Super good, hits the spot. Service was friendly, got hit with some DoorDash order so there were slow spots but it's AYCE no big deal. Went midday not too crowded read more

Dumpling Bar - AYCE Rules - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

Excellent dumplings hot and savory Pleasant surroundings attentive service Try it You'll like it read more

This place is amazing! Two incredible folks hand making dumplings, excellent service, and a fantastic meal. We got: - Vegan dumplings: Still had umami flavor despite being vegan; they do have mushroom in them so the texture is a bit slippery (word of caution for those who don't like that) - Cucumber salad: cold, crisp, with a great sweet and slightly spicy sauce - Pork BBQ bao: Light bun, sweet bbq pork bits inside - Pork soup dumplings: the best thing we ate all night! Extremely flavorful - Chicken wontons in spicy sauce: great texture, and the sauce was nice, filling could've had a bit more flavor Overall, one of the best meals we've had in Encinitas at a new spot in a long time! Would not sleep on this place and we look forward to bringing back family and friends. read more

Dumpling Bar has an authentic flare with homestyle cooking and flavors. Happy to see more authentic Asian restaurants in North County! Prices are on the higher end however service is very good and attentive. Appetizer trio: Cold Green Beans, Cold Cucumbers and warm Spare Ribs. Cucumbers were good and seasoned well. Green Beans tasted sweet and wasn't a fan. Spare Ribs was cooked too long and sauce was sticky. Spicy Beef and Noodle bowl (san soup). Noodles were oily but good. Beef was cooked very good and authentic! Xiao Long Bao Pork filling was authentic! Bravo. However, wrapper was too thick. read more

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We came to dumpling bar on Wed around noon. There was no line and we got seated right away. The staff were pleasant and efficient. Food arrived without much wait and the fun began! The appetizer wood ear mushroom and soy noodle were tasty. The soy noodle looked a bit bland but it definitely had enough flavor. The wood ear was also tasty, I loved the addition of celery in the dish. Shumai was probably the weakest dish that we ordered. It was not bad but I guess you can't compete with a full blown dim sum restaurant. It was still acceptable, just not great. We liked the beef potstickers. Meaty and crispy at the bottom. The filling was nicely done. The pork chop with noodle, I loved the pork chops. They were not fatty, perfectly fried. Although I thought the noodle didn't have a lot of taste, so I didn't care much for the noodle. Overall, not a bad showing for an Asian place in north county. Would definitely want to come back to try other dishes next time I'm in the area. read more

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Me and my bf were craving dumplings at 6pm on a Saturday night. We contemplated going to Din Tai Fung, but already knew the wait would be unnecessary. We found this restaurant is IG and it looked good. Since we were already in the area, we decided to check it out. The wait was about 20 mins which makes sense since they are new. You have to check in yourself bc they are busy, but it was worth the wait. When seated we ordered the green beans, sliced steak in chili sauce, bbq ribs, beef potstickers, xlb, shumai, fried xlb, and crispy pork noodles. The xlb was my fave! I'd probably pass on the shumai (I've had better). Everything was good though! I'd come back if I lived closer. This is definitely a great alternative to DTF if you live north of Convoy. read more

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I recently discovered this little gem. The place is small and cozy, which gives it a really intimate feel. The food is exceptional--every single dish we tried was packed with flavor and clearly made with care. Service-wise, there's some room for improvement. The staff wasn't particularly friendly or very informative about the menu. In a restaurant that specializes in a specific cuisine, I think the experience could be elevated if the team were more interactive with guests--sharing the story behind the restaurant and highlighting that everything is made in-house. That said, the food alone makes it worth the visit, and I'm definitely looking forward to going back. read more

- tucked into a plaza with plenty of parking - on a weekend there's a waitlist - just write your name down and listen out for when they call it out! - super attentive and kind service food: - appetizer combo comes with 3 bowls of your choosing - great value and able to sample different dishes! - pork ribs were a little too saucy, sweet, and slightly tough for my liking - vegan dumpling was surprising good! thin skin and tons of veggie filling, mushroom was prominent and so delicious in there - crispy fried pork was crunchy and yet retained a tender taste it was slightly salty so pairing with the noodles is a must! read more

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Finally made it in to dumpling bar and it ended up being really good! They have a simplified menu but if familiar to those who have been to Din Tai Fung. I ordered the cucumber salad, chicken wontons in spicy sauce and rice. The cucumber salad was good, but the wontons were the star of the show. The sauce had a really great flavor. I also ordered a green milk tea which was not very sweet and I loved it! Our server Hope was super sweet and friendly. read more

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Dumpling Bar is a great dumpling spot in Encinitas! Their Xiao Long Bao, my go-to dumpling, didn't disappoint. I got to enjoy this place with family and everything we ordered was delicious. read more

Dumpling Bar - Pork XLB(6pcs) - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

I'm hoping to come back with a proper review as I didn't even get the chance to try the food. On a Friday night at 6pm, we were told it would be a 10-20 minute wait. Clearly they need to work on their waitlist time estimation as we finally gave up an hour later as we didn't want to cut into our 90 minute time limit for the AYCE dumplings. By the time we left, we were still 3rd in line. There were others still trying to get on the waitlist and being told by staff it would be a 20 minute wait (other guests in line quickly warned them it would be longer.) Maybe we'll try again earlier in the day for lunch. read more

My daughter found this and wanted to try it; we're glad we did! We were there about 4:30pm on a Sunday and there was no wait, thought it got a bit busier as the night went on. I appreciated what I though was a somewhat limited menu. That meant we didn't have to debate too much on what to order, and that what was on the menu ought to be good. We ordered the appetizer combo that includes 3 appetizers for a healthy discount. With four of us we added a forth appetizer. In all we had the Cucumber Salad, Seaweed Salad, the Ribs, and Garlic String Beans and they were all great. Would order them all again! For mains we ordered the Pork XBL, Pan Fried XLB and both were great. We did like the pan fried version as it added a bit of crunch to the dish, but both were excellent! Of everything we ordered the Shumai was our least favorite, but that's not to say it was bad, just our personal preferences. We wrapped up with an order of the Steamed Custard Bun and 2 orders of the Steamed Chocolate Buns. Both were great and our group was mixed on which they preferred; I personally liked the Custard Bun! Overall we'll add the Dumpling Bar to our list of go-to spots. Service was nice, efficient, food came out quickly, and was hot and delicious. read more

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The food was so good! I'd recommend coming during the afternoon, evenings can have a longer wait!

Been here a couple of times, awesome food, milk tea delicious We tried different things from the menu recommended by the waiter Really enjoyed everything read more

We've been waiting for this eatery to open for many months and finally we got to try it. What a delight! The ambience is very casual. All of the items that we ordered were very tasty and the service was great. Since this was our first visit, the waiter made some great suggestions of things to try and they were spot on. Prices are very reasonable - will be back. read more

Good is salty but acceptable. Service is okay. You don't see many Asians in this Chinese restaurant. Their recommended tips are from 20% to 25%. Be careful with the bill at the end else they will pull a quick one on you. read more

The food was amazing, the server was also very sweet and helped point me to some amazing dumplings i got to try! I will definitely be coming back. read more

My kids said "this is my favorite restaurant, can we come back here pleaseeeeeeee". And that's all you need to know. Just kidding. I think the combo of good food + having Scooby Doo on one of the TV's helped the cause. It's a cozy restaurant. Lots of two tops and some four tops. We got there around 5:45 and probably got one of the last four top tables before they went on a wait. I loved the trio of appetizers we got. Shaved beef w/ chili, cucumbers w/ chili oil, and ribs. It was a nice start to the dumplings. My kids devoured the XLB. My husband liked the beef dumplings the most. My favorite was the crispy pork + noodles. They pork and tender. Better than any chicken katus I've had. My only complaint was the noodles were a bit too saucy/drenched. The jasmine green milk tea was also bomb! Nice balance of sweet/bitterness. I'm looking forward to coming back!!!!! read more

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I was pleasantly surprised to find an authentic dumpling place in Encinitas. We tried a variety of items- cucumber salad, pork xlb, pan fried xlb, chicken dumplings, and steamed chocolate bun. The items were all delicious and the xlb did have the soupy goodness. The servers were attentive and checked in with us often. The dining area was clean and comfortable with the ability to see into the kitchen. It was nice to be able to see the chefs making the dumplings right there. The place was not cheap but it was expected for the area. It probably would have been cheaper to go to a place on convoy but when looking for a dumpling spot in north county, this is the place. read more

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I'll never get tired of dumplings, especially when a restaurant offers so many different varieties! Dumpling Bar has a great selection for you and your friends to choose from, so be sure to bring more guests for a bigger feast! - PARKING - Shares a large parking lot with several other businesses. It does get busy due to the grocery markets, but you'll find a spot eventually. - SERVICE/ENVIRONMENT - Not a huge restaurant, but it can seat a decent amount of customers. Most tables are arranged to fit 4 people comfortably. I love when places have the clear window for you to see the cooks in the kitchen - feels more immersive! Seeing the chefs hand roll out the dough and pleat each dumpling is fun. Service was very attentive throughout our meal. After we ordered, items came out in waves as they were completed, rather than all at once. - FOOD - Pork XLB: At first glance, I didn't think there would be much soup inside, but after biting into them, they definitely proved me wrong! Delicious juicy meat inside, and the wrappers aren't too thick. Pan-Fried XLB: Level up the classic XLB and pan-fry them to get a crispy bottom! I actually ended up liking these the most because of the contrast of textures. The inside was still juicy too which is a plus! Steamed Beef Dumplings: Nice clean taste, and packed with meat. Their homemade chili oil went nicely with this! Pan-Fried Beef Dumplings: Again, the delicious beef dumpling but leveled up! The crispy skirt just takes it up a notch. Custard Buns: Gotta always have a sweet treat at the end of a meal! The custard doesn't ooze out, but it does have a nice level of sweetness. The bun itself was super soft and fluffy. - OVERALL - A great spot if you're craving some dumplings! Bring more of your friends and family to try out more options! read more

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The service was great and the food was amazing. Our waitress was kind enough to recommend some of their most popular dishes. Definitely coming back! read more

First time eating here and the food was amazing! The service was super quick and we felt very taken care of. We ordered a good amount of food to try a little bit of everything on the menu. My personal favorites were the chicken wontons with chili sauce, pork XLB, beef spicy noodles, & the chocolate XLB. I definitely would come back for those along with the 3 appetizers combo (great to way to try a variety)! There were other items that I would want to come back to try as well, including the dim sum and soups. My dumpling cravings were satisfied! See photos below for all items we ordered & the menu. The parking is great, very spacious parking lot with a Sephora & Trader Joe's nearby (for the girlies!!). Overall, really cute dumpling place and definitely worth a try if you're in Encinitas! read more

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Delicious food, beef noddle is our favorite and the pork dumpling is also great !! Cold dishes on the garlic string beans and pork ribs are also great ! Kid loves it read more

We came here today (Sunday) around 5pm. There was barely a wait, but make sure to go inside and sign your name onto the wait-list. There was one table ahead of us. The food was great! My husband compared to XLB to the ones we used to have in NY, which is high praise from him. The garlic string beans were cold, but still delicious. Both the chicken wontons and braised beef noodles were yummy as well. The custard buns were a really nice surprise, it would be more accurate to call them phoenix buns. They have the right texture inside! We will definitely be coming back again! We regretted not getting the appetizer trio to try more things. read more

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Finally made time to eat here during one of my visits to Encinitas and I'm so glad I did! My daughter and I shared the sweet and sour ribs that had the most delicious sauce, and two trays of the xiao long bao dumplings. Everything was so tasty! It was busy when we went but the service was great. We also had chocolate buns for dessert. The interior is small, but clean and cute. I'm looking forward to another visit sometime soon. read more

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Worth it for the variety if you choose AYCE! I don't think any of the dishes are good enough to order on their own, but if you want a fun experience of being able to order anything you want, check it out. Kind, prompt service, clean place, good/fine food. Out of chocolate buns so I don't know if that's permanent or not. read more

Dumpling Bar - Pan Fried Pork XLB(6pcs), Vegan Dumplings(6pcs), fried rice - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

I am so happy to have a good dumpling place nearby and that doesn't break the wallet like DTF! I love their sampler plate because it allows you to order 3 different things for a price for about 18-19$! Their spicy wontons, xiao long baos, and dumplings are so good. read more

had the privilege to revisit this spot again and this time, with more friends! the wait was a stark contrast from my first visit because we were immediately sat, which was nice. food was still good like the first time, but they were out of the chocolate buns; the one dish i was looking forward to the most :(. i did get the change to try out the custard buns this time around, and they were tasty too! nice, fresh, and supple, but it doesn't hold a candle to the chocolate buns in my opinion. i do wish they have an extended selection, but that's only because we've pretty much tried everything on the menu for ayce. shoutout to dariy and everett this time for their awesome service! they were both very prompt and personable, and just good vibes overall. excited to come back for more food! read more

I've been so excited about this place opening in North County, San Diego. We don't have many dumpling options up here, and many times, I've driven down to Convoy just to get some fresh dumplings. My family and I came here this past weekend and saw that there was still a line, but we decided to wait anyway. We were 7th in line and ultimately got seated. There were even a few instances where people tried to get ahead by claiming they were a particular person who didn't show up, sad but true. Once seated, we quickly ordered two orders of the xiao long bao, 2 orders of the chicken wontons, and the pork noodles. And let me tell you, they were absolutely delicious. The only hiccup was the waitress forgetting our soup dumpling order, but when they finally arrived, they were worth the wait. The only thing missing was the ginger pieces like Ding Tai Fung for our sauces. We were so full, we didn't have room for dessert, but we'll have to try that next time. The ambiance is simple, but I love that there's a window to show two people rolling dumplings and making fresh noodles. The concept of fresh is there and I love that there's transparency in what they make. read more

The owners can't bother to give their customers and employees access to wifi AND there's no cell coverage inside the restaurant. Eat elsewhere- like at the places next door and the owners are gracious. Wifi costs you zero except now. It cost you a customer. Get with the 21st century ! read more

We were pleasantly surprised with the food here. It was super tasty and fresh. The place was super clean and the service was great. Love how you can see the workers make all the dumplings from scratch. This place is smaller place than din tai fung, which I don't mind at all. I love to support small Asian restaurants. The prices for these fresh tasty dumplings are great. We ordered one of everything on the menu and I'm so glad we did because it was delicious. We came right when they open so we got right in. After we got seated there was a huge line, so come early. If I'm ever in the area I would definitely come back. If you have not tried this place out I highly recommend you do. You won't be disappointed. Thank you Dumpling Bar for a tasty first time. read more

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I was genuinely excited to celebrate Lunar New Year at Dumpling Bar Chinese Restaurant with a group of friends. We called ahead and were told reservations weren't necessary because of quick table turnover. Instead, we waited over an hour in the cold -- which we were willing to do for a festive evening with good food and good service. Unfortunately, what we encountered was not just disorganization, but deeply frustrating and inflexible management. My husband has Celiac disease -- it's a medical condition requiring strict avoidance of gluten. Five of us planned to order the All You Can Eat (AYCE) option, while my husband intended to order a simple salad à la carte. That's when things fell apart. Although our server was kind and clearly uncomfortable, she informed us that the restaurant enforces an "all-or-nothing" policy: if anyone at the table orders AYCE, everyone must. No exceptions. She repeated multiple times that they've "gotten in trouble before" for allowing otherwise -- which raises the question: what kind of management culture pressures staff to rigidly enforce a policy at the expense of basic hospitality and common sense? The reasoning appears to be distrust -- a blanket assumption that guests will cheat or share food. Rather than train staff to monitor tables or design a reasonable system, management has chosen the easiest route: penalize everyone equally. That approach may simplify enforcement, especially being so short-staffed, but it can ruin the guest experience. The gluten-free handling was equally concerning. The menu (as of 2/16/2026) lists only a handful of gluten-free items -- a few salads and plain rice. Yet we were told my husband could have fried rice. How? With what soy sauce? Is there separate fried rice made from gluten-free soy sauce that isn't listed on the menu? If so, why isn't it clearly labeled? For a restaurant that is so rigid about rules, the lack of clarity and care around a serious dietary restriction is alarming. What's especially confusing is that the menu itself states: "No takeout and no sharing with non-paying guests (AYCE is for dine-in only)." That wording suggests that mixed ordering should be allowed, provided there's no sharing. Apparently, that is not the case -- at least not under this management's interpretation. The most disappointing part? The manager never came over to speak with us directly. No attempt to explain. No attempt to accommodate. No effort at hospitality. Just a firm wall of policy. We chose to walk out. Restaurants can set whatever policies they like. But when inflexible rules, poor communication, and a complete lack of accommodation for dietary needs override basic guest experience, it speaks to a failure of leadership. We won't be returning -- and we can't recommend that others do either. Happy Lunar New Year, I guess! read more

Dumpling Bar - Chinese Near Me - Encinitas, California

Overall, decent dumplings with a decent price tag. The XLB & dumplings are on the doughier side, but that's my preference. All of the food is also on the slightly saltier side, which I don't mind, it wasn't overwhelming. - pan fried dumplings and gyozas were perfectly crispy & had good flavor and a good amount of meat filling - the green beans came cold, which I think is intentional? Regardless, flavor and crunch was just right - beef noodle soup was on the sweeter side (no spice/heat which I also prefer) Lots of parking in this lot, right next to TJ. Came on a Monday evening g around 6:30 pm, the restaurant was a bit more than half filled. read more

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We had a great time here! Our waiter provided excellent service, and the food was great.

So good!!! We got the chicken wonton in chili sauce and pork xlb. They also had this cute combo with your drink of choice read more

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Great food! Super service! Clean and comfortable! The chicken wontons with chili sauce were delicious. Make sure to eat them with the sauce they're floating in. The beef needle soup was also very good! Traditional pickled vegetables in the soup make it authentic! Wood ear mushroom appetizer and braised ribs also yummy! Everything we ordered reminded us of NY Taiwanese food! Great job! read more

Stopped by this new spot in Encinitas during their second day of soft opening. The vibe? Casual, with a glass section where you can watch the chef make dumplings. Service was friendly but a bit chaotic--lots of reminders needed. As for the food: Chicken Dumplings with spicy oil (2/5): Mostly wrapper, with barely any stuffing. Fried Pork Chop with Scallion Oil Noodles (2/5): The pork chop wasn't juicy, and the noodles were off-balance, leaning too sweet with hardly any scallion fragrance. The scallion oil was practically MIA. Pork Soup Dumplings (2.5/5) : Tiny with a thicker wrapper--if they were bigger, the wrapper thickness would make sense, but the flavor was still decent. Beef Potstickers (4.5/5): Finally, a win! Perfectly balanced with juicy stuffing and a wrapper that was just the right thickness.. Overall, a mixed bag, but it's early days. Hopefully, things improve with time! read more

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The food is good but that's it! The service is bad and the place is filthy! One of the waiters had an attitude and doesn't even know the menu, another was so slow moving and kept throwing all the food from the tables he was wiping on to the FLOOR. It was disgusting! All the waiters would walk around all the trash on the floor instead of picking it up. They also had no idea how long the waits would be and underestimated by nearly half! So if they said one hour, people had to wait almost two! Please train your staff to be pleasant and especially hygienic! In addition to the restaurant, personal hygiene is key when serving food. At least 3 of the servers should wash their hair; it was so greasy, dirty and unkept. The black clothing they wear also made one wonder how dirty everything was. Not sure how they keep an A at the door. read more

Great spot for AYCE dumplings- our favorites were the beef and chicken wontons in chili sauce. I liked the ability to sample lots of items on the menu with the AYCE option, but probably wouldn't do that in the future since I don't need to eat that much! read more

The food was really good. Flavors were on point. No issues there. We ordered cucumber salad, hot & sour soup, fried pork XLB, steamed pork XLB, beef dumplings, sesame noodles (I think this is what they were called, now I can't remember), beef wontons in chili sauce, and rice. It took almost an hour to get a table, even though the quoted wait time was 12-18 minutes on the tablet where you check in. I understand it's an estimate, but man it was off. I would've gone somewhere else if I knew I was going to wait that long. The service was lackluster. It honestly felt like our table was being avoided at one point so that we couldn't order more. We did the all you can eat option where you can only order 2 items per person each round--and you have to finish your items before you can order more. This is where my rating falls. It's absolutely ridiculous that my plate has to be cleared before I can order more. At other AYCE places, it doesn't matter how much you order as long as you finish your food in the end, or you get charged for it. With the model at Dumpling Bar, you have to wait so long between courses. I saw multiple tables, including ours, that were just sitting waiting for more food. Dumplings aren't quick to cook, so obviously it's going to be a long time between the next round. It's also really unfortunate when they give your food to another table and make you wait even longer--we know from experience. read more