I absolutely LOVE this place. The soup dumplings are delicious, the soup is perfectly rich and the dumpling isn't too thick. The sesame chicken is delicious too. Not too sweet. read more

The Bao - Sesame Chicken - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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The Xiao Long Bao is delicate and the soup is really good. If you're are a fan of Chinese cuisine or just looking to try something new, this restaurant is sure to impress. The staffs are friendly and service was amazing. The atmosphere is pretty good too. Can't wait to return and try black sesame and chocolate ones. read more

Pretty authentic Chinese food Love the fish and pork here Spicy and tasty It's very close to my office, come here every week read more

The Bao - Mapo Tofu - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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We frequently get take out from The Bao. Normally it is pretty good. Today we order Xiao long bao, beef and broccoli, pork with mushrooms. First the soup dumplings were good as usual. The other two dishes were bland. The beef was tough and chewy. My husband's word. The beef and broccoli is garbage. The pork and mushroom was not supposed to be spicy and it was. There were red peppers in it. My children could not eat it. When I tried to call back, no one picked up. Odd. We were very disappointed in the quality and taste tonight. Even more annoyed that I called over 6 times and no one picked up. read more

I've never given a 5 star to anything so this is saying a lot. The food was amazing and the service was impeccable. We got chicken dumplings and we could have ate a 100 if we weren't on a diet. The sesame chicken was to DIE for. Sooo good and flavorful. Not overpowering sweetness, just the right amount. The hot and sour soup was sooo flavorful and hit the right spot. A must go in east village. So good. One of my fav restaurants to go to now. If you want to impress someone with nyc food, take them here. read more

The Bao - 6 Chicken Dumplings, Sesame chicken, Vegetable Hot and Sour Soup - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

ASIAN FUSION that is darn good (even for SoCal standards) located on St Marks! on a saturday for 3 ppl the wait was 30 minutes, they give you a specific time to come back to check on your RSVP instead of taking your number down not at all a large restaurant, there are some tables and one large communal table in the middle which we were seated at --kung fu xiao long boa: THIN SKIN & tasty soup, yum! i think Din Tai Fung (the US version not taiwan version) has been beat! --scallion pancake with beef: YUM, fried crispy pancake with slices of stewed beef.. still thinking about this dish --spicy eggplant: standard eggplant dish --dan dan noodles: nice firm noodle texture.. it's meant to be simple but make sure to mix with the meat sauce well! definitely want to come back to try more!! too bad these aren't chinatown prices NOTE: limit of 2 credit cards per bill & white rice is $1.50 for a bowl on the side! read more

Good stuff. Came here 30 mins after opening and were seated immediately. Shortly after, the restaurant started to get packed quickly. Employees are friendly and attentive. I like the ambiance of this place, relaxed and modern. There is one restroom towards the back left. From the dishes we ordered, our favorites were the Scallion Pancake w/ Sliced Beef, Shanghai Pan Fried Noodles, Steamed Crab Meat Pork Buns (XLB's), and Chocolate Steamed Buns (for dessert). The Chocolate Steamed Buns are excellent and are filled with banana and nutella. Mmmmm dessert mini buns! The wonton skin in the Pork Vegetable Wontons in Spicy Sauce dish was a bit too soft. It would have been nice if there was a bit of a bite to it. Flavors were good though. Their Crispy Duck had a nice crisp skin but the meat itself was on the drier side and there wasn't a whole lot of flavor to it. I dipped the duck into some leftover spicy sauce from the pork vegetable wonton dish, which added some flavor. The crispy duck dish comes with a mixture of salt and pepper on the side but it only added a bit to the flavor profile of the duck. I do appreciate that this dish wasn't greasy. Overall, we left full and happy. Glad we tried The Bao out. read more

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Well... slap my tits and call me Mabel, because I was wrong. Despite my initial impressions, The Bao is exactly the opposite of what I'd expect. Maybe not the "exact opposite" but with an unimaginative title as "The Bao" I fervently believed this restaurant hinged on the gimmick of soup dumplings to prey on unsuspecting hipsters lurking St. Marks. Having been constantly exposed to this restaurant through social media (thank you Instagram), my inner Batman decided to look into the matter. IMMEDIATELY I was proven wrong when I saw Chocolate Xiao Long Baos. I've got to stop being so ignorant. Not only are they proliferating NY's much needed XLB scene but they're moving beyond what otherwise would be just traditional food. You have your regular XLB which they prepare in an incredibly thin skin; considering how delicate XLBs are notorious for, I think it's a feat to actually accomplish this. Then you have crab, wasabi, super spicy, AND CHOCOLAAAAAAAAAAAATE! Most of my friends shudder at the concept but then again most of my friends are going to get their titties slapped. She ordered the Super Spicy & I got the sweets. For being advertised as 4 chili peppers, Big Red is spicier. It has a kick but shit is not going to hit the fan. The chocolate had no meat inside but it did taste like banana dipped in fudge (no, this is not a euphemism for anal). I'd order it as a dessert if I were you. Now, this is where it gets a little more interesting. The Bao isn't a one trick pony, they have legit Chinese food. And a real kick in the genitals: the Pan Fried Noodles were more affordable than Chinatown. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? It was like $9 as opposed to the $12 I paid just the other day. The lunch specials are no joke either. Neighborhoods like this don't have cheap lunch specials, let alone lunch specials AT ALL! Almost as good as a find when I discover $1 pizza. Lastly, I got the Champagne Milk Tea. It's more like Thai Iced Tea if anything but that's not going to stop me from buying it because it's called "Champagne" and I'm about that life! Peace out! *Drops Mic* read more

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Lovely sweet people. Accessible and casual. But I found a couple of the dishes dry and uninspiring. Too many other eateries to try nearby

One word - disgusting. Any greasy takeout in any of the five boroughs is better than this horrid Chinese restaurant. Food was indecipherable and the prices are double what they should be. Somebody please explain how anybody can eat here. read more

For a place called the bao, the xiao long bao (shrimp and crab) were slightly underwhelming. The flavor was good (pretty standard) but they were super tiny. The chocolate bao were also just ok, it had banana in it, which we weren't expecting; we thought they'd be all chocolate. The scallion pancakes with shredded duck was absolutely amazing and we loved the shredded pork with garlic sauce. read more

This newly opened trendy Chinese restaurant specialized in 小籠包xiao long bao is already buzzing with lots of customers! This is a nice new addition on St. Marks for a casual inexpensive meal with friends. If you are a fan of Joe's Shanghai like myself, the Bao's version of xiao long bao might be too light for you. They are still tasty but personally I still prefer the Joe's version with more fat and richer flavor. Food:B+ Service:A- Ambiance: B+ trendy & casual. 10X cleaner than Joe's Shanghai Value: B+ read more

The Bao - 担々麺 Dan dan noodle - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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After reading several food articles featuring The Bao and their soup dumplings, I knew that I had to come check it out. One even compared it to the infamous Ding Tai Fong, now that really set my expectations high when compared to that kind of caliber. We ordered the pork soupy buns as well as trying their wasabi version, they come in 6s. Both were pretty good. The soup was tasty and the wrap was super thin (similar to DTF) and translucent. Hold it up and you can see right through. Ordered the spicy beef tripe and it was man, if you can handle heat, this is your dish. Well mixed flavors and packs a punch at the end. One advice, skip the salt and pepper shrimp. No bueno. Bland and not authentic. Would I come back? Yeah, sure... I don't mind. But I wouldn't go out of my way. read more

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Personally think this is overpriced. Flavor is fine though, maybe a bit salty, just not authentic Chinese food. They tried to be a fancy Chinese restaurant with romantic music and dim lighting but that was such an uncomfortable dining experience for me and my friends. So awkward. read more

The Bao - Vegetable Fried Rice - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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The Bao sure serves up pretty damn delicious xiao long baos! I can honestly say these are much better than the ones you get at shanghai cafe, or joe's shanghai. They have SO much more soup in them, and even though the skin is not super thin (like DingTaiFung!), it's still very, very good. The only downside is that since it's a restaurant on St. Marks, the price is obviously slightly higher than what you would see in Chinatown. The wait is usually pretty long, so get there early! Their Mapo Tofu, fish in chili oil, and scallion pancakes are also worth mentioning :). They lose one star for the sometimes splotchy and slow service. read more

The Bao - Xlb :) - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

Their "fish filet in chili oil" is my all time favorite! I have been to other Szechuan style chinese restaurants in the city, but this dish is the best. The fish is not only so soft, but also it has a decent amount of fish. It has pepper corns in it which makes your lips numb. very spicy and addictive! We always order Regular Xiao Long Bao (soup dumpling) here as well. You don't need to go all the way to China town to get them. Their dumplings are on point! very moist and delicious. This time, we also ordered "grandma's rice cake" which wasn't my favorite but still good to have as an appetizer? it's basically rice cake cooked with soy sauce, sesame oil and a lot of brown sugar. We had to wait over an hour for all the dishes (maybe because we went there on Friday?) and that's why they did not get 5 full stars. but the owner-looking guy kept checking on us and made sure we are doing okay which I thought a good thing to do since we have been waiting for an hour. we didn't even complain about it because the service was alright. Anyway definitely try their fish in chili oil and soup dumpling! read more

The Bao - fish filet in chili oil. definitely try this. highly addictive - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

I'm a big freak for some dumplings, and The Bao's XLB pork dumplings are THE BEST around. We ordered the Scallion Pancake (so fresh and crisp, light and airy), Spicy Cucumber Salad (gamechanger), and two orders of their XLB dumplings - Pork & Crab, and Wasabi Pork... this is all that was left of our meal... I'm!! coming!! back!! read more

The Bao - Leftover remnants of the Spicy Cucumber Salad and their incredible soup dumplings. - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

Easily one of the best affordable Shanghai-style/ dimsum spots in the city. Everything is family style which makes it an ideal spot to go with friends. I went on a Sunday night which is a great time to go as it was easy to get a seat. I will return soon! read more

Pretty good and tasted better than Joe Shanghai's Xiao Long Bao, with its flavorful broth and perfectly done pork inside. Only thing I don't recommend is getting the Champagne Milk Tea as its only milk tea in a bottle... The space is pretty big, the service is quick and overall a great dining experience. And after you are done you can go downstairs to have deconstructed dessert! Highly recommend this place for everyone that wants soup dumplings / xiao long bao! read more

I went with the wasabi and super spicy Xiao Long Bao. Both were equally terrible. I thought wasabi one will be a bit weird. But the wasabi flavor was so strong I could not eat more than two. The strength with which wasabi burned my nose, I thought it was vaporize from my face. Unless you are wasabi fanatic, avoid it. Generally shops add chili oil to dumpling and call it spicy dumpling. But their super spicy dumpling is not that. They added some super spicy chili powder to make those dumplings. I eat a lot of hot and spicy food. Even I could not eat more that two of those dumplings. So it's best to avoid this as well. The dumpling skin was thin and there was enough soup in it. If I went for Kung Fu or crab it would have been ok. Finally their chocolate dumpling was really good. It was a dumpling filled with banana and Nutella. read more

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The Bao is a nice place. Great ambiance. A menu with many options but dishes stereotypically named. In my opinion, if you want to be taken seriously in the culinary world, you have to stop calling stuff "Kung Fu Chicken". The tripe was damn good. Packs a lot of flavor with peanuts, chili, and cilantro. However, if you don't want to take a volcanic dump, you should skip. The xiao long baos were tiny but good. Skin is as thin as a Durex ultra thin condom. One little poke and the bag breaks. Scallion pancakes looked like a crepe pizza. Didn't taste the scallion and wasn't really "fried" enough. Stick to Shanghai manor for the absolute best. The Shanghai pan fried noodles were now the typical "pan fried noodles" that you'd be accustomed to. It's another style with udon like noodles but still extremely good. I'd come back in a heartbeat to try the rest. read more

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The food here is ok. If you want soup dumplings, i do prefer Joe's Shanghai. The ones here are ok, juicy delish, but felt bit oily and i don't like the ginger taste. We ordered another dish which is crispy beef, i saw there a thumb up sign on the menu with it, so i thought it should be good but turned out very disappointing! It's just fried sliced beef, with some sesame on top. The point is we didnt even tasted the beef, it felt like a dish of fired flour dough! It's ok to try if you are around and feel hungry at that area, and the price here is reasonable ,but i won't go back especially for this restaurant. read more

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I was in the mood for some soup dumplings and through a bit of searching i found The Bao! I was very excited to come here and i went with my boyfriend for dinner. We were there on a Friday night and there was a wait of about 20 minutes. We were seated at a long table with some strangers. The place only has (i think) tables of 4 or more so you may want to come with a group if you don't want to sit next to strangers. My boyfriend and I ordered the beef tripe with hot pepper sauce, the hot and sour soup, the dan dan noodles, an order of the regular kung fu xiao long, and the crab meat xiao long bao. DO NOT ORDER THE BEEF TRIPE. The beef tripe just tasted like chili oil. There were no other flavors. Very disappointing. The dandan noodles, in my opinion, were bland. While i can understand that the noodles were made to have a subtle flavor, there wasn't enough flavor to satisfy. At least the xiao long bao and the hot and sour soup were good. The skin of the dumplings were thin and the dumpling contained a good amount of soup. I poked a hole in the dumpling to see how much oil was in the soup and it wasn't very oily which is good. Both the kung fu (pork) and the crab meat were good. But I personally favored the pork dumplings. The hot and sour soup was good. They gave you a good portion (but you have to order two and it was way too much). Overall, the meal was on the pricey side and it was not worth it for the price. The service was ok. Our waitress was also very respectful. She respectfully asked why she did not get a bigger tip and did not outright demand more tip from us. Very professional. But I also asked them to get our leftover soup for takeout... and they only gave us a small portion back... so idk what to make of that (P.s. Ate the dumplings before I could take pictures and my bf started eating before i took a picture :P) read more

The Bao - Beef tripe (not good) - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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My friends highly recommended this place so I had to check it out. Ordered the following items: Dan Dan noodle - simple yet refreshing dish Beef noodle soup - soup was delicious. Noodles are chewy. Well flavored. Broth salted just right. Loved it! Crab XLB - strong, real crab flavor. Lots of broth. Very hot. My favorite dishes here were the crab XLB and beef noodle soup, which I thought were the best I had in all of NYC. Definitely check this place out! read more

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One of the best restaurants to get xiao long bao, I do recommend you guys to eat the xiao long bao within 5 mins it got there because our got sticky since we waited for the other food. Nice ambiance, the servers were fast, table and utensils are clean, a little noisy because it's just a small room but all in all this is 5/5. read more

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We were walking around St Mark's looking for a quick snack spot around 12 PM on Saturday and oddly enough, a lot of the restaurants were relatively empty but the Bao was packed with people, and we thought why not just see how long the wait is. We probably waited 5 minutes before sitting down. The middle of the restaurant is a huge communal table and surrounding the walls are individual sized tables. We sat at the communal table and there was a huge problem in the service. The waiters bringing out the food seemed to have no idea who at the table they were delivering food to and it was just extremely disorganized. For the food we tried the crab xiao long bao (xiao long bao = soup dumplings) and the pork dumplings in the hot and sour. The crab xiao long bao was good and the skin was made well where they don't crack, but again I've had better xiao long bao near by in Chinatown. And about the pork dumplings, not sure if the hot and sour was a good way to phrase the sauce, as there was no hot in it at all. I wasn't impressed with the bao, but at the same time, I would still come here again to try. read more

I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't really planning to try this place but did anyway. The "XLB" is fantastic. The skin is delicate but holds, the filling is awesome.Tried the traditional and the crab choices. I do want to try some of the other ones. The Sichuan fried chicken you have to try. It's definitely something more unique. The Superior Fried Rice is tasty but almost excessively spicy. It's like a house fried rice and Halal Guys hot sauce made a kid. The hot & hour soup here is the best I've ever had. It doesn't have that goop-like consistency that most do. It is actually "hot" spicy-wise too. The "Champagne Mlik Tea" is neat but not for $5. A bit overpriced but it is good to have on-deck, in case some of the other items have too much heat. I'd definitely come back to try more on the menu. read more

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The Bao. What can I say? When someone names their restaurant after a dish, you would think that they would be amazing! We stopped by for a snack after walking past this restaurant many times. The restaurant was ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS crowded so we went to see if this place as the place to get THE BAO. My partner and I walked in and even though there were seats available, had to wait 15 minutes before we could get seated. We were not that hungry and we only came in for the bao so we ordered the XLB along with the Dan Dan Mien. The XLB were pretty decent with the dumplings having very thin skin and a soup that was very flavorful. We asked for more ginger and the waitress brought was extra! Thanks. The noodles were okay as well. I know that it normally comes with oil, but this was just too much. I pulled my noodles out of the serving bowl and into my plate just so that the noodles were not sitting in the oil for a long time and soaking it all up. Sadness as the only flavor I could taste was heat. I don't think that's a flavor though. We quickly ate our meal and left. Grade: B- read more

My friend and I got the Mapo Tofu, Scallion Pancake, Chocolate Steamed Buns (dine-in only), and white rice. The Mapo Tofu was incredibly flavorful, but a little numbing because of all the spices! I was skeptical about the Chocolate Steamed Buns at first, but they were delicious and full of chocolatey banana goodness. I would definitely recommend getting them if you're dining in. We had some leftovers at the end of the meal so we asked the waitress to box up our Mapo Tofu and rice, but she ended up coming back with only the tofu. We asked if there was something she could do about the rice that had been mistakenly thrown away. At first she was hesitant, but I'm glad that in the end she realized that having a repeat customer was better than arguing for an extra dollar! read more

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The Bao has a nice atmosphere with open space and dark wood. We started with the xiao long bao which had a super thin skin a nice pork flavor. They forgot to give us the vinegar with ginger so we had to ask for it. We also ordered the Sichuan dan dan noodles which were delicious. The sesame (or peanut) sauce was a nice addition to the dish but only on the top. read more

The Bao - Sichuan dan dan noodles with the sesame (or peanut) sauce were delicious! - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

Wontons in chili oil is probably the best wontons ive ever had. Sauce is out of this world and noodles were amazing as well. Service was a little off and had to call over the server a few times. Food was 10/10 read more

The Bao - Wonton in Chili Oil Cucumber Salad - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

Was looking forward to visiting the restaurant again after two years out of the city and the xiaolongbao are still great! I was kind of disappointed that 回锅肉 seemed to have been taken off the menu so I'm guessing owner may have changed ?? We also ordered some other typical Chinese dishes (gongpao chicken and bean sprouts) which were good but slightly oily. The highlights are definitely the baos (as the restaurant name suggests) and you can expect them to have lots of soupy goodness!! read more

The Bao - 12 Finger Bao - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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One of my favorite restaurants in New York. Ive been here atleast 100 times. Service is great and food is outstanding. However, there is usually a wait on the weekends, so get there early! I highly recommend the crunchy cucumber salad, scallion/beef pancakes, orange chicken, finger bao, pan fried noodles, and fried rice. All out if this world! Ginger beer is also a must to compliment your meal! read more

The Bao - Orange Chicken and Crispy Beef - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

Definitely definitely hit this place up for super fresh, delicious, well-done Chinese food. Some words about food: 1. Soup Dumplings (xiao long bao ) - awesome - note the name of the places is "bao" so you kind of need to get these. My friend and I discussed the proper eating etiquette for soup dumplings: bite off the top and slurp? One bite? Any way you do it, they taste very good. 2. Vegetables - honestly, like all the vegetables we ordered had this super bright, vibrant colors and they tasted great!! Get a vegetable here. We got eggplant in garlic sauce and that was really good but all the vegetables on the tables around us looked delish. 3. Mapo Tofu - was good. I have only had this once before at Mission Chinese where the flavor is like so crazy spicy that it's hard to eat - so then when I ate this, I was doing some weird comparison to that - which I kind of loved even though it was ridiculously spicy. So, I don't know. I feel like I need to do more Mapo Tofu sampling to have a real opinion on this. But, my friend liked it a lot ;) 4. Regular dumplings - yep, we got these too. They were really really good. And i've had a lot of dumplings. Totally recommend. 5. Shanghai Pan Fried Noodles - Loved loved these. I love all noodles, but these had a really good flavor and I highly recommend. Some other things to know: 6. There is definitely a wait. We waited about 20 minutes on a Sunday afternoon so I'm sure it gets crazier at higher traffic times. Get there early. It's sort of small and sort of cramped and you will have to wait a little. 7. There are some communal tables. Which isn't really a thing, but it's something to know. 8. The menu has a lot of options - which I think is a plus. They have lunch specials - also a plus. This is some of the best Chinese food I've had, so I think that's a pretty high recommendation. I want to bring a lot of people back here to sample it too! Happy Bao-ing! read more

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I loved the food here. Great options if you have restricted diet and only eat vegetables, shrimp and fish. If you are a fan of spicy food like I am, this is the place to be! You absolutely have to try the Cucumber Salad, the Crispy Lotus Root sticks, the Chocolate Xiao Long Bao and the Fresh Shrimp Xiao Long Bao(w/meat). The service was not exceptional as we went during a busy time and we needed help with making sure the food met our restrictive diet. read more

Today was a perfect day to have soup dumplings as it was cold and rainy. Unfortunately we were disappointed. Firstly, the dumplings were not very soupy. Secondly, besides ordering the traditionally pork, we had shrimp and the sampler. EVERY dumpling tasted the same. I asked the waiter to confirm if I received the crab dumplings I ordered and he said yes. (They are the orange ones btw). He informed me that they mix crab and pork. I did not taste one bit of crab. The saving grace was a vegetable dish: eggplant and green beans w/ garlic. It was a bit salty but overall tasty. read more

I love this place and go every time I'm in the city... Friendly service, super clean, and minimalist interior (think textured concrete walls and subdued lighting). I agree with the praises of "best soup dumplings in the city." Love all the variations, especially the non-traditional wasabi--not overly spicy, just a slight kick. Served piping hot, delicate skin, flavor packed filling and soup. Comfort food at it's best. Someone raved about the noodle dishes here, and so glad we tried the Shanghai pan fried; an example of simple, fresh ingredients combined and cooked perfectly. Really good. Their rendition of Szechuan Chili Fried Chicken is loaded with sesame seeds, adding a slight sweetness to the spicy dish. read more

The Bao - Wasabi Steamed Buns - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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The noodles were top tear. But the crab Rangoon were not that impressive. The soup dumplings would have been a better starter option. read more

The Bao - Lunch special - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

Came here around 9pm on a Friday and got the last table. When we left there was a long line at the door. We tried the kung fu (pork) and the crab soup dumplings, which were really good. They were pretty decent priced as well. Will come again and try the other dishes : )~! read more

The Bao - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

My stomach is growling while writing this review. The Bao is truly a gem!! We ordered the Kung Fu Xiao Long Bao (Pork) and it was AMAZING! SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We also ordered Shanghai Pan Fried Noodles (also amazing) and a pork dish from the lunch menu (sorry, I forgot what it was called- but it was also really good). The highlight was definitely the Xiao Long Bao!!! I was definitely eyeing the entire restaurant to see what everyone else is getting and I wanted to try all of it! I want to come back and try everything on the menu!!!! Also, prices are very good :) About $8-12 for main dishes and the Bao's come in 6. read more

The Bao - Kung Fu Xiao Long Bao (Pork) - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York