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✔️Lunch ✔️Dinner ✔️Dine in ✔️Take out
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Hours
| Friday | 5–9 PM |
| Saturday | 5–9 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | 5–9 PM |
| Thursday | 5–9 PM |
Address and Contact Information
Address: 1001 Center St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Phone: (831) 252-4176
Website: http://www.fullsteamdumpling.com/
Menu Photos
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Related Web Results
Full Steam Dumpling: Ramen & Dumplings in Downtown Santa Cruz
Handmade ramen and dumplings in downtown Santa Cruz. Tonkotsu, shio, vegan options, and rotating specials.
Full Steam Dumpling | Downtown Santa Cruz, CA
Details. Full Steam Dumpling is a ramen and dumpling shop in downtown Santa Cruz. They focus on a small menu made from scratch: slow-simmered broths, …
Full Steam Dumpling (@fullsteamdumpling) – Instagram
10K followers · 132 following · 720 posts · @fullsteamdumpling: “DumPlings & RaMen @ the historic Santa Cruz Art Center! Wednesday-Saturday 5-9PM”
Reviews
KDG
Located next to After Hours(had a negative experience here), Full Steam was awesome. Probably the best bowl of noodles I have ever had! The service was awesome as well!
Grok says:
Full Steam Dumpling is a dynamic, chef-driven pop-up turned permanent fixture in Santa Cruz’s vibrant food scene, specializing in handmade dumplings, ramen, and seasonal Asian-inspired dishes with a focus on Sichuan, Chinese, and Japanese influences blended with local flair. Founded in 2019 by chef Andy Huynh—a Los Angeles native who honed his skills at over a dozen local Santa Cruz spots— it began as a pandemic-era pop-up but found a steady home in 2021 inside the Santa Cruz Art Center’s communal kitchen (now part of the “After Hours” hub, sharing space with 11th Hour Coffee, Chubbs Chicken Sandwiches, and After Hours Cocktail Bar). Huynh’s experimental crew emphasizes from-scratch prep using organic flour, seasonal/local ingredients from farmers market partners, and family traditions reimagined with curiosity—think frilly shu mai, fat bao, or gyoza stuffed with wild-foraged or ranch-sourced fillings. It’s a sustainability-minded operation that rotates menus with the seasons, hosts pop-up events like Vietnamese brunches, and even spun off a bánh mì side project (Back Door Bánh Mí, now at farmers markets). The vibe is communal and artsy, fitting its Art Center locale, making it a go-to for creative comfort food in downtown.
… moreGrok says:
Full Steam Dumpling is a dynamic, chef-driven pop-up turned permanent fixture in Santa Cruz’s vibrant food scene, specializing in handmade dumplings, ramen, and seasonal Asian-inspired dishes with a focus on Sichuan, Chinese, and Japanese influences blended with local flair. Founded in 2019 by chef Andy Huynh—a Los Angeles native who honed his skills at over a dozen local Santa Cruz spots— it began as a pandemic-era pop-up but found a steady home in 2021 inside the Santa Cruz Art Center’s communal kitchen (now part of the “After Hours” hub, sharing space with 11th Hour Coffee, Chubbs Chicken Sandwiches, and After Hours Cocktail Bar). Huynh’s experimental crew emphasizes from-scratch prep using organic flour, seasonal/local ingredients from farmers market partners, and family traditions reimagined with curiosity—think frilly shu mai, fat bao, or gyoza stuffed with wild-foraged or ranch-sourced fillings. It’s a sustainability-minded operation that rotates menus with the seasons, hosts pop-up events like Vietnamese brunches, and even spun off a bánh mì side project (Back Door Bánh Mí, now at farmers markets). The vibe is communal and artsy, fitting its Art Center locale, making it a go-to for creative comfort food in downtown.
Daniel Artusi
Great dumplings and nice area to sit including a patio. This place is co-located with 11th Hour Coffee. There is also a bar there so you can order wine, cocktails etc to enjoy with the dumplings
The dumplings are great! We have done dine-in and mostly take out.
Sometimes the on-line menu to order take out is not up to date and leads to confusion. A couple of weeks ago I pointed this out to the manager and he committed to look into this issue.
… moreThe dumplings are great! We have done dine-in and mostly take out.
Sometimes the on-line menu to order take out is not up to date and leads to confusion. A couple of weeks ago I pointed this out to the manager and he committed to look into this issue.
Xitlali Z
First time trying although I have been to 11th hour many times. It seems theres a rotating menu and when we visited there seemed to be less options than other times. We tried the vegan gyoza – sweet potato and mushroom – which were delicious and had an amazing texture. I had the house ramen which I thought was a little bland and didn’t have many toppings. My parents had the miso ramen and loved it. It was packed and hard to find seating as well as hard to hear others but I love the decor and vibes inside. Staff was very friendly and answered all our silly questions. Was a bit pricy – 80 dollars for the gyoza and three ramen but the portions were large (and the bowls were pretty).
… moreRay Marquardt
Good food with reasonably fast service. Hard to find. Is inside 11th Hour Coffee with zero outside signage. Worth a stop.
… moreJesika Silva
We had a pork sausage ramen, a mushroom ramen, steamed lamb dumplings and fried chicken and leek dumplings. Everything was delicious! The lamb dumplings were my favorite things, they were very unique, served with a yogurt cumber sauce that made the dish very Mongolian inspired. Ramen noodles were perfectly aldente and both noodle and broth were well seasoned. It’s a walk-up counter where they give you a buzzer to pick up your order when it’s ready and you bring it back to your table. It’s in a building shared with a bar and a coffee shop, it’s really bustling, hip vibe! To the grump who left the mean review, this spot is quintessentially Santa Cruz, and if you don’t like it go back to the whole you crawled out of!
… moreClark
Hit or miss food and deceptive billing practices:
I’ve eaten at Full Steam Dumpling several times; while the food is very expensive, it is usually worth it. Today though—my Shoyu Tonkotsu noodles were undercooked, the pork was overcooked, and the broth was so salty it gave me a pounding headache and my date spat it out after sampling mine (yes, like the cartoons).
I found myself asking if I should ever return here as I stared at my receipt. It is then I realized that my date’s soda was billed for $5, when the menus all said $4. Our chicken katsu billed at $14 when the menus said $12, and those were not the only over-billed items.
That cinched it for me. I will not return here. The food is either excellent or bad and the restaurant employs over-billing practices.
Edit:
Dropped rating in response to the insulting $1 refund after my extremely low quality meal. Also, I checked my credit card and there does not appear to be a $1 credit either. Plus, I’d bet not all menus show the same price as the owner referenced. I am willing to raise my rating in response to the owner offering a refund for 1/3 of the meal price of $77. My date’s food was good, the chicken katsu was great, my $22 (plus tax and tip) bowl of ramen was nearly poisoned with salt, and overcooked with undercooked noodles. I ate as much as I could then slank away to nurse a slat-headache for two days on my vacation.
Yes, I could have asked to speak to the manager at the time but I was exhausted. I had drove 6 hours that day, the trivia speakers were blaring (as usual, which is fine), the bill was not high fidelity to the menu prices, and I was just done.
Thank you.
Edit:
Raised rating in response to settled dispute.
… moreI’ve eaten at Full Steam Dumpling several times; while the food is very expensive, it is usually worth it. Today though—my Shoyu Tonkotsu noodles were undercooked, the pork was overcooked, and the broth was so salty it gave me a pounding headache and my date spat it out after sampling mine (yes, like the cartoons).
I found myself asking if I should ever return here as I stared at my receipt. It is then I realized that my date’s soda was billed for $5, when the menus all said $4. Our chicken katsu billed at $14 when the menus said $12, and those were not the only over-billed items.
That cinched it for me. I will not return here. The food is either excellent or bad and the restaurant employs over-billing practices.
Edit:
Dropped rating in response to the insulting $1 refund after my extremely low quality meal. Also, I checked my credit card and there does not appear to be a $1 credit either. Plus, I’d bet not all menus show the same price as the owner referenced. I am willing to raise my rating in response to the owner offering a refund for 1/3 of the meal price of $77. My date’s food was good, the chicken katsu was great, my $22 (plus tax and tip) bowl of ramen was nearly poisoned with salt, and overcooked with undercooked noodles. I ate as much as I could then slank away to nurse a slat-headache for two days on my vacation.
Yes, I could have asked to speak to the manager at the time but I was exhausted. I had drove 6 hours that day, the trivia speakers were blaring (as usual, which is fine), the bill was not high fidelity to the menu prices, and I was just done.
Thank you.
Edit:
Raised rating in response to settled dispute.
Katie Freeman
We love Full Steam! Every week there are favorites and some new additions too. Such delicious food, friendly and incredibly fast service.
… moreAndy Ng
I’ve had Full Steam a few times now and have loved their food and service. They are situated here at 11th Hour on most days as a special pop-up kitchen, and am glad to see them doing well.
I ordered their Vegan Gyoza which are made from mushrooms, tofu, and veggies, laid over with their own chili oil that brings out a lot of flavor. The dumplings were pan fried to perfection and were really delicious. I highly recommend trying the mushroom ones even if you eat meat.
Although I love their food offerings, I can’t deny that $14 for five dumplings seems to be on the higher side of things. They are indeed delicious and probably the best homemade dumplings you’ll find in Santa Cruz, but to pay almost $20 for the meal including tip is a bit steep.
Definitely a “once in a while” type of spot for me. Next time I’ll try their vegan ramen which looked creamy and delicious.
… moreI ordered their Vegan Gyoza which are made from mushrooms, tofu, and veggies, laid over with their own chili oil that brings out a lot of flavor. The dumplings were pan fried to perfection and were really delicious. I highly recommend trying the mushroom ones even if you eat meat.
Although I love their food offerings, I can’t deny that $14 for five dumplings seems to be on the higher side of things. They are indeed delicious and probably the best homemade dumplings you’ll find in Santa Cruz, but to pay almost $20 for the meal including tip is a bit steep.
Definitely a “once in a while” type of spot for me. Next time I’ll try their vegan ramen which looked creamy and delicious.
Kevin McDonald
My wife and I love this place, we get it just about every week. We bring everyone who comes from out of town. The mushroom + yam gyoza and dan dan noodles are two of our favorites!
… morePorter Ranch
We have been eagerly waiting for an eatery like Full Steam Dumpling to enter the food scene in Santa Cruz. Andy’s delicious panAsian dishes are made with flavorful organic, farm fresh ingredients, and hit the spot every time! Fingers crossed there are enough patrons in this town who value their quality to support the continued growth of their business. We’d love to see them open a restaurant. We would be there all the time
… more