Happy Dumplings in Islington

Best Chinese I’ve ever had and I lived there for two years. The maitre’d only improved authenticity and add to the amazing atmosphere

Honestly the nicest food - had tom yum soup and also beef in black bean sauce! Complementary tea (unsure what it was but was delicious). Prices as expected for London, about £10 for a main. Highly recommend!

¡No leas las malas críticas! Happy dumplings es una joya escondida en el pueblo de Brixton. No podríamos haber sido mejor atendidos por el dueño, quien nos dio comida en la casa durante nuestra comida Y con nuestras sobras para llevar a casa. En el lado más tranquilo del pueblo de Brixton, pero increíble de todos modos. Recomiendo encarecidamente mapo tofu picante + albóndigas de cerdo. ¡Solamente efectivo!

I don’t know why this place is badly rated. The lady who serves is super friendly, food is cheap and she can make accommodations for veggie food. Their ma po tofu is especially delicious and veggie!

¡La comida era deliciosa! La camarera es una señora tan agradable que se aseguró de que tuviéramos suficiente para beber y comer. La barbacoa boa de cerdo era tan bueno! Fue la mejor boa que tuve. Era como morder una nube, tan esponjosa y suave.¡El resto de las albóndigas también estaban muy buenas! Recomendaría este lugar a cualquiera que busque empanadillas chinas auténticas y deliciosas.

We dropped in here to get a snack on our way around Brixton Market. Having lived in China before, I was very excited by the prospect of some 菜包子. I was very disappointed in what came - they tasted extremely stale. I can't comment on the rest of the menu but I certainly would not recommend this restaurant to anyone.

Went here with my partner and were very satisfied from beginning to end. Amazing food and service! Everything served hot and quite quickly.

Almorcé aquí hoy con mi papá. En primer lugar, he sido fanático de AÑOS y amo a la amigable propietaria. Otra señora me sirvió hoy e insistió en que pague 36 cuando llegó a 26. Finalmente aceptó que se equivocó y le pagué 3 x 10 notas y ella pidió otras 5 notas en lugar de una de las 10 s (pero todavía tenía las 3 10 notas quid). Una vez que le entregué los 5, me devolvió un cambio de libra y cuando le pedí los 10, me dijo que nunca le di el tercer billete de 10 libras. . . Ojalá me mantuviera firme y discutiera, pero estaba confundido y pensé que volvería a poner los 10 libras en mis bolsillos. ¡Solo estoy comprobando ahora y no lo había hecho! Y estoy 100% seguro de que lo tenía. Realmente disgustado por este comportamiento nunca volverá

Prawns in dumplings still frozen with no apology, replacement or refund given - we were even charged extra (snuck through on a non-itemised bill).

Been here for dumplings before and this time stopped in for noodles.The portions are good, but mine was a tad oily, mate's aubergine number was good though and we pretty much inhaled that one.The wine was flowing and the free glass as we were leaving may have been designed to entice us to stay, but with a small person with us, we were on the move.Service a tad slow, but friendly and guess it depends on who's in for the night.I'd go back for dumplings maybe cos I love them, but not for noodles - just saying...Good portions and so much choice, perhaps too much?

The noodle soup was really delicious and a good price however the other bits we got weren't great. It's an easy option for a quick meal but I wouldn't rush back

Sorry, as the owner/waitress seemed nice, but the dumplings were terrible - greasy, undercooked and tasted raw.

Tuve una buena experiencia en comida china almorzando en Market Row, Brixton. El lugar se llamaba Happy Dumplings y el menú era bastante variado con muchas opciones que generalmente estaban bien elaboradas. Probamos un arroz frito con huevo, una berenjena maravillosa cocinada en vinagre y salsa de miel y también carne frita, queso y meriendas vegetarianas. Todo fue muy bueno y la casera fue muy amable, ¡incluso nos brindó una cortesía de frijoles salados mientras esperábamos a que llegaran nuestros platos! ¡Una buena alternativa en Brixton Market!

Parecía legítimo, montones de vapores de bambú apilados y llenos de personas, luego, una vez que nos sentamos, nos dimos cuenta de que el lugar estaba tan sucio, que las mesas no estaban limpias, y que todo estaba pegajoso y cubierto con una capa de aceite.Olvidaron la mitad de nuestro pedido, lo que recibimos fue desmoronarse. El calamar frito tenía más pasta que el calamar y era como masticar una bota de goma, que no estaba fresca para ser definida. Los vapores estaban viejos y sucios, y todo lo que llegaba era realmente terrible en cuanto a sabor, textura y todo parecía que estaba cocinado a partir de congelados.

Esto es muy básico, con mucha necesidad de decoración y limpieza profunda. Es como entrar en la casa de alguien si no te importa la condición del lugar, normalmente esto no me molesta si puedo conseguir una buena cena, pero esto me decepcionó. Solo pedimos albóndigas porque no quería apostar y tenía razón. Mi porción era muy estogada, así como salada. Tenía mucha hambre pero no lo suficiente como para pedir otro plato.

Aparte del hecho de que nos convencieron de que comiéramos más de lo que queríamos, lo que hace que nuestra comida barata de mercado sea cara, tengo que decir que, en general, fue malo. El pollo agridulce era bueno, pero el arroz frito al huevo que se esperaba costaba tanto como el plato principal de pollo. Los rollitos de primavera de pato eran suaves. Las albóndigas estaban empapadas y el pollo satay era decididamente promedio. El servicio fue entusiasta. Tan interesados en aumentar las ventas deberían ser corredores de seguros. Preferiría mejor comida más barata.

We really enjoyed our stay at Happy Dumplings. The service was very good and the food excellent. We will definitely come back.

Dumplings were delicious, recommend the steamed ones most. Order a little bit at a time to keep everything warm. Hosts are very nice.

Just had very tasty pork fried dumplings and Chinese spinach with garlic. The service was really friendly, including pointing out items on the menu we might enjoy, letting us know which vegetables were the most fresh, and insisting on refilling our tea pot with fresh hot water because the puerh leaves were best with a second brew. Will definitely come back to try more dishes.

We go here so often and its always amazing, great value and ran by thoughtful and hardworking locals. A little gem in Brixton.

Particular staff didn't know what they were doing. Amazing food, however the lack in quality customer service ruined me and my girlfriend's night out. Multiple language barriers between staff and customers. Who bloody serves food with a box of tissues?! As well as a lack of correct cutlery, I was absolutely shocked with the service in this restaurant.

I went there twice. It was crowded and services was just okay. Food was a bit oily but in big portions. I’m not sure I’ll go back again.

Fue después de comer cuando llegamos a la bolas felices. El restaurante El pequeñísimo casi vacío.

I know the market very well. This is one of the very few places I hadn't been too. We were 3 friends and one was starving and almost all the other eateries were full. I gave in and sat down. My friends ordered 1 portion of tempura vegetables, plus one portion of fried rice with vegetables; the other had one portion of vegetarian dumplings and one of salt and chilly calamari. I had noodles with tofu and veggies. The vegetables were horrendous, the rice was re-heated and dry; the dumplings were re-heated and just eatable; the calamari were ok; my noodles were the best thing, but I would not eat them again. My glass was dirty; the lady who served us spoke broken English; the tables are too close and the people that sat next to us were invading our space and super loud. I was dreaming of Mama Lan while eating there to save my friendship. Bill was expensive for the horrible quality. Stay away and if you have hungry friends, give them a snack and join the queues somewhere else!

Fuimos allí la última noche y fue horrible. . . Fuimos allí, ya que era el único lugar abierto tarde pero que no debería tener. Hice una sopa Tom Yam con vermicelle: era insípida, hicimos bolas para compartir y todos temían a vomitar después de eso. Los fideos de pollo eran algo normal, pero también aburrida y laked del gusto. Sólo el las berenjenas estaban bien, pero demasiado caro para lo que era. . . evita este lugar si puedes!

Este lugar es fantástico - básica interior pero a quién le importa si la comida es buena y la directora este/propietario muy amable. Gran ambiente. Bolas son increíbles y son los platos de fideos chili más increíble además de la salsa. Una gran relación calidad-precio. De hacer agua la boca! No puedo esperar a volver. El más perfecto de cine antes de la cena.

Sticky table, sticky menus, poor service, mediocre dumplings and badly overpriced. Food Standards Agency rating of 1 = "Major improvements necessary". Avoid, there are plenty of alternatives just yards away.

Im a big fan of Chinese food and ignored my girlfriends warning as to how bad it would be. I've been to most places in Brixton market and its safe to say this is number one to avoid.

Ate oily, disgusting food which took an age to come out. I used to love it, now worst place in the market.

During your walk in Brixton market you can eat tasty dumplings. I was pretty satisfied after having lunch there. In front of Happy Dumplings you can Brazilian restaurant.

El servicio es malo, la comida, el vino era malo y pagamos mejores Tesco £19, la comida estaba fría, esperamos una eternidad para la factura y tuve que pedir tres veces después de recibir la atención que luchan. Me impresionó mucho enteramente. Yo trabajo en una industria de restaurante y me temo que sin duda no se lo recomendaría a cualquiera que le guste que la cocina oriental!

El dim sum eran lo más probable es que el vapor congelados y sin embargo eran bastante gruesas fritos estaban mucho mejor. Recomendaría el dim sum de carne sobre el vegetariano. Los fideos estaban bien, y las tostadas de gambas era bastante gruesa pero no grasienta, que era bueno. El ambiente general de estar fuera en el mercado era genial y que la comida. Buen servicio. £2 tasa por si te permite traer tu pripia bedida alcohólica. Nos pareció que el precio era bastante razonable para la cantidad que pedimos. Probablemente no volvería, ya que ha de ser mejor dim sum para visitar lugares en Londres, sin embargo, fue agradable por la noche.

Tuve la bolas de carne picante de gambas, bolsillos y bollos de pollo. Puedo ver cómo algunas personas pueden no encontrar feliz guiso a su gusto, pero es bastante auténtica, y si eres un fan de este género, es probable que te guste este lugar. El bolsillo picante de gambas era especialmente buena. Me gustaría probarlo si estás alrededor.

Happy Dumplings have a ridiculous amount of food on the menu - some could say too much as I do think it impacts the service.The food was very tasty and didn't take long to arrive - all very good value and we left super full. But the overall experience was just a bit bleurgh and the service not great. Most other places in Brixton market are better on food and service, but it was worth trying it!

To say this restaurant was awful would be underplaying just how bad it was. The staff, while friendly, spoke extremely poor English. The dumplings were obviously pre frozen, the katsu pork looked like it had been reheated several times before and came with no sauce, just some shredded cabbage. The crab claws were chicken with a bit of crab shell poked in the end. In fact every dish was poor. I'd have been ashamed to have served it. When I complained I was offered a plate of aubergine, which I hate. They offered to take off some of the service charge, which as most if it was inedible was an insult. All 3 of us left feeling nauseous, and I'd only eaten one tiny slice of the katsu pork. I would never visit this restaurant again and would urge you not to either.

I have to laugh at the 2* reviews. This place is always bustling with locals who know great, authentic Chinese street food. It's just like being in China, superb (and huge!) freshly made dumplings and reasonable prices.

Stopping at Brixton for something to eat, friend already said this place had bad reviews but we thought let's just try it for ourselves. The dumplings are only very standard, not very good quality. Feels like shop bought and not freshly made. No vinegar available for dipping, only have malt ones like the ones you have for fish and chips. The Tom yum soup noodles is not spicy at all, and very expensive. Definitely won't go again and should have trusted the reviews. Service is not that great either.

My most recent visit to HD left me sorely disappointed, purely because I had such high expectations after two fantastic visits in 2014/15. Previously, the Dim Sum had been delicious - freshly cooked, quality ingredients, filling not fatty. I recommended it to everyone and took a large group of friends visiting London. Happy Dumplings has become a victim of its own success - last night there were 3x the number of outside tables, but seemingly the same number of staff who seemed exhausted, erratic and unhappy to be working. We ordered 5 dim sum and steamed rice and were happy to wait as we know food is cooked to order. However, when it arrived it didn't resemble in anyway the hot, fresh plates I was expecting. Our order was forgotten and some was delivered to the table next to us who ate it. The dim sum arrived one at a time, with the rice arriving last after everything was gone. A final order of dim sum was forgotten and arrived 40 minutes after the first dish. I loved their vegetable tempura previously, but last night it inexplicably included onion rings and chips, which DO NOT WORK with sugar coating. It was horrible. The duck roll was fatty and all vegetable accompaniments were old, dry and grey. I felt embarrassed that i had recommended to my friends. We waited a further 15 minutes to pay and when we did they kept the change, when in all honesty they did not deserve a tip for the service and quality. I will absolutely not be back, and will be looking for a new place to eat dim sum locally.

I brought a few of my friend over here last night as I had been here for lunch before and enjoyed the dumplings.I will never go there again as I was so disappointed by the service last night.We ordered 3 of the happy dumpling meals and asked or waitress at least 3 times, did the 3 happy dumplings equate to 3 of the dumplings on the other side. Our waitress said yes. We also ordered a number of other dishes. When the food arrived, some of it was wrong, 2 of my friends (vegetarians) had ordered pan fried veggie dumplings but steamed were brought out, then a few minutes later additional pan fried meat dumplings which they obviously could not eat so they returned the meat ones and politely ate the steamed dumplings which they had not ordered. We were also given spinach dumpling instead of Edamame, we also politely accepted these. When we got the bill we were charged for all of the items separately, instead of in the dumpling deal which we had asked our waitress about. When we brought it up with the staff, they were incredibly rude and unapologetic.We eventually and unfortunately paid the full price as we had to leave and had already spent at least 10 minutes discussing the payment.I would not advise anyone to go here, or if you do maybe pay before you eat so everything is confirmed.

Really great value food, but not the best quality - exactly what you expect mind, and nothing to put you off going back! The service though is pretty questionable...

We ate there during the week. Did not have to wait long for the food to arrive.We had spicy prawn dumplings, BBQ chicken bun and Singapore noodles.The food was good, but we are not Chinese food connoisseurs.

We went there and received a warm welcome . The lady who cook and take the order does not speak good english but she is very friendly . We ordered fried chicken dumpling (very good) , the spinach (very good) , the pork bun (so so but I don't really like bun) and the singapore noodles (not good) , we hardly eat the quarter of what we ordered.They could easily improve their image by making the place look cleaner , also , maybe it is not such a good things to have a huge and varied menu like that as if it was smaller they could focus more of certain dishes (like the dumplings).They offered us to take the food home.For the 4 dishes and two glasses of wine , we payed about £40. Go there if you are hungry , don't order too much and choose carefully the dishes !

We recently visited Happy Dumplings and weren't disappointed. The food was tasty, and the price was very reasonable. The food did take quite a while to arrive but it was quite busy so that's understandable. Over all not the worst Chinese food I've ever eaten, whether I would make the trip back to eat there again I can't say but we were happy enough with our visit!

Anyone who says this food is good must like thick fried or steamed dough. Worst dim sum I've ever had. Thick and gloopy with very poor quality ingredients. I'm sure they're all frozen and simply heated. But the worst was the tempura. So bad it was funny. Fries battered carrots, Onion rings and chips! DO NOT GO!

Great food, reasonably priced. The steamed dishes are pleasantly light and absolutely delicious. I'd recommend 5 dishes to share between 2 people, there's an offer for 6 dim sums for 30 quid which is a good deal.Drinks menu is small, asian beers and basic wine.Service is good, personable and no-nonesense.Seating outside can be cold as the market row gets drafty, a few tables are available inside. Ambience is brixton style hip-cute-shabby but clean. I love going there, it's not a fancy date night place but a really good spot to get great food without a fuss.

Disgusting place, really horrible, really dirty, we had dumplings and It was a really disgusting experience, we couldn't finish our food. Don't go there

I went there with my girlfriend for some dumplings after a nice walk around Brixton. We ordered a large portion of dumplings to share. The order came half hour later and it was disappointing. The most important bit was not the food but the condition of the kitchen. From our table we could see the kitchen which was in a very dirty state. We tried the food but it was not fit for consumption. I see from other reviews that the cleanness of the restaurant was an issue not just for us but the wide majority. We left disappointed and concerned. The authorities should pay a visit and evaluate the condition of this place.

Oh my goodness this is my first review that is less than expected!I try to be positive, though sadly we sat down and waited for over 30 minutes before they came to take our food order. We had a couple of drinks but it was getting cold and late .The lady that seemed to be single handedly taking orders took other peoples orders before ours even though we had been there first; I don't think the control mechanisms were in place.

Title says it all really. Friendly service but terrible food. Ordered beef noodles which were made with brisket I'm sure, noodles that tasted like spaghetti and a lingering sour note in my mouth long after eating half the plate, I was so hungry I had to eat something but couldn't bring myself to finish. My partner's food was worse. Roast pork with fried rice was both under and overcooked at the same time. The rice was bloody crunchy and had obviously been heated up by being refried in oil, definitely more than a day old. The roast pork was tiny cubes of dessicated pork and almost blackened from overcooking. I could not believe how bad it was. Ordered drinks which never came but we just left rather than chase them up on it. What was the point? We're never going back.

My friends and I all got sick after dinner there. We had a food poisoning and all threw up all night.The sanitary conditions are really bad compared to the rest of Brixton Village restaurant. I go there very often, I have been to many different restaurants of the Village and I have never once been sick or had doubt about the hygiene of the food and place. The food is not great, quite tasteless and the meaty dishes don't taste good and fresh.Brixton village has many great places for lovely dinners and Happy Dumplings is not one of them.I think it is just fair to add that friends who went on other occasion also got sick.

Expect an authentic experience – the service, decor and food – which is exactly what you get. We ordered the Meal Deal for two, which included four dim sum, a special plate a main and a drink each for £35. Perhaps more than you'd usually spend at Brixton market, but such good value for what you got! Order the duck... It's incredible!

Staff were incredibly unhelpful and uncooperative. The food was inedible particularly the thom yum (more like thom BUM!) which tasted like bleach on spaghetti. I implore you to avoid this place at all costs!!!

I had the chicken sticky rice a dumpling special dish and the duck rolls. Halfway through my duck rolls I discovered pieces of green glass in my food. The owner was not available to talk to. I will never eat there again.

Service was horrendous, food not hot and dripping with oil. Number on website not right. This place is a shambles and it hurts to say it as it used to be a fans favourite

A few friends of mine had raved about how amazing the food was so I was elated when I saw the "Staff Wanted" sign on the window. Politely, I asked who seemed to be the matriarch of the place if I could have an application. She looked up at me and simply said "we have enough". I looked at her confused and asked why they had a sign on the window asking for help. She made a shooing motion with her hands and shouted "enough". Her callousness hurt me, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt; maybe they really did have enough staff and they had forgotten to take down the sign that day. Yesterday I made my way back to Brixton Market (2 weeks later) to find that the "Staff Wanted" sign was still on the window. This is my first time writing a review and oddly enough it had nothing to do with the food. But I do believe that how a restaurant makes you feel beyond the food is just as important. At Happy Dumplings I felt unwelcomed before I even said a word. I wrote 'disappointing' as the title, but that was an understatement. My visit was completely demoralizing and no one should feel that way at a restaurant whether they come in for some comfort food or for a simple application.

Dumplings tasted like a ball of deep friend dough. So unimpressed and overpriced. Definitely would not recommend.

There's "British Chinese" food, and there's the real thing. This is the real thing.The food was excellent. This is *exactly* what cheap eating in China is like; all a bit rough around the edges (service, decor, etc all shout "disorganised" and "cheap"), but that's how you know the food is going to be great!Two of us ate a mountain of mixed dumplings; the fillings (a range of chicken, pork, beef, lamb and vegetarian) were all delicious, and I swear I got more hungry the more I ate.The chicken skewers were delicious; one of the other reviewers was disappointed they didn't come with satay sauce, but it didn't say they do! I wonder how many of these reviewers have actually eaten real Chinese food. Who cares. Happy Dumplings is perfect if you want a cheap, no-frills venue that serves authentic food. Highly recommended.

Bland. Oily. Little flavour. Generally not very good at all. Ordered seaweed and watched them go over the shop, buy it, and tip it out on a plate cold. Nuff said.

Can't believe I haven't been here before. Loads of choice and our meal was really tasty. The helpings are enormous though! You can bring your own alcohol or they do sell Tsing Tao and Asahi beer and "Red/White/Rose" wine!

It's difficult to understand how something can be both bland and disgusting at the same time, but somehow Happy Dumplings managed it.I went here for dinner last night with my friend and after 10 minutes looking at the sticky laminated menu we decided what to go for. I had the Triple Tasty dumpling soup. She went for the Thai prawn and chicken soup, with some prawn spring rolls to start.The spring rolls were incredibly salty and seemed to consist of a single prawn, mashed and spread throughout all six of the rolls. There was a very small amount of sweet chilli dipping sauce to go with it.My main arrived. Nine hefty blobs of dough, floating in a weak brown soup. Congealing fat was already beading on the surface of the liquid (I feel soup is too strong of a word for it), and about fives pieces of assorted vegetables ominously rose and submerged like sad submarines.Imagine a rich broth, carefully prepared and full of flavour. Now take the colour of that broth and throw all the flavour away. You're left with a tepid, flavourless brown water. Two spoons and I was done. No amount of soy sauce could fix it.The dumplings were thick on the outside and meagre on the inside, the smear of filling seeming incongruous against the acres of wet dough that encased it. I'm still not sure what Triple Tasty consisted of. Tasty it wasn't.My friend wasn't faring any better. The prawns were overcooked and chewy, the noodles plentiful but flavourless and the thick layer of oil on top almost impenetrable.Somehow this awful meal (plus two ginger beers) came to just under £30. The service was average but infrequent. Avoid this terrible place and go ANYWHERE else.

I went with a friend for diner, we got the dim sum deal. Out of 6 dishes, one or 2 were edible/ok. The rest just didn't taste good. We kind of just forced ourselves to eat what we had ordered. I'm not that picky usually, and my friend isn't either, but this was a really disappointing.

The dumplings are delicious, huge portion size and made fresh to order. Very busy on a Friday night but staff were friendly and good came out in good time. Would recommend the potato stir fry. Great choices for vegetarians.

I just stopped here for a casual lunch, and was a pleasant surprise. The food was quite good and the service friendly and considerable fast. Nice experience in Brixton Market

Service was ok, quite quick. Food was average at best, otherwise very underwhelming. Some of the dishes were too salty or too sweet, and generally very bland. The only decent thing was the jasmine tea!

Came here after seeing it busy previously. Chicken satay came without sauce and after complaint sweet and sour sauce which was awful. Another table then received satay sauce which was infuriation. Duck spring rolls came without sauce and after a second query was brought out. Beer spare ribs were best and about average. Don't waste your money there are a ton of better options

The n.18 was supposed to be vegetarian and it was a mass of undefined white thing all tight together served on the top of salad. Nothing like the picture showed. I even asked to the waitress which was that plate since I did not recognise it at all. It tasted like nothing but some soggy thing. My boyfriend ordered mix dumplings. They were so heavy and the filling was so disgusting that he left 5 of them on the top of 9. For all this we waited about 20 minutes and we were the only clients there. My boyfriend even informed you about how the food was not good for him and you did not say more than I am sorry. You also charged us about the service, although the food was so bad....

Having lived in China, occasionally I get the urge fora pile of dumplings, on little plastic tables in a busy environment. And this is what this place is. I knew the the dumplings that I wanted, 2 people I was with went down the road to buy some beer, and we then stuffed ourselves with a lot of food. The duck we ordered was dry and not what you would expect but otherwise we had a great start to our Brixton night out!Have an eyeball of the reviews on here, they don't appear to be that good - maye as it was delivery, or different stuff was ordered, not sure - it felt like a cheap Beijing eat to me, and that made me happy!

ve been going to Happy Dumpling regularly over the last six months, having eaten there perhaps 10 times or so.Everytime I go there I'm not left disappointed! The Dumplings are as you'd expect with a name like Happy Dumpling - exquisite! The noodle soups and noodle dishes are also fantastic! One thing I like is that they will happily change the dish to suit you - I like a bit more spice to my dishes so the lady in there (who I believe is the owner) remembers this and always ensures I leave happy with my meal!The restaurant itself is typical of Brixton Village - there's a mixture of lower and taller tables with odd shaped and styled chairs dotted around, it's unique in its own way and completely different to any other oriental themed restaurant I've eaten in before!To conclude I'd give Happy Dumpling a 10/10 based on its fantastic food, huge portions, value for money and unique style. I'll be back there again soon! 

This really was the worst food I have ever been presented and expected to consume, never mind enjoy. We got a delivery through deliveroo but will certainly never be placing another order with Happy Dumplings again. I am in no way a fussy eater, and it is quite the exception for me to leave food but this all went straight into the bin (outside...the smell was disturbing). We gave each dish a chance and tried everything we ordered, but disappointment soon turned into disgust as the dishes got progressively worse. Thick, heavy, greasy pastry surround indiscriminate lumps of fatty "meat". No labels on the boxes meant that we didn't know what was what, and not even the most discerning of palates could have worked out what the tasteless little balls are supposed to be. Truly the most disappointing meal I've ever had- the only thing sweetening the whole situation was Deliveroo quickly offering us a refund and a voucher to use with them again (NOT ordering from 'happy' dumplings- the irony!) I IMPLORE YOU- DO NOT GO.

We ordered take out on a Friday night. The food arrived 30 minutes late and when we opened the boxes and tried the dumplings we were shocked at how terrible they were- greesy, thick gelatinous pastry with tasteless, lumpy fillings. Not often is something so bad that I cannot eat it despite being starving- but this really was. They massively need to step up their game- we were extremely disappointed and let down by the bad quality of the food.

Average Chinese food nice location in the market for people watching.Minor Gripe: I don't like sitting on tiny childrens plastic chairs i'm a 6ft bloke weighing 15 stone.Major Gripe: We paid £5 for a very small pot of chinese tea and when we had finished it they came and asked if we wanted a top up and my wife said yes so they put more water in (no more tea leaves). When the bill came they had charged us another £5 for a second pot of tea. Could not beharsed to complain I just left a zero tip and will not be returning.

Nasty fried foods lacking flavour. Thought we'd ordered the set menu as requested but arrived one fewer items than expected, questioned the waitress who were unhelpful. Bill arrived and was more expensive than set menu despite getting one fewer dish, ask for service charge not to be taken but when change came back, they had taken the service charge. I wish I'd looked at other people's reviews!

Fuimos al Happy Dumplings en el mercado de Brixton a cenar durante nuestra estancia en Londres para las fiestas de Navidad, Realmente como en las peliculas: el restaurante és super original, la decoración peculiar, nada cuadra con nada, pero nos encanto. Es el tipico restaurante que vemos en las pelis japonesas o chinas. Pequeño y acojedor, lo mejor és la amabilidad de la señora que nos atendio, la misma propietaria. Es encantadora ! La comida muy buena y abundante. El precio muy bien, ya que Londres màs bien és caro. Volveremos sin duda!

We arrived and straight away we had an inkling of what was ahead... The main waitress was quite forward in offering the set menu offer, when we had said several times that we all wanted our own meal. Two of us we're left waiting for a while for our "chicken curry" (I.e. Spicy stew) when the rest were eating away. The food was really not tasty and we all felt unwell afterwards, which is not a good sign. Although the staff were cheery and attentive, the overall experience was not great.

Siamo entrati in questo posto perché attirati dalle porzioni di noodles in brodo non siamo stati smentiti.Il servizio è stato veloce e gentile...anche perché il locale era poco affollato al momento. Ho provato dei dumplings che erano buoni e sembravano freschi anche se non troppo saporiti.Ho poi preso dei noodles fritti con manzo alle 5 spezie. Li ho trovati buoni e con buona parte delle spezie molto fresche.ho poi aiutato mia moglie a mangiare i noodles in brodo Tom Yum. buoni, piccanti ma veramente tanti. Porzione infinita.Comunque consigliato per chi vuole assaggiare cibo del genere.Il prezzo non è così popolare dato che abbiamo speso 29 sterline per quel che abbiamo mangiato più una Coca e una birra Tiger piccola.

We came here on a saturday evening as it was the only restaurant in brixton markets with spare tables and no queue! Should have taken the hint at that stage! we ordered a selection of dumplings, meatballs, spring rolls, noodles, duck, prawns, chicken, salad between us. The first items came out fine, except for the spring rolls which had clearly been microwaved from frozen! One was warm on the outside and still frozen inside! The egg rice was quite dry and tasteless, I think it had been sat there for a while. The food comes out in a really strange order, people who arrived before us were still waiting for food impatiently, people who arrived long after us had theirs, whilst we were waiting 25 minutes for our next plates. The waiters were stood around looking slightly lost. I ordered beef meatballs. I have no words to describe what they tasted like - they looked nothing like the picture, and more like, jelly-ed tinned dog food, except I wouldn't even feed to my dog! They tasted nothing like beef and everyone else was disgusted by them - i brought this to the managers attention who argued with me, saying i could "look at the packet" if i wanted. I asked to change my order - to beef dumplings to which he agreed. By this stage we had ordered food 50 minutes prior and were still waiting for courses, the manager then came to say some of what we ordered wasn't available! Another 20 minutes later my friends "noodles" arrived - they were essentially just liquid, the beef dumplings clearly had come straight out of a packet also and tasted just like the meatballs! They did not taste like beef or dumplings at all! Awful! On the whole our food was awful and definitely not homemade or authentic, due to the managers comments about the meatballs we were reluctant to say anything else about the quality of the food. By this stage we were hungry and fed up of waiting for the rest of our food we had ordered over an hour earlier and ended up asking to cancel the items and have the bill - it came about 10 minutes later and consisted of scribbles and a 10% service charge - which we paid about half of but probably shouldn't have. Most of our food was left on our plates and we are not fussy eaters. We actually ended up going straight to the nearest mcdonalds - much cheaper, faster, and more filling! I would rarely write a review, but felt the need as this was a terrible experience! However we do look back on how bad it was and laugh!

Having seen Happy Dumplings a number of times as we walked around Brixton market, we decided to give their well presented,colourful menu a try. We were in the mood for something Asian and we like dim sum.Entering the tiny restaurant, we sat at one of the four tables that make up their offering (there are more outside).We ordered spinach dumplings, prawn dumplings, chicken wings, spring rolls, boiled rice and tempura vegetables. Surprinsingly, our order arrived before a neighbouring table who had ordered 30 mins before us. So, service for us was quick and efficient, not so for the other table!The dumplings were clearly home made and authentic. They were tasty and we liked them. The tempura vegetables were nicely cooked too. However, that's where the food compliments end. The plain rice was dry, the chicken wings tasted as if they had been frozen, thawed, refrozen then cooked. The spring rolls had a rank smell to them.I have a distinct suspicion that the spring rolls are what caused me to have an upset stomach for two days after - they didn't smell right.Oddly for a Chinese restaurant, the staff never asked if we wanted drinks with our meal. When it came to pay our £26 bill, we presented our card and were informed that they don't take cards - cash only. The only thing is, there's no sign in the restaurant to tell you that. They were quite content to see me wander off to the nearest cash machine 10 minutes walk away and return with cash. That's highly inconvenient, especially as we had our 3 year old with us. As a reward for my inconvenience, they added a 10% service charge to the bill.The staff are friendly and chirrpy but ultimately the food lets this place down and as it's a restaurant it's the food that matters the most.It's a nice little spot in the market but it could be so much better. Our advice is to approach with caution and stick to the dumplings. If you stray off into the menu you take a chance!

I was so excited to try happy dumplings this afternoon. I have felt ill ever since. I had sticky rice with chicken and the quality of the meat so questionable to say the least. Do not waste your time in brixton village here when there are so many better options.

I was really surprised to see the negative reviews for Happy Dumplings. I have visited twice now and on both occasions have had a fantastic dining experience, the place has been rammed, and i've never seen any disgruntled diners. The set menu option is handy for ordering with large groups. £55 for 4 people is such good value for money and it's BYO too with no corkage- bonus!Really tasty, good service, and cheap!

This is my first 1* on tripadvisor. We saw this place when we were wondering around the Brixton market and were attracted by the relatively large number of diners outside. How misleading was this! We ordered a platter of 9 steamed dumplings, with 3 different flavours. What we received were boiled, thick dough balls with unrecognisable paste inside, which made us question a) what we are eating b) whether it has been cooked. Also, 8/9 dumplings had the same filling. Our best guess of the flavour after eating 3 was that we have been served lumps of fresh clay....Avoid at all costs. Awful.

I walk past this place all the time and love Asian food so thought I'd give it a go as it's one of only a few I hadn't yet been to in Market Row and it was not what I expected at all. I ordered a take out of egg fried rice and some Siu Mai Dumplings. The dumplings are the size of your thumb and so so so salty they weren't pleasant to eat at all and have made better myself at home which I did no expect. Then I opened the egg fried rice to find it full of peppers and the egg pieces laid on top not through it which again I was not expecting. You get a huge pot of rice, enough for three people and is around 6.90. and the dumplings were almost 4pounds and are not worth the money at all. For the first time I was let down by somewhere in Brixton and feel completely ripped off spending 10.40. Think I'll stick to the regulars from now on. It really is a shame I have to give a bad review.

We got suckered into taking a table here. It was HIDEOUS. I mean unrelenting, painfully awful. Sometimes I get flashbacks. I can't walk past the place now without shuddering. The food is oily and vile. At one point we ordered some sort of noodle dish, and this disgusting slick of noodles in an orange sauce arrived. The foxes in my garden wouldn't eat it. Neither could we.Dim sums were oily and miserable. Did I mention you have to donate a kidney in advance to make sure you can cover the cost of the meal? All I remember from the meal, and I've blocked quite a bit of it out, was trying to find something to rinse the taste of oil out of my mouth. We kept trying to pretend it was OK, We don't get out much so we had a fair amount invested in trying to make it work. But in the end, we ran for our lives and pigged out on popcorn and M&Ms at Brixton Ritzy, which is still awesome by the way. Service is good.

This is such an authentic place to eat Chinese! Amazing crispy duck with pancakes and succulent steamed dumplings at such great prices. Love the staff although their English is very limited they make such an effort.

Here's what went down.... Ordered, twenty mins later the plain rice came, another twenty mins and the crab claws came... Finally something to eat! They were utterly flavourless, another twenty mins go by and we're on the verge of leaving and then - hooray!! The duck arrives... followed by the accompaniments for the pancakes - but not the pancakes themselves!! Waited another 5 minutes and then gave in... Pointed out that we'd been waiting over an hour, with plain rice sat idle for nearly 45 mins - they seems almost relieved we were leaving! Terrible service and from the small amount we samples the food pretty dismal too... Really letting Brixton village down.

We went here tonight as the food smelt delicious and there were lots of people there.What a let down. We ordered 2 Tom yums and some dumplings. We explicitly repeated our own order back as we overheard the next table complain their dish never arrived.Well one soup arrived, the other didn't - they forgot it. A very simple order was got wrong and it ruined our night as we took it in turns to eat. When the food arrived it was bland. The owner was apologetic which was good to see but there are better places to go in the market

I really enjoyed my night here. I love the market there is always a good atmosphere however there is a real lack of organisation. They seemed flustered to take our order and didn't "give the customer their undivided attention" which is what I expect if I'm about to spend my hard earned cash somewhere!The table next to us their second noodle soup got forgotten...Surprise surprise so did ours!It is good food here it is just not very restful place to eat, you don't know what your going to receive and when?I would go back but just for the dumplings.

We live round the corner and have often looked at this place and wanted to go in. This weekend, we finally took the plunge. I ordered the Thai Chicken Rice Noodle dish, my partner ordered the Chicken soup, and we shared some dumplings with another friend. Where do I start... Whilst the service was quick and the waiters friendly, the food was awful. The prawn crackers were greasy for a start. The dumplings were thick and chewy, and the flavour was similar to how I imagine dog food is. The 'thai' noodles were neon orange and sickly sweet, and the chicken tasted like chicken skin..! The soup was really sweet and tasted 'chemically'. Will never be going back.

If you are looking for a nice friendly place to watch the world go by it's this one. The food is fairly average and the dumplings sounded lovely but were a little stodgy for me but that's just personal preference. Saying that we weren't rushed and you can bring your own wine. The waiting staff were very friendly.

The dumplings were happy enough. We ordered one of the sharing platters too- sesame prawn toast, chicken wings, various meat on a stick type stuff and there was loads but the quality was not great and it was very greasy.

The service was swift and friendly. The food isn't the best quality however it's bountiful and comes quickly.If you want fantastic Chinese food then don't go here but if you want casual dinning in a friendly atmosphere then this is for you.

My husband and I just left and were extremely disappointed. We are on a constant mission to find good dim sum in London and we definitely didn't find it at this place. We're pretty sure that it was all frozen and not homemade. We had the pork siu mai, har gau and siu long bau. All of the wrappers were so thick and gummy and the fillings were a pasty (and not tasty) mess. The service was also super slow despite only a few other tables being occupied. Our waitress was much more interested in chatting on her mobile than giving us any attention.

This is an odd one this. The inside is cramped and the outside feels a little exposed to passers by. The service can be erratic. The menu is and some of the menu items have disappointed (the 'special dumplings' are just so weird they're hard to enjoy). However, I would definitely recommend this place. It's a competitive area but once you've been to your Franco's and your Honest's then give this place a go. They eponymous dumplings are excellent and best steamed (definitely not friend). The soups are enormous and delicious and a perfect shared starter. The prawn toast is far and away the best I've had (not to be confused with stiff take away prawn toast, these are fat, tender, delicious things). And, to top it all off, it's bring your own booze which makes such a difference. You can have a real banquet and, if you're sharing with some, spend less than fifteen quid. A good sized meal for less than a tenner is easy if you order right. Share a soup, share a big plate of dumplings, share a noodle based meal and get some beers in at the corner shop. I would recommend specifically requesting, especially when busy, that certain things come out at the same time as you're apt to be eating at different times otherwise. An occasionally odd experience but overlook at your cost.

In recent years a number of very good cafes have opened in Brixton. Unfortunately Happy Dumplings is not one of the better ones. I had 9 dumplings for £7.00 for lunch. They were supposed to be a mix of 3 types of dumpling, pork, chicken and lamb. However, they all looked and tasted the same to me. Service was friendly and efficient but the food was nothing special.