Din Tai Fung dumpling chain coming in summer
Taiwanese restaurant has been recognized by Michelin
Disneyland diners hungry for the legendary, Shanghai-style soup dumplings that dribble down your chin won't have to wait much longer for Din Tai Fung to open at Downtown Disney.
The Michelin-awarded restaurant from Taiwan will open this summer at the outdoor shopping mall next door to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. The new time frame means the restaurant should open between mid-June and mid-September.
The internationally acclaimed soup dumplings chain is among a host of new restaurants and shops replacing the former AMC Theaters, Starbucks West, Earl of Sandwich and Sugarboo & Co., which were demolished in 2023 as part of a multiyear project.
The new Downtown Disney outpost for Din Tai Fung expands on the family-run chain's growing portfolio, which includes locations at Aria in Las Vegas and South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa along with additional restaurants in Southern California, Oregon and Washington. The restaurant also has locations in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea.
The Orange County Register named Din Tai Fung to its annual list of the 75 best places to eat in Orange County and called the chain's xiao long bao soup dumplings, which have spawned countless imitators, “still the ones to beat.”
Din Tai Fung famously does not take reservations, but the long wait that will “undoubtedly test the limits of your hunger and patience” is well worth it, according to the Register.
Disneyland will once again have a steakhouse after shuttering a clubby and pricey restaurant during the pandemic that evoked a bygone era of lavish decadence and old Hollywood glamour with dirty martinis, bonein rib-eyes and a legendary 24-layer chocolate cake.
Disneyland plans to open new steakhouse and barbecue concepts at the former Tortilla Jo's location in Downtown Disney. No opening dates were announced.
The Disneyland Hotel was home for decades to Steakhouse 55 and its predecessors until the restaurant met its demise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Walt Disney Imagineering created a new Lobby Lounge in the former Steakhouse 55 location.
There is no shortage of steakhouses in the Disneyland area, with Morton's, Fleming's and Ruth's Chris restaurants across Katella Avenue near the Anaheim Convention Center.
Which steakhouse and barbecue joint are heading to Downtown Disney?
Disneyland hasn't made any announcements yet — but there are a few possibilities.
A new iteration of Steakhouse 55 could return, but that's unlikely.
Steakhouse 71 — Disney World's take on Disneyland's Steakhouse 55 — opened in 2021 at Disney's Contemporary Resort during