Zhu Puts Truffle-and-Pork Soup Dumplings in the Old Lir Pub on Boylston Street

Photo: Eric Kilby, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Boylston Street near Hereford Street in the Back Bay (file photo, June 2007; shows the street, not the restaurant).

Zhu Boston, a Chinese dim sum and seafood restaurant, is serving soup dumplings with fillings such as truffle and Berkshire pork in the building that housed the Irish pub Lir for 17 years. The restaurant at 903 Boylston St. in the Back Bay soft-opened on Sept. 28, 2026, Boston Restaurant Talk reported, and Boston magazine put it on its November list of new places to try.

The restaurant is still in its early phase. The Tech, MIT’s student newspaper, reported on Nov. 5 that the full menu is expected after a grand opening “in several weeks,” and that some dishes were unavailable during its October visit.

What is on the menu

Boston magazine listed truffle-and-Berkshire-pork xiao long bao, apple char siu puffs, crispy shrimp toast and dessert dumplings filled with chocolate mochi or lava custard. The Tech described dim sum alongside dishes from the Jiangnan region and Sichuan, including hot and sour seafood soup, Sichuan spicy crispy chicken with dried peppers, sweet-and-sour pork and a dish called Mom’s Home-Style Cauliflower.

According to The Tech, the restaurant was inspired by head chef Joanna Duan’s mother’s xiao long bao shop in China. OpenTable lists the executive chef only as “Chef Joanna.” The student reviewers said their brunch for three came to about $57 per person after one dish was comped. OpenTable puts the price range at $50 and over. The Boston Report has not eaten at Zhu; descriptions here come from the cited reports.

A new look for the old Lir building

Lir closed in 2020 after 17 years, according to Boston Restaurant Talk. Boston magazine wrote that apart from a rebuilt spiral staircase, little of the cozy pub remains, replaced by a modern, date-night room. The Tech described polished wood beams, a sweeping marble staircase, marble tables, black walls and an open kitchen where diners can watch the dumplings being made. OpenTable lists four bookable areas, which makes it one of the few new Back Bay rooms with a separate space for private parties.

Reviews so far are mixed in tone. The Tech praised the shrimp toast with wasabi mayo but found the setting better suited to a company dinner than a spontaneous night out. OpenTable shows a 4.3 rating from 28 diner reviews as of Nov. 7.

Where Zhu fits on Boylston Street

Zhu adds a sit-down soup-dumpling option to a stretch of the Back Bay that has seen several openings this fall, including Daily Provisions, which we covered in our story on the Daily Provisions Back Bay opening. For a more casual dumpling crawl, our Chinatown dim sum and noodle guide covers long-running spots across the city.

The restaurant is a short walk from the Hynes Convention Center stop on the Green Line. Because hours and dishes are still settling, check Zhu’s Instagram or OpenTable before going. For more options, see our guide to Boston restaurants.

Sources

• Boston Restaurant Talk, “Zhu Restaurant Opens in Boston's Back Bay,” Sept. 28, 2026
• The Tech (MIT), “Boylston Street’s new upscale dim sum restaurant has its sparkling moments,” Nov. 5, 2026
• Boston magazine, “Where to Eat in Greater Boston for November 2026,” Nov. 5, 2026
• OpenTable, ZHU listing: hours, phone and dining areas (checked Nov. 7, 2026)