Reviews of China Pearl Restaurant (Restaurant)

Jim Scott

Amazing food and service every single time. I take everyone I can here as often as possible.

Kloe Ng

Decently priced authentic dim sum!

Juan R Ramirez

Food is very tasty and excellent quality! Definatelly a place I will recommend!

thomas nguyen

Been going here since childhood. Great place

Miles Fidelman

Best Dim Sum in town. Our regular Christmas Day outing with 20 or so people.

Alejandra Arreguin

Delicious and fresh food

Jeff Keahey

Not bad food at all but service was poor.

Ivy Wu

The foods are high quality with a great variety of choice. And the price is quite reasonable as well. It’s a really good place for dim sum on a cozy weekend

Lily Rondeau

Love this place. Always a fun time picking dishes off the push carts. My friend and I love to get all our favorites, and we love that the bill always ends up very reasonable for the amount of food we order.

Federico Lago

Delicious breakfast, I go with my Chinese friend because he knows what to order.

Albert Chen

Authentic Chinese food with a Cantonese style influence. I stopped by this place with my family to have a couple of lobsters that were excellently made. The waiters were extremely nice and talkative. Definitely one of the better Chinese restaurants in Boston.

Alex Kwatcher

I have been to China Pearl a number of times over the years, and I continue to find myself coming back here for Dim Sum when I am in the city. Having been to HK and China multiple times, I find the style of this restaurant gives off authentic vibes. However the ingredients, like all foreign based - Chinese owned joints, are not the same as back in the old country. With that being said, the quality of food here is still great and I enjoy many of the options that come around the yum cha carts. Give this place a try if you are new to Dim Sum or want to try some different Chinese dishes.

Gino Bernardi.

The dim sum cart experience was ecstatic.

Mathurshan V

Aesthetic is pretty great. Good food, good selection, decent speed, and fair price. The crowd wasn't as bad as I had expected for Sunday dim sum. They also take reservations

Gino Zandonai

Average food and service. Rather disappointed with the crispy duck.

Nat Frothingham

Good service and very good food.

Watson Hua Sheng

Old Chinese restaurant. Food quality and menu diversity need to be improved in today's competitive market.

Eli

Everytime we have the chance, we go. And nothing stops us from going. Delicious, fast and easy.

Tri Trang

So sad to see the quality go down so much. Went there right around opening time and the buns were cold, the chicken feet were cold, and the dumplings were lacking in flavor. Pretty pricy meal too! Used to be so good

Paul Vachon

It's really a nice place to eat

Tracy Francis

5 for food, 2-3 for service. Food was great and ready fairly quickly. However, trying to get someone to take our order took a while. We almost left. Also didn't check on us while eating and then we had to ask for another glass of water.

Ryan McConnell

Great food and service! Family friendly. Being on the second floor, we did not see handicap accessible entrance and facility is showing its age

Anaïs Aulas

Brunch place, really typical according to my Chinese friend. Amazing food! Choose according what your eyes see and listen to your belly! Last thing; enjoy!!! Prefer to go before 12 to be placed fast

Tan P

I remember the old China Pearl, great place to drop in after a late night out. Now its Din Sum and choices are not varied enough and a bit high, even for lunch

Noanna Chan

This place has great " Dim Sum", N is very authentic Chinese food, l would go there again N hopefully soon.

Tararin Nikomborirak

Plates were a good size! Also the managers know English very well and are very organized. Highly recommend this place for dimsum.

Carol Hwang

Food was great and the service was excellent. Best Dim Sum in Boston I had until now!

Karen Wang

Came in at 11:30am Saturday. Dim sum was hit or miss; with some dishes cold and others fresh and hot.. Service was slow and we only had a party of 2.

Dee L

Bland food & lack of service at dimsum. Definitely not what it used to be. Although I appreciate that the food is light on salt, unfortunately there's no taste either. Busyboy never picked up our empty plates until we pushed it out to the front in a neat pile. Upon checking out, we asked for a to-go box 3x with no acknowledgement & were never offered. Language isn't a barrier since we speak fluent Chinese. Overall, sucky experience

Pearl Sindhuchatra

Interior was nicely decorated and the dim sum was pretty good and affordable.

Allison Soule

Food was very good. Wait staff were kind and accommodating.

Dan

Good dim sum not the best but very good tripe was a little underdone but all the classics were great

lan chuan

Refreshing and delicious

Hxpnotic 111

It was the best there shrimp was good he dumpling was there place is beautiful the waiter are nice overall there food is good

Susan Cady

Such a great Dim Sum here today. Excellent choices and delicious.

Virdina L Wilson

Food was ok.. Drinks took 30 to 40mins.. This doesn't include the need for them to correct.. the basic..

Margaret Hui

For chinatown location only the food was never good but ok and now even worse. We don't go there for dinner except banquet.

Nicanor Cordova

Good Chinese food

James Minor

A massive dim sum restaurant. :)

Frederick Haibach

A consistently great experience, so many dim sum still to try! Came early and only had to wait 10 minutes for a table for 8. Why 4 *? Wait staff were not able to disclose which dishes contained nuts. Given that one of our party had a nut allergy, that is a problem that the restaurant needs to address.

Karen L

I can't speak for anything but the dim sum. The dim sum is usually darned good. The only exception is when the place is packed. If you're in a table where the carts can't get to you, you have to chase the carts to get your food. The selection is very good. There is also a steam table with a few vegetable and seafood selections. Service is good. Many staff speak little English, but pointing works fine for dim sum. Fun experience.

Patrick W. van Deursen

portions are very big, the price is very acceptable. interior is very "chineese" more geared to tourists. all in all though very acceptable

Carlos Garcia

Best dim sum in Boston

Wishnoo

Awesome Chinese restaurant with great dim sum. Especially loved the pineapple bun!!!!!

Kristy Thibodeau

Great place for large parties. Good soups and spring rolls. Cocktails are too sweet for me however.

Mike Bragg

Authentic and delicious. The entryway hides it from the street and makes it a hidden gem.

Michele Emrath

Amazing atmosphere- lights and Chinese decor. Wonderful food and service.

Stephen Smoller

Food was excellent. Price was less than anticipated. The place was full on a Sunday mid-day.

Litao Shan

Very delicious, especially the roasted duck.

Hillary Glick

Favorite dim sum in Boston!

Matthew Nguyen

Terrible service. We sat for 30 minutes waiting for 2 carts of dim sum to go around. Food was overall acceptable, but there are much better options for the same price.

Srinivas Gondi

one of the best places in chinatown in boston. I visited this place after very long time. The food is good but i think the place need some updating.

B Teixeira

Fast and cheap but not so tasty...

Kaiser AHMED

Not that much sea food collection but the stuffs are welcoming. Spacious and well decorated

Juan Novoa III

A little confusing but great experience and food

Brad Berryman

Pretty good dim sum here. It can get very busy and the wait can get long but the food is very good. They also had a bubble tea cart which I hadn't seen before at other places. Good food and not a terrible price!

Eren dong

This restaurant is dishonest about billing, they trick you by messing up the number of stamps on your ordering sheets. If you have to go here, you have to go, but pay special attention to your bills. They are also quite peculiar about tipping, though service is poor (if there's any).

kepler cool

Yes, I would say that some of the food it appetizing, but the plate that is given seems to be unwashed and that is something that should be taken care of. My family and I came to the restaurant to dine and eat after a long day, but they only thing that my family and I were able to do is to dine, we had a few plates (two of which was good) that came to a total of $66.29. If you want to find some good Asian food DO NOT COME HERE. After I realized that the total was 66.29 I decided not to give a tip. SUMMARY: Don't come here if you aren't prepared to pay a large sum of money, other then that the food is good if you know your way around since the workers speak enough English to communicate to the buyers. Oh, and the pork puns are to DIE FOR.

Ryan Fong

Boston was our first stop back in America and we needed dim sum. Google did not let us down.

Toby Sandys

Absolutely amazing dim sum! The service and surroundings were great as well.

Jacky Kimani

Good service with polite waiters. Good food with good portions and affordable prices

Christine Alanis

Great experience; however, the servers got angry with us for asking for more vegetable options instead of meat.

Bao Tran

The food is good, the setting can use an improvement

Akash Srivastava

Great place especially for groups. Food is instantly served from carts with large variety of dishes to choose from at a very reasonable price.

Eric Kipnis

Tried Dim Sum here after finding a bug in our food at Hai la moon. China Pearl seemed much cleaner. The food is just as tasty and the waitstaff was a lot friendlier too! It did seem a bit pricier since we ordered less and still paid about the same as we usually do, but not by much.

Lisa Woo

Best dim sum!

Hector Wang

Good food and fun price

Amy Wang

Crowded but things moves efficiently. Food choices are abundant and very delicious. (Useful tip: don't feel bad to signal waiters to get things you need/want, this will improve your experience here a lot. The waiters are very helpful but also very busy since each of them is basically taking care of all the tables)

Shadow Kitten

Good dim sum a lot of what is brought around is pork and shrimp.

George Smith

Great Chinese, quick and good value. I love that it's easy to pop in, pick up or get delivery. And you can even order online!I am a huge fan of their Mu-Stu and they have great selection of vegetarian and lighter dishes if you're just not up for heavy Chinese meal.

Doctor Why

My family have been going to Pearl for a long, long, time! Right after the place across burned around 25+ years ago they open this when there was only 2 DS places. Needles to say we simply adore this place; to me the food is exotic and happy-hectic and just to die for. I have taken relatives and friend from Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, Spain, Guatemala and they all love it. My parents they got so enticed by the place they venture into Boston by public transportation and eat there almost every day, with no a word of English! If you are into food adventures this is great place!

christine grace

Food was good but seemed kind of expensive. The space is cool looking

Forrest Shields

The food was excellent. The floor and carpet were filthy. Our waiter's English needed a lot of work.

Никита Иванченко

Good but a little overpriced

Kevin Hua

Pretty good dim sum

Glenn Townsend

This is an average dim sum restaurant in Chinatown. I have no complaints and the food is always good. There is just nothing special about it. If you've never had dim sum before, go where the staff is better at speaking English.

Greta Heissenberger

Went for Dim Sum on a Thursday afternoon - was very excited they had the carts out! Delicious food, we loved the bao, chicken feet, tripe, shrimp and noodles, sweet sesame balls with red bean paste, egg custard tarts. We choose chrysanthemum tea and it was fresh and delicious. Very clean and new dining room unlike some other dim sum places nearby... And the best part was how inexpensive it was! This will be my new go-to Dim Sum restaurant!

Heather Astaneh

My husband and I went here to celebrate our 12 anniversary. It was a lot of fun! You sit down and the servers walk around with carts and you pick the food you want to eat. They were really friendly and the venue was absolutely gorgeous! Will definitely go again!

Linda Barros

The food (dim sum) was great! The staff can definitely improve on friendliness. I asked for a certain item several times and it was never brought over. When my native Chinese colleague tried to help she received a rude response. The decor is beautiful, the food was hot. The restaurant is not accessible to people with physical challenges.

JAZZ QUEEN

Friendly, clean, and VERY tasty!! All the food is freshly made, tasty and hot. It's a new addition to my list of favorite places to eat and hang out. Thanks to Mary at MEEI for the recommendation!!!

Jean Lee

Splendid Chinese food. Love how they use traditional yam-cha carts. I cannot stress how delicious their food is. You should try EVERYTHING. Everything there is amazing. Also when choosing a tea, get chrysanthemum tea.

YiJia

There is a reason why this place needs no wait (probably the only one in the area) during dinner hours on Saturday night.

SY Yen

Food is good However the waiter here will urge you many times to leave if you stay after you pay.

Kent Werth

Great food. went for dim sum. Can be a bit chaotic.

Rohit Shah

Good place for DIM SUM. Most DIM SUM are what listed for the day. May not have all the items listed on the menu. We tried shrimp DIM SUM and they were delicious. They also have variety of Asian food on the menu. Good and quick service. Fried Rice and Singapore rice noodles we tried were delicious. Nice ambience. Staff is wonderful.

Paul Tremblay

I loved the chaotic order of dimsum everything was right in front of you and shown to you like a street hawker. I like the atmosphere of this. The food was good, not great. The spice was definitely lacking on some of the dishes. The pork buns were to die for! Loved fresh bread!

Melissa smith

The fastest service I've ever had! From walking in to having food and drinks was less then 4 minutes. And the dim sum cart service is amazing. Close to a dozen carts circling the floor at all times with a vast array of dim sum to choose from. Didnt find one I didnt care for. Staff was very friendly and dining room was very nicely decorated.

Chris Yiu

Very quiet during lunch time. Food is soso..

D Richard

Excellent food! Authentic as it gets.

ma jo

Atmosphere makes it great. Good is decent, service seems a little rushed. But cool spot.

Jj Arteche

Delicious weekend dim sum spot that is almost hidden away on a quiet street. The entrance is a narrow long stairway that opens up to a fairly large restaurant. Food-wise, it was good. Nothing to write home about, but does fulfill your dim sum craving. Waiters were attentive and carts were passing on a regular basis. Expect to wait 15-20min on a busy weekend lunch time. Price point seemed a bit high with $60 for 3 people. Still worth a try if you're in the area.

Kerry LaSalvia

Wanted the Dim Sum experience but it fizzled. The chicken in black bean sauce was amazing, but the pan fried noodles with chicken was very bland.

Bert Sanford

The best dim sum. Lots of variety and the desserts are fabulous. If you arrive before 11:00 AM, there's no line.

Joseph Del Valle

Very good and different dishes but no healthy options.

Paige L

This was our first time having dim sum. The staff were very patient and we never felt uncomfortable or out of place. All the food was very fresh-tasting and prices were affordable.

Erin Cox

Damn good dim sum.

Beh 馬 배Mingway 明 威

Compare Hai La Moon restaurant to China Pearl restaurant Dim Sum. China Pearl is better on services, more food cart rotates around, handcrafted dishes base on a portion are better not to large so you can taste verity without getting too full quickly. Enjoy more food and verify base on smaller portion is the key to the taste of Dim Sum.

Veronica Veronica

Stopped here while visiting Boston, beat the lunch crowd by arriving around 11:45 am. We were seated quickly however our waiter showed very little interest in us. We had to get up and ask for a Chinese food menu and stand up to grab our waiters attention. My friend has sweet &a sour chicken. I had a taste it was good. I had the dim sum and it was fresh and good. If you get the fried dim sum ask for it fresh otherwise it will be cold. They need a better system at the register to pay. The lady there mischarged my friend and only got angry when she was corrected. I would recommend!

Christine Francisco

Place is okay, I still love the china pearl in Quincy.

deborah leong

Best Dim Sum! Ample free parking.

Daniel Clarke

I was there for the wedding past Saturday. the restaurant cannot handle the party of 400+ people. the foods came out cold. they brought the desert out in the middle of the main course.

Keith MacKay

Classic dim sum...have been going for 30 years, and it's still the same deliciousness. Go with at least a party of 5 (and more is even better!) to allow you to try more dishes. Go early or late to avoid lines down the stairwell.

Claudia Botero

Super super salty

Gi chul Choe

Awful waiting system. Bad service. Just okay food. I will never visit this place again.

Larry Geoghegan

Great dim sum on a Sunday. Food was fresh and yummy. Great service. Highly recommended.

Connie Waters

Very good food and reasonable

sl31gh3r 86

Great food, service was good kinda hectic but was able to get in and out okay

Max Tave

Terrible quality dim sum also way over priced ($7+ an order, and they charged me for tea????). I went across the street to winsor and it was 10x better.

carlos gomes

Great staff and great experience

Silas Chan

I have to say. Their quality of dim sum has gotten better recently. The siu mai has the distinct flavors not commonly found anymore. The har gao tastes great(the dumpling skin is thin yet chewy, unlike others). Everything is consistent with the old style of dim sum that has been lost recently. Hopefully it stays consistent.

John

Best place for dim-sum

Sandra Nunya

Love it. First time i visited here was about 25 years ago. Delicious little nook that is well worth the find. Very competitive pricing and friendly staff make it a great time. Try their afternoon dim sum too. Just yummy.

KeepingUpWith GiGi

The rice and lomain was good the pupuplatter was ok can be better but the food was still good

Michelle Strout

We take a one hour bus trip From NH just for their Dim Sum! This is a favorite for my family!

Ben Harris

One of Boston's better Dim Sum locations. Large banquet style room with plenty of tables, but don't let that fool you, it gets very busy after 11:30 on the weekends. The carts come around pretty frequently and they usually keep the food fresh. You need to go up to a separate counter to get veggies yourself. The staff is what you'd expect at a Dim Sum restaurant, somewhat friendly and helpful but not overly service oriented. The restaurant doesn't compare to most of the West Coast or NYC Dim Sum restaurants, but it's one of your best bets in Boston, though if you are okay skipping cart service I prefer Winsor.

Kelli Meekins

Everyone should try this place and I am picky its great

Julie Axelrod

I hold every dim sum place as a comparison to Yank Sing in San Francisco which is the best I’ve ever had. China pearl was recommended and its in Chinatown so we had good expectations. For us it was disappointing. The selection was small, the buns and dumplings were dough-y and short on filling and flavor. Not a great dim sum experience, especially in Chinatown which you’d expect to be top notch.

Abi Lebrun

No parking lot on site. Had to park about 10 minutes away then walk to the place. It is a hole in the wall but beautiful decor. It is clean efficient service and they serve food freshly made. The steamed buns were amazing. There are two menus so if steamed buns,pan fried buns or deep fried buns are what you want you...it will be provided upon request. It is quiet and peaceful atmosphere depending on what day and time you go. Great lighting and and plenty of space.

Danielle Higley

My husband and I came to the China Pearl after reading a great review of the dim sum. It did not disappoint! Without sounding completely uncultured, we don’t speak a lick of Chinese and couldn’t communicate super great with the staff, but they come to you with little carts of amazing food, and talking really isn’t necessary. The pork buns were sooo good, as was the hot tea, which I *think* was complimentary. Our first Chinatown experience in Boston was wonderful.

Scott Darr

This was the first true experience of dim sum with the carts bringing food to you rather than filling out a card and preordering. The food was delicious. The servers were friendly. Next time I go back, I need to bring someone so I can try more things.

Bianca May

Great selection of authentic dim sum , coming by on carts

selah james

This place is spacious and clean.The food is good and inexpensive.

Cinthya M

Disgusting as soon I got in they did not assist me almost an hour.tea kettle dirty

Noah Cook

I don't eat a lot of Dim Sum, but I didn't really enjoy this place. Dumplings were very doughy and overall things didn't taste that fresh. I did go during lunch so I wouldn't know how dinner hours differ.

LunarYeti

I went there for a wedding, of which was fun. There was lots of food, some of us could not finish, but it kept on coming. It is very Asian based, but is still good. Eating there, and being not too used to some of the things, I didn't eat too much, but some things were good, and would recommend. If your into Asian food, and looking for a pretty good place to eat at, I'd say give it a try.

Duy Phan

In most Chinese restaurants, you most of the time expect good food, not good service. China Pearl is an exceptional one as the food is also bad. The plate of fried calamari was stuffed with a good bedding of fried onions, covered with a thin layer of squid and it was not good taste either. Fried pork chops were dried and chewey. Fried rice with salty fish was stuffed with chicken. There are more better restaurants here in Chinatown Boston that we have tried, but China Pearl is not one of those. Not recommended!

Donnamarie Reese

Food tasted great service is not fancy but it very efficient

Raz

Having been here at a wedding, I couldn't remember the quality of the food or talk much about atmosphere. I was pleasantly surprised to find excellent food, well worn in locale with festive banquet style decorations.

Alicia Pinsonneault

Dim sum never fails to impress, the only place I'll go for it! Accommodated reservations without a problem.

Mai Her

Good food options. That's about it.

Jack Bossom

This place never fails. We go there often on holidays when other people cook: Thanksgiving, Easter...it's usually open. Go on Sunday for dim sum. If you're ready for a treat you're sure to be surprise by something. Don't miss the shrimp: eat the whole thing, shell and all. Kids are welcome to run laps around the table. No one minds.

Amber Black

Best Chinese food I've had in Boston-heck maybe ever. We went for Dim Sum on a Friday afternoon and were blown away! We tried so many dishes we have never even hear of before and everything was better than the last, I recommend going in a group solely so you can get away with ordering even more food!

levipicard

cool

Mailee Spezzano

So Delicious. I grew up coming to this restaurant. Love how they come by each table with the food and you just pick what you want!

Peter T. Phan

Best place to go in Chinatown for dim sum

Jing Ma

Love their dim sum so much, but they don't have dim sum after around 2pm :(

Kerri Des Jardins

Saturday for lunch is the BEST time to go. There does seem to be some neglect in certain parts of the restaurant which is a little frustrating at times. Also, don't expect great wait service, if you want a drink best to inform ladies at bar or host. But the food is excellent, the selection great and just a such a fun experience. We make it a point to have lunch here if there on a Saturday.

scott chalmers

Outdated decor not very good food.

Bryan Brokmeier

Best dim sum I’ve had in Boston.

Ai Co

Good food!Cheap place!

Sasha V

Dim sum rocks! Nice and authentic atmosphere. Hard to find parking.

Shawn Wu

They had good dim sum. The prices were okay and we got a lot of food. Some of the food was bad, but most were good. It wasn't like it was before and it was hard to park.

Gabriele Manganaro

One of the most popular and better places for dim sum. Be ready to stand in line on a steep staircase while waiting to be seated. But if you like this specialty Chinese food, it is worth.

Victoria Sandbrook Flynn

Best dim sum in Boston! We got a table for two with no wait at 10:30am on a Sunday! We usually go earlier in order to miss the crowds, but we got lucky. We're regulars, but our visit last weekend was worthy of a review. A fine selection with the friendly service I've had there to date! Buns, dumplings, rices, delicious fried things...it was all so good. A new feature since our last visit: pour guards on the teapots. It's SO much safer. Before, even an experienced tea drinker/dim sum goer could expect to spill a few cups on the table, but no more! We didn't spill a drop and it was super easy to refill our cups throughout the meal. As always, the atmosphere and decor are fine--nothing overly special, but not shabby. We also took quite a bit home with us for lunch and the rest of the family. We usually eat ourselves silly and spend about $60 for four people and we kept that rate this weekend.

Irene Lanois

Great spot for dim sum! Pretty large space and we have never had to wait very long for a table. Chicken feet for those who are into that and delicious dumplings for those who might not be as adventurous as others.

Kwontae You

올 한해 최악의 선택! 다신 안 갈것임. The worst choice of the year. I am sorry for the people who enjoy the food here. They'll never have eaten delicious food.

Mikey G

Great food! The salted fish fried rice was delicious. Good value, great service. Plus they’ve got Tsing Tao, which goes well with Chinese food!

raidome

Great place for dim sum. If you're going to order pupu platters and chicken fingers, go somewhere else. Dim sum can get crowded but it's worth the wait. There are some nearby lots but it is very accessible by subway as well. Chinatown gets crowded sometimes on the weekend but it's all part of the experience. If bustle and noise isn't your thing. I would recommend you visit their other restaurant up in Woburn. It's just as good but without the crowds.

Kara Ludy

Staff very helpful, easy to find, I just don't think Dim Sum is for me.

Tripp Alyn

An amazing Chinese banquet with many fine delicacies!!

J B

The food was good! But having a $15 minimum is really annoying if you're only coming for one dish.

Ivan Cora

Great food, good place for a get together

Jason Chen

Outdated Chinese restaurant in Boston China Town. Good food, but not great.

Ben Thomas

One of my favorite places to eat ! My fiance And I had Just landed in Boston and we headed straight to China pearl ! We love going in for dim sum always such a treat , I'll forever go to China pearl for dim sum!

Stuart Quan

Excellent dim sum in the heart of Chinatown

Eveline Ho

A great place to share culture and enjoy another's company. Service was good and servers were friendly.

Joey Xiao

They are not kid friendly. Food are okay.

Arthur Lin

Good place for DimSum, about as good as any similar offering in the US.