I recently discovered Burmese cuisine during a team outing at work, and loved the healthy fusion of Indian, Thai, and other Asian influences. Best of Burma is a great place to experience this wonderful cuisine - the service was great, and the food was flavorful.
M M.
Hands down the best burmese restaurant - super tasty and flavorful food! We are sad it's closed :(
Cathy C.
I dined in this restaurant often because food and service were great . Today I just found out they'd be closed permanently. Sad...
Frances Kelley
Decided to try Best of Burma for take-out since they are nearby and my normal Chinese go-to restaurants were closed on a Sunday. Was craving chicken with string beans and their reviews for that were good. I was able to quickly place my order by phone and was quoted a 15 min. time-frame. They did not dissapoint and the food was ready and hot when I arrived. I normally do not prefer chicken breast meat, but they managed to keep it very tender and flavorful with the string beans. I also liked that the chicken was sliced thin mimicking the string beans. The chow mein was also light and flavorful. I will come here again if wanting either of those items.
Carrie Y.
We had great company and it was nice to catch up with friends while dining outdoors for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Came here with a party of 8 and the wait was not long at all. The outdoor dining tables were nicely spaced out and plentiful. My husband and I had the Burmese Tea Leaf Salad and the Mango Chicken. The tea left salad came pre-mixed and could use a little more flavor. The mango chicken was pretty flavorful but the spice caught me by surprise. I think the mango chicken would be good with some rice on the side. The staff were friendly and didn't rush us even though we were there for 1-2 hours. They were also able to split the bill for us for the items we ordered which was considerate for a large party like ours. Note: they charge an automatic 20% tip.
Divya A
Good food! Ordered the Wok tossed tofu and veggies and garlic noodles. Juicy noodles and good flavor on the semi-gravy tofu. Wasn't a big fan of the Burmese iced tea!
Annie Y.
Food is just so so. Be careful this restaurant overcharges on your credit card!!! Charged $31 on my credit card! If you split bill with your friend like me, then they would be happy since they can overcharges twice on your and your friend's bills!!How can you do business like this??!! It won't last long!!!
Nancy C.
Got chili beef and spicy crispy chicken. Both tasted good, we asked for spicy and both dishes were spicy and flavorful. Chicken was nice and crispy. Portions small for the $13-14/dish, nickel-dimey about rice. No rice (or other starch) is included with entrees that are meant to be eaten with a starch. Side of rice is very small for the extra charge ($4 for 2 small bowls of plain jasmine). Check took forever to arrive. Wouldn't come back again, not worth it.
Dave N.
Really good food and friendly, attentive service. The tea leaf salad is especially good. Highly recommended
Louis Isbitz
The food was really tasty and a great change of pace. We will dine here again.
First time at Best of Burma. It's a small restaurant in Downtown San Mateo. Just close enough to the main Street (South B street) but far enough from the crowd. Currently they have a large tented area for outdoor dining. All the dishes were tasty. The tea leaf salad was good. It had lots of crunchy toppings which is one of the best things about the salad. The Nan Gyi Thoke is a curry noodle dish served with pork. The eggplant curry was not as spicy as I hoped. Good meal although the portions seemed a bit small.
Mary Lee
I went there couple of times. The 1st time I went there, I ordered Indian rice with chicken. It was too dry so I added the sauce, the sauced tasted spoiled. I gave it a 2nd try last month. I ordered Burmese fish noodle soup with no fish. They smashed yellow beans mixed with rice noodle, no soup. I guess they try to trick Americans who never tasted Burmese food. They can’t trick me, I’m originally from Burma.
J N.
I don't want to give this place a terrible review, because the issues I have probably have more to do with my taste preferences than the actual quality of food. Pros: 1. Packaging was great, nice and neat. 2. The chicken curry with paratha was very tasty. Cons: 1. Garlic noodles were soft and kind of bland. I thought they would have more chew to them, but maybe that's how it was supposed to taste? Anyway, they were nothing special. 2. The Nan Gyi Thoke came with nice condiments and fixings, but the actual noodles were so soft and mushy. Maybe it was supposed to be eaten more like a soup, but even with a soup I would think the noodles would have more substance? I've never had this dish before, so I feel bad criticizing it. 3. Sesame Beef was too sweet! And didn't taste anything like beef, but rather a mix of sweet and sour pork and General Tsao's chicken. I was expecting something more savory and saucey, not fried hard pieces of beef soaked in sugar syrup. Once again, this is probably how it was supposed to taste, and I wasn't aware. So, I'm not sure if we'll order here again. It was very expensive and not that much tastier than cheaper restaurants we've eaten at. Plus, since the only thing we liked was the chicken curry and paratha, we can just get that from an Indian restaurant instead.
Cindy C.
some dish we ordered just took out of the refrigerator, is cold. other dishes are very oily
V Y.
Omg small portion- Ordered a tea leaves salad for $15 through DoorDash. The salad was in a 5"x5"x1.5" (smaller at the bottom) container and part of the space was used to put a sauce container. It was not even packed tight. Not much flavor and too oily, more salad would have balanced the oil. First and last time ordering from this restaurant.
I recently discovered Burmese cuisine during a team outing at work, and loved the healthy fusion of Indian, Thai, and other Asian influences. Best of Burma is a great place to experience this wonderful cuisine - the service was great, and the food was flavorful.
Hands down the best burmese restaurant - super tasty and flavorful food! We are sad it's closed :(
I dined in this restaurant often because food and service were great . Today I just found out they'd be closed permanently. Sad...
Decided to try Best of Burma for take-out since they are nearby and my normal Chinese go-to restaurants were closed on a Sunday. Was craving chicken with string beans and their reviews for that were good. I was able to quickly place my order by phone and was quoted a 15 min. time-frame. They did not dissapoint and the food was ready and hot when I arrived. I normally do not prefer chicken breast meat, but they managed to keep it very tender and flavorful with the string beans. I also liked that the chicken was sliced thin mimicking the string beans. The chow mein was also light and flavorful. I will come here again if wanting either of those items.
We had great company and it was nice to catch up with friends while dining outdoors for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Came here with a party of 8 and the wait was not long at all. The outdoor dining tables were nicely spaced out and plentiful. My husband and I had the Burmese Tea Leaf Salad and the Mango Chicken. The tea left salad came pre-mixed and could use a little more flavor. The mango chicken was pretty flavorful but the spice caught me by surprise. I think the mango chicken would be good with some rice on the side. The staff were friendly and didn't rush us even though we were there for 1-2 hours. They were also able to split the bill for us for the items we ordered which was considerate for a large party like ours. Note: they charge an automatic 20% tip.
Good food! Ordered the Wok tossed tofu and veggies and garlic noodles. Juicy noodles and good flavor on the semi-gravy tofu. Wasn't a big fan of the Burmese iced tea!
Food is just so so. Be careful this restaurant overcharges on your credit card!!! Charged $31 on my credit card! If you split bill with your friend like me, then they would be happy since they can overcharges twice on your and your friend's bills!!How can you do business like this??!! It won't last long!!!
Got chili beef and spicy crispy chicken. Both tasted good, we asked for spicy and both dishes were spicy and flavorful. Chicken was nice and crispy. Portions small for the $13-14/dish, nickel-dimey about rice. No rice (or other starch) is included with entrees that are meant to be eaten with a starch. Side of rice is very small for the extra charge ($4 for 2 small bowls of plain jasmine). Check took forever to arrive. Wouldn't come back again, not worth it.
Really good food and friendly, attentive service. The tea leaf salad is especially good. Highly recommended
The food was really tasty and a great change of pace. We will dine here again.
Restaurantji Recommends
First time at Best of Burma. It's a small restaurant in Downtown San Mateo. Just close enough to the main Street (South B street) but far enough from the crowd. Currently they have a large tented area for outdoor dining. All the dishes were tasty. The tea leaf salad was good. It had lots of crunchy toppings which is one of the best things about the salad. The Nan Gyi Thoke is a curry noodle dish served with pork. The eggplant curry was not as spicy as I hoped. Good meal although the portions seemed a bit small.
I went there couple of times. The 1st time I went there, I ordered Indian rice with chicken. It was too dry so I added the sauce, the sauced tasted spoiled. I gave it a 2nd try last month. I ordered Burmese fish noodle soup with no fish. They smashed yellow beans mixed with rice noodle, no soup. I guess they try to trick Americans who never tasted Burmese food. They can’t trick me, I’m originally from Burma.
I don't want to give this place a terrible review, because the issues I have probably have more to do with my taste preferences than the actual quality of food. Pros: 1. Packaging was great, nice and neat. 2. The chicken curry with paratha was very tasty. Cons: 1. Garlic noodles were soft and kind of bland. I thought they would have more chew to them, but maybe that's how it was supposed to taste? Anyway, they were nothing special. 2. The Nan Gyi Thoke came with nice condiments and fixings, but the actual noodles were so soft and mushy. Maybe it was supposed to be eaten more like a soup, but even with a soup I would think the noodles would have more substance? I've never had this dish before, so I feel bad criticizing it. 3. Sesame Beef was too sweet! And didn't taste anything like beef, but rather a mix of sweet and sour pork and General Tsao's chicken. I was expecting something more savory and saucey, not fried hard pieces of beef soaked in sugar syrup. Once again, this is probably how it was supposed to taste, and I wasn't aware. So, I'm not sure if we'll order here again. It was very expensive and not that much tastier than cheaper restaurants we've eaten at. Plus, since the only thing we liked was the chicken curry and paratha, we can just get that from an Indian restaurant instead.
some dish we ordered just took out of the refrigerator, is cold. other dishes are very oily
Omg small portion- Ordered a tea leaves salad for $15 through DoorDash. The salad was in a 5"x5"x1.5" (smaller at the bottom) container and part of the space was used to put a sauce container. It was not even packed tight. Not much flavor and too oily, more salad would have balanced the oil. First and last time ordering from this restaurant.