This is one dimsum place my husband and I would always come back to. Food is cooked very well and the staff is nice and polite. We ordered the usual, sticky rice, hargow, bbq pork bun both steamed and bunned. Also, the seafood noodle is a favorite. That is ordered from the menu. Place is your typical chinese dimsun place. Nit much thought on the interior but does the job. Its clean and organized. read more

We were here on a Sunday before Christmas. We learned that the one dim sum place on the Westside was closed so I pushed our desire to try Sea Empress to see if it's a good alternative if we don't want to drive out to Monterey Park. BF was parking while I got in first to get a table. Before I was able to sit down, I had 3 people surrounded me. Busser asked me if I want tea, and two cart ladies pushing dishes on me. The one with all the steam dishes was so pushy but she had the Hao Goa (Shrimp dumpling) and chicken feet which we usually get. Food was not piping hot to begin with. Wrapping for Shrimp dumpling was mushy and a bit on the thicker side. All the other dishes were not memorable and nothing to write home about. But overall just not up to PAR. We asked the pushy cart lady if she had beef tripe and she said they could put in an order to get it steamed. The tripe never came but it was on our bill. So be sure to check your bill. read more

The carts are here! At least when I visited. The first time eating at a traditional dim sum spot not in the 626 and we overall enjoyed this spot. I really liked the shrimp paste stuffed eggplant - something I had never tried that before. The crispy pork belly was pretty good too. Other items were hit or miss in terms of freshness, maybe on the cart for too long, but this is a solid spot for dimsum on the west side! read more

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It's been awhile since I came here, I ordered dimsum to go. I ate couple pieces of har gow in the car before I drive. It was not hot! It was a disappointment when I started to eat it at home! I ordered the steamed beef in rice roll and they gave me the steamed bbq pork rice roll! The deep fried tao dumplings tasted rotten when I took a bite, I ended up throwing the whole order away and the rest of the dimsum didn't seem to taste fresh. I am not too thrilled with the service and food this time! read more

Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

This is an institution over 30 years now that we come every Sunday for Dim sum . The menu is vast and delicious and service is fantastic all staff members are very friendly and knowledgeable. I love the Peking duck and all the seafood is very good and all sides dishes green beans are a favorite. The restaurant is ideal for a large party also magnificent room with natural light . The koi in entrance is very beautiful and love to cross the bridge ! Lovely bar too. I highly recommend this restaurant and you will make it a habit . read more

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Was in the area for some Thai dessert and saw dim sum and decided to give it a try. I've always been a fan of this chain but for their seafood. I think this will be my first time trying their dim sum. There's ample amount of parking at it's in a HUGE shopping center with a lot of other Asian establishments including Tokyo central (supermarket) The moment I stepped in, was immediately greeted and seated. We got a seat right by the fish pond ;) We ordered the chicken sticky rice which we liked as there's chicken and shrimp, cream buns were a bit on the sweeter side, the egg tart was a complete fail / it was hard and stale, chicken feet was ok, lacked flavor and shumai wasn't that good. Overall: the service was excellent but the dim sum was not. I would not return for the dim sum :( read more

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Came here for dim sum. We were hoping for the steam carts that come around, but we did come after 2 PM, so we had to order the dim sum off the menu. We ordered char sui bow, har gow, pork shiu mai, stuffed bell peppers, and steamed Taiwan dumplings. Everything was served hot and the har gow, shiu mai, steamed dumplings, and stuffed peppers were ver juicy. The char shiu bow was a bit on the dry side, so had to deduct one star. The servers and bus people were very attentive. Overall a very good experience for dim sum without driving to Chinatown or East Los Angeles. read more

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Decent dim sum amd they have basically everything that you typically would order at a dim sum restaurant. As soon as you sit down, they bring the cart out to you and ask you what you want. If you know what you want right away then you can basically start eating within a minute of sitting down. My favorite ones are the xiu mai and pineapple bun. They always hit the spot. Sometimes i like getting their pork buns as well. But compared to the locations in the San Gabriel valley area, I would say this is on the lower end in terms of quality. The service here is otherwise very friendly and efficient. The ambience is nice and quiet enough for you to have a conversation without struggling to hear the other person. Despite how I feel about this restaurant in comparison to the ones I know in San Gabriel valley, this is still my go to location in the south bay. And honestly its my number one location in terms of quality, speed, and price. read more

Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

Very rarely does a restaurant deserve a 1-star rating, and unfortunately, Sea Empress is that restaurant. We came here for the dim sum service and it was really disappointing. We regularly go to dim sum in the 626 area so we know that poor service is a rite of passage for dim sum places and that will never change. But the food was pretty atrocious. We hit the usual - har gow, shumai, and turnip cakes. The har gow had a hard exterior, which felt like they re-heated from the night before or something. The shumai had an enormous amount of filler and no shrimp nor pork taste. And the turnip cake was thick. Do yourself a favor and just drive to the 626 for good dim sum. Sea Empress was just not it. read more

Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

This good but the food isn't pushed on carts now. Food is ordered off of the menu. Everything was delicious as always. I personally like to see the food and order but this probably saves more food. The service is typical Chinese restaurant so be aware and should be fine. The restaurant is large for big parties but has seating for 2. read more

Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant - Menu - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

Located in a busy shopping center where, depending on which day & time you go, parking can be challenging. Dim sum is served everyday so that's a plus! Good service with good food brought to your table quickly. I'm used to larger sized portions and I love to eat, so this is not a complaint but just a notice (for all y'all who like big portions like myself), the chicken and pork buns are super cute and nearly 2 bite sized. So just order 2 or 3 and you should be good! read more

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We came on a Saturday morning and the restaurant was fairly empty. The restaurant was dead silent, it felt awkward to talk. The Dim Sum options are very limited and there aren't rolling carts when we went. We tried ordering the Calamari, but the worker later told us it wouldn't be available until 40 mins later. Our food came out barely warm and was cold, a little disappointing. The food was ok, wish it was warmer that would've helped. The restaurant is a decent size and probably doesn't get busy until the afternoon. They do Dim Sum everyday which is pretty cool! ig: @cravingswithcat read more

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We were craving dim sum and didn't feel like driving to Chinatown. Considering that it was around lunch time on a weekday, service was quick. Servers walked around with various carts, ready with all the dim sum on hand. Ambiance is outdated, however, I have had amazing dim sum in several mom and pops, so I went in with an open mind. Siu mai - 4/5 Flavor was decent, springy and juicy. Har gow - 3/5 Wrapper was thick, chewy, and doughy. Sesame balls - 3/5 Too sweet and oily. Taro cake - 4/5 Tasty and warm upon arrival. Garlic spare ribs - 4.5/5 Tender and flavorful Crispy shrimp ball - 2/5 Stale and tasted old I'm unsure whether this was an off morning or not. I'm willing to try it one more time, but may order noodles or vegetables instead of the dim sum. read more

The review is mainly for the lady who answers the phone. She's very rude and has an impatient attitude. She's hung up on me a couple of times when I was doing takeout orders. She doesn't wait until I'm done talking or asking questions.. she just hung up or changed the subject while I was repeating the order back to her. One time I wanted to ask her the prices of two dishes, she just told me about the first dish and hung up on me, when I wasn't done asking about the second dish... unbelievable.. read more

Another restaurant choice serving Cantonese dimsum, Lunasia, so now there are three to choose from to get just OK dimsum. I still think the shrimp eggrolls are still the best at Sea Empress, but other DimSum selections are a hit and miss. I just wish this place was more consistent in their offerings read more

It's too bad it's so far away because I like the place very much! I love all the carts going around it's a very East Coast dim sum experience read more

This was our go to dim sum place..today me and my husband were excited to have lunch here but we are absolutely disappointed and so sad at the same time..As soon as we walked in,.we already had that unpleasant smell and got worst when I used the restroom!! so filthy and stinky..I was in complete denial how bad this place got..still hoping against my initial observation..then came the food! tough and sticky sauce like it was just microwaved..This will be the last time we are going to this place..I am mad and sad coz we had great experiences in this once beloved Chinese restaurant.. read more

1. Siu Mai: 3.5; standard but good 2. Special Shrimp Har Gow: 3.0 3. Chives Dumpling: 3.75 4. Chives and Shrimp dumpling: 3.5 5. Steamed Pea leaf and shrimp dumpling: 2.5 6. Garlic Spare rib: 3 7. Radish cake: tasted weird 8. Egg Custard Tart: 3.5; sweet and flaky 9. Scallop shrimp dumpling: 3 10. Steamed chicken bun: too gingery 11. Ginger Beef Tripe: 3 The food quality is a hit or miss. One time it was pretty good and another everything just tasted off. Service was okay read more

I'm a little bummed that Sea Empress has dropped in quality after all these years. Like, significantly. Dim sum is always a great time but phew, this time was very off. Everything was dry and old tasting, lacking in any substantial flavor. I had to use a whole lot of soy sauce and mustard to even swallow anything. The turnip cake was flour with turnip breathed on it. It's not representative of turnip cake at all. The steamed bbq pork buns were soggy and falling apart. The chang fen was okay at best, but that's not saying much. I don't even need to talk about the chicken feet, har gow, or anything else cause I'm gonna rip into those as well. So what can I say? Dim sum in the south bay hasn't always been the best but Sea Empress has really disappointed me so not sure where to go next moving forward. read more

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Very good dim sum place in sgv ..very good service but long wait time because it's gets very busy ..

The quality of this has gone way down! When you first walk in, there's a stench of ammonia mixed with mold. We got an order of tripe and it was cold. Tripe smelled so strong as if it was not washed. The fried mochi savory dumplings were soggy and greasy. Not good! read more

Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

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We rushed here after church for dim sum and we were sitted right away and enjoyed every bit of everything that we had. My friends and I (four of us) love to eat, go on food adventures and we said this is a place to come back again. We left read more

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The service was slow. We waited a long time to only be told that the item is not available. The women bathroom is disgusting. The lock is so rusty I was afraid to touch it. As soon as I walked in my nose was burning of chemical that is use to cover the stench. On top of that they added "open item" that cost $144. When we questioned the waiter we were told it's the noodle. Then he apologized for mistake. Im giving a 1 star because there's no option "they do not deserve a star." read more

Dined in on Saturday, 5/31/25 around 3pm after my son's volleyball tournament. He wanted to celebrate his undefeated streak but unfortunately, there were too many things that happened this day to change my past ratings and dampened my son's celebration. First, the dum sum were old! The shumai and xiao long bao were dry and seemed like it was just reheated in the microwave to make it seem fresh. The salt and pepper calamari was chewy! Ugh! We came back bc all of those which are our favorites are always so good. Then to top it off, the shrimp dim sum we ordered had a hair on top! Gross!!!! Lesson learned, don't go to dim sum after lunch hours. The food just isn't fresh! If we knew, we would have ordered from the dinner menu. I didn't take photos this time as I was so disappointed! Then they charge you $9 for tea! They don't ask, they just put it on the table. It's fine but then make sure the food makes up for it. We spent over $150! We won't be back for a while. read more

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Food was delicious, felt authentic. Service was quick and they were nice. It was relaxed and the tables were nice.

What happened to Sea Empress? We used to enjoy going here for dim sum. It was a great place to go to with family members. Not any more. The last two times we went, the food was served cold. When we told the servers, they did give us hot items from the kitchen, but we shouldn't have to do that. read more

I've been coming to Sea Empress my whole life. They used to be 5 stars, but as the years have gone by, they have taken no steps towards up-keeping the restaurant (i.e. outdated interior, old tables/chairs, even my menu was bound by a See's Candy ribbon...) nonetheless, the food is just as delicious as it was 20 years ago. It's a no frills kind of place with great food. Service is usually standard. Everyone is nice and they are prompt to getting you what you want. They also gave our party free egg tarts at the end, which was nice! read more

This used to be THE place to go for dim sum. I have no idea what is up with the service because it is horrible. The lady with glasses at the counter is not nice or friendly. If she could ignore you she would. I had to ask to place a dim sum order to go. I don't care if she's not nice or friendly, at least be professional & just take the order. She pulled out a menu that you can mark off what I want. When I was done, I gave her my order. She glances at it and tells me to come back at 11:15am-1130am. It was 10:30am. They had been open since 10am. There were hardly any tables taken. I asked her again to confirm the time. She said 1115am or 1130am which is 45min-1hr later. She didn't even explain why and just shoved my order off to the side. I offered to pay for my order ahead of time and she said no. With the order shoved off to the side, that told me she wasn't putting my order in until later. The restaurant looks the same and the decor is the same. The koi pond was filled with koi fishes and there were many young ones swimming around. I came here when covid hit and to-go orders were the only way to get dim sum. The wait was ridiculous(45 min). I saw my friends there and they had waited 2 hours. Guess who was the one in charge back then? It was the same lady that I placed my order with last week. I think she is the owner. I am sure if you ate there, it wouldn't be bad. However, avoid ordering to go. Online ordering doesn't work either. A pop-up window says the store is closed. If you decide to order to-go (in person), expect delays, bad attitude and no professionalism. It's a shame someone like her gets away with that attitude & the way she does business. I did not bother coming back since I didn't pay for my order and she never took my name or number. That wasn't nice of me, but brushing me off, giving attitude & shoving my order off to the side told me she didn't want my business. read more

If you're in the South Bay and don't want to burn up gas all the way to Chinatown then Sea Empress got you. They do the traditional Dim Sum with the carts on the weekends and on week days you order dim sum off the menu. read more

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We ordered a lot for two people! We just ordered anything and everything we wanted to try. We took the rest home. The food was ok. It was edible. Nothing special. None of the food stuck out and made me want to come back. Service was kind of rude. They were questioning if we were sure we wanted to order all the food that we ordered. Almost seemed like they didn't want us to order everything we wanted and not have our business. I can see that they were concerned about all the left overs, but we can easily take the rest room. The more the customer orders, the more money the restaurant makes. Just be happy we're bringing you business. Easy parking. I don't recommend. read more

Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

TLDR: restaurant reminds me of my childhood family dinners out and the food is delish! This is not the fanciest place, truth be told, the decor is outdated but I don't look at decorations, I want to know if my food is going to be good. We went to Sea Empress upon my auntie's recommendation. My cousin had a craving for roasted duck and they had it. Our party of 7 was seated right away - it was a weekday after all. We got our hot teas and orders were taken and delivered in short order. Cantonese food is my comfort food and our dishes didn't disappoint. Salt and pepper pork chops were just the right kind of crispy and tender. I could have eaten the chow fun by myself but had to share Food servings are generous! Their roasted duck is yummy! I'm going to add Sea Empress to my go to list when I'm in Gardena. read more

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The Sea Empress is a restaurant lost in time, courtesy, and food safety! Stay away from this place! The servers are rude with displays of indifference and entitlement! A friend and I entered the restaurant early, there was no one to greet us ! The waiter saw us but did not acknowledge our presence! The second person was our server who appeared to have a cold. He blew into his paper napkin and proceeded to hand us our plates without washing his hands. The food arrived looking half cooked, sloppy and just unappetizing. The green onion raw and the shrimp was barely cooked! I was disappointed because the quality of service and food is lower than I expected! What a shame! I left no tip! That's how cheated my experience was! Waste of money and pretty gross. Did I mention the restaurant needs a deep clean, upgrades because it looks like it serves homeless people! read more

No good no fresh Do Not waste your money here All Trash Food many good restaurants in La read more

Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

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UPDATE: I drove by to see if they had cleaned the room with trash with truck blocking the side entrance. Nope, the trash is still piled high with the same truck blocking the view, obviously trying to hide their trash. read more

Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant - Trash in a blocked room of Sea Empress, with a truck blocking the entrance. - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

Love this dim sum place ! Third time here. Quick bite. Haven't been here in ages. Service was great. I always come around 11 am.

Not the best dim sum but it will do if I'm not trying to drive to OC or the 626 area. Sea empress still has the dim sum cart ladies which is always nice. Shumai is probably the best thing here. The hargow shrimp is a little dry and the skin is a little thick. The shrimp rice rolls are pretty decent here. Food overall is okay, it'll get the job done. read more

Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant - Hargow, shumai and shrimp and cilantro dumpling - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

What happened to this place?!! It's sad to watch my childhood South Bay dim sum place go down the hill.. I mean this place used to be so popular for dim sum. I haven't been in since pandemic started until a few weeks ago and it's just sad and unbelievable how it will be probably the end of the Era for this restaurant. Food was gross and stale. Totally obvious the food were leftovers and reheated the next day or even dayssss.. and the place was filthy and old. I used to come here alot as my old work place likes to cater from here and during weekends, we would be lining up for dim sum if we don't want to drive down to Chinatown or the SGV area. Although the food was always only average at best, it was temporarily satisfying the cravings. Few weeks ago, we brought some guests from Hong Kong here and it was embarrassing. Most of the food was so hard to digest as it's so obviously the dim sum items were not fresh. The fried stuff was stale, old oil taste. Funny the fried Taro balls, the panko breading all fell off the balls. Shrimp dumplings' outer part wrapper was mushy and gross, and the shrimp was so fishy. The fishy smell was so overwhelming. We ordered a Chow fun and the rice noodles are suppose to be long and adente, chewy.. well, theirs was all broken into pieces and soggy. This happens when the rice noodles are not fresh and it's been refrigerated too long. We had so much leftovers on the table and no one wanted to take any of it home. It would of gone straight to the trash. Don't use the restroom if you don't need to. Smells like old mold and everything is rusted or disgusting old and dusty. They don't clean or wipe down their restroom!! Prices went up because of inflation and food is not good and fresh. If they don't step up, I'm afraid people will just stop coming period. Especially with Lunasia new and in the South Bay! read more

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service was fine... quality of food was just average although the menu is large. there is no ambiance to speak of... read more

One of the best places in south. Bay for authentic Cantonese food and dimsum. It's your go to when you feel like stuffing yourself with carbs, yummy little dumplings filled with pork shrimp and other protein. They also have the traditional canto dishes that are to die for. On the weekends the do have the push carts out in full force. Service is pretty decent. Make sure you ask for their chili oil and extra mustard and chili paste. My coworkers and I frequent this spot a lot and really enjoy the no frills service a read more

Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant - Dim Sum spread - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

If you're looking to get quick dim sum lunch with a good variety, this is the place to go. While the place can be packed especially on the weekends, the staff do their best to get you in as quickly as possible. The place looks small when you first walk in but it is actually huge and can accommodate big parties and have an area for private gatherings as well. read more