Best Burmese Food in San Francisco
It's been a while since we left San Francisco and began our year-long road trip. But I think about all the wonderful cuisines that the city by the bay has to offer each and every day!
That's why I am thrilled to bring you a guest post from Julia of Small World This Is about her favorite San Francisco cuisine, Burmese. She's sharing her picks for the best Burmese food in San Francisco and I have to say I completely agree!
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For me, Burmese food is the ideal cuisine for San Francisco. A warm bowl of pumpkin curry to ward off those chilly nights or a refreshing tea leaf salad for when the fog finally lifts. Here in San Francisco, we are spoiled with a wide variety of delicious Burmese food, thanks to Burma Superstar putting this cuisine on the city’s culinary map, and the Bay Area has the nation’s largest Burmese population.
Here are my favorite places to satisfy my embarrassingly frequent Burmese food cravings.
Burma Superstar
You know you’ve arrived when you smell the delicious aromas wafting out of the open door and see a huge crowd of hungry customers outside. The wait can seem eternal, but if you bring a down jacket it’s borderline bearable. Everything is delicious, but some standout dishes are the tea leaf salad, the samusa soup and the nan gyi dok (mild coconut chicken and rice noodles with curry). Make sure to order family-style so that you have an excuse to get more dishes than you should.
B Star
B Star, the sister restaurant to Burma Superstar is the place to go for a more casual dining experience, and if you’re lucky less of a wait. The dinner menu doesn’t disappoint with personal favorites like the miso cod or the pumpkin pork stew. This restaurant is also open for brunch as well, where you have the option of getting traditional dishes like rainbow salad, alongside your order of huevos rancheros.
Pagan Restaurant
Not a fan of waiting an hour for food? Pagan is the solution to those adverse to long lines. Dishes like the Burmese roti palata with potato chicken curry and the coconut chicken curry noodle are highly recommended. The best surprise comes at the end of the meal when your bill doesn’t give you sticker shock like some of the other Burmese restaurants around town.
Mandalay
This Burmese restaurant is the OG in the city and the only one that gives serious competition to Burma Superstar (dare I say it’s even better). With a spacious interior, there is hardly ever a long wait, and I always feel like I’m a guest at someone’s home as the service has always been consistently warm and attentive. The tea leaf is a must-order, as well as the Mandalay special noodles and the balata (Burmese savory pancake with a curry dipping sauce).
Burmese Kitchen
This is another excellent alternative to avoiding the long lines of Burma Superstar, but not having to sacrifice for flavor. The go-to dishes here are the tamarind fish with coconut rice, the garlic chicken, and the spicy fish. This restaurant doesn’t have as much hype as other Burmese restaurants in the city, but this is a definite blessing in disguise, as you can have a solid meal in a more personalized setting and not worry about having to rush through your meal.
Thanks Julia!
Julia is a freelance writer, and native San Franciscan, born and raised. She is the founder of the culinary travel blog Small World This Is, and has a soft spot for Turkish breakfasts and Polish milk bars.
What is your favorite Burmese restaurant in San Francisco? Have any additions to this list?
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No additions to this list, but I want to try some Burmese food. I love coconuts and curry.
I’ve never eaten Burmese food, but this looks delicious. Thanks for sharing these amazing dishes.
Looks fantastic! I’m looking into doing a Cali road trip next summer and the 1st stop would be San Fran. Will have to check out your recommendations when we are in town.
Looks yummy
I’ve never tried Burmese food, but I’m sure I’d love it. It looks a lot like Indonesian food. Thanks for sharing!
The array of food choices in San Francisco never ceases to amaze me. I’ve never had Burmese food before, but I love to try new foods in the city!
Happy to have seen this as I’ll have to check out Burmese food next trip to SF! I know I’d love it!
This looks so yummy! I’ve never tried Burmese food before so now I’ll definitely have to find a place that serves it here in Toronto
Reading this post made me hunger for such delicious foods. I haven’t had Burmese food in ages and look forward to my next visit to enjoy the cuisine. Yum!
Yummy!
San Francisco is nice place. So many wonderful things around the busy streets and these foods are must-try!
The place seems to have a rich culture of food! Coincidentally, San Francisco is one of the places I want to see in the U.S.
Never heardo f Burmese Food before but some selected items look really good and delicious!
I wasn’t aware of Burmese food until recently when we traveled to NYC. There we stayed at an Airbnb of a couple where the wife was Burmese. She cooked us a traditional Burmese welcome dinner our first night there and the flavors were wonderful.
@Marjo, home made Burmese must have been awesome!
I have never had the opportunity to try Burmese food. It looks delicious.
The food looks wonderful and delicious. I would love to try this out, so as the recipes look intact. Thanks so much for sharing this post.
This ALL looks amazing!
B Star is absolutely my favorite restaurant in SF. That tea leaf salad! *heart eyes emoji*
@Kristin, it is amazeballs! There was a food truck with a former chef from B Star who did a tea leaf salad. He would show up downtown from time to time so would catch it for lunch so I didn’t have to go all the way out to B Star. Sadly, they closed-up shop (the truck). I’m going to have to find a new Burmese spot in Portland.
I’ve never tried Burmese food – looks good!
If I ever make it to San Francisco, I will be sure to keep this in mind although I have never tried Burmese food.
I have never tried Burmese food, it looks delicious!
I didn’t even know Burmese food existed. It all sounds so good, you are lucky to be able to sample so many different dishes!
Burma Superstar is amazing. I seriously flew up to SF from LA on my birthday just to get dinner at Burma Superstar. I have their cookbook as well, but nothing beats the real thing.