Ordered the sampler dumplings. Each one was pretty good. Lots of soup inside the dumpling. All tasted good. I'd go back and try other foods they offer. If you're looking for a fast food like place to satisfy your crave for soup dumplings, this place is where I'd go. It wasn't too busy when I went on a Sunday for lunch. read more

Ugly Dumpling - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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Last night my son Caleb was in town so we had an excuse to go out. So me, Caleb and my annoying wife Sarah decide to try the new dumpling place at fair oaks mall. We used to go On The Border a lot, so we wanted to see what they did with the place. Upon entering my wife asked if this was a Chinese restaurant (she hates Chinese food). We told her no, it was a dumpling restaurant. She's so dumb. Normally my wife makes us sit at a table like some happy family but to my surprise, when I suggested all three of us sit at the bar she said okay. This never happens so I'll take what I can get. We took at seat at the very front of the bar where we watched Sam make cocktails like a mad scientist. I got my beer and my wife got her wine. Sam even went as far as asking her for her ID which I snorted because the goblin is clearly older than the land fair oaks mall was built on. But it made her feel special. We ordered a variety of items and when the food arrived Sarah panicked because she can't use chop sticks to save her life. Sam, sensing this catastrophe emerged from the shadows with a fork for her. Disaster averted. When my wife went to the bathroom I told Caleb let's pay the tab and leave Sarah there. But he said we couldn't do that to the poor staff. Overall, a nice place. Next time we're coming without Sarah. She's uncultured. Why did I marry her. read more

The dumplings were delicious and unique. We liked all of it. We ordered the ones with soup in all of them! The server was great! He was from El Salvador! The ambiance was nice soft and easy on the eyes! read more

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I brought my mom here for a quick lunch and there were some hits and misses. We weren't expecting authentic flavors since the entire menu is in English, but we were pleasantly surprised by the noodles with sesame sauce. It was very nutty with a bit of a kick! The pork & crab soup dumplings were decent. They had thicker wrappers than I prefer, but the filling was fresh and flavorful with a good amount of soup inside. I wouldn't recommend the braised beef noodle soup. The broth was ok but the beef was tough. The cucumber salad was another miss - the cucumber tasted soft and mushy. read more

Ugly Dumpling - Ugly Dumpling Sampler (5) - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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Honestly, the food was pretty good. Perhaps I was a bit skeptic and had low expectations when I saw Crab Rangoon on the menu. That's usually a dish served in Americanized Chinese restaurants. My husband was eager to try this place and I am glad I decided to give them a try. We ordered a bunch of classic dishes and honestly, I thought they were all pretty good. The braised beef noodle soup had spot on broth, chewy noodles, and tender beef. The garlic string beans tasted similar to Din Tai Fung. The crystal shrimp dumplings had a good texture to them. The pork, shrimp, and spinach, along with the pork and truffle soup dumplings were flavorful. And I do prefer this kind of soup dumplings where the skin is thin but it holds all the juices and meat inside well. We also ordered the chicken wings which wasn't a classic dish but was sweet and juicy. I really wanted to try their spicy wontons but they were out of the pork and shrimp so I'll have to return for that. Service was great. It's nothing over the top but all the servers were friendly and checked on us. The interior is very chic and modern. I like how we can watch the dumplings being made through the glass window box (similar to Din Tai Fung). This isn't like Din Tai Fung but it will do for this area. I can definitely see us returning. read more

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The area was great, so nice it's at the mall so you can do some shopping while waiting in the queue. It was clean, the layout was huge, the staff was very welcoming and asked if it's your first time at dimsum. I wasn't a huge fan of the spicy sauce, it was mostly soy sauce and wasn't spicy. The XLB were the best part. Texture was a 7/10 but the inside was good. The cucumber salad and the green beans exceeded my expectation. Very garlicky and flavorful. read more

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Ugly Dumpling has a location at Fair Oaks Mal! You could also do advance ordering on their online system, which is super convenient. We ordered: +the Pork Soup Dumplings - comes with 6 pieces +the Chicken Soup Dumplings - comes with 6 pieces +Spicy Chicken Wontons - definitely much larger in size than expected +Noodles with Sesame Sauce +and, the Braised Beef Noodle Soup The entrees, such as the noodles and the soups are of generous portions, easily shared amongst 2+ people. Items came out piping out, which was a big plus. Staff were friendly and pretty efficient. Plenty of parking at the mall. +online ordering available +efficient service +plenty of parking at the mall read more

Terrible service. I've been standing at the hostess station for about 10 minutes with no acknowledgment from anyone. A male server eventually came over and asked how he could help, so I told him I wanted to place a to-go order. Instead of taking the order, he disappeared without saying anything and hasn't come back. I'm actually still standing here waiting while writing this review, and no one has checked back in or offered any help. At this point I ended up placing the order through DoorDash instead because I was tired of waiting to be acknowledged in person. This experience has been incredibly frustrating and left a really bad impression. I probably won't be coming back. read more

Visited Tiger Dumplings, a newly opened spot in the Fair Oaks mall, around lunchtime. It was quite busy, but I was seated promptly. I tried the Soup Dumpling Sampler, and the Sesame noodles with added chicken. Overall, the food was good, and the location is definitely convenient. That said, while it's a solid option, there are other similar places nearby that have been around longer and offer comparable food. I don't think those places need to worry too much about the competition from this new spot just yet. read more

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Pretty good dim sum spot in the DMV! It's not a din tai fung dupe, so if that's what you're expecting I'm sorry to disappoint. BUT the flavors were still very delicious. Large variety of items to choose from, the inside was very cute, and the service was great. Would definitely come back. read more

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Caught the happy hour and it's worth the trip! Fast service, tasty dumpling and amazing happy hour prices! Definitely recommend!

After hearing so much buzz from influencers online - it honestly has not lived up to the hype. Overall, it's fine for fast casual dining - but it won't be a go-to for Chinese food. The cream cheese rangoons were weirdly super sweet. The spicy wontons weren't spicy at all - even when adding the chili oil on the table, it was more salty than spicy. The sesame green tea noodles were okay - a nice strong sesame flavor but very one note. The garlic string beans could use more garlic. Service was friendly and overall the ambiance was nice. I will say that their soup dumplings had a nice amount of soup inside and the skin was decent. However, the filling lacked flavor. read more

Ugly Dumpling - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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This place is conveniently located in a mall. The decor is pretty nice but the tables were sort of sticky feeling. The beans were crisp and fresh, the cucumbers crunchy. Enjoyed the won ton in chili sauce. But it was all pretty standard. However the soup dumplings were pretty awful. They were too big to take in one bite and the skin was SO thick. If you want soup dumplings, go somewhere else. The really bad part was the (lack of) service. When we checked in, a couple of employees were chatting and didn't even acknowledge us. The waiter forgot part of the order. Luckily another guy (manager?) checked on us and fixed things but poor guy was alone in his competence. Tea was not provided. Sad for a Chinese place. read more

One waitress for the entire restaurant. I felt bad for her! We left because we never got our drinks and never got my spring rolls. I really wanted to like this restaurant but they will never see me again. Another restaurant that will close !!!! I wanted to try the different dumplings but we never got them... what a shame! read more

First time here. The decor was pretty. The service was amazing. They explain everything we got. They were nice. The food was amazing. It was flavorful. read more

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This is not the fairy tale you've grown up with unfortunately....this ugly dumpling ultimately grew up and became an ugly duck. When it first opened, the food was pretty freakin good. The soup dumpling skins were thin, bountiful of soup. The cucumber salad was fresh and well seasoned. Their shrimp fried rice had that "wok hei" that accentuated the senses. Over the past 6 months, this significantly went down hill. The dumpling skins are thicker than pancakes. The soup is often nonexistent. The shiu mai has a weird, stale sesame oil flavor. The cucumber salad? Out of stock. Their most recent time, we sat down to order. They were massively understaffed. We waited maybe 30 minutes, only to be down by the waiter then that they were out of cucumber salad, the pork soup dumplings, and the garlic green beans. SAY WHAT?!?!?!?! It's like going to Ruth Chris and they're like "hey...yea today we're gonna be out of steak. But we can get you a nice roasted chicken? And some rice pilaf?" Alas, what was a gem - I dare say maybe even a DTF contender - ultimately is a lump of coal. We won't be coming until management changes. read more

service is always friendly. the cucumber salad is refreshing and crunchy. the chicken dumplings are crispy and good! the beef noodle soup is ok and the xlb are also ok. some skin are nice and thin while other ones are thick. read more

Ugly Dumpling - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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The fried rice with pork chop is good. Soup dumplings can be hit or miss. Depends on who makes it I reckon. Some have soup in them, some don't. Service here can be spotty. The music... Too dang loud. read more

Miso ramen was flavorful and savory to my enjoyment. Michael, the server, was pleasant and a joy to have serve me. The restaurant setup was clean and provided a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy a wonderful meal. Thank you Ugly Dumpling for feeding me. 0:-) read more

This is located in Fair Oaks. I came here with my husband for the first time, yesterday, so we didn't have to be in such a big crowd on the weekend. Our server was awesome, 5 stars for Jr! He was very attentive and checked in on us throughout our meal. The reason why I'm giving this 3 stars is because of the food. We ordered for appetizers the popcorn chicken and sampler dumplings. The dumplings were mediocre... it really wasn't all that for a place that's supposed to be known for their dumplings. The chicken was delicious - I've had popcorn chicken many times but the batter were either too thick or hard/dry. These were thin, crunchy, and super moist. I got the green tea noodles in spicy sauce for my entree. The noodles were good, nice and bouncy and had a good chew. The sauce it was in though, was left more to be desired. It was pretty bland and not spicy at all. Maybe a tablespoon of peanut butter would've helped to give it more depth. My husband got the braised beef noodle soup. We both agreed both dishes were average. For dessert, we had the fortune cookie cheesecake, very clever. I loved that too. All in all - I'd come back for the popcorn chicken and the dessert... I'd rather just go to a regular dim sum place for dumplings. read more

Went there at 8:40 pm and they said their kitchen is closed. They advertise that they are open until 10:00 pm on all their signage and website. read more

I came here on Sunday, October 5th around 3:30 p.m. There were three employees working at the bar (one looked like a manager). I sat down at the bar to place an order and not one of them even acknowledged my presence. Because I value my money, I left. I won't return. read more

Ugly Dumping does not equal Din Tai Fung. Not even close! My wife and I lived in SoCal for 12+ years and have been to DTF in UTC and Costa Mesa multiple times over the years, so trust this review if you're reading. This is what we ordered last Friday (14 Nov 2025): -cream cheese rangoons (for older 7yo son since they were sold out of the Braised BB Ribs) -Cucumber salad -Steamed BBQ Pork Buns -Spicy Pork and Shrimp Wontons -Braised Beef Noodle Soup -Shrimp Stir Fried Noodles -Chicken Fried Rice -Beef & Broccoli (for 7yo son) -String Beans w/ Garlic -Pork & Crab Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings) -3x Honey Lemonades First of all, we sent back the main reason we wanted to try Ugly Dumpling, the Soup dumplings. The filling was severely undercooked and my wife was not risking food poisoning with undercooked pork! The dumpling itself was too thick for my wife's liking as well compared to what we're used to at DTF. 2nd disappointment was the Steamed BBQ pork buns. The bun itself was on-point, but the filling tasted like a Sloppy Joe. No Asian flavor whatsoever. If they had put a red bean filling inside the same bun like they have at DTF, I would order that 5x on the same visit. 3rd was the Beef & Broccoli. We usually wouldn't order this at this type of restaurant, but with young kids, we had to accommodate. The quality of meat they used was actually better than most fast food Chinese places, but the flavor was bland. Panda Express across the hall has better flavor than what we were served. Cucumber salad was okay, but lacked flavor, and same with the spicy pork and shrimp wontons. Spicy Pork and Shrimp Wontons is my favorite dish at DTF, and Ugly Dumpling was not even close to matching that flavor. Braised beef noodle soup, shrimp stir fry noodles, string beans and chicken fried rice were all mediocre IMHO. Service was okay, but it did take close to an hour for them to bring our Braised Beef noodle soup (I think the server forgot to put the order in initially and possibly lied about the kitchen taking so long) and it was disappointing either way. The Honey Lemonades were good, but took about 15-20 minutes to receive as well. Overall, I would not return to this restaurant based on the service and food quality. I will wait for my Xiao Long Bao/Spicy wontons fix until we go back to Cali and visit Din Tai Fung again in the future. read more

Ugly Dumpling - Undercooked Pork & Crab Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

The plates were dirty to start with, all of them, no matter how many times I switched them. Most of the food was enjoyable, but some dishes lacked flavor. Would come again to try other menu items, but not expecting much different. read more

Came here on a Saturday evening and it was packed. Wait was about 20 mins, not bad for a Saturday in the burbs. Our waiter was friendly but didn't take time to explain any part of the menu. Servers brining the food would literally slam your food on the table and walk away without explaining what you got. We also had to keep asking questions regarding the menu as it was overwhelming and a lot of dishes had no description or explanation. We also were told all the dumplings had pork, even the chicken one? We ordered the ugly bao bun - which was orange chicken on the boa. Not a great combo, the flavor was too sweet and the bun itself was too dry and ripped easily. We got the soup dumpling sampler. Taste was OK, and dumplings ripped apart on the bottom causing all the liquid to come our. Next we ordered the orange chicken, decent but was not served with rice. The cream cheese rangoon - which was ok, sauce was like dipping in sugar and rangoons barely had any crab. Lastly the cucumber salad and the spicy chicken wontons. Both were quite good. There are much better dumplings places in the area to venture to. read more

Ugly Dumpling - Ugly Dumpling Sampler (5) - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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The service was great and fast! Super nice. Food was absolutely delicious. A wide variety of appetizers and entrees and all are absolutely delicious. 10/10 recommend!! read more

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Horrible. If anyone actually knows Chinese food this ain't it. My chicken fried rice was legit boiled chicken and the edamame had some random white thing in it. Do not recommend. Don't ever compare this to DTF because not even close read more

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Dog friendly plus outdoor seating and the inside is very fancy and we spilt some dr pepper but they were super chill about it and I think my dog likes dr pepper like look how happy she is everyone should go here read more

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I would definitely say this is an overhyped restaurant, but there were still many positives to it. The Noodles w/ Spicy Sauce + Spicy Chicken Wontons were not spicy at all, but still tasty. The Noodles were very soft, which I enjoyed, and the Chicken Wontons were standard but good. The Chicken w/ Broccoli was ok, the chicken was a bit dry for my liking. Chicken Fried Rice was very bland, but if you mix the spicy sauce from the other dishes with the rice, the taste was elevated by a lot! We were a party of 2 and was initially told it was going to be a 30 min wait, but it actually only took 10-15 min. I could definitely see it taking longer if our party was 3+ people. They had a lot of open bar seating though if you would prefer that. Luckily since the restaurant is connected to the mall, it is easy to pass time. Our waiter was very nice, and gave us a great experience overall! The ambiance of the place is also nice, though since it is very crowded, it can be loud at times. read more

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First time here came in at lunch time after shopping through the mall. The server greeted me and was great telling me about their happy hour and specials. So I definitely tried most of the appetizers to take advantage of the specials. Bathroom is very nice clean. The soup dumplings had some soup in them but I felt they used too much dough 6/10 imo had 2 servings of the sampler. Cucumber salad had a nice refreshing taste but the flavor is not inside 4/10. Braised baby back ribs were soft and flavorful 9/10. Calamari had good flavor but came out too oily 7/10. Cream cheese rangoon super crispy 8/10. Fried pork chop portion was a bit small it was dry and too salty for me 5/10. Salt & pepper popcorn chicken had good flavor but too much batter 6/10. Soy garlic wings had good flavor 8/10. The ugly bao bun is made with chicken looks like they threw 2 small pieces of the sweet and sour chicken and couple pickle slices no go for me 2/10 max. The drinks were pretty good they're light and refreshing and not extra sweet which is a plus. read more

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I visited this location today, Thursday, and honestly, my experience was very disappointing. In my sincere opinion, the staff seemed unprofessional and lacking proper customer service training. I first tried calling the store to place an order for dumplings during happy hour because I didn't want to order through the app. No one answered the phone despite multiple attempts. After that, I went into the store in person and waited around 15 minutes to be assisted. There was no one at the front, and while I understand places can get busy or slow, there should still be someone available to greet customers. When I asked to order the happy hour pork dumplings, the manager told me the happy hour special was only for dine-in and not available for pickup or takeout. I explained that this was not specified anywhere on the website or menu. He simply said he was "just letting me know." I then decided I would dine in, but immediately after that, I was told the only happy hour option available was chicken dumplings, not the pork dumplings I originally wanted. At that point, everything I asked for seemed unavailable, and no effort was made to help or offer a solution. I asked why the website advertised one thing while the store was saying something completely different, and the manager said he didn't know and couldn't do anything about it. When I asked to speak to a manager, he told me he was the manager. I don't want to come across as difficult, but when a restaurant advertises promotions to bring customers in, they should honor those promotions or clearly state the restrictions. Otherwise, it feels misleading and creates a negative customer experience. Customer service is about making guests feel valued and trying to help when issues come up. Unfortunately, that did not happen today. I ended up walking out and will not return to this location. Based on today's experience, I would give this location zero stars. read more

The Ugly Dumpling is NOT a Din Tai Fung Dupe and I mean that as a compliment. All of the food has completely different flavors. My 3 favorite items were the Spicy Wontons, the Spicy Noodles, and the Chicken fried rice. All packed with great flavor. The cream cheese Rangoon's were good but the sauce that came with it threw me off alittle bit. Almost tasted like strawberry for some reason. The sampler dumplings were good but I prefer a thinner dumpling and to be honest the Szechuan was probably alittle too spicy but still had nice flavor! The service and ambiance were both on point! Would definitely return. read more

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Stopped in for a nice family dinner. Service was attentive and they came by to check if we needed anything often. Green beans were good and flavorful. Highly recommend the pork chop fried rice. The soup dumplings were ok, not my favorite but would eat again read more

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Honestly I was really hesitant to come here based on the meh reviews but I'm so happy we decided to go. Our service was phenomenal and everything we ordered was so so good AND priced reasonably. We're looking forward to coming back! PS that beef and Shishito pepper noodle soup is amazing. read more

Prices aren't necessarily high, but the portions are small. You need to order a lot to get full. So while I wouldn't say the food here is expensive, it can get expensive to eat to fill. Soup dumplings were fine, pretty good actually. But again, very small (this will be the last time I say this). Fried rice was also.. fine. Everything else we ordered was unremarkable. Popcorn chicken (needed more flavor; fried basil would've made a huge difference), stir fried noodles (this was just lo mein, too sweet), fried dumplings (so small.. I wasn't supposed to say this again but..), string beans (they're string beans, with garlic), and a few other dishes. Today was grand opening day. Smart they chose a Monday so as to not be overwhelmed by launching on a weekend or a day that they might get flooded with people. I think that the proprietors of this restaurant might have overcompensated for what can be a death knell of bad reviews for new food establishments, which is poor service. The service here... is too far on the other end of the spectrum. I don't want to part to be misunderstood: our wait staff was extremely friendly. Very very pleasant people. But being asked how things are going, do we want things cleared off our table, do we want to order more food, every other minute (I swear I am not exaggerating.. I couldn't get more than a few words in of conversation with my table before we had another person coming by asking us one of the three aforementioned questions). I think being overbearing might be just as bad if not worse than being completely ignored. There's a good medium somewhere in there. I think outside of the dumplings, flavor was kind of a big miss. While I think this is the kind of feedback a smaller, independent operation might take into real consideration, it seems that Ugly Dumpling is a pretty established chain which likely means their recipes are what they are and not up for much, if any change. read more

We had an amazing meal with an amazing server named Erick! He is not only took good care of us but also being the best entertainer by being the magician after the meal!! Love to share the good service with the good Chinese food to everyone around the area. I give you 5 stars Erick! read more

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So me and my mom ordered it online via the ugly dumpling website and when we came to pick it up, the door was locked and there was a notice saying they didn't pay rent or something along those lines. They never refunded my order and when we tried to call them, the line was dead. Do not go, horrible business practices read more

Everything is here just average or just below average. Nothing here blow you away. The portion is very small, if you want to get somewhat full, it will cost you a pretty penny. Order the braised port rib, good flavor but not enough sauce and way too tough. Definitely not braised, more like cover with sauce and fry. Staff here is very disorganized, maybe because it's still " soft opening " read more

Ugly Dumpling - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

We came here with high expectations. Unfortunately, a few of our soup dumplings came out raw with the skins not fully cooked. They may have all came out raw but our kids ate theirs quickly. In the attached photo, you can see the fillings were raw. Raw pork and seafood is a recipe for bad things. We let our server know and showed him the raw fillings. He spoke to the manager and the manager didn't even offer to bring us out new dumplings. All he did was tell the server to apologize to us. Not the servers fault, really poor management. We will not come back. I don't want my kids getting food poisoning and I don't like paying for undercooked food. The popcorn chicken was also way overcooked and consistency was like cardboard. They need to find the middle ground in cooking times. read more

Ugly Dumpling - Raw pork and shrimp dumpling - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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Food was decent. Not the best I've had but not many places that serve this sort of Chinese food. Erick, the server, was really great though. Personable, made sure we were satisfied, and overall joyful human. read more