Harden's says
Open in May in James Street, Marylebone, the latest from the Bao group is a tribute to the Taiwanese dumpling house. Open all day from noon, it will also serve cold plates for diners in a hurry. The group has five other venues in London, with another opening in Battersea this summer.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“Eat in or take out, these buns are delicious” – the universally agreed take on this Taiwanese street-food operation founded 13 years ago by Shing Tat, his wife Erchen Chang and sister Wai Ting Chung, now with six sites across the capital and part of the JKS Restaurants group. The “good-value” filled steamed buns “really make you want to go back” – “I called in 3 times in the same afternoon!” – while “the noodles are fab, too”. The only real complaint concerns the settings, with some branches “far too cramped” given their popularity.
Summary
“A first-choice Asian restaurant” – say fans of this “friendly, buzzy” chain serving “delicious” Taiwanese filled buns that can constitute “a quick bite for lunch, or a longer meal with friends”. Launched as a street-food stand in 2012 by Erchen Chang, her husband Shing Tat and his sister Wai Ting Chung, the group is now backed by the all-conquering JKS Restaurants and opened its sixth venue in Battersea Power Station in 2023. Top Tip – “beef with black pepper sauce and rice is a must-order at King’s Cross”.
Summary
“The best-ever bao buns: so light and fluffy with absolutely delicious fillings” again win raves for this five-strong chain, backed by JKS Restaurants (which plans a Battersea opening later in 2022). “Worth queuing for, although happily they now take bookings”. Top Menu Tips – “very good Taiwan-style spicy beef noodles”; “the warm bao with horlicks ice-cream is the most unusual!”
Summary
“The bao are just so good” at these “charming” and stylish Taiwanese cafés, whose eponymous steamed buns filled with “brilliant” and “magnificent” Asian flavours have been a sensation since their first opening at Netil Market in London Fields in 2013. There are now six venues, the most recent of which have branched out in new directions: Café Bao at King’s Cross, serving an East Asian take on Western classics, such as chicken XO Kiev and baked ham hock congee pie, and Bao Noodle Shop, on the former site of Andina in Shoreditch, which is inspired by old-school Taiwanese beef noodle shops.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
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