Fantastic flavor, like it very much, but be earlier next time, there is long queue. Got xiao Long Bao (Steamed dumplings), tasted pretty good. read more

The food is ok but definitely not worth the terrible service you will get. The lady, who seems to be the owner, clearly has some attitude issues. I would recommend staying away from this restaurant. Plenty of good places to dine in Cupertino. Due to COVID, my family prefers outdoor seating since we have a child who is too young to get vaccinated. It was a cold evening in November, so I asked the owner to turn on the outdoor heater. She refused because the propane is "too expensive", which is a laughable excuse to milk a few cents of profit. She later seemed to feel bad about what she said and tried to strike up a conversation with us by complaining how exhausting the restaurant business is. She did bring a small portable heater but our dining experience was already ruined. She also complained to us that some customers have bad attitudes towards her. Well, knowing how you are treating your customers, whom is to blame? read more

I will preface this by saying this: If this were a non-Asian restaurant, I'd give it 3 stars. My husband and I love this place, and it's easily my fav place in the South Bay for XLB, and his for all the spicy food. Their food is always consistently good, and the owner is always super nice to us. I really have no complaints with the food. The not-so-great: The place it small, so it's really not good for anything more than 4 adults. Not only is it small, they don't seem to have AC, or they just don't use it. So it gets hot in there, which makes it uncomfortable for me to really enjoy my food. The small space means there are no place to store anything, which brings me to my next point. The thing that really bothers me: Like I said in the beginning, I would never give this place 4 stars if this wasn't an Asian place. I don't know why, I just have very low expectations when it comes to cleanliness and sanitary practices at Asian restaurants. My kiddo just turned 1yo. Prior to this, we always had her in a stroller (when she was really little) or we would bring our own clip on seat because restaurant high chairs gross me out. Last night we didn't have the chair with us, so we had to resort to asking for a high chair. To my horror, I saw the server go into the bathroom to get it. My husband immediately went over and told her we would be ok without it. This was just so wrong on so many levels. It makes me queasy just to think about it. This is also one of those bathrooms where it's just 1 room where the toilet is next to the sink. Another thing, which again, I'm not really fazed by because it's an Asian place. They make the XLB behind the counter, where you can watch them work just like Din Tai Fung. The person making the XLB had her long hair all over her face, which I fully expect to fall into the dough/workspace/meat at any point. I doubt she even washes her hand when she goes from taking order to handling cash to making the XLB. The whole thing bothers me, but I guess not enough to stop going there. So, the moral of the story is this: If you want great Chinese food, eat here. If you're a germophobe, this is not the place for you. read more

Horrible service. The guy who works here can't even answer normal questions without giving garbage attitude. Not gonna spend my money here.

Ordered my to go order at 7:08pm and they said 30 mins. Ok, I know it's Sunday night, no problem and we just wait... Just got our foods at 8:20! That's ridiculous!! If I knew it'd take more then an hour, I'd go somewhere else. That's our first time here. So disappointed ... But foods are tasty and my family loves them. I guess I'll give them a second chance. Hopefully we'll have better experience next time. read more

Love this place, have been coming since they opened 3 years ago. We always ask for one dish to be a recommendation and it's always interesting. I had gone to China for the first time just before coming here and had tried XLB in Beijing and in Shanghai. - different flavors. So I was amazed when I tried these I could tell - I asked and was correct that it was Shanghai style. I don't know that I could remember the difference anymore. The owner is fantastic and can explain anything. Sometimes the servers aren't so fluent. read more

Ahh grandma's house. A great alternative to DTF. No frills dim sum with dan dan noodz and honey walnut shrimps. I could have gone without the rice and doubled up on the xlb. Everyone here is very friendly and if you ask nicely, I'm sure they'll make you grandma's fire secret sauce. read more

Best XLB in town. Also, their roast duck (樟茶鸭) was very tender. A must have. The owner was very friendly. High lot recommended.

Another just sort of meh Chinese restaurant here. Inattentive servers are mediocre food, got a full table of stuff - XLBs, dumplings, vegetables, sticky rice with pork, mapo tofu, and some other stuff - but an hour after the meal I can't even think of what else I ordered. $180 for 6 people, I would imagine you can do better. read more

A part of the joy of life to my girlfriend and myself is the exploration of new restaurants. Much joy to the both of us during the discovery of XLB Kitchen. We were warmly greeted by the owner of the establishment, Kathleen. Kathleen seated us in the patio area of the restaurant with our beloved puppy. All questions were answered regarding the menu items that we had interest in. Sticky rice with pork in bamboo and Mapo Tofu were to our liking on this evening. The culinary experience was absolutely delicious. A serving of dessert afterwards of rice pudding ended a perfect evening. So, if you enjoy a restaurant with a patio area that is designed with a water fountain and spatial for privacy. This restaurant is for you. read more

This place is RACIST & SHADY and we're never coming back. My husband and I received our check (we ordered 5 items for about $75) and noticed that it included the tip in the total, which was weird because we've been to this restaurant a few times, and we've only seen this at other places with a party of 6 or more. We kindly asked about it, the waitress didn't speak much English and she just kept knodding her head and pointing at the tip total. I felt a shady vibe, so I ended up asking the table next to us if the tip was also included in theirs..then, they showed us that it wasn't. We asked another waitress, then she compared our receipt from the other table. In front of our faces, she was trying to hide their initial receipt with the break down on it and insisted that we pay. I was annoyed at this point, and I felt discriminated against because we were the only table that was a different race. I ended up taking both receipts from her hand and pointed out that theirs didn't have a TIP automatically added like ours did. The manager finally came and told us that it was an "error on their computer". It was weird though because she also mentioned that "alot of other restaurants are including the tip". She didn't have anything to say when I told her that we confirmed with the 2 waitresses. When she came back with our new receipt, she seemed irritated and unapologetic. On our way out, I mentioned that this was upsetting and we will notify the Better Business Bureau. This is when it gets FUNNY!.. the manager comes out to us and grabs my arm saying "I'm sorry, we mistaken you for another people.. because some people don't even give a tip". I then clarified and said "so it wasn't an error in your computer, you actually do this to certain people" and she said yes. I was shocked and said they shouldn't be doing this to ANYBODY, tip or no tip..she should actually appreciate that customers come to her restaurant to spend money on their food, regardless of the inflation that is affecting everybody. read more

Nice outdoor area, good food, and friendly service. The owner had helpful recommendations of what to get and made our first post-COVID dining experience at a restaurant enjoyable and safe. We look forward to returning and trying more dishes! read more

I want to love this place but I can't. This will be a one time visit. The XLB has thin skin and great soup but the content lack flavor. The bamboo rice was flavorful but not memorable. Garlic ribs probably the best but for someone who doesn't love salty food it needed more garlic and salt flavor. About the XLB, thin skin yes... But the meat was grainy and lacked flavor. Like the meat lacked meat taste. Service was great. I didn't like the joint in Mountain View and now trying this place I know nothing changed read more

I'm glad I gave this restaurant a try tonight. Came with 4 friends at 7pm, and got seated at the last table available next to the kitchen. The smell of spices coming from the kitchen was a treat! The owner was super friendly, helpful in recommending dishes, and checked in throughout our meal to make sure we were having a good dining experience. What we ordered: XLBs - delicious! Thin skin that miraculously holds plenty of soup and meat. I would say in some cases even better than the ones at the Santa Clara Din Tai Fung -- which often have thicker tops when inexperienced workers attempt the famous 18 folds (if you're going to do it, do it right!). Fried garlic spare ribs - would absolutely order again. Spicy kick with generous amount of meat on each of the five ribs. Red hot chili oil wontons - delicious!! Perfect amount of heat and spice. Was surprised it came more "soupy" but the flavors were fantastic. Probably ~10 small wontons per order. Plenty of baby bok choy as well Sautéed baby bok choy - fresh from a farmer. No complaints! Chicken chow mein - thicker, hand pulled noodles. A hit with my friends Pan fried dumplings - flavors were a little more on the bland side, maybe because it is larger than a normal pan fried dumpling. Perfectly crispy on the bottom. Curry shrimp - I'm not a big fan of shrimp so I'll only speak of their thicker, homemade curry sauce. It was really delicious, packed with flavor, and went well with a bowl of rice. I can't speak on the bad service that other reviewers seemed to have during the soft opening. This is a mom and pop Chinese restaurant with only two waitresses, but the owner is super friendly and eager to hear feedback. If you're in a rush, just buy to-go. Otherwise, come with your friends and family, enjoy a good meal, and support the small businesses in our towns. We'll be back! read more

The best flavorful dumplings in town! The broth is amazing. The fried fish was salted perfectly along with the crunchy bell peppers. Ok I just got hungry again :) read more

This review is long over do since this place has become one of our regular eateries. The food is consistently good. A very homey place with a great outdoor patio. The XLB is our favorite. Not as pretty as Din Tai Fung, but skin is thin & the broth is flavorful with a hint of sweetness. We've also like the wontons (soup or spicy), braised tofu & most veggie dishes. There's always a line on weekends, but the owner is really excellent at keeping the place running efficiently. She is also very friendly so don't hesitate to ask what to order if you are not sure. Just make sure to order all your food at once to get it quickly since the dishes comes out one by one when it is ready. read more

I feel like the Cupertino area lacks good Chinese restaurants, which always seems baffling given the population. It's exciting to find one we like! XLB Kitchen is the second restaurant opened by Kathleen Guo; the first is Bamboo Garden in Mountain View. While Bamboo Garden specializes in the delicate flavors of Shanghainese food, XLB Kitchen highlights the spicy punchiness of Sichuan cuisine. The chef is from Sichuan. So, while the name and menu may suggest Shanghainese food, I'm not sure if that's actually their forte. We haven't tried the XLB yet. Pros: - The wontons in chili oil is delightful! It has the right balance of numbing spicy and hot spicy. The spiciness is balanced by a subtle bitterness in the green vegetables and the tenderness of the wontons. - The Chongqing spicy chicken is a flavor party in your mouth. It's basically fried chicken (with some bones) that's full of numbing peppercorns and hot spicy peppers. It meets my mental model perfectly. The dish is messy by nature - you don't eat the peppers or the peppercorns, so you're left with a pile of hot peppers on your plate. - The eggplant with pork and basil (on the takeout menu) is also well executed. Cons: - As of early Feb 2018, the resturant is brand new and still working out the kinks. They're short on menus and the kitchen is a little slow...(but the food is worth it). - The inside is short on seating. There is a spacious patio with outdoor seating. - There is a takeout menu in Chinese (3 dishes for a set price), but it has not been translated into English. Many of the dishes on the takeout menu are not on the regular menu. You can ask Kathleen to make dishes on the takeout menu. read more

kathleen is always so kind and the food is always delicious! have never been disappointed by anything. we've been coming here for over three years and it has always been consistently delicious. highly recommend the XLB and salt & pepper fish. read more

If you are going to be a place called Xiao long bao kitchen, your Xiao long bao better rock. Unfortunately, their Xiao long bao is mediocre. Which makes me question the judgement of the owner who named this place. The skin is executed well but the fillings does not have the elevated level of flavour and savoryness I expect from a Xiao long bao. The fact they serve Sichuan cuisine too makes me doubt the authenticity of the place. Menu also have too many options which is confusing. Just give me a good default xiaolong bao and a couple of noodle options please. read more

How can a restaurant have XLB in their name but offering non-authentic Shanghai XLB?! We also tired other traditional Shanghai dishes (e.g. pan fried buns, fried dumpling, etc) and we found none of them were authentic. read more

Honestly really bad service (they force you to give a certain amount of tip and watch you write it, absolutely ridiculous). As someone who has lived in Shanghai, China, the food here is a disgrace. The Xiao long bao are watery and the skin wrapping is dry, the sheng Jian bao is basically just a mouthful of untasteful flour. I wouldn't really advise anyone to come here. read more

This place has the best soup dumplings. They are very delicate and full of flavor. The tea smoked duck is also great - lean, meaty with crispy skin. The only thing I did not like was the Shanghai pork rice cake. This place is worth coming back for the soup dumplings alone. read more

XLB Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

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I'm glad this place finally opened- it's a good addition to the area for XLB! The indoor space is pretty small but they also have a cute outdoor patio which is unusual for a Chinese restaurant, a remnant I'm glad they maintained from the prior restaurant. I drove by at first during weekend lunch and there were swarms of people waiting outside! I'm an impatient gal when it comes to my food, so I came back for weekend dinner and we got seated right away. The XLB are super super juicy. Even the meat is so soft it almost feels pureed. Flavor was good, but personally I like a bit more firmness to the meat. I was excited about the pan-fried buns but ours weren't that crispy and were not filled with enough meat. The best part is how crispy the bottom normally is - not sure if I got a bad batch. It also came out after we were almost done with our meal... so I would've thought they had enough time to make it better! They have a good amount of vegetable dishes which are also very good. We also had one of their noodle soups which was solid. Will definitely be back! read more

On a recommendation from another yelper I took my employee here for a business lunch. Small place and just opened recently. The friendly waitress said we were very lucky to get a table so fast. We ordered their namesake the XLB Xaio long bao which was excellent and better than that expensive place at the valley fair mall Din Tai Fung. And we also had the pan fried pork buns and bok chow stir fry We will be back for More of their handmade affordable food next time Parking can be tough when it gets crowded since there are other businesses in this small strip mall read more

This place was awesome! Exceeded my expectations. We got here for lunch at around 11:15am and plenty of seating was available. By noon it was packed! We sat outside since it was a nice day. The waitress (pretty sure it was the manager) had a great personality and warmly welcomed us. We ordered 4 dishes and loved them all. Definitely will come back here again!! read more

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3.5 star food but rounded up to four for the friendly service. I love XLB and decided to finally try this place on Tuesday since it's been open for a little while. The XLB was wrapped well with the perfect amount of soup and the skin was thin. However the seasoning was very bland! If the chef can get the seasoning right this could be one of the best XLB restaurants in the area. Maybe it was an off day? Also got the beef noodle which was pretty amazing. I loved the Szechwan Mala type flavor and the beef was braised perfectly. I only wish there was more soup than noodles tho. Lastly we got the pan fried pork buns. Similar to the XLB the buns were wrapped and cooked well but the seasoning was lacking. Overall I think this place is worth a try but it'll take a few more visits to see if I would place this restaurant on my regular rotation list. read more

Love this restaurant! I've been coming here from they day they opened and I have to admit their service has improved and the food quality has always been amazing! I few of my favorite dishes are the spicy wonton soup, pork rice cakes, honey walnut prawns, Xlb dumplings and their garlic spinach sauté. I definitely recommend using their soy and vinegar sauce with the spicy wonton soup and their dumplings! So addicting! read more

My family and I have been looking for new Pan Fried Dumpling places, so we came to check this place out. The restaurant is small and cozy with outdoor seating which we saw a lot of people taking advantage of on the warm early autumn day. We tried Soup Dumplings, Pan Friend Dumplings, Wonton Soup, Fried Chive/Egg Parcels, and Bamboo Steamed Pork Belly with Sticky Rice. Soup Dumplings - definitely the star of the show. Skins were thin, plenty of soup, tasty filling and pretty decent portions Pan Fried Dumplings - not bad. Definitely bigger portions than Shanghai Flavor Garden which was our previous go to spot. However, the buns were pretty thick and nothing to write home about, and there wasn't much soup. The filling however was also good (basically the same stuff as the soup dumpling fillings), and it was fried pretty well. Wonton Soup - nice and 清淡, meaning "refreshingly bland" without the negative connotation. The broth was very light. Fried Chive and Egg Parcels/酒菜盒子 - not sure how to describe this to people who are not familiar. Almost like a Chinese Samosa? Well fried, big, thin-skinned parcels filled with a mixture of chives, egg, and small dried shrimp. A major staple of Chinese cuisine. These ones were excellent! Very crisp. We almost didn't order these since it's so common but I'm glad we did. Bamboo Steamed Pork Belly with Sticky Rice - another thing you can find at a lot of Shanghainese style restaurants. Not bad! The pork belly was really soft and aromatic. The sticky rice was pretty plain though. Usually when I've had it, it's a little more aromatic and flavors of the other ingredients mix into it during the steaming process. Still pretty enjoyable. Overall the food ranges from ok to quite good! The service was a little slow during our visit though. The first few dishes came out after a bit of a wait but after finishing them, we waited a very long time for the other dishes to come out. We only ordered the bamboo steamed pork belly because we were waiting so long for the other food. Would give four stars but wanted to subtract half for the slow (albeit friendly) service. Three stars for now but I would definitely come back for the soup dumplings and to try out their other dishes! read more

Two words... GO HERE!!! Every item we ordered was phenomenal and we quickly realized that this is one of those rare places that you just can't go wrong. We will definitely be bringing our friends and family here to enjoy this deliciousness! read more

I absolutely love it here. This has satisfied my Szechuan cravings from moving out of Los Angeles. I've tried this place out of convenience and have not stopped eating here until I have tasted the whole menu. I live for the twice cooked pork, it's the best I've ever eaten. They use excellent pork belly which is marbled into 5 layers and they finish the pork so it's a little crispy. It also does not swim in oil when served like some places. I also appreciate the labor put into their buns and dumplings. I see them handrolled everyday when I come in for lunch. The place is a sleeper restaurant and I wish I had been going here longer. read more

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They said please wait outside as 2 parts to the order are not ready. Ok but don't make me wait outside for 20 minutes while it's cold out. As they forgot to bring it out everything was soggy as a result. read more

I usually don't write reviews but I have nothing else to do while waiting for my food for the 40 minutes. The best part is I'm watching other tables get served food that I ordered before me. So I get to the restaurant and no idea what to do because there is no waiting list and people just standing around. One waitress just ignores me probably because I don't speak Chinese. The other tells me to go sign up and I tell her there's nothing to sign. She walks outside and realizes there is no sheet and walks away for 5 minutes to get a sheet. After the signup sheet debacle, we sit down and are given menus. The menu in plastic covers are only half the menu and you have to get the to go menus to see the full menu... After ordering, we only get half our orders after 40 minutes. XLB and Shanghai noodles. No word on the yuo tiao, beef noodle soup, spicy dumplings. just watched 2 people get their spicy wontons which is probably the easiest dish to make. read more

It is hard to find a restaurant serves both Shanghai and Sezchuan cuisines (both are our favarates) well and with authentic tastes, (the owner told us they have 2 different chefs handle them seperately) We like the boiled beef with hot sauce and Sezchuan bean jelly, they are authentic hot Sezchuan, the "lion head" meatball soup and chicken in wine source are delicious Shanghai style, coming here is like dining in two Chinese restaurants at the same time (and with reasonable price too), we enjoy it very much. read more

I've been here twice in the span of two days! The service is slow, they are understaffed, but I couldn't care less as they are a new business. The best dish I tasted was the chili oil wontons. They were the best I've had; even better than Din Tai Fung. I loved the scallion pancakes. There wasn't a lot of oil piled on top of it, and they had the perfect flavor. The Xiao Long Bao was great. They were a little flimsy and the skin was thick but the flavor was perfect. I will definitely return again and again, especially after they aren't that new anymore and their service improves. read more

Visited at 7pm on a Tuesday. No wait, and the food came out quickly. Food was great. XLB were tender and tasty, with more of a delicate flavor than most. Wontons were quite spicy, but not in a Szechuan way. The owner was extremely friendly. She came out to chat with the customers and was genuinely interested in our feedback on her new restaurant. I'll be back! read more

I decided to try out XLB Kitchen with my girlfriend (August 2019). I inhaled 2 bottles of their pomegranate Vitamin water from their drink fridge even before we started ordering! We ordered string beans, the pork that comes in the awesome bamboo tube serving dish, and a tofu vegetarian dish. The food was DELICIOUS. My girlfriend loved the vegetarian menu options, and we will definitely be back. The restaurant's interior design is totally cute, and they have a very nice outdoor patio. read more

Great food and great customer service . Best soup dumplings in the area!!! Strongly recommend!

I happened to be in the neighborhood around 1pm one day and saw the XLB sign. Since I had heard good things about the restaurant before, I decided to get some food for lunch. I ordered pan fried bao-zi, and stirred fried Shanghai rice cakes. I got my order in about 15-20 minutes. As I started to eat the bao-zi sitting at one of the chairs outside the restaurant, I found no paper towel or eating utensils in the plastic bag. So, I had to go inside the restaurant to get some on my own. The bao-zi was not very good, the meat filling did not have much flavor, the wrapping was kind of hard to chew. The stirred fried Shanghai rice cake tasted bland and greasy. I will definitely not come back. read more

Doors wide open in the middle of a giant fire. If I can't breathe, I can't eat. Never mind, I'll just have xlb at home today... I understand small businesses want to save money but I won't risk emphysema and lung cancer so they can save a few bucks on climate control. They can ruin their own lungs if they want. Might try again someday, after the smoke clears... read more

My favorite place for soup dumplings. Shanghai rice cakes are my second go-to. My boyfriend also loves the fried rice and the garlic ribs here. The dandan noodles and chili wonton are also good, much better than other places I've tried. Food here just keeps me coming back, even if it's a little bit of a drive, and the manager is such a sweetheart. Definitely 5/5 for me! read more