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    Ugly Dumpling

    3.2 (68 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 10:30 pm
    Updated a few days ago

    Order Ugly Dumpling Takeout or Delivery

    Ugly Dumpling Photos

    UGLY DUMPLING ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Good for groups

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    beef noodle soup
    Chassidie L.

    Honestly, not too shabby! One of the better Chinese restaurants in the New Haven area! I was a bit skeptical of this place at first because of the reviews and because it's a large chain, however, I was not disappointed. The food was pretty good. Not the most authentic, but close to it. The garlic green beans and spicy wontons were both delicious! The spicy wontons were not very spicy though. I also loved the beef noodle soup. There's not many places around the area where you can get this style beef noodle soup, so I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I would honestly skip the soup dumplings. Not the best, but maybe get it if you've never had it before. Also, the service was got was great. The kitchen was about to close in which they reminded us to order our to go food before which was thoughtful.

    Pork and shrimp wonton soup
    Kevin K.

    On my way to Quinnipiac, I tried Ugly Dumpling for the first time. Nice interior. I sat at the bar and tried the Red Lotus cocktail, and it was very refreshing. Also got the shrimp and pork wonton soup. It was a cold rainy day so the hot soup warmed me up nicely. Since it was their "signature item", I also tried the chicken dumplings (steamed). Dumplings were only ok, and the sauce it came with didn't help.

    Mongolian Beef
    Samantha V.

    The staff was great from when we checked in through out. Our only issue was we had a young server. Or maybe it was the kitchen Im not sure which. Our entrees came out before our appetizers. My husband thought our server looked young. So after every appetizer he said as an appetizer. So we had all of our food on the table at once which was not ideal. But worse things good have happened. We ordered three appetizers fried pork chop, garlic soy wings, and chicken wontons. We ordered all three because we could not decide so we went for it. The fried pork chop was nice and crispy. The soy garlic wings - big, crispy, and we could actually taste the garlic! The chicken wontons were stuffed nicely and had a nice kick to them! I did not like my shredded beef lo mein meal. It was bland. This wont stop me from coming back though. Because my husband got the Mongolian beef with white rice. That was an excellent meal‼ The beef was tender, the veggies were sautéed nicely, and it had a good spice kick! The rice helped tone down the spice. An overall good meal.

    Dumplings lab
    Loretta M.

    Wasn't impressed by my first visit. The staff was nice but one or two still needed more menu knowledge. My dumplings were just ok, would like to try again when it's just a couple of us, we had a party of six.

    Bao
    Marney R.

    I had an appointment near by and figured this was a perfect time to try Ugly Dumpling. I ordered online and did a store pick up. I was so happy with the kind staff that greeted me as I entered. I loved the way the food was packaged helped maintain freshness as I drove home. The braised beef soup was so delicious. The meat cooked to perfection and broth had a depth of flavor I have not often found in a "simple" noodle soup. The dumpling sampler was great so I was able to taste a few flavors since this was my first visit. The bao was perfect food to eat in the car to hold me over u til I got home for my meal.

    Greetings - Regarding my recent visit to the Ugly Dumpling in Hamden, Connecticut. I tried to be diplomatic about this visit, by emailing the local establishment, and trying to reach a manager today, on April 20th, by phone. I rarely go out to eat these days, because it has become expensive, but, on April 3rd, I found myself in Hamden, and I wanted to visit Ugly Dumpling as I had a take-out order a while back. On April 3rd, I sat at the bar, and enjoyed a very pleasant customer experience by the bartender / server. My receipt has been emailed to this company. Now.. I can do math. I am a salesperson, and deal with numbers and percentages all day. Upon a detailed review of my bill, I noticed that the management suggests a tip, based on the food and beverage AND state tax. Honestly, is this necessary? You'll notice that I left a generous, 20% gratuity for my pleasant and knowledgeable server. Additionally, after I processed my payment and gratuity, my final receipt shows additional tip suggestions of 2%, 3%, 5% and 7% !! What exactly is this for? Is this for real?

    Menu
    Ben S.

    My wife has a bit of a thing for soup dumplings so this place has been on her radar for a few months since she found out about it. We got there about 6:45 on a Saturday night and there was a 25 minute wait so we sat at the bar. My wife had a toasted coconut mojito which was a bit heavy on the ice given the price of the small glass but it was really good. From the appetizer menu we got the salt and pepper popcorn chicken which was decent but desperately needed a dipping sauce. Glad we had some leftover from our spring rolls and fried chicken dumplings which were both decent enough. Pork and truffle soup dumplings were very good. Beef noodle stir fry was good, but maybe not something I'd get again. Service was very slow. I get bartenders are busy making drinks for the restaurant, but we weren't even offered water and it took like 15 minutes for them to take our food order. The food came out incredibly quickly, maybe less than 5 minutes, but we had 3 of our dishes in front of us before they offered utensils or side plates. Pricing was actually surprisingly cheap (besides the drink). Overall I would come back, but would probably order a few other items from the menu, but would probably opt to a similar restaurant that's closer to our house in the future.

    Bao Lab! Love that they encourage you to watch the chefs freshly prepare the bao, dumplings, and wontons - Two chefs wearing white uniforms and hats are preparing dumplings in a commercial kitchen with reflective walls and bright lighting.
    Christelle R.

    I love finding out about new foodie recommendations on social media, and after seeing some awesome videos about this location, I had to give it a try! I'm a sucker for a beautifully plated meal, but of course, the food has to be delicious. Our family stopped into Ugly Dumpling, and I was immediately impressed by the decor, just by opening the front doors! The interior and ambience were very sleek and modern, with a little bit of an edgy vibe that I loved! The seating area had plenty of options, from seats at the bar to a traditional table top. Our server, CJ, was excellent - very helpful and insightful. I loved that our server asked if it was our first time there and made sure to point out the Bao Lab, where they encouraged us to come back to watch their cooks freshly prepare the dumplings by hand, through an observatory glass. So cool for our kiddos to take that in, since we enjoy cooking together so much. Now, onto the menu! At first glance, we just wanted to have one of everything! Given our limited time and first visit, we opted to try the Ugly Dumpling Sampler, which comes with one of each flavor: pork, chicken, pork and crab, pork and truffle, pork shrimp and spinach, and Szechuan pork. I have always wanted to try soup dumplings, so this was my very first time, and I really enjoyed the variety of flavors included in the sampler. The truffle and the Szechuan were among my favorites! Our server was helpful and guided us through some of the more popular options, and we tried quite a few more, including the Soy Garlic Wings, which were delicious and not to be missed; Salt & Pepper Popcorn Chicken; Ugly Bao Bun; Cream Cheese Rangoon; Pork Chop Fried Rice which actually comes with a pork chop on top of the fried rice; Brown Sugar Boba and a Lychee Martini--looking forward to coming back to try even more options, especially the signature green beans.

    String beans
    Nicole D.

    The service was really uplifting. Easy to get to with plenty of parking. It's very spacious so a large group can be comfortable. The vibe is so upbeat. Food was flavorful with nice portions that can be shared. I loved the soup dumplings. They didn't fall apart easily and the soup inside was the perfect temperature to enjoy. They have a full bar and some signature drinks that were refreshing. Even though it's a chain restaurant, it doesn't feel thqt way. If you overeat you have stores nearby to walk it off.

    Orange chicken
    Olivia J.

    I loved the concept of this place and really wanted to like it, but I couldn't have been more disappointed. The waiter was super nice, but our food came out at the same time (SO FAST, TOO FAST) and everything wasn't even that hot. The orange chicken was almost cold, the rice was pretty bland, and the Mongolian beef was just alright. The soup dumplings were the only thing remotely worth getting. I wouldn't return.

    Garlic green beans
    Jasmeet M.

    I sat at the bar for my first time there! The food as good, the green beans were packed with flavor as well as the soup dumplings. They give you plenty of vinegar and chili oil on the side. The service was good and the ambiance is bright and welcoming!

    Crystal Shrimp dumplings - A bamboo steamer basket contains several translucent shrimp dumplings, known as crystal or har gow, on a piece of parchment paper.
    Autumn B.

    We went 45 mins before they closed & had trouble getting a seat. When we sat down the waiter was really nice and accommodating. The food however was unfortunately not good. The cucumber salad was supper vinegary and they had gnats in the restaurant which ended up falling into the cucumber salad. As far the dumplings they had no flavor. The food unfortunately was very disappointing. The waiter was nice enough to take it off of the bill. The location is super pretty & the tables were nice. However the food quality was poor. I was really excited to try the food here, unfortunately it was not a pleasant experience.

    Melissa C.

    I visited with a large group of friends and had a great time. Our waiter was friendly and helpful. He made good recommendations and was patient with our large group of split meat/no meat eaters. I started with the lychee berry margarita which was sweet and refreshing. For food, our meat eaters side ordered the soup dumpling variety (these were good, not great, the highlight was the pork and truffle), the fried pork chop (my least favorite, this was dry, cold and chewy) and the braised beef noodle soup (tasty, but the broth was not particularly warm and the noodles weren't exactly conducive to sharing, too long!). The highlights were the spicy pork and shrimp wontons (flavorful, though not too spicy) and the sesame noodles (still too long, but delectable!). Yummy food for the price.

    braised beef noodle soup - A bowl of braised beef noodle soup with beef chunks, green leafy vegetables, and chopped green onions in a dark broth.

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    3 months ago

    Great food, good vibes, Gabby was very nice and welcoming. Noodles are really good, so are the soup dumplings!

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    1 month ago

    No real ambience...food was just o.k. and I thought expensive...good side...friendly service

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