Manhattan Chinatown · Flushing · Sunset Park
Best Dim Sum in NYC: 10 Spots We Tried (2027)
The best dim sum in NYC: the 10 most-reviewed Hong Kong-style spots, tried and rated, from Chinatown carts to Flushing banquet halls.
New Yorkers have left nearly 30,000 Google reviews on these ten dim sum spots. That is a lot of people with opinions about har gow. We ranked the ten most-reviewed Hong Kong-style dim sum restaurants in the city, one location per name, then ate at every one: what to order, how ordering works, and which lines are worth standing in.
New to the neighborhoods? Start with Manhattan vs Flushing vs Sunset Park: Which Chinatown Is for You?
Every verdict comes from a real visit. Review counts measure popularity, not quality. Prices and hours change, so confirm before you go.
Quick picks
Most reviewed Nom Wah Tea Parlor · Auntie Approved, open since 1920, Manhattan Chinatown
Best value East Harbor Seafood Palace · about $20 per person, Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Carts in Manhattan Ping’s · carts still roll, and cash gets 10% off
Happy hour Dim Sum Palace · half-price dim sum, weekdays 3 to 5 p.m., Hell’s Kitchen
Quick lunch Dim Sum Sam · counter service near Times Square, Manhattan
Vegetarian The Original Buddha Bodai · kosher vegetarian dim sum, Manhattan Chinatown
Dim sum vs dumplings vs soup dumplings vs bao
Dim sum is a meal, not one dish. It’s the Cantonese tradition of small plates with tea, usually from morning to early afternoon, and dumplings are only part of it. If someone says “let’s get dumplings,” ask which kind. It changes the whole morning.
| Type | From | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Dim sum | Guangdong and Hong Kong | Small plates with tea: har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai, buns, rice rolls, egg tarts |
| Dumplings (jiaozi) | Northern China | Wheat wrapper, usually pork and cabbage or chive, boiled, steamed or pan-fried. Sold by the dozen as a meal |
| Soup dumplings (xiaolongbao) | Shanghai and the Jiangnan region | Thin pleated wrapper around pork and hot broth. Many dim sum spots sell them, but they’re Shanghainese |
| Bao | All over China | Soft, yeasted buns, steamed or baked. Char siu bao (BBQ pork bun) is the dim sum one |
The 10 at a glance
| # | Dim sum spot | Area | Google reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nom Wah Tea Parlor | Manhattan Chinatown | about 5,400 |
| 2 | Golden Unicorn | Manhattan Chinatown | about 3,600 |
| 3 | Dim Sum Sam | Midtown | about 3,200 |
| 4 | Asian Jewels | Flushing | about 3,200 |
| 5 | Dim Sum Palace | Hell’s Kitchen | about 2,800 |
| 6 | Tim Ho Wan | East Village | about 2,500 |
| 7 | The Original Buddha Bodai | Manhattan Chinatown | about 2,400 |
| 8 | Golden Lake Pavilion | Kew Gardens Hills | about 2,300 |
| 9 | East Harbor Seafood Palace | Sunset Park | about 2,200 |
| 10 | Ping’s | Manhattan Chinatown | about 1,900 |
Google review counts as of October 2026, one location per name.
The 10 picks
01
Nom Wah Tea Parlor
AUNTIE
APPROVED
Order
“OG” egg roll · $8.50
Auntie Approved: the old-school Chinatown classic still delivers.
Open since 1920 and still running on a paper checklist. Get the egg roll, then har gow ($6.85) and the regulars’ pick, the house special roast pork bun ($5.65). The room is simple, the nostalgia is free, and dim sum runs all day. The line was still long at 8 p.m.
- Daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Cash or Amex only
- Queue on weekends and evenings
02
Golden Unicorn
WHY NOT
100?
Order
Har gow · 4 for $7.89
Why Not 100? Real carts in a gold banquet hall. The wait is real too.
Take a number downstairs, ride the elevator to the third floor, then flag down the carts. Add baked roast pork buns (3 for $7.29) and chicken feet ($7.29), soft and a little sweet. Cart dishes fall into four price tiers. Plan on $30 to $50 per person.
The catch: weekend lunch can mean an hour’s wait, and the room gets loud and chaotic. Go on a weekday.
- Opens 9 a.m. weekends, 10 a.m. weekdays
- Queue up to an hour on weekends
03
Dim Sum Sam
AUNTIE
APPROVED
Order
Shrimp dumplings · 4 for $7.75
Auntie Approved: fast, fair-priced dim sum near Times Square.
A quick lunch, not a long morning of tea. Order at the counter, then pick Portuguese egg tarts from the display case, $2.75 each or 3 for $7.50. The non-dim-sum side is just as popular, if not more: BBQ pork belly ($14.90), noodles ($14.50 across the board) and plain congee ($4.95).
No line at weekend lunch. It’s the fast-casual sibling of Dim Sum Palace (No. 5).
- Daily 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
- Counter service
04
Asian Jewels Seafood Restaurant
WHY NOT
100?
Order
Siu mai, har gow and chicken feet · $4.59 to $16.99 a plate
Why Not 100? A huge cart hall with solid classics. Quality has slipped.
A huge Flushing hall with carts and a seafood dinner menu. Dim sum comes in seven price tiers, from small at $4.59 to super at $16.99. Pick a plate and they’ll tell you the tier. The siu mai, har gow and chicken feet were good. Budget $30 to $40 per person.
The catch: quality has slipped over the years, the pork buns came out soggy, and service feels rushed. Stick to the classics.
- Carts until about 3 p.m.
- Queue on weekends
- Reservations: 718-359-8600
05
Dim Sum Palace
AUNTIE
APPROVED
Order
Shrimp dumplings · $7.95
Auntie Approved: a modern room, a real bar and half-price happy hour.
Tick boxes on a photo menu: BBQ pork buns (3 for $7.50), chicken siu mai (4 for $7.95) and scallion pancakes ($8.95). The move is weekday happy hour, 3 to 5 p.m., when selected dim sum is half price.
This is the busiest branch of a Manhattan mini-chain with 7,500+ reviews between its spots.
- Daily 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
- Happy hour weekdays 3 to 5 p.m.
06
Tim Ho Wan
WHY NOT
100?
Order
Baked BBQ pork buns · 3 for $9.15
Why Not 100? Great baked pork buns. Not the rest of the hype.
The Hong Kong original became famous as one of the world’s most affordable Michelin-starred restaurants. Here you tick a paper slip with no photos, sorted by baked, steamed and fried. Add sticky rice in lotus leaf with chicken and pork ($9.75).
The catch: the fame. Next to it, the rest of the food and the service were average, even on a quiet weekend lunch. Come for the buns, not the hype.
- Closes around 8 p.m.
- No reservations
07
The Original Buddha Bodai
AUNTIE
APPROVED
Order
Vegetarian shrimp dumplings · 4 for $6.95
Auntie Approved: kosher vegetarian dim sum that does the job.
Kosher vegetarian Cantonese, open since 2004. Add BBQ vegetarian buns (3 for $7.95), siu mai ($6.95) and turnip cake ($5.25). For a vegetarian dim sum lunch, it does the job. Just don’t expect it to taste exactly like meat. BYOB.
- Dim sum daily until 4 p.m.
- Cash discount
08
Golden Lake Pavilion
WHY NOT
100?
Order
Anything off the carts · $4.50 to $11.50
Why Not 100? Bargain carts. Uneven when it gets busy.
The prices are the draw: dim sum runs $4.50 to $11.50, with weekday discounts, and a crowd of older regulars keeps the tables full. Carts still do the rounds.
The catch: the weekday selection is thin, weekends mean a 30- to 45-minute wait, and the food and service both slip once the room fills up. It’s out by the Long Island Expressway, so go for the bargain, not the trip.
- Dim sum until 3 p.m.
- Queue on weekends
09
East Harbor Seafood Palace
AUNTIE
APPROVED
Order
Har gow and siu mai · about $20 per person
Auntie Approved: the classics, done right, for about $20 a head.
Come for the classics: har gow, siu mai, spare ribs and chicken feet. Dishes run $4.25 to $13.95, and about $20 per person is hard to top. Weekends mean a 30- to 60-minute wait, so go early. Cards are fine, but cash gets a discount.
- Dim sum until about 2:30 p.m.
- Queue on weekends
- Cash discount
10
Ping’s
AUNTIE
APPROVED
Order
Crab and seafood dumplings · 4 for $10.95
Auntie Approved: carts in Manhattan and a house dumpling worth the trip.
One of the few places in Manhattan where carts still go around. Start with shrimp dumplings (4 for $7.95) and steamed roast pork buns (3 for $7.95). Then get the house pride: the crab and seafood dumplings, richer and more intense than the shrimp ones.
- Dim sum until 3 p.m.
- 10% off for cash
Just missing the list:
- Dim Sum Go Go · Manhattan Chinatown · 5 E Broadway · about 1,800 reviews
- DAO Dim Sum · Murray Hill · 177 Madison Ave · about 1,700 reviews
Before you go
- Dim sum ends early at the banquet halls: around 2:30 p.m. at East Harbor, 3 p.m. at Ping’s, Asian Jewels and Golden Lake, 4 p.m. at Buddha Bodai. Nom Wah, Dim Sum Sam and Dim Sum Palace serve it all day.
- Carts: Golden Unicorn, Ping’s, Asian Jewels, East Harbor and Golden Lake. Everywhere else you order from a checklist, a photo menu or a counter.
- Weekend waits: up to an hour at Golden Unicorn and East Harbor, 30 to 45 minutes at Golden Lake. Go early or on a weekday.
- Pay cash, pay less: Ping’s takes 10% off for cash. East Harbor and Buddha Bodai also discount cash. Nom Wah is cash or Amex only.
- Vegetarian: Buddha Bodai is fully vegetarian. Elsewhere, ask whether fillings and sauces contain pork, shrimp, oyster sauce or other animal ingredients.
- Allergies: we couldn’t confirm any of these kitchens as free of peanuts, shellfish or other allergens. Ask about ingredients and shared equipment.
Go early, go hungry, and bring someone who won’t fight you for the last siu mai. Still hungry after? Walk it off on our Manhattan Chinatown Food Crawl, or keep going with the 10 most popular Chinese noodle shops in NYC.
What did we miss? Tell us the dim sum spot you’d add, and what you want us to taste and rate next. Message us on Instagram at @chinatownsnyc.