New York City’s Chinatown offers the best and widest selection of options for dim sum of any city in America. Chinatown is home to the largest concentration of Asians in the western hemisphere and is one of the most distinguished parts of the biggest city in the country. As a result, Chinatown’s restaurants cater to natives and tourists alike and there’s no shortage of options for great Chinese food.
Dim Sum is an extremely popular type of Chinese meal and is roughly equivalent to brunch. I am personally a huge fan of dim sum and living in New York City has given me the opportunity to sample some of the best dim sum anywhere. The following five restaurants are my favorite places for Dim Sum in New York City’s Chinatown.
Vegetarian Dim Sum House
24 Pell Street
New York, New York
Any dim sum that is ‘vegetarian’ is not exactly the same as a traditional dim sum experience. However, this is a great place to go for a delicious variety of dim sum if you are a vegetarian (which I am not) or if you are with visitors who are (which I do). Many enjoy the ‘meat’ dishes that are actually all vegetarian but close taste to the ‘real’ thing.
This is a very healthy form of dim sum and attracts a wide range of people, though it tends to have more visitors from outside of Chinatown than locals.
Dim Sum Go Go
5 East Broadway
New York, New York
Dim Sum Go go is my favorite place for dim sum in New York City or anywhere. The food here is standard dim sum fare, but is done thicker and bolder; the dumplings are bigger, the sauces denser and even the custards and deserts more decadent. The service is fairly standard, though they usually do not do the cart service approach that you will find at other dim sum restaurants. I actually prefer it this way as the food tends to be fresher as it is prepared with your order and not taken off a cart.
Ping’s Seafood
22 Mott Street
New York, New York
As its name implies, Ping’s Seafood offers great seafood based dishes. Its dim sum selections have all the traditional fare, but the specialty and calling card of this Chinatown institution is seafood. The ambiance is fun, but as with most ‘traditional’ Chinatown restaurants, it can be crowded and fast paced. But the food here is top line and the prices reasonable.
Golden Unicorn
18 East Broadway
New York, New York
The Golden Unicorn offers straight forward dim sum in a traditional setting. The flavors and preparation are more delicate than what you would find at Dim Sum Go Go, for example. Bite for bite, you will not be as full here, but then, it probably means you will eat more! The spices and flavors are subtle and well done and the attention to detail on the preparation of the dishes and their presentation are probably the best in Chinatown.
Oriental Garden
14 Elizabeth Street
New York, New York
All of the food here is made to order, which some might object to as it is not the traditional way to present dim sum. But truly the food does better this way and Oriental Garden offers the best of dim sum food and selection without what some consider to be the downsides such as inattentive service and too big banquet hall settings. This feels like more of a western restaurant in its setting, size and service, but with all the authenticity, flavor and fun of traditional dim sum.
If you live in New York or are visiting and are looking for good dim sum, you can’t go wrong with any of these five choices.
