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Sky Dragon Chinese Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Chinese Dim Sum Dim Sum [Edit]
280 Spadina AveToronto, ON M5T 3A5
Neighbourhoods: Alexandra Park, Chinatown, Downtown Core
(416) 408-4999
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Breakfast, Brunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
31 reviews for Sky Dragon Chinese Restaurant
Review Highlights
30 reviews in English
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Review from Juliana H.
Toronto, ON
4/9/2012
Actual rating is 3.5.
Had lunch here today and I enjoyed it. We shared seven dishes and the grand total was $21. That's pretty rad. It was busy, and the carts were flying by, so everything was warm. Nothing we had was particularly stellar, but as far as standard dim sum goes, it was decent.
One of the servers called us Gwai Lo which made me giggle.
The place could deffo use a face lift. My eyes kept being drawn to the filthy carpet. -
Review from Downtown D.
Toronto, ON
1/11/2012
I went here for dim sum on a Friday where all the dishes are $2 Monday- Friday (except special orders).
Standard items were ordered, har cow (shrimp dumplings), shiu mai (pork dumplings), cheng fun (rice rolls with meat inside), chicken feet, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf, spare ribs...
First be careful what you take from the cart. We didn't realize the cart had gone around a couple of times already and our first few dishes were cold! (One disadvantage of not being able to order from the menu is you know the item is fresh and hot from the stove.)
The shiu mai had orange food colouring to emulate fish roe that is typically on top of it.
I found the spare ribs bland and too fatty.
The sticky rice was a little dry like they had it in fridge and stuck it in the microwave.
Everything else was okay.
Service was okay with a waiter coming by to make sure our teapot was filled and if we wanted anything else. We ordered some crab claws - this was a special order so it came to like $6 or $7 for 2. The snow pea leaf dish was $6.
This would be a good place to take your friends who are unfamiliar with dim sum because half the fun is looking at what's inside those steam baskets...
Look at your bill - our waiter messed up the calculations in their favour. (I've found this in many Asian restaurants where the totals are rounded up....)
I'm giving this place a 3 since I haven't been to that many dim sum places. I was meaning to go to Dim Sum King but they weren't offering the $2 dish deal when I went. -
Review from ness y.
Toronto, ON
1/4/2012
many, many years ago the restaurant that used to occupy the space of sky dragon was a venue for extravagant chinese wedding banquets and special meals with friends and relatives. it's almost sad to see how the decor and fixtures do not seem to have been kept up over time. wear and tear here plead for an injection of makeover magic, or at least some fresh paint and new carpet and maybe some new textiles for the curtains and seats, and and and...
having said all of that, the dim sum is not awful. not at all. it's not great though. some of the best picks are those carried around on trays, rather than carted around. my personal favourites: steamed snow pea shoots. bland to some, but basic, fresh, and uncluttered by seasonings. i could eat two plates. i also like the lo mei guy (sticky rice and chicken wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf), steamed curried cuttle fish, and the rice flour steamed pudding-like desserts. during dim sum, i do tend to prefer the steamed items since i feel they are lighter and easier to assess the quality of flavours and textures. they're more likely to be hot and fresh too, since cooled or re-heated steamed food leaves tell-tails signs. moreover, the logistics of carting food around a restaurant that size means many of the fried or cool items have been around the block.
steamed items that i didn't quite like: the har gow dumpling wrappers are thick and sticky and the pork and veggies wrapped in bean curd and bathing in salty soupy sauce (done well, they don't need pork nor much salt/sauce). i also didn't enjoy the pan-friend rice rolls - they were dry, even for a dry-stirfry, the "stuffed" eggplant was really greasy (and i never eat the filling), and the soy-sauce egg noodles with bean sprouts were extremely salty (as though they swapped the proportions of the light and dark soy).
apart from that, i found the service to be good. the ladies pushing the dim sum carts around were patient with my non-chinese speaking friends. one of them had never been to dim sum, and is vegetarian. the host even checked to see if she'd found enough to eat. she balked and said yes. however, when i asked later if she enjoyed the experience, she said she wished for more veggie options. personally, leaning on the side of being an accidental vegetarian, i thought there was plenty of selection *if* one knows what to order and speaks up. this is chinese food now.
the bill was very reasonable and we ate a lot with a few of the "large" and "special" items on the tick-box tab.
i'd go back maybe once or twice a year. and a large part of that is due to transportation and friends in the downtown core (vs my preference for dim sum up north) -
Review from Tara E.
12/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
I'm going to go against the grain here. I've been eating dim sum all my life, all over North American often with my Chinese family. (So yes, maybe this doesn't compare to Hong Kong dim sum, I'll let you know when I get there.)
Although this place isn't fancy at all, I'm usually satisfied. Unless you are there right at the end of their serving time, we almost always get fresh delicious food. I enjoy the cart service, and they have been really nice to me in the past when I can't find a dish I want on the carts, they will make it in the kitchen and bring it to me. (And I don't speak too much Chinese so that can be a feat.) The price is good (usually $10-15 per person for all we can stuff ourselves with).
If you think of it as a greasy spoon brunch with unlimited tea (which I do), instead of fine dining, then you'll find a great place, full of Chinese people enjoying yum cha.
Just don't go to the bathroom. Yuck. Ok, with all the tea you will drink you will probably have to go to the bathroom. Just consider yourself warned. -
Review from Toronto L.
Toronto, ON
7/26/2011
The Toronto Lover system:
5 stars = Must visit!
4 stars = Really good. I take my friends here.
3 stars = Somewhat worth it... if you have nowhere better to go.
2 stars = Below average. Attend only when necessary.
1 star = Do not visit!
Yeh, you're at a big round table and waiters come around with carts. You point at something, and they either mumble something in Chinese, or open the little basket to reveal: something. If you're not used to dim sum, my recommendation is to go for it and worry about it later.
Oh yes, it's dim sum. Steamed dumplings filled with shrimp, or, whatever that pink stuff once was, are common, but so are nice treats like shanghai steamed buns, rice noodle rolls, or "Phoenix claws!"
Look out for the wretched lo mai gai (leaf-wrapped dishes that really need care in order to be edible) and the cha siu sou (sweet dim sum, that really should only be served as dessert.) Look out, and avoid.
The nice thing is that most small dishes cost $2, so if you grab wrong, it's not such a bad experience for the wallet. The not-nice thing is that most of the dishes here are tasteless, stale, bland, or fatty.
I think Sky Dragon is actually a 1 star restaurant, but I'm going to give it 2 stars because it's probably a place you should try if you (a) have never had this kind of cheap blue collar dim sum (b) have never been ignored by 11 different Chinese waiters or (c) want to try a lot of different "ethnic" foods and spend a little less than $10.
And don't be lazy: take the stairs.
2 stars -
Review from Tracy L.
5/4/2011
I love dim sum and have hit it up in as many cities as I can while on the road. I have eaten it in at least 4-5 different countries..
When I went in search of dim sum on friday morning while in Toronto, my friend suggested Noble. When we sat and found we had to order our dim sum from a menu, we were out the door with our group of seven looking for the more traditional serving of carts and punch cards. We found it a few blocks later with Sky Dragon.
The place was located on the top floor of the Dragon City Mall. Another in our group had been there and suggested it to us. So we took the leap of faith and went inside.
The decor was rather dated- i'd say circa 1980 by the couch that adorned the front area along with the mirrors there on the wall. The main part of the restaurant was nothing to get excited about.
Although the place was packed, they accomodated our large group immediately and within moments, we had about 15 plates stacked on our table. Two out of our group were dim sum virgins, and I was dealing with my veggie issue (it's a non issue really as I still eat shrimp or fish).
I was blown away by how many shrimp dumpling choices there were- even a shrimp and chives dumpling pan fried that reminded me closely of a potsticker which is one of the choices I miss the most! Shrimp rolls, shrimp wonton soup, sesame balls, and more. I was not for want of items to eat. My friends dove into their char siu bao's and potstickers and various other delights.
We got the bill after it was totalled; it came to less than $70 before tip. What? We each put in $12 and called it a day! What an amazing price for how much food we had gotten. Their prices, while always affordable, change depending on the times of day you are there.
And, after this meal we so thoroughly enjoyed, we stepped out onto their balcony over looking the city and the CN tower for a bunch of photos; us being the tourists that we were. We loved it so much we went back again with a smaller group on sunday afternoon. -
Review from Diana H.
North York, ON
Best dim sum ever especially for a weekday.. When we got there, food was fresh and tasty.. Always get a bang for your buck here..
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Review from geraldine g.
Toronto, ON
12/20/2010
My first dim sum experience in the Tdot! I was forewarned to not to expect much in comparison to Vancouver. He said where we were going is ok and el cheapo. Now all that is cool because, ya know, sometimes we asians have this knack for combining cheap with tasty goodness.
Well, I will admit, he was right. I had no expectations beyond mediocre so how could I be disappointed? Good move on his part.
My favourite part of the whole experience was the carts! I love those things! In Vancouver, you see that so rarely. You must order off the menu. Boring! It is no fun for people like me who have no idea what those things are. Plus, just the fun of picking from a cart.
For me that made the experience. The food, well, let`s say I would like to see what else is in the east! -
Review from lole d.
Toronto, ON
3/23/2011
Dim Sum is good.
But horrible service.
I wanted to order take out while I ate there with my friends. And the waiter told me "you get yourself, we to busy"..... WTF. Lazy Ass. Then when we paid our bill, he stood there 1ft away from us like a vulture.
Never going back again! -
Review from Robin D.
4/22/2011
Have not been here for a long time! And it looks, feels the same. Maybe quieter being it is Good Friday.
The menu items look very standard. I would recommend the course for 3 people. Some soup, Steamed fish, lobster, chinese vegetable, and red bean dessert. Added to it a bean curd dish, which made it to a sumptuous meal, but nothing to rave home about. -
Review from Sanzo L.
Scarborough, ON
5/3/2011
First time going for dim sum.
Service was alright. Most of the waiters were nice enough to tell us what was on their carts minus this one waiter that keep yelling at us in Cantonese and clearly we didn't understand a single word. The food was really good, everything came piping hot but if you're planning to get good seats...get there before 12PM.
Recommended: Pan-Fried Octopus Fingers, Veggie Spring Rolls, Tempura Shrimp, Har Gow, Siu Mai and Shrimp Dumplings. -
Review from James Y.
Toronto, ON
11/7/2011
I may be a big banana (Google it), but I know good dim sum when I taste it. The restaurant itself might not be the most attractive place in Chinatown nor is it the best service, but dim sum here is by far one of the best downtown.
It is authentic, fresh and the selection is great. One of the signs of a good dim sum chef is their ability to make the standard har gaw dumplings - or really any kind of dumpling. The rice "paper" wrap must be thin and almost "al dente," and Sky Dragon's chefs definitely know their stuff. At other places, the wrap comes doughy and thick - an indication of their skill or lack thereof. Equally impressive is the rice noodle roll (cheong fun).
As far as I know, now that Bright Pearl is closed for who knows how long, Sky Dragon is one of the few places where they still do dim sum by the carts - and this always makes the whole experience more fun and interesting.
Furthermore, I find the food not overly salty - at other places, I feel like I have to drink several glasses of water afterward.
I hear that there might be some changes coming to the restaurant in the new year, but for now, if you don't mind the dated decor, this is the place to go in Chinatown. -
Review from Rebecca P.
York, ON
12/17/2010
So incredibly disappointing, and we weren't even on the lookout for high-end eats. (i.e., we were planning to hit Bright Pearl, which has always been a reasonably solid "okay", but it was closed for renovations.)
I don't know what else to say except that the selection wasn't the greatest, nothing was really hot, and the food was all just below mediocre.
That's what I get for insisting on the fun of cart service. Shoulda gone to Rol San or King's Noodle, both of which do good, hot & fresh off-the-menu dim sum.
On the upside, lunch only cost $15 for two people. (Mind you, we were two people who weren't thrilled with the food we actually ordered, so we cut our losses and left after having a few standard issue items.) -
Review from Adrenalyn O.
York, ON
2/17/2012
The dim sum price is cheap...Most times the items are cold but the place is really busy...It's good if you want dim sum and don't want to spend too much...The hot chili oil suck and you have to ask for it, when the waiters bring you steamed rice they almost always have their fingers near the rice, it's gross !!!
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Review from Tammy Y.
7/3/2009
You know what the big thing going for this place is?
The lack of people shoving and cramming their way into a teensy tiny establishment, even if there is a back room (here's looking at you Rol San kid), and being able to be seated within 5 minutes of arriving. Even on a civic holiday. Perhaps this is in part due to the fact that it is hidden a few flights above the DQ on Spadina. I never knew it was there until my sister introduced me, and the space itself is pretty big, surprisingly.
True, the food itself is nothing memorable - shrimp har gow is a little too sticky, yes, atmosphere is bordering on not-in-a-good way tacky , and I did see repeat visits of the same cycle of food. However, when you're hungry and craving dim sum on the fly, what's it gonna be: waiting 45 minutes for a noisy 'shared' table, or sneaking into this place for a quick and calm dim sum meal? -
Review from Melinda M.
Toronto, ON
5/26/2010
This place is pretty cheap, and conveniently located on the corner of Dundas and Spadina. I have been a few times, but I don't know that I'd return.
The food didn't taste particularly fresh and it wasn't even served warm enough for my liking.
The decor is horrible. They have not updated, nor probably even cleaned, the place since God knows when. It's just seedy and uncomfortable.
Staff? meh. I don't feel guilty not tipping a lot.
Positive? It's big, and they have lots of big tables, so even if you're with a group, you shouldn't wait to get served.
I would recommend just having a non-dim-sum meal in Chinatown rather than eating here.Listed in: Asian Cuisine in Toronto
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Review from John F.
North York, ON
2/10/2009
Contrary to the other reviewer, we enjoyed this place a good deal. The dishes tasted very fresh to us, especially the shrimp ones. The chicken wings were a standout and steamed pork buns had a much fluffier dough than the usual leaden ones. The food was very hot and I remember having to wait for something to cool.
The cart ladies sing out their offerings like Cantonese street vendors, which can be a little disconcerting.
Bright, pleasant atmosphere. -
Review from L L.
8/16/2011
We came here for dinner and we went for the "package" dinner for 6 plus a few of our favorite Cantonese style dishes. The food was pretty good and the waiting staff was attentive. It was not a meal that you would tell everyone - but good enough to fill you up with good satisfaction.
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Review from Brian S.
Toronto, ON
5/8/2010
I've been here a couple times now, and I'd have to say it's okay. I wouldn't jump up and down and rave to friends about it, but it's a good deal. It's on the top floor of what I call the chinese Eatons centre at Dundas and Spadina.
It's really a place for dim-sum on the weekends, and they have some interesting dishes moving around on carts, not just the standard steamed everything in little baskets. It's definitely catering to a more chinese crowd with more visits from ladies with chicken's feet than shrimp dumplings.
The food isn't fantastic, but definitely better than boarderline. While it's chaotic, they do service you well. I'm sure I'll end up here again soon. -
Review from Em L.
Toronto, ON
5/1/2009
Looking for a super good dim sum deal downtown? This is the place to go.
My coworker introduced me to the dim sum at Sky Dragon where on the weekday, every dish is only $1.70 each (weekends, I think are $2.20 each). We regularly take a trip up to Chinatown for a quick and filling lunch. The room is always packed, but we have never had to wait for a table.
We have also found most of the staff to be quite helpful, which has not been my usual experience when going for dim sum in Chinatown.
The dim sum standards are usually in rotation on carts. I often find myself ordering stuff off a passing cart before my butt hits the chair, and within minutes our table is brimming with shrimp dumpling, pork dumpling, beef balls, noodles, steamed pork buns, potstickers...
They don't appear to refrigerate their pop, but a can always comes with a glass filled with ice. It works for me, but it might not be so great for those who don't like ice in their drinks.
The bill has never gone over $10 a person. It's a total deal and if seated by the windows facing Spadina, you get a great view of the city skyline, too. -
Review from David B.
Toronto, ON
8/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
When you walk into this place, you feel like you've walked into a relic of the early 80s. Random decorations are strewn about outside the restaurant to enhance the retro look. This is definitely not somewhere where you want to take a date. Not to mention the restaurant was about 20% full on a Friday night. Yikes.
I had pretty low expectations at this point. Even then I was disappointed. Nothing about the food tasted authentic or even tasty at all. They even had shrimp tempura that you can get from any supermarket. Everything just either bland or bad. The night was topped off by the waiter bringing some steamed fish to us, cutting into it, gawking at it for a second and then quickly taking it back into the kitchen without saying a word. One of my friends noticed that the fish was still raw. They brought the fish back about 10 minutes later and appeared edible at that point.
All in all, this place needs some serious renovations, a recipe change, and some new chefs. -
Review from Melissa M.
Toronto, ON
12/26/2010 2 Check-ins Here
Ladies with steam carts remind me of my many trips and dim sum experiences in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. The hargow and shumai are very good along with the steamed bean curd pork rolls. Very friendly staff, quick service, decor is a little outdated. Big tables, spacious restaurant, I never waited to be seated. Unbelievably low prices. I've had many Satisfying meals and they serve dim sum all day from 10am to 11pm. Highly recommend it.
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Review from Martin W.
5/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
When I was a little kid the family would eat at this upstairs location often. I think it has changed names like 10 times over the years, but Sky Dragon is the latest incarnation. It has been Sky Dragon for a while now, so I am sure it is due for a name change any moment now. I have no idea why my family wanted to come here as the dim sum isn't that great. I was told it was a convenient location with the people we were with. Shrug, I wasn't going to question it further. Dead empty for a Sunday morning (another reason I'm expecting a name change) but it did pick up a little bit as we were leaving. Took a while to get the carts rolling but once they started they were coming pretty frequently. Good selection, but the food was as I remembered it so many years ago. Not bad, but not great either.
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Review from eh B.
Toronto, ON
9/8/2009
So this is a tricky one.
It's a pretty standard dim sum place on Spadina. Nothing dreadful (no visible rats), mostly decent food - served hot - once you learn how to manage the steam cart ladies.
Order from the cooking table to get awesome greens to have with the ginger garlic dipping sauce.
There is however one thing that makes it worth going to Sky Dragon above almost any other dim sum spot in Toronto. The chance to have pork soup dumplings. You know - the ones with the soup on the inside. They don't always have them - and I'm not a regular enough customer to get them on demand (though they have made a couple of squid dishes for me on request) - but it is worth going just because they might have the soup dumplings. Best I've ever had. Ever.
If the only thing they served was the soup dumplings, I'd probably rate the place higher. The cart ladies trying to convince me that cool shrimp dumplings are the bomb take down the overall rating. -
Review from Tom C.
9/12/2008
A big thumbs down for this place!
This place is completely awful. The dim sum is pushed around in carts that don't keep them hot and you know how bad dim sum is when it's served cold. In addition, the dim sum is not prepared and cooked properly. I got a beef dish that was not suppose to have a hint of shrimp taste but did, which lead me to believe they they steam multiple dishes on the same plate. Not good! -
Review from Andie S.
Toronto, ON
2/20/2011
Went here for a Chinese new year shindig.We had a ten course meal with all the fixin's and it was okay. I can' t say that there was any particular dish that stood out as being anything but average. I have to give them kudos for their efficiency and well organized service. We had a very large group and they handled it very smoothly.
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Review from Rachelle G.
9/3/2010
Was recommended by a random older Chinese woman we had asked for recommendations. It looked promising at first, plastic table cloths + a bunch of older Chinese patrons. Numerous carts offering various things. Sorely disappointed. Dishes were lukewarm at best and the items that should have been somewhat piping hot because they were fried were the coolest and seemed as if they had been sitting out for hours. The only positive things I can say is that the service was friendly and they also took American dollars.
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Review from Lan T.
Toronto, ON
6/6/2009
Atrocious. The food is good, but check your bill. I noticed a huge discrepancy on my bill and brought it to their attention. They adjusted it, but it was still incorrect, but still in their favor of course. It is my opinion that the error was not accidental. My eleven year old niece can add better.
Listed in: Blacklisted
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Review from Sam C.
2/17/2010 1 Check-in Here
You know what?.....it's not that bad. I wouldn't vote this place to have the best dim sum in the GTA but if you want a quick and dirty (no pun intended) dim sum meal on the weekend this place will do the trick. The other option in Chinatown is Rol San but they don't have the carts so for newbies this place is much more worthwhile.
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Review from Jenny T.
Toronto, ON
7/19/2009
This is the dim sum place (hardly ever dinner) place that my daughter and I always return to. They have not cut back on staff since the start of the downwards spiral of the economy as some other places have seemed to have done. The waiter/waitress/host/hostess are a little frazzled with the many requests they get from such a large place, but they have yet to ever forget a request from us. There's a wide selection of dim sum and they have a nice back cooking table near the kitchen where they prepare certain delicacies fresh! If you are too shy to walk up with your card, the servers walk around with trays of these items. It's nice to have the option of a freshly cooked plate of greens to dip into their home-style dish of soy sauce and chili peppers. If you are averse to cooled down foods which I've read on other posts, please note that you should not grab anything that is no longer steaming, nor should you pay attention to the lady pushing the cart by you for the 6th time with two plates on her trolley. Once you become recognized as a frequent patron, you get special treatment. My daughter always gets extra squid when we order it as take out. Please note that you can order items from the wait staff if you've waited a bit and noticed it is not being pushed around. I used to wait and wait until we were full from less interesting items as the steamed rice rolls with shrimp until we noticed other people had it brought over. This sure helps!
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