Best Date Night Magic Restaurants in Chinatown
3 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
Baby Bistro
Chef Miles Thompson serves a concise six-dish seasonal menu inside an 1890s Victorian bungalow that seats just 35, designed to be fired as a complete progression.
Notable Picks
#1
Baby Bistro
8
Chef Miles Thompson runs a tight six-dish progression out of an 1890s Victorian bungalow in Chinatown, where the entire 35-seat room fires the same concise seasonal menu each night. The format rewards diners who want to hand over the reins—ankimo torchon and passionfruit-dressed spaghetti squash signal a kitchen comfortable with Japanese and European technique applied to California produce. Best approached as a complete experience rather than an à la carte stop, with the intimate scale and historic setting doing most of the atmospheric work.
Must-Try Dishes:
Country Bread with Liptauer Cheese, Ankimo Torchon, Spaghetti Squash with Passionfruit
What Makes it Special: Chef Miles Thompson serves a concise six-dish seasonal menu inside an 1890s Victorian bungalow that seats just 35, designed to be fired as a complete progression.
Worthy Picks
#2
Firstborn
7.8
Chef Anthony Wang's French bistronomy lens on Chinese American cooking produces technically ambitious plates—chili-crisp fried chicken, mapo-inflected steak tartare—inside a green-tiled Chinatown dining room at Mandarin Plaza. The polarized review pattern suggests diners who connect with the boundary-crossing approach leave thrilled, while others find the fusion concept uneven. Best on a quieter midweek evening when the noise drops and you can focus on the food.
Must-Try Dishes:
Fried Chicken Legs with Morita Chili Crisp, Steak Tartare with Broad Bean Paste and Silken Tofu, BBQ Cabbage with Aged Pork and Leeks Vinaigrette
What Makes it Special: Chef Anthony Wang applies French bistronomy techniques to Chinese American cooking, finishing dishes like chili-crisp fried chicken and mapo-style steak tartare in a green-tiled Chinatown dining room.
Southern-Mexico-focused cooking in a full-service, margarita-friendly setup on the plaza. The menu goes beyond basics with moles, cochinita pibil, and occasional live-music energy.
Must-Try Dishes:
Cochinita pibil taco, Mole sampler, Ceviche especial
What Makes it Special: Plaza cantina highlighting Southern Mexican flavors and moles.