Dumpling House Restaurant review | Good food but dirty restaurant.

Hello friends: After a full year of eating one meal a day, I thought I would treat myself to a beautiful dinner at the famous Dumpling House Restaurant, located at 328 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON. As many of you know I have been on a weight loss journey since July 17, 2017!  In order to lose weight I had to change my eating habits because I was gaining more and more weight. I found a way that I could eat all of my favourite foods and still lose weight. I did this by eating all of my calories at one meal.

Anyway, now for my review. The Dumpling House Restaurant is described as a cozy Chinese eatery for fried & steamed pork, shrimp & veggie dumplings, plus rice & noodle dishes. My family and I visited Kensington Market and while in that area we had a desire for dumplings. It was clear that reviews for the Dumpling House Restaurant were mixed. I noticed that either people really loved this place or they hated it. I needed to find out for myself and after my dining experience I will say that the reviews were all correct and honest. Reading the good and the bad reviews are helpful to me because I know that the truth is somewhere in the middle.

I will start by saying that I loved that the passerby could see the cooks making the dumpling at the window. This was wonderful. It was a hot day and my family and I were excited to sit in this air conditioned restaurant. Actually this was on of the hottest days in Toronto history. We walked into the tiny restaurant and we were met with a sauna like gush of hot air. To our right was the kitchen and the cooks were focused on what they were cooking. We waited for no less than 2 minutes to be seated and were greeted by a waitress. We were seated but felted cramped. I noticed that the clothe that the waitress used to clean the tables were greasy.My daughter and I both ordered the shrimp dumplings and my husband ordered the general tso chicken. While we waiting for our food the waiter brought us our waters which were warm and iceless. I decided to drink from my own ice filled water bottle. The general tso chicken was delicious. The dumplings were amazing. However, it was really hot in the restaurant. My husband had to leave the table a few times to wash his head and face as the sweat was just beaming off of him. The food was good but the atmosphere was uncomfortable.

One of the things that really stood out for me was was the condition of the bathrooms. Walking down the stairs to them was a foreshadowing. My sneakers were sticking to the filthy stairs but I had to use the restroom. As I made my way to the bathroom all I could smell was rotting fish. There was a room with what looked like an old large rag hanging over the door, and that room was where most of odour was coming from. I believe that room is another kitchen where all of the meat and fish prep is being done. Oddly it is right across from the ladies bathroom. I held my breathe as I waited to use the washroom.

Shortly after, I went upstairs to meet my family. I noticed that another family had arrived, so all 6 of them were seated at a table meant for four. This meant that I couldn’t get back to my table. In any event, my husband was already given the bill and paid. He was standing up when I returned from the bathroom and was making his way to the door with my daughter. I met them at the door and asked them if they had my water bottle. Both said what water bottle? I immediately returned to the table with the permission of the owner. Sadly my water bottle was tossed in garbage and a new family was already at my table.

Summary: Overall, this place had good food but zero air conditioning. The meal was rushed. The bathroom needs a good cleaning. The stairway and hallway leading to the bathroom was filthy. It needs a good cleaning too. A complete bathroom renovation is needed. A real door needs to be installed to the downstairs kitchen to alleviate the rotting fish smell. I would not recommend this restaurant if you are the type of person that likes a comfortable restaurant environment. As I left all that I could think about was this….if the downstairs kitchen stairs and hallway leading to it was so dirty. What is the condition of the food that was being prepared?