If you’re looking for a quick and tasty meal, Saturday Dumpling Co. has you covered. Cafe Ceres, the restaurant that originally occupied Saturday’s building, closed last April, citing poor economics. While the closing of the establishment was definitely a loss for the community, Saturday Dumpling Co. quickly stepped in to take its place – and we’re not complaining. The first thing that struck us was the interior design. It’s modern and colorful, with neon purple backlighting and a bold bright pink motif. It could be a little much for some people, but it undeniably adds to the fun atmosphere of the place. There is a window looking into the kitchen, and you can see that the cooking areas, walls, and floors are all very clean and well maintained. When we went up to the counter to order, there was a large screen set up to greet us instead of a worker. The ordering menu was intuitive and convenient, just requiring you to grab a table number to seat yourself after you complete your order. Saturday Dumpling Co. offers a surprising amount of entree options, but we decided to order what the restaurant is named after: dumplings. We got both the pork and the vegetarian option, each with a chili garlic aioli and the house soy sauce. On the side, we went for the black sesame golden cloud bites.

Service was friendly and incredibly quick. Both the meat and vegetarian platters came with eight dumplings, a side of “rainbow” slaw, and a variety of pickled vegetables. The sides were pretty standard, but both of us agreed that the pork and cabbage dumplings were absolutely delicious. They were crispy and golden on the outside (closer to a potsticker than a dumpling) and the meat inside was well cooked and juicy. The flavors were on point, even without the dipping sauces. The vegetarian dumplings weren’t as strong on their own, however. The base seasoning was just fine, but the dipping sauce added so much more to them. The texture of the dough is more similar to a traditional dumpling. They’re fluffy and light, and the softer texture allows for the dumpling to soak up more flavor from the sauce. If you don’t like chili, the aioli is not for you. The sauce is flavorful, relatively spicy, and gives a pleasant numbing sensation, though the garlic aspect is essentially unnoticeable. The house soy sauce is very standard; there were some chili flakes mixed in, but there isn’t nearly enough to make a discernable difference.

While listed on the menu as a side, the black sesame golden cloud bites are more of a dessert than anything else – and they definitely live up to their name. They come in a basket of four, crunchy on the outside with a fluffy, warm, Wonder Bread-like texture on the inside. They’re amazing on their own, but with the side of condensed milk they are incredible. Overall, Saturday Dumpling Co. is a fun, atmospheric restaurant with really good food. If you’re in a rush, not in the mood to talk, or just craving some good dumplings, check it out.