Mama Lu's Dumpling House is a fantastic option for anyone seeking a delicious and authentic Sichuan dining experience. The extensive dumpling selection, flavorful dishes, and focus on quality ingredients make it a hidden gem in Chinatown. The restaurant is small and casual, with basic décor and seating so the focus here is on the food, not the ambiance. Also be prepared for a cash-only policy. There's an ATM nearby, but it's best to come prepared to avoid any surprises. and a simple, no-frills atmosphere.
Bonnie C.
I've tried other Mama Lu locations, so I was excited when I saw one open in Chinatown! I went for a late lunch, so there was no wait and was lucky to find parking in the lot right next to the restaurant. There is a small lot next door that I would recommend checking out first, but there is also a lot of street parking surrounding the restaurant. Yang Chow Fried Rice (5/5) - Always my favorite type of fried rice at any Chinese restaurant. The one here was flavorful, had shrimp and char sui, and had lots of "wok hei" for those who know :) Spicy Wonton (3/5) - Only thing I tasted with this dish was chili oil. It was super spicy and did not have any other flavor to it. Juicy Pork Dumplings (4/5) - Can't go to Mama Lu's and not get their dumplings! This was good, but was not my favorite. The filling and broth were good, and would give this a try if you come. Overall, I would visit again if I am ever in Chinatown and try some of the other stuff on the menu!
Francis Espino
Came here afternoon at a good time around 3 before more started coming in. Good food & service, spacious seating, very accommodating and free parking. Always a fan of the French style beef never fails! Whether under new name/management or not, I'm glad this place still exists!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mary Grace B.
Their shrimp and pork shumai and braised eggplant are great . I also enjoyed their hot and sour soup . The
Alan Quintos
My first time eating at this restaurant. I went with a friend. We had green onion pancake, beef wraps, sweet and sour shrimp, garlic Chinese broccoli, and steamed rice. All the food tasted very good. Parking is free. The ambiance is typical Chinese restaurant.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Dim Sum
Archiemedes
I like the orange chicken. It stayed crispy even after the orange sauce was mixed. I’d come back again to try other dishes in the menu. This joint was called CBS before.Parking: There’s plenty of parking at the back of the restaurant also in the street with parking meters. I went on a Tuesday around 6:45 PM. More and more people came at around 7:45PM.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
sydney wen
Both indoor dining or take out to go are available here and they even have their own parking lot, which is virtually impossible to get around Chinatown. Lobster noodles are excellent here, and goes well with all the dumplings, wonton and bums that they serve here. Duck are great for take out as you go too.
Ken L.
I love Mama Lu's!!! I've only been the the two Montery Park ones. I saw on an IG story that this one has a push cart dim sum so I went immediately. It was a decent experience. I got there and there was a party of 2 that walked in front of me. They got seated in the front room and I told the woman that I was a party of 1. She put menus down on a table near the ladies and walked away. I wasn't sure if was for me or someone else. Anyways, it wasn't for me. I ended up getting ushered to the back room in a corner next to the stack of the fortune cookie boxes. The dim sum lady didn't even come near me. I had to tell her my order from afar. That's no fun. The fun part is seeing the cart and what they have. When I was seated there was no menu and no utensils. I wanted to order veggies and the dim sum lady left and the dropped a menu on my table and never came back. So I didn't get any vegetables. The 5 dim sum plates I got were just average. Nothing great. My total was $33 with tip - about $40. Expensive for average food and bad service.
Chimgee T.
Wow. What a disappointment this location was. We used to go to their other location in Monterey Park and it has been good. So when we found out they had a new one in Chinatown which is closer, we were delighted to check it out. First of all, they had their fire alarms beeping the entire time ( that loud af beeps when you neglect to change the batteries) not a pleasant experience when there is constant beeping. Second of all, service was bad. I know it's a topic of discussion that Asian restaurants (coming from experience) lack proper service but boy oh boy was this slow and inadequate. They had inly 2 people working as servers, bussers, and food runner in a place full of patrons. 3rd, when we ordered Wonton Soup, and we but into wonton, it was ICE COLD!!!!! Clearly they just tossed a frozen wonton onto a soup and didn't even boil it to make it up to temperature. Not sure if this should be reported. Their steamed dumplings and lo mein were good. We had to go up to the register to request to go container and pay for our bills because their servers were more concerned about bussing their tables than pay attention. Overall very disappointing experience. Had a stomach issues after. Won't be back at all Be aware of cold soup with ICE COLD wontons!!!!!
Sylvia Mayorga
Service is the worst. Came in here Sunday mid morning. After sitting for about 30 mins I got/forced the attention of a server only for them to say I had to wait for my server. I did notice other tables being served quickly. Tables that arrived after I did. 40 minutes in I walked up to the counter and asked if I was going to be served. They said yes to wait for my server. Final one server asked if I wanted dim sum. I was upset and decided to leave.I come to eat in Chinatown at least 3 times a month. Is this a common treatment of non Chinese customers? Will not recommend this place to anyone.
This rip off CRAP place just ALWAYS pigtails on the coat of the original. They have a similar name and yelp just kinda tosses them all together as the "same location" when you look them up. The food here was worse than Panda Express. It tasted like frozen from Trader Joe's. I've never had such bland, almost inedible food in my life......... except from their other rip off location down the street from the OG. We ordered three items. Two minutes after ordering our plate of kung pao shrimp comes out. Just that, the side of rice we ordered to eat with it comes five minutes later after we flag anyone down and ask for it. That dish tasted like someone had ordered it to go and didn't pick it up and they tossed it in a bowl to serve to us. Five minutes later were the soup dumplings. The only reason we go to MAMA LU'S. These were barely warm, not yummy, basically flavorless and tasted way off or just not fresh or maybe just not seasoned well. Next plate to arrive was the spicy wontons. They kinda saved the meal, errrrrr actually it was the chili oil that was the star of the shift. You want the REAL AND ONLY, you need to go to Garvey & Ynez. Yelp won't let me put the address it will delete the post. These clowns have a location in Tustin, city of industry, Monterey park and now this new incarnation of horrible food in Chinatown. Give it a shot if you don't believe me, there is a reason they have a 3 star rating. One high point is that they do have a parking lot that holds about 20 cars so you probably won't have to pay to park. The second best part of dinner after the chili oil!
James H. L.
The 2019 review was when this was under different ownership as CBS Seafood. Currently, this is a branch of the Monterey Park original location. Same kitchen, different recipes. Whereas CBS was primarily Guangzhou province, MLD is closer to Taiwanese/Mandarin style and based upon the current raves (beef rolls, XLB, peking pork chops,etc.) you'll probably be on the 3/5 side for the actual dim sum, and preferring more of their standard dishes now. Anyway, there's still Golden Dragon for the Cantonese style dim sum, and ABC still does a lot of off-menu Guangzhou dishes so there's plenty of room in Chinatown for a bit of diversity. The prices are up based upon costs (as is everywhere really) but this location won't have the ridiculously long waits of the MP location (do expect a short wait at peak times on Saturday/Sunday 10-12 though). Parking lot is still behind the restaurant off of Spring St, and there are scattered street parking (more available towards the industrial shop side East of the restaurant than West towards the hill. Take-out deli section at the rear-corner is still open, so you can point-grab-and go, if you wish.
Doreen T.
This review is for take-out only. We haven't eaten in Chinatown in yearssss, but after the recent Firecracker Run our whole group was starving. We were craving dim sum and started walking to find grub. We all got dim sum at the to-go line and just ate outside due to the long wait for dine in. I got the siu mai, chinese sausage steamed buns, and bean curd rolls. We also added the cooked entrees stir fry tofu and eggplants. Not sure when this happened, but I remember this location as CBS with giant baked BBQ pork buns. Unfortunately the ones here are nowhere near what CBS used to sell. Too much dough and hardly any BBQ pork. However, for about $30 we can only finish about half of our food with plenty of leftovers. Not sure if the sit down menu is similar to other Mama Lu's location, but I did see push dim sum push carts. Overall it serves its purpose of feeding our group of hungry runners.
Khanh T.
We ordered Togo on DoorDash. I was pleasantly surprise with how much food there was, and everything was so much bigger than I anticipated. I also especially loved the salted fish and chicken fried rice. I was really impressed with the quality of their Togo food, and definitely ordering here again.
Saurav S.
Good food but they've got to increase the staff. We waited for roughly an hour for food. The staff is courteous but they were extremely busy, literally running to cover all tables. I liked the food VERY MUCH. I will do takeout from here.
Mama Lu's Dumpling House is a fantastic option for anyone seeking a delicious and authentic Sichuan dining experience. The extensive dumpling selection, flavorful dishes, and focus on quality ingredients make it a hidden gem in Chinatown. The restaurant is small and casual, with basic décor and seating so the focus here is on the food, not the ambiance. Also be prepared for a cash-only policy. There's an ATM nearby, but it's best to come prepared to avoid any surprises. and a simple, no-frills atmosphere.
I've tried other Mama Lu locations, so I was excited when I saw one open in Chinatown! I went for a late lunch, so there was no wait and was lucky to find parking in the lot right next to the restaurant. There is a small lot next door that I would recommend checking out first, but there is also a lot of street parking surrounding the restaurant. Yang Chow Fried Rice (5/5) - Always my favorite type of fried rice at any Chinese restaurant. The one here was flavorful, had shrimp and char sui, and had lots of "wok hei" for those who know :) Spicy Wonton (3/5) - Only thing I tasted with this dish was chili oil. It was super spicy and did not have any other flavor to it. Juicy Pork Dumplings (4/5) - Can't go to Mama Lu's and not get their dumplings! This was good, but was not my favorite. The filling and broth were good, and would give this a try if you come. Overall, I would visit again if I am ever in Chinatown and try some of the other stuff on the menu!
Came here afternoon at a good time around 3 before more started coming in. Good food & service, spacious seating, very accommodating and free parking. Always a fan of the French style beef never fails! Whether under new name/management or not, I'm glad this place still exists!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Their shrimp and pork shumai and braised eggplant are great . I also enjoyed their hot and sour soup . The
My first time eating at this restaurant. I went with a friend. We had green onion pancake, beef wraps, sweet and sour shrimp, garlic Chinese broccoli, and steamed rice. All the food tasted very good. Parking is free. The ambiance is typical Chinese restaurant.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Dim Sum
I like the orange chicken. It stayed crispy even after the orange sauce was mixed. I’d come back again to try other dishes in the menu. This joint was called CBS before.Parking: There’s plenty of parking at the back of the restaurant also in the street with parking meters. I went on a Tuesday around 6:45 PM. More and more people came at around 7:45PM.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Both indoor dining or take out to go are available here and they even have their own parking lot, which is virtually impossible to get around Chinatown. Lobster noodles are excellent here, and goes well with all the dumplings, wonton and bums that they serve here. Duck are great for take out as you go too.
I love Mama Lu's!!! I've only been the the two Montery Park ones. I saw on an IG story that this one has a push cart dim sum so I went immediately. It was a decent experience. I got there and there was a party of 2 that walked in front of me. They got seated in the front room and I told the woman that I was a party of 1. She put menus down on a table near the ladies and walked away. I wasn't sure if was for me or someone else. Anyways, it wasn't for me. I ended up getting ushered to the back room in a corner next to the stack of the fortune cookie boxes. The dim sum lady didn't even come near me. I had to tell her my order from afar. That's no fun. The fun part is seeing the cart and what they have. When I was seated there was no menu and no utensils. I wanted to order veggies and the dim sum lady left and the dropped a menu on my table and never came back. So I didn't get any vegetables. The 5 dim sum plates I got were just average. Nothing great. My total was $33 with tip - about $40. Expensive for average food and bad service.
Wow. What a disappointment this location was. We used to go to their other location in Monterey Park and it has been good. So when we found out they had a new one in Chinatown which is closer, we were delighted to check it out. First of all, they had their fire alarms beeping the entire time ( that loud af beeps when you neglect to change the batteries) not a pleasant experience when there is constant beeping. Second of all, service was bad. I know it's a topic of discussion that Asian restaurants (coming from experience) lack proper service but boy oh boy was this slow and inadequate. They had inly 2 people working as servers, bussers, and food runner in a place full of patrons. 3rd, when we ordered Wonton Soup, and we but into wonton, it was ICE COLD!!!!! Clearly they just tossed a frozen wonton onto a soup and didn't even boil it to make it up to temperature. Not sure if this should be reported. Their steamed dumplings and lo mein were good. We had to go up to the register to request to go container and pay for our bills because their servers were more concerned about bussing their tables than pay attention. Overall very disappointing experience. Had a stomach issues after. Won't be back at all Be aware of cold soup with ICE COLD wontons!!!!!
Service is the worst. Came in here Sunday mid morning. After sitting for about 30 mins I got/forced the attention of a server only for them to say I had to wait for my server. I did notice other tables being served quickly. Tables that arrived after I did. 40 minutes in I walked up to the counter and asked if I was going to be served. They said yes to wait for my server. Final one server asked if I wanted dim sum. I was upset and decided to leave.I come to eat in Chinatown at least 3 times a month. Is this a common treatment of non Chinese customers? Will not recommend this place to anyone.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
This rip off CRAP place just ALWAYS pigtails on the coat of the original. They have a similar name and yelp just kinda tosses them all together as the "same location" when you look them up. The food here was worse than Panda Express. It tasted like frozen from Trader Joe's. I've never had such bland, almost inedible food in my life......... except from their other rip off location down the street from the OG. We ordered three items. Two minutes after ordering our plate of kung pao shrimp comes out. Just that, the side of rice we ordered to eat with it comes five minutes later after we flag anyone down and ask for it. That dish tasted like someone had ordered it to go and didn't pick it up and they tossed it in a bowl to serve to us. Five minutes later were the soup dumplings. The only reason we go to MAMA LU'S. These were barely warm, not yummy, basically flavorless and tasted way off or just not fresh or maybe just not seasoned well. Next plate to arrive was the spicy wontons. They kinda saved the meal, errrrrr actually it was the chili oil that was the star of the shift. You want the REAL AND ONLY, you need to go to Garvey & Ynez. Yelp won't let me put the address it will delete the post. These clowns have a location in Tustin, city of industry, Monterey park and now this new incarnation of horrible food in Chinatown. Give it a shot if you don't believe me, there is a reason they have a 3 star rating. One high point is that they do have a parking lot that holds about 20 cars so you probably won't have to pay to park. The second best part of dinner after the chili oil!
The 2019 review was when this was under different ownership as CBS Seafood. Currently, this is a branch of the Monterey Park original location. Same kitchen, different recipes. Whereas CBS was primarily Guangzhou province, MLD is closer to Taiwanese/Mandarin style and based upon the current raves (beef rolls, XLB, peking pork chops,etc.) you'll probably be on the 3/5 side for the actual dim sum, and preferring more of their standard dishes now. Anyway, there's still Golden Dragon for the Cantonese style dim sum, and ABC still does a lot of off-menu Guangzhou dishes so there's plenty of room in Chinatown for a bit of diversity. The prices are up based upon costs (as is everywhere really) but this location won't have the ridiculously long waits of the MP location (do expect a short wait at peak times on Saturday/Sunday 10-12 though). Parking lot is still behind the restaurant off of Spring St, and there are scattered street parking (more available towards the industrial shop side East of the restaurant than West towards the hill. Take-out deli section at the rear-corner is still open, so you can point-grab-and go, if you wish.
This review is for take-out only. We haven't eaten in Chinatown in yearssss, but after the recent Firecracker Run our whole group was starving. We were craving dim sum and started walking to find grub. We all got dim sum at the to-go line and just ate outside due to the long wait for dine in. I got the siu mai, chinese sausage steamed buns, and bean curd rolls. We also added the cooked entrees stir fry tofu and eggplants. Not sure when this happened, but I remember this location as CBS with giant baked BBQ pork buns. Unfortunately the ones here are nowhere near what CBS used to sell. Too much dough and hardly any BBQ pork. However, for about $30 we can only finish about half of our food with plenty of leftovers. Not sure if the sit down menu is similar to other Mama Lu's location, but I did see push dim sum push carts. Overall it serves its purpose of feeding our group of hungry runners.
We ordered Togo on DoorDash. I was pleasantly surprise with how much food there was, and everything was so much bigger than I anticipated. I also especially loved the salted fish and chicken fried rice. I was really impressed with the quality of their Togo food, and definitely ordering here again.
Good food but they've got to increase the staff. We waited for roughly an hour for food. The staff is courteous but they were extremely busy, literally running to cover all tables. I liked the food VERY MUCH. I will do takeout from here.