Sauerkraut fish is having a moment. While it’s not necessarily a rarity at Bay Area restaurants — it’s on the menus at Taste of Old Street in San Francisco and Wei’s Fish in Cupertino, for example — last month, the dish’s profile got a big boost with the opening of Tai Er in downtown San Mateo.

At the Sichuan restaurant, sauerkraut fish — or suan cai yu — is a signature. In Mandarin, “suancai” translates to “sour vegetable,” commonly referred to as Chinese sauerkraut. Tai Er’s sauerkraut fish, comprising sliced snakehead fish and pickled mustard greens in a pork bone broth, is hands-down its bestseller. 

“Pretty much every single table orders it,” said Kevin Liu, marketing director for Tai Er’s North American operations. “People come here for this. It’s the one you come back and order, come back and order, maybe pairing it with other dishes.”

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A chef works the wok station at Tai Er Sichuan Cuisine in San Mateo, Calif., Sept. 30, 2025.

A close-up detail of the signature sauerkraut fish at Tai Er Sichuan Cuisine in San Mateo, Calif., Sept. 30, 2025.

Interior of Tai Er Sichuan Cuisine in San Mateo, Calif., Sept. 30, 2025.

Globally, Tai Er peddles 20 million bowls of sauerkraut fish annually. The restaurant brand may be new to the Bay Area, but it was founded a decade ago and has more than 600 locations in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Macau, Singapore, Canada, Thailand, Indonesia and New Zealand.

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Although New York and Southern California are each home to fast-casual iterations, the 90-seat San Mateo venue marks its first full-service restaurant in the U.S. A larger outpost is expected to open by year’s end at Santa Clara’s Valley Fair mall.

“These two locations fit our requirements,” Liu said of the decision to double-down in Silicon Valley. Both checked key boxes for the company: good placement on a street corner or in a mall, solid foot traffic, and a well-populated and diverse community.

“We want to test the concept of this more elevated dining experience,” Liu continued. “If it’s a good model, we can open more.” Tai Er has also been looking at locations in San Francisco and the East Bay but has yet to find the right spot in either.

Interior of Tai Er Sichuan Cuisine in San Mateo, Calif., Sept. 30, 2025.

An employee places food ready to serve at Tai Er Sichuan Cuisine in San Mateo, Calif., Sept. 30, 2025.

Interior of Tai Er Sichuan Cuisine in San Mateo, Calif., Sept. 30, 2025.

Since I wasn’t previously familiar with sauerkraut fish, I met up with Liu in San Mateo to get a rundown on the iconic Sichuan specialty and, of course, dig in to see what the fuss is........

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