The Best Dumplings in New York City
Eighteen dumpling counters, soup dumpling rooms and dim sum halls across Manhattan Chinatown and Flushing, with exactly what to order and how to pay.
The best dumplings in New York are not expensive, not new and not in Manhattan's dining press every other week. They are in two places: the blocks of Manhattan Chinatown between Mott Street and East Broadway, and the dense grid around Main Street in Flushing. Everything else is a rounding error.
Our position is simple. Chinatown still wins on the cheap fried pork and chive dumpling, the kind you eat standing up out of a foam box, and on history. Flushing wins on range. It has the soup dumpling specialists, the northern Chinese dumpling houses with lamb and fish fillings, and the mall basements where the next great stall opens every few months.
So this list splits the city in two. Eat your way through one side on a Saturday, the other side the next, and you will know more about dumplings than most people who write about them.
A few ground rules. Bring cash. Expect to share a table. Do not show up at 1 p.m. on a Sunday and act surprised by the line. And if you want the broader neighborhood picture first, start with our Chinatown guide.
At a glance.
- 01Tasty DumplingThe classic cheap fried pork dumpling, eaten out of a foam box
- 08Deluxe Green BoThe soup dumpling spot serious eaters recommend for its thin wrappers
- 12Nan Xiang Xiao Long BaoThe benchmark for New York soup dumplings, with a thin, rich broth
- 13White BearHome of the famous No. 6: a dozen wontons in chili oil
- Where
- Manhattan Chinatown and the area around Main Street in Flushing
- Getting there
- Take the 7 train to Flushing-Main St for the Queens locations
- Best time
- Go before 11 a.m. or after 3 p.m. on weekends to avoid crowds
Manhattan Chinatown
A bare room across from Columbus Park that does one thing extremely well: fried pork dumplings packed into a foam container for very little money. The wrappers are thick enough to hold a proper crust on the bottom, and the filling is juicy and simple. This is the spot people ended up at after the old Prosperity Dumpling on Eldridge closed, and it has earned that spot on its own merits.
Go for: fried pork dumplings, eaten on a bench in the park. Know before you go: cash only, no restroom.
Vanessa's has been on Eldridge Street since 1999 and is the most reliable dumpling stop in the neighborhood for a group that cannot agree on anything. The pork and chive pan-fried dumplings are the baseline order. The sesame pancake sandwich with Peking duck is the move that makes it a meal, and the wontons in spicy sauce are worth adding if you like heat. Frozen dumpling packs go home with you.
Go for: pork and chive fried dumplings plus a Peking duck sesame pancake. Know before you go: open 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily, and the lunch rush moves fast.
Shu Jiao Fu Zhou
This is the Fuzhounese counter that people who live nearby actually eat at. The boiled pork and chive dumplings are soft, generous and cheap and made to be doused in soy, vinegar and chili. Order the peanut butter noodles on the side, a Fuzhou staple that is sweeter and stranger than it sounds, and much better than it has any right to be.
Go for: boiled pork and chive dumplings and peanut butter noodles. Know before you go: there is also a Flushing branch, but the Grand Street original is the one to visit.
A tiny, cash-only noodle shop where Lanzhou-style hand-pulled noodles get the attention and the dumplings quietly steal the order. Pork and chive dumplings come steamed or fried, ten to a plate, for a price that feels like a clerical error. Pair them with the spicy beef noodle soup (about $10.50), a salty, sour broth with chili and cilantro that could fix most bad days.
Go for: ten fried pork and chive dumplings and a bowl of spicy beef noodle soup. Know before you go: tables turn every fifteen minutes or so, and nobody lingers.
Open since 1920, Nom Wah is the oldest continuously running restaurant in Manhattan Chinatown, and yes, it knows it. The curved stretch of Doyers Street, the diner booths and the tile floor do half the work. The kitchen handles the rest with dim sum cooked to order all day. The shrimp and snow pea leaf dumplings are the pick, bright and clean, and the pork soup dumplings are solid.
Go for: shrimp and snow pea leaf dumplings, then whatever looks good at the next table. Know before you go: Resy takes groups of three to five Monday to Thursday; parties of two walk in. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Joe's Shanghai introduced a generation of New Yorkers to the soup dumpling, and the move from Pell Street to a bigger room on the Bowery in 2019 made the waits more bearable. Order the pork and crab soup dumplings, bite a small hole, sip the broth and then eat the rest. It is a big, loud, tourist-friendly room, and the dumplings still hold up.
Go for: a steamer of crab and pork soup dumplings for the table. Know before you go: go at off hours, like 3 p.m. on a weekday, to skip the worst of the wait.
A few doors from where Joe's Shanghai started, Joe's Ginger serves the same style of Shanghai soup dumplings in a smaller, calmer room. Pork, or crab meat with pork, are the two options, and the shorter lines make it the smarter choice when you just want xiao long bao without the production.
Go for: crab and pork soup dumplings with no wait. Know before you go: cash only, open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Open since 1982, this is the soup dumpling room that serious eaters point you to when you mention Joe's. The wrappers are among the thinnest in the city, the "tiny buns" (crab and pork or pork only) arrive scalding, and the fried tiny buns are a crisp-bottomed bonus. Add the spicy peanut wontons and a scallion pancake and you have the best cheap meal on Bayard.
Go for: steamed crab and pork tiny buns plus spicy peanut wontons. Know before you go: cash only, communal tables, closed Mondays.
Dim sum without carts, made to order and served in a clean, bright room off Chatham Square. It has held a Michelin recommendation for years and the dumpling list runs well past a dozen options, including a strong vegetarian section. The duck dumplings and the snow pea leaf dumplings are the reason to come; the dim sum platter is the easiest way to sample a lot at once.
Go for: duck dumplings, snow pea leaf dumplings, and the dim sum platter for a first visit. Know before you go: open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, and it takes the pressure off weekend dim sum crowds elsewhere.
If you want the full cart experience, the carts rolling past, the pointing and nodding, Golden Unicorn is the Manhattan hall to do it in. It has been at it since 1996. Flag down har gow, siu mai and fried shrimp dumplings as they pass, and grab a plate of rice rolls while you are at it.
Go for: har gow and siu mai straight off the cart. Know before you go: carts run until 4 p.m.; no reservations for parties under ten on weekends between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Mei Lai Wah
Technically a bakery, and it belongs on any dumpling list anyway. Mei Lai Wah has been selling baked roast pork buns since 1968, and the pineapple bun stuffed with char siu (sweet crumbly top, no actual pineapple) became a viral lineup a few years back. The bakery now sits at 41 Mott Street, and the newer wonton bar on Pell Street gives you a place to sit down with a bowl.
Go for: a baked roast pork bun and a pineapple bun with pork, then wontons around the corner. Know before you go: the bakery runs 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily; buy extra, they reheat well.
Flushing
Take the 7 train to the end of the line, Flushing-Main St, and walk out into the busiest intersection in Queens. Everything below sits within a short walk. Bring cash, a tote bag and a flexible attitude about seating.
The benchmark for soup dumplings in New York. Nan Xiang opened in Flushing in 2006, has been Michelin-recommended for nine straight years, and moved into a much bigger room that still fills up on weekends. The pork and crab soup dumplings are the order, with a thin wrapper and a clean, rich broth. In January 2026 the kitchen added a mala beef soup dumpling with cumin and bird's eye chili, and it is worth a steamer.
Go for: crab and pork soup dumplings, plus the mala beef version. Know before you go: the entrance is on 39th Avenue at the corner of Prince Street.
White Bear
A walk-up window with a handful of seats and one of the most famous dishes in the city. Order the No. 6: a dozen pork and vegetable wontons in chili oil with pickled vegetables, roughly $10 to $13 depending on the day. The wrappers are silky, the sauce is savory more than fiery, and it is the single best thing you can eat in Flushing for the money.
Go for: the No. 6, obviously. Know before you go: cash only, open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Wednesdays.
This is the place for the showstopper: a single giant crab soup dumpling served with a straw, so you drink the broth before tackling the wrapper. The regular soup dumplings come in pink, green and yellow wrappers, which sounds like a gimmick until you taste them and realize the kitchen can actually cook. Bring a group so you can try both.
Go for: one giant crab soup dumpling each, and a steamer of the colored xiao long bao to share. Know before you go: the giant dumpling is messy; order it last so the broth has cooled a little.
Zhu Ji Dumpling House
A takeout window on Main Street near the LIRR station, where about $9 buys ten dumplings. The crisp-bottomed pork and leek pan-fried dumplings are the draw, with steamed pork and cabbage close behind. It is the Flushing answer to Tasty Dumpling: fast, cheap and exactly what you want while walking between bigger meals. Get a mix and eat them on the sidewalk.
Go for: pan-fried pork and leek dumplings to eat while you walk. Know before you go: takeout only, no seating.
Old Captain
A northern-style dumpling house with the fillings you will not find in Manhattan Chinatown: lamb and carrot, fish, and chicken with onion, plus pork, shrimp and chive. The fish dumplings, a Shandong specialty, are the signature, and the wrappers are handmade and slightly chewy, the way northern dumplings should be. It is a few doors from Shanghai You Garden, which makes a two-stop dinner very easy.
Go for: boiled lamb and carrot dumplings and a plate of the fish dumplings. Know before you go: order at the self-serve kiosks, and grab a frozen pack for home.
Pan Bao 66
In the basement food court of New World Mall, Pan Bao 66 specializes in pan-fried soup dumplings, thicker and yeastier than xiao long bao, with crisp, golden bottoms and hot broth inside. They are one of the best reasons to brave the food court on a weekend. Bite carefully; the soup is hotter than it looks.
Go for: a box of pan-fried soup dumplings with black vinegar. Know before you go: mall stalls shift often, so check the food court directory on arrival.
Lao Yu Yuan Dumpling House
Tucked into the Arcadia Mall, Lao Yu Yuan does soup dumplings with a little more ambition, including a truffle pork version and a pork and crab version. It is a good stop if you have already done Nan Xiang and want to compare. The room is small and the pace is quick.
Go for: truffle pork soup dumplings. Know before you go: it is inside the mall, not on the street, so look for the Arcadia entrance on Main Street.
How to use this list
Pick a side and commit. For Manhattan, start at Tasty Dumpling or Super Taste for fried dumplings, move to Deluxe Green Bo or Joe's Ginger for soup dumplings, and finish with a pork bun from Mei Lai Wah for later. That is three stops, one hour and very little money.
For Flushing, take the 7 to Flushing-Main St, eat the No. 6 at White Bear first (it closes early and on Wednesdays), then walk to 40th Road for Shanghai You Garden and Old Captain, and end at Nan Xiang. Snack from Zhu Ji between stops.
Practical notes. Cash is king at the cheapest spots, and several do not take cards at all. Weekend dim sum peaks from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; go at 10 a.m. or after 3 p.m. Share tables without fuss. And when a soup dumpling arrives, wait thirty seconds before biting.
If dumplings are the start of the night rather than the whole thing, our guides to late-night food and cheap eats pick up where this leaves off, and the Lower East Side guide covers the blocks just past Eldridge Street once you are done eating.
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The bookable version of this guide, with times and prices on Expedia.
Questions, answered.
- Where are the best soup dumplings in New York City?
- For classic pork and crab xiao long bao, go to Nan Xiang in Flushing or Deluxe Green Bo in Manhattan Chinatown. Shanghai You Garden in Flushing makes the oversized crab soup dumpling that comes with a straw.
- Is Chinatown or Flushing better for dumplings?
- Flushing has more range, especially for northern Chinese dumplings and soup dumplings, and it is where the newest openings land. Manhattan Chinatown is easier to reach and still has the best cheap fried dumpling counters and the oldest dim sum room in the city.
- How do I get to Flushing for dumplings?
- Take the 7 train to the last stop, Flushing-Main St. Nearly every spot on this list is within a ten minute walk of the station. The LIRR Port Washington line to Flushing-Main Street is faster from Penn Station or Grand Central Madison.
- Are Chinatown dumpling shops cash only?
- Many are. Tasty Dumpling, Super Taste, Deluxe Green Bo, Joe's Ginger and White Bear in Flushing all run on cash. Bring small bills and assume you will need them.
- What is the difference between xiao long bao and sheng jian bao?
- Xiao long bao are steamed, with a thin wrapper holding pork filling and hot broth. Sheng jian bao are thicker, yeasted buns that are pan-fried until the bottoms turn crisp, with soup inside too. Pan Bao 66 in Flushing's New World Mall specializes in the second kind.
Next up
The Best Dim Sum in NYCNavigate the banquet halls of Manhattan, Flushing, and Sunset Park for the perfect shrimp dumplings and pork buns.Read it Get the Shout Sheet.
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