Dumpling Zone — Restaurant in San Francisco

Had lunch here yesterday with a friend, and what a great weekday lunch or post-lunch gem!

We had the whole restaurant to ourselves like mafia vibes, which I love being able to enjoy eating out in a major city with no distractions.

Parking is horrible here, but it's right outside Forest Hill station, so it's better off taking public transit if you're not within a mile radius. It's definitely a locals only vibe, but it just comes when it's least busy for the best experience.

We ordered a braised beef noodle soup, pork xiao long bao, pan fried juicy pork bag, green onion pancakes, and har gow. Classic shrimp dumplings, on the smaller side, but you get 4 pieces vs. 3. The skin was good, and it tasted fresh. Their green onion pancake is some of the best I've had. I appreciated it being really crispy throughout. Some places don't get a good sear, and you get chewy and burnt textures. Whether that's intentional, I liked the consistency here. Both baos were perfect and delicious. Super hot temperature, flavorful pork, and the half fried half steamed had a really nice chewy/crisp texture. Perfect dough to meat ratio, I'd say some of the best I've had in the city. The beef noodle soup was my least favorite. While the noodles and braised beef were so good and tender, the broth needed more spice or numbing flavor.

Still, overall, the meal was excellent. Service was quick and efficient. We ordered through our phone/a qr, which sent the ticket to them. I'll definitely return to try other things...

On Saturday around 7 PM, we stopped by Dumpling Zone after reading solid reviews online. The wait for our party of five was about 30 minutes, but parking was easy since it’s located in a residential part of Midtown.

The restaurant is small—maybe a dozen tables—and was packed with families and a large birthday parties. It’s a casual spot with one main server and one runner. You can order food online or directly through a staff member, and they’ll bring everything to your table.

We decided to try all the most recommended dishes from the review sites and the photos displayed on their window—and we were so glad we did. Every dish we ordered was delicious. Prices were very reasonable—actually more affordable than many other dumpling places we’ve tried, probably because of its unassuming location. Portions were generous too, which made it feel like a great deal overall.

The vibe is super casual—nothing fancy—but the service, while basic, came with a smile. We really appreciated the personality of our server; he was friendly, attentive, and made sure we were updated on our table status. He was clearly keeping an eye on everything and even watched for when guests were wrapping up so he could manage the waitlist efficiently. No reservations are taken, but he kept names on a handwritten list.

We were so stuffed from our meal that we didn’t make it to dessert, but we’ll definitely be back to try more items next time we’re in town....

We loved every item we ordered and cannot wait to return. These were the best dumplings and noodle soup we've ever had!

We order boiled (chicken and mushroom), steamed (veggies), and fried (pork, shrimp, and chive) and each one seemed better than the last. And not being a mushroom or veggie fan, I was quite surprised at how much I liked both of those and would definitely order both again. (The fried pork and shrimp was simply off the hook!)

We also had the garlic cucumber which was new to us and is delicious, and the beef noodles which were insanely good, with so much flavor that I had to ask if there was any pork in the broth, but nope, it was just the most succulent (and fatty) beef.

The ordering can be done via app, the service is quick and efficient, and the ambiance is comfortable/casual, although to be honest, was a little boring. (With those high ceilings, I'd love to see some hanging artwork, like maybe some hug paper-mache fish like we saw at an Asian place we recently dined at outside the country.)

I'm not sure where one is supposed to park but we found a dirt spot in the lot nextdoor, but don't know if it was legal. I assume there is street parking nearby but did not see any dedicated lot nor did I remember to ask.

Overall, this was a great dining experience, especially when heading to or from the airport. (We live in...