Lime Tree Southeast Asian Kitchen

Not bad for a first experience, the martabak + green curry was good even for someone who isn’t the biggest on green curry. Great value for taste. The chicken fried rice was less than unique or flavorful, unfortunately. Could have used more seasoning, and I didn’t really see how it was different from Thai fried rice, honestly.
Will be back to try some of their other dishes, and great service ! The woman was very attentive and sweet.

Omg I now love Singaporean food! The glass noodles with curry were full of flavor and enough was leftover for lunch the next day. Laksa was spicy and creamy and filled me up fast.
The service was attentive and friendly. Prices were cheap too! The restaurant isn’t self could use a little makeover and deep cleaning but if you don’t mind the whole in the wall vibe then it works!

I’m not that great when it comes to judging Malaysian dishes (in fact I’m probably terrible at it), but I thought the coconut laksa noodles here were absolutely delicious. When accompanied with lime, the dish produces a sweet, spicy, sour, and savory combination that was incredibly memorable. Some people might be a bit weirded or by the taste and I can see why. However, if you’re able to look past the weird combination, the coconut laksa noodle is definitely something to try.
The service here was good. The restaurant itself is located in a little alleyway so it can be incredibly easy to miss.

Great location — my family stopped by after visiting the California Academy of Sciences in the Golden Gate Park.
Very casual atmosphere, but the food was delicious! Can’t say I’m too familiar with southeast asian food, but we ordered the Roti to start with, Singaporian Curry Noodles, Laksa, shrimp noodles, and the fried rice equivalent. The curry sauce that came with the Roti was delicious, it was the favorite part of my meal!
I would recommend sharing, since each of the dishes are rather large and I imagine it would be a bit much to eat that much of the same thing.

FOOD: excellent; best Singaporean noodles I have ever had. Corn fritters, martabak and Thai iced tea were all delicious.
ATMOSPHERE: very casual
SERVICE: good/​friendly
We were impressed and intend to visit again!

Not impressed at all!
I came here thinking I’ll get authentic spore food but there’s nothing authentic abt spore food lah.
The laksa taste like milk plus got no milo to kanna swallow the food!
Walau no nasi lemak! No chicken rice!
No Hokkien mee!
No nothing sia!
Next time I go try the other location lah and see how it work out!
Oh roti prata had green sauce! Green sauce?
The owner too funny sia and I wonder he ever been to a hawker center before!

Ordered the corn fritters, chicken satay, and curry noodles takeout. Had a ~20min trip home and the food was still delicious even after waiting that long before eating.
Seriously, everything was just amazing, this place is spot on.

The restaurant is literally a «hidden» gem because it’s situated at the basement level with its entrance hidden at the side of the building. I passed the place twice before finally seeing the humble sign «Lime Tree» and it was then that I felt relief that Lime Tree has not been closed forever and that maybe I missed the memo.
I’ve eaten here multiple times since, and had various soups, curry noodles, but my favorite is definitely the Chicken Nasi Goreng. That dish reminded me of the Halal Guys Food Truck that served a solid portion of spiced meat, rice, and sauces, and leaves you so satisfied.

Ordered take-​out from here for the first time last night and was pleasantly surprised!
We ordered roti, Singaporean curry noodles and shrimp laksa (requested spicy). Everything was delicious! Fair prices and generous portions. The service here is also very kind– even for take out. The décor is refreshingly not hip with a family owned charm.
Will be back!

3.5 stars
Easy to miss if you’re driving by, since it’s located in a basement.
Ordered the shrimp and tofu, which was really flavorful and tried a bit of the mie tek tek, a good choice if you wanna change it up from your usual noodle fare.
I’d come back if I’m in the area and looking for a no frills, quick, satisfying meal. No brown rice here though, which makes me kinda sad.

I’ve always have had a weak spot for Southeast Asian food. And this establishment is no different. The restaurant is a bit hidden, with the entrance on the side of an alley way, and a tad on the smaller end. But it’s definitely a place to try out.
We came here a little before 9 pm, but the place was till pretty full. Luckily there was one open table so we were able to be seated promptly. There aren’t too many options on the menu, but there is enough variety to have multiple unique dishes to share. Based on Unilocal recommendations and photos, we opted for the roti pratha, martabak, singaporean noodles, and basil tofu.
The roti pratha is a must have if you dine here. Think of a thinner and more savory pancake that comes with a yellow curry dipping sauce. I don’t know what is in the roti, but it is by far one of the best dishes I have ever stumbled upon. It’s chewy yet crispy, savory but sweet. And getting to use your hands to pull the roti and dip into the sauce always makes eating more pleasurable.
The martabak is the roti stuffed with minced meat and other spices. I personally enjoyed this dish, but I could see how it would be redundant to order this and the roti pratha since they are very similar to one another.
The singaporean noodles were decent. They were pretty similar to what you would expect of if you ordered it from another restaurant. So it personally didn’t stand out to me.
The basil tofu was a pleasant surprise. I generally try to stay away from tofu, since I am a meat lover, but my gf insisted on this plate. It reminded me of a light curry dish from a thai restaurant, maybe a mild penang.
And important to note is how cheap this place is. Our entire dinner only costed us $ 31, which is dirt cheap considering how large the portions were. We were able to eat another meal with just the leftovers.
Definitely a place to check out if you are in the area.

What day is it? Oh, it’s Two-​Star Tuesday!
This is specifically for the catering only. At first I was excited to see that Lime Tree was providing food for my company’s holiday party because of all the positive Unilocal reviews.
Sadly the catering must not be up to par to the restaurant. The famous highly-​anticipated Beef Rendang looked very gloppy, which was totally unappealing. I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to look at the mess, but it tasted just like it looked. Gross. The Roti Pratha was pretty tasty, but VERY oily. I’m not sure if it’s because it was sitting there for awhile that more oil accumulated on the roti, but there it was. The only thing garnering this 2 stars is the Fried Fish, which was a solid item that seemed to travel and sit well.
For some reason Unilocal hasn’t been attaching any of my photos to my recent reviews (noooooo, whyyyy?), but for this review I couldn’t even remember to snap a photo because it looked so bad.
A total disappointment for catering reasons, but would be willing to try the restaurant sometime. I’m curious to see the vast difference between the holiday party fiasco and a meal in the restaurant itself.
TIP: Most of the food can’t survive for purposes of a large party (~300 people).
DATE TIP: Take your date to the actual establishment, just to be safe. Get it fresh! TWSS.

I’ve eaten at Lime Tree Southeast Asian Kitchen 2 times now. The first time was in 2011 and it’s grown in popularity so much since then. My most recent visit was last weekend. I’ve been craving Indonesian food since I visited Bali last November and Lime Tree serves Nasi Goreng (fried rice). When we arrived, we came to find that they now have a sign up sheet when you enter. The tables were almost all full, but we were seated right away. Yay! Perfect timing since there was a line shortly after we were seated.
We ordered the beef rendang, chicken nasi goreng, and the roti. I loved the roti! It was thicker than I was used to but I didn’t mind it at all. The peanut sauce wasn’t too peanut and was the right amount of creamy. The beef rendang was just ok. I’m not a big fan of meat fat or any kind of fat for that matter. The nasi goreng was good and came with peices of chicken. It was definitely not as flavorful as nasi goreng in Indonesia, but for fried rice it was pretty good. Indonesian food tends to have TONS of flavor. In the past, I’ve also tried their curry noodles with chicken and that was pretty memorable. I only remember this place because of that dish. I didn’t order it the most recent time I visited, but that’s because I knew it would be way too much food.
The prices are fair and the waiters/​waitresses are always walking around making sure you don’t need anything and refilling your water.

If you’re reading this and you’re looking for the front door, I suggest looking a little lower. Located in the basement level, I don’t think I would’ve found this place if it weren’t for Unilocal.
The restaurant may not be the most flashy and there may not be many seats, but the food here is phenomenal! I came here on a Sunday night near closing time. There were maybe 2 other parties there at the time so no waiting for me! We were seated by one of the two staff members in visible view (both of whom were pretty young). I wasn’t able to distinguish if our hostess was rude or simply didn’t understand English, but that’s okay, the other guy was super friendly.
Anyways, I came here because I haven’t had South-​East Asian food in a while. Me and my ended up ordering the following:
Roti Pratha — I eat this like every week at many locations. The roti is toasted nicely, but may be a little thick for my liking. Provided with a generous dish of curry, why not soak it all up.
Mie Tek Tek — A unique bowl of spicy noodles. Definitely enough to feed one person with its hearty portions of noodles and chicken
Indonesian Fried Rice (I think) — SO MUCH FLAVOR. I wish I was the one who ordered this but I didn’t and that gives me no right to eat the whole plate…
If I ever find myself in the area, I think I’d love to come back here to try the curry noodles. Too bad the parking here sucks, but sacrifices must be made!

Hidden gem on Irving street! Reasonable price and fast service, great for grabbing a quick lunch or dinner.
Their roti is quite good, the curry sauce is not too water down, portion is just right for an appetizer so you aren’t full from eating it alone. I love the Singaporean curry noodles and the shrimp fried rice. The Singaporean curry noodles is flavorful, but a little too saucy. I am used to having drier Singaporean noodles. The shrimp fried rice is also tasty and good portion.
Well-​lit restaurant even though it is half underground, and we never had trouble getting a table. The food is decent but nothing too impressive, a convenient place for a quick meal.

We got a to go order of Singaporean Curry Noodle, and this dish was absolutely tasty. I am surprised at how much I like this dish, and this makes me want to come back and try their other dishes!
The spices and seasoning make this dish unique and incomparable to the HK style Singaporean Curry Rice Vermicelli. The flavors and spices are on point! For a bit more spice, I ate mine with sriracha chili sauce. Nomnom.

Plutôt bon marché et bon. Attention, parfois ça piqué! Pas très loin du golden gate park.

After one of my good friends told me about this place, I have been looking forward to trying Lime Tree. I’m definitely glad I did because everything I hoped for came true.
You know those restaurants that are not really underground but are like a bit lower than surface level where you can see people’s feet outside as you are eating? THIS IS THAT KIND OF RESTAURANT. When we entered Lime Tree, my friend and I were hit with this acute aroma of curry. This restaurant is very small and super cozy, and luckily we were seated right away.
One thing you will notice is that the menu is very short, but that just means they can specialize! We were debating on what to order and after zooming through reviews, we settled on the Beef Rendang, Singaporean Noodles, Fritters, and the Martabak. Looking back, we shouldve stuck with three items, but o well!
# Martabak
If you just handed this to me out of the blue, I would’ve thought that you were giving me a ground beef quesadilla. Nevertheless, this appetizer was extremely good with the curry dipping sauce. It was crunchy, flavorful, and satisfying. I’d give it a ⁴⁄₅.
# Corn Fritters
Ironically, if you’d give me this out of the blue, I’d think popcorn chicken? The corn fritters are just fried corn. The sauce was okay, but the fritters themselves were crunchy, and oh so delicious. Get them! This is definitely ⁵⁄₅
# Singaporean Noodles
This was what I was looking forward to the most. I have nothing but praise for this dish. Though it’s simple to make, there’s so many flavors inside this dish. They definitely put the right amount of curry in here. I’d give it a ⁵⁄₅
# Beef Rendang
At first, I was hesitant to get rendang with my friend for two reasons. 1, I already ate too much meat this week and 2, I was going to make the same dish tomorrow. The reviews were mixed too, but let’s give it a try? Unfortunately, the rendang really didn’t meet our expectations. Even though meat was tender, it was pretty bland and the sauce had very little spice. I guess I had too high of standards after tasting amazing rendang at Jayakarta in Berkeley. This isn’t worth the $ 11. I’d give it ²⁄₅. I feel so bad, since the waitresses kept asking if we wanted to take the rest home…
Overall, I love Lime Tree. The prices for each dish are very inexpensive and the food is amazing. Come check it out yourself and be amazed!
Eat well and prosper,

I bookmarked this restaurant a while ago. After the long anticipation, I have to say i am slightly disappointed.
Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by the yummy Malaysian/​Singaporean restaurants in Vancouver. But I can’t seem to understand why this restaurant has such high reviews.
To start, we had the Martabak. It looked great, but it tasted just okay. The minced meat overpowered the roti flavor, and the roti was thin so it tasted more like a beef pastry.
The glassnoodle was the best dish, but the portions were pretty small. Do ask for their homemade hot sauce if you are obsessed with spicey food like me. It really did enhance the flavor of the dish.
The beef rendang wasn’t great either. It’s supposed to be one of their most popular dish. Yes, it melts in your mouth. but doesn’t every other beef stew? It was watery and bland.
I left the restaurant feeling like a sad panda.

Havent been here for many years. Finally decided to come back to give this place another try since my brother was hungry and wanted to eat out. When you come to this place, it doesn’t look like a restaurant. Small little place that looks like a café. The look of the place is alright. I would say, it could have been better in the look of the place. You can see the cookers in the back of the cashier area. Although this place do display the name of the restaurant, you can miss it if you dont pay attention if driving. Plus when you go to their entrance, its more like in the ally.
Came here for a sunday lunch. And it was actually busy that we had to put our name on the wait list. Probably 15 – 20 minutes wait to get our table. There were only couple waiters that deal with the customers. One of the them had a busy mind and moving so much that my brother had to tell him to breathe but couldnt since he was too focus of the busy restaurant.
Anyways, we ordered a few dishes which are: 1. Singaporean curry noodle, 2. Martabak with curry dipping sauce, and 3. Tofu and shrimp entrée plate.
Each of the food that we had were good. Has a lot of flavor. 3 plates were enough for us to get us full for a little bit. The prices here are ok. Thought some of the prices of the foods are kinda pricy. The menu is small so there’s not a lot of choices to choose from
They give you watermelon at the end of your meal.

3.5 Stars
My overall impression of Lime Tree is that they serve homestyle dishes that they grew up eating and wanted to share that with people. The menu is concise and offers enough variety to suit anyone’s mood. Price point is affordable and you get a decent amount of food to boot.
While the flavors were intriguing and offered something unique I didn’t find myself wanting more.
Service was efficient and polite, really appreciated the fruit at the end
Space is tiny so hard for large parties and the wait can be long due to the limited amount
Overall Thoughts
Perhaps another visit will sway me to see what all the fuss is about