Dumpling Time

M S MS

Dumpling Place is a must-visit! The attentive staff, particularly Alberto and his brother Daniel, made our experience even better. The seaweed dishes, bao siomai, and other options were all delicious. Prices during happy hour are a great treat. Sitting on the outside patio, watching people stroll through beautiful Santana Row Square, adds to the ambiance. Quality food and a lovely atmosphere make this spot a standout. Highly recommend!"

Taro Doboba

The xiao long bao at this place is what I'd call the absolute best of the best! I particularly love the tomyum flavor, it’s my number one favorite, hands down. The cafe also has an outdoor seating area that is quite romantic, I think it’s perfect for a date night or a casual meal with friends. The staff here is very friendly, I bought a cake and asked for a candle to celebrate my friend's birthday, and they were incredibly supportive and helpful. They also offer free water with refills, which is a nice bonus. Will definitely be back!

Rafael DeAusen

I always enjoy sitting at the bar here. Seated immediately and often Octavio is there guiding me on the new stuff on the menu. Fast service. Delicious food. Cold beer and drinks. Fair pricing esp considering it's right on Santana Row. Don't sleep on this spot!

jasen west

So friend of mine took me to this place to have lunch. It was my the first time coming to this restaurant, and I have to say that I enjoyed it. The xaolongbao was delicious and the ribs reminded me of old school, chinese barbecue pork. it's like a very similar seasoning on the rib. The food came out pretty quickly.Although the ribs did take a little while. Cost wise.It is a little more expensive.Then some of the other good dumpling places that i've been to. The service was quick and attentive, and the food was delicious. It is definitely better if you're not in a rush.

Kathryn DePietro

My favorite place to come in San Jose! The dumplings are always fresh and delicious and we always have quick and kind service. Will keep coming back! ♥️

Love Dumpling Time in Santana Row, but it was Jaylen's and the rest of the servers' phenomenal service that really stood out. He was friendly, attentive, quick, and overall provided excellent service. The rest of the servers were great too, but Jayden was our server so he's the star of this review here. Dumpling Time was smart to have hired him. We will definitely come back, for the delicious food, the amazing atmosphere, and for the service we received here today.

Chris Dang

My wife Rae and I love Dumpling Time — it’s our favorite spot for Saturday lunch. The food never disappoints, and Cedrick always goes above and beyond to take care of us. Amazing service, great vibes, and a place we’ll keep coming back to.

Dumpling Time is in the middle of the bustling Santana Row, so when it’s nice out, highly recommend sitting at one of their outside tables (which also have heaters for when it gets a little chillier). The wait staff are super friendly and very accommodating. Just note, when it gets busy, things can get a little slower so bring your patience and note that your items will come out as they’re ready. For the food, definitely try all the dumplings (duh). Our favorites were the veggie spring rolls (nice and crispy with a sweet and sour dipping sauce), chicken gyoza (amazingly full and flavorful), pork soup dumplings (a little vinegar goes a long way), and BBQ pork bao (ask for them seared too, trust me). Of course you’ll want some noodles and a side - look no further than the wok-fried green beans (FANTASTIC), but I would say try something other than the Beijing noodles. Once we added the chili crisp to the bowl, it was perfect, but otherwise it needed a flavor boost. Great meal all around. Excited to go back to try even more of the various dumplings.

We were shopping on Santana row and wanted something to eat that a pescatarian and meat eater could both like which we did!!! Great customer service and I appreciated that the waiter saw the error right before placing my order of rice with no egg. He immediately apologized and had the kitchen to remake. The food was good and quick

We came in Saturday afternoon and it was by no means busy. Walked right in and got sat. The bad: service is just okay, we stood around for a few minutes before finally being sat by the bartender as he yelled across the restaurant at us, our water sat empty, and for whatever reason one of the staff (older Hispanic man) thinks it’s okay to move sauce from a plate you’re eating off of. That was a bit ridiculous to me. The pork soup dumpling didn’t have much flavor and I wouldn’t order it again. Now for the good, the rest of the food we ordered was delicious, and had a lot of flavor. The Beijing noodles were cooked well and the flavor was quite good. The garlic string beans was cooked well and had a nice crunch. The cucumber salad had a great sauce it was soaked in and a little kick on the end. The chicken gyoza was tender and fresh, the veggie spring roll was crunchy as could be and both Sauces were delicious as well. The crispy tofu was a delight. The outside had a nice crunch and the inside was soft as a cloud. Will be trying other locations but would come back no questions asked.

Natalie Caldwell

Dumpling Time is in the middle of the bustling Santana Row, so when it’s nice out, highly recommend sitting at one of their outside tables (which also have heaters for when it gets a little chillier). The wait staff are super friendly and very accommodating. Just note, when it gets busy, things can get a little slower so bring your patience and note that your items will come out as they’re ready. For the food, definitely try all the dumplings (duh). Our favorites were the veggie spring rolls (nice and crispy with a sweet and sour dipping sauce), chicken gyoza (amazingly full and flavorful), pork soup dumplings (a little vinegar goes a long way), and BBQ pork bao (ask for them seared too, trust me). Of course you’ll want some noodles and a side - look no further than the wok-fried green beans (FANTASTIC), but I would say try something other than the Beijing noodles. Once we added the chili crisp to the bowl, it was perfect, but otherwise it needed a flavor boost. Great meal all around. Excited to go back to try even more of the various dumplings.

D F

We were shopping on Santana row and wanted something to eat that a pescatarian and meat eater could both like which we did!!! Great customer service and I appreciated that the waiter saw the error right before placing my order of rice with no egg. He immediately apologized and had the kitchen to remake. The food was good and quick

Obie Tric

We came in Saturday afternoon and it was by no means busy. Walked right in and got sat. The bad: service is just okay, we stood around for a few minutes before finally being sat by the bartender as he yelled across the restaurant at us, our water sat empty, and for whatever reason one of the staff (older Hispanic man) thinks it’s okay to move sauce from a plate you’re eating off of. That was a bit ridiculous to me. The pork soup dumpling didn’t have much flavor and I wouldn’t order it again. Now for the good, the rest of the food we ordered was delicious, and had a lot of flavor. The Beijing noodles were cooked well and the flavor was quite good. The garlic string beans was cooked well and had a nice crunch. The cucumber salad had a great sauce it was soaked in and a little kick on the end. The chicken gyoza was tender and fresh, the veggie spring roll was crunchy as could be and both Sauces were delicious as well. The crispy tofu was a delight. The outside had a nice crunch and the inside was soft as a cloud. Will be trying other locations but would come back no questions asked.

Vincent Tang

Food comes out quick, some dishes were bland, others were juicy and flavorful. I'd order the "Shrimp Toast" and "Shrimp and Pork Siu Mai" again. Had dinner for 10 on a Saturday afternoon. No paper menus, so you'll need to reference the website. Some dishes were hits like "Shrimp Toast" and "Shrimp and Pork Siu Mai" others like "Beijing Noodles" and "South East Fried Rice Noodles" missed the mark for me and were either bland or not rich. If you do make an order I'd recommend 2 dishes max per person. 1 noodle order is enough for 2 people, but I don't recommend the noodle dishes here. I'd only come back with a group, not regularly.

Anushka Mankunath

Great dim sum options! We walked in as a party of 5 and were seated right away. We shared the pork gyoza, fried rice, cucumber salad, and crispy veggie spring rolls. Everything was good, the fried rice and gyoza being my favorite. Conveniently located in Santana row as well.

Food: the cucumber tasted great! Kind of funny that their appetizer tasted way better than the dumplings but I’d like to recommend other dishes than the xiao long bao. The siumai and spicy dumplings are good but the xiao long bao is just so so. Service: average. Ambiance: cozy and private.

We initially plan to have dinner here, but one of our friends is vegetarian, and they don’t have a lot of vegetarian dishes. So we ended up having just the broccoli and spring roll and had dinner elsewhere. The broccoli was nicely quoted in garlic and was still crispy. The spring roll was fresh and crunchy, but the filling were just okay. The service seemed a little cold and rushed. The restaurant itself is pretty large, but it was largely empty Friday night. We chose to sit outside as it was nice and cool.

I had the wagyu beef gyoza, veggie dumplings and the crab dumplings. I liked the veggie and wagyu ones. But they’re mid. Oh edamame was nice and spicy. The staff was super nice. We took a lot of time to eat, they let us chill and eat patiently even though they closed and were cleaning up.

Overall 3 stars. We came for happy hour which made the pricing much more reasonable. The har gao was good, the salads (wood ear and seaweed) were both spicy. I know the trend is to put a kick to everything but I didn't think it was needed. The shrimp toast definitely wasn't worth it, $10 for happy hour pricing which is basically a fried Chinese donut with a few patties of shrimp along the length. It's unique but would recommend going elsewhere and spending that much on or more Cheung fun, the rice noodle rolls with shrimp. Definitely paying for the ambiance of Santana Row!

Suman Hazra

We initially plan to have dinner here, but one of our friends is vegetarian, and they don’t have a lot of vegetarian dishes. So we ended up having just the broccoli and spring roll and had dinner elsewhere. The broccoli was nicely quoted in garlic and was still crispy. The spring roll was fresh and crunchy, but the filling were just okay. The service seemed a little cold and rushed. The restaurant itself is pretty large, but it was largely empty Friday night. We chose to sit outside as it was nice and cool.

Sushmitha Belede

I had the wagyu beef gyoza, veggie dumplings and the crab dumplings. I liked the veggie and wagyu ones. But they’re mid. Oh edamame was nice and spicy. The staff was super nice. We took a lot of time to eat, they let us chill and eat patiently even though they closed and were cleaning up.

Jonathan Wong

Overall 3 stars. We came for happy hour which made the pricing much more reasonable. The har gao was good, the salads (wood ear and seaweed) were both spicy. I know the trend is to put a kick to everything but I didn't think it was needed. The shrimp toast definitely wasn't worth it, $10 for happy hour pricing which is basically a fried Chinese donut with a few patties of shrimp along the length. It's unique but would recommend going elsewhere and spending that much on or more Cheung fun, the rice noodle rolls with shrimp. Definitely paying for the ambiance of Santana Row!

This was one of the biggest restaurant rip-offs I have experienced in recent times. I am vegetarian but don't eat eggs. There's literally no dumpling option that is vegetarian and doesn't have scrambled eggs inside. Even the soup had shredded eggs. So I ended up ordering the scallion noodles and the fried rice for just one person. I assumed I'll get two full portions for the price of two main dishes, but take a look at the noodles in the bowl. I could count them on two hands. There was nothing in there except heaps of oil even though I had ordered it with less oil. The fried rice was also bland and boring with just some hard green peas + corn. Including tip, a 6% living wages surcharge and taxes, the bill came out to almost $40 for this absolutely less than desirable food. Go eat somewhere else.

No vinegar🚩 Chili pork dumpling tasted so bad. Chicken Bao was awful and did not taste correct at all. The popcorn chicken was alright. Would not recommend.

Yeaaa... I don't normally give out 2's but frankly the food here is way over-fancified. My friends and I were craving a lil bit of dim sum along santana row so we stopped by. We ordered and the food came shortly. The jellyfish salad, while it tasted authentic should not have been $10. Absolutely not. Not at that portion size. The lamb dumplings had the best presentation (almost looked like a michelin star dish) and probably tasted the best out of all the dishes. They were gamey and brimming w/ filling. Very tasty. The xiao long baos were a big no-no. The dumpling wrapper was thin yes, but the dumplings didn't come out steaming hot and there was barely any soup inside each dumpling. The trio of buns was also an epic fail. The buns were dry and there was barely any filling inside each one. This item felt like the biggest ripoff at all. I don't even know why this was able to go out the kitchen tbh. It looked interesting to us because of how pretty it was on the menu. But the quality was below par. If I'm ever back in Santana Row I'm gonna have to hard pass on this place.

deez nuts

No vinegar🚩 Chili pork dumpling tasted so bad. Chicken Bao was awful and did not taste correct at all. The popcorn chicken was alright. Would not recommend.

Jason Mak

Yeaaa... I don't normally give out 2's but frankly the food here is way over-fancified. My friends and I were craving a lil bit of dim sum along santana row so we stopped by. We ordered and the food came shortly. The jellyfish salad, while it tasted authentic should not have been $10. Absolutely not. Not at that portion size. The lamb dumplings had the best presentation (almost looked like a michelin star dish) and probably tasted the best out of all the dishes. They were gamey and brimming w/ filling. Very tasty. The xiao long baos were a big no-no. The dumpling wrapper was thin yes, but the dumplings didn't come out steaming hot and there was barely any soup inside each dumpling. The trio of buns was also an epic fail. The buns were dry and there was barely any filling inside each one. This item felt like the biggest ripoff at all. I don't even know why this was able to go out the kitchen tbh. It looked interesting to us because of how pretty it was on the menu. But the quality was below par. If I'm ever back in Santana Row I'm gonna have to hard pass on this place.

AVOID. Expensive mediocre food. And JUNK FEE (6% living wage fee) added to bill. This place has gone down hill. Maybe there was a change in ownership, but the food has changed. It's gotten worse and lower quality since when it first opened. No wonder the place is half empty at 7pm on a weekend. I gave it another chance because I was craving dim sum but man did I regret coming here. For the high cost, you're getting very average tasting food. I got the pho XLB, and just look at the sad presentation in my photo. Bean sprouts just thrown in there. Looks bad, and not easy to eat with. Not a well thought out presentation. Barely tasted like pho. Quality tasted like the frozen XLB at costco with a hint of pho flavor. My Partner was bold and tried their experimental "almond, mozzarella, shrimp ball". Really?? Almonds? Yes, it tasted as bad as it sounds. The nuts overpowered the shrimp. Texture is weird. It's just not a good combo. All in all the food quality feels tastes cheap & lackluster for $$$ high prices - not worth it. But the WORST thing that brought this down to 1 Star is the added JUNK FEE on the bill. "6% living wage fee"!! Restaurants need to STOP doing this. The high cost of the food should already factor in living wages. Raise menu prices if needed, but do NOT surprise customers with stupid junk fees. Junk fees should be illegal in restaurants. How dare you guys. These fees aren't even counted towards server's tips at the end. Many customers will adjust their tipping to accommodate that fee. Leaving servers with less tips. Very bad practice. The service was abysmal btw. No one came to check on us or bring us the check. The menu was dirty with food particles. Bad experience. Will never come again. I hope this place shuts down so that a better restaurant will take its' place.

Whereabouts Unknown

AVOID. Expensive mediocre food. And JUNK FEE (6% living wage fee) added to bill. This place has gone down hill. Maybe there was a change in ownership, but the food has changed. It's gotten worse and lower quality since when it first opened. No wonder the place is half empty at 7pm on a weekend. I gave it another chance because I was craving dim sum but man did I regret coming here. For the high cost, you're getting very average tasting food. I got the pho XLB, and just look at the sad presentation in my photo. Bean sprouts just thrown in there. Looks bad, and not easy to eat with. Not a well thought out presentation. Barely tasted like pho. Quality tasted like the frozen XLB at costco with a hint of pho flavor. My Partner was bold and tried their experimental "almond, mozzarella, shrimp ball". Really?? Almonds? Yes, it tasted as bad as it sounds. The nuts overpowered the shrimp. Texture is weird. It's just not a good combo. All in all the food quality feels tastes cheap & lackluster for $$$ high prices - not worth it. But the WORST thing that brought this down to 1 Star is the added JUNK FEE on the bill. "6% living wage fee"!! Restaurants need to STOP doing this. The high cost of the food should already factor in living wages. Raise menu prices if needed, but do NOT surprise customers with stupid junk fees. Junk fees should be illegal in restaurants. How dare you guys. These fees aren't even counted towards server's tips at the end. Many customers will adjust their tipping to accommodate that fee. Leaving servers with less tips. Very bad practice. The service was abysmal btw. No one came to check on us or bring us the check. The menu was dirty with food particles. Bad experience. Will never come again. I hope this place shuts down so that a better restaurant will take its' place.

Priya Nagda Omron

I dined here for the first time in over a year and was disappointed by both the service and the food. I learned that the restaurant has experienced significant chef turnover over the past few years, which seems to have led to frequent menu changes. Unfortunately, the curried noodles and tofu squares—two dishes my friend and I specifically came for—are no longer offered, and the staff was unable to accommodate our request. Our server also struggled with communication and went back and forth with me when I raised a few questions about pricing and mentioned how long it had been since I’d last had the dish. Overall, the experience fell short of expectations. If you’re on Santana Row and looking for great food and solid service, I’d recommend Pizza Antica or the Japanese restaurant below Hotel Valencia (I believe it’s called Ozumo). For a more upscale option, Joeys or Mastro’s are absolutely 🔥