Thank God for the Dumpling Bar! Comparable to Din Tai Fung but without the long waitlist. We are a large family and we're seated immediately upon arrival. The place was nice and humble. We all opted for all you can eat (AYCE) which is about 30 dollars per person for lunch. Food took a bit to cook but when it came out, a plethora of food arrived all at once! Must try: The noodle soup - broth is so flavorful - sweet, savory punch. Braised short rib - tender meat with bold flavors Any if not all of the dumplings - each have nice bites read more

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I was excited to try this place out since I saw a video of it on Instagram & it seemed really good. The place is small, food was okay, but definitely not anything extraordinary. Portions were a good size. Our waitress wasn't very good at answering questions about the food & we waited on water for a hot minute. The real reason for my 2 star review is that she didn't give my husband his correct change. We payed with $100 bill & our total was $68.94. She only gave him back $21 when clearly the receipt shows he was owed back $31.06. I don't believe this was an honest mistake especially since she didn't even bring back the 6 cents so she basically pocketed her $10.06 tip & literally disappeared after that. I was going to ask her about the change & she was literally gone. We were going to leave her a tip, but that's our job as the customer not hers to just take away on her own. I think this is definitely weird behavior & left a sour taste in my mouth. Won't be back. COUNT YOUR CHANGE. read more

Dumpling Bar - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

Just ate here for my first time. Brought the family to try a local dumpling bar. I was seated quickly considering how busy they were. Which was so nice. Our server was a young lady with big glasses. She was what ruined the experience. Short, not very helpful on the menu and didn't make any extra comments regarding service or questions about the menu. She genuinely just didn't seem happy to be working there. Being an owner of a restaurant, I must say I was blown away by how she served, not well. Food was decent. Nothing special or that I'd rave about to a friend. Kinda bummed considering we live relatively close and it would be convenient to come back often. The AYCE was nice as a fixed price for the whole menu. But again, food was just okay. Sorry I hate leaving a not so great review but this one is well deserved. read more

Stopped by this small dumpling shop in Encinitas to try their all you can eat menu with some friends. We ordered a few dishes including the spicy chicken wonton, cucumber salad, sweet and sour baby ribs, and Chinese churro for desert. The service was a bit on the slow side but the food was of high quality and freshly prepared. The XLB was stuffed with meat as were the wontons. The AYCE menu likely makes sense if you have three or more in the group, otherwise an individual would likely be full after just one order. Overall a great spot for dumplings in the Encinitas area. read more

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My friends and I had dinner here on a Wednesday evening. Service was on the slow side. I tried the following: - Brown Sugar Milk Tea with Boba - Pork Soup Dumplings - Chicken Spicy Wontons - Cucumber Salad I enjoyed everything I tried. The soup dumplings were flavorful and served at a good temperature. The wontons and cucumber salad weren't spicy to me but both had good flavor. read more

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Date night with my wife finally brought us to Dumpling Bar in Encinitas--worth the wait. They offer both à la carte and all-you-can-eat ($31-$34), and if you come hungry, AYCE is the move. Highlights: pan-fried pork XLB (crispy & juicy), beef dumplings and potstickers (solid flavor), crispy egg rolls, and the sweet and sour baby back ribs... easily a favorite. Food came out fast, everything was fresh, and the rounds system makes it easy to try a lot without overdoing it. Shout out to Cody for the great service. Easy date night spot. Definitely coming back. read more

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We tried the AYCE dumplings at Dumpling Bar and overall it was a decent experience. The concept is great if you're really craving dumplings and want to try a variety. The food was okay--nothing that really stood out, but still satisfying enough if you're hungry. Service was also just alright. Not bad, but not particularly memorable either. Everything came out in a reasonable time. Overall, I'd give it 4 stars--it's a good spot if you're in the mood for all-you-can-eat dumplings, but I wouldn't say it's a must-try. read more

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Tried this fabulous place out after we saw the instagram post and it lived up to the hype! DELISH! Service was great! Attentive and friendly. Cute little place. Tried the all you could eat option, and it was worth it. The Beef Pot Stickers were savory, the Pork XLB was mouth watering and my hubs loved the Chicken Wonton with chili sauce. If you would like a nice lunch exploring different options, I highly recommend it! read more

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Ok food, not terrible. Water tasted dirty. Highlights were the veggie dumplings and cucumber salad. Service was ok, had to flag down our waiter a few times. Overall would probably not go back again. read more

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DUMPLINGS IN ENCINITAS (4.5 stats) - FOOD: good - PRICE: fair - SERVICE: excellent - AMBIANCE: cute ... was a good pick for lunch. And nice to see the food scene diversifying outward from their downtown area. It's located in a plaza with kind of ample parking. The restaurant is small but very cute and clean - section area watching them make fresh dumplings. Came mainly for one item because "it's cute" and didn't have much expectations only to have left surprised and delighted. This place is a dumpling bar, similar food concept to DTF but not DTF. CUCUMBER SALAD ($6.50) - this was very refreshing to eat and they put the right amount of oil/dressing on top where you still taste most of the freshness of the cucumber with light glazed flavor of the oil/dressing. RECOMMEND BAO TEA COMBO ($17.95) - THIS is what I came for. You have two choices of boba, green tea or brown sugar... I went with the green tea but heard the brown sugar was more popular. The container had about 6 big dumplings and they were actually very good. I usually don't like big dumplings but these were acceptable, dumpling wrapper was not too thick, and the meat filling inside had good taste and juicy - yes juicy! I was afraid that after a little while the dumpling was going to get hard and chewy but it didn't and they stayed soft and elastic. If comparing to DTF, it's not as delicate BUT it's good. HIGHLY RECOMMEND Will def be back to try other things off their menu. Excited this opened and glad it's not in Convoy. Until the next review read more

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First time trying this place, what is interesting is that they have two menu option, first option is the ala carte menu versus the all you can eat option, my wife and I opted in for the Ala carte menu just to try it and it did not disappoint, every item we ordered was outstanding although we think the filling or the meat inside the dumplings could have been more but nonetheless it was very tasty! read more

Dumpling Bar - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

The rating is 3.4 We went on a Saturday for lunch and the wait time was about 45 minutes to an hour. You can opt for the all you can eat which includes everything on the menu except for 3 items (bao tea combo, hot jasmine tea, and san Pellegrino water) marked or order a la carte. We decided to do AYCE for $34.99 per person (Fri-Sun) to get the full experience. You can only order 2 items per person per round. We started off with the pork and crab xlb, shumai and har gow. The xlbs were good except the skin was on the thicker side. The shumai and har gow were okay. Next we ordered the chicken wontons in chili sauce which was more on the tangy side than we liked and well as the cucumber salad which was below average due to the tanginess and lack of proper seasoning. Also had the crispy fried pork chop which was mid. The beef potstickers were okay and the brown sugar milk tea was not as special as their star drink, the green boba milk tea. The star were their steamed custard buns and green boba milk tea!! They definitely were on point for those. The steamed buns were soft and the green boba milk tea was perfect! The staff was nice but they were really busy throughout so you have to try get their attention if you need something. The space is small but it worked for them. Overall, the quality of dim sum is what you'd expect to see at an all you can eat restaurant. A lot of the dishes were sadly a bit disappointing for us. read more

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We finally ate at the restaurant. The food is good and everyone liked their dishes. The service is horrible. I don't necessarily blame the servers. It seems very chaotic from the kitchen to the front of the house and everyone working there walked around like chickens without heads. If the manager/owner is reading this please get it more organized. I felt bad for everyone working there. read more

Ryan was a great server! This place made the dumplings very fresh and were delicious. The ayce options on the menu is pretty much everything. read more

Really good food and definitely worth checking out. The dumplings were fresh, hot, and full of flavor. The soup dumplings were my favorite, but everything we ordered was really good. I brought my kids and it ended up being a great family spot. The staff was friendly, the food came out fast, and my kids actually cleaned their plates, which says a lot. Prices were fair, the place was clean, and the overall vibe was relaxed and welcoming. We'll definitely be coming back. If you like dumplings, give this place a try! read more

Dumpling Bar - Spicy Beef Dumpling (6pcs) - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

Amazing food. You can not skip this place. the service is amazing they will guide you to the best parts of the menu. don't sleep on the cucumber salad. my new favorite spot. Great place, great service. read more

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$35 for AYCE dumplings! We went here for lunch and decided to do their AYCE. Everyone at the table had to participate. Almost everyting on the menu is included so that was nice. You can order 2 items per person at a time and have a 2 hour window. We started with the cucumber salad, beef short ribs, and Taiwanese beef noodle soup. All good. We ordered the steamed crab and the pork xiaolong bao. We prefer the pork over the crab. I did like their shrimp hai cao dumplings and we ordered a few of those. The food was good but we weren't blown away. I think if you order them a la carte, prices were a bit high for the quantity of the dishes too. We did order the pan fried xiao long bao dumplings and they came out raw inside. The were cooked and crispy on the outside but completely raw inside. I think they forgot to steam it first. Totally disgusting! Service was good but understaffed as others have mentioned. There was one young man was taking care of everyone in the restaurant. read more

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For the price, this was a good meal! The service was really on top of it - super quick to bring out dishes and everything felt hot and fresh. We enjoyed the seaweed salad, pork ribs, pork XLB, beef potstickers, fried pork chop, chocolate and custard dessert buns, and scoop of ice cream. We left feeling perfectly full. Some of the dishes were lacking flavor or were overcooked, but overall it was a really pleasant experience and the price is great for AYCE. read more

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This is exceptional ayce dumplings and accompanying food. You can buy soda and it's in cans but they are warm and given with ice. The dumplings are very good and the setting is comfortable. Self serve ice cream accompanies the chocolate buns very well read more

Came hungry to AYCE and this place was so worth it for $31.99. You really can't beat that pricing. The service was amazing. We asked Chrissie for recommendations and everything she suggested was fire, especially the custard and chocolate buns. She went above and beyond for us and I hope she's our server next time! We had the ribs, cucumbers (), rib soup, beef wontons, pork bao, and more. Every dish hit. Absolutely worth the drive. It's in a great area with tons of parking too. read more

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This was a good halfway point for my friend and I to meet. I'd say 3.5 stars, mainly because it took a while for all the food to come out. Pros: Food is good and made fresh. Lots of parking. XLB - Tasty and well made Eggrolls - crispy and full of flavor Beef dumplings - executed well Crispy Pork Chop on scallion oil noodle - good amount of food. Pork chop was indeed crispy and noodles had a nice bite Fried Rice - pretty good fried rice (not pictured) Cons: the service is slow. Slow enough that my stomach felt satiated before my entree (noodles) came out. We shared the dumplings and eggrolls, but it took over 20 min from our first to last dish. The upside of this is that I got to spend time with a friend I hadn't seen in a while. Also, I definitely didn't overeat, and ended up taking the noodles home. They reheated pretty well. Bottom line: If you are in a rush, you might want to order take out. If you have the time to spare, come in, take a load off and enjoy the food/company (even if it is just you!) read more

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Stopped in at around 5:30pm on a friday and there were lots of open seats, but noticed it quickly filled up by 6pm. We opted for the ayce which was $35 per person. We got the Pork XLB both the normal one and pan fried one- each came with 6 pieces. I will say slightly doughy, but both filled with a good amount of meat so can't complain there. I personally liked the pan fried a bit more and was probably one of my favorites of the night. The Shumai comes in 4 and was very good. The beef dumplings were also tasty and not too spicy even though they came with chili sauce. The fried rice was just ok- honestly a bit dry and not enough flavor. The lo mai gai was also ok, decent size but that and the fried rice is probably too much rice for two people. Edamame was ok, but prefer just salted edamame. The steamed bbq pork buns also also had a bit too much bun and the bbq pork was not my favorite- but I will say I am more of a baked bbq pork bun gal. Chocolate and custard buns were good for dessert- lots of filling! Overall, pretty good for ayce and would definitely come again- but focus on the dumplings!! read more

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I tried this place because I've been seriously craving dim sum, and a friend shared it on Instagram. We decided to do the AYCE dim sum option, which let us try almost everything on the menu, including dim sum, soups, appetizers, and drinks, for $34.99 (we went on a Sunday). The standout dishes for me were the shu mai, BBQ ribs, cucumber salad, and the chocolate bun. I also loved that soft drinks and boba milk teas were included in the AYCE, which was a nice bonus. They even include ice cream to end the meal. It's a bit of a drive for me, but I'd definitely make the trip again for the food. read more

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omg the best hidden gem! will be back! get the all you can eat for such a good deal on amazing fresh food!! read more

Dumpling Bar - crab xlb Cucumber Salad seaweed salad sticky ribs chicken wontons - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

Literally the best dumpling spot! AYCE is nice so you can try everything. Awesome quality for AYCE. My fave are the Chinese donut, shumai, custard buns, and lo mai hai. Must try!! read more

Been wanting to try their AYCE! We came shortly after opening on a Sunday and were seated promptly. It's not super big inside so it fills up fast and there can be a line. Each person can order 2 dishes each round and our group of 3 stopped after a few rounds lol. Portions were full size so we were stuffed! Unlimited drinks which include brown sugar boba milk tea and self serve ice cream. -Veggie egg rolls (5/5): delicious and crispy! The veggie filling was good -Shrimp dumplings (4/5): decent and juicy shrimp filling -Pork XLB soup dumplings (4.5/5): juicy pork filling, broth was good and flavorful -Pork chop scallion oil noodle (5/5): crispy and juicy pork chop, noodles were nicely chewy and flavorful and not too salty -Beef wonton w/ chili sauce (2/5): not very flavorful and only spicy -Garlic butter edamame (5/5): delicious garlic butter seasoning, our group loved this -Cucumber salad (2/5): just alright and a little sour, cucumber was crunchy -Beef potstickers (4/5): filled with juicy meat, nicely crispy on the bottom -Chinese churro (5/5): delicious, crispy and not too sweet! This was my first time eating a Chinese donut (youtiao) with powdered sugar and it was amazing -Custard bun (4/5): pillowy soft and moist with a generous amount of custard filling, not too sweet -Brown sugar boba milk tea (2.5/5): a bit too sweet for me and boba was pretty soft Service was friendly and checked on us often. The food does take a little while to come out but everything came out fresh and hot. Modern and clean interior. A solid spot for Chinese AYCE! read more

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Came here to try their AYCE! It was $35 for a Sunday and includes soft drinks/milk tea and ice cream. We came right at 11AM opening so we were seated right away, but it quickly filled up inside Pork chop scallion noodle (5/5): DELICIOUS! The noodles were so savory and flavorful and not overly oily. The pork chop was crispy and juicy, not dry Shrimp dumplings aka har gow (4/5): your standard har gow Pork soup dumplings XLB (4.5/5): juicy and had good flavor, I think the skin was a bit thick Beef wonton w/ chili sauce (2/5): more spicy than savory and didn't have much flavor besides the spice Veggie egg rolls (5/5): hot and crispy! I liked the filling Garlic butter edamame (5/5): the garlic butter was so yummy! We devoured this. Edamame had a nice crunch Cucumber salad (3/5): alright, a bit sour Beef pot stickers (4/5): had a nice crisp on the bottom, tasted very meaty to me Chinese churro (5/5): basically a long crispy Chinese donut (youtiao) with powdered sugar, which was my first time having this combo. It was so good! Crispy, fresh and not too sweet Custard buns (4/5): typical custard buns, they took a while but came out hot and fresh Service was good, they checked on us often. Portions were full-size so we were stuffed! The dishes did take a while to come out, but you can tell they make everything fresh. Interior is spacious and clean. One of the better choices for Chinese AYCE! read more

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Dumplings are delicious very flavorful and the service was great. We got in quickly. I love the new all you can eat options. We will definitely come back again. read more

The food was amazing and the all you can eat deal is a great value for what you get. Spicy wontons were our favorite but pork XLB and pan fried XLB were also top notch. All you can eat even comes with ice cream and drinks including milk tea. read more

Dumpling Bar - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

Extremely disappointed. Ok AYCE dumpling spot. Place is small, so if you're a bigger group expect to wait. We were a group of 6 and had to wait over an hour despite being told it would take 16 minutes to be seated. Service was terrible. Missing items, poor communication, no utensils, napkins, or plates. Each round takes so long to come out, we were fortunate our server exempted us from the 2 plates per customer rule, otherwise we would have gone past closing with how slow it is. Food was very average, for the price I suppose it is okay- I would never order à la carte for the price point. Will not be returning and do not recommend. read more

We came with a party of ten including six littles. The soup dumplings were a hit, as well as edamame, cucumbers without spicy oil and a noodle dish they recommended that wasn't spicy. So so good. We did all you can eat. Highly recommend. Green beans were awesome too. read more

My family and I thoroughly enjoyed this place and it's incredible value with the AYCE. Everything on the menu was delicious and my favorites were the ribs, hot and sour soup, and the spicy chicken wontons. It's an open kitchen and you can see a lady making dumplings by hand. Can't recommend enough and can't wait to come back! read more

Writing this after my second time eating here. My husband has been here a total of 5 times (3 weeks in a row, a short break, and now 2 weeks in a row). That should tell you how much he likes the food. My mom, a picky eater liked it after one time that she practically twisted my arm to bring my cousins here the following week. You can either choose to eat AYCE or order entrees a la carte. If you aren't sure what to choose, the AYCE option is best because you get to try a little of everything and pay less than if you order items a la carte. In order to reduce food waste, the servers wait until you're mostly done with your current order before taking more orders. Everything is made fresh to order, so when the restaurant is full, the kitchen takes longer to fulfill orders. We were able to try everything except for the vegan dumplings. The braised beef noodles is very flavorful. We asked for smaller bowls so that everyone could taste it--a great way to try it without filling up. The fried rice and egg drop soup were good, but for me, was more like a filler if you want to be able to taste everything. Order the appetizer trio to also taste a little of everything. All of the meat dumplings were so fresh, no weird meat aftertaste. The pork shumai is dense and meaty, so they take longer cook. The steamed buns also take longer to cook. For dessert, in addition to the custard and chocolate buns, there is ice cream--all unlimited and included with the AYCE price. The wait staff is friendly and knowledgeable. They are very hard working, especially when the restaurant is full and busy. The dishes and drinks come out, and then they swoop by and grab the empty plates and steamer baskets. Aiden recognized my husband since he's there so frequently. If you have a party that is larger than 4, I suggest calling ahead to let them know you are coming. The staff can combine tables together for your party. They have a couple of highchairs with little kids, but space is limited, so strollers would need to be set aside. The single stall restroom has no changing station. Accessibility note: The restaurant is small, and the tables are closely spaced. When it is busy, and every chair is occupied, the pathways are tight. I use a cane and had to side step between tables. If I had to use my walker, I would not be able to navigate. I suggest calling ahead and requesting a table near the entrance so you could have a bit more room, but that won't help if you need to get to the back where the single stall restroom is. Speaking of rest room, there is plenty of space inside for someone who uses a mobility aid to enter, and a wheelchair user can transfer to the toilet with or without a helper companion. The entrance is wheelchair accessible without any steps. There are 3 handicap parking spaces located near the restaurant. Dumpling Bar will definitely be added to our rotation, and we've been recommending it to all of our family and friends. read more

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Quick service, clean restaurant, average food. I didn't think the dumplings were bad, but it's nothing to write home about. Beef pot stickers were okay; I think it was missing some seasoning or something. Bbq pork buns was okay. Again, nothing spectacular, but not bad either. Shrimp har gao was the best of what we ordered, but I've had better elsewhere. It's a nice quick space to stop for lunch; especially if you're trying to save some belly space for dessert. read more

Dumpling Bar - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

They served us raw pork in the XLB and didn't comp the full meal :( The pan fried XLB were raw inside - they likely forgot to steam them before pan frying since the fried skirt on the bottom was barely golden. We notified our server and he said he would comp our meal, but then they ended up only comping 1 AYCE so we still paid 50 dollars including tip. The tip options are VERY egregious (20, 22, 25%) which feels pretty presumptuous. We also waited ~15-20min to be seated despite there being multiple empty tables. Shumai and wontons were pretty good. Beef noodle soup was too sweet, broth had been reduced too much so it was a little thick, and there were way too many noodles. The beef itself was cooked well. The fried pork chop was tender! Milk tea tasted homemade mixed tea and milk. The boba was cooked OK but not the best quality so it gets hard quickly in an iced drink. Ice cream selection was nice. The chinese churro/doughnut was good too. Our main server (white guy with glasses) was really nice and attentive! I just think it was unacceptable to make us pay for such a wild mistake. Overall, I would probably rather go down to convoy. The restaurant was very busy though so hopefully they work out their kitchen issues before anyone gets seriously sick. read more

Hope you as an amazing server that took care of our party of 10! 6 kids! Food was fantastic, full of flavor and plenty of options. Would definitely recommend and can't wait to be back! read more

We came in on Sunday, they were out of vegan dumplings and chocolate dumplings. The shrimp dumplings were pretty good. The service is slow, they do not refill you water unless you ask. The place is tiny, tables are cramped. The ice cream you serve yourself which is unsanitary. I would not go here again. This place needs improvement all around. read more

Dumpling Bar - Ice cream - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

After visiting here about two weeks ago, I can say this place comes with highs and lows, I'll start with the good. I really liked the dumplings and the fact they serve unlimited boba drinks with it, I think that's really cool. Unfortunately the wait was soooo long and when we went to check inside, there's like eight tables open but it's only long because it took them a while to clean any table up and seat us but not because there was too many people. I also didn't like that you can only order two things per round, so one order of cucumbers and one chocolate bun would be an example of one round and then they won't get the food to you or ask about a second round for another 15 minutes so that takes a huge portion of your time there away from that, it's a bummer they do that and don't let you order more right away. read more

Very nice first experience here. Soy noodle salad is super tasty. Vegan dumplings are yummy but I'd rather there's 8 dumplings for this price instead of 6. Will order from here again! read more

Dumpling Bar - Soy Noodle Salad - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

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Have been here three times and have enjoyed it every time. The service is efficient and friendly. The food is delicious and flavorful. I think it rivals DinTaiFung. Their cucumber salad is so tasty and their soup dumplings are yummy. You really get a good deal with the all you can eat too. read more