Dumpling 85 - Lake Tahoe — Restaurant in South Lake Tahoe

Came here for dinner, since I was craving some comforting dumplings. . We ordered through the qr code but then the order didn't come through. The server came over and checked and the order didn't go through. So she took it manually and we got our order quick. The order was then ready after we left so there was a confusion of the order on app. . California spicy beef noodle - soup was amazing. Hot in temperature. The beef was tender. The noodles was thick and chewy good. The soup was great not too sour or spicy. Def recommend for some spicy and sour soup with savory option. . The xlb here is great. It was juicy and tasted flavorful. Just wish I asked for ginger but the table black vinegar and hot chili oil did the magic. Comes with 8 pieces for 16 bucks. Over it was solid. . The pan fried xlb which was crispy on the bottom. Soft on the top. The inside filled with pork like xlb. Has some juice in it as well. . The pork shu Mai wasn't my favorite. It doesn't have a bouncy texture. The color was a little off. We thought it was beef but it's pork shu Mai. But was comforting. . The table black vinegar and chili oil is not to be missed and goes with everything. So addicting. . Overall it's a casual spot. They do make their dumpling fresh in front of you. Just make sure if you dine in order with a server instead of the or code because it didn't come through. The xlb is a must and the Cali spicy beef noodle is a great soup option if you need to boost your taste buds up. Hope this review helps. Thanks for reading. Have a yelptastic day. . Came here for dinner, since I was craving some comforting dumplings. . We ordered through the qr code but then the order didn't come through. The server came over and checked and the order didn't go through. So she took it manually and we got our order quick. The order was then ready after we left so there was a confusion of the order on app. . California spicy beef noodle - soup was amazing. Hot in temperature. The beef was tender. The noodles was thick and chewy good. The soup was great not too sour or spicy. Def recommend for some spicy and sour soup with savory option. . The xlb here is great. It was juicy and tasted flavorful. Just wish I asked for ginger but the table black vinegar and hot chili oil did the magic. Comes with 8 pieces for 16 bucks. Over it was solid. . The pan fried xlb which was crispy on the bottom. Soft on the top. The inside filled with pork like xlb. Has some juice in it as well. . The pork shu Mai wasn't my favorite. It doesn't have a bouncy texture. The color was a little off. We thought it was beef but it's pork shu Mai. But was comforting. . The table black vinegar and chili oil is not to be missed and goes with everything. So addicting. . Overall it's a casual spot. They do make their dumpling fresh in front of you. Just make sure if you dine in order with a server instead of the or code because it didn't come through. The xlb is a must and the Cali spicy beef noodle is a great soup option if you need to boost your taste buds up. Hope this review helps. Thanks for reading. Have a...

I wish we got pictures of the food, sorry! I was not prepared for this place to be as phenomenal as it was. Myself, and my crowd of 3 were starving last night when we decided to stop by Dumpling 85 as we were walking passed. I wish I could give them a higher rating than 5, because they absolutely deserve it and I'll tell you why.

We walked in on a Wednesday night around 8:30 and the place was packed. Great sign! Unfortunately, there are no tables, but we can sit at the bar, which isn't a bar, but a viewing station to watch dumplings being made right in front of you. Pretty cool to watch! We ask to sit at a table when the next one opens, and we all slither in to sit in front of the dumpling viewing station. They work so fast and with so much precision. We noticed one of the dumplings had 2 baby shrimp carefully put in alongside the mince meat mixture, so we figured out what our first entree is going to be, shrimp and meat dumplings. We placed our order online using rhe QR code, and before we could confirm they received it, our table opens and we are seated in the dining room.

Again, before we could confirm with our waitress that she got our order, our first side comes out, spicy green beans and 4 small plates. OK well that solves that. We start digging in and before we could divide it all, our second dish comes out, beef chow mein. Everything so far has come out so fresh and piping hot! The chow mein had that smoky wok flavor that I'll never replicate at home because you need very high heat. Green beans were a perfect crisp tender and not super spicy at all.

Our third dish comes out, the shrimp and mince dumplings, in a bamboo basket. We opened the basket to a steamy bed full of dumplings, perfect for the 4 of us. They were so tender and juicy and everything so far was seasoned perfectly. Chili oil is very spicy, but necessary on the dumplings, even if you're a wimp. I'd recommend going easy on it, but I ate a lot. Our other dishes of chicken fried rice and wonton soup came next. Rice had the same smoky flavor, a little skimpy on the meat, but acceptable. The beef in the noodles was skimpy too, however, I really enjoyed just the plain noodles with chili oil. The soup dumplings were not as good, but good enough that we ate it all.

We left nothing behind and raved all the way back to our hotel about how fast and delicious this place was. We spent $120 with tip. We absolutely will...

You don’t expect to stumble into a slice of Beijing or Chengdu in a snow-dusted strip mall in South Lake Tahoe. But walk into Dumpling 85, belly up to the bar, and it hits you: the steam, the sizzle, the rhythmic pinch-and-fold of dumplings being born right in front of you by a woman who clearly learned this skill the hard way—by doing it a thousand times.

There’s something hypnotic about watching her work. No flair. No ego. Just hands that move like they've been rolling dumplings since the Cultural Revolution. You sit there, clutching a cup of sake so clean and sharp it could cut glass, and you forget about the ski bros and slot machines outside.

The dumplings? Hot, juicy, unapologetic. Soup dumplings that explode like culinary landmines—handle with care or wear the broth. Pan-fried pork buns that crunch, then melt. Shrimp and chive dumplings so fresh they make you question whether you’ve ever actually had a real dumpling before or if you've just been lied to your whole life by the freezer aisle.

The vibe? Tight. Cozy. That low hum of people who came for something real and found it. It’s not trying to be cute. It’s not trying to be fusion. It’s just trying to be good—and it is.

So yeah, maybe you’re in Tahoe. But for a minute, if you squint past the sake fog and that chef’s focused scowl, you’re somewhere else—somewhere better. Somewhere dumplings...