The best dim sum restaurants in L.A.

This cherished all-day dim sum spot in Pasadena, Alhambra, Cerritos and Torrance serves dainty golden egg buns, with runny, sweet yolk centers that ooze out from fluffy white exteriors. The almond milk with puff pastry is another one of their signature creations, with hot and just-sweet-enough almond milk beneath a fluffy, flaky top. House-made dumplings are aptly labeled “jumbo,” and their sticky rice wrap has exceptional flavor and just the right texture. Make a reservation or head here early to avoid the inevitable brunch rush, but latecomers, take heed: unlike other dim sum spots, Lunasia serves the Cantonese tradition well into the evening.

After all these years, Tony He’s original upscale dim sum joint in Rosmead is still a crowd favorite; the cozy dining room has been offering made-to-order dim sum of the highest order since 2002. Dare to visit on a weekend morning and you’ll find a line that formed long before opening. With a menu of more than 100 items, you’ll do best to stick to the well-executed basics, like crystal shrimp dumplings and pork dumplings. The vibrant pork soup dumplings are hot and juicy in their tins on arrival, while the springy rice noodle rolls nail the ideal filling-to-rice-paper ratio and are some of the best in the city. Highlights beyond the basics include fried whole smelt, steamed black fungus in vinegar, and celery-and-fungus dumplings.

While Sea Harbour offers a wider array of dishes and more cozy environs, chef Tony He offers a more tightly curated dim sum menu at his eponymous follow-ups in Arcadia and Monterey Park. His cooking shines just as bright at these sleeker, more youthful concepts, with truffle-laced shumai; translucent, fish egg-topped scallop and shrimp dumpling; and not just one, but two jet-black dishes topped with edible gold: shrimp har gow and salty-sweet lava egg yolk buns—the latter best eaten extremely carefully. Among its desserts, you’ll also find a trio of darling sesame-eyed coconut jelly bunnies. Although the final bill is likely to raise an eyebrow among dim sum aficionados, a meal here justifies both the price and the wait, which can get long on weekends if you don’t come early.

There’s no way around it: At the wrong time, the wait can be hours long at Happy Together, a best-in-class dim sum joint located inside a Holiday Inn in El Monte. Luckily, the cuisine here is more than worth it—and you can also add yourself to the restaurant’s Yelp waitlist ahead of time. Originally from Chino Hills, Happy Together serves flawlessly executed standards like har gow, char siu puffs and lotus leaf-wrapped packets of chicken and sticky rice. The kitchen distinguishes itself further with an excellent poultry and barbecue selection, including a unique coconut crispy chicken and classic juicy red pork, which are cooked in small batches to maintain quality. Just don’t come here for the ambience. Despite white tablecloths and somewhat tacky banquet seat covers, the end result is still a fairly casual yet utterly delicious dim sum experience.

With a luxurious ornate banquet interior and surprisingly delicious dim sum standards, this cavernous Temple City eatery was one of the most underrated finds on my most recent quest to find L.A. County’s best dim sum. Not only does Grand Harbor offer a well-executed, dizzying mix of standard and unique dishes, the restaurant also takes advance reservations—a boon on weekend mornings, when dim sum restaurants are usually busiest. During my visit, my party of eight particularly enjoyed the corn-and-chive pancakes, steamed durian buns and mango pudding. The cheung fun here was appropriately thin and silky, the sticky rice meaty and flavorful and the kitchen stuck the landing on entrées like scallop fried rice and mixed seafood chow mein. On weekdays, the restaurant also offers discounts for early-bird diners.

Featuring a counter for takeout alongside tables for dine-in service, this efficient, no-frills dim sum joint in El Monte caters to all kinds with classic dishes like barbecue pork buns, chicken feet in black bean sauce and fried taro puffs, plus turnip and taro cakes. I also enjoyed the shark’s fin dumplings (though at the price point, it’s almost certainly made with imitation vermicelli) and the pineapple buns here come with a generous portion of the crumbly, bright yellow sugar crust. Not a single item faltered in terms of quality, and compared to the other dim sum restaurants I visited, Ocean Bo was also the cheapest, with most items uniformly priced at just under $5 apiece.

Of all the dim sum restaurants I’ve tried in Los Angeles, I’ve never seen such eye-poppingly large pieces of dim sum as the ones produced at Rosemead’s Longo Seafood. The per-item menu prices might run on the higher side, but the restaurant delivers in terms of bang for your buck with heftily portioned har gow, siu mai, pork buns and other classic items. Nothing disappointed me here, and I appreciated the presence of hot almond milk soufflé on the menu—a comforting puff pastry-topped dessert soup that contains gingko nuts. Entrées like the lobster noodles and mixed seafood chow mein were also faithfully executed, while the slightly glitzy interiors add a touch of a class to a meal here. It’s also worth noting the restaurant takes reservations, unlike many dim sum joints.

This San Gabriel Valley push-cart dim sum restaurant has been around for decades, with its vast picture-filled dim sum menu offered daily from 8am to 3pm, then an expanded menu later in the day. Here, you’ll find two kinds of chicken feet (pickled and in black bean sauce), as well as other dishes not commonly found at L.A. dim sum restaurants, including a pan fried meat-stuffed bitter melon, beef tripe and dried squid. Come time for dessert, be sure to order the sponge cake layered with salted duck egg yolks. 

This strip mall eatery in Monterey Park is one of the few dim sum places left in L.A. that still use old-school pushcarts to dole out staples like egg tarts, fried turnip cakes and rice noodle rolls. Most items here range from solid to above average, but certain standouts like the pineapple salted egg yolk buns and roast pork are worth ordering every time. On colder days, spring for a bowl of congee with your choice of toppings from the congee cart passing by—it's not every day you can order with your eyes.

Capital Seafood is one of the last great push-cart places in the San Gabriel Valley, with the ultimate aim of being authentic (and inexpensive). There’s plenty to choose from at this Monterey Park and Arcadia spot, but you’ll want to try the sliced crispy pork belly with its fantastic, crackling texture, along with the chicken feet, if that’s your thing. The egg tarts are superb, boasting a multilayered, flaky crust. Service is top notch at Capital, where dishes land promptly on your table and frequent check-ins ensure that you’ll always be able to order more. Note: Capital Seafood also has locations in Beverly Hills and Irvine—though we consider the two San Gabriel Valley spots the best out of the four.

Make no mistake: This is no dine-in, head-over-heels-in-love-with-the-space dim sum spot, but it’s one of Monterey Park’s hidden gems. This tiny, cash-only to-go counter serves Capital Seafood’s same dumplings—plus combo plates—for $5 and under just a few doors down in the same Monterey Park strip mall. Roast duck hangs behind the plexiglass from the “roast” section, where you can also snag golden chicken, soy sauce squid and BBQ pork for around $10. This takeout joint is no-frills for sure, but it’s not to be overlooked for a quick, inexpensive stop when your dim sum cravings hit.

The brainchild of a longtime NYC restaurateur (who couldn’t stand retirement) and his adult daughter, this family-run dim sum restaurant with locations in Hollywood and Westwood makes all of its menu items from scratch on a daily basis, with each dish cooked to order, in a sleekly designed fast-casual setting with a giant cartoon xiaolongbao painted on its side. Although you won’t find chicken feet on the menu, ixlb Dimsum carries the bulk of a standard yum cha menu, including wonderfully bouncy shrimp har gow, gleaming custard-filled pineapple buns and soup dumplings individually housed in aluminum foil wrappers.