Steam Boys

Food: 5* Service: 5* Ambiance: 4* I ordered the Xiao long bao (soup dumplings) (3*). I also ordered the chili bowl with shrimp and pork steamed dumplings (5*). The soups dumplings were bland, very little flavor and in need of a sauce to dip them into. They dumplings themselves were soft and had some soup in them but were really not worth the price nor the 20 minute wait. Go elsewhere if you want soup dumplings or at least get a couple sauces. The steamed dumplings were great. Juicy, tender, flavorful and they hit the spot. The right amount of flavor, spice, and salinity, they were worth it. I would return again to enjoy these. The service was great. Very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about what is on offer and what is popular. The ambiance is nice due to the communal setup of various seating areas around and between all the restaurants. Very nice set up.

Loved it! Had the veggie, pork and beef bao buns and the dough was really tasty but the beef and pork hands down stole the show and are worth it! We cut them in half and then were able to sample multiple options and still eat a few different places. Also super friendly guy at the cash register and very fast service. If I had more time I would have gotten soup dumplings as well

Very Taste Dumplings!!! Don't miss these. I thought of experimenting this place and went ahead with ordering chicken and Cabbage pan seared dumplings. They tasted awesome!!! If you want to spice it up ask for chili sauce for extra 50 cents. I took my wife and office colleagues at different times and all gave me the same review. Just go for it. I have not tasted the just steamed ones though. Pan seared ones are for sure awesome 😀

Inside the Assembly Food Hall. My pork and shrimp dumplings were delicious. I make them as well at home, I would suggest adding green onions or some seaweed and a special sauce to top it off. Very good dish.

The soup dumplings were okay. These seem to be fairly popular, though they take about 15 min to prepare (which I do appreciate that they told me that upfront). But they were incredibly deflated and overcooked, which meant the soup wasn't really, well, soupy. It still tasted good, in a normal steamed dumpling with loose skin kind of way, but as a place that specializes in dumplings, I'm surprised they aren't able to cook these properly. That said, the metal tins do make it easier to eat.

Not terrible but could use some work. I was really looking forward to the bao bun but it was more bun than meat. I prefer the meat ground so you can taste the overall bite in the bao bun, but that’s just preference. The meatball had good flavor but some sauce would’ve been better. The dumplings were very fresh and delicious. Next time I’ll try them fried.

Without a doubt one of the worst meals we’ve had on this trip! After reviewing all our options at Assembly Food Hall we decided on Steam Boys and ordered the Pork Steamed Bao and Pork and Shrimp Dumplings. It was the most bizarre cooked Bao we have ever had, as the meat was just not right. It was definitely not ‘juicy’ as advertised - it was more like a hard meatball and to add to that, the dumplings were not much better so to be honest, we threw it all away. Obviously we will not be revisiting this place.

Updated review : After I got the answer replied back to this review. The owner did not admitted to their wrongly action. They said they did not add any water in the soup. I have to tell you. Your employee, the cashier, she was the one to tell me that they sold out of soup earlier, so the cook just added water to it. So is this ho you are really keep your pride and keep disputes the truth. Un faithful business. I changed to be a 1 star review. I ordered Beef steamed Bao which was good but the beef shank noodles soup had no taste in the soup except spiciness as I ordered. The broth is very bland, just like they just added hot water over noodles and beef shank. The other thing, they use Romaine lettuces that usually eat fresh as salad in there. I never have cooked Romaine lettuces in my life. I am so disappointed as I am Asian chef and I was looking forward to having a good meal here at the food assembly hall in Nashville as my friend suggested. I went to talk to the cashier and found out they were out of soup broth early, so I guessed they just added more water like I assumed. No wonder no taste at all. Not cool to sell no qaulity food. You will lose cutomers forever. Anyway, at least they did refunded my money for the noodles soup part as I requested. Thank you for that.

This location of Steam Boys is located in the Food Hall near Broadway. It's easier to access when you take the escalator closest to the Ryman Auditorium. There was no line so my order was taken pretty quickly. Service was pretty standard. The servers were straight forward and a little reserved. I ordered the beef noodle soup and the "hot dumpling bowl." The beef noodle soup was kind of disappointing. The noodles were okay and the beef was tender. But, the broth was pretty bland. I had maybe half of it. The dumpling bowl, however, was delicious. It had good flavor and spice. I wished I had ordered more of that instead of the soup.

Staying a few blocks over and craving Asian food, we couldn't help ourselves for getting some dumplings. We happen to come at a slow time so our order was ready in under 10 minutes. Since we had a difficult morning (aka hungover), we ended up returning here the next day craving a noodle soup and boba. I have the be honest, the Beef noodle soup was a huge let down. The noodles were overcooked and made up about 80% of the bowl. The beef itself was tender but a bit to salty for my liking and the broth tasted very very diluted. BUT, we loved the Oolong milk tea 50% sweet with boba. It was exactly what we wanted and we very heavily debating about getting another for the road, it was that good. The Pan fried hot dumpling bowl were also divine in being tender, savory, and delicious! Overall, it's a great find! If it weren't for the soup, I would have easily given them 5 stars. Would love to experiment more with the menu in the future!

Order your dumplings and bao steamed, boiled, or fried. They cook them fresh and pretty quick. The boiled pork and shrimp were the fan favorite and we came back two times during a four day stay in Nashville. Delighted to taste authentic dumplings for sure!

I tried the Veggie Noodle Soup and Seared Veggie Dumplings at SteamBoys, and both were delicious! The soup was flavorful and comforting, and the dumplings were crispy on the outside with a tasty veggie filling. The service was friendly and attentive, making for a wonderful experience. Highly recommend for anyone craving tasty, plant-based comfort food!

I've passed by the place at assembly food hall and I always wanted to try the food. I've tried Bao and soup dumplings at many places in New York so I was really excited to try it here. Unfortunately, I didn't have the greatest experience. When I walked up to order, the person taking orders was just on their phone with their head down. From the aura at the restaurant, it was so hard to tell if they were even open. I asked the person at the register if they were open and it wasn't until then that they picked their head up and answered. I placed my order for one steamed pork Bao, 2 seared beef Bao, and an order of soup dumplings. It took about 10 minutes for everything to be ready which wasn't so bad. When I got my food and tasted it, it wasn't great. The soup dumplings were ok but when combined with the sauce given, it made it worse. The steamed pork Bao didn't taste too good as the flavors conflicted and it wasn't hot. The seared beef bao were the same but slightly warmer than the pork Bao. The filling was balled up when I opened it almost as thought it was packed together and frozen for future use. Overall not the greatest Bao experience.

This location is so convenient - it was great to be able to grab a steamed bun, and save room to try all the other food options around! The items on the menu were reasonably priced and served immediately upon ordering. The pork steam bun had the most delicious soft dough and essentially had a pork meatball soaked in a ginger sauce inside. I enjoyed the indoor/outdoor seating options and the ability to order something light!

Seared pork and cabbage dumplings were pretty good, but yikes the pork bao was terrible! Kinda pricy, not the greatest service, too many other choices in this food hall to go back here again, sorry

Worst BAO BUNS I have ever had in my life why was every bao bun had a weirdly flavored meatball inside and it was so hard to eat but I was hungry so I had to. I have no idea why this place has good ratings I am not picky with food at all in fact I eat all different types of food this is by far the worst food in Nashville.

Do not order the soup dumplings. I ordered two servings and both were inedible, possibly undercooked and definitely flavorless. Actually, they tasted a bit like flour and looked more like dead jellyfish on the beach than dumplings.

The soup dumplings were exactly how they should be! Tried the beef shank soup and the broth was perfect!!

Steam boys did not disappoint. I was at the one in the food hall and was so excited to try the pork dumplings and the Thai tea boba. I love some fresh dumplings and wish I'd grabbed a bao bun as well. Everything was made fresh and they do such a great job.

We had the fried pork and cabbage dumplings with the Taro Milk Tea and they were both delicious! Service was fast and the food was hot. A note for cash users, this place is card only for payment.

Overall 5/5: Steam Boys is located in Assembly Food Hall, a great business to have in there. Definitely caught my eye with what they offered against every other place in the huge food hall. Also reasonably priced. Food 5/5: I wanted to try food from a bunch of restaurants, so i opted to just get an order of the shrimp and pork pan seared dumplings. They were delicious! So juicy, good sear on them, the flavor was amazing. The sauce that came with them was a great compliment. Yummy! My friends all said it was great when i gave them a try. Service 5/5: Friendly service and food was ready pretty fast. Thank you, Steam Boys!

Omg!! This place is amazing! I loved the freshly made dumplings so much I ate here 3 days in a row. I couldn't get enough! The location inside the multi story food court building Food Hall is so interesting and fun. Lots of fantastic food to choose from and all nationalities to choose from. But I loved this spot the best!!

I ordered fried pork dumplings and passion fruit green tea boba. They were delicious!!

I would eat the beef noodle soup every day!!!! It's very flavorful and 5-spicy. The beef is tender. Not sure what time they usually sell out of soup dumplings but we arrived around noon and they were already gone! The pork and cabbage dumplings and beef bao were so good. While in Nashville for a quick vacation, I'm considering returning for another lunch!

Dim sum is some of my favorite food. Dumplings especially. I was so excited to find a spot like this in Assembly Hall. I ordered 2 beef baos and boiled pork and shrimp dumplings. The food came out very quickly so I was happy. The bao was hot and fluffy but had WAY too little filling for the amount of bread. I was able to pick off at least 1/2 of the bun because it was just extra. The filling was hot, juicy and pretty good. The dumplings though I thought were especially disappointing. My first bite, I bit into something hard. I don't know what it was. So I tried another. I tasted dumpling filled that lacked seasoning and the texture of the wrapper was off. Not my favorite.

Authentic and delicious. We have enjoyed their food for years. Our favorite are the seared bao. Pleasant folks and a steady stream of people in the door attests to the great food.

I have loved Steamboys and have been there many times. Easily a 4 or 5 star restaurant for us. The entire family really enjoy soup dumplings and have since we lived in Singapore a number of years ago. Steamboys does a really good version of these dumplings. However on our most recent visit we have found they are now steaming soup dumplings in little foil containers within the bamboo steamers instead of directly on rice paper. This actually negatively effects the texture of the dumpling as well as the flavor. Please go back to your original and traditional way of making these wonderful little pockets of goodness. Until then we will look elsewhere.

Steam Boys is delicious! I was so excited to get my hands on their chicken steamed dumplings and their vegetable bao- did not disappoint! It was great getting to listen to some live country music as well- staff was friendly, and the overall ambiance is great.

Delicious food! It's fresh and it always hits the spot! It's relaxing to sit inside and enjoy your meal.

So happy I ordered from this little Gem on Fifth & Broadway Assembly Hall location. It was my 1st time trying , Staff was super friendly & answered all my questions. We ordered dumplings and a large soup to share to go. I laughed with the staff about my non spicy option but ayyyyeee, my guts are wimpy, what can I say! Lol! The portions were a very good size. Order was ready quickly. I will definitely be back. Love the great customer service, the vibes & great food!

Best dumplings I've had! I had amazing seared dumplings. So tender and tasty. Didn't even need sauce!

Steam Boys is located inside of the Assembly Food Hall, and they have a selection of Asian food you can pick from, whether it be steamed buns or dumplings or noodles or bubble tea. The service was pretty quick, and it didn't take long for my order to be ready. My guess it that everything is made ahead of time and steamed, since I waited no more than a minute for my order to be ready. The girl at the register informed me that they do use non dairy milk in their bubble tea, which I think is great that they offer that, and it didn't compromise the overall drink. I went with the oolong milk tea, and they do charge you for toppings such as tapioca. I liked how the meat and broth was seasoned and flavored. My only issue is that the noodles didn't seem like it's been washed or blanched, so it has a starchy smell and aftertaste. Other than that, they do have a decent selection and variety. It was also nice to see this in Nashville, and it satisfied a craving of mine whenever I'm traveling. I do recommend this vendor to anyone in the area looking for Asian food.

I ordered a lunch combo (bao and rice bowl), it seems good value. But rice is very hard and make my stomach hurt, also not fresh (it smelled like from previous night). Bao and milk tea were good.

Pretty good! The pork bun was filled with a pork meatball and broth. Both the pork meatball and the broth was a pleasant surprise! I had expected cuts of pork belly in a soy based sauce. The bun had traditional Cantonese tastes, and it was a decent size! More points if the bread was a little fresher and softer.

I love bao & I love dumplings. It's rare that I dine somewhere where either of those dishes are available & don't order them, & as excited as I was to try this steam boys location I'm not sure it lives up to the hype that surrounds it..... I ordered a steamed pork bao & an order of xiao long bao (steamed soup dumplings) and a Thai boba tea & was given a 15 minute wait time as they were being cooked fresh & were not done yet. No problem for me as I wanted them as hot & fresh as can be. The wait became much closer to 30 minutes than 15 though as I eagerly waited for the food to be done & wondered if I should have inquired as to why I needed to wait for the boba tea to be prepared until the food was done as that's not typical to wait for a beverage as long as a food order anywhere. Once it finally was ready I picked it up at the counter & the attendant started making the boba drink. It looked as pretty as any boba tea I've had anywhere & was full of boba but also more than half full of crushed ice. What was a $6 drink turned out to be a $1.50 sip gone within a minute & leaving all the precious boba trapped below the copious amounts of ice. A waste really. 1 star for the boba tea that never fully materialized. As for the food. The bao was soggy, bland, & fell apart in my hand which is not what I expected from a bao centric establishment. Perhaps I'm spoiled because I've had truely amazing bao in Asia where one bun is a full meal & the dough is as much of a star as the filling, both of which were disappointing here. The soup dumplings are the only somewhat saving grace for this meal for me. They were hot as they should be & they had good flavor & the very vinegary sauce complimented them well. Two stars for soup dumplings that are good. All in all, I'm not impressed. I've had much better bao at gas stations on the big island of Hawaii than I got here. The boba tea as it was made was a rip off & wasteful for $6 when it's 75% ice. My wife had tikka masala from the the Indian place next door & shared it with me to help ease my letdown. Recommend trying that place instead if you are exploring in this corner of the food hall.

Noodles were average but not bad at all. There was just nothing that special about it and I've had better. Service was okay but kind. And the assembly hall is a great location for chill vibes with live music sometimes They also had great Halloween decor which made the location feel spirited and fun!

While on a visit in Nashville I saw that this place had bao buns and I always wanted to try it. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I got the pork bun and while the it was huge and the flavor wasn't bad, I think it just it's not for me. I also got the boba tea in the tarp flavor and my sister got the strawberry. Both drinks were nasty and I feel over priced for the size.

Place is pretty new and it's located right on front of the entrance to the food court on the right side. Food - Great tasting food with that authentic taste to it and we'll prepared for all items. Prices - A lil high but kinda going rate for a specialty place like this. Service - People that work here are nice and helpful. Place is really clean and kept up but then again it's a new place that just opened. Overall great place worth checking out and would be willing to check it out again.

One of the better lunch options in 5th and a Broadway. Seating can be limited during peak hours, but you can always order first and then go find a table while they make your food since they'll text you when it's ready. We ordered the steamed and seared pork and beef baos along with the pork and cabbage dumplings. My favorite was the dumplings for sure as we kept going back and ordering more. They also have this spicy sauce that comes with one of the baos - definitely ask for this with whatever you order if you like spice. It's a nice balance to the sweeter dumpling sauce they give you.

Tasty little spot with fresh steamed buns. Ordered a beef bun with chili oil for dipping, it had great flavors. Service was quick and efficient. My one critique would be, prices are a bit on the higher side for a steamed bun. I'm accustomed to consuming these types of buns in Chinatown at much cheaper prices, but you have to pay for location and convenience.

This was not what we were expecting. Fast food dumplings and bao that left a LOT to be desired, with prices that definitely don't represent good value. The spicy dumplings were not edible due to the overwhelming flavorless heat and the bao buns were just soggy with some flavorless microwaved meatball inside. Don't waste your time here.

Priced very fair. Food is as expected. Would've given 5 stars if the steam bun was freshly steamed.

Would have loved to have some fine cuisine but the one for warning from management, a simple post on your website would have sufficed, the entire food court was closed to a private event. One again it proved the corporate greed and a sense of superiority over the common citizen of this country prevails. Shame on your Subaru thinking that the common citizen of this great nation is too unclean and disgusting to be close to your presence. Maybe we are too disgusting to buy your automobiles.

This was okay at best it's basically a chipotle of asian cuisine. I went for soup dumplings which is like the main thing on the menu and they were out. The other stuff was okay I wouldn't waste my time again

so yummy! kinda hard to get to bc lack of parking but delish food! def love this place. i love spicy food, but be prepared for the heat. i got mild and my mouth was burnin!

First time trying soup dumplings and theare AMAZING. Super nice cashier also:) plus being in the assembly hall gives it a great atmosphere.

Although steam boys seems to have a high price for several dumplings, the quality of the dumplings is excellent. We ordered them fried, they have the perfect crisp on the outside. They are packed full of flavor on the inside! The beef shank was very good as well --the broth is rich and salty, and the noodle texture/seasoned beef brings the dish together! Definitely a food hall favorite for me.

Stumbled across this place really by chance while looking for another restaurant and had to try it. We got juicy pork bao, pork and shrimp steamed dumplings, and my daughter got the seafood noodle bowl. Every single thing was delicious and cooked perfectly. We ordered and had our food in about 8 minutes, too. Definitely recommend it!

I had been wanting to try this place out for a while. I ordered two Steamed Beef Bao and Pork & Shrimp Dumplings. I was eager to take the first bite. When I did it was not at all the savory rich flavor I had imagined. Sadly, both the Bao and dumplings left me wanting something more authentic. If you've ever had authentic dumplings/ bao and are expecting that same quality, continue searching. But if you've never had that experience then be sure to stop by.

Seared dumplings were great. Bao were ok but not a big fan of the "meatball" in the middle. I prefer the pulled pork version that I see in most Bao. Service was decent.

Very quick and easy, and the food was amazing. I had the coffee milk tea, and it was not too expensive like other places

Absolutely fantastic! Oh my goodness! Fast service. Very friendly staff. The buns and dumplings are heavenly!

First time at Steam Boys! My partner raves all the time and I see why!!! Terrific food that leaves you feeling great! Great ambiance and decor as well as friendly helpful staff. The service was fast

I thought I was going to have to go to Germantown but I found this at the assembly hall! We got the soup dumplings and the beef buns. They were so delicious and filled with flavor!! Highly recommend.

One of the most authentic bao and soup dumplings in Nashville. My boyfriend (Shanghainese) and I (white af) have lived here a total of 3 months and have probably ate here at least 10 times already.

Great food, especially the pan fried dumplings. Beef soup was good, but pretty spiced for mild.

The soup dumplings were great -- plenty of soup, easy to eat without a mess, flavorful filling.