REVIEW: Disney’s NEWEST Restaurant Will Quickly Become a FAN-FAVORITE

Are you headed to Disneyland soon? You might want to check out its newest restaurant!

That’s just what we did when we ventured over to the Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney District to try Din Tai Fung — Disneyland’s newest restaurant known worldwide for its dumplings. Curious to see if it’s worth your time and what you should try during your next visit to The Happiest Place on Earth? Check out our review!

Background

Din Tai Fung is a world-renowned Chinese restaurant originating in Taiwan that specializes in soup dumplings and noodles. Along with its Downtown Disney location, this restaurant can be found in California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Europe, and Thailand.

While the Disneyland location is set to OFFICIALLY open on July 1st, 2024, we attended a soft opening and put together a review!

Atmosphere

Din Tai Fung is more upscale than most Disneyland restaurants, featuring a  “dramatic and contemporary take on a traditional Chinese pavilion rooftop structure,” per Disney.

The interior is very modern and elegant, with odes to traditional Chinese style. It also boasts an expo kitchen that allows diners to watch dumplings being made.

The restaurant feels large with multiple seating areas, a spacious atmosphere, and plenty of large windows that illuminate the restaurant. A word of caution though — it can get pretty loud.

Fortunately, the service is excellent and super accommodating. We have to give shoutouts to our servers Marc and Daniel!

Food & Drinks

As for the menu, Din Tai Fung locations typically offer soups, dumplings, buns, wontons, noodles, fried rice, and dessert dumplings. It’s extra famous for its Xiao Long Boa (steamed pork soup dumplings).

Most items won’t break the bank, ranging from $10 to $20, but you’ll be tempted to order quite a bit and the bill can rack up some dollar signs. Still, we think the menu pricing is quite fair and the portion sizes are larger than you’d expect.

For our meal, we tried a TON of different items — 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, and Cucumber Gimlet. 

For the appetizer, we tried the gluten-free and vegan Cucumber Salad for $9.

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 salad was super refreshing! The cucumber was thick and the portion size was quite nice. There’s a hint of spice, but the peanut and cucumber flavors really shine here and it’s no surprise that this is a popular item on the menu.

Next, we tried the Sweet & Sour Baby Back Ribs for $16.50. These are coated with house-made sweet and sour sauce.

You’ll get plenty of that sweet and sour flavor with these. Ours were cooked perfectly and once again we were impressed by the serving size. The pork was rich and lighter than we expected.  If you’re a ribs fanatic, definitely give these a try!

We followed up the ribs with an order of the  Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao for $18.50, which came with 10 pieces. These Long Bao are stuffed with Kurobuta pork marinated in a blend of seasonings and paired with fresh ginger and green onion.

These were just ok on their own but were elevated with the ginger and provided condiments. Our dumplings were a tad short on broth but still very tasty with a very good pork and vegetable mix. Xiao Long Bao is a signature dish here so we recommend giving these a shot!

Still hungry? We hope so because next up we have the Shrimp and Pork Spicy Wontons for $17. This dish is made with freshly peeled shrimp and Kurobuta pork, served with the signature house spicy sauce, and topped with garlic and green onion.

These guys have a KICK. They seem harmless at first but the spice only builds. Still, we felt they were manageable and incredibly tasty. Fragrant with a great blend of shrimp and pork, these light and fluffy wontons are delicious if you can handle some spice.

Rounding out the entrées were the Noodles in Sesame Sauce for $13.

These egg noodles are house-made and coated in a nutty sesame sauce,  topped with chili oil and crushed roasted peanuts. These also had a slight kick but the main flavor here was an earthy peanut. These are surprisingly thick and filling, making them very shareable.

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

We highly recommend this drink! Ours had a great cucumber and mint blend that was super light and refreshing. Think of it like a cucumber-mint julep! We visited on a hot day and this was the perfect refresher.

Finally, for dessert, we were recommended and went with the Chocolate and Mochi Xiao Long Bao for $11.50. This dessert is made with premium chocolate truffle inside a thin layer of mochi and comes with five pieces.

These were INCREDIBLE. Each had a delicious lava flow of decadent chocolate akin to world-class chocolate fondue. Each bite was super creamy, warm, and kind of addicting. We wish it came with more — even after a large meal! This dessert is absolutely a must-try and is instantly one of our favorite desserts at the Disneyland Resort!

Should You Go?

Overall, Din Tai Fung lived up to its reputation. Upscale but still inviting to Park guests, this restaurant hit all the right notes for us. Taste? Check. Good menu? Check. Unique dining setting? Check. Fantastic service? Check.

If you’re looking for some great dumplings, want a unique sit-down dining experience at Disneyland, and/or want a dining experience specially catered towards families and bigger parties (you can have a great experience dining solo as well!), stop by during your next visit!

Have you tried Din Tai Fung? We want to hear from YOU! Be sure to leave your thoughts in a review on AllEars to help out your fellow Disney fans.

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