Food was great. Chill environment. Lobster ha caw is highly recommended. Beef chow fun is also good. read more

Palette Dim Sum & Seafood - Crispy Typhoon XO Shrimp Dumplings , Lobster Ha Gow (3), Smashed Cucumber & Woodear Salad - Chinese Near Me - Tustin, California

This is my first time here! I'm amazed by the super friendly staff, delicious food and great Atmosphere!!! highly recommended!! read more

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Incredible service from Brianna, who has the best smile and great hospitality. The food is amazing, definitely love the Ha Gow and the colorful soup dumplings. The Palette soup dumpling has different flavor which could be a great game to guess the flavor. read more

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

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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

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

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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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

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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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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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

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 loooved palette in norcal, so i was excited to see they opened one up down here -- and pleased to report the food is just as delicious and satisfying. just walking in, you can tell it's more upscale than your typical dim sum joint, so expect that to be reflected in the menu and prices. the modern decor and ambience is so stunning that i even considered it as my wedding reception venue! (shout-out to edmund for the great hospitality.) palette puts a creative spin on dishes -- even literally with its paint-palette plates (but for your sauces!) -- while staying loyal and true to the essence of dim sum that we as ABCs love so much. it is so worth the try, just to experience the incredibly talented chef's twist on dim sum. you won't be disappointed! read more

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

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Very nice upscale Dim Sum restaurant with absolutely stunning decor and two large scintillating screens with foods and China's most beautiful travel destinations displayed against a huge walls welcome us as we were quickly shown to our table. The manager and our Server, Darrin were very well trained and professional and extremely knowledgeable about the menu and the ingredients! This place was so impressive that I will bring my family for dinner soon. The Xía long Bao and few small dim sum dishes came out quickly and the food was served hot. Five sauce were prepared beautifully and on special small dishes with a small serving spoon, two different teas were served on a candle heater and nice cups. The Hot and Sour soup was too salty and the manager quickly made a new batch from the most excellent Chef with extra crispy rice crackers that were perfectly prepared. The main dish was Wagyu Beef Chow Fun and was excellent with large amounts of best beef. The restaurant makes the most incredible looking Dim Sum 5 Blossom Ha Gow. Pork Soup XLB were good. Overall Five Michelin Stars! read more

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This restaurant is beautiful decorated and great service. If you are don't have that much time for lunch, you may not want to have a dim sum here. Food was ok, my favorite is the ha gaw. The Peking duck was ok. But the drum stick was not clean well. I hope they can improve. 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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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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Items we enjoyed: lobster har gow; walnut shrimp; garlic pea tendrils; and scallop noodles. Do not rec: orange chicken and cubed sea bass = bland and forgettable. As a durian lover, the swan desserts are beautiful BUT deep fried durian is not good. Hot durian is gross. Service is fast and friendly. Space is clean and beautiful. I will come back to eventually to try other items, but I am not running back. read more

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the name threw me off at first. Didn't love it...until we got there and it made sense. Your plate is basically a "palette," with little sections for sauces so you can mix and match like you're painting. The food was fantastic, easily some of the best dim sum I've had in a while. But the cocktails...wow. That's what really surprised us. They were seriously good. The Lalarita was my favorite, super balanced and dangerously easy to drink. Honestly, no need to drive out to San Gabriel Valley when this spot is delivering like this. P.S. They really should've just called this place "Cocktails & Dim Sum" =p read more

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Really wanted to like this place. Modern dim sum in Irvine in a place that doesn't have a lot of great options locally and the hype was real. Unfortunately, it did not fit the bill. For a place that was under renovation for over a year, you would think they figured out the HVAC. For some reason, every seat in the restaurant is under a high powered vent with the AC blasting which resulted in not only being uncomfortably cold, but every dish that came out had to be consumed within 3 minutes. We ordered the Peking duck soup for Father's Day and by the time it was ladled into the bowls and passed down the table, the soup was already cold. Ambiance aside, the food is decent. Abalone mushroom lotus rice is really tasty if you can manage to get it hot. Wagyu and golden garlic is well executed along with the honey walnut prawns. Peking duck special was an interesting interpretation and I can appreciate the attempt, but I think personally I don't think the matcha sugar or radish added anything extra to this classic dish. Bottom line, the overall feel of this place is that they brought in premium ingredients just to upcharge dishes that are haphazardly executed. Really disappointed to say the least. read more

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

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This is one of those places that reminds you that quality comes at a price. The food is exceptional, but it definitely comes with a hefty price tag. We ordered our way through much of the menu, and every dish was outstanding. The cocktails were equally impressive, thoughtfully crafted and delicious. The service matched the quality of the food, with attentive servers regularly checking in and making sure we had everything we needed. Overall, a fantastic dining experience that delivers on both food and service. read more

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Pros: - I love that I can make a reservation easily through Yelp. My parents aren't big on waiting so this is a huge plus. - Service was great. Our server was attentive and food came out pretty quickly. - The space was clean and I love all the natural lighting. Cons: - Quality of food definitely didn't match with the price point. I feel like they were adding a lot of "bougie" ingredients to make it feel "luxurious." We stuck to the dimsum options and while the concept was great, the execution was not. Most of the XLB were stuck to the spoon. They added carrot slices in between to prevent this and that didn't really help. The flavors of the "rainbow" dumplings were okay. They also had rainbow Har Gaow. While I prefer this one more, the skin of Har Gaow ripped as if they were over-steamed. - A lot of the sauce they provided didn't really work with the dimsum items.. If you want ambience, come here. Other than that, I'd go somewhere else for better dimsum. I was looking forward to this place and left unsatisfied. read more

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

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I went to Palette Dim Sum in Tustin on a Sunday around 3pm and caught their limited happy hour menu in the lounge area. It was honestly a nice change of pace from the usual busy dim sum rush with the ladies pushing carts around. First off, the jasmine tea was such a standout in presentation alone. It came in the cutest teapot with a little burner underneath to keep it warm, which made the whole experience feel a bit more elevated and relaxed. I ordered a lineup of my go-to dim sum staples: shu mai, char siu buns, spare ribs, soup dumplings, custard buns, and lobster har gow. Across the board, everything leaned on the milder side in flavor. Personally, I didn't mind it and tasted lighter and less sodium-heavy than most dim sum spots, which made it feel a bit more refined and not overly rich. The space itself is beautiful with a super modern, clean, and thoughtfully designed space. And I have to say, they might have one of the most stunning bathroom walls I've ever seen (you'll know it when you see it or in my photos). Service was friendly and attentive without being overbearing, which matched the more laid-back lounge vibe perfectly. Overall, a great spot if you're looking for a calmer, more aesthetic dim sum experience with lighter flavors. read more

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Came here to try different menu items after their grand opening, and had a much better experience compared to their soft opening. We tried the following: Pork XLB ($8) - 4/5 stars. Solid and pretty juicy and was unique with the vinegar pearls. The meat inside could be larger/more flavorful? Braised stuffed pork yuba roll ($8) - 4/5 stars. The braised flavor was yummy, and these rolls were large and filling. The outside of the roll had a soggy texture that some people may not like Ginger scallion lobster ($95) - 4/5 stars. Large lobster pieces that were tender, although one of the crab claws I had was borderline undercooked. I personally like the tender texture, but my fiancé preferred the lobster to be cooked a little more. The ginger scallion sauce was mild. I was ok with it since I don't like salty food, but my fiancé said the sauce was pretty flavorless, which was disappointing. Wagyu & roasted garlic ($36) - 4.5/5 stars. So flavorful and tender! I also loved the garlic pieces (especially the crunchy, fried parts). Some meat pieces (particularly at the bottom) were overly salty Roasted angus short rib ($65) - 3/5 stars. Great presentation, and the meat was tender, but was too fatty and chewy for my preference. My fiancé really liked this dish Garlic pea tendrils ($22) - 5/5. Very well cooked. Lightly salted and mild garlic flavor. The pea tendrils were tender. Glad we gave this spot a second chance after they fully opened. The menu offers unique Asian dishes with a modern twist, and the dishes we got this time around were mostly enjoyable. read more

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If you're looking to entertain guests, this place puts on a nice show. The food tastes good, but it's as good as any other dim sum place. Don't expect the food to be anything impressive, but the overall experience was so much fun! I believe this Palette is the same as the Palette Tea House in San Francisco. They have the same logo, paint palette plates, colorful dumplings. They do have some different dishes. For example this SoCal location has durian swan pastries, whereas the SF location has black swan taro pastries. The lobster har gow came with this fun little syringe that you can squeeze into each piece. We had fun seeing each of these details! FYI the palette dumplings are each different flavors so if you want to try each flavor, make sure to order enough for the table. They were okay. The best dish I ate was the crispy shrimp dumpling. My one complaint is that it's dim sum food, and we sat at this large table with no lazy susan. Sure okay we can pass the plates around, or actually I just stood up to reach the food. It was inconvenient. read more

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Visited with a group of ladies during lunch. 6 total in our group. We ordered the Classic Ha Gow Shrimp Dumpling, Pork Shu Mai, waygu Mapo Tofu, Waygu beef Chow Fun, Olive Stir Fry Chow Mein. I was not impressed. The service was not present other than to give menus. They brought dishes but that was it. Ambiance was pleasant and high quality. Food was decent but I can say I have had better dim sum at other local spots. Largest turn off was automatic gratuity for a group of six. While I can understand that for a party of 8 or 10, not for 6, and the. They ask for additional tip on top. I will not be back. read more

I have been wanting to go to Palette in Las Vegas ever since I saw their pretty colorful dumplings. I was super excited to find out that they opened a location in Tustin, and took my sister and BIL with us to try it out. The service was nice, from the hostess to the servers and even the manager! We were absolutely in love with their delicious jasmine green tea that we even inquired about buying some (yes, my sister loved it that much). We found out that the owner even sources their teas especially for their restaurants! We tried both the Palette Soup Dumplings and the 5 Blossom Ha Gow - our favorite all around was the soup dumplings, especially with the black vinegar pearls which magically melt into a liquid when added to the dumplings - yum! We ordered these all at once and next time I would stagger the orders (or ask if they can). The soup dumplings are EXTREMELY hot and took forever to cool, and by the time we finished our ha gow had cooled a bit (maybe that's why they weren't as much of our favorite afterwards?) We also tried the Pork & Shrimp Siu Mai which was deliciously plump, juicy and flavorful and our favorite veggies ended up being the Garlic Pea Tendrils - I think I could eat an entire plate by myself if given the option, the Chinese Kale is Chinese Broccoli by the way - standard fare. The dried scallop egg white fried rice was a little hard/dry and under seasoned, so we will probably skip that next time, just not for us. We ended with the Crystal Custard Dumplings (which took over 20 minutes!!!) which was something new to us, almost a tapioca-chewy texture with a nice egg custard in the middle. Good, but the wait was extraneous when we wanted to just have a quick dessert and leave - next time, order it early. Overall, a good visit and we will likely be back for the soup dumplings. The manager did inform us that they were still in soft opening and they'll eventually have peking duck and other menu items, so we will definitely be back for that!! read more

Great food and service. Our favorite was the Peking duck and the crispy shrimp dumpling. read more

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I was excited to hear they opened one here. I've been to the one in vegas and i loved it. Friendly staff, decors and ambiance were gorgeous. Bathroom was clean and smells amazing in there :D We ordered Cha Siu Gao, Xio Long Bao, Har Gow, Pork Shiu Mai, String Beans and Abalone Lotus Rice. Everything tasted great except the Abalone rice, i wasn't a fan. I Would definitely come back and try other items. read more

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My friend treated us to Palette and it was a great experience! The restaurant interior was beautifully designed and spacious, with a main dining room and a separate lounge area with the bar. Food was well prepared with dim sum presented in bamboo baskets: my faves were lobster har gow and lava custard buns. Standout dishes were the salt and pepper spare ribs (all meat, no bones!) , Chinese broccoli that was tender and perfectly steamed, and dried scallop fried rice. Service was excellent - we appreciated Spencer's patience and photography skills to take several photos for us. Thank you! read more

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