BAO

We have six locations in London - Soho, Borough, Kings Cross, Shoreditch, Battersea & Marylebone.

Soho - 53 Lexington Street, W1F 9AS
Fitzrovia -31 Windmill Street, W1T 2JN
Borough - 13 Stoney Street, SE1 9AD
Hackney- Netil Market, E8 3RL
Kings Cross - Unit 2, 4 Pancras Square, N1C 4AG
Noodle Shop - 1 Redchurch St, E2 7DJ

04/04/2026

We have a new special bao on. It’s a collaboration with . It’s a take on the classic fried chicken bao, but dressed for the occasion.

It begins with the slaw. Cucumber, coriander, spring onion and red Thai chilli, chilled in ice so everything stays sharp and crisp. A squeeze of lime wakes it all up. Fresh, bright, a little fiery.

Then the bao. Soft, warm, opened carefully. A spread of our house Taiwanese sweet mayo first. Be generous. The fried chicken is coated in cornstarch for that light, crackling crust, then dunked into a glossy honey soy glaze, soy sauce, plenty of honey and mushroom stir-fry sauce, thick and sticky.

The chicken goes in, the herb slaw on top for lift. Soft, crispy, sweet, savoury, fresh.

On until Sunday next week.

24/03/2026

Justin thinks his version might be better, so we let him try.

The beef is marinated in our classic BAO marinade, grilled, then laid over hot rice that’s been spread slightly to catch everything that follows.

He starts with a beef fat dressing, whisked with soy and yuzu, poured over so the rice drinks it in. A layer of Taiwanese sweet mayo goes on next, then the rice is torched until the edges begin to crisp and the mayo melts into the grains.

Spring onion, soaked in ice water so it stays sharp and crunchy, goes over the top. Then a generous spoon of ikura, marinated lightly in mirin and citrus, right in the centre. A touch of sea salt, and finally the juices from the grilled beef. Sweet, savoury, smoky and rich. Justin might be onto something.

XL Grilled Beef & Ikura Rice bowl Chi Shang Rice, Torched Mayo, Yuzu Beef Fat Dressing, 40-day aged Denver Beef, Ikura Salmon Roe.

Available from Thursday 12th March - Sunday 12th April.

Not available in Shoreditch and Battersea.

05/03/2026

borrowed a few things from our kitchen and we’ve been watching closely.

With a little bit of back and forth across the pass, a few raised eyebrows, tons of opinions of who has done it best and with aprons (and bucket hats) firmly on we’re almost ready to show you what we’ve been working on together.

More soon 👀

04/03/2026

Week 568 in BAO Life

Burnt chilli sauce in progress for , sausages in the wild, menu hacks & tips, mahjong getting competitive and the OG Grilled Beef rice.

01/03/2026

Alice Lin was a loving daughter, a caring GM and a dedicated friend.

When we shared the news to someone that Alice was leaving, their reaction was one of disbelief and they said” I always thought of BAO as Shing, Wai Ting, Erchen… and Alice.”

I think that says everything. Alice wasn’t just someone who worked here. She was part of the fabric of BAO. Part of its history. Part of its soul.

If there were 40 roles in this business, she’s done at least 30 of them.
She was there when we were making baos in our tiny flat. And for the obligatory Silk Road meal after. She was there at our first kiosk at Kerb. She was there at 2am after a hard night, when it didn’t feel magical at all. She was there for every new opening. She was there when we closed restaurants too.

Over 12 years, she’s been waiter, cleaner, rota-writer, problem-solver, multi-site GM. She’s cried when people left. She’s laughed too loudly. She’s held the door, held the team, held the room.

When our regulars think of BAO, they think of Alice. She made it feel like home.

Alice. thank you for all the blood sweat and tears and for all the joy you have brought over the years. Not only were you a BAO OG but you are now forever in memory as BAO Legend!

Comment LEGEND if Alice has ever looked after you ❤️

25/02/2026

Final call for the Dark Horse Menu 📞

Two more days of the Lunar New Year menu, Chilli Crab dishes and Prosperity Salmon Salad and then we pack it up quietly after service on Thursday. If you meant to come in but didn’t. If you said “next week” last week or were waiting for an excuse, this is it!

Available until tomorrow, Thursday 26th Feb.

24/02/2026

How high can you toss? Yu Sheng or Prosperity Tossing Salad is a classic Lunar New Year dish - each ingredient represents good fortune in one way or another, with the salmon sashimi rose on top symbolising abundance.

It’s fresh, citrusy, salty, sweet and the salmon adds a gorgeous fattiness. The salad MUST be tossed with loved ones and the higher you toss it the more wealth and prosperity you’ll bring into your life this year.

Available on the Lunar New Year set many until Thursday 26th Feb - happy tossing x

22/02/2026

Week 567 in BAO Life

Rogue soy eggs, giant crab legs, chef closeness (consensual, we swear), Xiao Chi chaos with one of everything and beef mountains.

20/02/2026

We made a new thing. BAO ZINE 2.0

Inside the zine: menu hacks, some bits you might not know about BAO, and the usual wandering thoughts.

On the back: A free collectible poster, this time round it’s all about the Year of The Horse.

One on every BAO table. Eat. Read. Fold it up. Stick it on your wall and collect them all.

18/02/2026

The star of our Lunar New Year menu - Chilli Crab Noodles.

Chilli Crab is a classic Singaporean street food, usually served with a deep-fried BAO to mop up the sauce. We’ve made our version a noodle dish (or rice at Borough and Soho), served with extra chilli crab sauce so you can use the bouncy horse BAO to mop it all up. The sauce is a rich tomatoey garlic crab sauce with shrimp paste egg drop and white crab meat. It’s topped with tempura crab legs and salmon roe that, when mixed into the noodles, add little bursts of flavour to every bite, plus our homemade chilli oil and a touch of spring onion.

Chilli Crab Noodles: A Lunar New Year Delight

Available until Thursday 26th Feb across BAO

17/02/2026

Happy Year of the Horse.
新年快樂

We made a giant version of our Horse Bao to celebrate Lunar New Year. Big horse energy. On our Lunar New Year menu, the horse bao is there to mop up that spicy chilli crab sauce, but this one could probably handle the entire pot without breaking a sweat.
Disclaimer: Your horse bao will be normal-sized but still effective.

The Lunar New Year menu is available until Thursday 26th February

13/02/2026

Last week, we took over Dover Street Market’s Rose Bakery - cooking through the Dark Horse menu for a room that absolutely didn’t hold back at the Tachiagari launch party.

Towers of Prosperity Salad, Chilli Crab Noodles on silver platters and a major highlight - the caviar station. Our chef is right in the middle of it all, topping hot steamed bao with cream cheese, chives, and a generous bump of caviar. Ceremonial and slightly ridiculous - just what we wanted. Big thanks to our friends .caviar for supplying the goods.

Red Stallion whisky cocktails were knocked back. Horse-shaped bao went headfirst into the chocolate fountain.

If you were there, thanks for getting stuck in. If you weren’t - Lunar New Year dishes are on at BAO until Thursday 26 February

Address

2-8 Bloomberg Arcade
London
EC4N 8AR

Website

http://baolondon.com/

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