Big xiao long bao news to mark on your calendar: Din Tai Fung has revealed the opening date of its upcoming Irvine Spectrum location.
The lauded dumpling purveyor is slated for a soft opening (the initial period when a restaurant gets its sea legs) on Friday, Feb. 6, with reservation service beginning from 5 to 9 p.m. Regular hours begin the following day, Saturday, Feb. 7 from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. The official grand opening is set for March 2.
Reservations are now open to the public. Walk-in seating will happen at a later date.
Din Tai Fung opened its first Orange County location in 2014 inside Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza — which still sees lines out the door — followed by a second outpost at Anaheim’s Downtown Disney in 2024. The restaurant has been recognized in the Michelin Guide and awarded Bib Gourmand status, a distinction that highlighting “high-quality food at great value.”
ALSO READ: 5 best things I ate at Din Tai Fung in Downtown Disney
Din Tai Fung is best known for its xiao long bao, pleated soup dumplings (18 folds, to be exact) filled with pork, crab or chicken, along with ginger, green onion and a savory broth. Other menu staples include potsticker-style dumplings, shao mai, pork buns, vegan buns with bean curd and mushrooms and wontons, alongside noodle dishes, soups, rice cakes and more.
Founded by husband-wife duo Bing-Yi Yang and Pen-Mei Lai, the popular xiao long bao purveyor began as a cooking oil retail shop in Taipei in 1958, shifting focus in 1972 to a sit-down eatery offering dumplings and noodles. Its first North America location opened in Arcadia in 2000. Din Tai Fung plans on opening a fourth Orange County space later this year at Brea Mall.
Find it: 812 Spectrum Center Drive, Irvine, 949-328-7881, dtf.com/en-us/locations/irvine