I think I'm a little obsessed with this place, I literally came on a late night. And then ended up coming the next morning. So this review is kind of a two in one if you will. I came on a late Thursday night and ordered some bao with my partner. I wanna say we ended up spending about 20 minutes in the restaurant waiting for the food to come. We're not typically used to waiting this long because the other bao places in the city make them in no more than five minutes and serve them to us. But this place definitely takes the time to make them from scratch. I do appreciate that because you can taste the freshness in the food. We took them home and absolutely demolished them. The following day I came back and I was told that they ran out of bao's. I couldn't believe it, I thought he was lying at first but he was dead serious. So what he did for me was that he wrote down a note on a piece of paper and told me that the next time I visit to give it to the person ringing up the order and it would take care of me. I came later on in the day and no doubt about it, the person that was at the front gave me two extra chicken baos along with my enormous order. Again absolutely delicious. I absolutely cannot wait to come back here which will probably be soon. Shout out to the owner on such an idea to create this restaurant and have it open late for those who like to crave late or those that leave the club.
Blake N.
I had higher hopes for this spot with all I've heard about it. I was surprised it took 25+ minutes to receive the two Boa's I ordered to go. There was only 1 other couple in the restaurant that was already eating. So I was confused what took so long. Especially when I wasn't informed until 20 minutes after ordering that they were out of the pork belly for the Bao I ordered. I'm not sure why the cashier wasn't given this information since they clearly ran out prior to me arriving given that no one else had come into the restaurant to cause the depletion. The cashier was nice about it and offered me another Bao instead but it was still disappointing especially since this could have been recognized far earlier if any of the other employees were paying attention. I was also surprised with the seemingly limited menu options available. The price of ~ $5/Bao seemed a bit steep for what you're getting, at least with what I had available to choose from. I can't harp on the taste of the food. It was decent. However, my fried chicken Bao was ice cold. It seemed as if they made the fried chicken one and then realized they didn't have the pork belly for my other one so it just sat there getting cold while they made my replacement Bao. The Bao bun itself and all the contents inside were cold as if it had sat out for 30 minutes. Based upon this experience, I won't return. Which from what I heard, it sounds like this location may be closing or opening under a new name according to one of the employees.
Q D.
Bao Castle is our go-to when we're craving something light, but satisfying. We ordered 3 Crispy Panko Shrimp Baos, 2 Side Steppers, The Super Bowl, 2 orders of Guava and Cheese Churros and 1 Fried Cheesecake. The bao buns were steamed to perfection, the food was fried, but wasn't overly greasy and the desserts were appetizing as always. We would recommend this place for a quick lunch or when you get the late night munchies.
Tracy P.
Open late for late night munchies! Fried Chicken Bao: chicken was over fried in my opinion. It was too crispy and dried. Bao was soft and warm! The Side Stepper: this one was my favorite! The soft shell crap was big and crispy!! The apple kimchi was very unique and refreshing! Bao was soft and warm! Late Night Noodz: very disappointed in this one. First off they forgot to bring the noodles to us and when we got it the noodles were very soggy. The taste of the soup was very odd. There was not much soup. Overall would not recommend getting her noodles. Mooses Munchies: this is the same chicken they have in the fried chicken bao. It was over fried and too crispy. This place is good if you want a late night snack.
Andrew L.
Okay late night snacks. Okay if you're in the area hungry at night, but I wouldnt make the drive out here Ordered: Side stepper bao Ramen Fried chicken bao Pros: +open late +baos are fairly large Cons: -Late night service was below avg, but I can't completely blame 'em (the food preparer was more interested in the anime playing on the TV) -they forgot to deliver my ramen, so after my party finished their meal I had to up and ask where my dish was. It was sitting on the counter, cold. -ramen was basically instant ramen with barely any flavoring. Noodles were nothing special -ramen was overpriced -chicken bao was crispy, but over oiled
Kim Marsh
DELICIOUS braised pork belly bowl. The cuts are thick and soft, one bowl is enough to fill yourself and perhaps another person if you don’t want to be too full. The baos are quite pricey ; they’re about $5 each compared to the pork belly bowl which is about $11.The location is also very cute and the table comes with connect four, so you can distract yourself from the wait for food (which isn’t long).Would recommend for sure ! Note that the brown sugar bubble tea is in a can and not actually made on site lol Also, it’s across the street from a Super Target !
Mariana Boff
The environment is nice. Staff are friendly.But unfortunately I didn’t like the bao. Maybe I came with a lot of expectations.Crab one is extremely oily, I didn’t taste the flavor of the crab.Shrimp was very oily also, and with a lot of pickled onions.Beef was just ok.And the appetizer was more oily.Anyway. They have a great deal for lunch. $10 for two baos and soda.
Mariana B.
The environment is nice. Staff are friendly. But unfortunately I didn't like the bao. Maybe I came with a lot of expectations. Crab one is extremely oily, I didn't taste the flavor of the crab. Shrimp was very oily also, and with a lot of pickled onions. Beef was just ok. And the appetizer was more oily. Anyway. They have a great deal for lunch. $10 for two baos and soda.
Emily K.
I wish I had a location where I live in Tampa because I'd be there every night. I LOVE that it's open late and the food is sooo good it's the perfect late night snack/meal. I ordered the gyoza too and it was so good. My favorite bao was the mojo short rib and panko shrimp with the bacon jam... so good.
Blake Z.
On my way to SFL for memorial day weekend, and decided to stop by Orlando to catch up with an old friend. Since it was late, we decided to meet somewhere late and grab a bite to eat. Looking around, we settled on Baos castle. Going inside, the place had a cool castle interior, and was decently packed. I ordered that night, the fried chicken and pork belly bao. Moving into my review, the bao's were pretty tasty, but felt were assembled kinda skimpy. For instance, fried chicken bao had a nice chewy exterior, fried chicken exterior was crispy/well seasoned, and had a nice sauce with it. HOWEVER, when I bit in the chicken, there was NO MEAT INSIDE. On the flip side, the pork belly bao had been very tender, and a nice savory soy flavor. Overall, the bao's weren't bad, but could use some tweaks - 3/5.
Being that I frequent King Bao often this was a nice find after shopping at TJMaxx. The gentleman that greeted us was very friendly. We got the Bao lunch special - 2 Baos and a drink for $10 which is a STEAL!! Mom and I both ordered the soft shell crab and they were nice enough to give us 2 drink cups. The shift she'll crab Bao was HUGE! We enjoyed it thoroughly? We could've used more veggies but overall a very good snack! Thank you and we will be back!
brianom2014
Food was amazing at 1am. I thought that due to the time any food at 1am is basic. I found this late night eatery. The buns was a new delicious experience. We also had the super bowls. They were too pretty to eat. But, "MY GOD", it was on another level. The shrimps were fresh and big like a baby lobster tails. It was listed as Chinese by the internet. But it's a Japanese/Latin fusion I think. Nevertheless it was all good. The nail in the coffin was the churro. I had the Cinnamon sugar and wifey had nutella. I have found a champion to defeat a "HOT" Krispy Kreme doughnut. The churro made me pause. I tried to save it for later but it was gone before we got back to the resort. This a a hidden gem. But you wont be disappointed. We are vacationing from Norfolk, VA. I plan on going back before we leave. I want to experience "the experience" again. Just to make sure.
Marshall Hamilton
this is the spot!!! (late night too) for Uniqueness, Quality, Flavour all served w care, smiles...and if u wanna have a delicious import draft w your Baos... or a non alcoholic bev w your Vegetarian Baos enjoy!! check out the "Side Stepper" and the "Braised Short Rib"my fav's. shout out to The Chef and Devontae! forgive me if I spelled wrong bro!! Good people! Great food! 2 locations. check em out!
Matt B.
Great late night option! Prices are reasonable. Chefs work hard and prepare the food well. Wait staff seem to be a bit overworked. Took an unreasonable amount of time to get a beer. Had to send smoke signals to get the servers attention after I wasnt even acknowledged while standing at the bar for a while as she went back and forth. May have just been a rush after the Elton John concert. We'll be back. Best late night option I've found in the Tampa stadium area.
Ashlee Wasley
This place is so adorable! They have great hours and good. We tried a lot of the baos and they were very tasty. The fried chicken and the baowsers buddy were our favorite baos. We also tried the Brussel sprouts and sooo good! I also had a can boba it was ok I liked the flavor but not the pearls so much. I definitely want to come back and try the noods and the bowls along with the desserts. It is a small restaurant and not a lot of seats but worth the wait. They have connect 4 on the table so that was fun while we waited. We will definitely be back.
I think I'm a little obsessed with this place, I literally came on a late night. And then ended up coming the next morning. So this review is kind of a two in one if you will. I came on a late Thursday night and ordered some bao with my partner. I wanna say we ended up spending about 20 minutes in the restaurant waiting for the food to come. We're not typically used to waiting this long because the other bao places in the city make them in no more than five minutes and serve them to us. But this place definitely takes the time to make them from scratch. I do appreciate that because you can taste the freshness in the food. We took them home and absolutely demolished them. The following day I came back and I was told that they ran out of bao's. I couldn't believe it, I thought he was lying at first but he was dead serious. So what he did for me was that he wrote down a note on a piece of paper and told me that the next time I visit to give it to the person ringing up the order and it would take care of me. I came later on in the day and no doubt about it, the person that was at the front gave me two extra chicken baos along with my enormous order. Again absolutely delicious. I absolutely cannot wait to come back here which will probably be soon. Shout out to the owner on such an idea to create this restaurant and have it open late for those who like to crave late or those that leave the club.
I had higher hopes for this spot with all I've heard about it. I was surprised it took 25+ minutes to receive the two Boa's I ordered to go. There was only 1 other couple in the restaurant that was already eating. So I was confused what took so long. Especially when I wasn't informed until 20 minutes after ordering that they were out of the pork belly for the Bao I ordered. I'm not sure why the cashier wasn't given this information since they clearly ran out prior to me arriving given that no one else had come into the restaurant to cause the depletion. The cashier was nice about it and offered me another Bao instead but it was still disappointing especially since this could have been recognized far earlier if any of the other employees were paying attention. I was also surprised with the seemingly limited menu options available. The price of ~ $5/Bao seemed a bit steep for what you're getting, at least with what I had available to choose from. I can't harp on the taste of the food. It was decent. However, my fried chicken Bao was ice cold. It seemed as if they made the fried chicken one and then realized they didn't have the pork belly for my other one so it just sat there getting cold while they made my replacement Bao. The Bao bun itself and all the contents inside were cold as if it had sat out for 30 minutes. Based upon this experience, I won't return. Which from what I heard, it sounds like this location may be closing or opening under a new name according to one of the employees.
Bao Castle is our go-to when we're craving something light, but satisfying. We ordered 3 Crispy Panko Shrimp Baos, 2 Side Steppers, The Super Bowl, 2 orders of Guava and Cheese Churros and 1 Fried Cheesecake. The bao buns were steamed to perfection, the food was fried, but wasn't overly greasy and the desserts were appetizing as always. We would recommend this place for a quick lunch or when you get the late night munchies.
Open late for late night munchies! Fried Chicken Bao: chicken was over fried in my opinion. It was too crispy and dried. Bao was soft and warm! The Side Stepper: this one was my favorite! The soft shell crap was big and crispy!! The apple kimchi was very unique and refreshing! Bao was soft and warm! Late Night Noodz: very disappointed in this one. First off they forgot to bring the noodles to us and when we got it the noodles were very soggy. The taste of the soup was very odd. There was not much soup. Overall would not recommend getting her noodles. Mooses Munchies: this is the same chicken they have in the fried chicken bao. It was over fried and too crispy. This place is good if you want a late night snack.
Okay late night snacks. Okay if you're in the area hungry at night, but I wouldnt make the drive out here Ordered: Side stepper bao Ramen Fried chicken bao Pros: +open late +baos are fairly large Cons: -Late night service was below avg, but I can't completely blame 'em (the food preparer was more interested in the anime playing on the TV) -they forgot to deliver my ramen, so after my party finished their meal I had to up and ask where my dish was. It was sitting on the counter, cold. -ramen was basically instant ramen with barely any flavoring. Noodles were nothing special -ramen was overpriced -chicken bao was crispy, but over oiled
DELICIOUS braised pork belly bowl. The cuts are thick and soft, one bowl is enough to fill yourself and perhaps another person if you don’t want to be too full. The baos are quite pricey ; they’re about $5 each compared to the pork belly bowl which is about $11.The location is also very cute and the table comes with connect four, so you can distract yourself from the wait for food (which isn’t long).Would recommend for sure ! Note that the brown sugar bubble tea is in a can and not actually made on site lol Also, it’s across the street from a Super Target !
The environment is nice. Staff are friendly.But unfortunately I didn’t like the bao. Maybe I came with a lot of expectations.Crab one is extremely oily, I didn’t taste the flavor of the crab.Shrimp was very oily also, and with a lot of pickled onions.Beef was just ok.And the appetizer was more oily.Anyway. They have a great deal for lunch. $10 for two baos and soda.
The environment is nice. Staff are friendly. But unfortunately I didn't like the bao. Maybe I came with a lot of expectations. Crab one is extremely oily, I didn't taste the flavor of the crab. Shrimp was very oily also, and with a lot of pickled onions. Beef was just ok. And the appetizer was more oily. Anyway. They have a great deal for lunch. $10 for two baos and soda.
I wish I had a location where I live in Tampa because I'd be there every night. I LOVE that it's open late and the food is sooo good it's the perfect late night snack/meal. I ordered the gyoza too and it was so good. My favorite bao was the mojo short rib and panko shrimp with the bacon jam... so good.
On my way to SFL for memorial day weekend, and decided to stop by Orlando to catch up with an old friend. Since it was late, we decided to meet somewhere late and grab a bite to eat. Looking around, we settled on Baos castle. Going inside, the place had a cool castle interior, and was decently packed. I ordered that night, the fried chicken and pork belly bao. Moving into my review, the bao's were pretty tasty, but felt were assembled kinda skimpy. For instance, fried chicken bao had a nice chewy exterior, fried chicken exterior was crispy/well seasoned, and had a nice sauce with it. HOWEVER, when I bit in the chicken, there was NO MEAT INSIDE. On the flip side, the pork belly bao had been very tender, and a nice savory soy flavor. Overall, the bao's weren't bad, but could use some tweaks - 3/5.
Restaurantji Recommends
Being that I frequent King Bao often this was a nice find after shopping at TJMaxx. The gentleman that greeted us was very friendly. We got the Bao lunch special - 2 Baos and a drink for $10 which is a STEAL!! Mom and I both ordered the soft shell crab and they were nice enough to give us 2 drink cups. The shift she'll crab Bao was HUGE! We enjoyed it thoroughly? We could've used more veggies but overall a very good snack! Thank you and we will be back!
Food was amazing at 1am. I thought that due to the time any food at 1am is basic. I found this late night eatery. The buns was a new delicious experience. We also had the super bowls. They were too pretty to eat. But, "MY GOD", it was on another level. The shrimps were fresh and big like a baby lobster tails. It was listed as Chinese by the internet. But it's a Japanese/Latin fusion I think. Nevertheless it was all good. The nail in the coffin was the churro. I had the Cinnamon sugar and wifey had nutella. I have found a champion to defeat a "HOT" Krispy Kreme doughnut. The churro made me pause. I tried to save it for later but it was gone before we got back to the resort. This a a hidden gem. But you wont be disappointed. We are vacationing from Norfolk, VA. I plan on going back before we leave. I want to experience "the experience" again. Just to make sure.
this is the spot!!! (late night too) for Uniqueness, Quality, Flavour all served w care, smiles...and if u wanna have a delicious import draft w your Baos... or a non alcoholic bev w your Vegetarian Baos enjoy!! check out the "Side Stepper" and the "Braised Short Rib"my fav's. shout out to The Chef and Devontae! forgive me if I spelled wrong bro!! Good people! Great food! 2 locations. check em out!
Great late night option! Prices are reasonable. Chefs work hard and prepare the food well. Wait staff seem to be a bit overworked. Took an unreasonable amount of time to get a beer. Had to send smoke signals to get the servers attention after I wasnt even acknowledged while standing at the bar for a while as she went back and forth. May have just been a rush after the Elton John concert. We'll be back. Best late night option I've found in the Tampa stadium area.
This place is so adorable! They have great hours and good. We tried a lot of the baos and they were very tasty. The fried chicken and the baowsers buddy were our favorite baos. We also tried the Brussel sprouts and sooo good! I also had a can boba it was ok I liked the flavor but not the pearls so much. I definitely want to come back and try the noods and the bowls along with the desserts. It is a small restaurant and not a lot of seats but worth the wait. They have connect 4 on the table so that was fun while we waited. We will definitely be back.