Best Dim Sum in Manhattan
The 10 best dim sum spots in Manhattan right now, cart service, har gow, soup dumplings, late-brunch Cantonese. Picked by locals, sourced from Eater, Time Out, Infatuation.
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- 1Chinatown · $$ · Canal St (6 J N Q R W Z) · 13 Doyers St
Also No. 1 on Best of Chinatown → · No. 3 on Best Cheap Eats in Manhattan →
Map ↗verified 10w agoA Doyers Street tea parlor open since 1920, Manhattan's oldest continuously running dim sum house, tin-ceiling room, red-vinyl booths, menu-order rather than carts.
Because the original room is still standing and the dumplings are made to order rather than wheeled in lukewarm, the wrappers come out translucent and the shrimp filling tastes like it was crimped that morning.
Order OG egg roll, har gow, pan-fried turnip cake, and a pot of jasmine.
Walk Doyers from the Bowery side and look for the sharp bend in the street, Nom Wah is on the curve and a half-block north of Pell, easy to miss after dark.
Photo: Bagelpigeon, CC0 1.0 Photo: Bagelpigeon, CC0 1.0 - 2Lower East Side · $$ · Canal St (6 J N Q R W Z) · 202 Centre StMap ↗verified 10w ago
A Lower East Side banquet hall on Centre Street that still pushes the genuine rolling-cart Hong Kong dim sum experience on weekends, one of the last few in Manhattan.
Because Jing Fong is the room you bring out-of-town family to when you want them to understand what cart service actually feels like, the steam, the calling, the choosing-by-pointing, and the basket prices have stayed reasonable.
Order Shrimp har gow, pork siu mai, sticky rice in lotus leaf, egg tarts.
Go before 11 a.m. on a Saturday, by noon the carts have circulated twice and the most popular baskets (har gow, siu mai) need to be reordered from the kitchen.
@jingfongny ↗Jing Fong
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- 3East Village · $$ · Astor Pl (6) · 85 4th AveMap ↗verified 10w ago
The East Village outpost of the famously-Michelin-starred Hong Kong dim sum chain, known globally for its baked-bun-glazed BBQ pork puff with a sugar-crackle top.
Because the BBQ pork bun here is the single most-photographed dim sum item in Manhattan for good reason: the sweet pastry crust and the savory pork inside hit a balance that no Chinatown bakery has matched.
Order Baked BBQ pork buns, shrimp dumplings, beef rice rolls.
Order the pork buns first thing, the kitchen times them in batches and arriving five minutes after a fresh round drops means yours come out warm rather than reheated.
@timhowanusa ↗Tim Ho Wan
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- 4Chinatown · $$ · Chambers St (4 5 6 J Z) · 5 East BroadwayMap ↗verified 10w ago
A small East Broadway counter with a deliberately compact menu, about thirty dim sum items, made to order, no carts, modern dining-room feel rather than banquet hall.
Because the kitchen at Dim Sum Go Go does the rare thing of taking dim sum seriously as a la carte cooking rather than steam-cart inventory, and the duck dumplings are arguably the best in Chinatown.
Order Roast duck dumplings, snow-pea-leaf dumplings, taro pastry.
Sit at the counter if you want to watch the dumpling team crimping, they bench-make in front of the dining room and the timing of when to order is obvious.
Photo: mojoaxel, CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: mojoaxel, CC BY-SA 2.0 - 5Chinatown · $$ · Canal St (6 J N Q R W Z) · 46 Bowery
Also No. 1 on Best Dumplings in Manhattan → · No. 2 on Best of Chinatown →
Map ↗verified 10w agoThe Bowery branch of the famed Shanghai-style soup-dumpling spot, xiaolongbao before xiaolongbao was a cross-borough food trend.
Because Joe's essentially introduced Manhattan to the modern soup dumpling and the crab-and-pork XLB skin has stayed consistent across thirty years of imitators opening up around them.
Order Crab and pork xiaolongbao, scallion pancake, cold sesame noodles.
Eat the soup dumplings within sixty seconds of the basket arriving, by minute three the broth has cooled and the wrapper turns gummy against the spoon.
Photo: Alexis Lamster (amlamster), CC BY 2.0 Photo: Alexis Lamster (amlamster), CC BY 2.0 - 6Midtown East · $$ · 59 St (4 5 6 N R W) · 731 Lexington AveMap ↗verified 10w ago
Glossy Hong Kong-import dim sum in an Art Deco room at the base of the Bloomberg tower.
Because the wagyu siu mai and squid-ink lobster dumplings prove glamour dim sum can still taste like dim sum.
Order The dim sum platter, four dumplings, zero filler.
Book the dim sum lunch; dinner pricing is a different sport.
@hutongnyc ↗Hutong
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- 7Upper West Side · $$$ · 79 St (1) · 2170 Broadway
Joe Ng and Ed Schoenfeld's Upper West Side modern Chinese room, dim sum done as a chef-driven tasting parade with a famously playful, ingredient-forward sensibility.
Because RedFarm's Pac-Man-shaped shrimp dumplings and crab and eggplant bao prove dim sum can be inventive without losing the original technique, and the sourcing is genuinely seasonal in a category that rarely is.
Order Pac-Man shrimp dumplings, pastrami egg roll, crab and eggplant bao.
Get there at 5 p.m. when doors open if you want a walk-in table, the Upper West reservations book is gone within forty minutes of release at 10 a.m.
@redfarm ↗RedFarm
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- 8Chinatown · $$ · Canal St (6 J N Q R W Z) · 28 Pell StMap ↗verified 10w ago
A big, loud Hong Kong-style dim sum palace on Pell Street where the carts still roll.
Because real trolley service is nearly extinct in Manhattan, and here the siu mai never sit long enough to suffer.
Order Siu mai straight off the cart, plus a durian puff for the road.
Put your name in, then walk Pell Street, weekend waits run an hour.
Photo: Roy Katzenberg, CC BY 2.0 Photo: Roy Katzenberg, CC BY 2.0 - 9Hell's Kitchen · $$ · 42 St-Port Authority Bus Terminal (1 2 3 7 A C E N Q R S W) · 334 W 46th StMap ↗verified 10w ago
The Theater District's made-to-order dim sum machine, steaming until 1:30 a.m.
Because every basket comes out of the steamer when you order it, not off a lukewarm cart, and it is still going after the curtain falls.
Order Soup dumplings and the shrimp-and-chive crystal dumplings.
Hit the weekday 3-5 p.m. half-off dim sum window.
- 10Chinatown · $$ · Canal St (6 J N Q R W Z) · 64 Bayard St
Also No. 5 on Best of Chinatown →
Map ↗verified 10w agoThe 1968 Bayard Street bakery counter behind Chinatown's definitive baked pork bun.
Because no sit-down parlor in Manhattan touches the pineapple pork bun, still warm and still under three bucks.
Order Pineapple pork bun, eaten on the sidewalk while it's hot.
Go before noon; the baked buns sell out.
Photo: Jason Lam, CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: Jason Lam, CC BY-SA 2.0
Good to know
- What is the best dim sum restaurant in Manhattan?
- Our current #1 reflects a blend of editorial sourcing from Eater, The Infatuation, and Time Out, plus live community votes. It changes as votes come in — the rank you see today may not be the rank tomorrow.
- Where is the oldest dim sum spot in Manhattan?
- Nom Wah Tea Parlor on Doyers Street opened in 1920 and is widely considered Manhattan's oldest continuously operating dim sum house. The original tin-ceiling room is still in use.
- Is dim sum still served from carts in Manhattan?
- Yes — Jing Fong on the Lower East Side and a small handful of weekend rooms still push the rolling carts. Most modern Chinatown rooms now do menu-order dim sum, which arrives faster and hotter but loses the pageant.
- What time should I show up for dim sum in Manhattan?
- Saturday and Sunday between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. is peak. Show up at 10 a.m. sharp to skip the worst of the Chinatown weekend wait, or go on a Tuesday at 1 p.m. to walk straight in.
- How much does dim sum cost in Manhattan?
- Per-basket pricing runs $5 to $9 at most Chinatown rooms; specialty items (XO turnip cake, har gow with truffle) climb to $12. A two-person table with tea typically lands at $40 to $65 before tip.