Find the best Chinese food near you with our Boston.com guides

Restaurants

Table of Contents

Toggle

Here’s where to find Boston’s best dumplings, dim sum, and more.

Boston’s vast and diverse Chinese food scene can sometimes make it difficult to narrow down where to eat. In the mood for dumplings? Dim sum? Hand-pulled noodles? Chinese pastries? It’s all here: Whether you’re craving a Szechuan feast or a weekend dim sum brunch, there are dozens of local restaurants that can meet your hankering for excellent Chinese food.

To help you find the best fit, we’ve compiled guides to some of Boston’s top Chinese restaurants and dishes. Read through our stories on Chinatown’s must-try eateries, the best dim sum spots, and dumpling destinations recommended by Boston.com and our readers. After diving into these guides, you’ll likely end up hungry for xiao long bao and har gow, with more than a few ideas on where to find the best versions around Boston.

We may be biased when we say that Boston has one of the best Chinatowns in the country, but after visiting its vast selection of restaurants, it’s easy to see why. The lively neighborhood boasts eateries like Five Spices House, where dan dan noodles remain a fan favorite; Empire Garden, a popular dim sum destination; and Peach Farm, offering late-night diners Peking ravioli and a sizzling flounder house special. Read our guide to the 20 must-try restaurants in Boston’s Chinatown to help you eat your way around the neighborhood.

When Boston.com asked its readers to name their favorite local dim sum restaurant, a flood of recommendations came pouring in. Dim sum-goers called out places like China Star in Lowell, Hei La Moon in Chinatown, Ming Seafood Restaurant in Quincy, and SunKong Restaurant in Malden. But one Chinatown destination was mentioned by roughly one-third of survey respondents, pointing to a clear favorite: Winsor Dim Sum Café. Check out our dim sum guide to see why the restaurant was named Boston’s best place for dim sum.

When we spoke with Dumpling Daughter owner Nadia Liu Spellman in early 2021, she called dumplings “the essential comfort food of my childhood.” We know plenty of people can relate to that sentiment. Whether you’ve found comfort in the dumplings at Bess’s Cafe in Brookline, Dumpling Cafe in Boston, or Mary Chung in Cambridge, it’s clear that there are dozens of exemplary dumpling destinations in the Boston area. Peruse our guide to excellent dumplings around Boston, including where you can order frozen dumplings to cook at home.

Boston.com has its favorite dumpling restaurants, but so do you, as evidenced by the 153 locations that Boston.com readers named when asked for their favorite place to eat dumplings. Among the most frequently recommended: Dumpling Cafe, Dumpling House (in both Cambridge and Newton), Gourmet Dumpling House, and Taiwan Cafe. Check out our reader-recommended guide to all 153 dumpling restaurants.