Came in just for a drink. Bought the Lemon Lychee Green Tea. Very refreshing and flavorful. It had actual lychee fruit in the drink. read more

Jack's Bao - Lychee Lemon-Rose Green Tea - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

New spot on Cannery Tow and it was a delight! We needed a quick snack and decided to stop in to try this place. Yum yum. I saw lots of folks eating the noodles so i will have to try that next time in town! read more

Jack's Bao - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

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Perfect afternoon snack for my daughter and I after enjoying the aquarium! The wonton soup was light and refreshing with loads of green onions which we love. The wontons were plentiful and delicious. The teas are perfect - not too sweet! I had the lychee and my daughter had the milk tea. Will definitely come back when in town! read more

Jack's Bao - Wonton soup - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

Took my dad here for early dinner since he was craving authentic Chinese food. Honestly, we were a little nervous after reading some of the reviews, but we were pleasantly surprised! Everything we ordered was delicious, flavorful, and felt truly authentic. My family enjoyed every single dish that came out, and it made for such a great meal together. It was so good, I forgot to take any pictures! But definitely didn't have any left overs. Definitely worth a visit if you're looking for comforting, authentic Chinese food that doesn't make you leave feeling heavy. read more

I have been on a bao kick for the past few months so I was super excited to see Jacks Bao in Monterey. The location is great and less than a block from the Aquarium on Cannary Row. The restaurant was clean and spacious. The service was quick and the cashier was friendly. I ordered the steamed Pork bao and my husband ordered the veggie Bao since he is vegan. I was disappointed in the pork bao. The dough was very dense and not pillowy soft like other bao I've tasted at previous restaurants. The pork did not taste freshly made and was just a ball in the center of the bun. When I bit into one of the bao, the pork ball fell out. My husband ordered the veggie bao. The veggie bao was predominantly spinach which didn't match the advertised photo. The dough was thick and tasted overdone as if it had been frozen and reheated. The flavor in both bao was basic and needed the sauces provided. The price was a little high considering the quality and amount of food. Based on this experience, I will most likely skip Jacks next time. read more

Jack's Bao - Pork ball that fell out of bun - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

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Not very good at all. Selection is limited and everything has shrimp in it. The pork ramen was not good at all. Plus it is all very expensive!! Save your money and go somewhere else. read more

Beef noodle soup is so salty it's undrinkable. It's like drinking a bowl of soy sauce. read more

Jack's Bao - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

Surprised, yet very happy to see a dumpling/bao place in Monterey. I had to try this place because I love dumplings. I ordered the gyoza, it's on the pricey side, as expected since it's in a very touristy spot. The gyoza felt like it was fried in a lot of oil resulting in a very crunchy dry exterior. The filling was also very dry and tasted very basic. I'd say this gyoza was below average, as it was dry and tough. Good gyoza is supposed to burst in your mouth with juices, but this one didn't. It felt like a deep fried meatbal wrapped in gyoza dough. I'm also disappointed that they didn't offer chilli oil. Every other dumpling place I've been to always had chilli oil to pair with their dumplings. read more

We stopped for lunch after morning shopping on the cannery row. We tried soup dumplings and wonton soup. Both were just okay. I have had much more authentic in St. Louis. I was very disappointed to say the least. The restaurant and bathroom were clean. Service was very quick. But if you are looking for good food, this place wouldn't be it. read more

Jack's Bao - Soup dumplings - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

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nasty. i got the fried pork and shrimp something and it literally tasted like mcdonalds chicken nuggets..... gross.... appalling.... repulsive.... read more

Yummy food, easy to order! Wish the napkins and extra plates/bowls would be readily available as it was so hard to get a hold of a staff.

OMG THIS WAS SO DELICIOUS! I've tried a lot of dumpling places, but this one is BY FAR HANDS DOWN MY FAVORITE. The juicy soup literally squirted in my mouth right when I bit it. It tasted like pure heaven. I will definitely be coming back and bringing my friends. read more

Jack's Bao - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

was excited to try Jack's Bao after seeing its high rating of around 4 stars from 100+ reviews. However, I was a bit shocked by the prices when I looked at the menu. My husband and I decided to share a Wonton soup ($17) and XLB ($15) to keep it reasonable, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to the expectations. The food was just OK, but IMO was way overpriced. As one reviewer perfectly put it, 'it's Din Tai Fung prices with food court quality.' In comparison, places like Dough Zone in the Bay Area offer better quality at about half the price. It seems like a lot of the cost here goes toward the Canery Row location, rather than the food itself. I do hope they succeed because Monterey could really use more food options. I think they'd get a lot more traffic if the prices were more reasonable. read more

The BEST food/price you can find on Cannery Row. We tried it for a quick lunch, it was so good we went back for dinner a different day and even got to go orders for the trip home. Friendly staff and quick service. The food all tasted great and considering Cannery Row prices is the best value on the entire street. We will definitely eat there again our next trip. My only complaint is that they close a little too early. While we were having dinner at least 4 groups had to be turned away because the kitchen was closed. read more

Jack's Bao - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

I would not phone home about these Xiaolongbao. They are subpar compared to Dintaifung for instance: - The wrappers are thicker... and browner? - There's no juice inside. To get juice, sometimes gelatin needs to be incorporated to the filling. The gelatin then melts during the steaming process and the now hot liquid is trapped inside. They don't even provide spoons since there's no juice. - No sliced ginger. However, 4 stars, because: - convenient location near the aquarium - fast service (we got our food within a few minutes of sitting down) - affordable prices. read more

Jack's Bao - Steamed Pork Xiao Long Bao (XLB) Just OK - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

The food just wasn't flavorful or filling. The can of Diet Coke I had ordered expired 8 months prior. Their POS system defaults to a 20% tip for hybrid service. Nothing was satisfying. We left and went to Bubba Gump's across the street where we had a much better meal, with table service, and spent just about the same (even after a 20% tip). read more

Food was ok, but a few hours later we both got uncontrollable diarrhea. Jacks was the only food we had last night. Likely food poison. Avoid this place. read more

Very efficient with the self ordering and self serve water. Food was quick to arrive and the staff was helpful is giving us an extra bowl without us needing to ask. The tables are all clean and the space is very open giving chill vibes. We ordered the xlb, beef noodle soup and mini wonton soup all of which were good. The meats were all very savory/flavorful and the soups weren't too salty. I personally don't like cilantro and didn't realize until after that they had it in the soups and wish they had an option to remove it when you're ordering. read more

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The food was not good. It's nice that this place is a quick eat place since the rest of the restaurants nearby are sit down. Also, the ambiance was fine but I can't uncheck it on yelp for some reason. They must have been stock photos because none of the dishes looked like the photos on Grubhub or in the restaurant. The Lychee Lemon-Rose Green Tea was okay, but it looked nothing like the photo. The shrimp and pork dumplings also looked nothing like the image, they were a different shape of dumpling in a giant bowl of broth. The Veggie/Mushroom noodle soup was like 3 shades lighter than the photo, bland, the mushrooms were sliced and light unlike the photo. I'm genuinely not a picky eater and enjoy most food, but this was not good. read more

Jack's Bao - Lychee Lemon-Rose Green Tea - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

Good service. However, this post is mainly for the food. Just very bad Shanghainese/chinese food (0 star if I can). We ordered 3 XLB, the skin was thick and the meat was tough and got a sour weird taste to it. Maybe it went bad The store bought XLB at Costco tasted better than this place. We also ordered some wonton. Again, the meat was bad as well but also very overcooked. When the wonton soup arrived, the wonton skin was fallen apart due to being overcooked. If you had authentic Shanghainess food in the past, don't eat here. read more

Fast order, food is great. 2 minutes walk to aquarium . Kids friendly. A number of high chairs available.

The place was clean and their ordering setup looked efficient. Counter person and server was not so friendly. Since they have a limited menu, we thought that they would have presented their best items. We were the only ones there and it took about 15 minutes to get our order. Unfortunately, it came short of our expectations. The braised beef noodle soup lacked flavor, soup was so dark and looked like watered down soy sauce. The steamed pork bao had a "meatball", with just a brush of sauce, the dough was okay. They didn't even have hoisin sauce! There was no vibe since it was just us and a couple of ladies at another table who came in later. Really hope they improve their food as this is the only joint of its kind along a major street full of steak, seafood, and pasta eateries. read more

I've never been to a Chinese restaurant that charges extra for soy sauce or any other kind of sauce.

This was my first time at this place and I was not disappointed. We ordered then soup dumplings and the mini shrimp wonton soup. Everything was so good! Full of flavor. The broth was made with love. I will definitely go back. read more

Jack's Bao - Dumpling - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

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Came in after going to the aquarium because the family loves dim sum and it was a very quiet restaurant. I have no idea how this place isn't packed all the time! The bao was incredible! Super clean location with a lot of space between tables to give everyone breathing room. The menu is small, but, if you do something well enough, you don't need an expansive menu. read more

Food was fine, nothing special. I guess they played the promise of having something unique in a tourist spot, charge premium prices, and provide the most average of food. Had the XLB (not very soupy - so whats the point?), fried wontons (so much so that it felt like they had been deep fried to the point of being hard and all crunch), and mini wonton soup (good, but basically in the most basic of broth and loaded up with green onions and seaweed to give some flavor). Overall, promises the impression of Shanghai style with none of the flavor. While the staff were nice, the format promotes zero service. Order at the table, they bring it to you, buss your own table after, and water was self serve. Only positive was the cleanliness of the restaurant. Quality is not worth the price and so we won't be back. read more

Wenton itself has a strong smell, I think it is because of the pork! and the vegetable with beef noodle soup is not even cook...

Service was good and our food was yummy. It was pretty busy but our food didn't take too long. Only negative was the pork did not have much seasoning/flavor. It was good but I was hoping for a little more. The veggie bao was very good. read more

Jack's Bao - Pork and Steamed Veggie Bao - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

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I ordered won ton soup and potstickers through DoorDash. Delivery took forever because DD forces drivers to stack orders. The order was packaged neatly, with everything you need - soup spoons, napkins, sauces - in their cute little bag. The soup comes in two parts - the liquid, half-filling the container, and the won tons separate and you put them into the liquid & the container is full. It had, to me, almost no taste. The wontons were slimy and weird and the soup base was pretty meh. Not worth it. The potstickers, however are FANTASTIC IMO. Nice big size, perfectly chewy, perfectly browned, and a bargain for what you get. I'd get them again for myself, but they'd also be great to take to a party or holiday dinner. read more

Horrendously overpriced to start - little amount of food for the prices they offer. We were waiting 30~ minutes for our food to arrive and even 10 minutes just to get a can of Coke (which was staring me in the face in the fridge). Lastly, they didn't even get the flavors right. Instead of black vinegar, which literally everyone with a sense of sanity eats with dumplings, they had soy sauce. Absurd attempt at Chinese food. Jack-just retire. read more

Hi Anni! Food was okay but what really stood out is that one of your employees was open to adding noodles to the won ton soup and my kids loved that since they can't handle much spice (#weak sauce I know). If you added the option for a kids broth and noodles only I think you'd attract some tired parents who just got back from the aquarium but don't want their kids eating anymore diabetes inducing cheese pizza and ice cream read more

The soup dumplings were great! We live in an area where we just don't have access to good Asian cuisine, so this was a refreshing find here in Cannery Row read more

I really wanted to like Jack's Bao, but it missed the mark completely. The menu is extremely limited, which would be fine if the food stood out--but it didn't. The soup dumplings tasted like they were filled with boxed vegetable broth--bland and watered down. The mushroom sticky rice shu mai was flavorless and had no trace of mushroom. Just dull and forgettable. To top it off, the bathroom was disgusting. There was a water leak, the whole space was filthy, and--no joke--there were fences attached to the toilet seat. Not sure what that was about, but it was not sanitary. At $15.99 an order, this place is overpriced and overhyped. There are much better options in Monterey. I won't be coming back. read more

A couple of friends and I stopped by for a quick bite, and we were delightfully surprised by how delicious and authentic everything was. We ordered the xiao long bao, a must try, as well as the veggie buns. Although the xiao long bao had slightly thicker skin, I'd say the flavor was on par with the renowned Din Tai Fung! The service was great as well, and we even received complimentary tomato shrimp since it's the restaurant's grand opening. The cafe was also very cute and Instagrammable, with fun drinks and customized plates and trays as well. Jack's Bao is a great place to stop by for a quick bite or have a relatively cheap sit down meal with a family. I would highly recommend! read more

Jack's Bao - Xiao long bao and veggie buns - Shanghainese Near Me - Monterey, California

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Nice Xiaolung boa. Nice dumplings in soup. Could have used more seasoning (garlic? salt?) Service was good. read more

The xiaolong bao is very juicy and soupy. Delicious. Unfortunately, the 狮子头was taken out of the menu. Everything else is authentic. Will be back to try the vegi bao! 加油！ read more

Cute and sweet. Menu and food is straight to the point. I was starting to get hangry and they had options with no pork which is a plus for me! Mushroom based rice bundle was delicious. Environment was welcoming and clean! Service was fast and helpful. Lovey place! Bathroom was also clean and cute. read more

It's great to have a dedicated bao shop in the Monterey area. That said, the food was very mediocre, honestly kind of plain and lacking in spices, and at Cannery Row prices. We tried a little of everything and nothing stood out. Service time was reasonable; they stayed busy but had the food out in 5-10 minutes. My only other thing to point out is that there is a single restroom down a hall at the back of the shop. There was a line for it the entire time we were there. Personally, I will stick with the Chinese restaurants in the area that bring in bao on weekends or just go to San Jose, which has some very tasty and more affordable shops. read more

The food was horrible. Center of my bao was cold and they were incredibly flavorless. So expensive for horrible food. There was barely and meat in my pork bao read more

Nice interior. Clean. Quick service. Unfortunately, food was not very tasty. Wonton soup too shrimpy and seaweed-y. Beef noodle soup had NO flavor and I wasn't a fan of the thick soggy noodles. The only thing with decent flavor were the regular steamed wontons. Although , thick over steamed noodle on the outside. As someone said... food court taste or worse. Price was high for its taste and quality. I understand the price in the tourist area but they really need to improve the taste. They should definitely find a nice chili oil to pair with the meals or even add soy sauce condiments on each table. Maybe customers might have a little more satisfaction adding some flavor to their bland food. I did ask for chili oil but they gave me a chili sauce. It was better than nothing and I appreciate that. Great concept, but They have a lot of room for improvement. read more