Best Dim Sum in Columbus (2026)

Tai's covers East and Southeast Asian ground at once, which makes it the default when a table cannot agree on one cuisine. The chicken egg roll and mapo tofu are the anchors, kung pao chicken the crowd-pleaser. Portions run large for the price, service moves fast, and the room seats groups without a wait. Consistency has wobbled over the years, but the current run reads solid.

The twice cooked spicy fish is the dish to build an order around, a Szechuan preparation that holds its heat even through a DoorDash bag. Braised beef comes with a soy dip on the side and arrives tender. NE Chinese runs mostly as delivery and takeout, and the kitchen's timing holds up under that model better than most.

A full parking lot at noon on an unassuming storefront is the tell here. The spicy dumplings in chili oil lead the menu, with crab rangoons close behind and Kung Pao chicken built with real heat that the kitchen will scale down on request. Mongolian beef and Hunan chicken round out a menu suited to a family table at lunch.

Molly Woo's works two ways: a sit-down room for family celebrations and a bar for happy hour, where potstickers, spicy tuna roll, and tempura shrimp cover both crowds. The bartenders draw specific praise for pace and attitude, and the tempura shrimp holds up as a straightforward order even when the kitchen gets a modification request.

Near Easton on the northeast side, Asian Kitchen runs on egg roll reputation, and the rolls earn the trip: crisp, worth ordering by the multiple so a couple end up in the freezer. Wonton soup and general Tso's chicken round out a takeout order built for a family, with vegetarian substitutions handled without fuss.

Billy Lee's sits in Bexley, not Columbus, a lunch counter and bar combination where the happy family and general tso chicken anchor a straightforward takeout order. Wontons and hot and sour soup round out the plate. Bar service gets specific praise, including a margarita made to order while a to-go bag waits.

Chicken lo mein arrives in portions big enough to justify the price, and the dumplings draw the strongest praise on the menu, packed with meat rather than filler vegetables. Taste of Orient runs as a strip-mall counter built for weeknight takeout, with fried rice as the reliable third order for a table that wants volume over ceremony.

Hunan King holds a place on the city's Chinese takeout roster as a straightforward counter operation, the kind of storefront that keeps a neighborhood fed without much fanfare. Details on specific dishes are thin here, which is its own kind of honest: a reliable option worth checking against a current menu before ordering.

Red Chili leans into ramen as its calling card, drawing a following near Ohio State that returns for it specifically, alongside pad thai and spring rolls that read as the practical order. The room runs quiet outside peak times, counter service and all, and the kitchen's ramen holds up as the reason to go in January as much as June.

Joy to Go earns its name as a takeout specialist: fried rice, lo mein, and orange chicken in portions generous enough to become a standing weeknight order for regulars. The menu runs smaller than some competitors, and the room can slow when it is busy, but the food comes out fresh and the value holds.

Haveli Bistro works the tandoor hard, and the tandoori shrimp and tandoori chicken are the dishes to order first, both benefiting from a kitchen that labels gluten-free options clearly across the menu. Saag paneer rounds out a vegetarian order. The room fills with groups even midweek; the buffet draws more mixed reports than the à la carte tandoor plates.

Golden Phoenix runs on affordable all-day cocktails and a menu built for groups, with shrimp toast as the opener worth ordering first and shrimp pad thai as a strong main. Wonton soup has drawn complaints about thin filling, but the rest of the table, service included, gets consistent marks for a fast, friendly room.