I want to be clear about my experience! 5/5 for food and for service! The food was absolutely delicious, probably best dim sum I've tasted in a long time. The portion sizes were big and came out quickly. My disappointment was in their cleanliness. I'd give that a 2/5. I noticed the jars that held things such as the salt, pepper, and chili oil were not cleaned or washed properly. any time I'd pick it up, it'd be sticky and dirty. Otherwise I'd come back again. It was absolutely delicious read more

Food 4/5 Service 2.5/5 Ambiance 3.5/5 Nani Restaurant is one of the only places in Madison for dim sum, which also means I have high expectations for it. The food itself isn't bad - I actually quite liked a lot of the flavors of the dishes I got. I think what truly brings this review down is the poor service I get. There aren't usually many people here, but service is always at a crawling pace - it takes forever to even get a water, and then a second eternity to place an order. Dim Sum is also renowned for its cart service - but I suppose only busier places have this luxury. Nani only has a paper menu that you can order from straight from the kitchen - by no means a poor experience, but a far cry from the true dim sum experience. Again, the food is actually quite nice, but the lack of quality service, somewhat empty atmosphere, and no cart service makes this place a far cry from a real dim sum experience. read more

Nani Restaurant - DS1. Nani's Shrimp Dumpling Nani / DS1. 虾 饺 皇 DS12. Beef Tripe with Ginger Onion / DS12. 七彩 牛 百叶 Shrimp Fun Rolls Bean Curd Rolls - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This is my second time here. I'm happy there is a dim sum restaurant in Madison as a visitor traveling for work. It's not as good as back home in SoCal but decent enough for the area. Service is good and food comes out fast. read more

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This place is a very authentic Asian restaurant with a substantial menu and items you don't find in most places. Where it falls short is in flavor. Everything just seemed like it had too much salt and very muddled. Not very subtle. I will say that the fried rice is very good and our service was great. I had one to the house specials, the numbing spicy dish. Again, very salty and good but not great. Would like to try more dishes to see if this is a theme or a one off experience. read more

Nani Restaurant - Interesting decor. Excited for the food! - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

The dim sum food itself was pretty authentic and tasty! My only knock is that it's a little expensive - even more than Boston dim sum which is crazy. I'd recommend going with a group of 4-8 people to maximize value. read more

Nani Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Last week some co-workers and I celebrated Lunar New Year and we decided to do a family style lunch. Each of us order an entree to share and appetizers. The entries we ordered are general tso's chicken, cashew chicken, tofu and vegetables, and Beef and Broccoli. For the appetizers we ordered xiao long bao, shrimp dumpling, chicken potsticker, pan friend vegetable roll, and seafood hot and sour soup. My favorites of all the food were the general tso's chicken is the best I have ever had! I loved the chicken potsticker and Xiao long bao. All the food was amazing! The staff was friendly and the restaurant was clean. We shared the food on the lazy Susan and it was a really good time and a really great way to celebrate the Lunar New Year. read more

Nani Restaurant - General Tso's Chicken - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This review is for the Dim Sum. By far the worst Dim Sum I've ever had in my life. Chinese donuts steam crepe was stale and hard, chicken feet was terrible, congee was bland. Bean curd was very oily on the inside. Heed my warning, don't come here for Dim Sum. read more

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I was attending a relative's funeral in Madison. We had a short break and decided to venture the area. Madison has a lot of great eats and I went with the Yelp reviews to lead me here. The restaurant is beautiful inside, with plenty of seating and parking. We were greeted and seated right away. Very polite. Our drink orders were taken promptly too. Although it was our first time, they didn't take time to explain their menu like the customers that sat next to us, after us. I'm boggled that they charge $4 for a tea bag. I just assumed their tea would be made in-house with a specialty blend. The sticky rice in lotus flour was delicious but the pouches were tiny and they do not contain chicken as noted on their menu. It only had mushroom with rice and chicken flavoring. Their BBQ was a tad too sweet for me and artificially colored to look more red. Also their crepes. The rice skin was thick. Sorry to disappoint, but I left underwhelmed. Like a lot of people have said, the portions are smaller and the prices are going up. I had to experience for myself. I don't consider myself a dim sum connoisseur but I've eaten my fare share and this establishment is what I consider to be "a last resort." read more

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Food 3/5 - Food was okay for a Chinese restaurant in the Midwest. I liked the BBQ Pork Buns and Veggie Spring Rolls the most out of the dim sum dishes that I ordered. Service 3/5 - Waiters were nice but service was a bit slow. Waited a long time for all the food to come out. I also ordered a bubble tea and they never gave it to me. Ambiance 3/5 - It's a big restaurant and very quiet inside. The bench that I sat on kept coming up. Bathroom was clean. read more

Nani Restaurant - Ds47. BBQ Pork Bun Ds11. Chicken Feet with Special Sauce Ds2. Siu Mai Ds43. Baked Creamy Egg Yolk Bun - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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This restaurant was a lot bigger than I imagined, with a ton of parking and seats. Waiter was really polite and explained the system and food in the menu. I think the small plates in the first page is their specialty. I went for a xia long bao, and it was good. Chicken potsticker was good as well. Cumin beef entree was ok. There were $2 and $3 beer specials, which looked like a real bargain. read more

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Tasty and visually appealing. Service was excellent and quick. Quiet and great for dinner with your wife. My favorite Chinese restaurant in the Madison read more

I'd come here just because there isn't much dim sum in the area and this place is definitely not bad for dim sum. I got the beef tripe with ginger onion, BBQ pork crepes, deep fried pork dumplings, and braised beef varieties. My favorite dish at dim sum is usually the braised honeycomb tripe and I thought the braised beef varieties would be similar. It's the same flavors and seasonings as what I expected but they slice the honeycomb tripe super thin and there was barely any in my serving so I wouldn't get it again, but the beef tripe with ginger onion was good and in my opinion it's better than other dim sum places' ginger tripe I've tried. The crepes were standard and the deep fried pork dumpling was maybe a little worse than other places I've had because I had to pop it back in the oven to make it crispy again. I'm comparing to my past experiences in San Francisco Chinatown, Los Angeles, lots of other places in California that are really good so using that knowledge I would place this at 3 stars. BUT in Madison? Not bad at all and satisfies the craving for dim sum! So I raised my rating to match the lack of supply for my level of demand here haha! Definitely come here if you're craving dim sum but if you're used to better dim sum don't expect that here! read more

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I was craving dim sum, so I was ALL IN when my friend in Madison suggested we meet up there for lunch! So we had a party of 5, walked in on a Saturday afternoon and were seated right away. Service here is pretty efficient, so we ordered everything at once and let the dishes come out as they were ready. The memorable dishes: - shrimp dumpling with pea tip - chicken feet with special sauce - beef tripe with ginger onion - chicken feet with abalone sauce - pan-fried turnip cake - pan-fried chive cake - braised beef varieties - bbq pork bun - baked creamy egg yolk bun - jasmine tea We ordered just enough and finished almost all of our dishes :) LOOOOVED every bite and it's even better with good company and catching up! read more

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Probably the BEST restaurant in Madison that I know of. This place is big and spacious enough for a very big family and friends gathering. More people should come here and support. The customer service was good and the food came out in a good timely manner. If you have a very BIG order, expect a longer waiting time for everything to come out. This place is pricey but for the food, it is so worth it.. otherwise come here when you really wanna splurge on food and have a big family gather! ! I LOVE the food, I'll come back every time whenever I'm in town. Trust me, the food, is BOMB.... All I can do is drool from afar for now. The pictures, I hope, will speak for itself. read more

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Got takeout from here for Yelp's Big Night In. The pick-up process was super simple as I just called when we got there and someone came out with the food to hand it off. We ordered the shrimp dumplings with green chives and the pan-fried vegetable, pork and shrimp buns. The dumplings were kind of a surprise with their mouthfeel. The flavor on the inside emphasized the shrimp, but was almost creamy and the outer wrapping felt spongier and more gelatinous than we expected. They also benefited from being dipped into a sauce which we already had at home, as they didn't come with one. The pan-fried buns were soft and pillowy and had a good ratio of filling to bun. They began to taste a little saltier as they cooled, but they did have a good flavor, some however did seem a little oilier than others. Overall, pretty good food, but we preferred both the buns and the dumplings with some sauce. We would be interested in going back to try some other menu items though. read more

Nani Restaurant - Shrimp & pork buns & shrimp, chive dumplings - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

There are some #1 hitters at Nani and some misses. But 4 stars for the hitters and the friendliness and promptness of the staff. The restaurant is also very well lit and clean. Being one of the only places in Madison serving dim sum, this place does pretty good. The preserved egg congee was perfect for a cold day. Smooth texture and decent portion of preserved egg. The seafood stir fry was also a favorite of the group -- lots of seafood, came out nice and hot and had that slightly gelatinous sauce that wasn't too spicy at all. Lastly, I would recommend the beef stew as it had lots of tendon pieces and the beef was super tender. The only dish I would pass is the soup dumplings (I think the wrapper is not tight enough and the soup ends up getting dehydrated or something l?). But overall, I had a good time here and would come back to satisfy my dim sum cravings! read more

Nani Restaurant - 90. Seafood Delight - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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We enjoyed our first experience. I was skeptical when reading some of the Yelp reviews but I'm glad we gave it a try. The wait staff was pleasant. The atmosphere was nicely lit and enjoyable. The food selection was plentiful and what we ordered was enough for lunch portions. We plan to go back to try other items soon! read more

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We ordered a few small dishes for takeout, and each one came in their own separate (mostly styrofoam) container. While this may be the most affordable option, this frustrates me - please think of the environment! Anyways onto the food - shrimp dumpling, siu mai, stir-fried sticky rice, short rib w/ honey sauce, bbq pork crepe, and baked creamy egg yolk bun. The sticky rice and egg yolk bun were phenomenal and I'd definitely order those again. The short rib also had good flavor, but the rest of the dishes fell flat in terms of flavor and texture. A solid 3.5/5 stars. read more

Nani Restaurant - (L to R in rows): bbq pork crepe, baked creamy egg yolk bun, stir-fried sticky rice, short rib w/ honey sauce, siu mai, shrimp dumpling - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Nani serves delicious authentic Chinese cuisine. The spicy bone-in chicken had a wonderful spiciness to it that I rarely find. The asparagus and pork was exceptionally succulent. Even though both portions were ample, we could not stop eating until they were gone. My recommendation is to order off the "Chef's Suggestions" section of the menu. Before sitting down, look at the specials board behind the reception desk (including drink specials, $1 beers, etc.). Despite being renowned for its food scene, Madison seems to have a dearth of Chinese restaurants. Nani easily ranks among the top of the Chinese restaurants in the area. read more

Nani Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Update 8/13/19 - we have been patronizing Nani for years now and the last few times we were here, the quality of food is going down. Tonight's dinner will be the last time we are returning for a while. The west lake soup that we like were so so. The minced beef used in the soup was hard. The Mongolian beef was wet and definitely on the sweeter side. The biggest disappointment was the string beans. It was not supposed to be spicy but what was served was fried with Szechuan pepper and numbing. We showed the wait staff the menu, they apologized and retried a plate that is not spicy. However, the string beans were cooked past the crunchy point - soft and not appetizing. Oh well - we will have to wait for the disappointment to pass before we go back again. Update 10/8/16 - spoke to Justin, the owner and learned that chef Wang cooks each pot of soup for their hot pot individually and that he is picky about who cooks his dish, which is no one but him. Nth trip back. We love this place and recently discovered the Chef Wang's Special Menu. More szechuan dishes to choose from. Try the pea tips in broth - it is loaded with ham and other protein and the soup / broth tasted wonderful. Most recently we tried the crispy chicken and it was flavorful! Not a single regret. 2nd trip back. This time, we are here to try their dinner selections. Ordered mah Lah beef brisket Claypot, Hong shau tofu (braised tofu), roast duck and west lake beef soup. First - it was quite at 8pm. Food was delicious and exceeded my expectations. Starting with the old favorites, the duck continues to taste good. Skin wasn't as crispy as the first time but taste is consistent. West lake beef soup was very good. Best I've had within the last year. The beef brisket Claypot ---- my oh my. Wonderful taste. I was afraid that it will be too spicy for me but not do. It was spicy in a flavorful way. Definitely give it a try. The braised tofu is ok. Nothing to brag about. I prefer the Cantonese style with square tofu with a smoother texture. This is not the right type of tofu to use. We called this tau kwa. Very firm. Also the vegetables used were too westernized for me, carrots and peppers. Ideally this would be made with more mushrooms, baby back Choy and maybe some small bits of carrots for colors. Overall a good experience and will return to try other dishes. read more

The last time we went a few weeks ago on Sunday, the experience has worsened. There definitely wasn't a shortage of employees. There were lots of employees however everyone was just running around doing whatever they wanted. There was no hostess so we and others just stood there for at least 10 minutes before one of the servers finally acknowledged and seated us. The service was ok however very slow. The inside is becoming a typical dirty and neglected Chinese restaurant. Dim sum prices have increased, portions decreased and quality diminished. There is no longer any good dim sum options in the Madison area. We will have to take a drive to Chicago for our dim sum fix. read more

Great dim sum - but unfortunately, portions are getting smaller and prices are getting higher. Visits: 10+ Recommendations: anything and everything dim sum read more

My first time here and it was delicious! My only complaint was felt the spare ribs were a tad on the salty side. My fave was the red bean buns and egg custard tart! Overall, the service was good, facility was clean. I recommend stopping for some great traditional Chinese food! read more

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One of the best options for good Chinese food in Madison. I lived in the DMV area for years, and this restaurant's dishes are the most similar to the good, authentic Chinese places there. Everything I've gotten from Nani- both dim sum and entrees- tasted good and fresh. The restaurant is nothing fancy inside, but clean and nice. A good place to go for low-key but good Chinese food in Madison. read more

Some of the comments are petty and unnecessarily harsh. This restaurant is one of the few bastions of authentic Chinese food in the Madison area. I order from Nani's frequently and have never had an issue. I was really impressed by their dim sum offerings- definitely the largest and best quality in Wisconsin. I had been craving preserved egg congee and couldn't find it anywhere else. They have soup with fish air bladder which I have also never seen in Madison. If you nitpick about not having a three star Michelin experience, you don't have realistic expectations. Complaining about rising prices and "smaller portions"? The cost of raw ingredients doesn't stay the same forever! If you've ever been to SF, things are twice the price and half the volume. These prices are totally reasonable- The restaurant is just trying to get by. People are so short sighted- Before you leave a harsh review complaining about the "ambiance" in a casual family run restaurant, maybe think about the consequences. If you don't support restaurants in your community then they will go away. Remember not to complain when there are no decent Chinese food options left. read more

Traveling the country in search of Dim Sum restaurants, I was excited to try this place while driving through Wisconsin. This place serves all day dim sum, something you can usually only find in major Chinatowns. I ordered several dim sum dishes along with some dinner entrees. The beef chow fun was not as traditional as ones I'm used to given the addition of bell peppers, but the "wok hei" of the noodles was excellent. All of the dim sum dishes were exceptional, except the beef meatballs which tasted more like regular Italian meatballs than the traditional Cantonese type. The har gow had large succulent shrimp and was probably one of the best I've had in the country, but at $7.99 it was also one of the most expensive I've had in the country. Overall an excellent dining experience but a bit on the pricey side. I spent over $100 on 2 people, but we had a lot of leftovers. Would definitely come back again if traveling to this area. read more

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Fantastic take out yesterday as always. This is our third visit so far. We previously had dined in as the inside of the restaurant is very nice. Last night we had sweet and sour pork and spicy lamb in dry pot which were both excellent. We have previously have had their green beans, spicy chili, chicken, spicy braised fish, cumin beef, sweet and sour chicken, fried rice mix and spicy numbing pot for two which all have been absolutely delicious. We have not had their dim sum or soup yet but that will be next. If you love Chinese food, and especially if you like Sichuan food go here, you will not regret it. read more

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First time having dim sum in Madison. Nani's is quite a large resturant and it seems like a great place for huge parties. Right now they can't do the traditional dim sum carts instead you order each dish. Each dish is clearly labeled as either small, medium, or large. The large dishes are actually quite sizeable. Just two large dishes could probably fill a lot of people. Food quality was very good but nothing too special. Everything was as expected and nothing really went that far beyond expectations. The tea was a little bland. Our favorites were one of the pork short ribs and fried pork buns. Service was pretty prompt. read more

Nani Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Ack. Wanted to like this more, but couldn't. I ordered the spicy chicken with peppers. As it turned out, it was very salty deep fried chicken bites with dried peppers and nothing else. It was extremely dry. My wife got cashew chicken. Better, but also practically sauceless. Ordered pan-fried dumplings, but got steamed. Ok, but not the texture I wanted. What a bummer. I might give other dishes a try, but would not order these dishes again. read more

this place sucks. food is over priced and tastes like crap. service leave lots to be desire. had to wait an extra 15 minutes for take out while i saw my order sitting on counte. by the time i got it home it was all congeale. complained. no discount was offer. was given an excuse "it is busy" which was bs, as i waited there for forty minutes for my order. i'm never eating here again. read more

If you are ever in Madison WI, you HAVE to go to Nani Restaurant and get the Peking Duck choosing the option where the rest of the duck is turned into soup. The Peking Duck and it's soup make visiting here a 5/5. They already serve some of the best peking duck in the country, but then the soup clinches the victory over any other restaurant state side. I agree with some of the other comments about cleanliness or certain dishes being underwhelming, but the staff was super nice and replaced dishware with 0 friction. The new dishware was in proper order of cleanliness. Again, the Peking Duck elevates the whole experience back up to a perfect score for me. read more

I can't count how many times I've been to Nani. I've tried almost all of their dim sum, and most of their non-dimsum dishes. Everything is fantastic, and for the price it's definitely worth it. When they're packed and busy, service can be a little slow but nothing out of the ordinary and their servers are always so nice and friendly and accommodating. They'll even explain a dish to you if you're unfamiliar or have questions. Overall excellent! read more

Nani Restaurant - C09. Stir-fry Chicken with Hot Chill, D05. Salt and Pepper Squid, Ds33. Deep-Fried Shrimp Ball - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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I have been looking for an authentic Dim Sum place in Madison. This is a hidden gem On the west side. Great authentic food! Huge variety! Great service! Would recommend taking a few friends so you can share several options. It's a fun time! read more

So for being one of the only dim sum locations in Madison, I had high expectations and had hoped for a good dining experience. However, if our dining experience is anything of the norm, then disappointment is an understatement. We entered in the restaurant, where it didn't look overwhelming busy even on a Sunday morning (prime dim sum time) and waited for quite a while before we were given any attention and ushered to our seats. We took some time deciding what to order, and picked a total of five different dishes. The first dish that came out was a tiny bowl of sweet tofu pudding (which is only available on the weekends). It was cold, and mushy and just barely edible tasting. It just did not taste good, so for the price of the dish, it was not worth it at all. Next came the honey short ribs, which we've gotten before so it tasted chewy yet there was also a lot of empty ribs with no meat on it. At this point, I accidentally spilled the cup of water and it splattered everywhere in the middle of the table. We looked around at the wait staff for assistance and no one attends to us until we flagged down a hostess that was seating people on the table behind us. She takes a look at the spill, and brings two small cloth-napkins and puts in on top of the table and asked if this "solution" was okay. Keep in mind, the spilled water is still on the table and this patchwork solution isn't exactly an ideal dining solution. So at this point, I express my concern that the table is still wet, and if it's okay that we move to a different table since we're still waiting for half of our meal. Instead, she finally clears off the table, carelessly wipes the wet table underneath and then finally puts on a new tablecloth. Immediately following the new tablecloth was put on, the rest of our dim sum dishes finally came: fish congee, BBQ pork buns, and Xiao long bao (which definitely taste like what it should). When we finally finished eating our very unsatisfactorily meal, we had to wait another long while before someone finally checked us out at the cashier table. Now I understand why it's been at least a few months since I last came to Nani, and it'll probably be a long while before I go back. read more

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This place is soooo good - a little out of the way for me but worth it! We got the king pao chicken, a type of pork chive and carrot dumplings, steamed dumplings, pork bbq buns, egg tarts, and mango crepes. We loved everything except the pork bbq buns which were wrapped in a sweet bun and drizzled with honey (way to sweet for our taste though the meat itself was good). It is important to note that I would not recommend coming here if you have any allergies (esp shellfish). The pork dumplings we ordered were not supposed to have shrimp but it 100% did. Luckily neither of us had an allergy so it was fine but just something to be aware of. read more

I see a lot of glowing reviews and I wonder - did I order the wrong thing???? I ordered "shrimp egg rolls", which were unidentifiable as Chinese shrimp egg rolls to me. It was like a little spring roll, fried, with three little shrimps in them. And it was GROSS. I ordered the sweet and sour chicken, and it was nothing but some pre-breaded from a frozen bag BLAND unseasoned chicken pieces and a container of fresh-from-cheap-bottle sweet and sour sauce. So, 2 shrimp egg rolls and an order of sweet and sour chicken set me back almost $50. I had two bites, chucked it in the trash and went to McDonald's. read more

Nani Restaurant - Shrimp "Egg Roll"???? - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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I got together with a large group of friends recently to grab dinner and a movie, about 8 people, and no one made any reservations. I suggested we go to Nani and we were all very impressed. They were able to accommodate our large party easily! Our friends were new to dim sum, so we helped them order some of our favorites and we ordered a lot of different things! The server was super friendly, helpful, and funny. Everything came out as it was ready, hot and fresh, and the table shared some good eats and great laughs. I've been going to Nani for a long time and have ordered takeout before too, it always hits the spot. I hope more people continue to support and love Nani as much as we do. read more

Decent place in Madison for dim sum! I had been craving dim sum for awhile now, but have not been really actively looking. I was impressed with how big the stand-alone restaurant is and that they steam/make their dim sum fresh. We tried a lot of the different dishes including ha cao, tripe, shumai, several different crepes, buns, pork wrapped in tofu skins, xiao long bao, water chestnut cake, mango pudding. Everything was very decent. I was most impressed by the portion size. The chestnut cake was delicious! Perfectly sweetened and crunchy. Highly recommend. One thing to note is the xiao long bao is not very accurate. It is NOT a soup dumpling. More like a thick regular dumpling. That was my least favorite dish. Because I don't know of many other dim sum places in Madison, this place is good enough to recommend for me. read more

Nani Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

We were in town for the holidays and needed some lunch on Christmas day before some late afternoon festivities. My nephew found that this place was open so we zipped across town. This is the second Christmas in a row that we had Chinese for the holiday so this was not an odd choice for us. I was pleased to see that they had some tropical drinks so I had a Mai Tai - which is a great Christmas drink. We ordered many different dim sum plates and some General Tsao's chicken. The dim sum experts were surprised that the dumplings were bigger and more items than at their usual spot back home - in the end they ordered too much! The General was very tasty. The server was friendly and helpful. Overall a good holiday experience. read more

Nani Restaurant - Christmas Mai Tai - Dim Sum Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

We grew up in NYC so we have good baseline of what good Chinese food and dim sum is. Nani is acceptable and probably the best Chinese offering in Madison area based on large Asian clientele. Dim sum was a mixed bag. Some dishes were clearly cooked from frozen (ie. Har Kau, sticky rice in lotus leaf and soup dumplings. Others were made from scratch but not authentic Cantonese style. Competition improves the breed and in this case there's not a lot of competition. read more