Yum Cha Chinese Kitchen & Bar 姑苏里

Didn’t expect a Jiangzhe style restaurant to do Changsha stinky tofu this well, but it was honestly great and now I don’t feel the need to go all the way to Flushing for it. The bamboo shoot soup had that rich, milky broth and was super comforting. We went with the boneless sweet and sour pork ribs and they were nicely balanced, not overly sweet, with great texture from the mix of meat and tendon. The scallion braised fish was a standout with crispy skin and tender, fresh meat. The Shanghai pork dumplings were solid and generously filled, even the vegetarian ones. The stir fried eel with shredded bamboo shoots was a surprise favorite and completely a rice killer. Easily one of the best Chinese spots around West 4th and SoHo, this place has become a regular for me.

✨ Hidden Jiangnan Gem in NYC — Yum Cha Chinese Kitchen Is a Must-Try! ✨ If you’re craving delicate, elegant Shanghai flavors in New York, Yum Cha Chinese is the spot you don’t want to miss. The restaurant feels like stepping into Shanghai—warm lighting, wooden décor, and that calming water-town vibe. Their dishes focus on light, aromatic flavors with incredible attention to detail. From beautifully plated cold appetizers to slow-braised mains, everything tastes refined, comforting, and authentically Shanghai. 💛 Perfect for: cozy dates, family dinners, or anyone who wants a break from heavy flavors. 📍 A calm, poetic escape right in the middle of NYC. Highly recommend!

Enjoyed the meal here especially the vegetarian fried rice and l edamame. While the quality was good, many dishes were too salty for my preference. Also, the stir-fried cabbage could have been better, as it was excessively greasy. I agree with other reviewers about service. Restaurant seemed busy at the time and service was very rushed, needs improvement for sure.

There’s a lot of modern Chinese restaurants in NYC nowadays and Yum Cha is definitely a solid spot to dine at for elevated comfort Chinese food, dim sum, and drinks. The Pomelo Tea and Strawberry Probiotic Bliss were both great drink choices. I liked the Chicken Soup Dumplings, but wish it had more soup inside. The Steamed Pork Buns were steamed really well and had lots of filling inside. The Stewed Tofu W. Minced Crab Meats was silky and paired well with white rice on the side. For a veggie dish, definitely get the Stir Fried String Bean W. Minced Pork. I also tried their hearty Braised Beef Noodle Soup and for dessert, got the Crispy Fried Milk.

10/10 food, service and ambience! We ordered a couple of dim sum, entrees, and dessert to share in a group of three. The portion size was good, especially for the hot stone porcini mushroom rice. My favorite had to be the sweet and sour ribs. Very flavorful. I would totally recommend Yum Cha if you are in the area. The location is convenient because it is only a few blocks away from Washington Square Park. The dining space is elegant. Absolutely loved the dining booths with comfy sofa.

The newly updated menu is amazing! Every dish feels thoughtfully crafted — the soup dumplings are juicy, the sweet & sour ribs are crispy and flavorful, and the beef with porcini rice is just irresistible. Beautiful interior with a touch of Jiangnan elegance. One of the best Chinese restaurants I’ve tried in Manhattan!

Really cute atmosphere, food came out quickly and is really close to campus (nyu students). Very authentic, I recvomned the salted egg pumpkin!

I had an incredible dining experience at Yum Cha! The **Shredded Garlic with Truffle Steak Cube** and **Yum Cha Black Fish** were absolute standouts—each bite was packed with rich, savory flavors that blended perfectly. The steak cubes were tender, infused with the aromatic depth of truffle and garlic, while the black fish was beautifully cooked, delicate, and flavorful. To top it all off, closing the meal with **Egg Milk Rice** was the perfect way to go—comforting, creamy, and satisfying. The balance of flavors throughout the meal was simply outstanding. I’ll definitely be returning for another round! Highly recommended for anyone looking for an exceptional Yum Cha experience.

Great restaurant with great food, came with 12 people and it was no issue. Ivy gave us great service and was super accommodating highly recommend.

Had a really nice meal here! The food was very good -- flavorful, well-cooked, and everything came out fresh and hot. The green beans were especially tasty, super crisp and perfectly seasoned, and the chicken dish had great texture and sauce. The service was really nice, too. The staff were friendly, quick to help, and kept things running smoothly even though it was pretty busy. The whole atmosphere felt comfortable and welcoming -- a great spot to come with friends and share a few dishes over rice. Overall, a solid 4/5 -- good food, good vibes, and great service. Would definitely come back again!

So happy to see the modern Chinese food scene growing in NYC. Yum Cha is a tapas style modern Chinese restaurant right next to Washington Square Park and NYU. The service here was super friendly, and I loved how classy yet intimate the dining space felt. ＊Deep Fried Cheese Shrimp 荔汁蝦球 $21.99 * Literally a showstopper. This gorgeous lychee shrimp tree here reimagines familiar flavors with so much creativity. The lychee paste mixed with cheese gave a savory note. Super fun and oddly satisfying) to pluck the lychees off the tree. ＊Porcini Mushroom Beef Rice 石鍋牛肝菌拌飯 $27.99** It came in a sizzling hot stone pot that kept it warm the entire meal. It was saucy, with a meaty flavor from the porcini mushrooms and a kick from the green pepper. The portion was huge and easily enough to feed four. ＊Sweet and Sour Ribs 糖醋排骨 $24.99** We were asked to try their sweet and sour ribs, and it ended up being my favorite dish. I usually don't enjoy eating around bones, but these were braised so tender they fell off easily. Very saucy and savory, perfect with white rice or their porcini mushroom rice. ＊Golden Black Phoenix Bun 黑金流沙包 $9.99 Fluffy bun with the satisfying moment when the salted egg yolk lava oozed out. I just wish there was a bit more filling at this price point. ＊Crab Roe Mixed Noodle 蟹黃拌麵 $18.99 The noodles were drenched in a vibrant orange pool of crab roe and shrimp. Visually promising yet flavor-wise, the crab roe was faint. We were reminded to mix everything quickly, or the noodles would stick together. ＊Crispy Fried Milk 炸鮮奶 $10.99 Creamy milk custard in a light fried batter, served alongside condensed milk. A not-too-sweet sweet treat to wrap up the feast. ＊Strawberry Probiotic Bliss $9.50 ＊Peach Oolong Elixir $9.50 Their non-alcoholic drinks were surprisingly good, comparable to the quality you could get at a boba spot.

I'd travel across town for the green beans alone! We also ordered the pork soup dumplings and chicken soup dumplings. They were good, not the best, but good. Finished the meal with a complimentary scoop of vanilla ice cream that was so good! Very quick and friendly service and the restaurant was cute and clean.

Came here for dinner with a group of friends. The interior was fancy, yet simple with comfortable deep blue booth seating. I shared some of the Dim Sum with friends, including Bean curd with Shrimp, Crab meat Soup Dumplings, and Scallion Pancake. The Bean Curd was filled with tender, juicy, flavorful meat, veggie, and shrimp. This was soft and enjoyable to eat. The Soup Dumplings were pretty good with thin skin, yummy crab inside, but not enough soup. The Scallion Pancakes were chock full of scallions and satisfyingly crispy. For my entree, I ordered the Salted Egg Yolk and Crab Stir Fried Rice Cake. While the rice cakes was cooked perfectly, the sauce didn't have much salted egg yolk taste and there was very little crab. Service was solid. Prices were pretty good, but certain dishes that I would've liked to order, such as Truffle Ribeye Cube were way too much at $46! Since I wasn't that impressed with the food, I probably wouldn't return, but if I do, the Snow Pear and Tremella Soup sounds intriguing.

Casual restaurant with a luxurious ambiance. The Scallion Pancake is addicting. Great balance between flavorful layers and crunch edges. The Shredded Eel with garlic is a yummy order. Highly suggest pairing with rice. The dish feels bamboo-heavy, which it is still delicious, but naturally I expected more eel. The Shrimp Balls, resembling lychee, are a playful add to the table. Very fun to eat but I would definitely consider this a more photogenic order vs a culinary must-try. Also ordered to Roasted Pork meatballs. I would recommend skipping since they aren't very flavorful nor tender, but I was surprised to discover an egg yolk in the center of each one. The cocktails are amazing though. Very pretty and tasted just as good. I would go back mainly for the drinks.

We enjoyed our experience here! The interior is so fun - it's elevated but still casual. We were seated in a booth in the back and there was plenty of space. We thought the food was good, with a couple of standouts: - Hot and sour soup - so yummy and a bit of a kick. big portion for the small size - Kung pao chicken - a classic. very solid flavor Other dishes: - Chicken and broccoli - Pork buns - Chicken soup dumplings - they were falling apart once we picked them up but flavor was good Service was spotty and it was tough to get help at times, but the they were helpful with questions and did not rush us at all. I look forward to coming back and trying more dishes.

If you're in the SoHo area and don't really feel like traveling all the way down to Chinatown for some dim sum, well lucky for you there's one right below Washington Square Park. In addition to dim sum, they also serve Shanghainese dishes and some with a modern twist. For dim sum, we got the Pork Soup Dumpling ($8) and Crab Meat Soup Dumpling ($9), which both were well made and the skin held up well. We also got the Golden Black Phoenix Buns ($8), which I recommend if you like salted egg yolk flavored pastries. If not, why not give it a try? For entrees, we got the Truffle Ribeye Cube ($43), which was pretty hyped up. I think that high expectation really led me to think this isn't all that great, especially for the price you're paying. I also found it quite salty. The Walnut Shrimp ($25) is a pretty good classic dish to order. And then of course my go to veggie dish is the Snow Pea Shoots w Garlic Sauce ($21). For dessert, we were recommended the Snow Pear & Tremella Soup ($12), which was a pretty unique choice you don't see on the menu everyday. Love that it's pretty soothing and it's just a little bit sweet. The other recommended dessert was the Glutinous Rice Cake w Brown Sugar ($12). I think that's pretty self explanatory.

Great service and food! We went around 9:15 PM and got 4 dishes. Recommend all of them.

The food was good. Service was good too. The place used to be another Shanghainese restaurant called SuHang and the interior decors didn't change much. Overall it's a pretty solid Shanghainese restaurant.

Restaurant is cute and cozy, busy for a Sunday night. I came solo and ordered the bok choy which was good! The braised meat noodle soup was just okay. Tasted like it was missing something. I wanted more in the soup and most pieces of meat were pretty tough and the meat had a lot of hard tendons in it. I also wish there was less pasta. I'm still a lil disappointed that none of the meat was soft and it was all overcooked. Price point was expected for this area.

Overall rating: 4.7 I went here with a group of 7 and they do NOT split bills. Be warned. But! The food was actually really delicious. The soup dumplings were really small and not worth it. My favorite was the Dan Dan noodles. They were surprisingly really good. Really spicy. In good way! The general tsao chicken was not good. The item they cook in a pot was delicious too. Wish I was able to take more pictures but I forgot at one point. Will def be coming back & highly recommend!

The food here is very good! I like that this spot is authentic, yet modernized. It attracts both an Asian and non-Asian crowd, but in a good way. The inside is actually quite spacious for a walk-down restaurant and they have a big menu with dim sum and entrees that can be shared. The dumplings were the star for me. All of the dumplings had strong wrappings. I appreciate how none of the skin ripped. The beef chow fun noodles were also cooked expertly well. They were not burnt from the wok and had the proper amount of oil to glisten on the flat noodles.

Such a fun find for variety of Chinese cuisine around this area! We ordered many dishes that came from all areas of China, Cantonese style, Shanghainese, Sichaun etc. Everything was delicious, they also don't really play about their spices . It's a cozy and intimate restaurant and was mostly full on a Monday during busy dinner time. The staff was extremely helpful (I spilled fish Maw soup) and they were able to clean up and get everything out the way for me. Would definitely come back again.

From the outside, this seems like an unassuming regular Chinese restaurant but once you step inside, it's a whole 'nother vibe! The bright royal blue furniture along with its distinctive decor elevates the whole dining experience. They have super fun Asian drinks and you see almost every table took out their phones to photograph their dishes! They are super appealing and appetizing! Their Chinese food is one of the best I've had in New York. All the dishes were perfectly seasoned and sauced and thoughtfully plated for your enjoyment. This is a MUST TRY!

This restaurant is my go-to spot for traditional Shanghai cuisine and array of dim sum tapas. We ordered a bunch of dishes from different categories. All the food were delicious and flavorful. Must-try is the Truffle rib-eye cube. I don't know how they cooked it but the meat was so tender and flavorful. The bean curd with shrimp meat and vegi from dimsum menu was also very good. You should also get the Shanghai crispy smoke fish . The cocktails here are also very creative . If you are up for a fun dining experience with mouthwatering eats, this place is a must-try! Featuring -Shanghai crispy smoke fish -Spare ribs garlic sauce -Crab meat and fish maw soup ( small ) -Bean curd with shrimp meat and vegetables -Clay pot prawn in garlic sauce -Boneless Mandarin Fish with sweet and sour sauce -Truffle Rib eye cube -Beef chow fun -Farewell my concubine (cocktail)

Love the salted egg yolk bun, so fluffy and rich in salted egg yolk flavor. Mapo tofu was fiery and numbing, a tingling sensation that's addictive.

This is the one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city we have to recommend trying! Yum Cha needs to be your next lunch/ dinner spot! We went for lunch on a Sunday and it was the perfect lazy Sunday eats. It's a true hidden gem near NYU with fast service too! Yum Cha is serving when it comes to authentic fusion Chinese dining, bringing comforting, classic Shanghai flavors with a creative twist. It's a super casual and welcoming spot, and trust me you will be a food coma! Our favs were the cucumber salad, soup dumplings, royal style BBQ lamb, porcini mushroom beef rice, truffle ribeye cube, and the golden phoenix buns! All the cocktails are an absolute must there are so beautifully presented and delicious!

Excellent authentic Chinese food. We ordered the walnut shrimp, scallion pancake, spicy wontons, and double fried pork belly. Each was delicious if not best-in-class. Prices were reasonable.

Such a refreshingly authentic spot in the west village! All the dishes are yummy and the restaurant is well decorated - great for date night or eating with friends. Friendly service! One pet peeve is seeing some neg reviews here complaining about prices , I feel that the prices are reasonable for the quality of taste and presentation. I feel like nobody bats an eye about paying same range of prices for other restaurants but one expects to pay cheap prices for Asian food? Do you know how much labor and ingredients go into one dish? I always love support local AAPI businesses :)

i am always super excited to try a new restaurant that serves authentic shanghainese food! and this one has a bit of a modern twist on some of the dishes. their menu is quite extensive, but we weren't very impressed with the dishes we tried this time. what we ordered: - salted egg yolk w/ fried corn - pork soup dumplings - jumbo braised pork ball - pork belly braised in brown sauce - snow pea shoots w/ garlic sauce - deep-fried cheese shrimp w/ snap pea - stir fried chicken w/ green & red pepper the deep-fried shrimp was a bit too oily for me... sadly, i could only eat a few even though the dish was visually very stunning. the braised pork ball (lion's head meatball) was a bit dry and the soup dumpling skin was too thick for my preference. although, i would recommend the braised pork belly and the salted egg yolk with fried corn! their service was also very fast and efficient and they have lots of seating available that filled up very quickly during the lunch rush.

Pretty good, authentically made Shanghainese food. Everything we had was pretty tasty. Portions were a bit smaller than expected but that meant we could try a couple more dishes. Duck appetizer was good. Eel was really good. Sweet and sour pork rib also good. Worth a visit.

Just don't expect good authentic Chinese food here. Also we saw flies around. The bamboo shoot soup was la king in flavor. The mushroom beef rice wasn't fresh , and we found some sand like stuff on the mushrooms. Overall the ingredients they used were not fresh.

Chic, Chinese dim sum spot in the heart of Noho that executes an elevated, flavor-forward and modern interpretation of classic dim sum classics, with Chinese American staples in the mix. Sluggish level of service and attentiveness was a slight disappointment.

Baiju cocktails and evening dim sum? Count me in! My friend took us here for a light dinner and drinks, and the food was amazing. Ordered a bunch of small dim sum plates, such as xiao long bao, veggie dumplings, scallion pancakes, steamed mushroom buns, egg rolls, and char siu pork buns. Food came out hot and fresh and super fast! The baiju cocktails were also delicious. The restaurant itself is clean and cute, and looks newly remodeled and decorated. The staff was also very friendly, and gave us a holiday chocolate treat on the way out!

I don't like giving bad reviews, but the customer service made the food worse. I don't understand why they kept rushing and not hearing us. There are so many times one can communicate with the staff and not find clarity. The boneless fish dish was too sweet and sloppy. Not sure how fresh the fish was. Other chicken dishes were fried and underwhelming. Chilli oil was bland. Very disappointed, the reviews had given me a better impression. Not worth it for the money and time spent. Please do better.

Ambiance (5/5): The restraurant is very nicely decorated with a clean, modern spin Asian decor. There's intimiate dining spots with private nooks which could be nice for larger parties. Sections of the dining area have booth seating around the inner side. There's also a full bar with bar seating too. The inside was darkly lit with a small table lamp for ambiance lighting. Service (5/5): We were seated immediately on a Saturday night for our party of 2 around 530pm and there was plenty of seating. Whenever we needed service, it was easy to flag down the staff. Table seasonings were provided which included 3 sauces including a soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil. Loved the chili oil! Pork soup dumplings (2/5): Very meh as it tasted like the dumplings could have been frozen instead of fresh, indicated by the bite of the inner meat which was more clumped than loose. But the broth was not super flavorful. Dan Dan noodles (5/5): The portion was small but the flavor was very rich of a nutty flavor, creamy, and spicy. I loved this dish! Szechuan style diced chicken w chili (2/5): There was way too much breading to the small chunks of chicken. I was eating more of the breading than chicken. The spice level is pretty mild despite all the chili that might make it look spicier. The meal does not come with any side of rice but the dish was not too salty or spicy that it required it (good thing!) The flavor was great though.

This place is great! For dinner, it was not crowded at all. I came with few other folks, and we got the booth, which was very cozy. The interior design is quite nice, and I enjoyed the ambient lighting. The food was delicious. We got the chicken soup dumpling, har gow, pickled cabbage soup, cucumbers, and bok choy. I don't even really like cucumbers, but with the oil and seasoning that they did it gave slightly salty and sweet flavour, which I enjoyed. The dumplings were solid as well. I also never had pickled cabbage soup before, but the broth was amazing! The fish in it also was pleasant to eat with the veggies in the soup.

Very attentive staff, whether it was explaining menu ingredients, refilling water, glasses, joking around with us. Fresh and tasty ingredients with an excellent level of spiciness. The shrimp cheeseballs were served hanging as ornaments from a bonsai. Prices were very fair.

I'd give them zero stars if I could... The hygiene here is really concerning. My friend and I went last weekend, and after eating here we both had stomach issues for the next two days. This place is a health hazard! All those slick photos you see them posting? Total smoke and mirrors. The reality is far worse. Avoid at all costs.

I had the pork soup dumplings and the see you tomorrow cocktail both were DELICIOUS. We got served by Ivy and she is a doll so sweet. Great server!!! Restaurant was so fun they didn't mind we were a bit loud.

The crab dim sum was the best I've ever eaten. The food was excellent and the service was top notch. I was pleasantly surprised by the cost of dinner. A must! An hour on the subway was well worth it.

Wow soo disappointed after reading all the reviews. Stopped in for some chow fun. As soon I entered the restaurant the short lady ask if we're were 2 to be seated I said take out if I can see the menu. She aggressively handed me 2 menus then when we ordered she got upset with an attitude cause I selected NO TIP when I paid. She even threw the wireless palm pilot thing on the counter and stormed to the kitchen. WTF. I ordered take out! You need a tip to bring my bag from the back to the front. Don't worry next time I won't bother spending anything on your establishment. My take out order was yum cha beef ho fun. Container. It full. I also got hargow and sui mai. Only 3pcs each. Total bill $59.60. 500% profit and attitude with no tip. Unbelievable

A very good, fairly new (1 yr old), Chinese restaurant right below Washington Square Park. The spicy fish 水煮鱼 here is fantastic and as good as Szechuan Mountain House. I also rly liked the salted duck egg potato shreds and the shrimp something noods were solid. The double cooked pork was ehhh, I wouldn't super recommend. Nice interior, sleek. Pricing is very reasonable. Definitely come and get the spicy fish!

Went here thinking it was Tipsy Shanghai, and although it wasn't the restaurant I was expecting, it was still delicious. The waiters were attentive, and at 5:45 there were only a few tables there. By the time we left, they were pretty busy (especially for a Wednesday night!). It's an cute spot with lots of booth seating and regular chairs. The aesthetic is very clean. We got a few different types of dumplings and the food other tables got looked delicious. I really liked that the soup dumplings were served with ginger. It made the otherwise very savory dumplings delish! They didn't rush you out and they take your order digitally, so getting the check is a breeze.

I had a wonderful time at this place! It was great to meet new people and catch up while enjoying some delicious Asian cuisine. The food was fantastic, the atmosphere was clean and inviting, and great service.

Everytime me and siblings visit New York we do our best to always stop by here especially for some good Chinese food, can't get enough of their pork or rice cake that just goes down well after a long night. Staff is always welcoming and the ambiance makes you feel at home

Nice usually quiet comfortable place downstairs off busy tourist street. Excellent creative cocktails (eg, yuzu margarita), big menu w szechuan options, creative tries not always successful (eg, fried ribs), oddly underspiced dandan (made fine by adding table chili oil), traditional items well done (steamed pork buns), good cucumber salad (tasty but again not much heat). Excellent music background (jazz forward). Worth a return visit at least for cocktails, music, friendly service and exploring more of the menu.

Tucked behind NYU, this is a really great spot for really flavorful and elevated Chinese food. The service was very attentive and we really enjoyed their holiday deals to try new dishes. We got the eggplant, sour fish soup, mushroom rice, bok choy, and the crab soup dumplings. All were really yummy!

A mix of different Chinese cuisines but done pretty well! Not all are 100% authentic per se but the flavors were and the ambience is also nice

Arrived at 11am on a Sunday and it wasn't opened. Had to wait 15 mins for them to open along with 3 other parties. This didn't give me a good impression at all. Setup was nice. Seats were comfortable and spacious. Food was just alright. Don't see the hype. The pork belly was probably the only thing that was good but it was pricy and portion was small.

I rarely write reviews, but I felt compelled to share my experience. Please stay away from this restaurant. The service was terrible from the moment we sat down. Our server was extremely rude and unwelcoming, rushing us to order and snatching menus from our hands. When serving our food, she practically threw it on the table. When we asked for the check, she came without an itemized bill, snatched our card, and processed the payment without showing us the total. She even added a tip without our consent. I had to speak to the manager to find out our total and complain about the server's behavior. The food was mediocre, and the service made the experience even worse. We still left a small tip out of courtesy, but in all honesty, I wish we had asked for a refund. The whole experience was unacceptable. ---

Soooo good Loved the pork soup dumplings, the dumplings in spicy sauce, the chicken in chili powder (so incredibly spicy but so good) we're my faves

Solid Chinese food with a modern twist. The exterior of the place didn't look like much but the food definitely exceeded expectation. The fish and the black phoenix bun were my favorites. The staff is a little aloof but I guess it's like that with most Chinese restaurants ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

First of all the restaurant is BEAUTIFUL, very cozy and romantic. My friends and I got various things, Wontons in Chili - Okay spicy, tolerable, but wasn't my favorite Scallion pancakes - Just okay Chicken soup dumplings - Not a lot of places serve chicken soup dumplings so I am really happy I can try that here, again just okay Dan dan noodles - Loved every bite of it! Phoenix buns - SO GOOD, its a sweet custard bun and we loved it after having spicy stuff We tried a local favorite from their menu stir fry beef with onions and green bell pepper and WE LOVED IT! Super tasty but IT IS SPICY even though its 2 spice levels, our nose did get a lil watery. They had a good amount of non-alcohol drink options, we didn't get to try them but I was surprised how many they offered.

The food is terrible, the service is upsetting, and be sure to check your bill carefully as they may try to double charge you. They even attempted to humiliate me after being caught.

Food was fantastic, restaurant was lively but the service was understaffed when we went on a Saturday night. I'm sure they'll get it sorted. Great for dinner.

Very cool design of dishes, I have been here more than 4times, good service as well, I love this place so much,

Wait staff was extremely friendly and attentive. They start you off with a plate of peanuts while you peruse the menu. Their menu is expansive and has many rice/noodles/appetizer dishes to choose from. Food prices are comparable to the restaurants in the area (between $15-$20 per dish). I had the soup dumplings (4 for $6.99) which were good and the salted egg yolk potato strips ($14.99) which were also pretty good! Would definitely come back again to try more dishes.