Adrian C.

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.

Elisa L.

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!

Meg C.

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.

Eva B.

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.

Jane A.

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

Bea P.

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.

Sharon B.

$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.

Allison L.

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!

Sally T.

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.

Kim V.

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!)

April L.

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!!

Presh N.

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.

Reylyn C.

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.