We've never been here before and certainly won't again. The food was absolutely terrible AND gave us (adults and little kids) food poisoning to boot. We will be reporting to the health department. read more

After a so-so visit here a few months ago (at the tail end of dim sum time on a weekend), I decided to give this place another try. Good thing I did! The service is hands-down fabulous. Usually, at Dim Sum places, it's hit-or-miss because they know you are addicted to the food. [Feel free to make veiled references to food addictions here, I will pass on this one]. Here, they speak English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. Like the other yelpers recommended, I asked for lobster, but the waitress "corrected" me by taking my finger off the menu and pointing to the much cheaper "lobster special" option. Just point to the neon blue sign above the bar for non-Chinese reading folks. That's an extra bonus star in my book. Good hometown honesty. Their Dim Sum is pretty good. They only have the carts on the weekend, but the waitress told us, we could still order it on the weekdays, you just have to wait for the chef to make it. Freshly made dim sum? Heck, I'd wait days! For those folks who like kong xin cai () or Rau Mung Xào and have been having trouble finding it (something about it being restricted, since the spinach like plant grows and covers up storm drains?), you can find it here. A couple of drawbacks - their limited dim sum menu and their location really isn't close to anything I frequent. read more

Sampan Cafe - Dim Sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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The restaurant is located in a nondescript strip mall and probably easy to miss. Came here for dim sum here over the weekend. Had shumai, har gow, and soup dumplings. The soup dumplings were the best, piping hot and filled with a rich broth. The other dim sum were average, good but nothing special. The prices were reasonable and the service was good. read more

Sampan Cafe - Soup dumplings - Dim Sum Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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They don't serve dim sum in carts but it's very good! Will go back again. My kids loved the beef fried rice. The waitress was so sweet and nice. read more

First visit for Sunday Dim Sum and impression is GREAT! I am really puzzled with 3,5** rating on this side. Our experience was definitely a 5** one. The taste of the food was on the level of New York City/Flushing NY best dim sum places. The variety of dishes was quite wide, but unfortunately we were not heading straight home and couldn't have a lot of leftovers carry out as we usually have so aimed for 7 favorite dishes and all of them were tasting wonderful. The service was VERY nice and helpful, and the prices also very reasonable. The place is clean and tastefully decorated in Chinese cultural motives. We can't wait till our next trip to the area to taste some more of the yummy dishes they cook. read more

We don't have dim sum where we live and this satisfied our craving. We also got 2 more dim sum dishes. This was all for 2 people which was more than enough. Everything had good flavor. Our favorite were the fried shrimp balls read more

Sampan Cafe - Peking duck bao - Dim Sum Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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The temperature in the restaurant was extremely hot. Food took over 45 minutes to come out. My cup of tea had hair inside of it. The main course came out before any of the appetizers. That When my friend picked up the bill the waitress came back and said the tip wasn't enough and forced my friend to tip more. Would not recommend. read more

I have only had Hot 'n' Sour soup on take-out. I plan to return and will update my review later. One way to determine if this is authentic Chinese food is by who is having a meal in the restaurant. ALL of the patrons dining were Chinese (forgive me if this isn't PC :-) We just moved here four weeks ago and this will likely be our "go to" Chinese restaurant in the future. read more

Nice smaller Dim Sum restaurant that frequents by those in the know. Get there early when they open on the weekends for no wait, and carts of food comes around for your selections as they come out of the kitchen. You can also order favorite dishes. Makes a nice Sunday outing every time. read more

Terrible service I really love the dim sum and egg tarts here and today I decided to have lunch with my boyfriend here. But when I arrivedthere , I saw that it was crowded, so I ordered it for to go. A man he look like a manager walked in and acted like I was asking the food for free , speaks and acts rudely. I won't go back there again. Even how much I like food don't treat custormer like this again !!!! read more

Good place for some quick Chinese food fix. Big portions is what keeps me coming back as well. Items of mention; snow pea leaves; salt pepper pork; Items I didn't like: keep in mind I like the more Chinese food vs American Chinese: orange chicken, general tso chicken, roast duck Will try a few other items next time. read more

Terrible terrible terrible terrible terrible. They did not let us sit on the lazy Susan table even thought there was no one, absolutely no one at the restaurant. We had a party of 5 and we had 2 senior citizen. Cmon Sampan. This is why your 3 and a half star rated. Food was ok. read more

Sampan Cafe - Porkchop - Dim Sum Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

My family still frequents this restaurant and enjoys the banquet meals for multiple people. The people who work here are always very hospitable to my parents and grandmother. Food has been reliably good over the years, dimsum and otherwise. We recently came here to celebrate my grandmother's birthday, and when our server found out, she surprised us with some free dessert buns. read more

I LOVE this place. Best veggie dishes, steam dumplings and shrimp fried rice. Super authentic Chinese cuisine. Good price and fast service. A hidden gem! read more

Sampan Cafe - Black mushroom and vegetables - Dim Sum Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

First time here and for carryout. Shrimp dumpling noodle soup is good, with very authentic Hong Kong-style flavor; cashew shrimp was okay too. Big menu that I would like to explore more of later. read more

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Was Hungry Late night and craving Chinese. So I googled the closest place... came for a to-go order and it definitely was around 10:55 when we got there for pick up order. 5 minute til closing. She said the kitchen is already closed, but she was kind enough to feed us staving humans. Though she looks a bit annoyed. Hahaha. I used to be a server, and know How annoying that shit was. So for that alone is 5 stars. For a Chinese it tasted alright; I've had better. Ordered Lomein pork and shrimp soup. She Surprised me when i open the bag and found that she gave us a sturdy paper plate inside. Mine was a to-go experience. So not sure how it is on a regular night. Though I saw a 2 customer leaving and saying bye personally to the lady. Gave me the impression it's a quite and friendly place to eat. read more

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Please call ahead first before you enter the store, even though I spend 30 minutes standing at the lane to picked up my 2 orders. (They totally forget my food on the table and getting cold) It was nobody to greet you at the front when I arrived even just pick up the food. The food was fine, I wish their employees were more responsive to everyone. Not just talking on the phone and then forgot their customers at the restaurant. read more

Sampan Cafe - Dim Sum Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Tried twice but food was terrible. Overpriced, greasy and lacked authenticity. We ordered crab fried rice and it was greasy rice with a sprinkling of "crab" meat. We couldn't eat it. read more

Came here as a tourist seeking amazing Chinese food and this place for sure delivered. Coming from the Bay Area I've experienced so many Chinese restaurants that have "set the bar" for Chinese food and I must say this place has met my expectations. We went with a party of 9, and got one of the family dinners and it was the perfect amount of food for 9 hungry asians. It started off with 1. Cold meat platter - the ham was so good 2. Peking duck- the skin wasn't as crispy as I would like but the meat was 10/10 and they offer both "bao" and "burrito" options 3. Seafood egg drop soup. 4. Crispy fried shrimp - tasty but the shells were on under the batter which made it a bit hard to eat 5. Crispy noodles 6. Black pepper steak - really tasty but a tad chewy 7. Salt and pepper pork chop - so crispy on the out but the inside couldn't have been better 8. Lobster, cooked to perfection but they left bits of empty shell in 9. Steamed fish with scallions- fish was so tender 10. Combo fried rice- very tasty, came with lap xuong shrimp egg peas and carrots 11. Red bean desert which was sweet but not TOO sweet . This place will forsure be my go to every time I visit the VA/DC area. Service was very attentive read more

Sampan Cafe - We cleared every single item! - Dim Sum Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

So.. where shall we start? I would like to start off that I got this place from my dad's co-worker. His co-worker told my family that this restaurant is great. I mean, he's not wrong. I usually order a chow-mien, beef broccoli, and some other stuff with my parents; we also CANNOT forget the dim-sum's (aka the ha cao and shumai). Anyways, today, I went out again since my dad asked me what I wanted for dinner. So I requested for Sampan since I haven't ate their food since last month. But today, I tried some food and it tasted burnt?? Someone explain.. Burnt food.. I mean, I enjoyed my dim-sum's but the dishes, I really didn't.. I know you're wondering why I didn't add a photo but I was just so hungry, I had no time to take photos.. I mean, I've been going there since the beginning of 2021 I'm pretty sure and usually, their food is fantastic. But today, I'm kind of concerned why my food tastes burnt. Not all of my meals were burnt but majority of them were. I know I'm just a teen probably not knowing well about food, but I mean, today went unexpected lowkey. Off the hook and very out of pocket honestly. But I just don't understand why today was odd I mean. I clearly remember how the food use to look like in the past and I can still visualize everything from before till now with their food. Till this all happened, I'm shocked but I guess its just a small mistake. (Not too sure). Also, please don't take any advice from me, I'm just a teen!! 0-0 read more

This restaurant has been around for several decades, with possibly multiple changes in ownership. The current cuisine is Cantonese with Dim Sum being offered throughout the day. They have Cantonese BBQ of roast pork (char siu), roast pig with the crunch skin, spareribs, and roast duck. I have on occasion picked up a half roast duck from this establishment. I decided to eat in on this occasion. I ordered the shrimp balls and shrimp rice crepes from the dim sum menu. These took some time to arrive. I'm guessing these were previously prepared and have to be reheated? Not sure. I also ordered the Hong Kong style noodle soup with roast duck. The number of roast duck pieces were generous. The noodle soup has choice for roast pork, roast pig and other options. The soup was flavorful. The soup is an inexpensive choice that is very filling. The condiment on the table included soy sauce, white pepper, ground pepper paste, and another sauce (maybe vinegar?). I personally appreciated the ground red pepper paste that is not in oil. Growing up, dim sum had the option for hoisin sauce. That seems less common and has to be requested. While there around 1:00, several other Chinese diners were there to include three families. I have observed somewhat slower service at more than one Cantonese restaurant. read more

loved the dim sum selection. easy going environment. dim sum was a little slow to arrive but it's bc it's it's at a lower temperature for longer. read more

Sampan Cafe - menu - Dim Sum Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Food is average. Nothing stands out. Honey walnut shrimp 5.5/10 Dim sum 6/10 Pork fried rice 4/10 (dry) read more

The food is authentic and meets cantonese standards. The customer service sucks. They tell you your food is ready to pick up but when you arrive, you are waiting another 30 minutes especially on saturday and sunday dim sum hours. When they mess up your order, they want to argue with you. I keep going back because their chow fun is actually good. Make sure to check your order before you leave. read more

My go to Chinese restaurant. The food is always delicious. My favorite is walnut shrimp.

Authentic Chinese cuisine,so far I love coming to this place if I'm really craving good Chinese food.

We tried out some of the dim sum last Friday. The food was surprisingly good and becoour go-to dim sum place. It's also interesting that they have 4 private rooms with the karaoke machine. Maybe next time we will reserve one and have a karaoke night read more

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This place used to be very good. Recently they've been going downhill fast. The meat quality has become subpar, with various pieces of inedible fat and cartilage included. And now for the third and final time they have left something out of my order. Twice I called to try and get it resolved. Both times it was all my fault and they made absolutely no mistakes. I didn't bother calling the third time. They have no concept of customer service. They've lost my business, and I don't recommend you give them yours. read more

This resto deserves a much better rating than what's being shown here on Yelp. Proves that you have to try places yourself based on your own palate! read more

My mother noticed an ad in a Chinese newspaper for Sampan Cafe. My mom and I decided to go there on Friday July 8th, 2022. We travelled over an hour to get there for Dim Sum. Despite the fact that the restaurant was empty, we were seated at a front table near the front entrance (1st red flag). We decided to go there since we were both craving dim sum. The prices were high, the food was cold, and the service was terrible. When I asked for a larger to-go box for my leftover food, the server was disrespectful and informed me that the box she provided me was too tiny. She then slammed my leftover food into that little box, and I told her that I did not want my meal destroyed like that. She completely ignored me. The waitress's rudeness was the second and last red flag. If you are in the neighborhood, I would not recommend stopping there for dim sum. However, if you are not nearby, I do not believe it is worth the trip. If you are craving dim sum, there are better dim sum available elsewhere. It was our first visit, and it will be our last, since the dim sum we had to pay for was cold, overpriced, and the service was terrible. read more

My go-to place for Cantonese food in the DMV. The food is good and staff are friendly. They are known for their seafood dishes. They have fresh lobster. (I prefer the fried version with scallions and ground pork over the more common ginger and scallion). Also try their conch with yellow chives (market price). They also have a "house seafood stir fry" which is different types of seafood stir fried with an XO sauce with some veggies. Amazing. Their ginger scallion chicken (cooked quickly over boiling water) is always juicy and flavorful. Not the best ginger scallion sauce but the chicken more than makes up for it. Clams with black bean sauce is also one of my favorites here. Being a primarily seafood restaurant, it's going to be a little more expensive than your typical Chinese restaurant. It's worth it. Oh yeah, I probably wouldn't come here for dim sum though. There's better options for that. read more

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Sampan cafe definitely has some quality Chinese food at quality prices! I went with the small combination moo shi, crab rangoons, and an egg roll. The moo shi was the perfect size for lunch and dinner! And for only $8 that's huge! You get a lot of food for your money. The flavor of the moo shi was perfect, not super salty like a lot of other places will have. The "pancakes" that were sold with it stuck together in the foil so instead of three I got two. The crab rangoons were spot on!! No matter where I order, I ALWAYS try the crab rangoons and this place really did a good job with them. Super flavorful with the cream cheese not overpowering. My only (small) complaint was that they could have used a tad more filling in the wonton. Now, the egg roll. Boy do I wish I didn't order it. Although it had large pieces of shrimp inside, it was extremely greasy and lacked any flavor at all. It was also lukewarm, unlike the rest of my food which was piping hot. I will 100% be ordering delivery from them again - just staying away from the egg rolls. read more

Good food. Highly recommend com chien tay thy, fried shrimp with salt n pepper. The service is good and friendly too.

Very disappointing. I called and made reservations well in advance and coordinated my extended family flying in to meet here for lunch. When we arrived we were disappointed to find out the restaurant was closed for renovations, which they never mentioned when I spoke with them. They also did not bother to call me even though they took my number down when I made the reservation. read more

Great roasted duck and pecking duck; Other dishes I tried including the fried eggplants, pulled chicken, roasted pork bun are just ok. The buns are too sweet to eat .... Siu Mai is ok to try though. read more

Amazing dim sum... just wish they had more to offer without seafood :-( The regular menu is also super tasty Highly recommend the sesame balls and mango mousse for dessert read more

They got good food no doubt . But the waitress beyond rude . I called in to asked that they allow dine in yet ? And have space for 7people or no ? The lady on the phone screamed at me and said yes . When you come ? ....... really ? Please check your customer service thanks read more

I've heard about this place from friends and was finally able to give it a chance after winning a contest. I was very excited to try it after all the good things I've heard. I have to give it 3 stars because of the service and food. To start off on a good note, I loved the ambiance and concept of enjoying the company and food with karaoke. I absolutely LOVE it! The owner and manager were really nice and welcoming. I did enjoy talking to them and getting to know more about the restaurant. Now onto the bad parts, when I walked into the restaurant I wasn't properly greeted even though I saw someone in the front and was eventually told to catch up with the other winners. I'm not looking for a warm welcome but an acknowledgment would've been nice. When I told one of the workers (or someone I thought worked there because they were standing behind the host table) about my guest coming late and directing them to us he replied, "Oh okay I don't really care. they'll be fine!" That really turned me off. It wasn't how I wanted to start off my experience there. If they did or didn't work there, it would've been nice to be corrected instead of being given that response. I understand circumstances are different for resturants right now due to the pandemic but I really felt like I was being an inconveinence when I would ask for something. The dim sum was also okay to me. It wasn't fresh and ready for us to eat. Overall, I would say it was okay but I would like to give them another chance during the prime dim sum hours. read more

Stopped in on Thanksgiving again for a wonderful lunch with family/friends. I arrived a little late due to a work conflict but that was soon but I was sure to make up for the lost time with an entourage of fresh seafood and fried fish until it was time for dessert. The food was amazing. If you want real Dim Sum this is a must try venue. I recommend gathering a group of your loved ones and reserving a private room for a wonderful dining experience and a Lazy Susan glass center on the table to turn your way to a full belly today! read more

Perfect staple delivery restaurant. Their food is great and it is slightly different every time you order it in a good way.