damnlines.comdamnlines.comThe Michelin-starred Taiwanese dumpling chain's 450-seat Times Square flagship is its largest restaurant in the world, known for xiao long bao folded behind an open kitchen glass wall.
No camera at Din Tai Fung (Times Square) yet — these are the closest live lines we cover.
damnlines hasn't pointed a lens at Din Tai Fung (Times Square) yet. The most-wanted lines get a camera first.
Din Tai Fung's 450-seat Times Square flagship runs almost entirely on advance bookings rather than a walk-up line. FOX 5 NY reports the restaurant seats 'up to 450 people on a reservation only basis with limited walk-ins,' with tables released through Yelp rather than Resy, OpenTable, or the chain's own site. Time Out New York described the scramble for that first batch of Yelp slots as 'a digital Hunger Games,' advising readers to set a phone reminder for the release.
In practice, walking up rarely works. The Lo Times, reviewing the restaurant after it opened, asked directly whether walk-ins are seated and got 'the short answer... no,' and found evening tables especially hard to land even for guests who did book ahead. The review also describes the check-in choreography once a reservation is secured — an 'almost ready' alert leaves only a couple of minutes to check in, a process the reviewer likened to 'a trip to JFK' — though a large host-desk staff (the reviewer counted '10 people working behind the host desk') keeps the line moving once you're through the door.
That crowd-drawing reputation predates the New York opening. FOX 5 NY notes the Taiwanese chain 'is known to command long lines and window shoppers' who go to watch chefs fold its signature xiao long bao behind the restaurant's open kitchen glass — a spectacle that, per Eater as cited by FOX 5 NY, produces 'over 10,000 dumplings a day' at the Times Square location.
Patterns as reported by press and regulars — not measured by damnlines.
Reservations: Reservation-only via Yelp (not Resy/OpenTable/Tock); walk-ins are effectively turned away, per The Lo Times.
Walk-ins: Not really — The Lo Times reports the walk-in answer is simply 'no' in practice, and FOX 5 NY describes the restaurant as seating '450 people on a reservation only basis with limited walk-ins.'
Mon–Thu 11am–10:30pm, Fri 11am–12am, Sat 10am–12am, Sun 10am–10:30pm, per the restaurant's official site.
There's effectively no walk-up wait to quote because the restaurant runs on advance bookings: The Lo Times reports that asked about walk-ins, 'the short answer' is 'no,' and describes nighttime tables as hard to come by even for guests with reservations. FOX 5 NY adds the chain 'is known to command long lines and window shoppers' who watch the open kitchen, and Time Out New York described the scramble for reservation slots as 'a digital Hunger Games.'
Yes — reservations are released through Yelp rather than Resy or OpenTable, and FOX 5 NY reported they opened to the public on July 2 ahead of the restaurant's debut. Time Out New York advised setting a phone reminder for the release because demand was expected to be intense.
Not really. FOX 5 NY describes the 450-seat restaurant as operating 'on a reservation only basis with limited walk-ins,' and The Lo Times reports that asking about walk-ins gets a simple 'no' in practice.
Din Tai Fung is a Michelin-starred Taiwanese chain famous for xiao long bao, or soup dumplings, per FOX 5 NY. The Times Square location has an open kitchen where diners can watch chefs work, producing 'over 10,000 dumplings a day' according to Eater, as cited by FOX 5 NY.
Yes — The Lo Times describes a tight check-in window once notified a table is 'almost ready,' comparing the automated reminder process to 'a trip to JFK,' though the review notes a large host-desk staff keeps the line moving once guests check in.
Sources: FOX 5 NY · Time Out New York · The Lo Times · Din Tai Fung (official site)
