We had an extraordinary experience in this restaurant. We liked the first-rate environment and the menu. The staff are super amiable. I am glad we ultimately decided to visit this place.
Max Jackson
This restaurant provides awesome service as well as delightful food. My favourite restaurant ever. The food and drinks came out fast and the rates were reasonable. Recommended.
Britt
You have better luck eating the frozen dumplings you can buy at Costco to be honest... Wait took forever and the filling had no substance. Definitely not worth the long wait.
Melissa Christopherson
You can’t go wrong with your experience here. The staff and food are exceptional. I brought my friend from out of town here, and we were both blown away!! I’ll definitely be coming back.
Ksea Parker
I love this place, you can come as you are, no matter who you are. The staff are super fun and friendly. The Owner is a Darling and the dumplings are dandy. One heck of a head Chef and his food is Delicious and one can become addicted to Many of his tasty creations. There is even cocktails served which makes for a pretty special place to meet up with friends after work and just ENJOY!!
Levi Baber
Food was good. Service was great. We went with my sister and her kids, and one of them got sick shortly after the food arrived. The server handled it great and was super understanding.
Sami V.
Finally got to check out the brick and mortar restaurant and I'm so glad we did. We tried the two vegans specials this week and were not disappointed!!! We also shared the Japche and Udon and those noodles were out of this world. You get a wonderful amount of tofu, too, when you add it. We went at an odd time on a Sunday late lunch early dinner time and it wasn't too busy and the servers were attentive and so helpful. The space was clean and inviting and it seemed like everyone around us also was enjoying their food as well. What a wonderful place!
Sarah Mattingly
Delicious real food. Great service. Fun atmosphere
JeffB2656
Food is always good. However the attitude and quality of service is poor. I get it it’s a Sunday. But try. Not sure I’ll be back . Not worth the sub par service
Aaron Bertram
Very yummy! Fair pricing and very good quality. Some veggie and vegan options, too. I'd like to eat one of everything here!
Delicious Asian Fusion. I recommend the lo mein with handmade noodles, nice and chewy with a spicy fresh sauce. Also delicious - the Korean Chicken dumplings. I have been to the Dumpling Darling in Iowa City, which is tiny and charming, but sort of a fast food vibe. This one in Des Moines feels much more like a nice restaurant to linger in over a long dinner. Highly recommend
Megan P.
Came here to visit some family and was pleased to find this place had great options. love the vegan options!! definitely recommend. AMAZING kimchi and overall service was great! plenty of vegan options to go around.
Carla Hicklin
A group of six had dinner here Monday night. I’m not a fan of grease and so much was fried. At the recommendation of our server I ordered the taco appetizer. It was three large pieces of fried dough with maybe one small tablespoon of filling in each. The filling was delicious, just not much there. Perhaps the dumpling are good. The service was incredibly slow. One order was lost and my friend waited 15 minutes for her entree. Another friend ordered dessert for which we waited 15 minutes. Never an explanation or apology for the excessive wait times. And the acoustics are poor. I was unable to hear my friends talking.
Mahlon White
The atmosphere at Dumpling Darlings is very interesting. From the moment you step inside your eyes immediately drawn to the exposed brink and ceiling, in a word Urban. We were immediately greeted by a young woman, who I assume is the hostess. The waiter was attentive and friendly and was willing to give a lot of recommendations that we actually used. There was a slight wait for the food but when it did make it to the table everything was fresh and hot. We ordered the Avocado Rangoons and they were the star of our lunch. Very creamy and delicious. We did notice that not all the descriptions in the menu reflect the spiciness of the dishes. Case in point my wife had to ask for her Coconut Fried Rice to be remade, which they were happy to do. After the small change the dish was more to her liking and delicious. We will definitely be back to try other unique items on their menu.
Lindsey W.
The good: my Lola's Boat was a decent gin-based cocktail, not overly sweet. The brussel sprouts were also tasty with nice crispy bits and slightly spicy sauce. The mediocre: I've never been served any traditional dumpling on a plate. They always appear piping hot (steamy?) in the steam tray...which is probably why everything we ate was luke warm, with the seams drying. The lamb dumplings tasted fine, and probably would have been better hot. The peanut sauce was unnecessary. Our kimchi tofu dumplings lacked the spicy acidity you expect from kimchi. I also disliked the sesame seeds on top of the steamed bun. I just love the soft dough of bao, and the texture just ruined it for me. Sigh. Still searching for my Bing's Dumplings replacement...
We had an extraordinary experience in this restaurant. We liked the first-rate environment and the menu. The staff are super amiable. I am glad we ultimately decided to visit this place.
This restaurant provides awesome service as well as delightful food. My favourite restaurant ever. The food and drinks came out fast and the rates were reasonable. Recommended.
You have better luck eating the frozen dumplings you can buy at Costco to be honest... Wait took forever and the filling had no substance. Definitely not worth the long wait.
You can’t go wrong with your experience here. The staff and food are exceptional. I brought my friend from out of town here, and we were both blown away!! I’ll definitely be coming back.
I love this place, you can come as you are, no matter who you are. The staff are super fun and friendly. The Owner is a Darling and the dumplings are dandy. One heck of a head Chef and his food is Delicious and one can become addicted to Many of his tasty creations. There is even cocktails served which makes for a pretty special place to meet up with friends after work and just ENJOY!!
Food was good. Service was great. We went with my sister and her kids, and one of them got sick shortly after the food arrived. The server handled it great and was super understanding.
Finally got to check out the brick and mortar restaurant and I'm so glad we did. We tried the two vegans specials this week and were not disappointed!!! We also shared the Japche and Udon and those noodles were out of this world. You get a wonderful amount of tofu, too, when you add it. We went at an odd time on a Sunday late lunch early dinner time and it wasn't too busy and the servers were attentive and so helpful. The space was clean and inviting and it seemed like everyone around us also was enjoying their food as well. What a wonderful place!
Delicious real food. Great service. Fun atmosphere
Food is always good. However the attitude and quality of service is poor. I get it it’s a Sunday. But try. Not sure I’ll be back . Not worth the sub par service
Very yummy! Fair pricing and very good quality. Some veggie and vegan options, too. I'd like to eat one of everything here!
Restaurantji Recommends
Delicious Asian Fusion. I recommend the lo mein with handmade noodles, nice and chewy with a spicy fresh sauce. Also delicious - the Korean Chicken dumplings. I have been to the Dumpling Darling in Iowa City, which is tiny and charming, but sort of a fast food vibe. This one in Des Moines feels much more like a nice restaurant to linger in over a long dinner. Highly recommend
Came here to visit some family and was pleased to find this place had great options. love the vegan options!! definitely recommend. AMAZING kimchi and overall service was great! plenty of vegan options to go around.
A group of six had dinner here Monday night. I’m not a fan of grease and so much was fried. At the recommendation of our server I ordered the taco appetizer. It was three large pieces of fried dough with maybe one small tablespoon of filling in each. The filling was delicious, just not much there. Perhaps the dumpling are good. The service was incredibly slow. One order was lost and my friend waited 15 minutes for her entree. Another friend ordered dessert for which we waited 15 minutes. Never an explanation or apology for the excessive wait times. And the acoustics are poor. I was unable to hear my friends talking.
The atmosphere at Dumpling Darlings is very interesting. From the moment you step inside your eyes immediately drawn to the exposed brink and ceiling, in a word Urban. We were immediately greeted by a young woman, who I assume is the hostess. The waiter was attentive and friendly and was willing to give a lot of recommendations that we actually used. There was a slight wait for the food but when it did make it to the table everything was fresh and hot. We ordered the Avocado Rangoons and they were the star of our lunch. Very creamy and delicious. We did notice that not all the descriptions in the menu reflect the spiciness of the dishes. Case in point my wife had to ask for her Coconut Fried Rice to be remade, which they were happy to do. After the small change the dish was more to her liking and delicious. We will definitely be back to try other unique items on their menu.
The good: my Lola's Boat was a decent gin-based cocktail, not overly sweet. The brussel sprouts were also tasty with nice crispy bits and slightly spicy sauce. The mediocre: I've never been served any traditional dumpling on a plate. They always appear piping hot (steamy?) in the steam tray...which is probably why everything we ate was luke warm, with the seams drying. The lamb dumplings tasted fine, and probably would have been better hot. The peanut sauce was unnecessary. Our kimchi tofu dumplings lacked the spicy acidity you expect from kimchi. I also disliked the sesame seeds on top of the steamed bun. I just love the soft dough of bao, and the texture just ruined it for me. Sigh. Still searching for my Bing's Dumplings replacement...