This is the new DESSERT place in OC!! Matcha Crepe Cake and Chocolate Bombshell are fantastic (my understanding is that you can order an entire crepe cake for an event, which we will do). Pastry Chef Christine makes a Pineapple Cake that no one could believe was gluten-free and dairy-free. Semifreddo is a great portion and good on a hot day. Last trip we had the Panda Panna Cotta, which was excellent, but I'm glad we branched out. We also really enjoyed the Waygu and noodle dish we shared. Great experience. read more

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Hands down the best dim sum I've ever had. Every dish came out fresh, perfectly steamed, and packed with flavor! You could tell everything was made with care, not rushed out of a cart. What really set Palette apart was the service. Attentive without being intrusive, quick to recommend dishes, and genuinely warm from the moment we sat down. The ambience matched it -- clean, modern, and comfortable, with just the right energy for a great meal. I read more

Palette Dim Sum & Seafood - Chinese Near Me - Tustin, California

The food and ambiance was amazing! Sherry was the best server I could have asked for. She recommended the best dishes and drinks. The service was what brought it over the top but the food was just as good. Definitely recommend if you're around the area!! read more

Palette Dim Sum & Seafood - Chinese Near Me - Tustin, California

We have been going to the Las Vegas branch of this restaurant and enjoyed their food. We decided to celebrate our friend's birthday, and we opted to sit at the bar/lounge area, where it's bright and colorful. It was my 3 friend's first time to visit this restaurant. Service is very attentive and answered all our questions and made good recommendations for my friends. We ordered the special for the day, Maine Lobster with Yifu Noodles, Peking Duck with Mandarin Pancake, lobster Hargow, egg white fried rice. The lobster very well seasoned with ginger and scallions. It's one of the best we have tried. Peking Duck was crispy and fresh, as we requested. Xiao long bao was very well seasoned. We ordered the chrysanthemum tea and was served hot and one was served cold. We also ordered a dairy and gluten free pineapple cake which was delicious.. Overall we had a very good experience with our lunch and service was very attentive...special mentions to staff who helped us, Spencer and Joey. Will surely be back even if it's a long drive for us. read more

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Conceptually, aesthetically, and service were top notch and denotes a high end place. The theme is art, specifically, painting. I love that it's pretty unique. We had the truffle scallop garlic, crispy typhoon shrimp dumplings, and lobster hargow. The food was pretty good. Not super amazing, but was tasty. For the truffle noodles, I wish the truffle flavor was a little stronger.for the dim sum dishes, although good, is not super unique compared to traditional places that serve shrimp Hargow. The food is a bit pricier, which is evident with the atmosphere and decor of the place. Overall good place to check out and see the novelty of its creativity and to eat good dim sum. Just don't hype up your expectations. read more

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Subtle disappointment experience. First of all, staffs are all friendly but unprofessional/inexperienced. Food grade 3 star, I expect more with the premium price but not only nothing wowed me some are quite disappointing. Actually most of the dishes are disappointing. Cold cucumbers this appetizer dish came very last, an example of inexperienced staff. Lobster ha gaw: skin came up broken, I don't think it's freshly made at the kitchen. The texture of the skin of any har gaw is important. Failed miserably Iberia cha shiu: okay, over oily, no char flavor Shiu Mai: what a joke, I didn't even taste it, looked like a failure to me Green veggie with bean curd sauce: even though I told the waitress what she gave me was a garlic stir fried ton choy, she kept saying things that doesn't make sense and I asked her to check with the kitchen she said okay and never returned. I know it's wrong but ate it instead. It's pretty good but now what I ordered. Truffle duck fried rice. I see truffle but didn't smell or tasted any. Spare rib dim sum is pretty good but just like the other store you can go to, nothing special. Duran pastry, very very oily skin. Swan looking decor pretty but disappointing. The whole place gives an upscale ambiance. I wish they took some of their effort in the ambiance to their food. Check with tip al together around $170 read more

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I love this place! I've been to the San Francisco location before, and I honestly love how each one has its own vibe. The SF location feels super cozy and perfect for a rainy day, while this one is great for going out with a group of friends or family. Different atmosphere, but both are amazing in their own way. The service was fantastic from start to finish. We were seated quickly, our food came out fast, and the staff was super attentive throughout our meal. They were also really helpful with recommendations when we couldn't decide what to order. Everything we tried was delicious! One thing to keep in mind is that the portions are on the smaller side, especially if you're dining with a group of five or more, so you might want to order a few extra dishes to share. And don't skip dessert! I got the pineapple cake, and my little sister got the chocolate cake. Both were so good and the perfect way to end the meal. Safe to say you've gained a regular because I'll definitely be back to work my way through more of the menu. Thanks, Palette, for such a great experience. Until next time! read more

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Always looking for a dim sum closer to home when 626 is too far now that there's a potato at home lol I wasn't sure how this spot would be, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's pricier than seafood cove, but some of the stuff is pretty yummy. Not everything was great, but I'd return. Stroller accessible with the large layout! Fav items Har gow + chicken feet Ok Pork spare rib Siu Mai Skip Sticky rice Yuba roll $80 or so with some tea Har gow had good flavor, not as large as other spots but the shrimp mixture made up for it Chicken feet had a good marinade and the skin came off easily Pork spare rib was fine, felt like a cleaner version from normal. Sticky rice was too mushy. Yuba needed more filling, felt too healthy and the sauce was aite. Service was pretty good and the diff sauces they offer (coconut, cilantro) for example bring new life to some bites, but it makes me feel like I'm not eating dim sum. We came by for a late lunch 1:30pm and there was no wait! read more

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We love the food here, but had a problem with how the steak was cooked. This is when things started to turn in the wrong direction. We ordered the steak, which is what we always do here. This time the meat was rare, too rare for us. The inside was red, the outside was cooked but very chewy. It was too chewy for us. We asked them to cook it a little longer. Go from rare to medium. Last time we had this same problem, they were great. This time, the manager said they always cook it rare and it is up to us, to tell the server to make it medium. We felt like we had done something wrong. At these prices, we expect a level of hospitality that reflects the prices we are paying. That was not happening. Instead of talking to the chef, looking carefully at the food, he blamed us. They brought it back ten minutes later and the meat was crispy, crunchy, way over done. Again, we felt punished by the chef. Instead of learning from our sending the food back, he over cooks the meat. We sent it back again. It came a third time, and it was okay. it was still medium well done. The whole thing gave us a sour feeling about Palette. We have other places we rather spend our money in. read more

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DISAPPOINTED!! Interesting how the name is Palette Dim Sum...but the dim sum offerings were lacking. So misleading... I rarely order chow fun for dim sum, but I wasn't sure what else to order since we specifically wanted dim sum. We got the Blossom Har Gow. It came with five flavors. The only flavor that really came thru was the mango habanero. There was a kick. The lobster har gow was my favorite. It was flavorful and fun to eat. The Wagyu chow fun was a bit too oily. The meats were delicious tho. The egg tarts were probably the worst I ever had... I grew up eating egg tarts anD NEVER had I ate such dried out egg tarts. It wasn't silky...the eggs tasted over cooked. I couldn't even finish my piece. If you know me, I never throw egg tarts away. The price was outrageous as well. $8 for an order of 2 small disgusting egg tarts... The shiu Mai was good looking. It was good, but nothing special about it besides the presentation. Service was good. Wish the foods were better... read more

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I've always loved Palette, so I was honestly so excited when they opened a location in OC. I've been to their Bay Area locations before and they've consistently been some of my favorite dim sum spots, so having one closer now is such a win. The food was exactly what I was hoping for!Everything came out hot, the quality was great, and every dish felt well executed. One thing I've always liked about Palette is that it feels a little more elevated while still delivering the comfort and flavors you want from dim sum. Really happy to have a Palette in OC now. It definitely lived up to my expectations, and I can already see myself coming back regularly. Orange chicken 5/5 Pork tenderloin 5/5 Spare ribs and black bean sauce 5/5 Siu Mai 5/5 Chicken wings 5/5 Lobster har gow 5/5 Mapo tofu 5/5 They forgot the fried rice but it's ok I was so full i forgot about it. As for drinks highly recommend the sesame espresso if you like coffee and the jade juice if u want something fruity!! read more

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Had a solo late lunch here! Service is always quite strong! Enjoyed the following: - Hargow (plump shrimp dumplings) - Shu mai (pork and shrimp classic dumplings) simply the best! - Braised pork in Tofu Skins (best in class) - Cucumber salad (very small portion for the price) but super tasty a good offset to the oilyness of dimsum - Jasmine tea (for a pot $2 per person charge is ULTRA reasonable) Their dipping sauces are incredible! - The vinegar micro beads are gone, but they do offer regular Chinese vinegar, you must ask for - Coconut cream, I just ate it as an appetizer, ate two of them, but held back on a 3rd - Cilantro green sauce is wonderful - Hot mustard is like yellow wasabi (very painful LOL) - Classic Soy - Chile oil Left very full. It was a very healthy complete meal!!! read more

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I love dim sum so I was excited to finally try this restaurant at the Marketplace. Everything about the dining experience at Palette was excellent and I wish I could give a 5/5! However, the table my party of 4 was seated at was quite small and we constantly had to make room for the dishes and steamer baskets of food that arrived. Still, my favorite dishes were the lobster ha gow, the 5 palette soup dumplings (each had such a unique flavor profile!), and the black truffle duck fried rice. Our waiter, Sony, was very attentive, friendly, and helpful with the food we ordered. I noticed all of the staff were efficient despite the numerous customers on a Sunday morning. We honestly couldn't have asked for better service! read more

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Palette dim sum has a vibrant, and colorful setting that gives a pleasant feeling when spending time for lunch. This new restaurant has a nice ambience and artistic motifs that I really enjoyed. The idea of a Palette is a cool theme. Your dish is a 'painter's palette' and in the 'wells' of your plate has room for sauces that are brought to your table. Both clever and appropriate, this well thought out concept was definitely pleasing to this diner! The staff here were friendly and helpful. They helped recommend food dishes and highlighted what the restaurant chain was known for. Unfortunately the food was overshadowed by the decor and extravagant plating. Even some of the food names were changed on the traditional dishes, so it was hard to know what to order or if it's an item you have had before We tried a handful of dishes, and nothing really stood out. Ha gow Typhoon fried shrimp siu mai xiao long bao Even with the dipping sauces the dishes were bland and underseasoned. The pricing is agressive for the food, but I understand that a nice looking restaurant will have higher overhead. I was excited to dine here, but not sure if I will be back read more

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Palette is my new favorite upscale dim sum/chinese restaurant in OC! They serve modern and luxurious twists on your classic Chinese dishes that cater to the asian palette and they're all executed very well. I really liked the peking duck, wok fried sticky rice with crab, and clams. Everything my group ordered was a hit so it's hard to pick a favorite dish. The overall vibe of the restaurant is very nice and lively. The waiters are very attentive and your food comes out really fast too. I highly recommend this restaurant if you ever want to take someone out to a nice meal or even enjoy a weekend dim sum brunch with your family! read more

Palette Dim Sum & Seafood - Chinese Near Me - Tustin, California

Came for a quick dinner with my friends and we loved the atmosphere and friendly vibes of the place! For food we got - Sichuan Green beans 10/10 Cucumbers 8/10 Lobster Har Gow 9/10 Pork & Shrimp Siu Mai 10/10 Wagyu Beef Chow Fun 10/10 huge portions! Golden Swan Durian Puff omg 20/10 delicious For drinks we got - Peachee Martini 9/10 Sticky Situation 7/10 Jade Juice 9/10 very refreshing & light! (Sauces paired very well with the dumplings we got!) Service was fast and the servers gave very good suggestions for food and drinks! read more

Palette Dim Sum & Seafood - Golden Swan Durian Puff (2) - Chinese Near Me - Tustin, California

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Found this place on IG a while ago and finally went at the recommendation of a friend, and was truthfully surprised at how good the food was but also fairly surprised at the service (not in a good way, which I'll explain later). Upon entry, we were checked in promptly (we had a reservation) and quickly brought back to our table and our server greeted us (she was great-polite, knowledgeable, and asked if we had been here before, which we had not so she explained the menu, dipping sauces, etc.). We were given enough time to mull over the menu and we soon put in our orders for drinks, appetizers, and food, which our server reviewed line by line, and explained the order in which things would be brought out to complement our choices). We ordered the Palette Soup Dumplings, Blossom Har Gow, Traditional Har Gow, Siu Mai, Salt and Pepper Pork Tenderloin, Dried Scallop Egg Fried Rice, Bok Choi, two alcoholic drinks, and tea. As far as food goes, dumplings (all of them) were average to above average with unique flavor profiles (I'm a traditionalist so I don't really care for these newfangled flavors that the restaurant tried to create, but I am not dinging them for this--they were fine), but what was disappointing was for the har gao, the wrapping kept falling off pretty much all of them, so for a dumpling restaurant, that's odd to me and disappointing. The other items we ordered were quite tasty-the fried rice and pork tenderloin were very flavorful and while on the more expensive side, it's a good portion of food! Food here is worth trying, despite the higher prices. that said, the service is where things really were unusual, at least for us, and maybe it was an off day, but I thought it was worth mentioning as it was almost bizarre to us. First of all, our drinks came well Two main issues--first was "timing" of food delivery. I took pictures so I have time stamps, and each item pretty much came out 4-5 minutes apart, over the course of 20 minutes, including the bok choi (not pictured) at the very end of our meal after we finished everything. So the order of food being brought out was: Har gao, Siu Mai, Blossom Har Gao, Fried Rice, Palette Soup Dumplings, Pork Tenderloin (15 minutes after we got our Har gao), then the bok choi 5 minutes after that. One of our friends eats exquisitely slowly, and even he was able to finish his fried rice and pork tenderloin long before the bok Choi came out. I am not sure why they timed it this way, but at least with Chinese food like this, it should all come out around the same time so we can eat everything together. It makes no sense to me for the bok Choi to out almost at dessert timing! I won't even mention that the cocktails came out after the dumplings came out. Aside from food timing, the non server wait staff also exhibited odd behavior. At one point, someone came by to grab our water pitcher and fill our cups, so he picked it up from one end of the table, went around the three of us, and then plopped it down fairly heavily on the other end of table, in between two people, and walked away briskly. It isn't a deal breaker, just a little odd and interrupted our conversation because of how intrusive it became. One other time, despite having no food on the table, someone was trying to put down the soup dumplings, and for whatever reason he felt the need to use his pinky finger to push my water cup aside, even though he had MORE than enough space to put the entree down (he had the whole table!). Frankly, I'm probably not explaining myself well enough, but it was just "odd" overall, and something we've never experienced at a restaurant before. The service wasn't "bad" in this case, it was just "odd" behavior. Not a deal breaker because it was "bad", it was just weird, and I'm normally one to let things slide. Maybe it was an off day. All in all, food was fine, but service was unusual and timing was "off" and disappointing. I think it's worth a try and "see for yourself", but we frequent their "competitors" and have been generally more satisfied as those places. I'm also hoping the staff were just having an off-day. read more

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* Who: cousin, partner, & I * What: dinner * When: Friday night * Why: routine foodie meet-up & hang out * Space/Decor: the place is quite big, with one side being a lounge while the other bigger side was the restaurant seating itself. The vibe gave modern & clean but a little more on simple side kind of like Din Thai Fung, so I personally could've used a little more styling. But nonetheless a good place for dates, friends, or family. * Service: was decent/standard. We had reservations, so we were seated quickly. The waitress was friendly & knowledgeable, as well as brought out the drinks & food pretty quickly. * Food: it was good, it just wasn't as good compared to their LV location that I had earlier in the week, which prompted me to try it here in OC. Everything. Was pretty fresh & flavorful, with nice plating presentations. If I hadn't gone to their LV spot, I probably would've rated the food higher. The drinks were all really good & made well. The duck fried rice wasn't as yum, but did get to order the char sui (which we didn't get in LV) which we all liked, as well as the bang bang chicken. The egg tart was also unfortunately not as good as their LV spot. * Final Thoughts: modern & clean dim sum place with good food & a decent menu, as well as friendly service, leading it to be a popular spot but easy parking. Pricing can be a little up there, especially if you order a lot, so pick & choose carefully if you're not looking to spend a lot on food. * Final Grade: B+ or 8.5/10 read more

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Palette has really cute decor in the matching plates with dedicated sauce space (and a portion in the menu that tell you what the sauces are). The food is good; the staff are helpful and kind. I would suggest getting the lobster har gow, seafood hot and sour soup, panna cotta. There's a full bar with nice lounging area and a private room as well to host larger parties. Plenty of parking as the restaurant is in a large plaza. read more

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Another pricey dim sum spot in Irvine! The dim sum's decent, just not really worth $10+ a plate! The decor is modern and doesn't really cater to us poors haha. Service is slow, we scheduled a takeout order for 11:45 and we got our food about 30 minutes later. Not sure why this place is so crowded, but seems like people were having a good time waiting for their food... but yeah just go to Westminster for better (and cheaper!) dim sum! read more

Palette Dim Sum & Seafood - Shiu Mai - Chinese Near Me - Tustin, California

While the food has good presentation and the interior is nice and modern, the dim sum is unfortunately overpriced and not authentic. The shumai was a little mushy, I prefer mine with the shrimp more intact. The hargow was pretty standard, but also nothing special that would warrant the high price point. The egg tart was also disappointing, I wished it was made in the Cantonese style instead of the Portuguese style, which made it very eggy and not smooth. It was also surprisingly not that sweet, which threw me off. I ordered takeout, and my food was ready 40 minutes after the designated time, so they definitely need to do a better job with scheduling. I wish I liked this spot and could say I would go back, but there are definitely better and cheaper spots for dim sum around OC. read more

Palette Dim Sum & Seafood - Takeout har gow - Chinese Near Me - Tustin, California

Finally got a chance to lock in a reservation to this new Dim Sum spot that's been on my radar! I enjoyed their creative dishes like Truffle Scallop Garlic Noodles but also nailed the classics like pork/shrimp Siu Mai. The servers are very friendly and will tell you their fave dishes so listen up! This is definitely more of an elevated concept so feel free to check this place out if you appreciate that kind of vibe! Also : Salted Egg Yolk Lobster, Roasted Garlic Wagyu, Salt and Pepper Pork Tenderloin, Lobster Har Gow read more

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Very good dim sum - but Peking duck was a miss. Not crispy at all and came out basically cold. The presentation for all of these dishes were spot on! We got a little bit of everything and my personal favorite was the crispy shrimp dumplings that had a mochi-like crispy exterior. Green beans were so so good - a bit salty but delicious with the best spice. Crispy pork tenderloins were also a hit! We waited about an hour during Memorial Day but when I went inside to check on our table - there were so many tables open? We got seated right away when I checked even though I was 10 on Yelp Waitlist. I was very impressed with this over layout, decor, and place settings. This is a great place for a nice upscale lunch! read more

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Palette Dim Sum - such a cute restaurant name, a must try with your pal! They have little artist palettes as plates for your food and sauces, and their signature soup dumplings come in colorful varieties that feel like "painted tastes"... a feast for both the eyes and your... palate! Spacious parking in the Marketplace. While the restaurant sits smack in the middle of suburbs, entering into the restaurant feels like stepping into a trendy city lounge. The interior is gorgeous with modern decor, geometric light fixtures, and a massive digital wall screen showing city skyscrapers that makes the whole space feel immersive and upscale. I enjoyed our table spot facing the digital wall on the booth chairs and by the bar. The soup dumplings are medium-sized, each served individually on soup spoons sitting in extra broth. Flavor-wise they were solid. I had a fun guessing game with the server (and got 1 out of 5 right, hah): original pork, kale, crab, black truffle, beet & beef. I also enjoyed the Wagyu stir fry. The vegetable was standard. Their rice portions are HUGE; the mound from one bowl of rice was big enough for my friend and I to share. The standouts for me were actually the cocktails and desserts. For cocktails, get the Sticky Situation. It's such a fun cultural twist drink, mango sticky rice, with coconut milk - so refreshing! The egg tarts were some of the fanciest fusion egg tarts I've ever seen, topped with fruits and unique flavor combinations while still staying flaky. They had unfortunately sold out of the durian swan puff, but the crystal custard dumplings were such a fun and satisfying way to end the meal. read more

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Amazing experience here. Our waitress was the absolute best. This is the type of service i would love to have everywhere I go. If you go I hope everyone gets Angela as their server. She was so welcoming and sweet and took her time to go through the menu with us because it was our first time here. 10/10 experience because of her: she made sure we were taken care of and we never felt rushed. She made some amazing recommendations. Highly recommend their Peking duck with matcha sugar. It only came with 6 pancakes though and the ratio was a bit off compared to duck so I wish they gave a bit more pancakes since there was 4 more servings of duck left without pancake. I didn't love their soup dumplings as much as paradise dynasty but the creative innovation of having black gelatinous pearl vinegar that melts when you put it on the dumplings was so cool and really great unique experience. I also loved their cha siu - not dry at all and very flavourful. Their chicken wings were perfectly crispy and flavorful and came with a great palette cleanser of pickle radish on the side! The atmosphere is so great they had a vip room. And it's very clean and looks like they host amazing events here read more

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A very trendy dim sum spot at The Market Place. There's a good amount of parking, but it can get crowded during the day. They have both indoor and outdoor seating available. If you're looking for a more traditional dim sum place, this wouldn't be the place to go but it's still a very fun experience. One of the workers was talking about how their menu was different from the other locations because they needed to "appeal to the demographic" and have more Americanized versions of some of the dishes. The price is on the higher end, but the quality of the ingredients is good and the presentation of the dishes is nice. The quality of the food is pretty good. Some of the dishes are definitely better than others. The honey walnut prawns were crispy on the outside and the prawns were very juicy on the inside. The char siu bao were very fluffy with a good amount of meat on the inside. The dried scallop egg white fried rice had tons of dried scallop and really good flavor. The only dish that I didn't really enjoy was the xiao long bao. It tasted like it was steamed for too long and the outside was really mushy. Overall it was still a good experience and I would go back if someone else wanted to go. read more

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We went for dim sum and were a little bit disappointed at first -- but we ended up enjoying it. When we think dim sum we think of a tiny tables in a cramped space with little rickety carts going around where you can just grab what you want as they go by ... This is a very nice restaurant with a great spacious feel -- high ceilings, huge windows, huge screen with beautiful pictures ... And no carts. You order your dim sum and they come by a few minutes later. On one hand, you don't get to see what it looks like and you didn't get the instant gratification. But you get the sense that the food is totally fresh and right off the grill (or steamer). And it was really good. We had the shrimp dumplings, which were perfectly cooked and delicious. And the crispy shrimp was also really good. The batter wasn't just flour ... There was a very nice, mild, almost nutty flavor that was really good. The one negative was that the beef chow fun took a really long time. The servers apologized. And when it did come, it was fabulous. The waygu beef was really different. Super tender and delicious. They even took the chow fun off the bill even though we didn't even complain, saying they recognized that we had to wait too long. Great service recovery! We're definitely coming back! read more

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I was excited to try Palette after hearing all the good reviews and seeing fabulous pictures. I ordered a wide variety of items so I could try a little of everything. The food is very photogenic and the staff is amazing. It felt like a fine dining establishment for dim sum. We ordered the XO shrimp dumplings, yuba roll, bok choy, green beans, salt and pepper pork tenderloins, Wagyu fried rice, bang bang chicken wings and Palette soup dumplings. My favorites were the soup dumplings, xo shrimp dumplings, yuba roll and bok choy. The soup dumplings came in five flavors so you could taste a nice variety. The shrimp dumplings were nice and crispy with a whole shrimp inside. The bok choy was crunchy with the perfect garlic hit. The other dishes were good but not completely perfect. The flavor for the Bang Bang wings was nice on the outside but bland in the middle. The salt and pepper tenderloins were pretty good but I think I still like having the pork chop version with the bone intact. The green beans and fried rice were disappointing. The green beans were pretty ordinary but the fried rice was hard and there was not much meat in the dish. The restaurant is good for celebrating something special and if you're looking for a fine dining experience. read more

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Palette finally comes to socal! Had it before in nor cal and really enjoyed it. The restaurant is beautiful and I love the layout of the plates looking like a canvas with the little sauces. Service was attentive and friendly. Love that the xiao long Baos 4/5 and the ha gow 4/5 has a variety option so you can try different flavors The Peking duck skin was crispy and meat was tender they do give you a few wrappers so would love to have more of that 4.5/5 Surprisingly I really enjoyed the chili sandstorm wings! Super crispy, juicy, and flavorful! 5/5 Honey walnut shrimp I thought was standard but always delicious 4/5 Wagyu and garlic: 3.5/5 good but didn't feel like it was melt in your mouth Wagyu Drinks were delicious as well! read more

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I went to Palette Dim Sum for lunch on Valentine's Day to try it out, since I've seen it popping up a lot on social media The place is in The District, so parking was easy and the whole area is pretty convenient. Inside, it's very clean and modern, more like a nice dining dim sum spot rather than the usual loud, crowded dim sum vibe. We ordered quite a bit just to get a feel for it: soup dumplings, pork XLB, lobster har gow, regular har gow, siu mai, chicken feet in black bean sauce, crispy salt & pepper pork, durian puffs, and some Chinese kale. Honestly, everything looked really good when it came out. Very photogenic, everything plated nicely , one of those tables where you want to take pictures before eating. Food wise, it was solid. Nothing bad at all. The soup dumplings were juicy, not too heavy. The har gow and siu mai were decent and consistent. But overall, nothing really stood out to the point where I'd be thinking about coming back just for the food, especially considering the price. The one thing that did stand out for me was the dessert ,  Golden Swan Durian It was honestly beautiful, especially for Valentine's Day. The durian flavor inside was pretty strong, which I personally loved because I'm a durian fan. But if you're not into durian, I'd probably skip it. Also, shoutout to our server Andrew super friendly, attentive, and gave really good recommendations. He definitely made the whole experience feel more welcoming. Thank you Andrew. It's a nice spot if you want something clean, modern, and visually nice for a meal. But if you're chasing that "wow, I need to come back ASAP for the food  kind of dim sum experience, this one didn't quite hit that level for me. read more

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We were visiting SoCal from San Jose/Bay Area and were impressed by Palette! Very inviting and clean interior, friendly and prompt service, and delicious dim sum! We liked that Palette retained authentic flavors and elevated the experience with unique red vinegar pearls that melt over the xlb and spareribs in black bean sauce and salt and pepper tenderloin that weren't greasy but very fresh and flavorful. We will definitely be back on another trip to SoCal. read more

Came here to celebrate a dear friend's birthday. The decor is very cute and the space is open and inviting. We shared the shrimp hargow (3X), the lobster hargow (4X) the palette dim sum soup dumpling assortment, and the custard dumplings for dessert. All excellent choices. The whisky cocktail on menu was very good as well, and our Hawaiian server keione + our really sweet Taiwanese/vietnamese food runner provided excellent service. I want to come back for the peking duck. They were sold out. I'd recommend this spot to those who like a variety of unique dim sum. read more

They have lot of space. It as a very modern and open design. The serving plate is shaped like a painter's palette. A bunch of sauces are served which you share with the table, but you can load up your palette with the different sauces. It was pretty fun trying the different sauces. We got chrysanthemum and jasmine tea. They come on these elevated pedestals that have a little candle underneath to keep the tea hot. We got a mix of things. The cucumber salad with wood ear was light and fresh. The abalone rice was really good. Can't go wrong with the pork and shrimp shu mai and hargow. The chive bao and pork bao were also great. Afterwards we had the wagyu fried rice, honey walnut prawns, and green beans. My favorite out of these was the honey walnut prawns. Last we ate the egg tart for dessert. It was good and came with some small chopped fruits. read more

Smashed cucumber and wood ear mushroom was crunchy. It was not spicy and had just right amount of seasoning and oils. The garlic was sliced very thin. Portuguese egg tart came to the table nice and warm. It was soft and just right amount of sweetness. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Interior was clean and modern. The high ceiling and giant display screens made the place very grand. I like that it was very spacious. The restroom was clean. read more

Such an awful experience here. I had seen this restaurant chain on the Michelin Guide, so I had high expectations, but unfortunately the food was subpar. The "Palette" soup dumpling/har gow concept is a neat play on their name, but the meat was very mushy. We placed two orders but only ended up eating one, as none of us enjoyed it. We boxed the rest to take home because it was too expensive to waste. The dried scallop fried rice was undercooked--the rice was hard and overly salty. The other dishes were okay, but overall too expensive for what it is. The food at J Zhou Oriental Cuisine is much better. What really led me to leave a review was the poor management experience. While deciding where to eat, I was scrolling through InKind and saw Palette Dim Sum in Tustin listed, so we decided to try it. If you're not familiar with InKind, it's a payment service with a rewards program--you pay the bill as normal and receive 20% cash back to use at other participating restaurants. I've used it for years and never had an issue until now. After paying, I let the waitress know I had paid via InKind. She wasn't familiar with it and asked her manager. The manager came to our table and said he had never heard of InKind and spent over 20 minutes telling us to cancel the payment and pay again by credit card. I explained multiple times that I had already paid and there was no way for me to cancel it. I also didn't want to risk double paying my bill. It was frustrating that a restaurant listed on and participating in InKind didn't seem aware of how it works. I asked repeatedly for him to contact someone else in management, since someone there should be familiar with the program they signed up for. He insisted he was the only management available. Eventually, after a long back-and-forth, he finally called someone else who confirmed they do participate in InKind and that my payment had gone through. Overall, a very disorganized and disappointing experience. I do not recommend this restaurant. read more

Wanted to try something new while in Irvine with the hubby and found Palette! We definitely went in on ordering per usual to try our typical dim sum eats like XLB, shui mai, and honey walnut prawns. Then chose some items that were new to us! Both of us really enjoyed the shui Mai and were tempted to get another order to take home. Other honorable mentions were the wagyu beef chow fun and the lobster har gow where you get to inject some consommé into each one. Within the palette soup dumplings we really liked the black and yellow ones. You also get a variety of dipping sauces which i appreciated Services was also A1. Everyone was hella nice, helpful in making recommendations, and checked in on us throughout. Ambiance was beautiful from the decor, to the plating, to the bathroom. That bathroom felt like a fancy (and clean) club bathroom! Would definitely recommend for a cute lil date night with your boo or meal with loved ones read more

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Came here for brunch on a weekday right when it opened at 11am and there was no wait. The dimsum here is good (4/5) but loved the ambiance/service (5/5). It's very spacious and there's both a dining area and a lounge area as well as an outdoor patio area. It's more of an elevated dimsum place (it's not super casual and doesn't have the people pushing the dim sum carts). Presentation of food was good and enjoyed the multiple sauces offered for the food. Really liked the scallop egg fried rice it was super flavorful! The lobster har gow was also yummy. Service was great too. read more

Palette Dim Sum & Seafood - Chinese Near Me - Tustin, California

One of my friends wanted to come here for her bday back in February and they made reservation for a Saturday lunch. We got a big round table right before the bar area, next to two big walls where they were playing constant videos of landscape in China. As many others mentioned, I guess they are still in the soft opening phase... Though it is a pretty long soft opening phase if they still are now. My friend wanted to come here because she went to the one in SF and really liked it. I thought it was just okay... Food wise, very small and expensive menu for very regular items. Few dim sum items were upgraded to be fancy by being added with lobster oil, or lobster sauce, or lobster essence, or just lobster, such as the har-gaw (they gave you the lobster oil/sauce in a tube and you can squeeze it in.. very gimmicky). The four stars for me was the service. We were greeted and taken care of pretty well, and they provided my bday friend with a bday dessert on the house. The bartender was super nice and awesome! I think what I liked the most was their staff at this place, not the food. I might come back once they are fully operated! read more

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They're still in their soft opening phase, so menu is limited. It's nice they take reservations over yelp, making it super convenient. Initial first impressions weren't great, as the hostesses barely looked us in the eye and didn't even really greet us. We were shown to our seats without a word until our server showed up. Our server was polite enough, but for an "upscale" dimsum place, service is lacking. They had all the basic dim sum items such as har gow, shumai, chicken feet, and Xiao long bao. Tasty, but not worth the price point. read more

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Given the limited availibility of quality dim sum places nearby to home it was really nice to find out that a new place had opened up, albeit just their soft opening. I also typically don't like to visit restaurants for at least 6 months after opening, just to give them time to get over their teething period.....but since dim sum is one of my favorite foods out there, I decided we had to go check it out. Ok, so it's located in the Tustin Market Place Shopping Center. Plenty of parking i the shopping center, but when it gets closer to the lunch hour you may have to park a little further from the front door, but not bad at all. The restaurant itself I'd say is a classy modern casual styled concept, with a more personalized friendly service....very different from what you'd normally find at a Chinese dim sum place. In fact, we even had the opportunity to chat a bit with the assistant manager Spenser who's seemed like a really great guy.....so polite, friendly, and professional....who took the time to chat with us to ask how things are going, answer any questions we had, and being very receptive to suggestions on how to improve before their official opening. We tried a variety of dim sum dishes during this first visit and everything was prepared and served hot, fresh, and very delicious. And yes, I now get why they call this place "Palette" dim sum...in my opinion. The dim sum itself is not at all salty like many other places because you get to enjoy each bite with a variety of sauces provided that you place into one of the spaces on your plate....like an artist's paint palette...get it? This way you get to control the flavor and taste to your own liking.....we liked this concept very much. To nitpick a bit however, I love egg tarts, especially with the flakey shells, and the egg tarts here hit it good.....even though they were the Portuguese style egg tarts and not the classic ones. However, I thought the sprinkling of powdered sugar (seemingly for decorative purposes) all over the egg tarts is quite unecesssary because the egg custard is sweet enough, and they can stand well enough on their own without the gratuitous decorative extras....which looked more like this was meant for a child's birthday party......in other words, don't mess with simplicity and classic perfection.....less is more. Although the quality of the dim sum served here is excellent, my biggest issue is that the dim sum menu is very VERY limited.....they need to expand the menu with, at the very least, more classic favorites, especially since this is supposed to be a DIM SUM restaurant. I also love my pan fried radish cake, crispy fried taro dumpling, and shrimp rice crepes, but unfortunately, these are not offered here. I was told that they would be adding additional dim sum items by the official opening and perhaps in the future, but it sounded like the dim sum selection will continue to be limited for some time to come. Would I come back here again? I guess I would, if I just wanted a quick fix of good quality dim sum nearby, but I know I wouldn't be completely satisfied with such a limited dim sum selection. Regardless, I'm sure this will be a very popular place to come to as the quality of dim sum and service at other places around these parts is not great. read more

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