Vanessa's Dumpling House — Restaurant in New York

We were a group of four and I had just finished my visit to a doctor’s office. My sisters in law and wife wanted to try this new restaurant. I used two canes to walk, and we entered the restaurant no one greeted us. We see five tables for two on the left and four tables for four on the right. A counter is straight ahead with a huge tip jar glaring at us, and a cashier/ “barista” asks for our order presenting us with menus and a large sandwich board posted on the wall. They offered specials which did not intrigue me but if I ever go back, I may take advantage of them. I ordered a pork bun, pork dumplings with chives and an order of seaweed salad. About five minutes later the cashier/barista called us to the counter to get our food from trays and get the seaweed salad from the refrigerator ourselves. There were some people at the counter trying to give him orders while he gave my sisters in law a tray of food. He then called us back for the second tray of food he’d not put on the counter. Three of us bought bottles of water and one came with the meal. My pork and chive dumplings were fresh and competent, the pork bun was good, and I never got to try the seaweed salad because the tray slid off the table! One sister-in-law got pork fried dumplings with cabbage, the other got chicken shrimp fried wontons and my wife got a pork sandwich which was of a good size. I advised the counter man of the issue, and he came out from the counter with a dirty rag, but my sister-in-law had already picked up the salad from the floor aside from a couple of strands and threw it away. I asked the counterman if it could be replaced and was told I’d have to pay an additional $4.88 for it. I skipped buying another one rather than having it escape on me again! The bill ran over $43.00 and the food was okay. Parking is difficult around here. Lastly asking for tips being a counter person without any effort or waiter service to even bring trays over to customers at their tables is asking too much from a fast-food customer. If you want a tip you have to earn it! Seeing a disabled person coming in… hold open the door, or bring the food trays over even asking the boss if a discount for dropped food or a replacement could be given… These are things warranting a tip! We were four people, had even any of these courtesies been shown we probably would have left an eight-dollar tip which would have been almost 20% of the bill. People must learn, unfortunately for some it takes longer. I wish the business the best of luck but they’ll have to get their...

I WOULD GIVE THIS PLACE 0 ⭐️ IF I COULD. When I walked into Vanessa's Dumpling, the older lady at the front was very rude to me. After only a minute of looking at the menu, she began asking me what I wanted to order multiple times. I told her repeatedly “Hey I will let you know when I am ready I am just looking atm, thank you”. When I was finally ready to order I went upto her, she ignored me and began talking to another customer who had just arrived that she knew. To add insult to injury, When she finally acknowledged me she started being petty and telling me that I had to wait now bcuz she is busy and had asked me what I wanted to order multiple times before, even though I was just checking the menu while sitting down. I stayed calm and patient. She even went so far as to try and take that customer's order before mine, despite me being there first. To make matters worse, she said something like "oh, I guess I'll take you first" instead of acknowledging that I should have be served before the other customer. It felt disrespectful and dismissive of my time and presence. It was frustrating that I was rushed and not given proper customer service, especially since the store was practically empty at the time and I wasn't holding up the line. Despite all this, I still wanted to give her a chance and told her my order. However, when I wanted to pay and asked if I could pay a bit with cash and then the rest with card, she looked at me weird and said she couldn't do that. When I asked why, she just said "no no, I don't know. I can’t”. LIES. It was a really bad experience and I ended up leaving without even getting the food because of her nasty attitude after that. Absolutely disgusting.

Im sorry ik this was long read but this just got...

I really wanted to like this place. Walking in, the decor immediately sets a warm, inviting tone—charming lights, cozy seating, and a vibe that says “we care.” Unfortunately, that care didn’t make it into the food.

I ordered takeout and was met with underseasoned Dan Dan noodle dishes and an overall lack of flavor. Everything tasted like it had been sitting under a heat lamp a bit too long. The portion sizes were fair, but when the taste misses the mark this badly, it hardly matters.

The staff were polite and friendly, and the space itself is actually quite lovely—if they put half as much effort into the kitchen as they did the decor, this place could really shine.

Until then, I’ll be admiring it from the sidewalk on my way to...