NO ONE should go to House of Nanking expecting a 5-star dining experience--but they can expect a meal that leaves Southernors like me yearning for a trip to San Fran. It is what it is--and that's very good, very authentic Chinese food and honestly, people wouldn't line up outside the place if it weren't. Every time I come to San Francisco, I can count on an incredibly tasty meal at Nanking and actually enjoy the service. Asking this restaurant to conform to the service standards of The Palm is completely taking context for granted. Yes, the service is hectic, but if you just relax and enjoy the experience, you'll see how it all works at Nanking.

Nanking is good if you're the type of person who likes to wait in line for 20 minutes, get treated (extremely) rudely by every person who works for the restaurant, sit at your table packed in like sardines, and then eat food that's just ok. <p>For everyone else, there's Chef Jia right next door.<p>Why is there a 20-minute line for this place? Because it was written up in the New Yorker once and thus has become received wisdom to some as the best chinese place in SF. As Herb Cean said, it's not even the best place on the block.