Dumpling Story

Came here for a weekend lunch and it was delicious. Had the pan-fried dumplings (so juicy), soup dumplings (large size but I wish we had more), green beans, cucumber salad, dan dan noodles (wish there was more meat). We split this among 4 people and honestly could've ordered a bit more.Overall the food was delicious and would definitely recommend coming here!

Dumpling Story is the sister restaurant to Dumpling Home in Hayes Valley, offering a very similar menu. Many of the seating options at Dumpling Home are outside, and I wanted guaranteed indoor seating on a windy, rainy day, so I decided to visit here. The ambiance here feels more elevated and modern compared to Dumpling Home.They do not seem to take reservations, but luckily, a party of 2 was seated within ~10 minutes on a Friday around 8 PM. The staff members were all very friendly and attentive. Here is our order:Wonton Soup: I tried this dish for the first time but I will definitely be ordering this again. Very comforting dish!Beef XLB (Steamed): My go-to order! I ordered the large instead of the regular size because I like it that much. Numb & Spicy Pork Bao (Pan Fried): I usually order the Juicy Pork Bao but decided to switch it up this time. As someone with low spice tolerance, I would say this was right at my limit, but still enjoyable. As of this review, Dumpling Home doesn't seem to offer the pan-fried numb & spicy bao (though they offer it steamed), so I would recommend giving this a try!Spring Roll: Crispy and pairs perfectly with the dipping sauce.All our orders arrived quickly but spaced out well, allowing us to enjoy each one while they were still hot. Definitely will be stopping by again!

Yes yes yes! I stumbled upon Dumpling Story while looking for something new and exciting to eat in San Francisco. I really wanted to eat at Sang Tung for their dry fried chicken wings but they were closed on a Wednesday. So I tried to find something similar and stumbled upon Dumpling Story. Oh my goodness, I think the dry fried chicken wings here at Dumpling Story are absolutely delicious and they might even be much better. They were piping hot, juicy, and stayed crispy for such a long time. My friend and I also ordered the crab and pork xiao long bao, the sheng jian bao which is the pan fried pork buns and also the wonton soup. Everything was absolutely delicious and we were stuffed. The xiao long bao and sheng jian bao both had lots of soup inside and were perfect in taste and texture. Service was really good and friendly as well. I cannot wait to go back and try more items on their menu because everything was superior in quality and taste. The restaurant has a lot of seating and feels very comfortable and not stuffy or crowded inside. I highly recommend it!

Food was really good here but man the portions were small, pretty much tapas/small plates sizes. This place is very similar to the famous Dumpling Home nearby and they even have the same little red dumpling spoon.Everything we got was good. The favorites were definitely the green beans and shredded potato appetizer, which were both super fragrant and flavorful. The green beans weren't too oily and the garlic was great, not too burnt. The potato's sauce was super delicious with a hint of numbing pepper. The pan-fried pork buns were solid, chili oil wontons had a fun peanut sauce, and pork and chive dumplings were solid.Service was fine. There was no wait on a Sunday night and food came out quickly. The inside is very beautiful and modern.Total for two was $85. I may come back if I'm down to splurge again.

3.75 stars rounded up. I had a few contenders for our pre-movie eats but chose Dumpling Story, as it came highly recommended from friends & family who'd recently dined there. Ironically, we preferred Dumpling Story's veggies over their dumplings. Fresh Cucumber with Garlic Sauce ($8.95) was a refreshing palette cleanser eaten throughout our meal, & Okra with Garlic Sauce ($18.95) had a satisfying crunch. These two dishes broke up the heaviness of the rest of our meal. We ordered a good blend of steamed, boiled, & pan fried dumplings. Both the Pork XLBs ($9.95 for four) & Juicy Chicken Bao ($15.95 for six) needed the soup spoon to catch all the savory broth held within the folded pockets. I wasn't a fan of the Beef with Water Chestnuts Dumplings ($15.95 for eight); the taste wasn't for me. Dumpling Story doesn't have the flavors I'm accustomed to, flavors that my favorite dim sum spots hit effortlessly, however, their offerings are fresh & well made, & that's certainly deserving of a try.

Dumpling story seems to be a sister store to Dumpling Home on Gough, and equally as good. The main difference between the two stores is it's decoration, but the service and food quality is equally superb. Got to try the spicy XLB and it was amazing. The spicy soup and flavors inside the Bao is the best I've had in the city. Would definitely recommend! It has great date vibes too

First time trying this place after seeing the high reviews. Was welcomed in and the servers were friendly and attentive. We ordered with a whiteboard menu and got our food pretty quickly. It wasn't too busy on a Friday afternoon.The best dishes were the dry cooked green beans and pan fried pork buns (spicy). Both done very well - the green beans weren't oily at all, not too salty, perfectly cooked. The pan fried pork buns are authentic - thin, crispy wrapper and juicy filling. I like the little spoons they give you for the dumplings/buns.The XLBs were good, tasted quite sweeter than your average place. I've had many good places in the bay and this one was slightly above average. The wrapper is thin, juicy inside, and good flavor.The pork and cabbage boiled dumplings were pretty typical. It doesn't beat places in the Richmond/sunset, but if it's one of the few places in the area, it satisfies the craving. Chewy skin, simple filling. The gong bao dumplings were quite awful though - it had a weird mix of chicken and peanuts and a strange taste that my friends and I couldn't even finish. All in all, some hits and some misses but there was great service and I left satisfied.

I will start off by saying the food is delicious! Also compared to its sister locations -- the ambiance here is definitely more elevated and perfect for a slightly nicer experience. The food is the same, so nothing unexpected there. As a party of 5, we tried a lot of different dishes family style -- chicken xlb, juicy chicken baos, fresh cucumbers w garlic sauce, chicken wings, green onion noodles, hot and sour soup, and green scallion pancakes! Highlights for me were the wings, cucumbers, green onion noodles and juicy chicken bao. I liked pairing everything with their house chili oil. One thing I wish was a bit better is when the food comes out. Everything came out super fast, which is usually great but it's hard when you have a lot of items that will get cold if everything is set out immediately. So just wish we had a chance to finish a few things while the dishes were still hot.The total per person w a 20% tip was under $30 for all that food! We definitely could have done without an extra order of the xlbs, but we got excited!

TLDR: I hesitate writing this 5 star review 'cause I've enjoyed being able to walk in and not wait for a table... but the people (y'all) gotta know that THIS is THE spot (for juicy pork + numb & spicy XLB). Longer version:We live near Dumpling Home. It's too convenient, really. But the long wait one weekends and for dinner, the (over)hype, and the lack of care that patrons waiting for table consistently block the handicap ramps made me seek out other options throughout the city. We've tried just about every spot that has juicy pork bao with hopes of replacing DH and by golly, we've found that in Dumpling Story. While DH is a 9 min walk from home, Dumpling Story is only 20 additional minutes and 100% flat -- not a bad warm up to stuff our bellies with dumplings ;P and even better, the 30 min walk home is perfect to curb the inevitable post-high-carb-meal blood sugar spike.Recently, I had DH shortly after a Dumpling Story meal, and I can say without a doubt, solely comparing the flavors and quality of dumplings -- Dumpling Story is superior. In my experience, there is greater care in the preparation of the food: Dumpling wrappers are appropriate thickness per style of dumpling/baoThe juicy numb and spicy pork bao has the right amount of crunch meets softness with plenty of juiciness insideThe hot and sour soup has been full of mushrooms+bamboo shoots+tofu and the flavor is Goldilocks *just right*The cucumbers in the cucumber salad are separate piece by piece (vs huge chunks I've had at other restaurants)Jasmine tea has wonderful flavor from first to last cupOur usual order is:Jasmine TeaGarlic Cucumber SaladGreen Onion PancakeHot and Sour SoupNumb and Spicy XLB (8pcs)Numb and Spicy Juicy Pork BaoOn our last visit, we added the Sping Rolls, which were tasty and we especially liked the well paired dipping sauce. If you're a fried spring roll fan, definitely worth ordering! We may or may not skip this next time, will depend on how hungry and/or hungover we are -- definitely a good compliment to soak up the remnants of prior evening's partying.As far as service and ambience goes - no complaints! The tables are spaced out with just enough room so it doesn't feel like you're on top of your neighbors. There's also a bar with ample seating, which is where we prefer to pull up. They've had music playing, not too loud to be disturbing or distracting, and our empty water glasses have always been filled promptly. They bring the foods out as they're ready, have chili oil and extra soy cause if you need, and have been at the ready to provide me extra napkins when they see I am making a mess with the juicy pork bao (LOL, when will I learn!?)A final point worth noting -- they don't add any service charges, health mandate charges, etc. The bill is for your food + tax AND the tip suggestions are based on the subtotal (pre-tax) which is getting harder to come by in SF. Our last order (all of the listed items above plus spring rolls) came out to $82.23. If we wanted to be more budget conscious, we'd skip the cucumbers and spring rolls, maybe even green onion pancake, because the real show stoppers are the bao ;P

Tried dumpling story for the first time the other day in the mission and it was pretty decent! My friends and I ordered the pork soup dumplings, pan fried pork dumplings, string beans, and Dan Dan noodles. Everything filled us up so I recommend ordering as many dishes as there are people in your party and possibly 1-2 more. I thought the string beans and Dan Dan noodles were decent but definitely have had better. I was super impressed by their soup dumplings and pan fried dumplings though. Both had plenty of soup on the inside and were pretty large compared to most XLB. I love how they provide you with a soup spoon that's specially made for XLB and any soup dumpling.All the servers were super nice and attentive and made our experience!