Xiao Bao

Xiao Bao (according to Google is pronounced show bow) translates to "little treasure" in Cantonese and that is exactly what this restaurant is. It's a small dining room and bar with pretty limited seating tucked in the East Nashville neighborhood.The menu is relatively small and my waitress helped me pick out my dishes and also explained that the menu is designed to share.Definitely get the bao buns. The bread itself was really good and the pork belly was easily the most tender and flavorful pork I've ever ate.I used the excess bao to soak up the flavor at the bottom of my hand pulled noodle bowl. The noodles were also really good. I wasn't expecting the texture but found it enjoyable. The dish had an underlying spice (heat) to it that built up a little bit throughout the dish but never became overwhelming. The ginger beer was a nice pairing. A full bar is available as well as non alcoholic mocktail options.

Food is definitely a hipster twist on Asian food. Service was decent, it wasn't busy but servers did take awhile to come to the table and we were only in a rush because their mebus changes from lunch to an between menu before dinner and we wanted stuff off the lunch menu that wasn't offered on the inbetween.The ambience is interesting, a lot of Chinese culture was highlighted but also did seem a bit like appropriation.

Great service, decent food, lots to be desired. Visited this spot last week. I can't say it was a horrible experience but there is definitely room for improvement. This spot has a diner feel with hipster vibes. We didn't have reservations and got a table immediately. The staff are very friendly. I loved that asked up front about allergies and the staff was great about sharing dishes that they couldn't change. This is also a "no substitutions, chef prepared is the only way the food comes out, and card only restaurant." What was disappointing was that they had some traditional dishes that just didn't cut it. The pork bao buns weren't even seared. There was no meat just a slab of tough fat. I didn't mind the Korean bbq being rare, the sauce was just too much. The okonomiyaki had a nice taste but lacked a more complex flavor. It left a lot to be desired. Would I recommend this. If you're up for an adventure sure. If you're a picky eater not at all.

Bao 1000000/10Lemon cocktail 10/10Mochi dumplings 8/10Ribs were good.Noodles good, I like the sourness to them.Dessert was disappointing..Love the family style here, as Chinese food should be.The pork belly bao was the best we've ever had and I'm already wanting it again. Good prices. Like the simple & creative vibe of this spot. Love seeing more good Chinese restaurants opening in the city.

This place always has great food and fun cocktails. Parking is a bit of challenge, but, otherwise, it's a great spot!

Xiao Bao tastes as fresh, fabulous, and beautifully flavorful as it did the first time I tried it down in its original location in Charleston, SC! Awesome ambiance as always, stellar casual service, and such an exquisite attention to detail on all the interesting dishes as well. Been there over a handful of times and I have as of yet to *ever* have a less than stellar experience. XB is always a class act in a sea of class clowns masquerading as local "upscale" Chinese/Asian fusion cuisine. Keep up the amazing work and fantastic food!

Every dish was pure perfection - we recently moved to Nashville from LA the mecca of Asian cuisine and this was one of the best meals we have had. I loved the concept of the place - no substitutions meaning the chef knows what he is doing and it showed.We can't wait to go back for their Sunday Dim Sum and dinner menu!The service was very nice and we loved the funky/ retro diner decor!

Found this gem thanks to yelp searching what was near me after leaving the Gaylord seeing sights. Their dumplings is what caught my eye. I'm a dumpling addict so let's go. We get there and it's not many people there and I hoped the hours were correct.Walking in you see it's just dimly lit so great. We had an hour before closing. There is a rainbow heart on the glass near the entrance which made us smile to see a clear indication that we are welcomed here. Get inside the staff was welcoming and seated us in a cool red booth. The place and the ambiance was amazing. Very inviting and welcoming. Loved it. We had a few moments to look over the menu and our server was in training with a young man that knew the place like the back of his hand. We patiently let him do the run down and told him by next week watch he have it down perfectly. I'm just not a bad person and wouldn't dare make someone's first day harder than it already is. Let's not fail to mention that everything is made in house and to a chef and foodie like me. That lit me up like the trees I saw at the Gaylord moments earlier. I love small uncommercial restaurants. We had filtered water and ordered dumplings to start. My friend doesnt eat pork so I had them to myself lol. Perfect umami. Perfect chili crisp. Perfect bite in the dumplings. The broth was just heavenly. I demolished those. We were told that items come out as they are ready. So next came the Hand Pulled Beef Brisket Noodles. They were yummy and had a nice spicy finish. The brisket was shredded and had some crispy bits on them like they were pan fried before tossing it with the noodles. The Crab Rice was the BEST it had real noticeable crab meat on top of this yummy sticky crispy rice with egg and citrus of some sort. It also had a spicy sauce that came with it on the side and it made the dish even better. It's spicy so if you're not into that use lightly but please taste it. It was steaming hot and just perfect to warm me up. It was a cold weekend in Tennessee. The cauliflower tasted just like orange chicken. It was yummy but the batter was too thick for my liking but perfect for my friend. The cashew spread on the bottom of the dish was really delicious too. We can't wait to visit again. This place has become our when in Tennessee eat here place. Great service. Great vibe. Great staff. Great food. 10/10 as there was nothing to complain about. Even the water was delicious lol.

My fiancè and I were craving Asian food after days of chicken and bbq and stumbled across Xiao Bao on Yelp! It was only about an 8 minute drive away from our hotel near and industrial area and was surprised to see it was a container unit. Upon entering, we time traveled to the 50s and came into a Chinese styled diner! The interior was decorated with 1950s Chinese decor with a red themed color scheme.We were immediately seated and our server told us the specials that weren't on the menu which included Schezuan dumplings which we ordered along with the hand pulled noodles and Okonomiyaki. We live in LA and have high expectations on how Asian cuisine should taste and this place blew many of those LA restaurants out of the water! Everything was full of flavor and plated nicely. We may even come back before we leave back to LA but I highly recommend this place!

Food: 3.5/5Service: 5/5Ambiance: 4/5I thought it was standard Asian fusion fare. All the dishes were tasty, but nothing stood out for me. We actually ordered almost all the items on the menu. If I had to pick, I'd say the fries and noodles were my favorites. The service was excellent. As for ambiance, it's just like old diner furniture and the AC was out but the good is that it's chill and cozy. Good selection of interesting Asian booze! Really liked Makku- which is like a Makkuli (Korean unfiltered rice wine) mixed w 7up. YUM