Come with us to Disneyland to check out the resort’s newest restaurant!

We headed over to Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney District to try its newest restaurant offering — Din Tai Fung! This award-winning, family-owned restaurant is known for its dumplings and already has several locations in California. Now, it’s available at Disneyland!

Din Tai Fung can be found in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, as well as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Europe, and Thailand. The Disneyland location is set to OFFICIALLY open on July 1st, 2024, but we were able to attend its soft opening just this week — let’s check it out!

Atmosphere

Din Tai Fung immediately sets itself apart from many other Disneyland and Downtown Disney restaurants with a more luxurious theming. This restaurant caters to both park-goers AND those looking for more upscale dining. According to Disney’s official description, the restaurant stands out with its “dramatic and contemporary take on a traditional Chinese pavilion rooftop structure.”

Once inside, you’ll immediately see a “suspended, beaded installation over the circular central bar” as well as “traditional-style Chinese pendants softly illuminating the space.”

An expo kitchen allows diners to watch dumplings being made, firsthand.

The restaurant features different dining areas with spacious tables to really give off the feeling of ample space, and the open concept mixed with a bounty of large windows really helps illuminate the restaurant and create a welcoming environment.

Overall, mixed with some contemporary SoCal music and incredibly helpful and friendly service (shoutout to our servers, Marc and Daniel!), this restaurant doesn’t feel too posh but instead felt incredibly welcoming. It fits the theme of Disney hospitality flawlessly.

Menu

Most Din Tai Fung locations serve various soups, different flavors of dumplings and buns, wontons, noodles, fried rice, and dessert dumplings filled with chocolate, red bean paste, or sweet taro.

The restaurant is famous for its Xiao Long Bao (steamed pork soup dumplings), and these are heavily recommended by the waitstaff. As for the menu in general, the pricing is surprisingly fair for the quality. Most items range from $10 to $20 and can be shared.

Part of the fun of this menu is picking a plethora of items via a Dim Sum menu and having them brought out in waves. The portion sizes allow these to be great meals to be shared amongst a party and we think this menu caters better to larger groups than solo diners, although you’ll likely still be satisfied if you eat alone.

With tons of promise and good word of mouth, we couldn’t wait to dive in!

Eats

We tried the Cucumber Salad, Sweet & Sour Baby Back Ribs, Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao, Shrimp and Pork Spicy Wontons, Noodles in Sesame Sauce, Chocolate and Mochi Xiao Long Bao, Kurobuta Pork Buns, Chicken Dumplings, Honey Lemonade with Boba, and Cucumber Gimlet. It’s safe to say we were stuffed!

First up, we have the Cucumber Salad for $9. This appetizer is gluten-free and vegan and is made with crisp Persian cucumbers combined with cuts of mild Fresno chili peppers and sliced garlic all tossed together with sesame and Din Tai Fung chili oils.

This cucumber salad was very refreshing! The portion size was surprisingly hefty and the cucumber cuts were thick. There was a little bit of a kick from the sauce, but, all in all, it was super flavorful and never overpowering. We also found the peanut flavor created a nice blend among the cucumber, which is a theme that will pop up again and again.

The Sweet & Sour Baby Back Ribs cost $16.50 and are coated with house-made sweet and sour sauce.

Our ribs were cooked perfectly and definitely had that sweet and sour flavor. The pork was rich and the serving size was plentiful. The ribs were lighter in taste than we expected, avoiding in-your-face flavors and opting for something lighter. Still, we recommend you have a craving for sweet and sour pork, otherwise these might put you off.

Next, we tried the Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao for $18.50. These carefully crafted Long Bao are stuffed with Kurobuta pork marinated in a blend of seasonings and paired with fresh ginger and green onion.

These Long Bao are meant to be paired with the provided condiments, and we totally understand — they’re just okay on their own. Our dumplings didn’t have a ton of broth, which was unfortunate. Still, the bao was light, tasty, and the pork and vegetable mix was quite nice and filling. Once again the portion size is more than fair and we think this is a great sharable dish.

The Shrimp and Pork Spicy Wontons cost $17 and are made with freshly-peeled shrimp and Kurobuta pork served with the signature house spicy sauce and topped with garlic and green onion.

These wontons were spicy but came as more of an after-kick instead of overpowering upon first bite. We think they were really tasty, with a super fragrant sauce and a seamless protein blend. The shrimp was delicious especially, and the wontons were light and fluffy, packed with tons of protein. These guys really are spicy though, so a word of caution.

The Noodles in Sesame Sauce cost $13 and include house-made thin egg noodles coated in a nutty sesame sauce and topped with chili oil and crushed roasted peanuts.

If you don’t like spicy food, you probably won’t like these noodles. However, the peanut flavor was so earthy and excellent — easily our favorite part of the dish. The noodles were packed with flavor, thick, and very shareable.

The Kurobuta Pork Buns cost $10 and are served in two pieces.

We think these buns are a must-order! The meat was cooked perfectly, the bun was soft and almost a little sweet, and these were some of our favorites from our meal.

Next, we tried the Chicken Dumplings for $18. One order gives you 10 dumplings.

These dumplings are hand-folded and filled with premium chicken and sweet onions. Super juicy (but not slimy) with a great texture, we found these dumplings to have a good portion of chicken inside that was packed with flavor.

To drink, we tried the non-alcoholic Honey Lemonade with Boba. The drink without boba costs $7.50 and boba costs $1.50. The lemonade is made to order with crushed ice, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a drizzle of honey. The boba consists of chewy tapioca pearls mixed with brown sugar and honey.

The boba was very thick and chewy while the lemonade was refreshingly tart and sweet!

We also tried the Cucumber Gimlet for $16. This drink is made with Roku Gin, St. Germain, fresh lime juice, fresh cucumber, and mint. 

Our Cucumber Gimlet was delicious! Very cucumbery, light, refreshing, and just enough kick from the gin, we can see this as a popular summer drink. The mint really added to the cucumber, creating something akin to a Disney julep. The drink was very natural in flavor and is a must-try if you love cucumber drinks!

For dessert, we tried the Chocolate and Mochi Xiao Long Bao per recommendation from our server. This chocolate dessert costs $11.50 and comes with five pieces. It’s made with premium chocolate truffle inside a thin layer of mochi, all wrapped in 18 folds.

Shoutout again to Marc for recommending these — it’s nearly impossible to describe just how good this dessert is, but we’ll try! Each bite contains a delicious lava flow of amazingly decadent chocolate. They are small in stature, but they pack a powerful punch. The chocolate never tasted too rich, but the quality was extraordinary — almost like delicious chocolate fondue. Creamy, warm, and absolutely delicious, this dessert is a must-try. This is already some of the best chocolate you’ll find at the Disneyland Resort and we WILL return to Din Tai Fung for these, on top of many other dishes!

It’s safe to say we enjoyed our meal at Din Tai Fung, so let’s get into our overall thoughts

OVERALL

The Disneyland location for Din Tai Fung meets the quality standard that it has accumulated around the globe. Upscale but not pretentious and a fantastic Dim Sum restaurant, we’ll keep coming back for more, hands down.

The waitstaff was super kind, knowledgeable, and on it, and the dining experience is unique at Disneyland. While it can get kind of loud and may not be the most budget-friendly dining option, Din Tai Fung is worth visiting at least once at Downtown Disney!

Nosh or Not?

Take a stroll down Downtown Disney to Din Tai Fung if…

• You want great dumplings. Aside from festivals, you’re not going to get this kind of food consistently in the parks.
• You want a unique sit-down experience. This isn’t typical American fare and can take you out of the theme park experience and put you into a fine dining setting.
• You have an appetite and are willing to share. Din Tai Fung provides a menu ideal for sharing. If you want to try a bunch of different dishes in one meal, this is the place for you.

Skip Din Tai Fung if…

• You visit another location regularly. Din Tai Fung is not exclusive to Disneyland, so if you’re looking for something truly unique, try a Disneyland-exclusive restaurant like the Blue Bayou.
• You’re in a hurry. Dining at most sit-down restaurants at the Disneyland Resort will take a chunk out of your day. Also, being located in Downtown Disney, you can’t just hop on a ride immediately after your meal. Fortunately, Disneyland has plenty of other options that will save you time.
• You’re on a budget. Din Tai Fung’s prices are reasonable, but it’s easy to rack up a bill fast if you keep ordering items to share. It’s definitely possible to eat here without breaking the bank, but you need to be price-conscious while ordering.

Thanks for coming along for our Din Tai Fung review! Stay tuned right here at the Disney Food Blog for the latest Disneyland reviews, news, tips, and more!

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Have you eaten at Din Tai Fung before? Share your review in the comments below!