Yuan Wonton
Asian restaurant · Park Hill ·
Asian comfort food, including dumplings, with vegan options.
Asian comfort food, including dumplings, with vegan options.
"Starting as a pop-up and a 2019 food truck before moving into a bright, high-ceilinged brick-and-mortar in 2023 (sharing a space with Sweets and Sourdough), Penelope Wong’s Yuan Wonton makes everything from scratch and by hand: ultra-thin egg-wrapped pork-and-shrimp wontons doused in aromatic chili oil and a “secret sauce,” an impossibly soft gua bao with crispy fried chicken topped with Thai basil and chive aioli, and steamed char siu pork bao that’s tender and just sweet. The business opens for lunch only four days a week, hosts monthly Peruvian and Chifa pop-ups under lead chef Carolina Zubiate, and Wong has used her platform for community fundraising and advocacy; she was a James Beard semi-finalist in 2023 and a finalist for “Best Chef: Mountain” in 2024 and 2025." - Esther Tseng
"Led by Penelope Wong, this restaurant was in contention for Best Chef: Mountain (covering CO, ID, MT, UT, WY) but did not win." - Paolo Bicchieri
"This Park Hill treasure is only open Tuesday to Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Penelope Wong and her team make mighty good use of their time, whipping up not only Asian dumplings galore but all sorts of regular specials for lunch and happy hour: Depending on the day, that could mean bo luc lac (Vietnamese shaking beef), honey-walnut prawns, crispy garlic noodles, or classic char siu bao. There’s no better bet for an afternoon breather these days." - Ruth Tobias
"The hours can be tricky at Yuan Wonton—they’re only open four days a week with limited hours—but coordinating the schedule is way easier than waiting an hour in the snow for the city’s best dumplings. That’s what we used to do before the most popular food truck in town moved into a proper restaurant. Now, we sit inside at an actual table slurping up chewy rice noodles and clumsily picking up wontons dressed in spicy chili oil while shivering in memory of those dark food truck ages. You’ll probably share a high-top communal table, but it still beats eating on a curb." - allyson reedy, patricia kaowthumrong
"The ever-changing menu at this airy, bustling smash success in Park Hill — open for lunch Tuesday–Friday as well as for happy hour Thursday–Friday — isn’t exclusively Chinese, but it is 100% triumphant. While chef/partner Penelope Wong’s technical chops are considerable, her food is imbued with as much heart and soul as it is reflective of her skill: Dumplings of all stripes burst with color and flavor, supplemented at any given time by such supreme comforts as dan dan noodles, congee, and Taiwanese popcorn chicken as well as a small but smart sake selection." - Ruth Tobias