Ovo
Chinese
Delivery
Take-out
Asian
Non-veg
Serves meat, vegan options available. Meat-heavy menu but does offers tofu, vegetable, and mock meat dishes that are vegan suitable (faux beef, faux chicken...). Has dim sum. Open Mon-Wed 10:30am-11:00pm, Thu-Sat 10:30am-12:00am, Sun 10:30am-11:00pm.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
-
3170 16th St (at Mission District), San Francisco, California, USA, 94103
-
Loading...
-
-
Last update on 21 Dec 2014 by Guest
Update business info -
Are you the owner?
Claim this business
-
-
18 Reviews
First Review by SteveWired
emi_inphilly
Points +20
big vegetarian/vegan menu and delicious vegan meat - Edit
great late night restaurant serving amazing and comforting chinese american food with plenty of vegan options (tofu and meatless chicken/beef/fish). the service was fantastic and the food came out fast, fresh, and perfectly prepared.
Read morePros: lots of options, delicious vegan meat, open late night
Guest
NickTustin
Points +1297
Great - Edit
* dim sum veggie combo platter - 9/10 great
Read more* fried taro - 8.8/10 great but a bit too fried
* pumpkin bun - 7.5/10 very good
* meatless chicken congee - 9/10 great
* mapo tofu made vegan - 9.4/10 great
* general tsos meatless chicken - 9.4/10 great
* chow mein - great 9.3/10
* wood ear mushrooms and tofu - great 9/10
* veg fried rice - 8.8/10 great, liked that it wasn't too fried
* turnip cake with meatless chicken - 9.5/10 excellent
* veg crab cake - 9/10 great, but wish is was less fried
* Vegetable turnip bun 9.3/10
* Big Lantern spicy chow fun with meatless chicken 9.2/10
* meatless chicken w/ satay sauce - not sure if we were given the right order because it didn't come with satay sauce. It had these delicious crispy seasonings throughout it, with onion and peppers.
* braised tofu with bok choy - 9.5/10 excellent
* Meatless chicken traditional rice pudding - 7/10 good, but dry and should be paired with something saucy like garlic eggplant
* Sweet rice tamale w/ meatless chicken - 9/10 great
* Tofu vegetarian roll 10/10 excellent
* Garlic eggplant 8.8/10 great, pairs great with the dry traditional rice pudding
Love the amount of vegan options, but would be really helpful to have all items that are vegan or plant-based be clearly labeled as such on the menu. You have to ask at the moment.
Second time going, they seemed confident when we stated to make sure everything in the order was vegan before starting to order.
Guest
agentfword
Points +269
Basic but solid, lots of vegan options - Edit
The vegan options really feel on par with the meat options: solid, unassuming dishes, and lots of them. I really appreciate being able to sit down and have the same experience as omni friends instead of just saying “well I guess I’ll have the Veggie Delight” and then sitting there while everyone else reads pages and pages of options. Yay Big Lantern!
Read moreGuest
andyjng
Points +5846
Classic Comfort Dim Sum - Edit
Big Lantern became the spot for a Thanksgiving lunch this year because of their plentiful veggie based dim sum options and Cantonese dishes.
Read moreNearly everything on the menu can be veganized especially with using their faux meat. There is already a lot of plant-based options available to choose from. We went with their Vegetarian Dim Sum ($13), Mock Chicken Congee ($10), Rice "Tamales" as they called them ($6 for two), and an order of their Kung Pao Faux Chicken.
The congee, cha siu bao from the dim sum platter, and their 'tamales' were all fantastic. It reminded me of what I used to eat back in the day. Their kung pao could've been a bit spicier but I appreciated being able to enjoy it with their plant-based chicken, which seems to be made from seitan.
Some of the vegan faux meat items though weren't as exciting. The Chicken Siu Mai was the biggest letdown and I wouldn't get that again, but everything else where they used the faux chicken was great.
Aside from the food, service here was incredible. Everyone was super sweet and checked up on us often.
Fun fact - they were once ranked the best restaurant in all of the U.S. by a publication and you can find their accolade proudly displayed inside.
Pros: Great vegan friendly dim sum items
Guest
arlitopups
Points +904
Good and filling - Edit
Incredibly delicious and filling. Nice and fast service. Plenty of vegan options.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-02-11
Guest
EmdotAlice
Points +5751
Delicious vegan options - Edit
We ordered the vegan BBQ pork buns (with meatless chicken), the turnip cakes with meatless chicken, braised tofu with bok choy, and the mandarin eggplant with meatless chicken. The food was delicious. Good vegan turnip cakes can be really hard to find and these had great texture and flavor from the meatless chicken. The BBQ pork buns were good but not the same level as we’ve had in NYC. The braised tofu had amazing texture and came with some really flavorful mushrooms. The mandarin eggplant was my partner’s favorite. It was very flavorful but not very spicy. I would definitely come back. #Veganuary
Read moreProtip: if you order vegan buns, make sure they have a red dot. They accidentally brought us animal parts the first time but then corrected the mistake.
Updated from previous review on 2024-01-29
Pros: Lots of vegan options
Guest
@trying2bevegan
Points +424
Good vegan Chinese - Edit
One of the best vegan Chinese places I have eaten in San Francisco I would definitely recommend. We ordered delivery which came in good time. I was tired after a long flight so the option to dine in the Air bnb was much appreciated. The orange vegan chicken was super tasty and the tofu king poa was also awesome! The veggie chow mien left something to be desired as it was a little dry but mixed with out other dishes it worked!
Read morePros: Plenty vegan options, Easy delivery through Uber eats
Guest
·X·
Points +25055
Big Lantern - Edit
I appreciate there are vegan options at Big Lantern but the quality just wasn’t there during my visit. The food was edible but nothing inspired me to go back at any point. 2.5 stars. See attached pictures.
Read moreGuest
JulienPowell
Points +16
God Dang - Edit
Excellent, as a reformed carnivore I never thought I would have chicken like this again, delicious
Read morePros: Tons of vegan options
Guest
lulu9798
Points +370
Delicious food and plenty of vegan options - Edit
Would have given 5 stars if non-veg restaurants were allowed to get them. I ordered the vegetarian dim sum as my entree and it was plenty of food for a reasonable price ($15). Everything was delicious! Dumplings and buns were super flavorful, as well as the faux-chicken dish. I would reccomend ordering the sesame balls for dessert too- they are like deep fried, rice dough donut filled with yummy bean paste 💕
Read morePros: lots of vegan options, delicious
Guest
daveoz
Points +1325
Vegan Dim Sum, Yay! - Edit
Don't be put off by the exterior of this little gem. Once inside you will find a lively classic family run Chinese restaurant, Of all the vegan dishes we loved the Dim Sum. The "fake Pork Buns" were the most amazing. As a whole food plant based consumer the decadence of a sweet, white flour steamed bun filled with sweet sauce and bits of stuff that tasted like pork was quite decadent. We had not eaten Dim Sum for over 10 years but finally we can! The other vegan dishes are good and typically very oily, but you have to come here for your once-in-awhile treat!
Read moreGuest
Asi911
Points +93
Great food - service can be better - Edit
Very yummy and tons of Vegan options
Read moreStaff was weird and hard to get reliable recommendations.
Guest
Corky_Dingo
Points +143
Dim Sum Heaven - Edit
Always plenty of room even on a Saturday night because everyone is ordering take out. ********; skip the plastic and dine in.
Read moreBig dim sum menu with lots of meatless options. You seriously want to eat that in front of the television?
The main menu is loaded with fake meat options too. Tea flavored meatless chicken is scrumptious and featured asparagus for ***** sake so what are you waiting for an invitation? [edit by staff, see tos]
Guest
purplesnowcone
Points +288
New fave Chinese restaurant in SF - Edit
I've eaten at a number of Chinese-American style restaurants in San Francisco and this little restaurant is my new favourite.
Read moreWe had meatless sesame chicken, meatless orange chicken, mixed veggies and meatless chicken and veggie crispy rolls. Some of the people in our party said that our meatless chicken was better than real chicken and very flavourful and tender. All of the sauces were a cut above usual Chinese-American fare and were very well spiced, not too oily or greasy (even though two of our items were deep fried) and everything came out crispy and just the right temperature.
Lunch options include rice and a small salad side with crispy chow-mein noodles as a topping, a slice of orange garnish and parsley.
The service was very polite and we didn't wait long for our meal (though it should be noted that we came at a strange time after the lunch rush) -another nice touch was that there were acrylic/sturdy chopsticks instead of the splintery disposable kind.
Guest
FoodAndLoathing
Points +294
Watch out ordering online!!!!!!!!! - Edit
The last time I ate meat, it was when I ordered online from this place for delivery. Having only ordered from here once before, quite a while ago, I did not remember what their veg meat looked like, and since I'd ordered a veg dish and put a note "Vegan, please no egg," I guess I assumed that I got what I ordered.
Read moreHowever, after eating quite a bit, I got more and more suspicious. The meat was too plain and tasteless to be veg meat. I was tearing apart the meat, trying to decide if it seemed like actual flesh and I was pretty sure that, yes, it was. I called them to ask. Indeed, they'd brought me the flesh of chickens to eat.
They refunded me, but the damage was done. I cried a lot. I know that it's not my fault, and I don't think this place did it on purpose, but I know now that I cannot trust Big Lantern to give me what I ordered. I also decided that I would never order online from any place that serves animal flesh again. I may still order from places on the phone, because when I'm actually talking with someone, it's easier to gauge that they truly understand what I'm saying.
The other time I ordered from here, I thought the veg food was good. My anti-vegan food sister actually likes their meatless chicken better than chicken flesh from here.
Pros: large vegan menu
Cons: don't order online, cannot be trusted to give you veg meat, crying after you've eaten chicken flesh
Guest
antgirl
Points +293
Love Big Lantern - Edit
Some of the best Chinese food around. Great location in the Mission. My favorite dish is the Sauted Sting Beans with Fried Tofu. It may not sound all the exciting, but the tofus are dried and salted a bit and sooo yummy. The Yum Yum Eggplant is also really good, although it is a bit oily. Vegan is easy at Big Lantern and the food is outstanding!
Read morePros: Delicious Chinese, Vegan friendly, Great price
Guest
sfliberal
Points +52
Amazing! - Edit
Big Lantern is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in SF. As a Vegan, I have found that some of my favorite Vegan dishes are not found at purely Vegan/Vegetarian restaurants. Big Lantern is a prime example of this. Their Sesame Meatless Chicken is one of the best fake meat dishes I have ever had. If you want to impress a skeptical Omnivore on how you can be Vegan and not give up flavor, texture, etc., just take them to Big Lantern and have them try this dish. I have and the results have been impressive. B-)
Read moreOther dishes I highly recommend are the Basil Tofu, General Meatless Chicken, Vegetarian Won Ton soup, Tofu Spinach soup, Kung Pao Tofu, Vegetarian Pot Stickers, Turnip Cake with Meatless Chicken, Tofu Vegetable Roll, Garlic Noodle, Hong Kong Style Fried Noodles with Vegetable and so much more!
Updated from previous review on Monday March 19, 2012
Pros: Amazing Fake Meat Dishes, Quality Chinese Food, Location
Cons: Not Purely Vegan/Vegetarian, Default wasteful plasticware on delivery
Guest
SteveWired
Points +21
Fake Meat At Its Best - Edit
Fake meat nirvana. All vegan. Some of the best mock meat I've had. Super friendly staff.
Read moreTry the nicely spicy General "Chicken" or the extra spicy Orange "Chicken" or the even more spicy Mongolian "Chicken". (Pass on the Cashew Chicken.)
Pros: Mock Meat, Friendly
Cons: Parking difficult
Guest
For Members
Why was my review removed? Guidelines for writing a review View our privacy policyFor Business Owners
Claim this business See inaccurate information? Submit an update here Link to this page from your site See an unfair review? View full terms & conditionsThis page has been viewed 9032 times.