Yu Garden Dumpling House

Reviews

• Angie I.

  star star star star star 13 June 2026

  Young man with glasses was a superstar. From the moment we walked in, he quickly acknowledged us and greeted us warmly.
  
  He was the only server in a full house with all tables occupied. It was ultimately a one man show and he was doing a phonemonial job! So much patience even in a very hectic environment when he is constantly running back and forth to the kitchen and every table.
  
  When the food came, I quietly mumbled hmm hot sauce, he heard me and brought it out! That is A+ service.
  
  We enjoyed the XLB and rice cake dish! Prices are very reasonable.

• Alvin T.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 11 June 2026

  My father and I were in the neighborhood and didn't feel like driving further down Kissena towards Main. I saw "Yu Garden" and made the wrong assumption that it's associated with Shanghai You Garden on 40th rd, which I've had fantastic dining experiences at. We went in, sat down, and ordered our food.
  
  The first dish that came out, drunken chicken, was the one that ruined our experience at this restaurant. I was very excited too as Shaoxing wine is one of my favorite flavors! My father and I looked at each other during our first bite with puzzled faces.... we both realized that the chicken was frozen!!! We spat it out and tried another piece, just to make sure we weren't going crazy and maybe it was an isolated incident, but the second piece confirmed that indeed the chicken was frozen. I asked the waiter kindly to send it back and soon after, the chef/manager came out and had the audacity to explain to us that drunken chicken is a cold dish... This isn't my first rodeo with Shanghainese cuisine; I ordered drunken chicken not frozen chicken! She kept on explaining why it was FROZEN (our refrigerator is on the fritz... UHM, NOT MY PROBLEM) and offered to microwave it for us... I kindly just asked to send it back as we wanted no part of that dish.
  
  The XLB was mediocre. The fried rice cake was way too saucy.
  
  When we asked for the bill, the waiter looked at me with a sad look in his eye... he knew I shouldn't have been charged for the chicken, but alas, there it was on my bill. I knew it was futile to kill the messenger, so I asked to speak to the chef/manager lady again regarding the charge for FROZEN CHICKEN on my bill. She didn't even bother showing her face this time and the waiter took the FROZEN CHICKEN off my bill.
  
  I will never be coming back. Bourdain (may God rest his beautiful soul) must be rolling in his grave for filming an episode of Parts Unknown here as I'm sure he would not have enjoyed the food and service I experienced tonight.

• Stina K.

  star star star star star_border 2 June 2026

  A friend had a craving for beef scallion pancakes so we came here. Quoted a 25 minute wait and we waited about 15 which was nice. They brought around water/tea/cookies while we waited which was great customer service.
  
  It was a bit odd that we had to order before we were even seated so it put us on the spot a bit but would rather food come out quicker so it wasn't a big deal.
  
  We ordered 2 orders of beef scallion pancakes, rice cakes with seafood, and 2 orders of pan fried dumplings. They were nice enough to bring us free soup dumplings along with free dessert. Never had the rice dumpling soup dessert before but it was phenomenal. It was very nice of them to provide.
  
  The ONLY reason why I took off a star is because the restaurant has poor ventilation. The four of us were seated in the back and while we were waiting for the check smelled the most VILE smell coming from the bathrooms. It was enough to make you gag and break dinner etiquette because it was so bad no one could ignore it. Everyone at the table had a laugh about how the person probably needed to see a doctor because that type of smell shouldn't come from a healthy human being. Regardless it's a bathroom so "sh*t happens" (literally) but if their bathrooms are going to be so close to the tables they need to have better ventilation or keep a bottle of fabreeze or something in there because I likely would have thrown up at the table had I not already finished eating if I would have smelled that earlier. This doesn't put me off from coming back but I will make a point to be asked not to be seated in the back again.

• Chris E.

  star star star star_border star_border 31 May 2026

  Like most of the Yelp reviewers here, we too were suckered into coming here because of the late Anthony Bourdain's visit to this Flushing restaurant. So many people held and still hold Anthony Bourdain in such high regards that they'll follow his food path to the end of the world, including myself, but in this case it might have been a poor decision.
  
  First off, as of May 2019, the restaurant had a C health inspection rating, so beware that you're really eating at your own risk here, which we did. If you see the C on the window and still go in, prepare for the worst, but hope for the best. But mostly say a prayer first.
  
  We arrived here at around 6:30pm on a nice Saturday evening and the restaurant was pretty quiet. Aside from the dismal health inspection rating, one reason for the lack of customers might be the fact that the restaurant is really out of the way and far from what many people deem to be the central point of Flushing. Service was consistent throughout as the one waiter and one waitress were swift, quick and cordial. The menu was just like any other Shanghainese restaurant with almost the same type of items, so we ordered the same things that we typically ordered:
  
  Marinated Gluten - aka Kao Fu. First, we had a bit of a hard time finding Kao Fu on the menu until my wife realized this was it, but just named differently. Besides the name, it was odd-looking compared to other restaurants. It had a spongy texture to it and did not have the same flavor as other restaurants. To be honest, it wasn't that appetizing. At first, it was, but we were starving. However, a few pieces into it and we were done with it and couldn't go for it anymore.
  
  Shredded Jellyfish - was OK. Nothing noteworthy. Was an average dish of shredded jellyfish. It did come out very quick along with the Marinated Gluten, which meant this was probably sitting somewhere for a while.
  
  Crab and Pork Soup Dumpling - I thought the soup dumplings were solid, but it could have been a bit warmer when they arrived. The skin was thin, so they were very, very fragile. I didn't think it was an issue, but my wife wasn't a fan of them.
  
  Fried Udon with Spinach and Shredded Pork - Absolutely disappointing. Probably the worst fried udon noodle dish we ever had at a Shanghainese restaurant. The noodles were drenched in soy sauce and there was barely any pork. There were a few pieces of spinach, but literally that was it. Nothing else was in the dish to add a little more flavor. I guess they thought the soy sauce would do the trick.
  
  Pan Fried Soup Dumpling - Probably the best dish we ordered, but it was still rather average. The soup in most of the dumplings were dried up against the skin, so there wasn't much soup at all, so it made for a rather mushy breading.
  
  Like I said, I would follow Anthony Bourdain's food suggestions to the end of the world, but Yu Garden was so disappointing. Maybe our sky high expectations were a factor, but the moment we saw that C on the window, we knew we were in for something not so good. We should have turned around then.

• Harris L.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 18 May 2026

  We visited Yu Garden Dumpling House largely due to the restaurant's Yelp cover photo of late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.
  
  Dishes We Had:
  - Crab and Pork Xiaolongbao: The dumplings here use a soy sauce-flavored soup filing, which seemed to mask any crab flavor in the meat filling, and which sharply clashed with vinegar dipping sauce traditionally paired with soup dumplings.
  - Yangzhou Fried Rice: Bland, and the rice was unevenly hard.
  - Crispy Noodles with Seafood: The noodles lacked crispness; the sauce was over-thickened with corn starch.
  
  Food: Meh (2 of 5). We've had better elsewhere.
  
  Service: OK (3 of 5). There is complimentary tea. Interestingly, this place does not do substitutions. One of our party wanted to substitute chicken for pork in a noodle dish, but the restaurant declined the accommodation. Most Chinese restaurants are amenable to such substitutions.
  
  Atmosphere: Good (3 of 5).