As a native Chinese, I was really disappointed by wow Bao's bao zi and dumplings. Worst taste ever... I would give negative points if yelp has it. Can I say that it's like a joke and totally ruins the reputation of Chinese food? read more

The food is good and cheap. The buns always seem fresh and are very flavorful. I typically get a rice bowl which is very good. I like the Mongolian beef best, but have tried the Thai one which is also good. The flavored ginger ales are so refreshing and yummy! I can't go without getting one. The service is fast. It is a great place for lunch. This one closes at 8 so it is hard to make it there in time for dinner. There are a few other locations throughout the city (e.g. water tower) and they might stay open later. Lastly, they are a part of the LEYE chain. If you are a member, you can use your card to get points! read more

I wish we had something like this in DC! I was pleasently surprised with the variety of options - I also like that they posted their nutritional information. These little guys are much healthier than I was expecting! It is quite unlike anything we have in DC, and I'm hoping that trend won't last for long. I tried a variety of the breakfast and lunch Baos - all of which were very tasty. The first location I tried on the mile didn't have any sauce... but this location did. The sauce was an excellent addition, especially since the buns are a little bready. It is definitely a great (and inexpensive) breakfast or lunch choice! read more

So I decided to break away from my normal routine of picking up Potbelly's after work on the way to grad school, and I tried out Wow Bao based on a recommendation. Although it didn't 'wow' me, I would have to admit that it was a welcomed change of pace. The steamed potstickers were a good value, and the bao was tasty. This place is by no means authentic, but it's a good option for a quick meal. read more

Yes, there are Wow Bao haters out there, but they are bone fide idiots. Wow Bao is awesome. Honestly, if you've ever made a steamed pork bun from scratch (and I have indeed made many a bun), then you know that perfection in a pork bun is literally (okay figuratively) the holy grail of tasty Asian treats... Wow Bao pulls it off and takes your order via text message. So there. In your face. Literally this time. Like literally take a steamed pork bun and cram it into your face. read more

For vegetarians, this place is a bit bland. Baos are a bit dry/ filling isn't too interesting (chopped edamame and carrots). Also had a noodle bowl - thick noodles with chopped edamame... 2 packets of soy sauce & chili sauce came on the side. Pricey for a small bowl of noodles and veggies ($12). read more

I'm guessing this place is supposed to be Asian fusion but I just didn't like it. I felt like it was completely Americanized versions of banh bao (steamed buns). I had the chocolate and curry chicken bao which both were smaller than the Asian banh bao I'm used to. The chocolate one was just a weird mixture because it tasted like I dipped my bao in cheap chocolate flavored pudding. The chicken curry was better with a little spice and kick but lacked on the filling compared to the chocolate one. I also had the pomegranate (I think) ginger tea which packed a lot more ginger than I thought it would considering the banh bao were more toned down. It was good but unless you're used to ginger and enjoy it, wouldn't recommend it. I think I'll stick to traditional banh bao - tastes better and you get more for your $. read more

I have no complaints about the service and the environment. People were nice, it was clean. but the food was TERRIBLE. I got a all vegetable lo-mein noodles, and it was the most bland thing ever. No sauce, no spices. I put some soy sauce and chili paste on it, but it still tasted bad. My friend got the veggie potstickers, which she said were rubbery. She also got a bun sandwich and said it tasted like plasticy microwave food. read more

Came here to try the bao. It was ok. I wasn't really too crazy about the taste, but that's just my opinion. Place is very clean, and the staff were friendly. read more

Wow Bao - Spicy chicken and spicy Mongolian beef bao. - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Tried both the Mongolian beef and spicy kung pao chicken bao. Definitely recommend the kung pao chicken.

i come here often from river north to meet friends for lunch who work in the loop. its quick, easy, and cheap, and they have a decent sized patio when it's nice (although i think last time we were hovering waiting for a table to open up, but it didn't take long). the edamame and the chicken teriyaki edamame make my mouth very happy. only thing is i usually order 4 bao for lunch, and wind up often wishing i'd gotten one more, but then at that point u think maybe u should have gone for the deal because they're slightly cheaper i think when you buy 6. but delish. they sell them frozen too, which i've considered buying and bringing home for dinner some night. read more

Cheap, fast food that offers great options for the health conscious as well as vegetarians. And it tastes great too! Definitely stop by here everytime im in the city. read more

The place is good and affordable for downtown Chicago, but as other reviewers have mentioned, there are cheaper options in Chinatown and Argyle. Nonetheless, I appreciate their ability to innovate and create flavor combinations you do not typically see in a bao. My favorites are the thai chicken curry, whole wheat edamame, and coconut custard. The portions are fairly small and even for a small girl like me, it would take me three to four to be filled up for lunch. The vegetarian food options are really great. I would say I actually prefer their vegetarian options to their more traditional meat baos like the BBQ pork or teriyaki chicken. In my eyes, Lettuce Entertain You enterprises can never go wrong. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the Loop. I love to stop at their Water Tower location for a quick pick-me-up snack when shopping. read more

Fast Asian food, two kiosks in the store to help with ordering which made the process even faster. My top picks are the BBQ pork Bao and the seasonal pumpkin Bao, teriyaki chicken with chowfun noodles and all vegetable bowl with quinoa and lastly the glazed pork belly bun! read more

Came in tonight because my girlfriend is visiting from Seattle and she likes Wow Bao. I do too somewhat so I said let's go! Originally, we wanted to dine in because we enjoy our food when it's hot! Unaware of the time the cashier asked me if I'd like to dine in or carry out. I asked him what time they close. He said 9. I looked at the time and saw it was 8:20. Trying to be understanding I said ah let's take it home. I then saw they had soup dumplings maybe 2 minutes after ordering. I asked if I could place an order and the cashier said sorry the steamers are already shut off? I understand they want to go home but none of the equipment should be shut off until closer to closing which was still 40 minutes out. read more

Highly recommended! Really good food and service at this location. If you've never had Bao, make sure to try the BBQ.

I'm asian so the concept of paying more than $1 for a bun blows my mind. However, if you're in the city and craving pacific noms... DO IT. But stick with the BBQ pork. Anything else questions my childhood. read more

One of my favorite Asian treats is Bao. I'm a huge fan of the sweet port. I love this place makes dessert Bao's. It's the perfect combination. The coconut and chocolate are amazing!!! read more

Great place to get some dumpling or buns... many different choices to pick from. 2 dollars a dumpling seems pretty pricy, until you get them. The filling was great but my only complaint is that the dough itself was lackluster. Great place for a fast bite to eat...and i mean the workerd get your dumplings out fast. There was no wait time for me. Solid place to eat. I need to come back here again read more

Need a quick, cheap, and delicious lunch? Grab a few hot buns from Wow Bao! They have a nice variety of options even though I prefer the spicy options. They have more than buns but that is all I have had thus far. read more

Wow Bao has an amazing cool pad thai salad with chicken that is pretty darn tasty! The entire salad is gluten free and that makes me a happy camper! The salads are located near the grab & go cooler and they have other salad options as well. The dressing is to die for and the total cost is $6 and change! read more

WOW BAO is really over rated, When here got 2 bows, Wasnt really worth it , Its too doughy the whole kiosk thing is really off putting. I mean good for a cheap Im on the move I dont really care about taste lunch, but other then that meh. I love the ginger ale which is the highlight of my going there if I go. read more

So me being a dunce, I placed my mobile order for the veggie bowl with noodles and the vegetable pot stickers and sent it to the wrong location. When I got there the young lady behind the counter totally understood and she fixed my order right there for me. She was extremely nice and made it fast. Very friendly and accommodating every time I go there. read more

So I was shopping around the Loop and I was in the mood for Chinese food. I went on my app for Yelp! and this was one of the closest places to me. I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl w/ a BBQ Pork Bao. The rice bowl was pretty good but it still needed something more to really enhance the taste of the teriyaki. It wasn't bad at all, but for me it just needed that little something. OMG, but the BAO?! D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!!!!!! I have never eaten something soooo yummy! And I noticed that maybe like 80% of the customers that go there, just order BAOs! I next time I go, I'm just gonna order like 20 BAOs just for me! Haha... read more

on my way back home I was rushing to catch my flight!! zamn, east coast to west coast on an empty stomach? no-can-do! I saw this spot, looked interested so I popped in for a bite ordered the Edamame whole wheat bao and one spicy Mongolian bao **If I had three hands, id give the spicy mongolian three thumbs up **If I had four hands, id use one hand to throw that whole wheat edamame blob as far as I could while the other three fed me spicy mongolian baos. +PLUS 1: there are these cool ATM looking devices outside that you can order from, there wasnt any line at all but I did it anyways! by the time I walked the four steps from the ATM-esque machine to the chef he was already bagging the BAOS! bao bao! read more

So I know it's fast food, but I really love steamed buns. This place had a nice variety. They are not like real steamed buns, but instead kind of like Chinese food in a steamed bun. The buns were the right temperature and were well labeled. This was a great grab-and-go option. Each bun was 1.89 but a six pack with 1099. my favorite was the Thai chicken but I also enjoyed the edamame and the dessert coconut cream. I plan to go back. read more

I figured I should review the restaurant where I get lunch to go at least two if not three days a week. I should say that I don't really eat here by choice, but more out of convenience (it's in my building). That said, I like it. I like the chicken spring rolls (which are not fried, but consist of grilled chicken, carrots, cucumbers, red bell pepper and rice noodles wrapped in rice paper) and the veggie dumplings. They also have good potstickers and dumpling soup. Probably my favorite thing about Wow Bao is their sauce selection---the spicy chili is my favorite. I'm not a huge fan of bao (no matter where) or their rice bowls. The employees are usually very friendly (which I appreciate) and they are quick. I am usually in and out within five minutes. It's not the most authentic or best Chinese food you've ever had, but it's a welcome option next to Potbelly's, Subway, and Cosi in the neighborhood. read more

Ok. Pretty damn good for fast food. Kung Pao like it should be, kinda specie spicy, like a specie spicy meatball...only good. Fluffy soft bao dumplings actually very very well cooked. This is the type of thing that can get either too gooey, or too dry in a hurry. I was impressed. REALLY REALLY expensive for one or two. I suggest getting ten for $11 bucks and splitting the order with someone. That is a price point that is pretty good. But if you get em individually at _HOLY SHIT_ $1.89 EACH....that is a ripoff. Well I guess if you are a 90lb hipster with skinny jeans....So this is my new dinner when I have to drive from the loop for two hours and need to eat something that is not messy. It would be fun to be able to inject these things with a syringe full of hot sauce, but seriously the Kung Pao are totally awesome. Cheers. read more

It's like Chipotle - choose your meat filling, and you can have it in a bun or on rice bowl. Thai curried chicken was just ok. What an ingenious way to charge $7 for macerated dumpling filling on top of rice. Still I'd go back to try the other fillings and sit at the patio. read more

Nice staff, automated ordering, and good stuff in general, see my other Wow Bao review for more detail

The customer service usually isn't that bad at this location,but i got a kicker for you right now.The last time i went here,the restaurant was about to close.The male employee offered me a discount on the 5 chicken potstickers i ordered.After i paid for my order,the male employee gave me the wrong amount of money back based on my receipt that i also had to ask for unfortunately.I told them they owed me some more money,but this female cook/cashier got a bigger stank attitude on her already sad looking face.I asked the male employee if they was getting more varieties soon for their buns.He said it was four new,but temporary variations coming tomorrow.He only told me about one,but when i asked him about the other three,he told me he would find out for me.After i finally got my order,i asked him one more time for the other varieties.He acted like he knew was he was talking about,but he still didn't tell me about the other three varieties.If you don't know the answer to a customers question,don't pretend like you do.Just admit the fact that you don't know.It's okay to be honest from the start and always period. read more

Wow bao is such a great alternative to heavy greasy fast food. At first they started off with a simple menu of baos but then started expanding their menu to stir fry bowls where you can choose from a list that will stump you...brown rice? Quinoa? White rice? Lettuce cups? What are you in the mood for? There are also low calorie combos which look intriguing but haven't tried yet. They also have breakfast baos now which also seem like a good idea for an affordable healthy fast meal if you're in a rush in the mornings. Getting back to the baos and bowls which I know. The thai curry is a bit salty which I knocked off a star for. But it is fresh and healthy and light. If you don't like overwhelming coconut it's a good dish to try. The Kung pao delivers the true spice to its word along with the peanuts. The teriyaki is really tasty. The bowls are only $7 and for $3 extra you can add any 2 baos or 2 potstickers. I chose the potstickers and those were just ok. Also a little salty. The baos though are my favorite and you can't go wrong with those! They are steamed so they're not heavy at all. The savory fillings are yummy with the teriyaki chicken and thai curry chicken being favorites. I love the sweet boas too. The coconut custard are similar to the kolakotai that sound Indians eat with a the custard giving it a nice twist. During the holidays they have some pumpkin spice bao which is also very tasty! Service is always done w a smile. Don't pass up this option if looking for steamy asian buns!! Now if only they would expand to other states... read more

I have always wanted to try Wow Bao. I was already downtown one day and stopped into Wow Bao to have a late lunch. I ordered the 2 Buns (Baos) and 1 Noodle dish combo. They offer an assortment of Baos from the Teriyaki Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken all the way to the healthy Whole Wheat edamame. I ordered two Whole Wheat Edamame Baos and the Spicy Peanut Noodles, served cold. The Baos were savory, steamy and satisfying. The noodles were al-dente and served with a peanut sauce and fresh cilantro and, like stated above, they are served cold. I would prefer them warm, but they were good cold at the same time. It was a light meal, but was just the right amount. The combo cost me only $5.99 and with a soda pop it cost about $7 total. Wow Bao I just might have to meet up with you again soon. read more

I really like the breakfast bao here. The egg and sausage one is delicious, and somehow feels healthier than a bagel or something... For other meals, I like the bbq pork and the thai curry chicken. Fast and easy, this place is def worth a stop in. read more

Just terrible rice filler and the weirdest tasting orange chicken in the world. The service was fast yes but the chicken was just weird and most of it was rice. The sauce on the orange chicken was just sugary and didn't have much flavor. For $9 I also expected a little bit more and I added extra veggies and barely got any veggies very disappointed by that lunch. read more

2 and a half stars. We came here for a bite after the Stanley Cup parade. We ordered six of the baos (2 bbq pork, 2 teriyaki chicken, 1 thai curry chicken, 1 coconut custard) and the teriyaki chicken rice bowl. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the teriyaki chicken in the rice bowl would be the same as the filling in the bao. I think I actually preferred the rice bowl. All in all, it was okay. Definitely a more western take on the more traditional Chinese baos I've had in the past. I wasn't a a fan of the ginger ale, it gave me a weird heart burn sensation afterwards, which I never get. We did stop by the Michigan Avenue location to grab some bao on the go for the plane ride home. Nothing to write home about though. read more

Ok, I love this place. EVERY TIME I go to Chicago, we stop here. I think personally it's cuz we have nothing even close to this in Madison, but really, of the times I've tried dim sum style food, these are actually quite good (in the Americanized version). PLUS they have CHICKEN items, more than one! Most dim sum is pork. So really, you guys rock. Nom nom read more

My husband and I decided to try takeout from this place through Uber-eats. We tried to get a decent sampling ordering the six baos including teriyaki, Kung pow, spicy beef, two BBQ (as we didn't want to fight over them), and coconut custard. We also got a beef bun, pork bun, and some chicken dumpling soup. All of the Bao were decent, I especially liked the teriyaki, but felt the Kung pow texture was off. We both loved the coconut custard bao as an interesting dessert. The buns were good, but as a personal preference I thought there was too much acid on the vegetables. For the price-tag I would have rather had an additional two baos for the price of the bun. The soup was somewhat flat, good broth but the noodles and dumplings were bland. Overall this was a fine take-out choice, but my husband and I both felt all the food had a very standard commercial quality. read more

This location just opened up and I was really excited to give it a try. I have heard about the bao dumplings and how great they are. My selection was a Mongolian beef rice bowl and one teriyake chicken bao. The pricing was relative to the other "high end" fast food places in the loop. Upon getting back to my desk I dug right in....trying the bao first. It was um...doughy? Yeah, very doughy and not much stuff in the middle. Don't know that I was very impressed. The rice bowl was a decent size, but all the meat and ingredients were chopped up into tiny pieces. It wasn't very substantial and made the dish much harder to eat. I guess I would rank this above some of the other fast food chains out there...but it isn't going to be on my list of favorite loop lunch spots. read more

Hot asian buns are so yummy, so unexpected, so Chinese, so much fun to eat, so close to Beard Papa's Japanese chocolate-dipped cream puffs, and outdoor seating is so available so that you combine these two Asian imports and have the sort of cheap lunch downtown that everyone so deserves to regret. read more