gyozas, dim sum or dumpling? Pasties chinas they have many names and are a typical dish also in Japan and Korea. Originally they were made for Chinese spring festivals and were made for family gatherings, but they are so easy to eat and so tasty that they have made their way into the local cuisine. So much so that restaurants specializing in gyozas in Madrid have multiplied in recent years.
1. Chun li
To Chun Li you go to eat freshly made Chinese pasties in all formats and be imbued by its retro-futuristic video game aesthetics – Street Fighter to be more precise – with neon. Here the gyozas are handmade one at a time the traditional way and the Instagram photos look great. Its menu is concise and focused on Chinese dumplings, there are colorful, vegetarian, fried or steamed in the typical bamboo baskets. This was also one of our favorite openings (and the cheapest) in 2022.
💸 Average price: 10 per person
📍 Calle de las Fuentes, 1, local left (downtown) and calle Toledo, 28 (downtown)
2. Gyozas GO
At Gyoza GO, Chinese dumplings are not a starter, they are the main course. Like any specialized place here they are made with the utmost care, by hand at the time, and you can witness how they elaborate them right there, thanks to its open kitchen. They are available both grilled and steamed and you will find them with all the typical fillings: meat, shrimp or vegetables. It is the perfect restaurant if you are in a hurry and want to go on with your day, pure Asian street food.
💸 Average price: 8 per person.
📍 Calle de Carranza, 4 (Trafalgar) and Plaza del Comandante las Morenas, 5 (downtown).
3. Royal Cantonese
Royal Cantonese is in Usera known as Chinatown of Madrid. Its dim sum is so popular that it attracts pilgrims from all over the city here. They have also won over El Comidista (through Mikel Iturriaga), who considered Royal Cantonés to be the best in the world the best Chinese restaurant in Spain.
💸 Average price: 20 per person.
📍 Calle Olvido, 92 (Usera)
4. Three little pigs
In the south of the capital there are three restaurants of the Three Little Pigs, which accurately and according to their own definition, are actually three empanaderías (although the RAE does not quite agree with that word). Of course, here they serve mainly Chinese dumplings, at a price and quality that is hard to compete with. They also make a kind of egg-filled crepe that is almost as popular as their dumplings.
💸 Average price: less than 10€
paseo de las Delicias, 73 (Delicias); Calle de Bailén, 20 (La Latina) and Calle de San Vicente, 32 (Príncipe Pío)
5. Le Petit Dim Sum
Le Petit Dim Sum belongs to the China Crown Group, one of the first to introduce Asian food in Madrid. This restaurant specializing in Cantonese food has given its menu (and name) to Chinese dumplings and serves them in towers. They literally serve the dim sum in the stacked bamboo baskets in which they are previously steamed.
📍 Calle Lagasca, 48 (Salamanca district) and Calle Alcalá, 12 (Galería Canalejas)
6. Hong Kong 70
Hong Kong 70 started in Toledo street, then opened in Usera, but in 2022 they closed the original establishment and now they are only in the neighborhood with the largest Chinese population in Madrid.
Its menu focuses on the specific cuisine of the city that gives its name to the restaurant and which is one of the gastronomic strongholds of Asia. The duck is the star ingredient of this restaurant where the Chinese dumplings are excellent. The xiao long pork xiao long, have a kind of tube with thistle sauce that you have to inject into the dim sum and then it is an explosion in the mouth, a real experience. As a curiosity, they also make tripe, but not Madrid style.
💸 Average price: between 20 and 15 € per person.
📍 Calle de Nicolás Sánchez, 11 (Usera)
7. Soy Kitchen
Soy Kitchen started out as a bar in Malasaña and now serves signature cuisine with two tasting menus signed by Julio Zhang. The gyozas and dim sum are the tip of the iceberg of this fusion restaurant with a Repsol sun and a mention in the Michelin Guide. The tasting menu is not closed, but varies every day, like its menu with the seasons.
two options: one for 65€ and one for 75€
📍 Calle de Zurbano, 59 (Almagro)