Portsmouth Square Garage

Yo I know it’s just a parking garage, but Portsmouth Square Garage is seriously the cheapest parking option for central Chinatown at a hourly rate of $ 3! With so many spaces available, this is also one of the most convenient parking options — much better than trying to navigate through the chaotic Chinatown streets to find street metered parking. Plus, almost everything good about SF Chinatown like Ross Alley is within a block or two from here, so if you are visiting this area, Portsmouth Square Garage is your best bet in parking!

If you are visiting Chinatown, this is the place to park! Conveniently located, reasonably priced and floors and spaces are coded with things like pandas, strength and bravery which makes remembering where you parked a LOT easier than «section E Space 221».
It can get a bit dark and the elevators are a little small. We are also typically able to get at least one of the locations we patronize to validate. I would definitely recommend this lot.

If you are visiting, dining, drinking or carousing in Chinatown or North Beach this is a great parking garage. Three bucks an hour is a deal for SF.
Tip: Elevators stop working at 10 pm.

My first trip to this garage, I pushed the button twice, took on ticket, but the gate wouldn’t open until I took the second one. The valet parker was charming about it. When I left, I left my camera with precious pictures of my grandkids in it. I called, and they called me back to say they had it. I drove up the next afternoon, amid scary traffic, and arrived too late for the office. A nice guy looked all around two offices and concluded that it was locked in their safe. I had to come up again, but they had it, and were very nice about it.

Underneath one of the Chinatown parks, they are able to offer tons of space for you at decent prices. On a busy Sunday I was still able to find a spot on the first floor down (the actual first floor is reserved parking) which was very helpful since we were already planning on walking way too much that day!
Seems easy at first but a little difficult trying to find your way back because having the reserved floor messes up the floor numbers. After a long day we made our way back and found our way out easily and to no delay. Main issues are cleanliness and lighting, way too dirty and way too dark!

Plenty of parking available. $ 3/​hour. Even during weekdays the place gets packed around lunch time. They have restrooms on level 2. Clean and not shabby. You use the parking ticket to access the restroom. Credit cards including AMEX is accepted.

Portsmouth Square Garage is convenient when stopping Chinatown and/​or North Beach. Entrance is on Kearny, although one may need to do a loop around during peak hours.
Self-​Parking is an option. During peak times, a no surcharge valet may be the only option.
Parking garage is amazingly large by SF standards and rates are fair at $ 3/​hr.
Self Parking is located on Level 3 & 4. Payment is made on Level 2, prior to returning to the vehicle.
Lot is secure too. I always see employees roaming the garage!

this parking garage brought me many memories since i was a child. i can close my eyes and i know how to get here. it is always my meeting spot if i ever wander off and look at all the amazing shops in SF china town.
i do like coming to this parking garage when we come to sf. its because its centrally located in china town and is easy to find. the location is near lots of great Chinese restaurants and shops as well also very close to down town union square as well within walking distance.
the parking is underground with 5 floors i believe. the simple signs inside is clear and not confusing. the spaces are spacious and aren’t too tight. its not fancy in here, more run down because its old. they did some renovation in here and is better now.
very simple one entrance and one exit too. the parking fee isn’t too high and is reasonable. i forgot how long we parked but it was under 8 bucks. also some nearby parking structure where we were going to park at charged 1.50 to 2 bucks for every half hour where this one charges hourly i believe.
also you have to pay on the second floor before going back to the car. you pay first because there is no one operating at the entrance and exit like before its all machine operated, so once you pay you get a slip and then enter the slip into the machine and it opens for you. there is a office right there and if something went wrong you can always knock on the window and they are happy to help you.
i do have many memories with this place because one time i had to use the bathrooms in emergency and i remember it was filthy inside and wet floors as well. also some other good memories is coming here with my family for the Chinese festivals such as the lion dances and etc for Chinese new year.
i hope this review gives you an idea where to park at.
1. centrally located
2. easy to find the parking structure
3. simple and easy entrance and exit since there are only one
4. nice and spacious parking size inside
5. inexpensive
Hope you like this review and help me vote for it and follow or add me if you haven’t. have a great day and thanks for reading.

Worse place to park if you want to go visit China town. No parking spaces available. If you do find a parking space there is no. Room to get out of your car. I would not recommend this place to anyone and horrible service.

I would suggest this parking to anyone who wants to hang out in china town. cheaper compared to the other parking

I’ve never reviewed a parking garage, but this one was so convenient that I had to. Parking is a B* in SF, so this garage is a blessing! Ask for validation if you’re in Chinatown.
My review is mostly selfish so that I could have documented data for myself to find the garage address easier.

I don’t drive much, but I have been here multiple times when I am with family/​friends and we need to go somewhere in Chinatown. The garage has a lot of tight spaces, is a bit pricey (SOME places will give you a voucher stamp for this particular parking garage), and gets me really dizzy having to go around and around the different levels (to find a spot or get out of the garage). To plainly put, I would rather take the bus or walk to this area.

Basically every time we visit San Francisco we end up parking here when we know we are going to spend the better part of the day in the city. The reason I like this garage so much is because geographically it is neutral to many places we end up going.
Usually we walk from here through Chinatown and eventually down to Union Square and Market Street. If we want to go to the Wharf we can take the cable car from Market and Hyde. Parking at the Wharf has one lot on Jefferson that is like 3 dollars every 20 minutes! This place is just 3 dollars an hour.
Unless you are going north on Kearny the only other way to access this garage is to be in the most left lane on Clay (one way) and you have your own light and lane to turn left into the garage.
Take a ticket, and see what spots are available. Keep your ticket and go to the pay station on the 2^nd floor.
Tip: while there is a restroom at the public park (street level above the garage) it is really not well maintained. There are restrooms INSIDE the garage on the 2^nd floor but you need your actual magnetic ticket (yes the one you used to get into the garage) to enter the restroom.
Each floor has a different color and a name to help you remember what level are are you are in. The ramps and rows are actually quite spacious and not as tight as many other parking lots I’ve seen in the city. The value of this lot is actually not bad at all compared to other places to park as well.

MY all time favorite parking garage in San Francisco. Theoretically, you can walk to anywhere in the city from here as long as your cholesterol is under 150* combine.
Easy to park, easy to recall section you parked in as it has both names and numbers like «Wisdom» section C… Lots of spaces big enough for real man cars and my favorite thing of all~You can come back around 1 AM, slam your door and the echo sounds like a canon went off for 4 full seconds! Love that effect! :).Up the elevator you are in a Hong Kong knock off! I love Chinatown San Francisco style!

When visiting San Francisco’s Chinatown, this is our go to place to park our car. This seems like most people’s place to park their cars when visiting Chinatown or even San Francisco’s financial district.
When we arrived at the entrance we pushed the button, and it said «Please Wait for the next available parking space. The lot is temporarily full». We were like wait for what??? We are at the entrance waiting… well we just continued to push the button till it eventually let up and gave us a ticket LOL.
We ended up parking for 5 hours and the total came up to be $ 15 dollars. That’s a reasonable price for 5 hours I suppose.
Pay on level 2 before leaving the parking garage and always keep your ticket with you!
No complaints really… open 24 hours too!

For parking in the Chinatown area this is usually the place most people go as it is really central to all of Chinatown. The price is fixed at $ 3/​hr so not too bad if you don’t want to drive around all day looking for parking. The lot spaces are a little tight but on a weeknight, it wasn’t very full, so plenty of empty spots. We were close to the elevator as well and remember the floor numbers go down not up. 4^th floor is the bottom and 1^st floor is the street level. It lets yo off right into the square and depending on the time of day you can watch people gambling for chess or cards or whatever they are playing. I know this one guy usually plays 3 people at a time in Chinese chess so that’s fun to watch. All in all, never had any problems parking here and the rates are reasonable. It’s a little cheaper on weekends at the St. Mary’s garage but just depends on where in Chinatown/​North Beach/​FiDi you are going. Weekends I would probably use the St. Mary’s garage as I remember it being $ 1.5/hr after 5 or 6. But during the day the rate is all the same so decide based on your location.

Hi if u come in to city best place to park your car the prices is not bad better then other places that cost too much an the best of it u can walk down to pire 39 or down town or north beech or any were neer by or just comeing out to have party around the city they open 24hr that why I all way park it hear because of 24hr and the price is right wil try it out see if u like will have good weekend
Ps injoy the pic

THE place to park when you’ll be in SF Chinatown. I was rather shocked when I initially saw the $ 3/​hr parking, only to confirm it myself when I arrived. For SF parking, this is really reasonably priced, especially if I am not going to stay in the area for long.
–1 star for being easily missable along Kearney. Took me at least 2 tries to find it.
When I arrived there was actually no more parking space, so I had the option to use valet service. Valet is free, which was much appreciated. If not using the valet, be warned if you pay at the cashier the line for this is LONG. Looked to be at least a 10 minute wait when I returned at 1pm. However as I had used valet service the cashier for that line was nonexistent; less than 5 minutes from paying my car arrived. I was quite relieved that this part was quick as I got lost trying to find the garage and I only had 30 minutes to drive to the VA for another lab tour (I barely got there on time).
UPDATE 1÷7÷2013: My parents and I visited Chinatown again and directed them to this parking garage. The actual parking spaces are a little on the narrow side. What’s really nice is that the elevator takes you up to Portsmouth Square, right along the entrance to Chinatown! Only downside about the elevator is that there is no down button — you have to wait until someone goes up and that the elevator closes at midnight. Parking is 24 hours, but past midnight you’ll have to go by the main entrance along Kearney.

$ 3/​hour right in the midst of Chinatown is not too bad at all. Parking on the SF streets is $ 3/​hour, so why not safely park inside the garage for the same price?
It is right next to R&G Lounge, one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the city. They validate parking if your check is over $ 50.
There are restrooms inside the garage and it’s accessible only to people who park the car in this garage. Yeah, you would need to swipe your ticket for the restroom door to open.
There is a cashier inside the garage where you need to pay. Credit cards accepted.

Parking ranges from $ 3 for an hour to $ 27 for 24 hours (or lost ticket). Pretty cheap for SF parking and compared to most garages. Be sure to bring your ticket with you. Payment is in the 2^nd floor, self pay.
Dirty and stinky, but it’s parking. Never once tried using the stairs. Friend warned me of the stink of pee. Located below a park and playground. People atop are gambling away, enjoying the weather, or wandering around.
Be careful coming out because you’ll be merging onto traffic from the left side.