Love soup dumplings and dim sum? Buckle up for Ugly Dumpling

It's been more than a year since Bar Louie closed in West Des Moines south of Jordan Creek Town Center. The upscale American casual-dining restaurant and bar chain, self-described as the "Original Gastrobar," closed in September 2025.

A replacement is ready to begin construction. Ugly Dumpling takes over the former Bar Louie location. The new Shanghai-style street food restaurant is listed as "coming soon."

The rapidly growing fast-casual chain specializes in handcrafted soup dumplings (xiao long bao), dim sum, wontons and noodle dishes.

The star of the show is xiao long bao, soup dumplings steamed to order and served in baskets of six.

What to order at Ugly Dumpling

The sampler is the easiest way to taste several fillings at once. The brightly colored dumplings come filled with pork, pork and truffle, pork and crab, Sichuan pork, chicken and pork, shrimp and spinach, as well as a plant-based filling version.

While Ugly Dumpling serves dim sum, it doesn't arrive via the traditional roaming cart service; instead, the restaurant operates as a full-service, sit-down restaurant with traditional table service. Options include chicken dumplings, pork and shrimp shumai, steamed barbecue pork buns, pan-fried pork buns, chicken kimchi dumplings, crystal shrimp dumplings and steamed black pepper short ribs.

Diners can start with crab Rangoon, soy garlic wings, a fried pork chop, fried chicken dumplings, spring rolls and scallion pancakes, or try spicy wontons made with pork and shrimp, vegetables or chicken.

Noodle dishes feature green tea and sesame, braised beef, spicy sauce or vegetable stir-fry, while wok-fired dishes include fried rice options, chicken and broccoli or sweet and sour chicken, Mongolian beef or kung pao beef, or shrimp.

Try milk teas, iced sweet cream, brown sugar boba or honey lemonade, and all drinks can be made into boozy versions.

Who owns Ugly Dumpling?

Ugly Dumpling is managed and operated by the Vertex Hospitality Group, a restaurant management and franchise organization based out of Flushing, Queens, New York, which also handles chains like KPOT Hot Pot & Korean BBQ, which is next door to the future home of Ugly Dumpling and opened in November 2024.

Ugly Dumpling has 15 locations from New York to Austin, Texas, with additional restaurants planned or opening soon.

The West Des Moines location will open in 2027.

Where to find Ugly Dumpling when it opens

• Location:7105 Mills Civic Pkwy., Suite 150, West Des Moines

• Contact: visituglydumpling.com

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Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. You can reach out to her on  Facebook ,  Twitter , or  Instagram , or drop her a line at  sstapleton@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Love soup dumplings and dim sum? Buckle up for Ugly Dumpling