Din Tai Fung

The food was OK. The design of the restaurant is AMAZING! I don't need to go again, but it was ok for lunch.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 3

Booths in the sort-of shape of basket steamers, a glassed-in performance kitchen and an authentic" way of eating the dumplings (poke a hole and suck out the liquid first --not at all like the inviting Arcadia location a Chinese-American food friend introduced me to a decade ago.

So it's really helpful to know before you go into this slicked up version of Din Ti Fung to consider it more a tribute to the concept of meticulous almost machine-like dumpling making in Taipei, Taiwan by original owners Bing-Yi Yang and wife than a replica.
Wish I had known!

The first week of the hard opening on a rainy day, with plenty of empty tables, this place at the far west side of Santa Monica Place had plenty of empty tables at the end of lunch hour. The outside guard waved us in and the Chinese-American manager acted as though we had come last minute to the Met Gala. (Bowen Yang would do a GREAT skit using him as a role model). Already so not in the spirit of the founders. Even the name: Din ("wok" Tai ("peace of "safe") Fung ("abundance" "plentiful")

It all got sorted out with bar seating and one of the majority American servers who recites the menu and manner of eating the dishes like a Disney guide pro. He also gave us a business-like account of the business end expectations at this place.

Yes, Kurugbuta pork is used in the xialongbao and other dishes, meticulously prepared -- and you can see this in the machine-like precision of the performance kitchen.

Much more expensive than the original location, and with the same customer frenzy as at Century City, I'll wait to go back to Arcadia.

Vegetarian options: spinach that was well prepared and super expensive for one dish of it.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 3

I love din tai fung but my girl and I got really bad food poisoning she spiked a fever after eating here and we both had diarrhea for 2 days with nausea and headache

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 5

Gotta say - don’t see what the hype is all about. First - had an early reservation but they just put everyone into a waiting pattern. So what’s the point of the reservation? Second, service was very slow on the ordering - but fine on bringing items out. Third - the food was all pretty bland and blah - the dumplings, noodles and friend rice. Just no real flavor to anything. Best items were the chicken soup and broccoli - but none of their signature items. Fourth - the space was nice - sort of an LV vibe. At the end of the day - not really worth a second visit. Too bad.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 3

Only taking reservations, and no more than 4

Service: 1

Pleasantly surprised to be able to be seated as a walk-in during the soft opening. Stunning new space - especially the heated patio area. The food was outstanding as always but the service was a little sloppy which I think can be improved. We’ll be back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4