Best Restaurants in AsiaTown Cleveland.

Soup dumplings are the reason this room stays full, and they hold up to the reputation: thin skins, hot broth, an order of spicy chaoshou wontons next to them. The rest of the menu runs to Shanghai standards, beef and pork belly noodle soups, pan-fried noodles, cold cucumber with garlic. Bring cash, because that is all the counter takes.

• Soup dumplings
• Noodle soup
• Cash only

• 3142 Superior Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114Tue–Sun 11:15 AM to 8 PM; closed Monday(216) 400-6936

Twenty years in the same plaza have made this the first name most people give for the best pho in Cleveland. Brisket and eye round bowls come out fast, the pho and banh mi combo is the order to beat, and the grilled pork summer rolls are worth adding. It fills up at lunch and the kitchen runs ahead of the floor, so expect a wait on drinks.

• Pho
• Banh mi
• Bubble tea

• 3030 Superior Ave #105, Cleveland, OH 44114Tue–Sat 10:30 AM to 8 PM; Sun 10:30 AM to 7 PM; closed Monday(216) 781-7462

Carts still work the floor here every day, which makes Li Wah the answer for the best dim sum in Cleveland: shumai, har gow, chicken feet, egg tarts and sesame balls coming past the table until you wave them off. Away from the carts there is Peking duck, Cantonese roast meats and a long menu built for a round table of eight. Larger parties should know a service charge lands on the bill.

• Dim sum carts
• Peking duck
• Good for groups

• 2999 Payne Ave #102, Cleveland, OH 44114Mon–Fri 11 AM to 9 PM; Sat–Sun 10 AM to 9 PM(216) 696-6556

Tanks of live lobster and fish set the tone at this St. Clair banquet house, where the kitchen sends out whole steamed fish, double lobster and Peking duck for big tables. Pad thai, drunken noodles, stuffed wings and the full Chinese-American lineup fill the rest of a menu that goes on for ages. Service wanders when the room is packed, so plan on a long sit.

• Live seafood
• Banquet tables
• Peking duck

• 3951 St Clair Ave NE, Cleveland, OH 44114Daily 11 AM to 9:30 PM(216) 361-2323

Crossing-the-bridge rice noodle soup is the signature, assembled at the table from a bowl of scalding broth and a tray of raw ingredients. Lamb skewers, spicy pork soup dumplings, karaage and brown sugar sticky rice fill out the order, with a long milk tea list and QR ordering at every table. The room is the brightest in AsiaTown, a former tire shop rebuilt from the floor up, and older listings still call it Dagu Rice Noodle.

• Rice noodle soup
• Skewers
• Milk tea

• 3004 Payne Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114Mon 11 AM to 9 PM; Wed–Sun 11 AM to 9 PM; closed Tuesday(216) 291-7533

A small Korean kitchen tucked behind Superior Pho, open again after a stretch shut. Soft tofu soup, seafood pancake, galbi and kimchi jjigae arrive with a proper spread of banchan, and the hot stone bibimbap is the safe order for a first visit. The signs out front still advertise sushi, but that part of the menu is gone.

• Soft tofu soup
• Seafood pancake
• Banchan

• 3030 Superior Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114Mon–Tue and Thu–Fri 11 AM to 2:30 PM, 4:30 to 8 PM; Sat 11 AM to 8 PM; closed Wed and Sun(216) 664-1152

Cumin-heavy lamb and beef skewers off the grill are the draw, with wontons in chili oil and dry chili chicken close behind. This is northern Chinese cooking served fast and cheap, the kind of place regulars order from without opening the menu. Parking sits right outside the door at Payne Commons.

• Lamb skewers
• Chili oil wontons
• Cheap lunch

• 3710 Payne Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114Mon–Tue 11:30 AM to 9 PM; Thu–Sun 11:30 AM to 9 PM; closed Wednesday(216) 713-0018

Tabletop grills on the second floor of Asian Town Center make this the Korean BBQ Cleveland picks for a birthday: LA galbi, bulgogi and pork belly cooked in front of you. If nobody wants to grill there is bibimbap, jajangmyeon, gimbap and honey garlic wings, then bingsu to finish. It is family owned and fills up fast on weekends.

• Tabletop grill
• LA galbi
• Bingsu

• 3820 Superior Ave, E 38th St, Cleveland, OH 44114Tue–Sat 11:30 AM to 8:30 PM; Sun 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM; closed Monday(216) 432-9200

Come here when heat is the point. Dry pot, mapo tofu, dan dan noodles, crispy fish and dried pepper chicken all land with real numbing spice, and the kitchen will push it further if you ask. Diners from Sichuan sometimes find it tuned for local palates; by Cleveland standards it is still the measuring stick.

• Dry pot
• Mapo tofu
• Real heat

• 1735 E 36th St, Cleveland, OH 44114Daily 11 AM to 9:30 PM(216) 881-9688

A family runs this small room on the first floor of Asian Town Center, and Vietnamese regulars rate the broth here above the bigger names on Superior. Pho and bun bo hue are the orders, with summer rolls and banh mi to cover the table. Takeout accuracy slips now and then, so check the bag before you drive off.

• Pho
• Bun bo hue
• Family run

• 1541 E 38th St, First Floor, Cleveland, OH 44114Mon 11 AM to 7 PM; Wed–Sun 11 AM to 7 PM; closed Tuesday(216) 273-7093

Hong Kong roast meats hang in the window and the wonton noodle soup is what brings people back, along with beef chow fun, fried pork chops and the eggplant. Ask about the dishes that never made it onto the English menu. The service is brisk to the point of blunt, and takeout can run longer than quoted.

• Wonton noodle soup
• Roast meats
• Chow fun

• 3211 Payne Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114Mon 11 AM to 9:15 PM; Wed–Sun 11 AM to 9:15 PM; closed Tuesday(216) 875-7000

One of the oldest Korean kitchens in AsiaTown, with grills in the tables, dolsot bibimbap that arrives still crackling, japchae and a banchan spread that comes out generous. Kalbi and pork belly are the grill orders; seafood pancake and soft tofu stew handle the rest. Karaoke rooms are in the back if the night runs long.

• Dolsot bibimbap
• Kalbi
• Karaoke rooms

• 3700 Superior Ave E, Cleveland, OH 44114Tue–Sat 11 AM to 10 PM; Sun 1 to 9 PM; closed Monday(216) 431-0462