Last updated, February 24, 2025.
Los Angeles is filled with delicious dumpling spots showcasing cuisines from around the globe. But before we tell you the where, we have to discuss the what.
What is a dumpling? At its most basic, it's dough wrapped around filling. Duh. But then you get into the finer points. Do samosas count as dumplings? What about empanadas? We decided that yes, they do technically count as dumplings but like hot dogs and hamburgers, which technically count as sandwiches, they are so much their own thing, it wouldn't be helpful for us to lump them together. So, for the purposes of this list, we excluded empanadas, samosas, and similar items.
Since Valentine's Day is coming up, may we suggest that instead of an expensive prix fixe dinner, you consider staying in Southern California while taking a global excursion to eat dumplings from a variety of cuisines.
If you want mandu in LA, head to Koreatown. Photo via Shutterstock.
Mandu
Hangari Kalguksu — Koreatown
Although it's most famous for its knife-cut noodle soups, Hangari Kalguksu also makes delicious mandu. The little packages of ground pork, onions, and noodles are steamed and served with a slightly spicy soy sauce. While you're at the restaurant, which is located in Alexandria Plaza, save room for the pork bossam.
3470 W. 6th St., Los Angeles, California 90020
MDK Noodles (Myung Dong Kyoja) — Koreatown, Anaheim
3630 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010
1000 N. Euclid St, Anaheim, CA 92801
Chang Hwa Dang — Koreatown
3377 Wilshire Blvd., Suite #104, Los Angeles, CA 90010
Pao Jao Dumpling House — Koreatown
928 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90006
Myung In Dumplings — Koreatown
3109 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite B, Los Angeles, CA 90006
At Ukrainian restaurant Mom, Please, you can eat pelmeni on site or take frozen dumplings to prepare at home. Photo by Elina Shatkin.
Pelmeni, Pierogi & Varenyky
Mom, Please — Playa Vista
While the Miracle Mile outpost of this Ukrainian restaurant has closed, the Playa Vista location of Mom, Please is still open and serves fantastic varenyky. The savory version of these half-moon-shaped Ukrainian dumplings are filled with cottage cheese, cabbage, or potato while the sweet ones are filled with either strawberry or cherry jam. Don't forget to buy a couple containers of frozen pelmeni, which are similar to vareniki but round and filled with either chicken or beef (the beef are the best!), to cook at home.
13151 Fountain Park Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90094
Polka Restaurant — Glassell Park
With seven different kinds of pierogi and eight toppings for them, Polka, an old school Polish restaurant, offers both abundance and variety. FYI pierogi tend to be made with thicker dough than pelmeni or varenyky.And if you really love pierogi, check out our interview with Zuza Zak, who wrote the 2022 cookbook Pierogi: Over 50 Recipes to Create Perfect Polish Dumplings.
4112 Verdugo Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90065
Bar Sinizki — Atwater Village
3147 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039
Traktir — West Hollywood, Tarzana
8151 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046
18588 Ventura Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 91356
Solidarity — Santa Monica
1414 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401
Jons Marketplace — multiple locations
This supermarket chain does a good job of catering to the demographics of whatever neighborhood its store is in. So in pretty much any of its Hollywood or East Hollywood stores, you can go to the grocery section and find a wealth of frozen pelmeni (and many other kinds of dumplings) that you can prepare at home. Go crazy!
Kaminari Gyoza Bar specializes in one thing, and you can probably guess what it is from its name. Photo by Elina Shatkin.
Gyoza
Kaminari Gyoza Bar — Downtown LA
If you're going to specialize in one very specific item, especially when it's in your name, you better do it well. Fortunately, Kaminari Gyoza Bar hits the spot. The restaurant was founded by Shigemitsu Fujii, who comes from Utsunomiya, a Japanese city that's famous for its gyoza. (Gyoza originated in China and soldiers brought it to Japan after World War II.) The narrow, brick-walled restaurant offers four kinds of gyoza — chicken, pork, shrimp, and vegan — each of which can be ordered in three different styles: yaki (pan-fried), age (deep-fried), or sui (boiled in a light pork broth). They're filled with cabbage, garlic, green onion, and ginger plus meat or, in the case of the vegan gyoza, with mushrooms. Pan-fried is our recommendation. The $14 bento box, which comes with six gyoza, an egg roll, rice, and a bit of pickled veg, is a good deal.
323 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Nikuman-Ya — Gardena
1620 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., Gardena, CA 90247
Kotsu Ramen & Gyoza — Redondo Beach
1914 S. Pacific Coast Hwy., Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Go Go Gyoza (at Go Go Bird in Citizen Public Market) — Culver City
9355 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
Nijiya Market or Mitsuwa Marketplace — multiple locations
Nijiya and Mitsuwa are both Japanese grocery chains with locations all over SoCal. Every outpost for either of these stores will have small trays of precooked gyoza in its deli section.
Pretty much any ramen restaurant
Almost any halfway decent ramen restaurant in SoCal will also serve solid ramen. Consider yourself blessed.
This variation on the Thai dumplings known as pun klib are fried rather than steamed. Photo via Shutterstock.
Pun Klib (Thai)
Saladang — Pasadena
Despite LA's wealth of Thai restaurants, not many of them serve pun klib, glutinous Thai dumplings that can be filled with a variety of things and steamed or fried. At Saladang, they're filled with ground chicken and peanuts and topped with roasted garlic.
363 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105
The monta from Monta Factory are small and boat-shaped, making them irresistible. Photo via Monta Factory.
Mante/Manti/Manta/Monta/Montoo
Monta Factory — Glendale
I once bought a tray of monta from Monta Factory and by the time I drove from Glendale to KCRW's headquarters in Santa Monica, I had finished almost all of them. That's how addictive they are. Small and boat-shaped with a semi-open top, they're filled with spiced ground beef and drizzled with garlic yogurt. I challenge anyone to eat just one. If you want a larger, softer dumpling, Monta Factory also serves pelmeni and khinkali.
1208 W. Glenoaks Blvd., Glendale, CA 91201
Mantee Cafe — Studio City
10962 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604
Tatik's — Burbank, North Hollywood, Van Nuys
443 S. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91506
12907 Sherman Way, North Hollywood, CA 91605
17638 Vanowen St., Los Angeles, CA 91406
Halal Kitchen Cafe — Northridge
18112 Parthenia St., Ste B. Northridge, CA 91325
Mante House — Tujunga
6852 Foothill Blvd., Tujunga, CA 91042
The Turkish manti at Deme are delightful. Photo by Elina Shatkin.
Deme at the Hotel Figueroa — Downtown LA
Hotel Figueroa revamped its restaurant in the summer of 2024. The result is Deme, a Greek/Turkish/Mediterranean restaurant courtesy of Grandmaster Recorders chef Blake Shailes. Inspired by the large Turkish population of his native country, Australia, Shailes has thrown some tasty Turkish manti on the menu. Sitting in a pool of paprika-tinged brown butter, these dumplings are filled with herby ground lamb, drizzled with yogurt, and sprinkled with sumac and mint.
939 S. Figueroa St., Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Dolan's Uyghur Cuisine — Alhambra, Rowland Heights, Irvine
Bugra Arkin runs Dolan's, one of only a handful of Uyghur restaurants in the United States. The Uyghur version of manta are steamed, thin-skinned purses filled with ground beef and onions. They're not like Armenian monta or Georgian khinkali but they combine certain elements of both.
742 W. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, CA 91803
18920 Gale Ave., Rowland Heights, CA 91748
14425 Culver Dr., Irvine, CA 92604
These purse-like khinkali are a Georgian treat. Photo via Shutterstock.
Khinkali
Khinkali is a Georgian dumpling that's twisted at the top, like a cute purse. At Khinkali House, you can get them filled with ground beef and pork, mushrooms or Georgian cheese, and they can be boiled or fried. We recommend boiled because these are larger than most dumplings and boiling them keeps the dough soft and pliable. The restaurant also offersboiled and fried pelmeni.
113 Artsakh Ave., Glendale, CA 91206
Gev's Kitchen — Van Nuys
7335 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 110, Van Nuys, CA 91405
Momo is a popular Tibetan and Nepalese dumpling. Photo via Shutterstock.
Momo
Momo Souls — West Los Angeles
Popular in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and India, momos are usually half-moon shaped but can also be round, and they're typically served with achar, a pickled, vinegary, spicy dipping sauce. Momo Souls offers no less than a dozen varieties, often merging cuisines and styles.
2352 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
Tara's Himalayan — Palms
10855 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90034
Tibet Nepal House — Pasadena
36 E. Holly St., Pasadena, CA 91103
Momo Fomo — Torrance
20498 Normandie Ave., Torrance, CA 90502
Consider yourself lucky if you live near the San Gabriel Valley, which is brimming with excellent dim sum spots serving shu mai (seen in this photo) and har gow. Photo via Shutterstock.
Shu Mai & Har Gow
Honestly, there are so many places in greater LA, especially in the San Gabriel Valley, that serve delicious shu mai and har gow, both which are stone cold dim sum classics, it would be absurd to try to list them all. Here are just a few favorites.
Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant — Rosemead
3939 Rosemead Blvd., Rosemead, CA 91770
Lunasia Dim Sum House — Alhambra, Cerritos, Pasadena, Torrance
500 W. Main St., Alhambra, CA 91801
11510 South St., C822, Cerritos, CA 90703
239 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
2575 E Pacific Coast Hwy., Torrance, CA 90505
Crystal Dumplings — Garden Grove
9240 Garden Grove Blvd., Suite 12 Garden Grove, CA 92844
Paradise Dynasty — Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Irvine
3333 Bristol St., BLM, 1 Bloomingdale's, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
18050 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley, CA 92708
705 Spectrum Center Dr., Irvine, CA 92618
Xiao long bao aka soup dumplings are another dim sum favorite. Photo via Shutterstock.
Xiao Long Bao
Again, you'll find so many restaurants that make incredible xiao long bao aka soup dumplings, we're only going to name check a few of the best known ones. Also, many of these restaurants don't simply serve xiao long bao, they serve many other kinds of dumplings.
Mr Dragon Noodle House — Rosemead
8526 Valley Blvd., Suite 108, Rosemead, CA 91770
Long Xing Ji Juicy Dumpling — San Gabriel
140 W Valley Blvd., Suite 211, San Gabriel, CA 91776
Din Tai Fung — Anaheim, Arcadia, Brea, Century City, Costa Mesa, Glendale, Irvine, Torrance
Multiple locations
Prince Dumpling — Rosemead
8801 Valley Blvd., Rosemead, CA 91770
Ixlb Dimsum Eats — Hollywood, Westwood
5900 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028
10905 Lindbrook Dr,. Los Angeles, CA 90024
So many dumplings, so little time. Photo via Shutterstock.
Assorted Dumplings
The restaurants in this category tend to be dumpling specialists and, as such, they make multiple kinds, so we figured it wouldn't be useful to categorize them by type of dumpling.
Mama Lu's Dumpling House — Monterey Park
Mama Lu's is a Monterey Park classic. With the word "dumpling" in its name and more than two dozen kinds of dumplings on its menu, the Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant has tons of variety. Spinach and pork wonton soup? Check. Shrimp, chive, and pork dumplings? Check. Lamb dumplings? Check. Fried fish balls? Check. Your only problem will be choosing among all the great options.
501 W. Garvey Ave., Monterey Park, CA 91755
Tai He Ju Dumplings House — El Monte
Tai He Ju makes a diverse range of dumplings with classic fillings like pork and chives or more unique options like chive and eggs, beef and cumin, beef and corn, and tomato and egg. They can be boiled, pan-fried, or deep-fried, and the wrappers, which are made in-house, vary in thickness to match the style of dumpling.
10333 Garvey Ave., El Monte, CA 91733
Kang Kang Food Court — Alhambra
This place makes excellent sheng jian bao (Shanghai-style fried pork dumplings), among many other things.
27 E. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, CA 91801
Yang Chow — Chinatown, Long Beach, Pasadena
819 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012
2930 Clark Ave., Long Beach, CA 90815
3777 E. Colorado, Pasadena, CA 91107
Pine & Crane — DTLA, Silver Lake
1120 S. Grand Ave., Suite 101, Los Angeles, CA 90015
1521 Griffith Park Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Bafang Dumplings — Brea, Cerritos, Chino Hills, City of Industry, Cypress, Gardena, Temple City, Torrance
Multiple locations
Cindy's Kitchen — Hacienda Heights
16409 Colima Rd., Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
Hui Tou Xiang — Hollywood, San Gabriel
1643 N. Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
704 W. Las Tunas Dr., #5 San Gabriel, CA 91776
These beet-ricotta "gnocchetti" have a way of changing the minds of people who think they hate beets. Photo by Evan Kleiman.