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

Restaurants

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

Boston’s wide and varied Chinese food scene can sometimes make it difficult to narrow down your dining scene. In the mood for dumplings? Dim Sum? Hand pulled pasta? Chinese pastries? It’s all here: Whether you’re craving a Sichuan feast or a weekend brunch, there are dozens of local restaurants that can satisfy your craving for excellent Chinese food.

To help you find the one that works best for you, we’ve put together guides to some of Boston’s best restaurants and Chinese dishes. Read our stories of must-try Chinatown restaurants, 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 of where to find the best versions around Boston.

We might be biased when we say that Boston has one of the best Chinatowns in the country, but after visiting the vast array of restaurants, it’s easy to see why. The vibrant neighborhood is home to restaurants like Five Spices House, where dan dan noodles remain a fan favorite; Empire Garden, a popular dimly lit destination; and Peach Farm, which serves late-night Beijing ravioli and house signature flounder. Read our guide to 20 must-try restaurants in Boston’s Chinatown to help you eat around the neighborhood.

When Boston.com asked its readers to name their favorite local dim sum restaurant, a slew of recommendations poured in. Dim sum diners have invited places like China Star in Lowell, Hai La Moon in Chinatown, Ming Seafood Restaurant in Quincy, and SunKong Restaurant in Malden. But one Chinatown destination was mentioned by nearly a third of survey respondents, citing an obvious favorite: Winsor Dim Sum Café. Check out our dim sum guide to find out why the restaurant has been called the best place in Boston for dim sum.

When we spoke with Nadia Leo Spellman, owner of dumpling pie in early 2021, she described dumplings as “the staple comfort food of my childhood.” We know that many people can deal with this feeling. Whether you’ve found dumpling comfort at Bess’s Cafe in Brookline, Dumpling Cafe in Boston, or Mary Chung in Cambridge, it’s clear that there are dozens of typical dumpling destinations in the Boston area. Check out our guide to excellent dumplings around Boston, including where you can order frozen dumplings to cook at home.

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