so amazing, no notes. the waitress who was also seating people / host was such a diva in the best way, and I absolutely love her. they also have a REALLY cute zine that they made as a part of the experience and like.... the whole thing is a vibe. the interior is a vibe, the exterior is a vibe, and all the food is REALLY good, especially for its price. I think they've also been michelin guided for a WHILE now so like... you know that it's gonna be a good spot. i will say this location has a bit of a wait so definitely pick up a reservation if you can. the drinks are also REALLY delicious so get those too read more

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Overall: 2 stars Michelin Guide Taiwanese restaurant in the vibrant district of SoHo. I found that the restaurant runs expensive and didn't live up to my expectations fully as the dishes were inconsistent and I found service to be chaotic -- particularly, when the staff spilled the cucumber dressing and almost spilled onto me and my friend. Pork Belly Bao - Classic comfort pork bun that has all the right textures from the soft pillowy bun to the melt in your mouth pork belly to the crisp pickles to the crunchy crumble of peanut. Marinated Cucumbers - Intriguing season of cucumber that offers a flavorfully spiced palette. However, I found some of the dish to be bitter as if the chili crunch was burned when made. Wagyu Ikura Rice Bowl - Their special rice bowl that has roasted beef topped with ikura. I particularly like the horseradish mayo it came with to give the beef a creamy balance with the rice. However, I found the beef to be unevenly cooked w.r.t. the bowl and the ikura to be disproportionate to the beef. Food: -1 Presentation: E Price: -1 Atmosphere: E Service: -1 Menu: +1 Insta/Yelp/Beli: @amei_eats Insta/TikTok: @ameizing.race read more

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Really flavorful food - the steak with rice was the table's favorite, with the lamb dumplings shortly behind. We four sharing portions between four people, and a main dish each and felt like this was enough. For that and one beer each we only paid 35 GBP each which felt reasonable for the quality of the food in central London. read more

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Tiny spot with about 30 seats, but they turn tables fast and food comes out quickly. Definitely make a reservation if you're more than two, or go early (before 6 p.m.) to avoid the wait.My friend and I shared four bao buns and the Taiwanese fried chicken. Everything was great except the beef short rib bao--it was pretty bland. The surprise standout was the daikon croquette bao, which totally earned its spot on the chef's recommendations. The fried chicken was also excellent.After eating here, it's easy to see why BAO has a Bib Gourmand. read more

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I visited Bao-Soho back in the summer of 2025. On my visit to London, I took a food tour and Bao was one of our food stops. We were served baozi. Baozi is a yeast-leavened bun filled with toppings such as minced meats. The buns are steamed. Our baozi was filled with like a bbq pork. It was very tasty. The Soho location didn't have any seating to accommodate our group so we were served right outside the restaurant. We were told that Bao-Soho has received many accolades. It received the Bib Gourmand which is a step below the Michelin Star. Great to try Taiwanese cuisine! read more

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Absolutely incredible, highly recommend! We were so excited to cross off the bucket list that we ate at a Michelin-star restaurant, and it was so affordable! We came with a 9 pm reservation, and we do recommend getting a reservation as this small location fills up. We loved meeting the hostess and our waiter. We ordered on their website via our phones, and our meals came to us. Honestly, we wanted to try one of everything! I truly enjoyed how earthy the milk tea boba drink was. We loved all the bao we ate, but especially the fried chicken bao. The guinea fowl rice bowl was so incredible, and the bite was made perfect with their included pickled veggie. I will visit again!! read more

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We came for lunch on a birthday and the servers were fantastic and made us feel very special. GET THE BAONUT FOR DESSERT. Incredible! The food was overall solid, I'd recommend the chicken wings, bubble tea and most of the bao portions. Portions are small so order more than you think if you're hungry. My favorite bao was the pork and peanut but none of them blew me away. I've had better bao at other spots but this is a solid spot for London! read more

BAO - Soho - Wing - Taiwanese Near Me - London, XGL

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The set meal was good when I had it a few years ago. I returned recently and the quality seems to have gone down. The bao are still okay but I don't think I'd go out of my way to come here again. Seating inside is extremely limited read more

Staff completely forgot about my table while serving everyone else in the restaurant and messed up drink orders. Food is very overpriced, overhyped, and underwhelming. We were in a small cramped space right in front of the bathroom so badly that my party had to move to let people in to the bathroom. Go to Noodle Inn right down the street instead, actually worth the money, unlike this place. read more

tiny little place with a huge area in the middle for drink. Service was great. you can hang your belonging under the counter. Regular Bao was ok. Is not your traditional Taiwanese Pork Bao with huge fat pork. The rib bao was nice too. The age beef tasted really good, just a bit too much soy sauce, wish there was wasabi to go with it. Is more for Westerner not your traditional Taiwanese Bao place. read more

BAO - Soho - Regular and rib - Taiwanese Near Me - London, XGL

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Disclaimer: I went to the Marylebone location which unfortunately doesn't have a yelp page, but I needed to share my love letter to this incredible group of restaurants. Will be dreaming about this meal until my next visit and I will make it my mission to eat my way through the menu of all locations. The staff could not have been nicer or more attentive and the atmosphere is lovely and cozy. I had the pleasure of sitting at the counter and got to watch all of the energy that goes into these perfectly prepared dishes. I had the smacked Chili cucumbers that were packed with flavor and such a generous portion (Din Tai Fung WHO?!). But, the showstopper for me was the Prawn Shia Song Bao, the fried bun was crisp on the outside and delicately soft in the middle and served warm and the prawns were dressed in a delicious sweet mayonnaise and the whole thing quite literally melts in your mouth. Finally I had the 40 Day Aged Beef Rice which was so rich and flavorful. The salty creamy yolk, the perfectly tender beef and smoky torched rice all paired together perfectly. I highly recommend getting all of these dishes. Also, the peanut milk, don't skip it if you love peanut butter. So light and refreshing and not overly sweet. I also MUST shout out the people doing the creatives for BAO, as a former Habbo Hotel obsessed tween, I appreciate you and your designs more than you know. read more

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Buns are one of my favorite foods in the world so expectations were high. I was still blown away! There's often a line outside and the interior is small so it can feel a little hectic, but it's a really beautiful space that also feels trendy. We came in a party of two on a weeknight and they were able to squeeze us immediately, with that caveat that we had to leave within an hour for another party's reservation. We ordered 3 buns to share between the two of us and we immediately ordered more. The confit pork was extravagant. Soft and absolutely melt in your mouth. It's like they took all the best qualities of a traditional pork belly bun and put it together. The party next to us was halal and they had a little trouble ordering because all the fried items are fried in the same oil. read more

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Ordered delivery. Everything was still hot and delicious! Great spice level. Nice vegan option - the bun was super crispy and flavorful.

An absolute pleasure. Small, intimate, and simple yet flavorful options. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and attentiveness of the staff and instantly wished we had a place like this in the states. A new favorite, everything was great and I highly recommend it. I had the classic bao, beef bao, chips and mushrooms. Will be back. read more

Amazing food! Everything here was excellent. I honestly bought the cookbook after going here. It's pricy, but the quality is amazing. Sometimes, it's hard to find good Taiwanese food, and this place met all the criteria. They even do the menu the Taiwanese way - you write down the quantity next to the menu item name. I recommend getting reservations in advance. It is very tiny inside, so be prepared to be squished next to everyone. read more

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This is a very small, intimate place in the SoHo district. Walking in the staff was extremely friendly and we were immediately seated. Our waiter reviewed the menu with us and gave us great suggestions. I filled out the little order form and handed it to our waiter. In total, we ordered the scallop appetizer along with the confit pork, fried chicken and braised beef bao buns with a side of sweet potato chips that came with an interesting plum pickle ketchup. As a tea lover, I couldn't resist ordering the 10-year aged Oolong tea as I've never had an aged tea. The order came out in less than 10 minutes and so we dug in. The scallop appetizer was really tasty with a nice char on the outside. Each of the bao buns themselves were so soft and just melted in my mouth. The filings for each were super flavorful. The confit pork and braised beef were very tender and packed a flavor punch. The friend chicken was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The sweet potato chips (fries) were nice and crispy, and the plum pickle ketchup provided was a nice change from a regular tomato ketchup. As for the 10-year aged Oolong tea, it has an earthier taste than most Oolongs I've tasted. It was worth trying just for my own personal knowledge. Overall, this is a great place to grab a quick, light bite while in the SoHo district but take note that the establishment is very small and not good for large groups. read more

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GREAT find in the SoHo area. Went after my husband found recommendations for it online. We were able to get a table quickly despite it being a busy evening. They went over how the menu works as it was our first time there. You mark on a sheet what you want to order and then they enter it into the system and bring it out as it's made. The food was PHENOMENAL. We got a few different starters, 2 buns to share, and their specialty bun which was amazing. Everything was amazing. It is a small place so not a ton of room but doable. Also loved that you could pay using a QR code instead of having to flag down a server when you are done. read more

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First of all, let me start by saying I have been religiously following Bao on Instagram for years even before I've ever been to London. When I finally got to visit post-Covid in January, I went to their SoHo location and got to try their fried chicken and confit baos which I both loved! These are textbook amazing baos that are of quality and surprisingly filling for what it is. The bun of the fried chicken one is also somewhat made with sesame which I liked. I got one of their alcoholic spritz which complemented my order well. I went back here for the second time last week, same location though I should've went to the Covent Garden (?) branch not too far from SoHo since they only serve the pork rice dish I was intending for! I wish they made that clear on their social media page for future reference since they introduce limited menus once in a while that turns out, will only be available at specific locations. I got seated as soon as they opened at 12nn (pretty late for my opinion,) and the place easily got packed right away. They don't really have a lot of rice bowl options in this location but only mostly small plates and the baos. I re-ordered the confit pork bao which is always a winner and got the Spicy Taiwanese fried chicken along with it. The chicken was absolutely juicy and flavorful! It wasn't too spicy at all, too. I judged it beforehand and didn't really expect how it will blow me away for how juicy it is. Aside from that, the real star of my meal was the house made peanut milk with vanilla which was so refreshing! Never tasted anything quite like it before. Even the thin-rimmed glass they serve it in was perfect for the whole drinking experience. I would definitely go back to Bao over and over whenever I'm in town and would never not get the peanut milk! This is also a great restaurant for solo diners. I got to sit at the bar twice and loved the experience of being in front of the barista. They also have a "long day menu" which is a curated order for solo diners. I would've gotten it but I was skeptic to try the guinea fowl dish. Also, vibe is a 5/5. Cute staff and cute people dining in! read more

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The Bao's were so good! I got the original and the fried chicken. Perfect for take out. I should have gotten 3, they were so good but a bit small and I had a big appetite that day after lots of sightseeing. Seating is quite limited so it is not suited for groups. Services is fast and friendly! The fried chicken was perfectly crispy and not heavy. The pork was flavourful and sweet. Highly recommend to eat and walk around or take out and eat at the park. read more

BAO - Soho - Fried chicken bun - Taiwanese Near Me - London, XGL

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cute bao shop!! very delicious food!! it's a tight space so it was a little cramped but worth the food! read more

BAO - Soho - oolong tea - Taiwanese Near Me - London, XGL

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Absolutely incredible. The highlights were actually the rice bowl dishes! SO flavorful and yummy (though quite small for sharing!) My friend and I ended up ordering from the set menu (15 pounds?) as well as the regular menu, and got the confit pork + lamb shoulder baos, the fried chicken, the beef soup with braised daikon, the scallop, the guinea fowl rice (+ the specialty rice bowl they had that was lamb IIRC). Also had the yakult and peanut milk drinks. Everything was absolutely amazing. The soup was perfect for a cold day in London. The rice was so good, and my friend and I marveled at how the rice itself managed to taste so good (it's hard to find places that make rice plates taste homemade in Europe, we agreed). The drinks were also very unique. Never had a pineapple drink with yakult foam before ... but here we are! We came as walk-ins a little around 5:30-6pm and were able to be seated right away but the restaurant was definitely busy the rest of the time we were there, so I recommend reserving in advance or going earlier when they open. (We also got the cute tote bags and even the little neighborhood map ... too iconic to pass up!) read more

I cannot recommend Bao highly enough. The food was amazing, the staff was friendly and provided recommendations, and I left feeling satisfied and that I'd gotten my money's worth. We tried a lot more than what is pictured here, but we couldn't stop eating long enough to take the pictures. read more

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This restaurant would have been a 4 for the food, especially the the fried chicken bao but the service and ambiance were pretty awful. We had wrong dishes brought to us, we were hassled to leave multiple times even though all our dishes hadn't been brought to us. Having no dedicated server and a totally packed restaurant, it was a cramped and hectic experience. However, the food was really great, so here we are at 3 stars. Maybe takeaway would be advised! read more

Delicious food! We stopped here for a togo order. It was packaged nicely, quickly brought out to us and the sweet potato fries were amazing! Very busy inside so make sure to get there early or make a reservation if you hope to sit down. read more

The food was very good. But don't go for the ambiance: tightly packed tiny tables with low backless stools, hectic and noisy. Moreover, the website says that the BAO15 SET is available 12 to 6, but when we tried to order it at 5:15, we were told that it is only available until 5. They need to fix the website or stand behind their promises. read more

Bao is across from my office in London and I tried to find a time to go there the first few times I visited the office and was never able to fit it in. On my most recent trip, I was determined to try it and on the last day told my colleagues I would not be eating with them but going to Bao. I went inside to tell them I wanted to get take out and they told me to wait outside until someone came to take my order. Once that happened (about five minutes later), the bao took less than ten minutes. I had the pork and the fried chicken and probably could have had another. While both were very good, I didn't find it to be that much better than the Bao that I often have in New York City so it's probably not somewhere I had to go so far out of my way to try. That being said, I live in New York City. In London this may well be the Bao place to go to. read more

I ordered the classic, fried chicken, and confit pork bao. I was lucky enough that there was no wait and I had my food within about 10 minutes. Having eaten a late lunch, this was the perfect amount of food although you'd likely need something with it if you go in hungry to truly fill you up. The pork was tender and had just the right amount of fat. The fried chicken had a perfect crunch and the classic failed to disappoint. My only complaint was that I wolfed them down too quickly :). Otherwise, a great spot for sure. The restaurant was incredibly small and seating was more "bar style" where you aren't able to face anyone. Makes it a great spot for solo eaters or friends, but definitely not anyone on a date. I'd highly recommend making reservations as I've heard plenty of stories of people waiting 50+ minutes for a table. Highly recommend though. Everything was made deliciously and had great flavor. read more

Definitely a small place! Quick service, great food, and left with fully belly. Great place to stop when in SoHo. Beware you will be required to wait outside during busy hours. read more

BAO - Soho - Classic Bun - Taiwanese Near Me - London, XGL

Very good bao. First visit, got the confit pork, fried chicken, and lamb shoulder, all of which I liked, although I think the fried chicken was (unexpectedly) my favorite, followed closely by the confit pork. The lamb was good too but a decent amount below the other two, in my opinion. Not the cheapest lunch option and not my absolute favorite bao of all-time, but very solid all around. read more

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A fun restaurant with great vibes and even better food. There is a great lunch special that allows you to try bao and rice bowl! All the bao that I tried were delicious, with my favorite being the pork belly. Appetizers were amazing as well, especially the beef. The drinks were also very delicious - would recommend! read more

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Food: Classic Bao, Fried Chicken Bao Interesting take on Taiwanese bao! The asian fusion approach is cool, and the store has a cute aesthetic. I tried the classic bao and fried chicken bao, both of which were good but nothing mindblowing. Portions are typical bao size, so they're on the smaller side and not super filling. Definitely a cute place to check out, but don't expect to get super full from one or two baos here. read more

BAO - Soho - Fried Chicken Bao, Classic Bao - Taiwanese Near Me - London, XGL

Wow. A hidden gem. We did not know what to expect so the 2 of us shared 1 of each of 12 different things that appealed to us. Let me tank order our favorites: 1. Classic bao £4.75 2. Taro White Russian drink £8.5 3. Guinea fowl chi shiang rice £6 4. Confit pork bao £5 5. Beef soup, braised daikon £3,25 6. Aubergine, wonton crisp £3.75 7. Taiwanese fried chicken £5.5 8. Eryngil mushroom, century egg £4.5 9. Scallop, yellow bean garlic £3.75 10. Aged beef rump cap, aged white soy sauce £6 11. House pickles £2 12. Mapo aubergine chi shiang rice £6 The classic bao is so good because of depth of flavor and textures. Wonderfully balanced savory tender meat with crunchy sweet chopped peanuts wrapped in a fluffy hot white steamed bun or bao. The Taro foam (light purplish) White Russian was sweet without being sickly sweet. This drink has no satiation point. You can keep drinking it and you still want more. Dangerous! There is an £80 tasting menu where they bring you 1 of everything (possibly 21 different items). Excluding drinks. We ordered £55 for 2 of us and that was plenty. read more

BAO is a cute, tiny lunch spot, so make sure to make a reservation or get there early! Unfortunately, the confit bao was out of stock when my family was there, so I ordered the classic and the daikon baos. The classic came with braised pork, peanut powder, coriander, and fermented greens; the peanut powder added a nice nuttiness and the buns were so fluffy. The daikon bao came with crumbled daikon, daikon pickle, hot sauce, and coriander; the pickled daikon worked so nicely against the crispy piece of daikon that almost melted in your mouth once bitten into. I also got a yakult float drink, which was unique and delicious. The one issue my family had with BAO was that the service was incredibly slow. While we understand it is a small place that is packed and busy, it took quite awhile for the food to come out. My dad ordered the pre-fixed menu, but his rice bowl took so long to come out that he eventually asked them not to bother making it so that we could leave and get on our way. Luckily, the service was very accommodating. They handled the situation remarkably well, which was definitely of note and something we were grateful for. Overall, I would come back again for a (hopefully) quick bite with friends or a takeout meal! read more

Great spot for a unique take on baos. The menu is really simple which makes ordering easy, and the servers had good suggestions on what to order. I thought the classic bao was okay, it wasn't as flavorful as I hoped but it was a nice balance of sweet and salty. But wow, the fried chicken bao was bomb. It was super crispy and the pickles complimented it nicely, and it felt like I was eating elevated Taiwanese popcorn chicken (compared to the usual that I eat at boba places). The rice bowl I ordered was also really good. Mixing the yolk into the rice really made it delicious, and getting the perfect bite with rice, ginger, meat and fried onion was a flavor explosion in my mouth. The servers were very attentive, refilling water and taking away plates without me asking. The restaurant itself is very clean and has a nice minimalistic design. It also has air conditioning, which was great when it was super hot outside. Overall it was a great meal, and I would go again to try the rest of the baos. read more

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BAO specializes in delicious and creative... well, you guessed it... baos. One of the best parts of this dish is the bread itself, and this restaurant serves it perfectly fluffy and chewy. The filling comes in a number of flavors. You have your classic pork and chicken, but then you also get interesting ones like daikon and ice cream. To balance out the meal, they offer a variety of small eats to select from the menu. While I love the concept of this restaurant, I don't think their prices are quite justifiable. I get that they can charge a premium, being in the heart of London and all, but the servings are definitely on the smaller side. It really doesn't cost all that much to make a bao either, so the math just doesn't add up for me. XIAO CHI // Scallop, Yellow Bean Garlic (£3.75) - 4 stars // Beef Soup, Braised Daikon (£3.25) - 3 stars // Eryngii Mushroom, Century Egg (£4.50) - 3 stars // Aubergine, Wonton Crisp (£3.75) - 2 stars // Guinea Fowl Chi Shiang Rice (£6) - 4 stars // Taiwanese Fried Chicken, Hot Sauce (£5.50) - 4 stars BAO // Classic (£4.50) - 5 stars // Confit Pork (£5) - 4 stars // Fried Chicken (£5) - 4 stars // Lamb Shoulder (£5) - 4 stars // Fried Horlicks Ice Cream (£4.50) - 4 stars SIDES // Peanut Milk (£2.50) - 3 stars read more

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The BAO was just what I expected it to be - trendy, overpriced Asian food for the masses. There's nothing special about what they do here, and would certainly not recommend for anyone out of town to make a visit here. There's plenty of other places to try in London. I got: Classic Bao - Comes in the classic fluffy white buns, and filled with pork and topped with crushed peanuts. I liked this one probably the most but found the pork oversauced / too salty. Fried Chicken Bao - I'm not sure what the hype about the fried chicken here is. It just tastes like fried chicken, and when you stick it into the bao, it's just like a fried chicken burger. This one uses a different bun than the classic bao, and is more like a mini hamburger bun in shape. Lamb Bao - I don't know why I was expecting lamb chunks but it's actually pulled lamb, spiced and placed into a bun. Reminds me in flavor or roujiamo, but not as strong. Eryngil mushroom - I couldn't believe how few mushrooms there were in this dish for the price. There wasn't anything exciting or new about this dish - just some sautéed mushrooms in soy sauce and then some century egg (and by some I mean very small diced pieces) on top. I could probably make 5x the quantity of this dish for half the price. On the bright side, the service is fast and even though there was a line when I arrived, I was able to get seated, eat, and leave within 45 min. read more

amazing bao ! everything was super delicious. my favorite bao was the confit pork because it was flavorful with super duper soft meat ! the table was super small, but service was excellent. prices were also fair. without a reservation we only waited 30 minutes to be seated. read more

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GREAT for solo dining! Everything was delicious and unique. I got the confit bao and the Guinea fowl rice bowl, which both did not disappoint. The pork and guinea fowl were both so tender and juicy and all the textures of the dishes meshed together well. Additionally, get their chicken Kaarage too! read more

BAO - Soho - Guinea fowl rice bowl - Taiwanese Near Me - London, XGL

BAO Soho is one of those cool hip places to grab a quick meal and a drink. The menu is simple with a few bao and appetizer options. I ordered the fried chicken and fried daikon baos. Both were good but nothing special. The baos are small so you need to order two or three if you're hungry. The mushroom and century old egg appetizer was delicious although the portion was small as well. For drinks, I had the yakult float which was unique and pleasant. The yakult foam was my favorite part. Overall this was a decent meal but it left me wanting more. Luckily this location is in Soho which has many dessert options nearby. read more

BAO - Soho - Fried chicken bao - Taiwanese Near Me - London, XGL

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Was it authentic Taiwanese? Not really, but authentic enough that I'd say it's good. Loved the bao, they were juicy and fat and tasty - the way I like it. Eggplant - good, you can barely taste eggplant... I don't usually like eggplant so this was definitely a plus for me. Pig blood cake - they added cumin to it, not the usual way to cook/eat it. Not bad, but I prefer the traditional taste. Ginger milk tea - I like the cream foam above the tea. Overall l, though not fully authentic, you can't be too picky about it. Still highly recommended. The storefront is real small, it gets crowded during dining hours, so pick your time wisely! read more