The service is great and friendly. The food is wonderful but be prepared to pay for it $$$. Totally worth it! Dim Sum is phenomenal and the hot pot is fun and delicious. read more

Very authentic and high quality Dim Sum. I put it on par with San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles Dim Sum.

BEST dim sum I've had in years! Insanely fresh ingredients and amazing flavors. Food piping hot! Chef was in the front chatting with customers and clearly is super passionate about the food. The eggplant in black bean sauce, baby bok choy, shrimp dumplings, and seasame noodles dishes were all favorites. We also loved the fried taro as a unique plate we hadn't tried elsewhere! The vegetable rolls and cheese wontons also delicious classics. For 2 with approx 8 dishes plus tip and tax it was about $100 but we ate like kings and had leftovers. In the slower summer season they do dim sum all day and evening (what a treat!) and in the winter they do dim sum till 4pm and hot pot in the evening. Definitely can't wait to come back for both dim sum and hot pot as this place can do no wrong in my eyes!!! 10/10 read more

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Food was amazing and the some of the best food we had in Burlington. We ordered a little of everything to share and everything was so tasty and some of the best dumplings I've ever had. It's a fairly small restaurant so we were lucky to walk right in and get seated. Everyone was so kind and welcoming too. It's the Din Tai Fung of Burlington- just fantastic! read more

The ordering process is convoluted. There are pictures of dishes on two different walls that are not visible at the same time. The rice skins on several of the dumplings is gluey, too thick, and overcooked. The bar nearest the kitchen is not a bar but a shallow counter. One can't really sit comfortably without knees up against the wall. The food took forever to arrive. Overall, the food is ok, but I doubt I'd go back. read more

Food was fantastic and quick. We really enjoyed the pork dumplings! And not only is the food great, but the owner is really nice. We brought our twin girls with us and they made a bit of a mess. The owner was very accommodating and welcoming to us. So if you're visiting Burlington with a family, would definitely recommend this spot! read more

Delicious hot pot! Wonderful selection of meats, vegetables and appetizers. Warm, friendly and helpful service- the owner walked people new to hot pot through cooking and enjoying. Cannot wait to come back for handmade dim sum! read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Hot pot - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

Was expecting more but this is adequate. Going to explore more, want to try hotpot. Somewhat eclectic collection of dim sum dishes. Order at counter. Place could use better lighting so not as harsh as fluorescent. Friendly staff and owner. read more

I could go on for hours about how much I love this place. I've been about 3 times, and my go to's are now the crispy spare ribs and the pork wonton noodle soup. I feel like the wonton noodle soup healed a part of my soul. The staff is really friendly, and the place is always packed around weekend lunch and dinner. read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Pork wonton noodle soup - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

Great dimsum oasis in Burlington. Street parking and public parking using parkmobile zone 5803. A+ personable staff. Good selection of offerings. Dimsum stops at 4pm and switches to hotpot. read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Homemade chili oil - so much better that my go-to LGM. Made with bay, cinnamon, 22+ other spices, and love. - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

The staff are kind and the environment is nice. The food is alright for dim sum my only complaint is that there are not many options for food especially authentic ones. read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Eggplant, Bok Choy, Shrimp Rice Dimpling - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

Great flavor!! Pork dumplings were wonderful. I wish I lived here to come back. Worth the visit. Promise.

We were in the mood for dim sum and came across this place. We were glad so came in. The food was delicious! I enjoyed the wonton noodle soup, shu Mai and har kow. I recommend!! read more

Food was DELICIOUS. I had the spices hot pot with veggies and pork pot stickers. The portions are very generous, I split one serving with my husband and we still ended up taking some home with us. The service was also very nice. It does take a while to get your food, since they are always busy. Take it as a good sign, it's well worth it. read more

We love their dim sum and especially the Shabu Shabu, hot pot! We cannot wait for the weather to change so they will begin serving the hot pot again. One of the very best places to eat in VT read more

Drove to lake Champlain for the Labor Day weekend, and had some dim sum. Ended up visiting this place after reading some reviews. The dim sum, we had shumai, banana leaves wrapped sticky rice, pork bun, Chinese sausage fried rice, and custard bun, were great. The service was slightly slow despite the restaurant being empty but we did get our food after 15 mins or so waiting. The place is actually pretty large and can accommodate large parties. The bathroom is also nice and clean but only for paying customer. read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Nama beer with cold glass - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

Authentic dumplings and small plates + soup. Excellent and huge selection. Enough seating inside for our party of 7. We ordered almost everything on the menu. I'm not kidding. It was awesome. Good soup. Great dumplings, fried chicken, okra, eggplant, bbq ribs, pork and rice noodles, baby bokchoy, green beans, etc. Dim sum from noon to 4 only. After that... maybe hot pot, but not for kids?? We had hot tea, bubble tea, and beer. Everyone was full and happy! read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Dim sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

Very good Dim Sum. Wish they would use Carts as is the tradition. Get there early as the fill up fast. Great service and friendly atmosphere. read more

Good food, good prices, fun place to go with a group. Definitely try the salmon and the chicken, they were an unexpected highlight. We left here wayyyy too full lol read more

Friendly service, clean, excellent authentic food I ordered the shrimp hot pot and made it spicy by adding in sauces (they have a sauce bar). read more

Dim sum in Burlington VT! While there are no ladies pushing carts, this dim sum is great. We found Cafe Dim Sum in 2021 - long waits for a few tables but well worth it. They closed to expand/renovate with the re-opening in the summer of 2022. Now during serving dim sum all day during the summer and offering hot pot soup in the evenings during the Fall Winter Spring. Our favorites are the tangy crispy spare ribs, shrimp dumplings (har gow), shrimp & pork bamboo roll, eggplant black bean sauce, baby bok chow, shrimp rolls, edamame, sesame balls and scallion pancakes. Probably will skip the garlic pork green beans. Wish they'd stir fry the taro cake instead of deep frying it. The shabu shabu or hot pot soup dinner is individual convection soups. While the soups are separate for each individual, the custom ordered meat, noodles, vegetables are usually shared. You are given chopsticks, fork, nets and spoons to cook your own soup. They have a whole area for making your own dipping sauces. Also dinner has a few dim sum dishes like edamame, tangy crispy spare ribs, sesame balls and scallion pancakes. We make hot pot at home in 1 large shared pot so for us, the dim sum is the draw! read more

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Best Asian food I've had in Vermont so far. Not the fastest service but overall smooth process. Id recommend the shu mai and the shrimp tempura rice roll read more

I stopped in 20 mins before closing, so it may impact my experience. It seems that they converted this to a hotpot place. Since it was late, I opted for 2 small appetizers. The chicken wings were tasty but a bit dry. The scallion pancakes were too greasy. I wish they had pan fry instead of deep fry them. Also, I wish the sauce was more flavorful. Some people by me had hotpot and they seem to like it. read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Chicken wings - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

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The food was amazing. The chef was friendly and passionate about his craft. The restaurant was clean. They were able to accommodate gf requests which is a win. read more

A friend of mine once told me you could always judge a Chinese restaurant by how many calendars they had hanging around the room (we only saw one here). I always laughed at this observation, but she may have a point. My brother had suggested this place for his birthday dinner, as he hadn't had dim sum since leaving New York and moving to Vermont. However, we learned that they stop serving dim sum after 4:00 PM after which they had hot pots. We all liked hot pots, so we decided to come here anyway. When we arrived, we were told they only had hot pots in the winter and presented us with menus instead. Being from New York and its prolific Chinese restaurants I was struck by the limited number of dishes they had on their menu. Oddly enough, one of the dishes WAS a hot pot... but only one. I ordered that, my sister-in-law a noodle dish, and my brother had ribs in black bean sauce. We also ordered a soup dumpling appetizer. The dumplings were tasty, but there wasn't a whole lot of "soup" in them We thought maybe they'd split open and leaked but when we inspected the pot that didn't seem to be the case. We couldn't fault the flavor, but it was surprising how little soup was in the soup dumplings. We didn't have any complaints about the main course; they were all excellent. Likewise, the service was also friendly and knowledgeable. It's just that, compared to other Chinese restaurants I've been to, this place fell short. Maybe next time I'm up there we'll be early enough to try the dim sum. Alternatively, my brother and sister--in-law will go without me and post their own review. I wouldn't mind coming back in the winter to try the hot pots, too. read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

Great service and great food! So fresh and delicious loved how you can add your own sauces to the hot pot dishes!

As a HUGE fan of dim sum that walked in here expecting to be disappointed, I have to say, the flavors are on point! It was admittedly not the freshest, but hey what do you expect at 3 pm? Loved the taste of everything, and quite enjoyed the house oil. Would definitely recommend if you're in Burlington and feeling the dim sum itch. Note that you order and check out at the front. read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Shrimp roll (Cheung fun) - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

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THEY ONLY SERVE DIM SUM UNTIL 4PM!!! I went here for dim sum but sadly they stop serving that at 4. I wish there was a note of their hours somewhere. After 4 they only serve hot pot so we got that. It was still good! My first hot pot experience. Overall a cute place and owned by really nice and friendly people. read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Hot pot - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

UPDATE December 2022: we have had the good fortune to have the hotpot / shabu shabu with Chef Sam and friends. The cuisine has a foundation of Chinese hot pot ingredients and Japanese style shabu shabu ingredients like udon and fish cakes. This is a dining experience that takes 1.5- 2.5 hours to enjoy as you are cooking your meat, vegetables and noodles with a broth during the meal. A good date or small party with friends kind of meal. The broth arrives warm with herbs and shittake mushrooms and placed in an individual convection burners in the table. You order your meat platter: chicken, pork (shoulder, belly), prime rib, or seafood. It comes with vegetables. You can add extras to cook in your soup. I love the soybean skin plus the handmade dumplings (with a choice of different fillings). I also like the fried taro cake in the broth. You can make your own sauce base at the sauce bar and then add the special House sauce to dip your cooked ingredients. Over time your broth gets thick and you'll need more water added to keep cooking your food. Be prepared to bring home your broth and any extra ingredients. It makes for a tasty second meal. Written early November 2022: The newly expanded Cafe Dim Sum is great and the new system for ordering at the counter and getting dim sum from steamer and warming shelf are delicious as when they opened a year ago. Dim sum offers a lot of great steamed dishes, but the chef offers fried foods for those who are use to Americanized Chinese and are open to trying dishes that are unfamiliar to their palette. Please keep an open mind to eating these dim sum dishes. Written in February 2022: I go to Cafe Dim Sum regularly and really appreciate the work that Chef Sam Lian does making each dish by hand. He goes through great lengths to bring quality Asian ingredients from NYC and Boston, which many places in Burlington have to do and reflected in pricing. If you have not eaten dim sum before, please leave your preconceived notions of Chinese food (American Chinese food is different tasting than authentic regional Chinese cuisine) at the door and be open to trying these small dishes packed with flavor and drink it with tea (they have some great teas...I like the chrysanthemum). We are so happy to see a dim sum spot open in Burlington. The dim sum has many Cantonese favorites of ours including har gow (shrimp dumpling), Lo mai gai (chicken sticky rice with Chinese sausage, wrapped in tea leaf), fried sesame ball, turnip cake, ha cheung (shrimp wrapped in rice noodle), fried turnip cake, egg tart, and tripe. The food came out promptly once ordered at the register and was served hot. They had a good choice of teas to have with the meal. The staff are nice. The cafe has a few tables, but be patient as folks will finish up and a table will open momentarily. For those of us, who missed having dim sum in big cities especially Montreal, this cafe provides a taste of the familiar and is authentic dim sum. read more

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The tangy pork rib, the cucumber salad, the fried taro cake, the special menu of pork and egg congee, are spot on for me. This place takes a little turn on some traditional dishes and I am happy about it. They don't serve a lot of dim sum dishes that some may find in a traditional Chinese restaurant serving dim sum, but sometime too many does not mean good. I love their way of serving dim sum, a streamlined and lovely approach. Love it. read more

Didn't want to wait 45 minutes for the joint across the street so decided to give this place a try. Glad we did. The food was delicious. Highly recommend. read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

Yum! So many delicious options. I need to keep going back so I can try the whole menu. read more

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Favorite restaurant in Burlington!! Can't go wrong with anything here. I enjoy eating here with friends or just a tea and a little snack if it's just me. The white tea is my favorite; lovely delicate flavor. This yuzu ginger shacksbury is better than the dirty mayor from Citizens so I like the alcohol selection here too. These ribs are delicious nuggets of savory protein that I wish I could be eating more of right now! The wonton soup was very soothing to the throat and gave me warm deliciousness. The google maps hours are not always accurate so make sure to call or check the website. You come up to counter and order what's available for dim sum and then pay at the end and then there's hotpot later in the night read more

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Always in search of good dim-sum. Unfortunately this place is not good, it's GREAT! Been a long while since we've had really good dim-sum and Shabu-shabu. Now if I can convince Chef to move to Annapolis. Fantastic staff, very clean. Whoever hasn't given this place 5 stars doesn't know good dim-sum. read more

Always a 10/10 meal when dining at Cafe Dim Sum! Tried it for the first time in 2021 during my freshman year at UVM and as a rising senior it is still one of my favorite places to enjoy fresh dim sum style food with my family and friends! read more

Think I found my new favorite place in Burlington! Let Me start by saying I love Dim Sum in all forms so I was stoked to find a dim sum restaurant while working in VT. Cafe Dim Sum is in the heart of downtown Burlington a block or sat away from the the iconic Church Street. They off a wide variety of dishes that continuously being added to the safe up front so they might be out of the dish you want but grab a few others snack while you wait. Ordering is a little unusual but makes sands as you understand the concept. Dishes fall in a category of A,BC,D,E with A being the cheapest and E the most expensive ($7 I believe) as you order dishes from the case they make a mark on your ticket and the total is added up when your done. We had about 6 different dishes but the seafood sticky rice and the steaks pork buns were my favorites read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

Stumbled upon this place when looking for a lunch place. You order up front and eat at a table. we got a bunch of different things and all we're good. not too far from the Hotel Vermont. read more

Super yummy, good prices!! All plates are around $5-7 range. Good service. I got the shrimp and chicken ones. The sesame balls were delicious!! read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Dim sum, sesame ball - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

To die for. I am writing this review during their last week open before renovating to expand into the space next to them. I've had dinner there three times in the past 6 days. I don't know how I will get through the dumpling lust that awaits me for the short time they are closed. The closest places with anything comparable are Montreal and Boston china towns. There's often a wait but it's more than worth it - St. Paul St has fantastic bars so we usually go to mad river distillers, monarch, 126, or drink while we wait. If you love dim sum, you will not be disappointed! If you're new to dim sum, you will not be disappointed! There is something for everyone here. Love the prices, five people eating to their fullest was about $32 each including tip. Get to try 10+ different foods when down the street you'd get one entree and a cheap drink for that same price. Going in a group is so fun because you get to try lots of things! Personal favorites - The baby bok choy is tender and delicious and complements the heavier dishes. The steamed custard bun is heavenly, not too sweet and so fluffy. The turnip cakes are a classic. Always my fave when I was growing up eating dim sum and this one does not disappoint. The fried sticky rice with mushrooms and Chinese sausage is just fantastic. The scallion pancakes are a hit with everyone I've been there with. Perfectly crispy. Good sized portion and great as leftovers - whether heated up in the toaster oven or cold at 1 am. Other great dishes: All of their teas are lovely but the chrysanthemum is very nice and so pretty when the flowers rehydrate, har gow(shrimp dumpling), sesame balls, fried taro cake, steamed shrimp rice roll, crispy veggie rolls, cheese wonton, potstickers, honey roast pork bun, char siu bao. The ones I don't mention are simply because I haven't tried them yet! read more

Cafe Dim Sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Burlington, Vermont

We had a tasty meal here. If they're full, they take down your number and call you when a table is available. I mostly got vegetarian dishes, to share with my sister. Enjoyed the crispy tofu, the eggplant, and the sesame balls the most! read more

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