Sino Restaurant & Lounge

Very authentic dim sum. Almost the same as being in Hong Kong! Try the Lobster Potstickers! more

Supposedly family style dining barely enough for one person.Not worth the money, especially for the middle of the road Chinese food. more

Just went here for the first time last night and was very dissapointed with service overall. I made Dinner reservations for 6:30. Me and my date show up and they make us wait even though they have tables obviously available. We are at the bar and the hostess forgot about us and let another couple just walk in without reservations and get seated before us at the last available booth (my girlfriend prefers booths). We Order the kung pao chicken lollipops as appetizer WITHOUT cashews because my GF is allergic to nuts. Appetizer comes out with cashews on top. We tell server and she brings it back to the kitchen, about a minute later we see the server bring the same exact plate of chicken to another table right by us. For dinner we order the emperor's fried rice WITHOUT shrimp because my GF is allergic to shellfish. As we are waitng we joke that it will probably come with shrimp. Sure enough the fried rice has shrimp include in the fried rice. We tell server to bring us a new one without shrimp and also a plain steam white rice. Server comes back about 15 minutes later with our rice (cold) and forgets to bring the steamed white rice. My GF still had a minor allergic reaction and we are assuming it is because they just removed the shrimp and let it sit for awhile. Horrible service. more

The 1 star is for the food, & the 1 waiter that tried to save our night. Arrived on time for our 9pm res & were met by 3 girls who gave us 'tude and a buzzer. I asked how long, one told me "@ 15 min." When I said our res was at 9, the mgr said our table was being cleared & to wait 9:25: I went in to check why our buzzer hadnt gone off. Girl said the party had paid, the table was being cleaned, and we'd be seated shortly. 9:40: we went back in. The mgr, who we call CT because he was dressed like the far east version of Justin Timberlake, apologized and offered to comp our apps. 10pm: we asked again. Girl said the group was at our table and were waiting on the bill. Hungry & irritated after waiting an hr, my fiance asked which table it was, she pointed, & he checked if the staff was telling the truth. He went to the dining room, the girl told CT what was going on, and he LOST IT. He screamed at her, and chased my fiance into the dining room. CT caught him, yelled at him, & escorted him back to the front. Then he screamed at the hostess right there! 10:15: we were shown to a DIFFERENT table that barely fit our party. We told the hostess we'd waited so long for the 1st table, & we'd wait for what was promised. We waited off to the side near the table they were supposedly preparing for us. The staff took their time. Finally, when they'd set partial settings, we sat. 1030: The dining room staff finished with us sitting. Our waiter got drinks & took app orders. He was nice, helpful, & the food was fab. Bill came & no appetizers were comped. We told the waitress CT was supposed to comp them, so she went for him. CT came over a few minutes later & barked "You guys want to talk to me?" We didn't, but told him the apps were on the bill. He said he'd fix it, & stormed off. Our bill arrived a few minutes later, gratuity incl. Pros: food, our waiter. Cons: CT, the desk, the 90 min wait for a table we had RESERVED, the prices, attitude. Pros: The food, one waiter was nice to us. Cons: Worst manager and hostess desk ever, SO RUDE, unprofessional more

The waiters and bartenders were awesome here. Top notch! However, their food, low in portions in comparison to price, and the taste was average, mr chau's. The security staff are juvenile, unprofessional and discriminates big people, to the point of sneering and bullying those they feared, due to their own reflections of their insignificance. One manager in particular...a short thin, Asian dude, who's flamingly metro (not that it's bad...but for the sake of profiling so you know who i'm talking about..it's the closest match)..welll he's the most stuck up Bast**d you'll ever meet. he'll look you up and down with disgust, he has poor management skills when it comes to conflicts and problems that are due to his staff (mainly the lying juvenile security staff, who'll wear their pants totally unprofessionally like a wanna be gangster well below the hip, with the same gangster territorial additude towards CUSTOMERs. Pros: Great wait staff and bartenders Cons: bad management and bad security staff more

First of all, I love Chinese food, but this place was nowhere on par with standards of authentic Chinese food. This place is made to rip off people who don't know any better. Portions are small. If you want some REAL Chinese food, stay away. Not to mention, their customer service is terrible. Pros: It's on Santana Row Cons: Sub-standard food and service more

I'm a fan of Chinese food myself, but Sino was a big disappointment for me. The honey walnut prawns on there menu is nothing compare to the original honey walnut prawns that you get from the authentic Chinese restaurants. It was too buttery and orangy for my taste. However, if you're a big fan of roasted duck, they carry one of the best roasted duck in town. The skin is very crunchy and in addition to that it does come with the buns and the black hoisin sauce. Overall, it was an average visit, but would not suggest the restaurant for any fans of authentic Chinese food. Pros: good duck Cons: the rest of the menu is average more

Last night I visited Sino with a few friends for a party of 5. It was a rainy night so we actually managed to get a "coveted" reservation for 6PM. Even if the restaurant is not totally packed, it's always a burden to get a decent reservation time that isn't for either a senior citizen early bird or a night owl. After being seated at a booth, we got to pore over the new single-sheet red menu. The selection had changed from the previous times I had been there. We ordered a few drinks and appetizers and they arrived promptly about 20 minutes later, typical for Sino. While we slowly nibbled on some creamy soft fried calamari and caramelized short-ribs and waited for our main entrees, our water glasses were constantly filled and our drinks quickly refreshed. Our entrees showed up about 20 minutes later. The filet mignon and new york steak were well received. I would guess that they were about 8-10 ounces each. The filet mignon was too well-done but was heavily sauced. Our waiter never bother to ask how we'd like it. The coup was the seared scallops. For $20, we were stunned to receive only four mid-sized and over-cooked scallops on an over-sized plate with a dab of wasabe. Definitely skip this one, if it's still on the menu. The prawn dishes were well-executed, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Sadly, there were only 5 or 6 prawns in each dish. The fried rice was nice and probably the only filling part of the meal. We ordered up two. Since one of my good friend's father is the head chef at Sino, I am quite pleased that he had taken my suggestion to reduce the saltiness. The flavors were quite full without the excessive salt. The portions were tiny, but the taste was very good. Oddly enough, the menu has really deviated from its original new age Chinese to more straight up American-Chinese. We finished dinner in only three hours, not bad for Sino. So, aside from the slow service and small portions, it's a nice place for some good food at a posh location. Pros: Hip bar, good food, plush hangout, plenty of little dudes Cons: Slow service, tiny portions more

We went to Sino last night, a group of 4, and the service was HORRIBLE. We weren't even asked for water till about 30 minutes after being seated, and after complaining, our server had the worst possible attitude. The food was mediocre, we ordered the kobe burgers, server didn't even bother asking how we wanted them done or anything. He forgot to get our drinks, and after complaining again, the service got even worse. The restaurant was only half full, the bar was hopping, but it definitely didn't warrant the horrible service. There weren't very many servers walking around anyway, and when we asked someone else for water, we were told to wait for our own server, who obviously didn't show up. We would definitely not recommend this place, the food is mediocre, and the lack of service only makes you angry. The bar isn't bad, but not worth it at all. Cocktails are $11 a pop, and the alcohol is minimum in there. Sanatana Row has so much more to offer, I would not go to a place where I was treated so shabbily. Oh, and the hostesses looked at us as if we were homeless bums,and they were doing us a favor by seating us. Please don't go. Its really horrible! Pros: Location, ambience Cons: HORRIBLE SERVICE, both hosts and servers have TERRIBLE ATTITUDES more

Very very bad service. The hostess had a very bad attitude. As if the restaurant doesn't care for the additional business since it is doing so well. I reserved a table for 22 people for 8 pm for a Birthday Party. I did not get my table till 9 pm. Every time we asked, they told us that the restaurant is full and the reservation doesn't mean much. GO THERE ONLY IF YOU LIKE TO PAY A BUNCH OF MONEY AND LIKE TO GET HUMILIATED. You should be prepared to tolerate their arrogance. I have gotten the same reviews from other people too. Read other review on this site about this restaurant. Not one of them is good. The internet is full of their bad reviews. I would never go there again. Recommend : Maggiano's Little Italy - Italian, Amber India - Indian Pros: Bar Cons: Too crowded. Poor Service. Limited menu more

I enjoy Sino for cocktails w/ friends. Bar staff is great and the ambience is fun, non pretentious, open and airy, just a great place to hang out. I decided to book dinner for my girlfriend's birthday via "that online system", requesting a call back if possible to confirm with my request, which was simply a booth for seating of four. A lovely hostess called the morning of and confirmed we would have a booth for her celebration. We got there 45 mins early for a drink prior to dining, I checked in, and was confirmed again, we would have a booth, per my request. Time to sit, and we were placed WAY in the back, at a square table w/ chairs, next to the emergency exit, completely away from the ambience of the restaurant. It was quiet, but not a booth. I simply wanted a booth, too much to ask? I spoke to the hostess requesting why were we seated at a table, and was told that "they NEVER promised a booth and that they would do the best to their ability." This was not true, and I wasn't ready to cont. the debate with her. I simply requested a booth, was promised verbally and in person, and for some reason they didn't come through. I was then told that we could have one if we wanted to wait... we never did but ended up seating closer inside at a more intimate setting. Wait staff was changed on us (of course due to station change), menus were never replaced for order, it took forever to get our cocktails, and our bottle of wine. Our water glasses were always full though. Food was yummy, but that's it. When it came time to pay, I (a female) did with my card, and the server automatically assumed that our one guy friend at the table was paying as he put the bill in front of him, and returned it to him for gratuity, even after I signed it and gave it to him for process. The wait staff and hostesses need serious training... The bar staff rocks so go for cocktails, but not for the dining experience. Food to go, now there's a thought. more

Went here for an early dinner so seating was quick. The place is a real looker, like a vegas style night club but it did not make up for the medicore, over priced food and snobby servers and staff. We had the kung pao chicken lollipops, spicy fried calamari, ginger beef cubes and red dragon prawns. The chicken lollipops and beef cubes were tasty but cold. The calamari was the most disappointing part of our dinner. It was cold as if prepared hours ago, perhaps at lunch. I think the portion size was just right, not too small. I dont think I will go here again. Would have been a great place for a drink at the bar but the unfriendly, snobby servers (the female servers, especially). Next time I find myself on the Row, I'll take my $92 bucks and go to Blowfish where the servers actually smile. Pros: convenient location Cons: bad service, over-priced, cold food! more

Although Sino is located on one of the best dining stripes in the Bay Area, the food is mediocre. The serving sizes are especially small and not very appetizing. Apart from the food, we got overcharged with items we never ordered. I recommend that you look at the bill before placing down your credit card. Pros: Location, atmosphere Cons: Price, food quality more

Came to Sino for lunch last week and have to say it was a rather disappointing experience. My guest and I sampled a variety of dim sum dishes, of which half were good, the other half cold and unappetizing. After mentioning this to our server, she responded by giving us a patronizing lecture on dim sum preparation. The unsatisfactory dishes were comped, but our server really tainted our experience. On top of that she then presented our check without asking if we wanted dessert. (A huge pet peeve of mine.) The decor is modern and chic which fits in perfectly with the ambiance of Santana Row. One plus-the spinach and shrimp dumplings were exquisite. more

Sino had fairly opened, when I had taken my husband there on his birthday and we had a great time. The atmosphere was marvelous and the bar looked very inviting.Starting from drinks, appetizers to the main course menu- everything seemed outlandish. The serving sizes were small, unlike its sister restaurant-Strait's Cafe. However its a experience to be explored. Pros: Ambience, Drinks, Service Cons: Price, Serving size more