Ugly Dumpling — Restaurant in Hamden

We have been waiting for a good chinese restaurant in the Hamden area for years, we were so excited to try this place out. Tried to get in about 2 weeks after opening and they were packed so tried again last night (about a month after opening when it was full but not crowded and no wait. Our server was nice and attentive in the beginning, however he let us know straight away they were out of noodles, as well as orange chicken (which is used in bao buns and other dishes) so basically half the menu was off the table. And they weren’t even that crowded on a random Wednesday night anyways so that was annoying. We shared an appetizer of spicy chicken wontons which were delicious but almost no spice to them. The beer we ordered first didn’t come until after we finished the appetizer and was flat. The appetizer and food did come out very quick though, within maybe 10 mins of us ordering. We got two dishes which we both agreed were just ok. Not enough sauce on mine and unbelievably, rice does NOT come with your meal. You have to order it extra (and it does not say this on the menu) and we had to remind our server twice that i ordered a side of rice before he brought it for us to share (generous portion but still it was $2 extra). Cost in general was decent, the chicken was almost the same price as green beans which is kind of outrageous. And we didn’t get to try what we really wanted, noodles and the bao buns. The atmosphere is more that of a bar than a chinese restaurant (they do have a bar you can sit at with only 4 chairs) and it was all and all sort of mid to us. We will be returning because we only live 5 minutes away and are willing to give it a second chance.

EDIT: 10/18/25: Finally gave it a second shot and got delivery from here to retry. Orange chicken was great (but not served with rice or veggies) bao buns were good but small, noodles were ok. However for the now 3rd time they have forgotten my rice with my meal. I had to order it on the side and every single time they forget it. I really don’t get it. You’re a chinese restaurant chain and you don’t serve meals with rice nor offer it...

10/24/25 Update from original review- my husband and I came back to the ugly dumplings since the first experience when they first opened was so good. We came in and was told there was a wait, there were three hostesses basically doing nothing for about 15 minutes. Finally we were being seated and we asked for a booth and she said there weren't any available. There were about four booths in each section that were all open and there were people in that section so not quite sure why we couldn't sit before 15 minutes. The waitress was okay, but very slow once we got our food. We had to wait a bit to box up my leftovers and to get our check. We had a QR code to scan for my Birthday that actually Colin had helped us with the first time. None of the hostesses knew how to do it and they asked Sam, I guess one of the owners, he had no clue also. The general manager was just sitting at a table with a cup of water and another gentleman. The service definitely was not up to par and was better the first go-round when they weren't so busy. They are extremely unorganized and I've never seen a restaurant with three hostesses. We definitely will not be back and they definitely need more training.

My husband and I decided to go here for dinner when I saw it scroll across my instagram. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the hostess right away. Coming from a family who owns 5 restaurants, customer service has always been my number one. The decor is beautiful. They have a Bao Lab where you can watch them make the dumplings. The place was filled with people and our order was taken quickly. Our waiter Colby was very helpful when we were questioning some of the items on the menu. I had the pork dumplings and my husband had the veggie dumplings with vegetable rice. For dessert we had fortune cookie cheesecake. All of the food was fantastic. We definitely will be returning. For a restaurant that has only been open for 2 days, everything ran...

Food was OK. Nothing spectacular, just alright. I got hot and sour soup that was not spicy (adding the chili oil helped it), but the tofu in it was mushy, so I didn't finish it. The crab rangoons and spring rolls were good. The cucumber salad was tasty, but was marked on the menu as spicy, and it was not. Overall, just an okay meal. What brings my rating way down though, was the service. We arrived at 8 and waited 15 mins for a table, to then sit and wait 10 minutes for someone to come take our order. Our server is clearly new at this and needs more training. A drink was ordered and she asks, "is that a beer?" We ordered with 3 appetizers, and then one entree each, and I made a point to say "x y and z to start, then I'll have such and such for my meal." I was trying to make sure things come out in the right order, but food came out randomly and almost one by one. First, rangoons, then my soup (my entree), then two more apps, then my partner's entree order. Meanwhile, our drinks still haven't arrived. The server says she'll check on them and we ask for some water as well. My drink arrives 5 minutes later (someone else ran it over). She comes back and says she doesn't know if they have the beer my partner ordered (20 minutes ago) and drops one water. I ask for water for me too. She goes "oh, I thought you just needed one." My partner then ordered a different beer instead of waiting to see if Sapporo was available or not. She disappears again for a while and then comes back empty handed to say that there are no draft beers right now. My partner ordered a bottled beer, but she clearly never went to the bar to check on it and I guess assumed that it wasn't available. All very confusing and scattered. Luckily the beer arrived before we were done eating, but wow. Won't come back until management does a better job training the staff and keeping things flowing smoothly. It wasn't awful, but it definitely wasn't a...