Bao is one of London’s success stories, growing from a wooden hut-style street food stall to a multi-site restaurant group. It began as a stall in Netil Market and now has multiple restaurants across the city, including locations in Soho, Borough Market, King’s Cross, Shoreditch, Marylebone, Battersea and the City. Their latest site, Bao Borough, which is where I am for this post, opened in May 2019 on the edge of Borough Market that was once backed by the JKS Group. At that time, JKS Restaurants – one of the most impressive hospitality groups in the industry – had helped Bao expand from a street food stall to a much-loved London brand. The concept here is simple yet highly effective: soft Taiwanese steamed buns filled with an array of slow-braised proteins. Ordering is straightforward – you simply write down with the supplied pencil how many of each gua bao (steamed bun) you want from the menu. There is also an array of side dishes, such as ox-cheek croquettes, which are a nod to crisply shelled, slow-cooked greatness. The buns themselves are small – maybe a three-bite job – which encourages you to eat more. The waitress always suggests two each; I usually have four. In case you missed them, I’ve written about Bao Fitzrovia before (twice) – you can see those posts here and here. However, note that the Fitzrovia location closed at the end of 2022 after nearly seven years of operation
We ordered some of their cocktails with enough quirks to satisfy any hipster. There was the grapeade £5, iron shake £5, sour plum tea £5 and yakult float £5.
First up was the classic bao £5, a bun you can get in all of the Bao restaurants. It’s filled with slow-braised sticky pork belly, preserved greens and crushed peanuts. The pork is finely chopped for denture-friendly eating, unlike the larger slabs you’ll find at some of the sibling restaurants.
From the sea came the scallop skewers – roe intact, skewered and coated in a thick layer of spiced beef butter. It was like XO sauce on steroids, kind of. They definitely wanted you to know about it too, as they were a punchy £8.25 per stick.
The chicken nugget bao £5.75 was a piece of panko-crumbed thigh meat dressed with a viscous orange sauce, akin to mayo. With it came a thick coin of onion and some token iceberg – the lager lout of the salad world – all sandwiched inside their black sesame bun. The whole thing was a two-bite wonder, with a back-hit of balance sheet. Somehow the accountants got to this one and decided to make it smaller than I remember. Scroll down to see what I mean – the photo was taken at Taste London back in 2017.
Bao’s Taste London version of their chicken nugget bao. I felt a bit short changed with the Borough version.
Everyone is face down inhaling at this point.
Much more compelling were the prawn shia song bao £6.50. Think of a mini fried doughnut dog, packed with sweet, succulent prawns that taste like the sea’s finest confectionery. The sweet-on-sweet hit was perfectly balanced by the burst of chopped, fragrant coriander stalks – that fresh, herbaceous kick gave it the magic. Easily my favourite, so naturally, I ordered two.
House salad £4 were a pile of forest green bitter leaves coated in sweet vinegar, we eat our greens as we’re good boys.
If you’re after something more butch, go for the 40-day aged beef with Taipei butter rice £9.50. What you get are slices of sweet, ruby-red beef with a dark, caramelised bark sear that’s pure flavour power. For extra richness, there’s a confit egg yolk made for bursting – doubling up as a silky sauce that ties it all together. Honestly, it’s one of the best things you can eat.
We also got the home style pork jowl £5.50 that came on a bed of julienne spring onions, punchy hot oil and the sweet funk of vinegar. Just looking at it made me pile on the pounds, but the tongue melting qualities were really rewarding.
Finally came the stretched beef meatball with a sunny-side-up fried egg £6.75. What landed on the table was a dark, charred skewer of mystery meat, resting in a puddle of sweetened soy and topped with chopped raw onions. We were asked to mix it all together before digging in – a request we happily accepted.
Venner finished off with a curry cheese bao £5, he said it was tasty, we’ll need to take his word for it. My dessert was the prawn doughnut dog.
The verdict:
When did I go? May 2019
The damage: Expect to pay £50/60 per head with drinks
The good: The 40-day aged beef, pork jowl, and prawn doughnut dog were stunning – each bursting with deft touches. The chicken nugget bao was a crispy, tangy delight, though somehow smaller than I remember. The scallops skewered with spiced beef butter packed a punch, but came with a premium price tag. Finally, the stretched beef meatball with a sunny-side-up egg was a smoky, savoury mystery that worked once mixed together.
The bad: The obvious downside is the wallet‑singeing prices for what you get – take the chicken nugget bao as a prime example. The version here limps out of the kitchen with no guns blazing. I don’t mind paying good money for great food, but at least give us some value for it. Put all of my moaning aside, I still think you’ll get fed really well here.
Rating: 3.5/5
Would I go again? Still deciding
Address: 13 Stoney St, London SE1 9AD
Phone: https://baolondon.com/restaurant/bao-borough/
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