This guide is part of our review of the Best Dim Sum Restaurants in America. Sign up for our newsletter to get recipes, dining tips and restaurant reviews throughout the year!
Houston’s dim sum restaurants reflect the contemporary pan-Asian character of a community that relocated from the historic Chinatown downtown to the suburbs west of the Loop in the early 1980s.
While you will find familiar Cantonese-style tea houses on our shortlist of Houston’s best dim sum restaurants, it’s a collection of eateries unburdened by decades of tradition. You’re more likely to find strip mall storefronts, than pagoda rooftops.
» Read more: Our Ultimate Dim Sum Menu Guide with Pictures and Translations
Reviewers note a particular Vietnamese influence on the city’s dim sum menus, along with inventive new recipes using gulf shore seafood that go beyond the steamed pork or shrimp dishes that usually dominate the menu.
While traditionalists can find their favorites at reliable stalwarts like Fung’s Kitchen and Ocean Palace, one of the city’s most interesting new entrants is Yauatcha, the London-based collaboration between founder Alan Yau and the Hakkasan Group. A contemporary spin on the classic Cantonese teahouse, Yauatcha uses inventive ingredients to make refined specialties like prawn and bean curd cheung fun and scallop siu mai (with prices to match).
From our vantage point, it all feels similar to the suburban communities found outside the major Asian community hubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where old and new come together to form exciting new combinations. All found, in this case, deep in the heart of Texas.
» Read more: The Best Teas for Dim Sum
Read on! Here are the five best dim sum restaurants to try in Houston, listed in alphabetical order and shown on a map to help you find them.
Where To Find The Best Dim Sum in Houston
Restaurant Key: Classic — big and boisterous, the full dim sum hall experience. Elevated — exceptional views or ambiance create a more refined dining experience. Modern — fusion or innovative takes on dim sum classics. Hole in the Wall — the food’s the only reason to go, and that’s a good thing.
A. Fung’s Kitchen — Classic
7320 Southwest Fwy., Suite 115
Houston, TX 77074
“…the dumplings are fresher, the seaweed is crunchier and you can get signature killed-to-order seafood items like scallops in their shells straight from the aquarium during dim sum service.” – Houston Press
B. Golden Dim Sum — Hole in the Wall
10600 Bellaire Blvd., Suite 105
Houston, TX 77072
“…expect to wait – likely outside – expect sketchy service, and expect to be sardined into a table with your back pressed next to someone behind you. But serious eaters will get everything they expect as well as something more.” – Houston Chronicle
C. Kim Son — Classic
12750 Southwest Fwy.
Stafford, TX 77477
“…Kim Son’s greatest strength has always been its presentation and reputation. To Houstonians, Kim Son is Coca-Cola, the Yankees, Nike, Pixar and Lee Kum Kee soy sauce.” – Chopstix Houston
D. Ocean Palace — Classic
11215 Bellaire Blvd.
Houston, TX 77072
“…the food was sumptuous and inexpensive, service was good and overall the restaurant condition was neat and clean.” – My Wise Wife
E. Yauatcha — Elevated
5045 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77056
“In Houston, where diners have feasted on dim sum in dozens of eateries for decades, the competition is tough, but Yauatcha offers elements that cannot readily be matched by just any Chinatown dim sum restaurant.” – Houston Press
Let us know what you think! Do you have a better restaurant to recommend? Comment below!
Rob
I think YumYum is closed
Dim Sum Central
I know! This was really sad to hear. Will update shortly.
Twisty1965
Yum Yum has not been managed well that last year or so. The last time we went the tables were sticky the floor, walls and windows were dirty and the food was not fresh. I am not sure what happened. It used to be such a fresh and cute place. Houston needs another dim sum place inside the loop!
Dim Sum Central
Thanks for stopping by and letting us know! Sounds like Yum Yum is off the list. We’re working on updating this profile!
Jason Wong
The dim sum chef of yum yum cha is now at a restaurant called Ding Ding in china Town, I believe they open at 8:30 in the morning
Dim Sum Central
Thanks for the tip, Jason. Love how the name of the restaurant (Ding Ding) references the trams in Hong Kong!
Jason Wong
Yes, this place is very Hong Kong, they just did a remodeling, the look is not as “Hong Kong” as before, but much cleaner and modern. But the menu is still very Hong Kong, as least to me is one of the most legit cha chen tang menu I have seen in the US. I am sure you know Hong Kong very well, a lot of my friends that are from there has no idea why they call it “ding ding” lol
Dim Sum Central
Totally. You’ll find a few good cha chaan tengs here in the Bay Area with HK specialties like pork chops, french toast and a full tea hour menu with pineapple buns and milk tea…but sadly the best is still back at the source city! Honolulu Cafe, or similar, is a first stop after stepping off the Airport Express. 🙂
Denis Mountain
Golden dim sim is just an amazing place, their great menu covers offers the best dim sum ever.
Wes Radez
Thanks for sharing your experience, Denis!
Neil Q
I agree with your list, just maybe not the order. Ocean Palace is consistently the best imo, followed by Golden Dim Sum. Fung’s is a bit of an anomaly. It can at once be at once good and authentic but also a sizable there is a mix of many dishes which aren’t right by any standard. At least when compared to Monterey Park, or Chinatown in LA and SF.
Maybe they have altered many dishes to suit the larger number of American guests they have? Unsure.
Wes Radez
Thanks for that “on the ground” intelligence, Neil. ~Wes
Wes Radez
Thanks for your insight, Neil! ~Wes