Bao Bao London in Croydon

I forgot to take pictures during this meal and only took pictures of the bubble milk tea, but the overall dining experience is still worth recording. This Taiwanese restaurant has a small storefront, so it’s easy to miss it if you don’t pay special attention, especially in this densely populated area with many dining options. However, this restaurant is the only Taiwanese restaurant in the area. It is a one-man business to a certain extent. Therefore, even though the space is limited, it still attracts many customers to visit. Since there are not many seats in the store, it is recommended to book a table in advance to avoid waiting for a long time. This time I came here from Sutton for lunch on a weekday, mainly because the store provides a member lunch set, which includes a cup of bubble milk tea. Compared with a la carte, the price/performance ratio is quite high. This set meal combination not only gives people the opportunity to taste the special dishes in the store, but also enjoy a cup of pearl milk tea. However, the performance of the pearl milk tea is quite satisfactory. The tea flavor is not strong enough and the taste is ordinary. The Q-bounciness of the pearls is not bad, but the overall performance is not particularly amazing. I will not miss it after drinking it once. If you come specifically for the bubble milk tea, you may feel a little disappointed, but if it comes with food, it is still an acceptable choice. This time we ordered curry pork chop rice. The taste was very rich and smooth. The curry sauce was just right and had a slight spicy taste. It blended well with the golden and crispy pork chop. It was very appetizing. The taste of the rice was also quite good and overall the performance was stable. My friend ordered Lu Pork Rice, which tasted equally good. The marinade was full of aroma and had a strong Taiwanese home-cooked flavor. The moderately fat and lean braised pork tasted even better after being mixed with rice. In addition, I also ordered salted crispy chicken this time. It tasted crispy and delicious, and the outer skin was fried to a crispy texture. However, the seasoning was a little lacking. It tasted more like ordinary fried chicken, but not the aroma that Taiwanese salted crispy chicken should have. Although it was fried well and the chicken was quite tender, if some nine-layer pagoda aroma could be added or the seasoning level of pepper could be increased, it would have a more Taiwanese flavor. As for the famous beef noodles in the store, we didn’t order it this time, mainly because of the high price and considering that it might not be full enough, so we finally chose rice as our staple food. However, if I have a chance to come back next time, I might consider trying this signature dish to see if it’s really worth a return visit. Overall, although this Taiwanese restaurant has a small space, the food is of good quality. If you want to find authentic Taiwanese food in this area, this is a good choice. Although the price is on the high side, if you can choose the lunch set meal, the overall price/performance ratio will be more reasonable. If you are interested in Taiwanese food, it is recommended to book a table in advance to avoid being disappointed or having to wait.

Bubble tea is very good, love the authentic taiwanese food

We had a wonderful meal delivered from Bao Bao. The service was fast and friendly and the food was to a great standard. There is a variety of menu options and of the many we tried, all tasted lovely. We would definitely order again!

5-Star Review for Bao Bao – Boxpark Croydon I had an amazing experience at Bao Bao in Boxpark Croydon! From the moment I ordered, the service was exceptional. They even gave us complimentary items with our order—I was lucky enough to get a Kiwi & Peach boba bubble tea, which was absolutely delicious! The food was fantastic, with generous portions that made it easy to share. Everything was well-packaged and arrived super secure, making it perfect for takeaway. One thing that really stood out was their attentiveness to allergies. I called ahead to let them know about my peanut allergy, and they were incredibly reassuring, ensuring that every precaution would be taken and the kitchen would be notified. It’s rare to find that level of care, and it made the experience even better. If you’re looking for great food, thoughtful service, and a little extra kindness thrown in, Bao Bao is the place to go. I’ll definitely be back!

I lived in Croydon for half a year before the epidemic and ate here almost every day. I tried it again after six years and it still tasted great! And the portions were a bit overwhelming (expectations were lowered after eating too much in the city center). I wish your bag business is prosperous!

Food is sooooo good. Tasty good flavours and really yummy. We love their bubble teas and get them regularly. This place is a real hidden gem for me and a real comfort to go eat there. We love it.

My first evening in London, excellent dishes, friendly service, highly recommended, thank you Stefan, Switzerland

I wanted to try the famous Bao for the first time, and I was surprised to see what it is. The truth is that it is smaller than I expected, but I must also say that after the first bite there was an explosion of very delicate but perfectly differentiated flavors in my mouth. The pork was soft and juicy with a very delicate texture. In the end I was happy with the experience and I will definitely return.

Very tasty foods in real Taiwanese style. Waiters / waitresses are very nice too!

Excellent extraordinary absolutely life changing experience here at bao bao where the only thing greater than the employees is the food!

Best tea in croydon, highly recommend. Great for dates and mates

My FAVOURITE restaurant in Croydon. Always consistently delicious. The pork bao buns are to die for, and the takoyaki is just heavenly. I haven’t had the pleasure of eating the beef noodle soup, but I’ve heard good things - I suppose that’s next on the list to try! Reasonably priced, centrally located, and the food is rich and flavourful. 10/10.

My no.1 choice every time when I’m Croydon town. Nice food and nice staff.

I highly recommend Bao Bao! It’s my favourite Taiwanese place to go and the food is really authentic. The staffs are so lovely too! As a Taiwanese person it’s so nice to see so many dishes from home on the menu! I’ll keep coming back just to try them all 😊

Best boba in croydon! Seriously! I just ordered on deliveroo on shift. And they gave us one on the house! So sweet!

Food was so delicious, will definitely comeback and try other dishes

We ordered pork bao, mushroom bao, fried egg tofu, Taiwanese chicken rice and beef noodles set menu and they were all tasted good like authentic Taiwanese flavour. My little girl enjoyed the bao and noodles so much. The restaurant is small but feels cozy and homely. Glad that we found this restaurant around our neighbourhood!

Great, authentic Taiwanese food.

Great food & service - quaint place

Been to this restaurant many times, service is very nice and the waiters are polite as well 👍🏻100% would recommend

Thai milk tea is my fave drink, not everywhere does is so this was a win for me! Food was creative and tasty. I never actually got a bao bun..I went for the Xmas set menu which consisted of starters and a main. The Katsu curry was really fresh and filling. Nice waiter in there and not too busy at lunch time which meant a more cosy experience was had 🥰

Amazing place and amazing customer service , very welcoming

Amazing food Amazing service Would come back

Tasty food, whoever says this is not authentic dont know shxt about TW food. Staffs are friendly, affordable menu compared to the horrendous price from box park next door

We had the food, bubble cocktails and sake which was all amazing! I will definitely recommend and I will be returning

Great food & service. Milkteas taste amazing!

Food are nice! We love all the starter!

Amazing bubble teas and very friendly service. My kids tell me it’s the best bubble tea they’ve tried! Great choice and beautifully presented

bubble tea is amazing so tasty!!

Customer for few years. Absolutely amazing place.

Knew about this authentic Taiwanese restaurant at East Croydon Boxpark from a Taiwan blog so went there to give it a try. Very authentic indeed and food is delicious particularly the bubble tea. Lovely logo too 😺

Authentic food with great service! The staff is friendly and caring. Never had such an outstanding Matcha Bubble Tea in a long time!

We had fried chicken bao and boba. They were nice

The fried pork cutlet is pretty good

Very tasty, fast and cheap, sadly i couldn't try those bao buns but the stir fried vegetables are very very good

A restaurant with a true taste of Taiwan. The beef noodle soup and chicken cutlet rice brought back memories of home🥹🥹 such a nostalgic feeling.

Lovely little place with amazing food

Food and drinks are good! Love the snacks and bubble tea! Staffs are nice!

There are so many options for delicious bubble tea! The staff are very kind and welcoming too.

Stopped by for a late lunch when passing by. The beef noodle soup was great! Very generous portion. Beef was soft and flavorful. Would definitely recommend!

This is the go-to restaurant in Croydon. We go there or order takeaway once or twice every week. Great quality authentic food with good portion. Anything on the food menu is worth trying. The bubble tea and the snow ice is also really nice! Highly recommend!

The food was extremely tasty and flavourful and the restaurant had a nice and cosy vibe. Will definitely come again!

Crispy salted chicken is super good👍🏻

Braised pork rice is super good👍

Brown sugar pearl fresh milk tea is delicious😋👍🏻

Love the braised pork rice bowl!! Beef noodles is good too. Quick service, friendly staff and reasonable price:)

Lovely bubble tea! Would come again :)

I went to this place and loved it. Customer service was amazing and there were many flavours which were great and we had a whole hr just to drink boba

Traditional Taiwan restaurants, nice and friendly staff

Food always tasty and sooo much choice on the bubble tea menu. The food is also super quick, we only waited 10 minutes for all 3 mains to come out!

The food is delicious! I had the authentic Taiwanese beef noodle soup which is really good.

Absolutely no hospitality. Ordered lunch for friends who came out of town, and did not get a complete order. When we called the restaurant to rectify the situation. They said that they could do nothing and gave us the excuse of the driver stealing the food. Expensive with tiny portions. 10/10 would not order again. Save yourself some trouble and order pf changs.

Authentic Taiwanese food , flavourful and good atmosphere. Particularly enjoy the braise beef noodle

I really love the food, it also had a decent price and the portion of the food was worth it. Really nice bubble teas as welll

Service was really good as the staff were lovely and the food tasted good. I would recommend this to other people. It also had really nice decor.

The food is always fantastic and the service is always quick and friendly! 5 stars!

Disappointed thoroughly with the pork bao unfortunately since I’ve heard so much about it since when it first started out years ago. Only had two baos as takeaway and it’s not value for money as well since the meat is such a tiny slice and not much flavour. Can’t say that it’s authentic at all.

Friendly staff and efficient service. Wide selection of flavours for both milky and fruity bubble tea. We had a Papaya and Lychee tea. The Lychee is quite good.We will come back to try different flavor on next visit.

I came to try this Taiwanese restaurant as I’m Taiwanese and wow it was a amazing experience

Great food and costumer service !

It was amazing, lovely service and the food was well presented and tasted amazing

I went here with my friend and we had the most spectacular time here.The service was absolutely outstanding.This place has to me my favourite bubble tea shop ever.Highly recommended

bao bao has SUCH good bubble tea, i came with my friend and they had such nice workers, id definitely recommend and come again!! amazing all round!

Hands down one of the best restaurants food is great and bubble tea is on point. Ordered a bit of everything and portions are big enough to share and have leftovers. Would share a picture but finished the food before had a chance!

Everything we ordered was delicious, freshly cooked and so flavourful! Milk tea cocktails were a real treat too! Can’t wait to go back! Really kind and helpful service.

Very nice food and a very nice place to sit and enjoy your food would highly reccomend

Lovely authentic Taiwanese food at reasonable price and wonderful service. Spiced chicken with chili and pepper was super nice. Stir fry vegetables was a definite surprise, all of us agreed that’s the TOP 1 MUST TRY in Bao Bao (subject to personal taste preferences). If you’re living in East Croydon, I can’t think of reason why you haven’t tried these amazing food. If you’re from somewhere else, I would say it’s worth visiting East Croydon just for this perfect meal. Would definitely visit for the second time. :)

I can't believe I've never eaten here before! So good. Not many places do takoyaki like here!

the lady at the till was amazing and kind as well as the bubble tea i got a taro tea and it tasted amazing the shop also looked amazing 100% i would come again

Small restaurant with great Taiwanese food! Highly recommend the sweet potato fries!

Small and friendly restaurant. We had chicken dumplings, fried chicken and calamari, all tasty with great dips. Reasonably priced.

This place has great food, tasty drinks and good service

I often go to Baobao's restaurant, which is right next to the station. It's very convenient. Some classic Cantonese songs are played in the restaurant, and several of the dishes recommended by the chef are quite good.

The fried sweet potato was good, also the chicken in the Bao was good but the vegetable that put inside the bao was not good, they should improve the vegetable inside the bao (change to something else beside this kimchi look thing but that’s not kimchi taste).

Had lovely time and enjoyed our food totally!!! Great experience!!

Totally loved the place. Specially the boba tea and the sweet potato fries

Authentic Taiwanese food. One of those our favourite restaurant whenever we drop by Croydon area. We will be back again.

Lovely decoration and atmosphere Delicious food.

We were in London for a close friends wedding. The Night before, we went out to explore. We found The Box Park area to be very noisy. Plus one of the security was rude to us, so we decided to go elsewhere. Undecided, we found Bao Bao. We were unsure, but decided to give it a try. I am soooooooo glad we did. The food was amazing. Atmosphere was chilled. Staff were so friendly and helpful. We were in uncharted waters, unsure of the food. The staff explained everything to us. Even one of the customers who was from Taiwan also helped. The entire experience was amazing. We just loved the place. If I lived local to this fantastic place, I would be in there all of the time. Hopefully the guys who served and cooked for us will read this. I would just like to say thankyou from myself and my wife Dawn for a truly fantastic meal and lovely experience. x

We were in London for a close friends wedding. Night before, we went out to explore. We found The Box Park area to be very noisy. Plus one of the security was rude to us, so we decided to go elsewhere. Undecided, we found Bao Bao. We were unsure, but decided to give it a try. I am soooooooo glad we did. The food was amazing. Atmosphere was chilled. Staff were so friendly and helpful. We were in uncharted waters, unsure of the food. The staff explained everything to us. Even one of the customers who was from Taiwan also helped. The entire experience was amazing. We just loved the place. If I lived local to this fantastic place, I would be in there all of the time. Hopefully the guys who served and cooked for us will read this. I would just like to say thankyou for a very fantastic meal and experience. x

Lovely staff and good drinks. Would recommend:)

The brown sugar milk is delicious. The braised pork rice and salty crispy chicken are very authentic.

Chicken fried bao is our favourite!

Really bad customer service. I was waiting for 15 mins for a drink and they just don't care and aren't interested in serving.

Lovely food, friendly service, great atmosphere

Bao bao used to be my wife and I fave takeaway by a country mile. Unfortunately they have recently changed both their menu and packaging they use to deliver. What used to be fresh, crispy and tasty every single time is now soggy, less fresh and all in all a huge let down. They used to separate the rice, chicken and salad so each item stayed as it should be. Now it’s all in one bowl and as a result becomes like one gelatinous mass by the time it turns up. They also now force you to order hugely underwhelming vegetable sides that look thrown together and are cooked poorly. Why they would change a winning formula is a total mystery and we will not be ordering from here anymore.

This is such a nice place, the food is amazing and the servers were so nice!

Good price-to-value , convenient and fast, if you miss the Asian taste

We spent £35 on lunch and ended up throwing the majority away. The Pork bao was ok.. otherwise everything else was awful. Chicken was fatty and flavours were poor. Overall a terrible lunch.

Extremely good Taiwanese food, Taiwanese pop music and the best damn Bao s'mores you will ever eat. Also the staff are incredibly good and very friendly.

Fabulous quality of food for a reasonable price 😋

Katsu curry was excellent ! 10/10 Will definitely come back !

Very delicious! My favourite Taiwanese Restaurant.

I love this place with my whole heart!!! The decor is very sweet and the stuff are all polite

Great to eat in or take away. Delicious food and nice relaxed eating atmosphere.

Very tasty food and nice atmosphere place. Will recommend.

Really good food, we have been coming here for 6 years

A little gem that serves delicious and authentic Taiwanese street food. My kids, hubby and I enjoyed it. We lived in Asia for 10 years and went to Taiwan a few times. The food at Bao Bao is amazing. The staff is also super friendly. Also very kids friendly.

Authentic Taiwanese food. Everything we had is delicious, just like what I had before in Taiwan. Bubble tea is amazing too. Attentive service as well. No doubt I would return!

Lovely place! Food didn't take long to arrive, taste yummy. The bubble tea was the best.