The Santa Monica Din Tai Fung is almost here—complete with ocean views

Nearly two years after news first broke, L.A.’s newest Din Tai Fung is almost ready to open its doors on the third floor of Santa Monica Place, the outdoor mall at the end of the Third Street Promenade.

While much of the city is no stranger to the international soup dumpling chain—which we also named one of L.A.’s best Chinese restaurants—this new Westside location offers stunning ocean views from the patio and a distinctively beachy aesthetic unlike any other Din Tai Fung outposts in the area. At over 10,000 square feet, it’s one of the chain’s largest dining rooms in Southern California. (The largest is the one inside the Glendale Galleria.)

Reservations for the soft opening period beginning February 20 opened on February 11, though the Santa Monica Din Tai Fung doesn’t plan to host its grand opening until February 28. To support Los Angeles wildfire recovery efforts, the company has pledged to donate up to $50,000 of profits generated during the first two weeks of business (February 20 to March 8) to local restaurant and bars affected by the wildfires. 

The Santa Monica outpost is the fifth of its kind in L.A. County; in 2000, the now-prolific Taiwanese restaurant brand first expanded into the United States via a modest outpost in an Arcadia strip mall. Now, Din Tai Fung has 17 locations across the United States including San Diego, the Bay Area, and most recently, New York City. The international chain has over 165 locations in 13 countries. Almost all serve a near-identical menu of appetizers, dumpling, rice, noodle and vegetable dishes, with occasional country-specific modifications. For example, the Din Tai Fungs in Indonesia don’t serve pork, as most of the Muslim-majority country adheres to basic halal dietary rules.