I love wow bao! Service was a little rough but the quality of food for the price is great!

Pleasantly surprised. Got thai curry chicken and coconut cream. Excellent flavor. The texture of the "bread" was a new experience. Quick friendly service. Putting this place in the rotation. read more

I like this place it's like the White Castle of Asain joints. The boas are the bomb and the side salads are ok. They get cool points for having Asain Coke on tap. read more

My boyfriend and I had lunch there and the portions could be more for the price you pay. If I am going to pay nearly $6 for a rice bowl it could be more in terms of portions with meat and veggies. I've had a lot of better places and I won't be stopping here anymore even if the food was smelling good and calling my name. read more

I have been living in Chicago for three years now, and just decided to try this place yesterday. I was very pleased. I only bought two individual baos and a fro-yo scoop. The spicy kung pao chicken baos were amazing!!!! I love the outside the best though. The fro-yo was delicious. It tastes EXTREMELY similar to Berry Chill's original yogurt, but half the price for a larger serving (only $2.50, Berry Chill is $4.00). One downside was that the girl that took my order was very blah and didn't want to answer any questions. I found this disheartening since I was a first time customer, but oh well. I will definitely be visiting here more frequently. read more

Baos here are among the best my wife and I have eaten. My wife is from Vietnam, and though the fillings are a bit Americanized, the quality is right on the mark. read more

I've been going to Wow Bao for many years now, I love them so much. The only reason I don't give all 5 stars is that the staff can sometimes be surly - understandable, considering the location and clientele. read more

Have to review it because I'm surprised it doesn't have a higher star. Yes, it's fast food...but it's GOOD fast food. They are a great treat when I've had a good work-out day and just want to grab something fast on the way home. Wow Bao is a soft, fluffy, and doughy Asian bun. There are a few chicken, meat, and vegetarian options, as well as some dessert baos which I think sound AMAZING but have yet to try one. I can get by on 2 but if you're really hungry, you may want to reassess. Definitely a nice "fast food" option in the neighborhood. read more

What I like most was the soft, moist, warm dough. This location doesn't open until the mall opens at 10 or 11 so that rules it out for breakfast. The baos aren't huge but for a little snack one is enough. For a meal you will need at least two. They also have dessert baos. I tried the BBQ pork and coconut custard. The filling was good, nothing that really wowed me though. However makes a good snack if you need something to eat on the go. read more

Wow Bao serves your basic Asian steamed bun, but Gold Coast style. Meaning that they're very expensive if you compare them to the ones you can get in Chinatown for half the price. But for a quick bite to eat on North Michigan Ave, it's actually quite cheap. It is fast food though. The buns are all freshly steamed on site (but they come frozen to the place). I usually get the curry chicken and the BBQ chicken. I tried the edamame one, and while not gross, it wasn't exactly tasty either. I also usually get the thai noodle salad (there's a combo that comes with 2 bao and the salad for ~$7). This combo actually makes for a very satisfying lunch. read more

This didn't live up to the hype ! It was just regular . I ordered the chicken curry rice bowl and it was so blah . Not enough sauce and no real flavor and hardly any chicken . Guess I was expecting too much and was just really disappointed. The portions were small too . I'd say skip this place and go somewhere else . read more

Bizarre to find this spot in #Chicago's #WaterTowerPlace right at the formal entryway. Steamed, healthy options. The Lemonade is pretty good too. There are chairs n small tables on the floor above to grind at baby girl... read more

We were at Water Tower, and we've seen all the positive reviews here on Yelp, so we decided to give it a try. We tried the bbq pork, teriyaki chicken & the spicy kung pao chicken. The baos are small and snack size, which is probably convenient when walking around a mall. But I'm used to the bigger boas you get at dim sum. At least the boas here were priced accordingly. Taste wise, they were good. Nothing special, but not bad. The teriyaki chicken was good, not too sweet. The spicy kung pao chicken wasn't really all that spicy, and I don't really go for spicy foods, so it's not like I have a low tolerance for spicy foods. Of the 3 I like the bbq pork the best. I would eat there again, but I wouldn't go out of my way to do it. read more

The Bao are awesome. It is located in a multi level mall so that is why it is so noisy but they do have their own seating 1 floor up from where you collect food! read more

The buns were alright, but after about the second one, I found myself not really enjoying them any more. I would recommend splitting a six pack between two people or maybe just getting two or three for yourself. read more

Time for some additional locations. I don't like shopping, but I love these steamed buns. Wish it would catch on and expand.

If you are at Water Tower Place, I recommend that you must stop by to give it a try. Variety of Bow are all quite tasty. I like the veggie one and my husband the Thai Chicken Curry. The salad is good too. I also like the ginger Ale which is really ginger! The reasonably priced, tasty, quick, easy.... What else can you ask for? read more

I live less than a block from the one in the theater district, so I go and eat here at least twice a week for ease. I have been eating Asian steamed buns for years and couldn't believe there was an actual restaurant dedicated to them. My favorites are the BBQ pork, and the Tea-8 read more

I love their baos!!! My favorite is BBQ pork - for those ordering the spicy ones it is spicy! The Ginger ale was a disappointment tasted like I took a Ginger & bite into it - Nasty!!! They have frozen ones that you can heat up yourself for later however the price is the same as the regular ones :-( But all the baos are good just depends what u are in the mood for read more

This is a great snacking place. The Bows are full of flavors and look absolutely gorgeous. Try the one with kung pao chicken filling.

Good food, a little more expensive than I'd anticipated. A little disappointed, because there weren't as many choices at the location as there were online. I'd looked on their site and went to the store wanting pot stickers, and all they had available were bao. The bao were pretty good (I got thai chicken curry, spicy kung pao chicken and teryaki chicken; kung pao was definitely best) but personally I don't know how I feel about my chicken dishes being rolled up into weird buns (that tend to get soggy on the bottom if you have to take them to-go as I did). read more

Located at the bottom of Water Tower Place Mall, Wow Bao is one of the first stores you see if you come through the main entrance. This prime location always makes them busy, with people lined up and others using their self service touch screen monitors. Their specialty is obviously the Asian bun or bao which is a white flour based bread that encases some kind of meat, vegetable, or sweet filling. Overall, the baos at Wow Bao are very flavorful and packed with a generous helping of the specified filling. Unfortunately, they are expensive, not very filling (unless you order a lot), and their other options (bowls, etc) are more time consuming to make (especially on a quick lunch break). The expensiveness coupled with the almost non-existent seating, except for a couple two-person tables located in the mall, made me give them a just above average rating. The quality and taste are awesome for a "better-than-fast-food" place, but I would stick to my Chinatown restaurants before heading here. I gave them a 3.5 / 5.0 rating but cant do half stars on here. read more

In Chicago for a week and came here three times. Every time we would get the teriyaki chicken Rice and Bao. It hits the spot. It's not cheap, but so are all the restaurants in the neighborhood. We will sure to visit again next time we are in town. read more

I had the thai curry. Wasn't that good to me, but then again I have much exposure to asian food.

Wow! Delicious bbq pork buns!!! I will go back! It is a bit of a long walk to the far end of Michfan Ave by it is totally worth it. I wish I could go there more often!!! read more

I love this place. I always get the combo : 2 bbq pork and pad thai salad. Its great for a light lunch or snack while in the Water Tower area. Sometimes, they run out of selection in the evening hours. read more

So I decided to grab lunch here and have regretted it ever since. A few bites into my chicken dish and a I heard a loud crack. I then spit a pebble out. I found out later I cracked a molar and needed a crown followed by a root canal. Oh joy. I decided to call them to let them know and I was told t call the insurance company (Chubb). They completely dismissed me and said because I didn't keep the rock I had no claim. Thanks a lot ! I will never go back and won't stop telling people not to eat here. Gross ! read more

Love Wow Bao! I wish we had one in Orange County, CA! It would do great! The bao buns are exceptional. I have tried to duplicate at various restaurants here in California, but nothing beats the quick, inexpensive, and yummy bao buns in Chicago. read more

Nothing too exceptional, but the food is fast and inexpensive. I had the bao and potstickers both of which were well prepared and well-flavored. The place was fairly busy, but I still had my food within five minutes of entering. read more

Made for a very quick and cheap snack. Ordered 3 bao: beef, teriyaki, and kung pao. The beef and kung pao were great, whereas the teriyaki was just too sweet for my taste. It doesn't really make for a full meal, but if you're in the area shopping and you could use a snack then this is the place to go. read more

My son and I had a late lunch/early dinner while in town for a convention. Ordering through kiosk is straightforward and menus are clear. Service was decent - buns arrived after 5 minutes - together with Ginger sodas we ordered. Food was warm, not hot, and "ok". No scintillating tastes here! Ginger soda was excellent, tasted like ginger beer. We also had some chicken pot stickers - bland and uninteresting. Decor was decent, except for the garbage station that was out of commission... huh? I would think there are better options in Chicago. read more

Some great quick eats while shopping in water tower place! The chicken noodle soup was really good as were the steamed buns!

Teriyaki chicken bowl should be named a rice bowl. Big bowl of rice covered with a very thin layer of sauce with some small chicken pieces in it. Wasn't even enough sauce for the whole bowl of rice. Not worth it. read more

It's not terrible. I don't get the concept, but the food didn't kill me nor was it trying to escape from my bowels 20 minutes later. I rate this one and done. read more

it's good for asian american. don't recommend if you were expecting authentic chinese food though, the fusion flavors i didn't expect. read more

I come to Wow Bao whenever I get hungry during the day. Their Baos make great little snacks, and are cheap, good food to boot! They are always fast and friendly, and I have never been disappointed with their food. Compared to the places nearby, there is nowhere that you can go that has cheaper and tastier food. Highly recommend! read more

My bowl of noodles and orange chicken was super watered down, I don't think the woman strained the noodles from the water after cooking them! Not to mention, I barely got any edible chicken on top and it was all a nice dark grey shade which made it inedible to the human eye. I will never be eating here on my break again! Made my stomach hurt so bad and was in the bathroom for 20 mins at work. Disgusting! read more

Wow indeed! I've been to Wow Bao once (at their new location in the Loop) and I'm hooked- I had the combo and it was by far enough food for lunch (a perfect amount actually). In addition, the staff was friendly and helpful and the restaurant was quite clean. I recommend the whole weat, edamame bao, chicken teriyaki bao and pad thai salad combo. They also serve Intelligentsia coffe- perfect for a morning (or mid-day) pick up! read more

My first fast food bao, and it was pretty good. Soda was very refreshing (pomegranite ginger ale) against the spicy Mongolian beef. Had BBQ pork (of course) too which was pretty swell. Compared to my San Francisco Chinatown baos, no comparison. But in the context of other fast food choices, its a winner. Heading back for another round right now. As for venue, its at the entrance of the mall. Seating is up the escalator. So, if you're walking on Michigan Ave, its a quick meal/treat. Neat kiosks allow you to order by touch screen and credit card. read more

I am obsessed. Their food is delicious and delectable, healthy and cheap. what more could you want! Their drinks are interesting and innovative. My favorite is the Mangolian beef, but you should get at least three baos to fill you up. I am also a big fan of the pomegranate ginger ale. Tip: use the credit card kiosk because otherwise you get stuck in the line of tourists. read more