Excellent food and great service! This my go-to dim sum restaurant! I love the barbecue pork and red rice rolls especially.

Husband chose Tim Ho Wan to have lunch at because he had never eaten there although the rest of the family has already a few times. He was a little put off by the people waiting for a table. It was busier than usual because it was the beginning of a holiday weekend. Quoted wait time was 45 minutes or less. I put in my name and the hostess said that she would text as soon as a table was available and to have a seat in the waiting area. The wait was not long at all. People wanting take out were told that it would be one hour for their orders as the kitchen was backed up. We were seated in about 15 minutes. We knew to order by scanning the QR code as it was not our first time here. Daughter did most of the ordering. She ordered the sticky rice in lotus leaf, the signature baked barbecued pork bun, crispy shrimp red rice rolls with roselle sauce, chicken with ginger and spring onion puree rice bowl, and pork congee with century and salted egg. Her father added pork and shrimp dumplings or siu mai and barbecue pork rice rolls. We tried 2 new dishes--braised vegetables and mixed fungus with fermented red bean curd sauce and dark and white chocolate sesame balls. Food came out very quickly. The pork and shrimp dumplings took a little longer as did the crispy shrimp red rice rolls. A few more crispy shrimp red rice rolls came out after ours. The kitchen may be making the dim sum in batches. The standouts were the crispy shrimp red rice rolls and the dark and white chocolate sesame balls. The shrimp was fresh and crunchy and we really like the tart but sweet sauce accompanying the shrimp red rice rolls. It was difficult not to have more than one of the dark and white chocolate sesame balls. They were chewy and filled with warm, melted chocolate. We order the chicken with ginger and spring onion puree rice bowl every visit and it was perfect this day not salty like last time. The braised vegetables and mixed fungus with fermented red bean curd sauce was interesting. It came with cabbage, sliced carrots, snow fungus, shiitake mushrooms, edamame, rolled bean curd, and wood ear mushrooms. We would have preferred a brown sauce. Everybody ate his fill and was satisfied. read more

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We came right at opening time, it was a line at the door. We got seated right way. We have ordered total 3 rounds. The best dishes are bbq pork bun, the red rice roll and fried tofu!. While I am writing this review, the mushroom rice rolls came and it is also delicious! Shoutout to my waitress Ting!!! Even during the busy time, she keeps smelling to every table, patiently answered all our requests, continuing checking our orders!! Her exceptional service makes our lunch experience even better! Thank you Ting! read more

Had dinner with friends. Sam and service team, Zan,Loi, Zi, Lam, were very nice and friendly. We ordered a lot of food and everything was delicious. Friend's kids were very happy too. We had a great time. read more

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The restaurant layout has a cool Asian fusion vibe with outstanding high quality dim sum dishes and customer service. The char siu bao was without doubt the best we have ever had when compared to 66 years of dim sum culinary experience. The other dishes including the har gao, shiu mai, and tofu skin wrapped pork and seafood rolls were heavenly. Highly recommend this gem and will be definitely frequenting this establishment when visiting Irvine. read more

Tim Ho Wan - Char siu bao - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

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Service and food were both amazing. David was our waiter and he was very attentive. Thank you for the great dining experience!

I am glad that they reopened. It's been a while since I had dim sum. We went before lunar new year/president day Monday. Got there around 11:30; they were packed due to the holidays. We put our name down and waited for about 45 mins for our table. I was worried the food will be coming late but they were fast. Service was also good and attentive. We were supposed to be able to order through the QR code but didn't work, so they gave us paper form to order. We like their char siu and char siu buns, har kap shrimp dumplings are also solid. Like the strike paste crispy donut rice rolls as well. read more

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The food was beyond delicious. A must to order is the baked BBQ pork buns. And one of the best desserts you have to get is the Mango Coconut Cream Parfait. And great service. Zi is a wonderful server! read more

Tim Ho Wan - Mango Coconut Cream Parfait with Grass Jelly - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

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Elevated dimsum atmosphere - a bit quieter than your normal dimsum restaurant, the interior is taste fully done with a good balance of individual tables and booth style tables. Our table server was amazing! She's what made our experience enjoyable! The wait to get a table was long since we were not standing there at opening! But patience paid off! We ordered a few fan favorite items on the menu and hallelujah the pork buns were amazing! There's that crunchy sweet tasting top and the char siu meat complemented the overall packaging!!!! We also tried their sago for dessert! Overall will sacrifice the line for those buns! read more

Tim Ho Wan - Sago cold dessert - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

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Excellent service and great quality Hong Kong cuisine expertly prepared and delivered fresh hot and simply delicious. Busy on a Wednesday afternoon for lunch with good atmosphere and beautiful decorations since they have newly renovated and opened back in 2025. Every item we tasted was delicious and fresh. Just the right combination of sweetness and flavor in each dish. Come here for your next business opportunity. read more

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Irvine just got its biggest upgrade with the newly reopened Tim Ho Wan. Yes, this is THE world's most inexpensive Michelin-starred restaurant. After their remodel, they still kept a lot of their dishes from before, like the signature baked BBQ pork buns and other classic dim sum items, but let me tell you, it's completely different now--in the best way possible--under new management. They had their chefs specially flown in from Hong Kong and Singapore to train the new staff here, and you can really taste the difference in the carefully selected ingredients, like using fresh milk from black & white cows instead of the traditional condensed milk for the HK-style hot milk tea. Even something as simple as the roasted BBQ pork and braised beef noodles taste so different now, and SO robust with flavor. The crispy shrimp red rice rolls were the favorite of the table, with an INSANE crunch to it, but OMG the house made hibiscus sauce they call roselle sauce seriously takes it to another level like I'm not even kidding. You NEED to try this for yourself ;) And if there's one thing you have to order that's the avocado dumplings which were specially curated for the Irvine location. Absolutely demolished those. And they just extended their dim sum to dinner hours too. Thanks for reading! ^-^ read more

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I previously had Tim Ho Wan in New York a couple years ago in 2024, and I'm glad it's made its way to the SoCal area! The pineapple BBQ pork buns and har gow were memorable in my NYC visit, so I got them again this time. I came here for brunch with a friend to catch up on life and upon arriving at 1130, there was a 45 minute wait due to the restaurant being a full house. While waiting, we were browsing the menu to know what to order ahead of time. To be honest, this plaza gets quite busy and parking can be tricky, so I'd recommend parking towards the H-Mart area. I also recognized the manager of the restaurant from another restaurant in the SGV, so I was pleasantly surprised to see him over here in Irvine. Upon being seated, we placed our beverage order (HK milk teas) and upon those arriving, we placed our main order. The food arrived FAST! We were surprised at how quickly the dishes came out. I'm from the SGV area, so I'm quite familiar with all the dim sum dishes and offerings from restaurants in that area. I will say, Tim Ho Wan is ranked quite high for me on quality and flavor. The misses for me are, ironically, the har gow (excellent texture and minimal wrapper dough, but a bit lacking in flavor as I think it needs a sauce or more white pepper flavor), and the crispy red rice rolls with shrimp (the texture is a unique crispy-soft, but it's a bit lacking in flavor even with the tart-vinegary sauce). The hits are everything else: * The HK milk tea is a traditional ceylon milk tea with a side of syrup to adjust the sweetness to your liking * The pork and preseved egg congee is extremely flavorful packed with umami from the salted pork. This reminds me of a similar dish from a restaurant I used to go to in Seattle that is sadly no longer around * The roasted BBQ pork was super tender, had minimal fat, and a very flavorful sauce * The pineapple BBQ pork buns were piping hot, crun-chewy, and had a savory umami-packed, sauce-forward BBQ pork filling * Steamed pork spare ribs had excellent flavor with a not-too-heavy fermented black bean aftertaste * A not-too-sweet mango sago dessert with grapefruit pieces that reminds me a bit of the HeyTea mango grapefruit boom drink, but with a more delicate balance of flavors At the end of the meal, we were both quite impressed with the service, quality of the food, taste of the food, and overall atmosphere and location of the restaurant. I will definitely come back again with family. In summary: Service: 5/5 Food: 4.5/5 Value: 4/5 (a more upscale dim sum experience) Overall: 4.5/5 read more

Tim Ho Wan - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

I came with a party of 8 to celebrate my birthday. I called ahead to let them know we had a lot of people coming and they were so kind and said they were happy to accommodate. When we arrived the manager was very funny and super nice. He wished me happy birthday and said they had a surprise for me at the end. We ordered so many dishes there's no way I could list them all here but every single dish was AMAZING. We ended up ordering a second round and we were all bursting full after that! The manager brought me the surprise dish after the second round which was drunken plum cherry tomatoes. It was absolutely amazing. I cannot recommend this restaurant enough! read more

Tim Ho Wan - Drunken plum cherry tomatoes - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

The wait for walk-ins is short, but it feels oddly long for a half-empty restaurant. There's no reservation system or waiting list, which makes the flow even more disorganized. Service is friendly, but careless and way too close for comfort. Staff stand right next to the tables the entire time--one waiter literally stayed in front of us with his back turned, completely blocking the view. In a spacious dining area, it felt intrusive and uncomfortable, like you're forced to watch someone's back the whole meal. We ordered a few dim sum items and waited over 20 minutes for the first dish, which arrived ice cold and clearly not properly thawed. The last item took 30+ minutes. At one point, it was brought out multiple times even after we had already paid. We were close to canceling both items, but were just told "it's on the way," without anyone actually checking on the order--just staff standing around without awareness of what's happening at the table. Unfortunately, the core issue goes beyond service--the food itself was the main disappointment. --- The signature bun doesn't look properly baked at first glance--it lacks the usual golden, glossy finish seen in other locations and instead appears pale and underdone. The dough tastes undercooked and overly sweet. Inside, there's very little actual meat--just a gluey, heavy sauce with small bits of meat, while the bottom remains visibly raw. Even after requesting a remake, the second version was still doughy and wet inside with uneven cooking; it did include a few more pieces of meat that were noticeable, but the overall texture and doneness were still off. --+ The har gow was one of the better items visually--small, delicate, and appealing in shape--but the shrimp quality fell short, with a texture suggesting it had been previously frozen multiple times. --- The carrot cake is soggy and unstable, almost impossible to pick up. The carrot pieces are too large and watery, and the whole thing turns into a porridge-like texture. It's also overly salty, which makes it harder to finish. --- The beancurd skin rolls with pork and shrimp were inconsistent. The first serving arrived steaming hot on the surface but still cold inside, with ice still detectable--raising concerns about whether it was properly thawed or freshly prepared. After requesting a replacement, the second serving was hot but appeared poorly assembled, with little to no filling in most of the rolls. What filling there was lacked depth, with more noticeable vegetable and mushroom fragments than actual meat or shrimp. ---The siu mai is overly salty and has a coarse texture, likely from being chopped too finely, which disrupts the usual bite and balance. ---The signature red rice roll with crispy shrimp was perhaps the most concerning. It arrived with a faint sour smell, which the staff attributed to its "intended flavor," though it came across as over-fermented or possibly spoiled. The shrimp tasted stale, and the crispy exterior carried a rancid note--possibly from overused oil. The roselle sauce lacked any discernible cranberry character; instead, it came across as a generic red syrup with little to no fragrance, as if the aroma had been overpowered by the off-putting, slightly spoiled note of the rice roll itself. Overall, the kitchen seems inconsistent with basic execution--proper thawing, cooking buns correctly, and maintaining freshness. There's also a noticeable lack of attention to whether dishes are actually ready to serve. Combined with overused oil and questionable preparation, the quality just doesn't hold up. THW has never been known as a standout dim sum spot--even in Asia it's more of a quick stop than a destination. But at this level, it feels like something is fundamentally off. For this Irvine location, the experience is particularly disappointing. read more

Tim Ho Wan - Some food is raw. while parts aren't fully thawed--freezing at the bottom and hot on top. - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

The food here are amazing. The atmosphere are super friendly and professional. The manager and Matthew is the one that helping my table and they make sure that I have a good time with my family and private space. This is reminding me of the restaurant that I came to Hong Kong a couple years ago. This is the bus Try in OC. read more

Tim Ho Wan - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

The food was so delicious. Leo is so attentive and take care of us very well. I love the service and the food. Definitely recommend to check out the restaurant. Thank you Leo. read more

Tim Ho Wan - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

Our server David was friendly and helpful. The food was great and the restaurant looked fantastic! Def coming back!

What an incredible dining experience. We tried 18 dishes, from appetizers to mains to desserts, and somehow each one managed to outdo the last. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the signature baked barbecue pork buns--they were so good I ordered two more to go. A close second was the fried tofu with seaweed. Perfectly crispy on the outside, with seasoning that reminded me of fried chicken from the Taipei Night Market--comfort food at its best. One of the most surprising standouts was the crispy shrimp red rice roll with hibiscus dipping sauce. Bold, unique flavors with a satisfying crunch--something I've never had before and absolutely loved. To drink, the signature HK Sprite with salted lemon was incredibly refreshing. You really have to try it. Dessert sealed the deal. The steamed sponge cake was light, fluffy, and subtly sweet with a hint of brown sugar, while the Sweet Treasure Bowl--filled with popping boba, mango, red bean, and more--was fun and delicious. Amazing food, standout flavors, and exceptionally friendly staff. This is definitely becoming a regular go-to spot. read more

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The food was EXCELLENT. Service was amazing, I could see them working with people to make sure everyone had the best eating experience. The ambience is beautiful, very upscale while remaining comfortable and warm. A must try!!! read more

Food here is amazing and the service. We came at a time where they had some new items to offer. Got to try the drunken plum cherry tomatoes and salt and pepper squid tentacles. Definitely would try those too. My server Cindy was amazing as well. Overall the staff was attentive and quick with anything I asked for. read more

Tim Ho Wan - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

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The reopening was smooth as can be on a weekday lunch. Food and service were excellent. QR code ordering was easy. Easy parking early on a weekday (can be difficult with Diamond Jamboree on weekends and evenings). Everything was solid, as it reminded me of Din Tai Fung for Hong Kong dim sum. Food/Drink- 5 stars Everything was excellent and not too greasy, compared to other HK dim sum spots. -Signature pork- this was excellent, as they charred the outside and kept the inside soft. Each piece was a bit different though, as we ordered 2 (one was slightly lean, and the other had the perfect amount of fattiness). And it was a slight discomfort with some burnt ends that stuck to your teeth -Baked BBQ pork buns- this was excellent and I highly recommend getting it -fried noodles- standard, but appreciated that it wasn't too greasy -poached vegetables- pretty good to balance out the heavy meal -shrimp har gow- standard. It's a staple, but I would opt for other orders -Crispy Shrimp Red Rice Rolls with Roselle Sauce- fantastic and highly recommend -chicken feet -Siu mai- pretty good. high quality ingredients really showed out. Juicy and not too greasy -braised beef noodles with soup- pretty solid. I would only order if you have a craving -mushroom truffle rice roll- really good. I highly recommend it -spicy and sweet dumplings- pretty good and equivalent to Din Tai Fung's same dish -fried rice- pretty good -braised vegetables and mushrooms- pretty good Service- 5 stars The servers were very friendly and accommodating. I enjoyed the QR ordering system, as it allowed us to order in waves, ensuring that all the food was fresh. It also helped since one of our diners came to lunch a bit later than the rest of us. It was a very enjoyable experience throughout Bottom Line Excellent higher end dim sum establishment. It's a bit more expensive than your typical HK dim sum place, but the excellent in food quality, service and overall experience was worth the higher price read more

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The manager and staff were SUPER attentive and kind, the food was fantastic! The remodel is so stylish and comfortable as well! Im picky with tomato, and this dish tasted like fruit candy! Amazing! Thank you for the fantastic service and dining experience! read more

Tim Ho Wan - A1. Drunken Plum Cherry Tomatoes - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

Back at Tim Ho Wan for the second time, and wow -- still incredible. We went all in: roasted pork, baked BBQ pork buns (I swear these are life‑changing), crispy red rice roll, veggie rolls... the list goes on. Once again, I ate so much I couldn't even think about dessert. No photos this round, because my stomach got the best of me. But trust me, my pictures wouldn't do the food justice. The real highlight? David and the staff. Even with a full house at 11:30 AM, they were so kind, attentive, and genuinely on point. Hands down a great experience. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. read more

We enjoyed dimsum here. Food was juicy and freshly made. Pork congee was great too, full of flavor. Service and ambiance was nice.

Food is superb , service is excellent & price is reasonable. We will definitely be coming back and recommend Tim Ho Wan , Irvine to our family & friends. read more

After the reopening the interior has improved and the food seems better though my one previous experience wasn't bad. The traditional items were as expected with the bbq buns being exceptional. I really liked the fish with ginger as well. Some portions seemed smaller than you would expect, like siu mai was only 3 pieces. The mango dessert was not what I expected, it's sort of like cold soup when I thought it would be more gelatinous. Service was good, staff was attentive. read more

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ehhhhhh it's ok. it's busier after the renovation but taste didn't really change. in fact, i preferred the food pre-renovation. we got the chasiu buns, amongst other things that you typically get at a dimsum restaurant and everything was overly salty. the best were the buns. dont get the chili oil wontons, those were not good. service was nice, but food was below average. read more

Tim Ho Wan - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

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So thrilled to see they are finally open after a year of renovations! I'm so glad they kept this location, as the food has truly leveled up. Their modern dim sum and fusion Chinese dishes really stand out from traditional spots, offering creative twists that are both unique and delicious. The new atmosphere is fantastic--spacious, clean, and very inviting, with comfortable seating that makes for a relaxed meal. I also noticed a significant improvement in the service; the staff was attentive and professional throughout our visit. It's the perfect spot for a unique dining experience, and I can't wait to revisit with my friends and family! read more

Tim Ho Wan - B1. Baked BBQ Pork Buns (3 Pc) - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

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We last minute stumbled on this spot! The food was so good! Lam was a great fun server :)

I saw that Tim Ho Wan had reopened and it was my favorite dim sum place in Hong Kong so I was interested. Along with the recent good reviews, I really wanted to check it out. I'll just saw this: if the food now is an improvement of what they had before, then I cannot imagine how bad it must have been. The best things are that the shu mai and the signature pork buns are both excellent. My wife told me the shumai was vastly improved and it did remind me of the excellent ones I had in HK For the rest of the menu, it's pretty abysmal. The non-steamed items came out cold - radish/turnip cake was cold, red rice roll was cold, poached veggies were cold and the bbq pork rice roll came out cold. One dish being cold is an aberration, all the non-steamed dishes being cold is a pattern of a dysfunctional kitchen. The turnip cake was falling apart which isn't supposed to happen and the bbq rice roll skin came out mushy As for the steamed dishes, the har gow was passable. The rice lotus leaf sticky rice was tough, almost like it got left out and dried out or they didn't use enough water. The worst offender of the steamed dishes was the chicken feet. The black beans overpowered any taste and in HK, it usually comes out saucy but other than black beans on tofu skin there were no sauce in the dish. Given my experience here and the better dim sum restaurants within a 5 minute radius and the horrible parking situation at diamond jamboree, I don't know if I would come back even if it was free, so seems like I made the right choice when I didn't go to the free event for yelp elite members a few weeks ago. read more

Service and food was amazing. No complaints here. We had a party of 8 and everything came out fast. Staff was attentive and clearing our table. The salt and pepper squid tentacles was great as an app. Would recommend read more

Tim Ho Wan - Dim Sum Near Me - Irvine, California

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I cannot recommend Tim Ho Wan to everyone. There are people out there that enjoy eating simple meals. However, to those that want to experience elevated dimsum and experience exceptional customer satisfaction; Tim Ho Wan is your restaurant. If I could only give 6 stars to one restaurant in my life, this would undoubtedly be my choice. Ive had dimsum on weekends since I was born. Just the Chinese in me. It is a pleasant experience, but at this point, it is just a regular habit. Until I tried Tim Ho Wan for the first time. It completely threw me out of the loop and transformed a regular dimsum meal into an experience I will have trouble forgetting. Just want to give a big shoutout to Jimmy, Dylan, and Nolan. They are professional yet outgoing. Couldn't have been more thankful for them and they are the ones that made this feel like a truly elevated experience from regular dimsum. read more

+ Delicious, exotic, fun-to-eat xiao long bao. Love the concept of the broth still warm inside the dim sum. Complemented by the soy sauce. + Polite, helpful staff. + Unlike the 20min wait at the neighboring tofu restaurant, we were seated here instantly. . Diamond Jamboree often very crowded parking, but we found a spot before H-Mart (Fri noon). - The QR menu isn't versatile with phone numbers. If your phone # doesn't work with it, you can't order/pay with your phone. - Can't order nor view the prices online, so I can't verify for you how expensive dining here is. - Overall the foods are carb-heavy. Somewhat lacking in protein. read more

Came in on a Wednesday for lunch with my wife at around 12:30pm and we were seated within 5-10 mins so that was nice. Ambiance was very nice and feels higher end for sure. By far the best bbq pork buns we have had around SGV and OC and IE. That's a must order and the red shrimp rice roll was surprisingly delicious. The tea assortment was nice but I wouldn't get the lychee black tea again because it was kinda too fragrant for dim sum pairing. Service was good too. The downside side is the selection of dim sum and no egg tart. Also, was a bit pricey but that's expected for what they are trying to market themselves as. read more

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Very tasty food and great atmosphere. My kids loved all the dishes especially the signature baked pork bun. After waiting over a year for the reopen it is well worth it! read more

It finally reopened, I had to check it out. The remodel is way more upscale and comfortable than the previously, and feels more spacious. Our server Leo was very helpful and got us situated with tea and helped with the menu; as a dim sum pro, I'm good, but if you're trying it for the first time, great service for a dim sum place! Food-wise, I also liked it better after re-opening; the bbq pork had the right, authentic Chinese bbq pork aroma. The har gow, shrimp dumplings, had good shrimp in it and not just processed shrimp balls. Glad it's opened and better! read more

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Never disappoints! First time at Irvine location and it was wonderful. Came weekday before 4 PM and no wait. Very clean, great ambiance and superb service by everyone we interacted with. Excellent dim sum served all day. Many dim sums close early or stop serving late afternoon. Our new go-to for dim sum! read more

The food and the service is great we loved everything about the restaurant and definitely recommend the restaurant!

shumai was excellent, best ever! The service is very good, friendly, personable, and attentive. The setting is warm and open; the decor and ambiance are really well done. read more

Tim Ho Wan is an extremely famous chef, with multiple Michelin star restaurants. This location was recently fully renovated and super popular, especially on weekends for lunch. The food was insanely good, some of the best dim sum I have ever had. The signature bbq pork buns are to die for. The interior is beautiful and staff are incredibly friendly and helpful. read more

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