Dim sum is a joy. Whether you crave a crystalline soup dumpling, BBQ pork puffs, turnip cake, or simple potstickers, the best part of dim sum is that you don’t have to choose just one dish! And, the more people you head to your favorite Atlanta dim sum restaurant with, the more you can order for the table. Maybe someone will even go for the chicken feet, a delicacy to the initiated.
Atlanta is a brilliant food city with endless Asian food options, so dim sum restaurants in Atlanta range from super traditional, round-tabled Chinese restaurants, to small plate pop-ups with fusion flavors. With so many to choose from, actually getting out for Dim Sum can become an issue. So, we assembled a selection of the best Dim Sum restaurants Atlanta has to offer.
Related: Explore the best neighborhoods to live in Atlanta and the city’s best brunch spots (for the occasional weekend when you’re not busy with dim sum).
Best Dim Sum Restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia
Oriental Pearl
Address: 5399 New Peachtree Rd, Chamblee, GA 30341
Cost: $$
What to Order: There are genuine originals on the menu here, like clams in black bean sauce, so you can be as adventurous as you want. Their star dishes include sticky rice, fried shrimp dumplings, and custard buns.
What Makes this Place Special: Ask any Atlantan their favorite dim sum spots, and Oriental Pearl will come up. This Atlanta dim sum institution is located in the small Chinatown area of the city (basically, a single mall) close to Buford Highway, making it a standout among standouts. Plus, you’ll see brightly colored fish swimming in the Koi pond.
Serving dim-sum classics all day, Oriental Pearl recently started delivering food too, so now there’s no excuse not to try their dumplings.
Shumai and har go at Best BBQ
Address: 5000 Buford Highway Northeast, Chamblee, GA 30341
Cost: $
What to Order: The pork shumai shouldn’t be missed, but the fish cakes with chive flowers deserve a standing ovation. This dim sum spot offers far more than dumplings.
What Makes this Place Special: Best BBQ is one of many amazing food spots along the sprawling Buford Highway, where waves of immigrants built an international food scene across miles of strip malls. So, to stand out on the highway means something. Like most of Buford Highway’s best spots, Shumai and har go at Best BBQ (website mostly in Chinese) looks unassuming and is easy on the wallet, but still delivers some of the best food you’ll likely find in the Southeast.
Fire Stone Chinese Cuisine
Address: 840 Ernest W Barrett Pkwy NW #588, Kennesaw, GA 30144
Cost: $
What to Order: Fire Stone Chinese Cuisine offers a Sichuan menu. That means tongue-numbing peppercorns and flavors you won’t recognize from Panda Express. Try the soup dumplings (always a favorite) and the wontons, which are worth it simply for the fiery chili oil they float in.
What Makes this Place Special: Atlanta is a sprawling city. If you head out past Marietta in Kennesaw, Fire Stone Cuisine provides an authentic and delicious dim sum oasis that you can visit without needing to travel into metro Atlanta. Or, as the locals call it, inside the perimeter (ITP).
Little Bangkok
Address: 2225 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30324
Cost: $$
What to Order: According to… pretty much everyone, the best item on the menu at Little Bangkok is the steamed Thai dumplings stuffed with chicken, shrimp, water chestnuts, onion, egg, and cilantro.
What Makes this Place Special: This Atlanta dim sum restaurant combines Thai and Chinese flavors for a unique experience. Arguments about exactly what kind of Asian food to go for can easily be avoided by suggesting Little Bangkok.
East Pearl Seafood Restaurant
Address: 1810 Liddell Ln, Duluth, GA 30096
Cost: $$$
What to Order: Steamed pork buns (can they ever be bad?), stuffed tofu skins, and fried sesame balls are among the many delights to order at this dim sum restaurant out near Atlanta’s eastern limits.
What Makes this Place Special: Another spot that’s a little out of town, East Pearl Seafood Restaurant serves mostly, but not exclusively, seafood-based dim sum. This traditional dim sum joint creates an authentic atmosphere, right down to the big round sharing tables and the carts constantly rolling around the room. Home-grown Atlantans swear by East Pearl Seafood.
Moving to Atlanta?
Love this dim sum list so much that you’re thinking of moving to Atlanta? It is one of the best food cities in the country and certainly no.1 in the South for international cuisine. And that’s before we get to the beer, natural wine, nightly shows, and many young professionals who call the city home. If you need help finding the perfect apartment (or just want to see what’s on offer), take a look at AptAmigo. We’re here to help with your big move.
