The Ugly Dumpling has flown the nest and opened a second site in Fitzrovia, a mere stone’s throw from its first bricks and mortar opening in Carnaby. With a vision ‘to create the world’s finest ingredient-led dumplings’, this chain wants to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
Enlisting as eager test subjects for these experiments, we entered the light and bright space tucked behind Tottenham Court Road. The calming music, friendly staff and pared-back decor instantly put us at ease. Coasters sporting the logo line one wall, each one reinvented with felt-tips by diners (yes, we had a go too).
Casting a wide net, we opted for one meat and one vegan platter, with a daikon salad to act as a palate cleanser. The spring roll and Thai green curry dumplings went down a treat, both packed with veg and a good hit of flavour. However, the ‘vegan cheeseburger’ and spinach and tofu were both a swing and a miss, lacking the punchiness of the first two.
Bizarrely, the meat cheeseburger might have been our favourite. It seems gimmicky at first, but trust us it works, with lashings of spicy ketchup and a topping of micro fries supplying a nice kick and crunch respectively. Utterly silly, and utterly delicious. Meanwhile, the fresh, zingy daikon salad balanced the meatiness perfectly. Completing the trifecta was a Rare Vineyards rose - dry but still fruity and highly versatile. But then the wind changed again, with the chicken satay, duck and pork belly veering back into plain stodginess.
The dessert dumplings were similarly mixed, with the banana and cinnamon sticking the landing, the pecan pie somewhere in the middle, and the mouth-glueing Nutella a full faceplant. With a total of 16 different dumplings on offer, this felt like a jack-of-all-trades situation. That being said, our qualms could be remedied with some minor alterations and for it still gets our seal of approval for trying something new.