Dumpling Empire
Dumpling Empire, located at 216 Cypress Ave, South San Francisco, CA 94080, offers an authentic and memorable dining experience that celebrates the art of dumplings. Known for its no-frills approach, this unassuming eatery has built a reputation for delivering delicious and fresh dumplings, reminiscent of the traditional flavors found in Chinese culinary heritage.
What sets Dumpling Empire apart is its commitment to freshness. The dumplings are made right before your eyes, with skilled hands in a small side room. This transparency in food preparation adds to the charm of the restaurant, giving diners a sense of connection to the cooking process. The dumplings themselves are packed with flavor, prepared with the utmost care, and served with a sense of nostalgia-like grandma’s cooking.
Despite its small space, Dumpling Empire has a loyal following. The intimate setting can become quite busy, but it’s a part of the charm. This is not the place for a romantic first date, but for those who appreciate simple, high-quality food, it is perfect. The welcoming atmosphere, highlighted by the warm and friendly staff, makes it feel like home.
The restaurant may be modest in its presentation, often serving food on to-go plates, yet the focus is firmly placed on taste. Whether you're a long-time fan of Chinese cuisine or someone new to the flavors, Dumpling Empire will impress with its down-to-earth, authentic offerings. It’s clear that the love and passion that go into each dish make this a standout destination for dumpling lovers in South San Francisco.
Dumpling Empire Reviews
I love this dumpling place. It is straight up, no frills just great dumplings. They are fresh, so fresh that you'll see the little lady sitting in the side room making them. Small space and can get busy.
This place is total hole in the wall but so amazing!! The ladies that make the dumplings are very sweet. Very much feels like grandmas cooking. They serve their food on Togo plates but still very good
Another Dumpling ____ contender always has me intrigued! It had all the options that all the places have, like sheng jian bao, different pancakes, noodles/noodle soups, wings, of course a huge list of dumplings. We tried (this is based on takeout!): - sheng jian bao - actually made me so sad because they had no soup in them :( - spicy pork and shrimp wontons - pretty good - cucumber salad - crisp and garlicky! - zhajiang mian - looked SUPER promising and the sauce was heavily loaded, but the flavor was just too mild/watery for me - chive pancakes (in actuality chive pockets) - again lacking flavor I was a bit let down but I would go back to try again for dine-in if I'm back in the area!
This restaurant has a very homey feel to it. Ordered pork and chinese spinach dumplings, shrimp and chives dumplings, and a green onion pancake. Each order of dumplings came with 12 dumplings and were a good size. Green onion pancake was pretty standard, shrimp and chives dumplings were good, but I thought the pork and chinese spinach dumplings were lacking flavor. I think the two dumplings we got could've used more salt/seasoning, so I ended up using a bunch of soy sauce. Parking wasn't bad imo, if you park a few blocks away in the residential area (instead of busy Grand Ave) and walk. All metered parking, but free after 6pm.
I have been eating Chinese food in SF since 1982. This place is very, very good. Reminds me of 8 Immortals on Taraval street, way back. Anyway. Great food. Not a place to bring your first date. But your wife will understand. Definitely coming back.