Din Tai Fung, the Taiwanese restaurant chain known for soup dumplings, is planning a location at Boston’s Prudential Center, with its sights on the former Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse space in Back Bay, according to reports from NBC Boston and Universal Hub.
The proposal would bring the chain to a region where it does not yet operate. MassLive reported that Din Tai Fung has a small number of U.S. restaurants but no New England locations. Its report described the company as seeking to open in Boston, rather than announcing a completed restaurant or a confirmed debut date.
The clearest detail about the Boston plan comes from a city licensing hearing listing cited in a Boston Restaurant Talk report carried by NBC Boston. That report identified the Prudential Center as the proposed site and said Del Frisco’s had closed the location in July.
Universal Hub also reported the planned move into the former steakhouse, crediting Boston Restaurant Talk. The accounts point to the same Back Bay space, though they do not establish when diners could begin visiting a Din Tai Fung restaurant there.
A different restaurant for the former steakhouse
The planned tenant would replace a steakhouse with a restaurant whose best-known offering is soup dumplings. MassLive highlighted the chain’s dumplings, which are folded by hand, in its account of the proposed Boston expansion. NBC Boston likewise identified soup dumplings as a signature of the Taiwanese business.
For the Prudential Center, the proposal concerns a space left vacant by Del Frisco’s departure, rather than a location currently occupied by the steakhouse. The July closing and the proposed replacement were both described in the Boston Restaurant Talk account published by NBC Boston.
That account also traced the plan back to earlier reporting. A few months before the November reports, the steakhouse’s closing had prompted coverage of Din Tai Fung as a possible successor. The city hearing listing subsequently provided a more concrete indication that the dumpling chain was pursuing that address.
The distinction is important: The reported development is a restaurant plan tied to a licensing hearing notice, not a reported opening. The supplied coverage does not give a licensing decision, construction schedule or opening date, and it does not describe the proposed restaurant’s seating capacity or layout.
A potential New England arrival
The Boston proposal also represents a possible step into New England for the chain. MassLive’s report places the Back Bay plans against an existing U.S. presence that has not yet reached the region. The reports focus on the Prudential Center site and do not identify another New England restaurant in operation.
What’s next: The city licensing process is the next point to watch in the reported plans. NBC Boston cited a hearing listing, but the supplied reports do not provide a hearing outcome or a timetable for opening.
