Din Tai Fung — Restaurant in Glendale

First time trying out this location for brunch: I have to say that it was worth the drive! :)

Staff were super friendly at all times! From the time they greeted us upon arriving and throughout our meal, we were always greeted with genuine smiles and never rushed to hurry up and eat and even though everyone knew this place always gets long lines and wait if you just come up without planning ahead. Since we had a reservation for brunch (booked 2 weeks in advance) we were seated right away and our whole party was there on time.

The restaurant has two sides (larger dining room which is more crowded and loud but you get a cool view of the tree decor indoors) and the smaller side (which is more cozy and not as loud). There’s also an outdoor patio but that was closed off when we went so nobody sat outside probably because of the weather. I really appreciated that all the staff AND cooks/preparers (which you can see through the windows outside of the restaurant) were all wearing masks!! Thank you for keeping us safe :)

Food was absolutely delicious and presentation is on point— this is why quality is important at this place.

• FOOD * Ordered the following and loved it all: appetizer: Sweet & Sour Pork Baby Back Ribs Chicken Fried Rice - chicken was smooth and delicious; rice not overly salty Sesame Noodles - slightly spicy but delicious with peanuts crushed on top Spicy Wontons: slight kick but not too spicy- yummy Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao: delicious Kimchi & Kurobuta Pork Dumplings: delicious String beans: soooo glad they’re not crazy oily like the usual Chinatown places - they’re crunchy and good! Dessert: Chocolate & Mochi Xiao Long Bao - too chocolatey for my liking so next time I’ll definitely try the other one our server recommended (sesame) Drinks: Sea salt cream green tea - loved it

• FYI - Temperature in the restaurant can be pretty chilly and food can get cold really fast so eat quick!

Restrooms: clean and well maintained— and water for the hand wash is WARM which during winter time it is MUCH appreciated

Parking: if you’re going to shop around, free parking is best found at the G2 Galleria parking garage and just walk across the street - it is free and no tickets are needed and no validation...

Came with my girlfriend on Tuesday, 09/23/2025, we reserved online 2 weeks in advance for 5:15pm, checked in and waited no longer than 2 minutes to be seated. As soon as we were seated, our menu was brought out as well as our cups of water. We gave our server our order and the appetizers were out IMMEDIATELY, no more than a 5 minute wait. I recommend the Cucumber Salad and Baby Back Pork Ribs. The Xiao Long Bao came with 10 dumplings, was extremely flavorful, and the flavor was heightened with the "do-it-yourself" sauce which they give instructions on how to make. We also had the Shrimp Dumplings, which also came with 10, & the Spicy Wontons, which were both their own distinct flavor. The Spicy Wontons were not spicy at all, maybe a little kick, but not enough to want to chug water down to cool your mouth. The boba and matcha are both very tasty & sweet, I would recommend it to anyone who likes matcha. For dessert we ordered the Chocolate Mochi Xiao Long Bao, which was the highlight of the evening. From the moment the dumpling pops in your mouth, you feel the immense taste of the rich chocolate flowing around your mouth. The only way I can explain the richness of the chocolate is that I felt as if it stained my teeth (in a good way). The bill was just shy of $120, which is fair since most of the entrees are sharable ones.

If you're planning on going, I highly recommend setting a reservation in advance, as I have seen the line for a table get extremely long on the weekends when I pass by to The Americana. Plan to spend around $60 - $80 per person for a satisfactory meal and drinks. We spent approximately 60 minutes there, from the moment we checked in, to the moment we walked out. There wasn't a dress code, we saw people in jeans and t-shirts. They do give chopsticks, so I had to learn on the fly how to use them, but I'm sure if you ask, they'd give you a fork. The restaurant is located on the S Central Ave side of the Galleria, next to the crosswalk from the Galleria to The Americana. I recommend parking by the JCPenney on the Columbus Ave side, then walking through the Galleria to Din Tai Fung.

Overall, I would definitely come back again, the experience alone was worth it. Take a friend or significant other for the...

Please read it all: DTF experience in Caruso Branch - Nov 10, 2022 *Food quality to my liking - 5 stars *Staff friendliness and courteous- 5 stars *Cleanliness - 1 star or even 0. Using the same rag cleaning each table without any disinfectant solution especially Covid times *Waiting - 1 star *Food service - 1 star *To go food - 0 star My side of story: -Had reservation 11:30am, on the way mom forgot insulin, had to go back, will be late, called no answer. Arrive 12:15pm In short missed reservation time. First staff, said will put us on PRIORITY waiting list, check your text. After 15 mins, I said still no text. 2nd staff we have to re-add you so u can receive text, in short got pushed back and said 30-1 hr wait. Asked again after 15-20 mins for 2-3 times said same thing but at 1:15pm a kind staff said there are 22 parties ahead of you after asking. staff were patient and courteous at 4 out of 5 times -@1:52pm got text: finally wait to be seated is over. But got seated not until 2:15pm -Another 10-15 mins wait for the waiter to come -Advised waiter that our dine in order will be on one sheet and another sheet for to go so as not to be confusing ordered dine in: 2 XLB/2 Braised beef Noodle / 2 Taro/ 1 shrimp rice/1 beef at 2:30pm XLB arrive but only 1 instead of 2. After 15 mins braised noodle soup arrive only 1 instead of 2 and so on and so forth. It was a mess as after waiting to be sitted for almost 2 hours, you would experience this one dish at every 15 min interval. To go Food: asked waitress is all in there, repeated our to go 2x. Said yes, I've checked it. I specially ordered 1 braised beef noodle to go in addition to others, opened it and instead of BEEF SOUP it wad CLEAR BROTH! -Disappointing, paid $354 including almost $60 tip. People are willing to wait, like me for almost 2 hours, it says something that your food is definitely to my liking but the least thing you could do is to make everything else right with the food. *Been going to Santa Monica branch and Nov 5, 2022 in Arcadia branch for the first time, passing by as walk in, so far in terms having reservation, walk in or just to go, didn't have bad experience and didn't give false...