Dumpling Home, San Francisco

Reviewer: Foodnut.com Dumpling Home 298 Gough St San Francisco, CA 94102 415-503-1666 Dumpling Home Website

Why did we dine here? – Dumpling Home was featured in the SF Chronicle for Xiao Long Bao or Soup Dumplings making us really want to try it. We are big fans of these delicate little steamed dumplings and have eaten them all over the world including Shanghai. The two best spots have been Din Tai Fung in Santa Clara and Yank Sing, SF. We have dined here several times. Our last visit was during the start of 2023.

• Dumpling Hours in Walnut Creek is their sister restaurant with an identical menu.  We ate there in September 2022 and found it substantially identical.

We ate here, outside, several times during the pandemic and returned for take out. A nice diverse crowd was dining, leading us to believe they will survive. In 2022 there are lines consistently when they open.

Insider Tip – If you are a Soup dumpling fan.. Must go!

Cuisine – Chinese
Location – Hayes Valley, SF
Opened – 2020

Service – Dumpling Home had reasonable service during the pandemic. They had outdoor dining, sprayed down the table, but did not have contactless payments.
Verdict – Dumpling Home fulfilled our high expectations. Yes, we will be back. No need to journey to Santa Clara any more!

Is this restaurant worth a 5 minute drive? Yes. 30 minute? Yes. 1 Hour? Maybe.

Dumpling Home Signature Dishes – Xiao Long Bao, Juicy Pork Dumplings

Dumpling Home’s Menu is not too broad and focused on specific areas.

Website Dumpling Home Menu

Dumpling Home Food Picks:

Wood & Silver Ear Mushrooms in House dressing ($7.95) was a nice cold starter with rarely found silver ear mushrooms. Vegetarian compatible.

Soybean Noodle Salad ($8.95) is another vegetarian starter.  Ample quantity of these tender noodles.

Green Onion Pan cake ($8.95) was the weakest dish although still pretty good. Thin, Good but underseasoned. 7.5/10

Pork Xiao Long Bao ($8.95 for 4) are a standout, easily on par with Din Tai Fung. Slightly larger than them. More of a natural soup than the their bouillon style. Thin skin and very baggy and soupy. Wow. If you get them for take out, please eat them right away in your car. Check out our review of Shanghai’s Soup Dumplings 9/10

Compare to Din Tai Fung Santa Clara, these are far bigger and more soupy.  These are also more flavorful.

Crab and Pork Xiao Long Bao ($12.95 for 4) are also excellent. The crab is of high quality, unlike other spots. 8.5/10

Numb & Spicy Pork Xiao Long Bao ($16.95 for 8) were also excellent. Slight orange tinge. Just a slight numbing effect, not too spicy.  A nice variation of the normal pork ones. 9.5/10

Chicken XLB are very good too. They have a curry flavor. 9/10

Juicy pork buns ($12.95 for 6) or Pan Fried Pork Buns aka Sheng Jian Bao are also excellent. Nice texture, not a lot of soup, and a large crunchy bottom. Even after having one sit for 15 minutes, it was lovely. We reminisce about Yangs Fry Dumpling in Shanghai, these come closest. Even better than Shanghai Flavor Shop in Sunnyvale. China Live in SF also is known for an okay version. 9/10 – Chicken Juicy buns ($14.95 for 6) taste surprisingly like the pork ones.

Pork dumplings ($10.95) are not cheap but also hit the mark.  They do use egg in their binder. 8/10

Red Bean Paste Pockets ($9.95) is a nice sweet dessert dish, almost like a scallion pancake with warm filling. 8.5/10

Zha Jiang Noodle Dry ($14.95) were also done well. Hand made noodles that clearly show the quality. The dish is mixed tableside.

Okra with garlic sauce ($16.95) is good for vegetarians. Ample quantity and cooked just fine. 8.5/10

Kelp strings salad with garlic ($8.95) was a special for today.  Better than expected. 8.5/10

Dry cooked green Bean ($12.95) was also solid.  Good portion size and flavor.  Not spicy.

Brussel Sprouts are well done and fried up, not too greasy. 8.5/10

OK: (Order if you like this dish)
Dry Shrimp Egg & Chives Pockets ($7.95 for 2) were pretty small but well made.

Pans: (We would not reorder these dishes)
None

Do you agree with our review? Have you found other similar restaurants that are better?

Restaurant Map: