The Bao Spot

Yum, yum, yum!The actual bun of the Bao Buns are delicious. Soft, fluffy, and overall excellent.Lots of unique flavors too. This time I had the Bao of the Month which was a Japanese Curry Chicken, and The Rebel, which is softshell crab. Both were AMAZING!!The staff is friendly and answers any questions you have. Order either on the tablets or with a host at the counter, and the baos are delivered to you.Atmosphere is so cool! I know the description says "spaceship" but it's straight up Star Wars. The whole thing is so cool, and there's even a giant Zillowbeast coming out of one wall (Clone Wars/Rebels TV show reference).Seriously, this is a must eat. I don't know why it's not more busy, because it really should be.

My first experience with this spot was at Yelp Elite event some time back and ever since then, I've visited this spot a handful of times - like today - for lunch. As a fan of baos, this spot does not disappoint. Sadly, I am a creature of habit, so I really only alternate between their shrimp based baos and the space burger. I can say, of my usual order, everything is always very tasty. My favorite bao is hands down, The Yum Yum, followed closely by The Big Bang and The "Mojo." As noted before, I enjoy the "THE" Cheeseburger space burger, the crispy french fries, the Thai Tea, Matcha Milk Tea and the Passion Fruit Boba beverages. They usually aren't busy, so service is pretty good. The staff is nice and the unique space / alien themed restaurant design adds a playful element to the overall experience and menu. Almost feels as if you're at Disney or Universal restaurant minus having to pay theme park prices for said experience. There is ample seating indoors but, as this locale is located in a plaza. So, there is also ample seating outdoors in the open courtyard. Prices points are on the higher side as they offer speciality boas but still quite resealable. Definitely a great little spot to check out if you are ever in the downtown area and craving some baos. I will note, parking can get a little tricky as there aren't a ton of street parking opportunities but there are enough parking garage nearby that you can park in and walk from to visit this locale.

Bao's Castle is my gold standard for Orlando Bao. Although they're gone, their memory lives on. Food was good. Obviously prepared fresh, although maybe not with the freshest ingredients. We tried six different Bao and the bowl. The bao bun was thinner than what I've had before at Bao's Castle, but that's not a bad thing. Just different. Pork belly was a little overcooked and didn't seem that fresh, but the shrimp was juicy and fantastic. Ambience was "interesting," and well done. I'm not sure the connection to the Star Wars Cantina and Bao, so it was unique to say the least. Again, well done, but just odd for my smooth brain to grasp. Very dark, so none of my pictures came out, unfortunately. Parking was easy, but expensive. $15 to park in a garage, and street parking was very limited and not possible. We were the only ones in the restaurant, but during the meal, two or three other couples came in. Service was pleasant, but not speedy. Difficult acoustics, too.

This is such a good spot downtown. I loved the Yum Yum bao more than the Big Bang. The service was good and we love the decor in the restaurant. I got the green apple boba which I liked but I added mango boba and I prefer that over the chewy boba that comes with it. The turnaround time us a bit long so keep that in mind. We ordered pickup and that helped cut down the wait time.

This place has such a cool concept/theme. The staff here are so friendly and helpful with the menu. The parking around here isn't great. I've tried a bunch of their baos and to be honest they are okay but I've had better. I don't think I will be coming back here unfortunately.

I've been wanting to try The Bao Spot for a while and was so glad to have been provided with this opportunity through Yelp. :)Food: I had the soft shell crab and the Mojo baos. They were LARGE! The soft shell one was my favorite, with the perfect level of crispiness and spiciness. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of meat in the Mojo - 3 slices! Slightly burnt Brussels sprouts is one of my favorite appetizers and this one did not disappoint. I wasn't a big fan of the burger but kudos to such a creative looking burger (it looked like a planet).Service: The 4 items took longer than expected but the girl who helped me was a darling! Super sweet and apologized multiple times for the wait.

The Bao Spot is located on Church Street in downtown Orlando, Florida. With that being said, the only real viable parking is to pay for parking in one of the parking garages.Anyway, the Bao Spot grabs on to an "Alien" type ambiance, so the atmosphere is pretty cool. The service is that you order at the counter and they bring you the food. The staff here was definitely friendly and added to my overall culinary experience. The Rebel, which was a soft shell crab bao was my favorite of the meal. It was definitely a tasty treat and I would say that it was the best part of my meal.The Bao Spot is definitely a great place to grab a meal. I would definitely recommend a visit to the Bao Spot and don't forget, don't dribble around looking for a parking spot, just bite the bullet and pay for the parking.

Working remote in Downtown Orlando at Serendipity Labs and went on the hunt for a really good lunch break. We found the Bao Spot and were intrigued by the cool decor. A space station of some sort complete with an Alien trying to come across to our dimension. We each had The Perfect Mass bowl - pork belly, kimchi, crispy tofu, a perfect egg and delicious rice. This place put as much love and thought into its food as it did the decor. The pork belly is fine dining taste without the price tag. An incredible amount of flavor packed into one bowl. We may just have to remote work in Orlando more often.

I don't really go downtown. I should have done a little more research. There is no convenient parking. You have to park in a garage ($15 flat rate). I later found out they offer valet parking Wednesday-Saturday. It's a small, laid back, space themed location. I missed the sign at first look. Once you enter you will see the menu on the wall. To the right the ordering stands. Once you place your order, you get your own drink from the fountain, then you sit and wait. They do offer beer and wine. That's a plus. I wanted to try a burger. Unfortunately they were out of buns. I was forced to try their baos. I wasn't too sure but I am glad I did. The cashier's recommendations were a hit. I ordered the Martian Munchies (Brussels sprouts), the "Mojo", Astro Pig, and the Rebel baos. All very flavorful and well seasoned. I loved the textured and taste of the baos buns. First time trying them. I will have to go back to pick a favorite. I really enjoyed all of them. I will definitely be going back.

Pros: the staff is super friendly, helpful and amazing. The food is unique and themed well to the restaurant and the decor is "out of this world"! Super cute spot tucked away in the downtown plaza. Food was made fresh to order and had good quality ingredients. Cons: the parking situation is not favorable. We parked in the 55w garage on a Wednesday non peak hours, and paid $10 to park. I know some even pay upward to $15-20. Considering 2 of us dined, with parking and tip, our tab was over $70 with fountain drinks. I don't see myself coming back at that price point for quick service food. However, there are other aspects that would bring me back such as event nights like dirty bingo etc. my only other cons would be bathrooms were a bit torn up. The facility I used had a dirty feel to it and the toilet paper dispenser was ripped off the wall.