Bao Soho

Joe W

Taiwanese tapas! This is what food made by Taiwanese hipsters is like! Creative takes on Taiwanese 小吃 (small eats) by people who actually care about Taiwanese food deep in their souls. The menu is hilarious. They have Taiwan Beer which is nostalgic to me. Come here for drinks and some snacks in good company. Sit at the bar! Don’t come here looking to make a meal of it (in my opinion). Treat it more like sampling night market food. It’s not extremely comfortable in the restaurant, but neither is sitting on little plastic stools in the back alleys of Taipei (and I’ll do that any time!) It not about comfort, it’s about the food!

Luis Cruz

The highlight for me was the peanut milk. It is so refreshing. The baos are very good and the fried chicken. The mushrooms were too salty. Small space but we were seated quickly without a reservation, so that was great!

Dan Zafrir

The BAO that started it all - I remember the queue snaking around the corner just to get in just a few years back, which is luckily no longer the case - but do book in advance. While the food is still excellent, I can’t help but feel that success has dimmed this chain’s light. Everything we had was delicious, especially the pickles, bao buns, and aubergine dip; also, the sauce next to the nuggets was out of this world - I’d have a whole plate of it if it was an option. The drinks were nice - we had the yakult float and peanut milk; I’d recommend the latter for dessert as it’s quite sweet. So why the lost star? First, portion size - the dishes are tiny and entirely unsuitable for sharing. Even the “larger” ones, like the Guinea fowl bowl, had barely any fowl and provided maybe five bites between the two of us. Very little value for money. Secondly, the service - some of the starters came so late we’d already finished our mains, and the waiters never came to check in on us. It took about 20 minutes before we were even approached. And lastly, our seats were low, uncomfortable, and in the way of the staff. So while BAO continues to offer top-notch Taiwanese in the capital, I’m afraid the customer is no longer at the heart of what they do. I’m glad they’re doing well, but the experience was alienating - and I’ve been to several BAO locations so can sadly say it’s this way across the board. Here’s hoping they remember why they started the place - to give people yummy food and introduce their culture to the world.