Baozi Inn

For those familiar with Northern & Northeastern Chinese cuisine, this is a must-​go in London’s Chinatown. You’d be pleasantly surprised by the décor — at least I was, having not seen such an earnest attempt to emulate the revolutionary era by a Chinese restauranteur in so long (not even in mainland China, let alone the Chinatowns in the US). We ordered practically everything on the menu — skewers, noodles (they’ve got an assortment of local noodles from various regions in China; and for those who know, they’re very different), baozi (buns), jiaozi (dumplings), cold skin noodles, hot spicy stews… loved the skewers and the baozi especially. Prices are really down to earth as well. Not sure how those unfamiliar with the cuisine feel, but for us it was like a trip home.

Stop reading this review and make a beeline for this awesome little joint! We enjoyed this more than Baiwei.

Utilized a Lonely Planet book and found this in the heart of Chinatown/​SoHo in London. There was a wait outside the restaurant but luckily with a party of two we were able to get in faster.
We ordered a spicy beef noodle soup, pork dumplings, vegetable chicken noodle soup, and spinach with ginger appetizer all for around £30 which isn’t bad since we left full!
Food was good except the beef noodle soup had lots of fat on the meet but they put a lot of meet into the soup!
Definitely would recommend this restaurant for Chinese! Get there early and make sure you have cash on you.
Also the staff is pretty upfront and straight forward with you so don’t expect your waiters to get friendly.

The decoration is trying to imitate a restaurant in 1960 to 1970 China. The price is very reasonable. The noodles are very tasty but kind of salty.

Went to this restaurant because of Lonely Planet’s recommendation. To be honest it’s a bit hard to find a Sichuan food restaurant in Chinatown because most of the restaurants there serve Cantonese food. I was glad that I’ve chosen this one — totally saved me from eagerness for spicy Chinese food! We’ve ordered sour and spicy noodles (酸辣粉), spicy wonton and congee. The congee was so-​so but the rest were tasty! Would recommend this when my friend goes to London.

Restaurant dans le Chinatown londonien au cadre très agréable. Le service y est un peu speed et on se sent un peu pressé, mais les plats sont bons (noodles et wontons pour notre part) pour pas trop cher (7,50£).

Average baozi, no sauce, unpolitical and rude staff. They charged an extra tea and didn’t accept my complain

Baozi Inn is different from any other Chinese restaurant, and not just in London but anywhere. Their chef is a genius, the décor authentic, unapologetically Communist and contemporary. That’s why the queue to get in here on some days reaches the end of the block.
Their food is absolutely outstanding in freshness and flavour, but you will not find your average chow main and dumplings dishes here. Having eaten at Baozi on several occasions, I have seen more than once people puzzled at the lack of monotony in their menu leave after having sat down.
But that is their loss.
Which other Chinese restaurant serves a cold salad starter of the freshest spinach steamed to perfection with added freshly squeezed ginger juice, toasted sesame oil and a few cannellini beans? Deliciously tasty, and healthy, too. Has to be tried, Ginger Juice Spinach won’t disappoint. The Beancurd Salad is equally delicious, nothing here is stir fried into conformity. Their soup starters are equally unique, very oily, and the chilli there is the hottest anywhere.
My favourite dish is the Pockmarked Old Woman Tofu, served with boiled rice. The sauce is so spicy that the waiter warns you beforehand, and the distinctive, zesty flavour in the red sauce comes through despite the heat.
The seating arrangement is somewhat cramped and uncomfortable in that you basically sit on a plank of wood with no cushioning, which I guess keeps the patrons flowing through as you won’t be staying after food for a long chat sitting on a wooden stool. Service is fast to the point of harassment. Prices are average, with starters at around £ 4.50 and mains at £ 9.
You can not pay with cards here, cash only, and you are not welcome to charge your phone should you need to.

If you don’t mind eating your noodles and dumplings under a big picture of the big Chairman (Mao, that is) and other commie kitsch, this is a great choice for fairly authentic, reasonably-​priced Sichuan and Hunan snacks in Chinatown. The Chinese name basically means «the people’s co-​op» and the theme seems to be «revolutionary nostalgia,» with little tables and stools that encourage efficient, utilitarian eating — lingering over lunch is something for evil capitalist roaders! And those wonders of capitalism that are credit cards are not accepted, so hit the ATM beforehand.
I stopped in for a quick lunch of wood ear fungus with «mountain peppers» and Sichuan beef noodle soup while in the neighborhood. The fungus was pleasant — a good example of a very classic dish, although I’m not sure what made the chilies «mountain» instead of just regular peppers. The soup was delicious. Excellent, rich broth, lots of good veggies and tender braised beef. However, it definitely needed a kick of spice. When I asked the server for some extra chilies, he brought me less than a thimbleful and it was mostly oil. I had a cold at the time and was coughing, and he laughed at me and said, «Very spicy.» I retorted, «British spicy.» He said, «Chinese spicy!» Yeah, maybe Beijing spicy, but certainly not Chengdu spicy. To be fair, I had been speaking in Chinese and I sound like Borat’s American cousin when I do so, so the staff had every right to laugh at me a bit :) But I was still not nearly as bad as the big table of drunk Brits next to me who were throwing pieces of food all over their table in a feeble attempt to eat with chopsticks — pointer: you hold both sticks with the same hand, not one in each hand, guys.
I’d stopped in here a few years ago, before I moved to London, for some dan dan noodles, which I also remember enjoying. I’ll likely be back — great for a no-​frills, tasty pit stop.

菜还行，服务很一般，只收现金。
酸辣粉很过瘾，凉拌百叶很脆。饺子和包子都一般，麻辣烫的食材和汤汁的味道都不够好。
如果你想尝试一下文革风格的餐厅，可以去一下这家或者附近的“大跃进”。各种大字报，海报，红灯笼和红歌，还挺像模像样的。
我们的服务员态度还行，但有点不靠谱。明明可以点麻辣烫却告诉我们不能做了，上饺子也不给醋，问她要放在豆浆里的糖答应了却忘了拿。
吃川菜的话还是隔壁大跃进味道比较好。

The food is delicious, authentic and fairly cheap. There’s a loyalty scheme of sorts, and a couple house specials, like the Chinese plum drink and the Sichuanese spicy beef noodles, which are worth a try. The staff could afford to be a bit more courteous, though. They can be quite curt at times, and often try to rush you to finish the meal or leave the restaurant.

Top 10 Chinese in London. Hole in the wall gem. Authentic with Chinese opera music and red China posters on the wall.
The Baozi’s are great. Cucumber salad is incredible. Pretty much anything on the menu is amazing including the veggie stuff
Don’t embarrass yourself by asking for Chinese fried rice. Also watch out for the Baozi Nazi. If you dilly-​dally with ordering she’ll snap at you. Then it’s «No Baozi for you!»

Tasty food — TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.
I would not wish this kind of attitude and service on anyone… it is certainly not worth it to endure even if the food was excellent.
Our issue: we were a party of three adults and two small children (ages 2 and 4) for a mid– afternoon snack (14:30) and were seated at a small table for four. When we asked for an additional chair for the two-​year old, the waiter said the table was only for four… in other words: you can leave or not feed one of the kids???
Then upon ordering he stated that there was a minimum of £8 charge per person… barely making a concession that the children could not eat an adult portion of anything. If he could’ve stated this policy when we were seated, we would’ve selected another restaurant.
One side note: we didn’t feel too discriminated upon… we observed another patron being scolded for helping himself to an extra spoon.

I was introduced to this place by a fellow Asian cuisine-​obsessed friend who dines there often. Knowing how much she enjoys a bit of spice, I was ready and excited to embrace the idea. I cannot remember the exact dish names, but we had a chili and cucumber salad, several of their trademark skewers and I ordered the spicy beef noodles. Everything was delicious and came to the table super fast. Just be prepared to leave as efficiently as you’ve been served – this is not a place where a table can host idle diners digesting their food at a leisurely pace, so you will be expected (a fact evidenced by all the glances coming our way from staff) to pay quickly and vacate.

This restaurant’s décor can best be described as Maoist kitsch, with Cultural Revolution-​era propaganda posters on the wall and Communist opera playing over the soundsystem. I appreciated the attention to detail in terms of how the restaurant looks. It’s one of the smallest of the restaurants on the block, and can be difficult to notice amidst the flash of the rest of the street.
My date and I started with a pork baozi each. I wish we had split one, because I was expected a smaller-​sized bun, as one has at dim sum. These were MASSIVE, and had to be picked up with two hands. My date was quite a fan of this place, though, and wanted to have a whole one to himself. The pork was minced and in a thick gravy, fine but underwhelming – I think I prefer the sweet pink cha siu than the kind of pork used here.
I had the Dan Dan noodles after, and my date had spicy beef noodles. I preferred my Dan Dan to his beef noodles, but they were not especially memorable – actually, I’m having trouble coming up with anything especially positive or negative to say about them. I love Dan Dan noodles and theirs were fine, but not special. I have only eaten here and at Tokyo Diner in terms of Chinatown restaurants, and I vastly prefer Tokyo Diner. That being said, if you’re coming specifically for Chinese in Chinatown, this is a nice, relatively authentic, buffet-​free option.
One more note: there was a bit of a line outside the door when we arrived, and we were in line behind an American couple who were incensed at the idea of a wait. The husband stalked away towards Shaftesbury Avenue, with his wife following. My date and I were seated at the two-​top meant for them.
Ten minutes later, the couple stormed back and demanded we get up so they could sit at «their» table. As an American abroad I was pretty embarrassed at the scene they were making. Hungry Americans! Let’s all do better!

Un beau macaron «Recommandé par Michelin» invite à entrer dans ce petit resto chinois respirant l’authenticité (du moins pour le profane comme moi) dans le Chinatown à proximité de Leicester Square. L’accueil est speed et désagréable (authentique, quoi), la déco sans concession occidentale, les tables collées les unes aux autres et on s’assoit sur des tabourets.
Je suis prêt à subir tout ça avec le sourire si le dépaysement s’accompagne d’un plaisir dans l’assiette… malheureusement, les plats testés (nouilles pékinoises et soupe) étaient super gras, super salés tout en étant assez fades (une perf), je suis certain que la gastronomie pékinoise a beaucoup mieux à offrir.
Attention, paiement en liquide uniquement, mais pas de surprise possible, c’est la première question qu’on vous pose en entrant et on vous expédiera sans ménagement vers le distributeur de billets le plus proche si vous êtes en manqué de fonds.

This place is my religion.
Called Bao Zi Inn in English but 人民公社 — ‘The People’s Canteen’ in Chinese (a tongue in cheek joke about life in China during the latter part of the 20^th century.) This is, in my humble opinion, the most authentic of the Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. Its menu is small and modest and consists mostly of noodles, dumplings, cold salads and individual rice dishes. The restaurant is small (don’t bring a large party here!)
I come here often for lunch and order dan dan noodles, zha jiang noodles or beef and bamboo noodles. Their noodles are excellent and very authentic, certainly the best I’ve eaten in the UK. Some of the spicy dishes are very spicy so beware but if you’re a fan of Sichuan cuisine, maybe ask them to add extra chilli is it’s not quite THAT authentic. ;) The fact that this place is always filled with Chinese expats and students longing for a taste of home should be pretty telling. Do not expect to find the kinds of dishes you’ve become accustomed to at your local takeaway or at any of the other restaurants along Gerrard Street.
The seating isn’t very comfortable but this place is really designed for a quick meal rather than a long drawn out affair so I’ve never found t to be a particular problem.
12.5% service charge is included. Minimum charge per person is something like £8 so that you don’t come in and just order a bowl of £7.50 noodles. Get a pot of tea and everything will be under a tenner. 2 people can enjoy massive bowls of noodles or a rice and meat dish for a very reasonable £16−17. What’s not to love about that?

Very interesting food, but while I’m glad I came here I’m not likely to ever become a regular because if you do not particularly like fish or red meat then your options are vastly reduced! Most interesting looking dish i have had so far this year award goes to the gelatinous eggs I attached as a photo.
They squeezed 3 of us onto a two person table. While this was a bit annoying, especially if anyone on the table behind wanted to move… And arranging the various sized bowls and plates that arrived took some arranging… would I have preferred to wait another 10 – 15 minutes for a more suitable table? Probably not.

Bao zi nothing special
Dan Dan — it’s not even the right color
Mabo tofu rice — best dish here
Soy milk meh
Dumplings pretty good
Niu Rou moan are u kidding me
Fen zen pai Hu bland
Spinach whatever

A friend took us here, so I really wanted to love it. Unfortunately, I didn’t. Nor did my fiancé.
Baozi’s best dish, as far as I could tell, were its dumplings. The dough tasted very fresh, but they only come in pork. Otherwise, the offerings were a little uninspiring. The steamed buns were huge and a little dry. My beef in spicy broth contained very little beef, no spice, but LOTS of oil. The broth was basically oil. My fiancé’s pork noodle dish contained very little pork and lots of unflavored noodles. So the food was just sort of… bland.
The prices are okay, the atmosphere is cozy, the seats have no seat-​backs.

After a number of drinks, some spicy food is just what you need to wake yourself up to ride off home… or to the next party. Baozi Inn was just the ticket to meet our needs.
Despite it being quite full around 9pm, Pam T and I were seated within minutes and apparently just snuck in under last orders. We quickly ordered a range of dishes including (and I’m spelling this phonetically so don’t get on my case) Mai Pao Tofu, some sort of sliced beef in chilli sauce with chillies, house special dumplings, and I’m sure there was something else that my wine soaked brain lacks the capacity to recall.
Overall, the food was delicious with clean flavours, fiery spices, and sweet high notes to complement the heat. The dumplings were slightly gummy and perhaps could have used a few more seconds in a hot pan for my tastes. I demolished the beef, hoarding the tender succulent slices as much as I could. Luckily my dining partner is semi-​vegetarian and didn’t mind focusing her efforts on the tofu.
Service was overall good although our tea did take an unusually long time to arrive. And it was piping hot which, given the warmth of the day, was probably the wrong thing to try to drink quickly. Burned tongues aside, it was a tasty quick and easy meal and some of the better Chinese food I’ve had lately. I’m definitely keeping it in mind for those times I want something a bit more substantial than a steamed char siu bao from the vendor just outside their door.

Baozi inn, Sichuaese street food, have I gone to heaven?
The last couple of years, after reading Fuchsia Dunlop’s memoir and cook books, I’ve had a fascination with Sichuan cuisine. So getting a chance to try someone else’s interpretation was a great treat. After wondering around near where I thought it was I stumbled upon Baozi. We quickly got a table, but you can tell space could be tight in this tiny place. Service was quick and reasonable. I think the people who might have complained about the service are used to have some kind of relationship with their waiter or something, but I saw nothing wrong with the service here.
We got some dumplings (Divine!), some spicy noodles, and some Dan Dan noodles. All of it extra yummy. could have had a bit more heat but I’m guessing things are scaled back just a bit for the European pallet. The sauce on the dumplings was great.
But the best, mind blowing thing was the ginger juice spinach. You must try this when you go here! It is so yummy I can barely contain myself. I also like the level of garlic in the dumplings. A fair bit of smashed garlic added on the sauce that is put over the dumplings. I’m serving my own that way next time I make them.
Just wish this place wasn’t so far away! Go and enjoy, but tell them you aren’t afraid of the heat or the pepper corns and you’ll get a good sweat going!

Im TimeOut Magazin wurde dieses kleine Restaurant sehr gehypt. Das ist eine gute Richtlinie, war aber in der Vergangenheit auch bereits teilweise von meiner Sicher her total daneben. Diesmal zum Glück nicht!
Wir sind ins Baozi Inn an einem dieser Samstage in der Stadt, wenn der Magen sich angeregt durch all die verschiedenen Gerüche um einem herum, anmeldet und nach einem kleinen Snack fragt. Mit dieser Devise sind wir also in Baozi Inn. Trotz der ungewöhnlichen Zeit (3:30pm) waren ¾ der Tische besetzt. Der Turnover war hoch, was wohl den unbequemen Hockern zuzuschreiben ist — am Essen hat es auf jeden Fall nicht gelegen. Vielleicht waren die Bedienungen einfach zu schnell und effizient oder dem ein oder anderen hat es unter Mao-​Bilder nicht wirklich geschmeckt?
Uns hat es hingegen sehr geschmeckt. Dem Namen entsprechend haben wir natürlich Baozis gegessen. Das sind praktische chinesische Dampfnudeln mit verschiedener Füllung, am besten hat mir die vegetarische mit gut gewürzter Frühlingszwiebel-​Mischung geschmeckt. Überhaupt waren alle Speisen gut gewürzt — nicht immer ist das bei chinesischer Küche so. Aber Liebhaber von Chilli sollten auf keinen Fall die Drachen-​Dumplings probieren, schmackhafte Dumplings in einer Knoblauch-​Chiliöl-​Soße.
Die einzige Enttäuschung war der Millet Porridge, frei übersetzt, der Hirsebrei. Eine dünne, geschmacklose suppenartige Angelegenheit, die wohl traditionellerweise mit einem Baozi gegessen wird. Naja, letzterer hat dem ganzen zum Glück den Geschmack gegeben.
Für nur einen Snack haben wir also viel ausprobiert, alles war es wert, für ein ausgedehntes Abendessen wieder zu kommen.