Shanghai Lounge

Two take out orders during our stay in Georgetown.
Great food, quick and friendly staff.
Favorites were the dumplings and shrimp won ton soup.
I’d go back and actually eat there as well.

The shrimp dumplings looked like they were made from scratch. The garlic chicken curry was also delicious. Cute space. Great service. Finally found a decent chinese restaurant in DC.

The service just could not be more rude. After I realized my order would take 45 minutes to deliver, I decided to cancel the order, the phone lady, who claimed herself as manager, said to me: I will never take your order again, and don’t ever call us!
Can any body believe this? Any business with this service should not be running!

It’s pretty good, but not prefect. 4 stars for the food. The store looks pretty. My wife and I enjoy our lunch here. Give a try if you never been here.

Worst delivery service ever! It has taken over 2 hours to get my food. The driver never even came in to deliver the food which was already paid for and tipped. Called me once from an unknown number left no message never came in the building and they made it seem like it was my fault. And then asked if i still wanted my food?! I will never order from here again worst service ever.

Definitely my go-​to Chinese spot in the Glover Park/​Georgetown area. I’ve dined in and gotten takeout and delivery, and this place does it all. One of the only places that’s actually pretty accurate with their delivery times, and in-​house eating is reasonably paced.
My favorites are the kung pao chicken (a MUST), the steamed pork buns, the dumplings, and the crispy beef. Mongolian beef and General Tso’s are also good options. All of the dishes have excellent depth of flavor, good portion sizes, and come out hot.
My only qualm is when you eat in, the owner/​manager is a bit pushy; she’s very nice, but wears her emotions on her sleeve. She’ll offer you drinks or appetizers, and if you’re not interested, she seems openly disappointed and will lose interest in you quickly.
A good spot for anyone wanting reasonable, quality Chinese; I’ve gone back again and again.

Got takeout. Friendly fast delivery on a Tuesday right at dinner time (630pm). Was told it would take an hour + but it took under 40.
spicy pork wontons were SOOOOO good. Thick flavorful soup with chili oil topped with cilantro. My guess is the restaurant makes everything from stratch — including the dough — it tastes like home.
dan dan noodles — fell waaaaaaay short of expectations. Great noodles! No dan dan flavor though — as I understand it, at the restaurant it comes in two separate containers as is traditional: a noodle dish topped with minced beef and the sauce to drench it in. There was no sauce. I am sads.
I specifically asked for super spicy xue zhu yu (literal translation is water cooked fish I think? but it’s usually advertised as spicy boiled fish). It’s a true sichuan delight and fell short here. Good but not great. Better than the other Chinese place options around here but that’s not saying much. DamnitDC.
salt and peper prawns that everybody raved about were immensely blah. Way too battered and not delicious flaky fatty salty battered. Like day old french flies cold from the fridge battered.
TLDR: All in all. I give it a 4 out of 5 because its decent enough to warrant a second try if I have to. Its like hooking up with 6s and calling them 8s because its 2am and you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.
In the Tinder world of DC Chinese food joints — I’d swipe right and text ‘u up’.

Amazing food! They know how to balance the flavors and the correct portion sizes for every dish that is served. The flavors are spot on!
During my visit, the food came out quickly and had a wonderful aroma. The place is small, but has AMAZING décor!
I totally recommend this restaurant, be it a date, family dinner/​lunch, or just for casual purposes like hanging out with friends, this restaurant is perfect for those occasions!

First time in DC with a close couple of friends, and we were all thoroughly impressed with the food and service. Don’t be fooled by the looks on the outside, you will be pleasently surprised once you order and taste the food.
We started off with the fried pork dumplings, which were great, and had General Tso’s Chicken, Crispy Beef, Kung Pao Chicken, and Beef Broth Bowl (beware spicy).
If ever in DC we would be sure to eat here again.

This is my second time here during my short stay in D. C (5 days). This place has very good steam pork soup buns that actually has juicy soup coming out. Probably the best place in DC for soup buns, I have to come here for second time.
The first visit here, I also ordered pan fried dumplings, spicy string beans and salt & pepper prawns, all are very delicious and nicely presented!
During the second visit, it was a quiet Monday night around 9:30pm, I ordered shrimp wonton soup, scallion pancakes and Cummins chicken. Very satisfying!
I will definitely recommend everyone to come here, even thought it’s on the north side of Georgetown. It’s definitely worth it. The service here is great plus 10% off when you check in on Unilocal

This review is based off of only three things:
–service
–xiao long bao/​soup filled dumplings
–jasmine green tea
We finally were able to check this place out last Sunday and it was so worth. This is a cute and cozy restaurant in Georgetown. Its a little up Wisconsin ave, slightly away from the busy main streets in Georgetown. I have been craving xiao long bao ever since my LA trip and Unilocaled around to find this place. To my knowledge they are the only place in the district that serves soup filled dumplings (I could be wrong)!
Anywho, this place was delicious. The soup dumplings here were amazing! It was perfect. We weren’t really hungry but we still ordered 2 orders of it ($ 9 per order for the soup filled dumplings). Soup dumplings? Yes! Think of biting into a juicy steamed dumpling filled with flavorful pork meat. We also ordered some jasmine tea and the tea was excellent in taste and quality. The service was also great. After we left, we couldn’t stop thinking about the delicious soup filled dumplings with the soy/​vinegar dipping sauce. Actually, we are still thinking about it. I think we will be coming back very soon! I am very excited to try other dishes on the menu!!! Can’t wait!

I used to go here for lunch a lot when I worked nearby. The food used to be ok/​good. I stopped by for dinner last night after not going there for almost a year, and the food blew me away. Loved the taste, how quickly it came out. It was so delicious! And the service was amazing, Flora always makes me and my guests feel at home. She’s super accommodating and if you’re not sure what to get off of that menu, she’ll help you with great suggestion. The fried prawns I had were the best seafood thing I had in a while! I can swear by those. And try the hot spicy pork as well.
Their lunch is so affordable and generous option with good quality. You MUST try this place!
Sam

What’s a disappointed dinner we have !
We were here last year as we used to come to DC once a year! We have great service from the hostess cum waitress, we told her we will be back! But, when we came for dinner, she no longer here, the atmosphere was not the same!
We like the recommendations from her ‚
also the foods were not as good as the last visit!

Small, quiet restaurant located north of Georgetown. It serves mostly locals and individuals looking for a good soup dumpling in the city. The parking is ample in the neighborhood and the staff are attentive and extremely nice. There is also a bar if you want to eat solo.
Everyone said the soup dumplings were to die for — I went twice this weekend and I was not impressed. The dumplings were not filled with soup and the flavor of the filling was just not there.
Highlights:
1. Crispy Beef — very good, but probably super unhealthy — it is sweet and crispy. Just the right amount of sauce.
2. Scallion Pancake — the crispiness and the thinness of pancake was amazing. Probably one of the best scallion pancakes I have had in the last 3 months (better than Maketto’s)
Everything else that we got was just meh — take it or leave it.

I love this place. I’ve dinned in once and ordered delivery twice (they only charge $ 1 for delivery to my place which is not too far from the restaurant).
Their food is incredible and the manager is super nice I love her! The wonton soup and the triple delight are very good. However, I remember the first time I came here I ordered the lamb, that was just INCREDIBLE! I have had my share of Chinese food in the district and this is by far the best I have had so far.
Their portions are also extremely generous, you truly get what you pay for. The quality of the meat, even the beef looks very good and is full of flavor. I mention beef because a lot of places cheap out on the quality of the beef which really shows, not this place ! Highly recommended!

I’ve been wanting to try Shanghai Lounge for the longest so I was super excited as I anticipated juicy soup dumplings. I was also pleasantly surprised that they take reservations. However, this was where the positives ended. This place is just a step up from an Americanized Chinese take-​out.
First, the restaurant has two different menus: one in English and one in Chinese. As far as differences go, the prices are all the same, BUT there are more items in the Chinese menu, such as the large tea menu which includes bubble tea.
Second, the soup dumplings were dry and we think they’re either packaged, frozen, store-​bought dumplings or they were catered to non-​Chinese customers. We even had a debacle with the soy sauce and black vinegar; they were combined which is a no-​no.
Third, the waiters were great and service was fine. BUT when we asked the waitress to top off our pot of tea (chrysanthemum and pu erh mix), we expected her to add more hot water. Instead, she refilled our tea pot with ooloong. I had never had chrysanthemum, pu erh, and oolong mixed together so it was quite interesting.
Overall, the food is sub-​par and not authentic, but it’s a good option if there are no other Chinese restaurants around.

Three words: Pork Soup Dumplings.
Those were the first things my friend mentions whenever she talks about Shanghai Lounge. I’ve been wanting to go for awhile and I have been reading about it on Unilocal.So when my sister and I were deciding where to get dinner, I suggested pork soup dumplings at Shanghai Lounge. I had her at dumplings.
Shanghai Lounge is a small Chinese restaurant with three levels. When we walked in, we were immediately hit with the smell of spices which made me salivate. We had made reservations which may be helpful considering their space. When seated, our server asked if we wanted the dumplings and we said yes. One order each please (a basket comes with 8 dumplings for $ 9.00 per basket). It’s good to put your order in first because they take a few minutes to make. We also ordered the crispy beef to share.
Our pork soup dumplings came first in steaming hot baskets. We opened the baskets and watched the steam rise up. Not too long because we were eager to bite into our dumplings. We carefully pierced the dumplings to let some of the liquid out and took our first bites. Delicious flavorful dumplings. They’re the perfect size, not too big, but not too small. Probably how they get you to order more. The crispy beef we also ordered was tasty. I liked the flavor of the sauce and the crispiness of the beef.
Prices are decent for Chinese food. Service is very good. The staff is friendly and accommodating. There is street parking but depending on how busy it is in Georgetown you may have to walk a bit. I will definitely be back, if nothing else, to get dumplings.

I’d give it a 3.5. Dined in and had take out. Overall, I think the food tastes great, but most of the time they’re too salty and too greasy. They have cheap lunch specials with really good portion, but unfortunately they’re very americanized chinese food and lack the authenticity. They have a variety of entrée dishes, and the ones I’ve tried are all mediocre — all on the too greasy/​salty side. I was very excited to find scallion pancake on their menu, but wow, I’ve never had a greasier scallion pancake! When I had take out, the pancake was pretty much soaked in oil. It’s slightly better when I order the pancake at the restaurant, but it still has a puddle of oil on the bottom of the plate. Hmm… no thanks!
Shanghai Lounge is known for their soup dumplings (XLB). Those dumplings are probably a 3.5…slightly above average, but nothing to rave about. The soup dumplings are on a smaller side compared to other places I’ve been. The flavor is good, but the dumplings don’t always have soup in them.
I heard that this restaurant was owned by a Shanghainese owner, but not anymore. I wonder if it has anything to do with the food quality… I’m very fond of Shanghainese food, and I had quite a lot of good ones when I studied abroad in Shanghai! Pretty disappointed that I don’t find authentic Shanghainese food here. That being said, the service has always been good! I’ll be back every once in a while and keep trying their entrees… maybe one day I’ll find something that wows me!
Oh, and don’t forget, check-​in on Unilocal for the first time for a 10% coupon!

This is my 1500^th Unilocal review! :)
That being said, I had an enjoyable meal with my fiancé at Shanghai Lounge in Georgetown. We stopped by in the early afternoon and there was plenty of seating available. Service was quick and efficient and friendly and the place seemed cute and quaint.
I ordered the Hunan beef (which came with broccoli and carrots in a semi-​spicy brown sauce and a cup o steamed rice) and enjoyed it a lot. Chinese food sometimes upsets my stomach (especially if it’s greasy), but this food tasted healthy and went down easily. My fiancé ordered the ginger chicken. He didn’t have quite as enjoyable an experience, as he felt like his meal was a bit bland. He asked for brown sauce (the same kind that came with my Hunan beef) on the side and it helped make his dish more flavorful.
Overall, we had a good time at Shanghai Lounge. Not my favorite Chinese restaurant ever, but very decent for a Chinese restaurant in DC! I would recommend it if you’re in that part of Georgetown.
Oh, and they give you a 10% discount on your meal if you check in on Unilocal.Awesome!

Came here for lunch on Saturday with my fiancée and a friend. We each got an order of the soup dumplings, and I also got a Thai tea bubble tea.
Each order of soup dumplings had 8, and they were yummy — plenty of soup inside and fresh. The Thai tea bubble tea was sweet (but not overly so) and the tapioca bubbles were soft and chewy.
There was no one else in the restaurant when we came so we didn’t have to wait to be seated and our food came promptly (almost no wait for the bubble tea and maybe 20 – 25 mins for the soup dumplings).
The service was also good. We got our water refilled frequently.
Also we got 10% off from Unilocal first-​time check-​in.
I have no complaints!