I am from New York I used to have dim sum every weekend with my family. I have yet to find a good dim sum restaurant in this area. I was excited to try Shanghai Alley. I thought this would be my go to.....what a disappointment!! The only dish that came close was the shrimp noodles. Ordered seafood pan fried noodle. The portion was for a single person, noodles were not cooked properly and there was no seafood just a couple of shrimps. I was so dissatisfied when I left. Spent $70.00, will never go there again!
Susan S.
The three other people I was dining with really liked their food (otherwise I'd give 2 stars) but my dish wasn't the best seasoning wise. Vegetables were great though. Could have done without the dim sum cart. I don't know how long they had been being wheeled around and they were gross, both looks and taste wise. Service was bad. Took forever to get plates and utensils. I got up to find take out boxes after MIL failed to wave down our waitress despite multiple attempts. Would not go back again.
Ramon B.
Shrimp Fried Rice was very good, but the Pad Tai, Sweat & Sour Pork, and especially the egg rolls were tasteless and extremely disappointing. The Pad Tai was the worst I have ever had. Additionally, when I tried to pay for part of my bill with a Local Flavor.com certificate, I felt like i was being treated like a thief. Besides being rude, the cashier tried to claim that the certificate was expired by pointing to the 2023 purchase date. When I pointed out the expiration date was actually September 2024, she then gets on the phone with Local Flavor.com to verify the certificate was valid.
Mona Huang
The food is great, but the service is nonexistent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: 蟹粉小笼汤 6件 shanghai pork soup dumplings with crab 6pcs, Dim Sum
Scott P.
I was stunned how busy this place was on the weekend for Dim Sum. I realized we were in for a treat. They have two carts that make the rounds at the restaurant - steamed and fried options. Since this was our first time, we were a bit lost and no one explained anything to us. Do we just start accepting food directly from the cart without talking to a waiter? We did, and the staff filled out a card as we went. After asking for items we learned what items were on what cart and got the hang of it. It was just awkward to get food without talking to a waiter. The service was short staffed. Noticed other tables wanted to order from the menu vs Dim Sum and it was challenging for them to do so. The entire time we were there we had no assigned waiter which made ordering Dim Sum confusing or even getting a drink other than water. The dim sum was very good. I'd return. Just bring your patience on the weekend.
Andrew Wilson
Decent dim sum but the service is a bit spotty. The chicken feet rocked.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
The Hungry Bear
*this review is strictly for the dim sum only*What i ordered:Har GowShumaiXiaolongbao (Soup Dumplings)Shrimp Rice Noodle RollFried Shrimp BallsBBQ Pork BunGarlic RibsHouse Special Fried RiceThe dim sum pieces are quite big. However, big doesn't mean it tastes good. The wrapper is already thick but it still cant hold all the contents of the Har Gow. You might think that's good but not really. That means the wrapper is over cooked and breaks apart easily. Additionally, the food is bland. No amount of soy sauce can mask the blandness of the food. The same goes for the Rice Noodle Roll. But for this one you have to play Marco Polo with the shrimp.The Soup Dumpling, and Fried Rice were the only palatable food we ordered. This were OK.Hard pass on the BBQ Pork Bun.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Amelia Lee
My friends and I came here for the dim sum trolleys during the weekend. It was busy and service was a little scattered where we were seated and got to pick dim sum, but had no silverware, plates, or drinks. This took a while for us to wave staff down and have chopsticks and plates to eat. When the staff finally coordinated and got us plates and chopsticks, we got to try the spring rolls, chicken feet, radish cake, shomai, momo, rice rolls, dan dan noodles, and Chinese broccoli. The chicken feet are meatier than what my friends expected and loved that they could eat more. I enjoyed the radish cakes and spring rolls because of their flavorful filling. The dan dan noodles were also really good. The atmosphere tries to be like a traditional Chinatown setting but more accommodating where they will sing and play music for someone's birthday - which is really nice. I think it's a fun experience for the Triangle experience and enjoyed the meal with my pals.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Egg Roll, Dim Sum
Timothy Fox
First time trying this place. I ordered on a Sunday at 2:43pm, but didn't get my food until 3:50pm. For a couple of steamed dumplings and a Mongolian beef, does it really take that long? Most Chinese restaurants take one third the time, sometimes less.The place was half full and kind of busy when I first arrived, but by the time I got my food, the place was nearly empty. During this hour, I myself had to come up and check on the status of my food repeatedly. Each time, I didn't get any apologies, explanations on what's going on, or an accurate update. On my way out, they talked trash about me in Mandarin. I know I am quiet and don't say a whole lot, but is that really necessary? As far as I know, I did nothing more than sit there and waited patiently for my food.To be honest, the food itself was unremarkable and mediocre. The Mongolian beef, for example, was just a plain bowl of beef and onions. That's it. For supposedly fancy restaurant, they made no effort at all with it, not even a small sprinkle of green onions or something. The dumplings were cold by the time I got home to eat it. To be fair, I will chalk it up to the time it took me to drive home, even though I have had dumplings from elsewhere and didn't have this problem. However, the prices they charge are slightly on the higher side compared to other Chinese restaurants.To end on a better note, the restaurant itself is quite pretty. Quality and price aside, I think this would be a good place to take a date to. However, I will never come back here again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 1
Macy Cima
Food is great! The service needs improvement. The wait for table, and drinks were too long. But When you get bad service from a chinese restaurant, you know the food is delicious and authentic!
They had some really good dim sum, we ended up tasting a few of their menu and we were not disappointed at all.The one caveat was they were really busy that day and understaffed, 3 people literally waiting for about 20 tables. We had to wait a while to get our food. But that was not the worst issue, they forgot a couple of the dishes from the order.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Somsiree Trakulpagorn
Every dish is delicious, recommend!Good atmosphere, friendly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egg Drop Soup, Orange Chicken, Dim Sum
Dillan Phillips
Terrible customer service. Went on Sunday for dim sum and carts never went around to one whole side of the restaurant for at least 45 minutes.Would recommend other dim sum restaurants in the area as the restaurant seems understaffed and not able to handle the number of people seated.
I am from New York I used to have dim sum every weekend with my family. I have yet to find a good dim sum restaurant in this area. I was excited to try Shanghai Alley. I thought this would be my go to.....what a disappointment!! The only dish that came close was the shrimp noodles. Ordered seafood pan fried noodle. The portion was for a single person, noodles were not cooked properly and there was no seafood just a couple of shrimps. I was so dissatisfied when I left. Spent $70.00, will never go there again!
The three other people I was dining with really liked their food (otherwise I'd give 2 stars) but my dish wasn't the best seasoning wise. Vegetables were great though. Could have done without the dim sum cart. I don't know how long they had been being wheeled around and they were gross, both looks and taste wise. Service was bad. Took forever to get plates and utensils. I got up to find take out boxes after MIL failed to wave down our waitress despite multiple attempts. Would not go back again.
Shrimp Fried Rice was very good, but the Pad Tai, Sweat & Sour Pork, and especially the egg rolls were tasteless and extremely disappointing. The Pad Tai was the worst I have ever had. Additionally, when I tried to pay for part of my bill with a Local Flavor.com certificate, I felt like i was being treated like a thief. Besides being rude, the cashier tried to claim that the certificate was expired by pointing to the 2023 purchase date. When I pointed out the expiration date was actually September 2024, she then gets on the phone with Local Flavor.com to verify the certificate was valid.
The food is great, but the service is nonexistent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: 蟹粉小笼汤 6件 shanghai pork soup dumplings with crab 6pcs, Dim Sum
I was stunned how busy this place was on the weekend for Dim Sum. I realized we were in for a treat. They have two carts that make the rounds at the restaurant - steamed and fried options. Since this was our first time, we were a bit lost and no one explained anything to us. Do we just start accepting food directly from the cart without talking to a waiter? We did, and the staff filled out a card as we went. After asking for items we learned what items were on what cart and got the hang of it. It was just awkward to get food without talking to a waiter. The service was short staffed. Noticed other tables wanted to order from the menu vs Dim Sum and it was challenging for them to do so. The entire time we were there we had no assigned waiter which made ordering Dim Sum confusing or even getting a drink other than water. The dim sum was very good. I'd return. Just bring your patience on the weekend.
Decent dim sum but the service is a bit spotty. The chicken feet rocked.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
*this review is strictly for the dim sum only*What i ordered:Har GowShumaiXiaolongbao (Soup Dumplings)Shrimp Rice Noodle RollFried Shrimp BallsBBQ Pork BunGarlic RibsHouse Special Fried RiceThe dim sum pieces are quite big. However, big doesn't mean it tastes good. The wrapper is already thick but it still cant hold all the contents of the Har Gow. You might think that's good but not really. That means the wrapper is over cooked and breaks apart easily. Additionally, the food is bland. No amount of soy sauce can mask the blandness of the food. The same goes for the Rice Noodle Roll. But for this one you have to play Marco Polo with the shrimp.The Soup Dumpling, and Fried Rice were the only palatable food we ordered. This were OK.Hard pass on the BBQ Pork Bun.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
My friends and I came here for the dim sum trolleys during the weekend. It was busy and service was a little scattered where we were seated and got to pick dim sum, but had no silverware, plates, or drinks. This took a while for us to wave staff down and have chopsticks and plates to eat. When the staff finally coordinated and got us plates and chopsticks, we got to try the spring rolls, chicken feet, radish cake, shomai, momo, rice rolls, dan dan noodles, and Chinese broccoli. The chicken feet are meatier than what my friends expected and loved that they could eat more. I enjoyed the radish cakes and spring rolls because of their flavorful filling. The dan dan noodles were also really good. The atmosphere tries to be like a traditional Chinatown setting but more accommodating where they will sing and play music for someone's birthday - which is really nice. I think it's a fun experience for the Triangle experience and enjoyed the meal with my pals.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Egg Roll, Dim Sum
First time trying this place. I ordered on a Sunday at 2:43pm, but didn't get my food until 3:50pm. For a couple of steamed dumplings and a Mongolian beef, does it really take that long? Most Chinese restaurants take one third the time, sometimes less.The place was half full and kind of busy when I first arrived, but by the time I got my food, the place was nearly empty. During this hour, I myself had to come up and check on the status of my food repeatedly. Each time, I didn't get any apologies, explanations on what's going on, or an accurate update. On my way out, they talked trash about me in Mandarin. I know I am quiet and don't say a whole lot, but is that really necessary? As far as I know, I did nothing more than sit there and waited patiently for my food.To be honest, the food itself was unremarkable and mediocre. The Mongolian beef, for example, was just a plain bowl of beef and onions. That's it. For supposedly fancy restaurant, they made no effort at all with it, not even a small sprinkle of green onions or something. The dumplings were cold by the time I got home to eat it. To be fair, I will chalk it up to the time it took me to drive home, even though I have had dumplings from elsewhere and didn't have this problem. However, the prices they charge are slightly on the higher side compared to other Chinese restaurants.To end on a better note, the restaurant itself is quite pretty. Quality and price aside, I think this would be a good place to take a date to. However, I will never come back here again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 1
Food is great! The service needs improvement. The wait for table, and drinks were too long. But When you get bad service from a chinese restaurant, you know the food is delicious and authentic!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
The Szechuan dishes are really
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place is authentic. Will come back. Love it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
They had some really good dim sum, we ended up tasting a few of their menu and we were not disappointed at all.The one caveat was they were really busy that day and understaffed, 3 people literally waiting for about 20 tables. We had to wait a while to get our food. But that was not the worst issue, they forgot a couple of the dishes from the order.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Every dish is delicious, recommend!Good atmosphere, friendly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egg Drop Soup, Orange Chicken, Dim Sum
Terrible customer service. Went on Sunday for dim sum and carts never went around to one whole side of the restaurant for at least 45 minutes.Would recommend other dim sum restaurants in the area as the restaurant seems understaffed and not able to handle the number of people seated.