Cantoo came onto my radar about a year ago, as reported by Mission Local. Now that Mission Local’s reporting has expanded across the city, it was the perfect time to check it out.
Cantoo is owned and run by a Chinese family from Venezuela. There are quite a few countries in South America that have large Chinese populations and, over time, their cuisines have intertwined.
Cristina Wu Feng came here from Venezuela to study, and opened the restaurant in the Tenderloin almost four years ago, with her uncle as the main chef. Cantoo’s popularity is evident. We arrived early on a recent Monday evening, and within 20 minutes, almost every table was full of regulars — big groups, families, and other locals. Â
We were wowed by our first meal here. We started out with an empanada pabellon.
Pabellon, a shredded beef stew with black beans, is considered Venezuela’s national dish. Here, it’s folded into a light, fluffy cornmeal pastry and fried, as all empanadas should be. Savory, saucy, cheesy — quite possibly the best empanada I’ve ever had.
We also ordered, to share, the chili oil pan-fried dumplings.
Tender dumplings swimming in an addictive, house-made Sichuan peppercorn chili oil — a nice surprise, adding a little málà touch to the dish. I’d certainly get these again.
For his main, the BF ordered the combo cuatro estaciones.
This may look like your typical steam table Chinese fare, but from the beautifully lacquered ribs, meaty and slightly sweet, with nary a bit of dryness, to the crispy egg roll with its hint of cumin, to the savory chicken chop suey that we could not. stop. eating., so chock-full of crunchy vegetables, and the slightly crispy fried rice with ham and chicken, nicely redolent of sesame oil, every bite felt homemade, and as if it had just been prepared especially for us.
I really wanted the lechon, but instead of getting the Chef’s special, our server suggested getting the combo, which comes with rice and bok choy.
Perfectly cooked pork belly; moist and tender, with gorgeous crispy bits of skin in each bite, as the gods intended it, with a light plum sauce to accompany. Alongside, wonderfully fragrant rice and bok choy. We eat a lot of rice at home, but I’m not sure what wizardry takes place here to make just plain, white, steamed rice so delicious.
There are two sauces on each table, a sweet and sour, and garlic aioli with scallions, both homemade, I believe, but the latter of the two was fantastic, and I poured it over everything.
Serving sizes were generous, and we had leftovers to take home.
We were so excited to try more of the menu, we went back the following week.
We started out with another Venezuelan staple, taqueños.
This popular snack — squeaky, mozzarella-like cheese sticks in a light pastry dough — are apparently found in other parts of South America, too. They’re meant to be dipped in a sauce, so I slathered on the scallion aioli. I can see these being good with a cold beer.
I was intrigued by the salted egg and pumpkin on the appetizers list.
Another breaded and fried dish, I unfortunately could not discern the flavor nor texture of salted egg, but to be fair, I don’t really know what that tastes like. The pumpkin within was slightly sweet, but the whole was just a bit oily for me, and I didn’t care for them much.
The BF really liked them, and we took most of them home (once they’d cooled, I could taste the salted egg; just a savory little spread, not super flavorful, but better than I’d first thought).
As some dishes come with mini-arepas, I thought I’d get a side order to share.
Normally, arepas are the size of pupusas or salbutes, and the ones I’ve had are split down the middle and filled with cheese and veggies and/or meat. These little disks were filled with cheese but came whole, and sadly weren’t soft nor melty, but a little stiff instead. I suspect they were not made in house, and I’d not get them again.
Cantoo is known for its rotisserie meats, and I was torn between the duck and the chicken. Our server solved my dilemma, saying I could order a combination of the Cantonese style duck and the Venezuelan beer-brined chicken.
Happiness ensued. Both were scrumptious, but that duck! Incredibly juicy, with a crackling, delicate skin covering tender meat. As good if not better than any you see hanging in the windows of Chinatown.
The BF’s punta trasera (beer-marinated tri-tip) was huge.
There’s a huge pile of white rice underneath that slab of meat. The tri-tip was a bit chewier than the BF would have liked, but with a robustly beefy flavor. Good slaw, a bit sweet, and just OK fries alongside. The rice was sautéed this time, and still quite nice, scented with cilantro. We again had quite a bit of food to take home.
There’s a real family atmosphere at Cantoo that’s unassuming, yet welcoming. On both visits, the young servers were all sweet, warm, and efficient. The menu holds multitudes of dishes of both Venezuelan and Chinese cuisines we’ve yet to try, but we’re already planning return visits. And the price is right, especially for such homey, well-prepared food.
Cantoo (website)
572 O’Farrell St.
San Francisco
