.

Always excellent dim sum at awesome prices at Great Eastern. A stable in Chinatown for decades, Great Eastern still serves YUMMY freshly-cooked-to-order dim sum at great prices. It is suggested that you come before 11am, as there's always a line past 11am, especially on weekends, Just a warming, while you can "make a reservation" on Yelp!, there is always a delay upon arrival to get seated, as this not the type of restaurant where they will "hold tables for reservation arrival", in order to keep prices down. However always a great dining experience here where the food is great, prices are reasonable, and service is super fast and efficient. Love it.