SFGuide

The Best Dumpling Spots In SF

Where to go when you really want dumplings.
The Best Dumpling Spots In SF image

photo credit: Erin Ng

Every hour on the hour, our stomach sends a signal to our brain requesting a dumpling (we're no doctors, but it's a thing). Lucky for us, San Francisco has a lot of fantastic spots to get some. So whether you’re in the mood for momos, pelmeni, or really just feel like popping seven xiao long bao into your mouth in one sitting, this guide has you covered. Here are the best spots to add to your Very Official SF Dumpling Checklist.

THE SPOTS

photo credit: Brit Finnegan

Chinese

Pacific Heights

$$$$Perfect For:LunchCasual Weeknight Dinner
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The Dumpling Home team pretty much hit copy-paste on their menu when they opened up this sister outpost in Pacific Heights. That’s great news for cult followers of their phenomenal boiled, pan-fried, and steamed dumplings. The shengjianbao are a deep golden crisp on the bottoms and loaded with soup, and the hand-folded xiao long bao (available with beef or numb and spicy pork) are pulled off with Olympic-level precision. The sleek place is great for filling up (following a short wait for a table) after a big haul of athleisure wear and fancy sweaters from a nearby boutique. 

Ordering the khinkali from this Georgian restaurant in North Beach will transport you to a higher plane of existence. The jumbo, sack-like pockets with the thick knotted tops are brothy and perfect. Get the lamb or beef version for maximum juiciness. But you can’t go wrong with the velvety potato-filled ones, either. Order at the self-service kiosk and feel free to get tap happy—some Georgian wine and a bread boat filled with tangy melted cheese, butter, and egg should accompany your dumplings.

The titular mini potstickers at this lowkey Chinese spot in the Sunset are the size of a dollar coin and adorable as hell. But the tiny size of these pan-fried pork buns, served by the dozen, aren’t just a novelty—they’re fantastic, packed with a surprising amount of soup, and showing off bottoms that audibly crunch when you bite into them. The regular-sized dumplings are also deserving of attention like the well-executed xiao long bao and the pork and cabbage boiled dumplings with thick skins. 

photo credit: Melissa Zink

$$$$Perfect For:BreakfastBrunch

The orange awning outside of Good Mong Kok acts like a lighthouse beacon, signaling to the neighborhood that it’s a dim sum destination. The sign is clearly working—people line up outside of this shoebox-sized Chinatown bakery daily for their generously stuffed char siu bao, har gow, and siu mai. The big steamers by the window and the pastry cases are refilled constantly since items get snatched up just as fast. They're takeout-only, so grab one of everything, and, likely, devour your treats on the sidewalk in record time. 

If there’s one thing we look for in a dumpling spot, it’s incredible xiao long bao—and this Chinese restaurant in Hayes Valley delivers. Theirs are juicy and pork-filled, with chewy skins that are borderline translucent. We also love the pan-fried shengjianbao, which are soup-filled yet still crispy, and the green vegetable dumplings. Don’t overlook the rest of the menu, and load up on cucumber salad and the sweet-and-spicy dry-fried chicken wings

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

$$$$Perfect For:BrunchBig Groups

Dragon Beaux is for an over-the-top feast in a space that makes you feel like you’re sitting atop a gilded throne. Plush purple booths flanked by golden pillars and carved wood panels split the dining room up into a maze of sections. The dim sum coming out of here has a luxurious flair, too—like the truffle-filled soup dumplings tinted black by squid ink, and charcoal sponge rolls with hypnotic custard swirls. We never leave this Richmond spot without at least one order of their jumbo scallop siu mai, meaty two-biters steamed to perfection. 

If you want to make sure to do one thing right today, grab lunch at Bini’s Kitchen. This Nepali restaurant in SoMa makes some of our favorite momos in the city. We love everything about them—from the well-spiced turkey, lamb, or veggie fillings inside silky flour wrappers to the tasty roasted tomato and cilantro sauce that comes on the side. Get the combo meal if you’re really craving momos but still want to enjoy Bini’s other great dishes, like their sautéed cauliflower with peas, green onions, and spices.

Dumpling Specialist in Parkside is a small dumpling shop that serves impressive potstickers, pork buns, wontons in chili oil, and steamed dumplings with pork and cabbage. But it’s one of our favorite xiao long bao spots thanks to the well-seasoned pork filling. There are a few tables inside, but there’s no shame if you want to have private time at home with them since theirs hold up pretty well.

Carpeted floors, chandeliers, and mirrors lining salmon-pink walls make Hong Kong Lounge feel like a classic Chinese banquet hall and a conference room. It’s a casual setting for excellent Cantonese dim sum, like plump siu mai, sweet baked pork buns, and xiao long bao, which are standbys on every table along with noodle rolls with XO sauce. If there’s a crowd huddled in the entryway (there probably will be on weekends), things will move efficiently and that hankering for bao will be satisfied promptly. 

You’re coming to Yuanbao Jiaozi to break your personal record for the number of dumplings with pudgy creases eaten in one sitting. They make up most of the menu at this casual Sunset restaurant, and are folded up and dropped in bubbling vats of water for you after you order. The fabulous dumplings come in sets of fourteen, with fillings like pork and napa cabbage, chicken and corn, or mushroom and fish. You’re going to want more later, so stop by the fridge in the corner to grab pre-made dumplings for home.  

There are many reasons we love this Parkside dim sum spot: the siu mai overflowing with pork and shrimp, and the meaty xiao long bao, which is one of the best versions in the city. But the very big reason is Dumpling Kitchen’s pan-fried pork buns. They’re wrapped in a thick dough before being steamed, pan-fried, and then sprinkled with sesame seeds and scallions. Think of these dumplings as beautiful perfection.

Three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and the line at Dumpling Home. So when you’d rather not wait (or brave the Friday night Hayes Valley chaos), go to Dumpling Zone instead. The Forest Hill restaurant has a near-identical menu of steamed, boiled, and pan-fried dumplings (even down to the green, hedgehog-like vegetable dumplings), and is much easier to walk into. Go for the pan-fried pork bao, which are like puffy balloons full of savory soup and tender pork, or the crab and pork xiao long bao highlighting delicate, chewy wrappers. The non-dumpling department of the menu includes a solid selection of noodles and a garlicky cucumber salad that must be on your table.  

Yummy Dumpling isn’t a restaurant, but a shop in the Sunset that’s been selling frozen dumplings for years. They have everything from wontons to pork dumplings to xiao long bao, all of which you can boil, steam, or pan fry at home. Each pack comes with 12-20 dumplings, and prices range from $7-$14. You really can’t go wrong with anything here, but whatever you do, grab more than one bag of the pork and cabbage dumplings—they’re incredible, and you’ll probably finish them all in less than 24 hours. You've been warned.

Dumpling House in the Castro serves dumplings, buns, turnip cakes, potstickers, wontons, and Hong Kong-style wonton soup. If your dinner brain tends to want everything when dumplings are involved, you’ll probably welcome their shorter menu. The xiao long bao are extra soupy, the shrimp and pork dumplings are flavorful and meaty, and the wrinkly wontons are delicately wrapped and bathed in slightly spicy chili oil.

photo credit: Krescent Carasso

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Palette Tea House in Ghirardelli Square (from the Dragon Beaux people) commits to the art theme with full force—ceramic palette-shaped sauce dishes, anyone? While the theme feels somewhat kitschy, it does make this dim sum spot a lot of fun. Lobster har gow are injected with butter via tiny pipettes. Airy taro puffs are shaped like swans. And xiao long bao wrappers are bright red and green from beets and kale, respectively. Each dish would look right at home as a display at the deYoung. 

Whenever we want a plate of homemade pelmeni, we book it straight to the all-day Russian cafe and bakery in the Richmond. Their beef-and-pork-filled dumplings are meaty, doughy, and taste even better when dipped in that side of thick sour cream. On those all-too-frequent, foggy-misty days in the city, the move is to order the pelmeni in broth. Since this place is a one-stop shop for all the warm, sweet, savory, and comforting pastries that'll make you feel like an overused cable knit sweater, pair your dumplings with a honey cake.

On average, the dim sum specialties coming out of this Richmond bakery are about the size of a mini bowling ball. Especially the baked barbecue pork bun, which has a nice jammy filling that we would gladly eat by the spoonful. Walk in with $10 cash, and you’ll be on your way in under five minutes, weighed down with a bag full of still-warm steamed things that’ll keep you full well into the day. Service is efficient, so don’t let the line deter you. 

It’s been scientifically proven that eating Dancing Yak’s momos will raise your serotonin levels—at least for the next hour. The momos are juicy and packed with flavor, but they’re even better dipped in their spicy tomato and roasted soybean sauce. Order some immediately if you need a guaranteed pick-me-up in edible form.

Yank Sing is the city’s most famous dim sum spot—it’s been around since 1958 and is known to draw huge crowds, especially at the larger Spear Street location inside the Rincon Center. And while they’re arguably not the best dim sum spot in the city, Yank Sing is still a classic we love, and coming here at least once is a quintessential dining experience. Once inside, metal push carts with bamboo steamers will zoom past you, and you’ll have your pick of everything from phenomenal kurobuta pork and cabbage dumplings and steamed BBQ pork buns to scallop siu mai. Get one of everything and don’t hold back.

This spot in the Outer Sunset has 20 different kinds of dumplings, from chives with pork to zucchini with lamb (they’re boiled, but you can also ask for them pan-fried). You should absolutely order one of each, if you want to familiarize yourself with the full range of China North’s extensive menu—or if you woke up with an extremely urgent craving for dumplings today. If not, don’t leave without at least one order of their xiao long bao—they’re on the bigger side, and plenty juicy.

Mama Ji’s is a very solid option if you’re craving dumplings and are near the Castro. They make har gow, xiao long bao, pork and chive dumplings, and more (make sure to check their separate dim sum menu). Whatever you get, make sure the pan-fried potstickers, with their crispy-chewy skin, is part of your order. Mama Ji’s has more dumpling options on the menu for lunch (only the chive and shrimp, and pork & cabbage dumplings are available for dinner).

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