The local cuisine of Dalian is influenced by Dongbei regional style of cooking (which has a not wholly unjustified reputation for being big on portions and relatively low on flavors) and the the city's close location to the sea. Buns, pancakes and dumplings are staples rather than rice or noodles. The city also has a very good reputation for seafood dishes which are well worth trying. Overseas travelers should be aware, however, that in China seafood has different connotations than elsewhere, literally seafood refers to anything edible from the sea. Fish dishes invariably contain plenty of small bones that must be navigated around or crunched through (the local method). Additionally, due to its relation and storied history with Korean and Japanese empires, Dalian has many restaurants serving this kind of fare.
The range and number of restaurants is huge, and the listings provided should be considered as merely scratching the surface of what is available. Individual exploration of the restaurants is recommended. Reservations are generally not necessary, so phone numbers have only been provided for those restaurants where tables may need reserving. Those wanting to stick to the familiar will find a large number of western and Japanese and Korean restaurants available, and international fast food chains are well represented.
For good eats, try the recommendations in Zhongshan District and in Xigang District.
Travelers on a budget will be spoiled for choice in Dalian, with low cost restaurants on literally every street corner (particularly in the more residential areas outside of the main city center). It would be impossible to begin to list them all, so only a couple of options available near the center have been listed in the district articles. The quality of the restaurants can be highly variable. A good rule of thumb when searching for a decent place to eat is, if the decor looks shabby but the place is packed the food is almost always good. Ordering can be tricky for non-Chinese speakers as English menus are incredibly rare in cheaper restaurants, and English speaking staff are even more rare. Try the roadside snack stalls which offer pancakes, rolls, skewers of barbecued meat and candied fruits starting at ¥1. These may cause some upset stomachs or bouts of diarrhea, so be advised.
As with budget restaurants there are plenty of mid-range restaurants to choose from in Dalian (differentiated from budget restaurants usually by being larger and having better decor), so experimentation is the key. The restaurants listed in the various district articles are just a couple of particularly noteworthy examples. The same caveats as for budget restaurants apply as regards language, though quality is less variable.
The more expensive end of the restaurant market in Dalian is generally a seafood restaurant boasting fresh, usually local cuisine or the more authentic Japanese restaurants (as opposed to those which have been adapted for local taste preferences). English menus and English speaking staff are most common in the western-themed restaurants, but even mid-priced restaurants may have English or pictures available.
There are a number of restaurants which serve seafood. Typically those downtown or in Xinghai Square have the best seafood, notably Wanbao and Zihan Fan Dian.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Dalian
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Dalian - updated May 2024
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Dalian Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
