When you’re stuck at a painful group dinner with your friend’s brother who’s telling you all about his can’t-fail bitcoin strategy, Empire is where you’ll wish you were instead. Not only do they make some of the best dim sum north of Boston, but they also pull off the balance of being somewhere that’s perfect for a lively group and intimate enough for a date. Also, between their great cocktails, attached music venue, and multiple table options (which you can reserve in advance for groups of four or more), you can basically have a whole night out here without having to switch locations. In terms of food, there’s everything from soup dumplings and pork buns to lobster rangoon and bacon fried rice, all of which are meant to be shared.