Dim Sum Palace retained Brooks 1890’s historic bar, honoring the space’s legacy while introducing late-night dining to LIC. Photo: Shane O’Brien.
July 3, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
Dim Sum Palace, a New York City chain offering dim sum and a variety of other Chinese dishes, has opened its doors in Long Island City, replacing the historic neighborhood bar Brooks 1890.
Dim Sum Palace celebrated its grand opening at 24-28 Jackson Ave. on Thursday, June 26, representing its first New York City located based outside of Manhattan.
Unlike traditional dim sum establishments, Dim Sum Palace does not offer roving carts and instead invites guests to order dumplings from its extensive menu, including truffle dumplings, chicken soup dumplings and pork soup dumplings.
Dumplings served at Dim Sum Palace. Photo: Shane O’Brien.
The menu also boasts a number of Chinese dishes, including Kung Po Chicken, jumbo walnut shrimp, Peking pork and sweet and sour pork. Guests can also order a whole Peking duck, with table-side slicing and preparation included.
A Peking pork chop dish at Dim Sum Palace. Photo: Shane O’Brien.
Dim Sum Palace takes over from the beloved neighborhood bar Brooks 1890, which closed its doors for good in January after serving Long Island City for 125 years. The bar was renowned for its historic charm and preserved interior, which featured tiled floors, wood timbers, tin-stamped ceilings, and stained glass.
Its centerpiece, a mahogany bar over a century old, stood as a relic of the Gilded Age.
Dim Sum Palace, which has been renovating the space for about four months, has taken steps to preserve the bar’s historic charm.
Raymond Lau, a co-owner of Dim Sum Palace, said the restaurant did not want to remove the historic Brooks interior because it is like putting on a “historic show.”
He said Brooks’ iconic mahogany bar is still open to people who just want to stop by for a drink.
Dim Sum Palace has retained the historic mahogany bar of Brooks 1890. Photo: Shane O’Brien.
Meanwhile, Dim Sum Palace has also constructed a “brand new space” adjacent to Brooks in order to expand capacity at the restaurant.
The restaurant will close at 2 a.m. every night, Lau said, in keeping with Dim Sum Palace’s hours of operation at other locations around the city.
Lau added that Dim Sum Palace’s late-night hours break with standard operating hours for dim sum, which is usually served as a lunch food. He believes the late opening hours will allow guests to stop by on their way home from a night in the city.
He said Long Island City represents a perfect location for Dim Sum Palace because of the neighborhood’s fast-growing Asian community. He added that he has already encountered long-time Dim Sum Palace customers at the new LIC location who have expressed delight at not having to travel into the city to visit the restaurant anymore.
Lau said the LIC menu will differ slightly from menus offered at other locations around the city, partly because the Queens location will rely less on foot traffic from tourists and more on local business.
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