damnlines.comdamnlines.comFirst US outpost of Hong Kong's Tim Ho Wan, billed as the world's cheapest Michelin-starred dim sum, famed for its baked BBQ pork buns.
Tim Ho Wan's East Village shop is the Hong Kong chain's first US location, and the draw is a Michelin star at fast-food prices: its baked BBQ pork buns run under $5. Time Out New York covered the December 2016 opening under the headline "crazy long lines" and reported roughly 75 people waiting outside at 10am in below-freezing weather. There are no reservations and seating is first-come, first-served, so the whole crowd converts directly into a sidewalk line.
The opening-era waits were the stuff of legend. Time Out New York predicted two- to three-hour waits, and La Vie Partagee described arriving around noon on a Sunday and being quoted a three-hour wait. Staff's advice, per that review, was to send "one sacrificial soul" to the 10am open to put the whole group's name on the list so everyone could sit around noon. The restaurant now opens at 11:30am on weekdays and 11am on weekends, so that exact 10am trick no longer applies.
The frenzy has cooled since 2017, but the pattern holds. Regulars on Yelp say weekends, and Sundays especially, are the worst, while a weekday mid-afternoon walk-in is often a walk-on. Several report near-zero waits around 2pm and in the 4-5:30pm window, with one noting "Friday at 2:45pm, I only waited 5 min." The standing bar reportedly moves far faster than a table, on the order of 5 to 10 minutes.
No camera here yet — but these lines are on camera right now:
Bánh Anh Em · 4 min walkclosedLucinda's · 8 min walkclosedCaffè Panna · 9 min walkclosedIt swings hard on timing. Time Out New York reported two- to three-hour waits when the East Village location opened, and La Vie Partagee was quoted a three-hour wait arriving at noon on a Sunday. Yelp regulars say a weekday lunch now runs about 30 minutes and mid-afternoon is often a walk-in. damnlines has no camera here, so we cannot show a live count.
Yelp regulars point to weekday mid-afternoon; several report near-zero waits around 2pm and in the 4-5:30pm window. Weekends, especially Sundays, are the busiest. The standing bar reportedly moves faster than a table if you are a party of one or two.
No. The East Village location is walk-in only, first-come, first-served, per the shop's policy and Yelp reviewers. There is no way to reserve a table, though the standing bar reportedly has a shorter wait than seated dining.
It is the first US location of the Hong Kong dim sum chain that Time Out New York calls "Michelin's cheapest starred restaurant," and its baked BBQ pork buns run under $5. No reservations plus that draw means the crowd becomes a sidewalk line.
Per the official Tim Ho Wan USA site: Monday-Tuesday 11:30am-8pm, Wednesday-Thursday 11:30am-8:30pm, Friday 11:30am-9pm, Saturday 11am-9pm, Sunday 11am-8pm.