BAO + BBQ in Cheltenham - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Lovely warm atmosphere, attentive service, delicious food, fair price.

Our vist to BAO & BBQ was nothong short of exquisite! The service was outstanding and the food was out of this world. The Bang Bang Cauliflower was unreal and then we were surprised at the end of the meal with a BAO Bun dessert! We will be back again soon!

Really love the dining experience here, clean and cosy. Food was good with a Korean twist. Friendly staffs around.

The fastest and most exquisite service with fantastic food. Thank you!

Great hospitality. An ideal experience where one has the space to enjoy an amazing meal with attentive service that isn't overbearing or pretentious. The price is right, the meal perfect, with a concise and fitting wine list.

Second time coming here and it was a lovely experience once again. Food is so flavoursome and lovely. My wife and I shared 10 small plates/sides between us and that was more than enough. The bang bang cauliflower, the arancini and the Korean fries were all particularly good!

Brilliant and thank you for my birthday cake!

Lovely food and service. Fair pricing for the quality. Overall a great evening. Some of the food is a littleee spicy though 🤣

The food is delicious. It was my partner’s birthday and they brought him a little cake with a candle which was lovely. Just a small qualm that they do not make it clear when offering water that they are going to bring you bottled water and charge for it so be sure to specify that you want tap water!

Lovely restaurant. Excellent food and conscientious service. Minor point - they have clear dietary information on the website but would be helpful to include on the menu too. Otherwise, wonderful!

Beautiful environment and amazing food. Immaculate vibes all round.

Really lovely, tasty food and great atmosphere. Very friendly service from Christian. We will definitely be back when we are next in Cheltenham.

Amazing food and service. Best restaurant in cheltenham by far!

Have to say that this was the best meal i’ve had in a long while. The brisket burger was perfection, best burger i have ever had and the rest of the food was absolute top-tier. Servers were super friendly, service wasnt slow but wasnt fast-food paced. Lovely restaurant, and I will definitely be returning. Amazing. Highly recommend. (Think they mustve put something in my food- ive never been this enthusiastic about a meal in my life)

Food was amazing and the staff were so nice and welcoming…would 10/10 recommend!!

Delicious food. Welcoming and efficient staff. We had lunch here it was a very reasonable price. I had a beef brisket bao bun, bang bang cauliflower, vegetable dumplings, Diet Coke & cappuccino. My friend had a mushroom bao, noodles, vegetable dumplings, sweet bao & tonic water. We cannot fault the food and will return to try more dishes. We were comfortably full after our meal. All our food & drinks came to £50 for two of us. There were a lunch offers on the menu for £15 & £22 per person.

Great service from Christian and delicious food! Lovely for a special occasion.

Here for the second year in a row for our anniversary. Christian was the perfect host and made it a perfect meal. Thanks the Christian and the team ❤️

Christian was excellent amazing service, food was brilliant

Had our anniversary meal here and our first time visiting Cheltenham When we arrived we were greeted by Christian who was incredible friendly and helpful throughout our meal The food was incredible (would definitely suggest anyone orders the chicken bao and blackened cod) All in all we are so glad we chose here for such an important day Christian also gave us a small little sweet treat for our special day Thank you Christian and the rest of the team! We will be back

Such a great place. Highly suggest coming here if you want some good food with a lovely atmosphere and wonderful food (highly suggest the chicken bao buns) Our server Christian was amazing - really helpful and clarified anything that we queried and did a smashing job with our anniversary (he even dropped a little cake that said happy anniversary, even though we didn’t order dessert - so thoughtful!) Great place to dine x

Lovely food & great atmosphere. We were served by Christan who was so friendly and helpful.

Incredible food, great service. Highly recommend.

Wine was great, food was amazing, but the service was absolutely fantastic. Atom and mikki took great care of us

Just had an absolutely wonderful meal. Food was excellent as was the Service. Will definitely go again. Sue x

We went here for my fiancé’s birthday and it was some of the best food and service we’ve ever had. We were served by Christian who was brilliant all night!

Delicious food. Highly recommend.

Amazing food and experience, will be back again!

Lovely food and great cocktails thank you

Great service, everyone is super friendly and the food is beautifully presented and delicious. We were in for lunch today and had the bang bang cauliflower, dashi noodles and chicken skewers - so tasty. Every time I come here it feels like a treat!

Delicious food, fabulous service what more could you want. Our server was Christian and he was so lovely.

Lovely meal, great choice of options, excellent value for money

Great food and service, thank you!

Been here twice now and neither time has disappointed. Food is beyond excellent and getting to watch it being made in the open kitchen is a great experience. Mikki has looked after us both times and his, along with the rest of the teams, service was top notch. I can highly recommend this restaurant to everyone and can’t wait to come back.

Absolutely wonder. Great food cocktails and amazing service. Highly recommend

Booked a last minute table. My first impression was the friendly host who greeted me amicably. I was truly accommodated with a pleasant service by the manager Micky. The food was amazing! You have to try the drunken crispy duck Boa Bun! The cod & Korean fries was flavoursome & tasteful. Thank you Bao + BBQ for an awesome experience!

We had an excellent meal! Christian was a great server

Fabulous service, amazing food. We will definitely be back 😊

Visited for the first time…, for lunch …, beautiful food… my 12 year old daughter had a wagyu beef burger absolutely delicious food

Have been looking to pop in to Bao+BBQ for ages and so glad that we did. Food and staff amazing and service impecible…Somu and the team really looked after us.

Our server Tan was amazing, great food

Amazing meal for my girlfriend’s birthday. Food was genuinely great, especially the bao buns; the restaurant gave my girlfriend a birthday plate with a free cake which was an amazing touch, and Tan gave us quick and friendly service all evening. Value was great as well, 10/10 would recommend

First visit and we really enjoyed it. Service from Dan was polite and attentive. Food was great and atmosphere was nice and relaxed. Would happily recommend and will definitely be back again soon.

Had a lovely pre show meal. It was really lovely. Dan served us he was very helpful.

Really yummy food, good wine, and a very relaxed atmosphere. We will be back!

Came for birthday celebrations with my family and it was absolutely perfect! The food was delicious with great portion sizes - we particularly recommend getting a sharing platter and trying lots of different things! Our waiter Tan was so attentive and lovely, and even brought over a little cake for me and sang happy birthday!! Also special shout out to the incredible Rhubarb Margarita 🍹🩷

Great food, fab atmosphere and incredibly accommodating staff! Fantastic!

Amazing restaurant, great food and great service, thank you Somu

We really enjoyed the meal, prompt and courteous service. Look forward to coming again.

We had a lovely meal to celebrate my birthday. Service was great, from the warm welcome to the farewell. We were sat right by the kitchen which was a treat for the senses. You select a varied range of small dishes from the menu and they are brought to your table as they are ready. Tasty bao buns, the arancini rice was delicious. Desert is well worth leaving a little room for. The meal was quite expensive for two, but with the delicious food and great service it felt like money well spent.

Delicious flavours and great choices. We'd been meaning to come for ages, and finally made it! The bao buns are delicious, and the mains are just right: perfect portions, fresh, sizzling and tasty. It's a small place so get your booking in promptly!

Great service and food. Felt very looked after and they made the extra effort for my friends birthday 🎂

Splendid experience at Bao and BBQ with my close friend. From the outside you’re not sure what to expect but this is fine dining meets your most wanted comfort foods. We were greeted by two lovely hosts, I don’t remember their names!! But they showed us to a table as we didn’t have a reservation we had a bar table. The food was immaculate and the atmosphere even better. There’s such a bargain for food as well. This is a perfect mother’s day or date night location. I recommend the ribs they were beautiful. Value for money

Incredible food, highly recommend

A great place to eat! The atmosphere in the evening was wonderful, cosy, relaxed and very trendy! The plates are small but the idea is to have the experience of lots of different dishes, which we loved! The food was wonderful, great flavours and the quality was excellent.. The restaurant was very clean and the staff very friendly. I will be back!!

Simply stated, the food is over-priced and average for what you pay. We ended up paying £50 a head and that was sticking to the Bao (none of the steaks), one set of chicken skewers, a plate of rubs, five beers, and the Korean fries. (In fact everything was shared between four people e.g. only one portion of the chips between the four of us so no blow-out and this gives further indication of the price-value equations.) For our tastes, the food was far too salty, and the meats, in some instances, over-charred and dry. £7 for a salty chicken skewer with four nuggets of chicken? Well we weren't happy. The ribs? The box of ribs from Waitrose are far better - tender, moist and nicely sticky. These ones were not meaty, they were dry and certainly overdone as can be seen by the blackened bits. We won't be going back again. Sorry. (Also sorry for the poor quality photos but this was because I was underwhelmed.)

Absolutely fabulous venue, from the initial help organising a large table over Cheltenham Races, to the welcome on the day, to the service throughout the meal. The food was fantastic, and the whole experience a delight. Can't wait to visit again!

Really tasty tongue tingling food. Glad we found it.

Fantastic experience, great tasty fresh food served at a high standard. Friendly helpful staff. I would definitely recommend

We had gorgeous bao buns and small plates. Everything was super tasty. Cute little place, feels elevated and tasteful. Lovely friendly service.

Real urban luxury feel. Menu is one of the most unique and exciting I've seen for a while. Servers were all attentive and personable without feeling in your face. Clearly ran by people passionate about what they do. Yes it's certainly an expensive place but for the most part you get what you pay for - we ordered the £50pp platter and the meats (steak, chicken, pork) were all outstanding. I am deducting 1 star as, like a few others, I felt like some dishes were disappointing value. One of our side dishes was literally half a piece of corn and for £6-£8 each that is just not doing it for me, even in the fanciest of places. I would recommend it for groups of 4-6 for a special night out.

Having visited a few times in the past, I booked a table for lunch with a friend who hadn’t eaten at bao & bbq yet. The food is good, although a little on the expensive side (a bowl of fries with a drizzle of mayo is £7 for example). The cocktails were amazing. The service wasn’t anything to complain about or compliment. The food comes out as it’s ready which didn’t matter as everything was ready at a similar time. The bill was just shy of £85 for the two of us to have 1 cocktail each and the suggested 3 dishes each. I paid my part of the bill in cash after my friend paid by card. As I didn’t have the right change I gave more than the amount due. The waiter didn’t return with the change. I likely would have left the change as a tip anyway but felt this was really bad practice to just assume the change was a tip! I’ve worked in the hospitality industry myself for 12 years and wouldn’t dream of doing the same thing. I emailed to bring it to the attention of management, not as a complaint just to let them know as it could have been received in a much more negative way by someone else. I’m still yet to have a response, 5 days since my email. There’s an air of superiority about the restaurant chain with my most recent experience being the cherry on top for me. With so many amazing places to eat in Cheltenham, it’s unlikely I’ll return in a hurry if at all.

Food is incredibly over priced for what you get. £16 for one small chicken skewer doesn't sit right with me. We came here as a birthday treat and I was left really disappointed. We ordered multiple bao buns and the ribs too, all of which has the exact same 'smoked' flavour...there was no variation, and if I'm honest it all tasted a bit bland. I had eaten here once before about a year ago and it was excellent, hence why I wanted to come here to celebrate my birthday. It seems the quality of the food has gone down while prices have increased. Staff were really lovely, it's a shame the food let the place down.

Excellent food, and they can make great cocktails, but definitely not a cheap night out.

Hi Ovidiu, Just like to say thanks to you and all your staff we all enjoyed our time there it’s a fantastic restaurant and the food was delicious.

I wouldn't recommend. We spent over 50£ each to eat three Bao Buns each (basically, sandwiches) and a bowl of fried cauliflower. Food is processed, certainly not fresh. The waitress was a nice lady but the chef (or owner, not sure) was quite rude. Not a nice experience.

Great food every time, Slight drainage smell when you walk into the old building, but the food more than makes up for it. Edit: We visited again recently and the smell has been sorted, Great place

What a find, a really interesting combination of Texan, Korean and Taiwanese food. It really is an interesting taste and presentation with wonderful attentive service. We'll be back to explore the menus further.

Amazing atmosphere, amazing service, spotless toilets and restaurant. Food was brilliant. Thanks so much 🙏

We visited BBQ & BOA on Saturday to celebrate my birthday with a party of 16. Service and the staff were fantastic. Very friendly and accommodating. The food was great also. Unfortunately, this was let down by 3 chicken dishes being undercooked and had to be sent back. I would definitely recommend and I hope to come back in the near future. Thank you for giving us a great experience.

The food was nice but very overpriced due to their really small portions. £8.50 for one bao bun is extortionate. The blackened cod wasn’t nice but that might be preference.

Fantastic meal and incredible service. A must visit when in Cheltenham. Will definitely return.

Beautiful meal for my Son’s Birthday. Staff very welcoming and advised with menu which was very helpful as it was our first visit. Open kitchen so you can see your food prepared. Food was full of amazing flavours, definitely recommend visiting. Looking forward to my next visit.

We tried this restaurant twice and unfortunately I feel that it simply isn’t for us: The first time we weren’t particularly impressed by the quality of food overall , fast forward a year later we tried it again. The waitress that served us didn’t seem too keen on having to deal with us but was quite pushy when it came to decide how much to pay for service charge. The food itself is good although everything is covered in chilli , all this spice isn’t necessary EVERYWHERE , the let down is however in the price, I understand that this is a small plates restaurant, but charging £5 for a single piece of corn on the cob, or £7 for a single arancini with nothing inside it or even £7 for a small portion of fries seem way too exaggerate , overall the meal came up to almost £90 for two people who left fairly hungry. I can’t stress enough that the food itself was really good, just not enough of it for the price charged.

Wow what a wonderful restaurant. Great setting, friendly service and great food. We could only get a reservation at the bar rather than a table, but this did not disappoint. The barman was so friendly and we enjoyed watching him create cocktails. The female waitress upstairs was also so friendly and helpful. The chicken bao bun was really good. Highly recommend, this place will not disappoint.

Really enjoyed this restaurant visit. We popped in looking for a light lunch and a place to chat. Our first impression walking in was that this establishment was too opulent and formal for our needs. However, once seated, we quickly warmed to this place. There was a good selection of wines by the glass and the two we had were both good quality. We were recommended to have 2-3 dishes each and therefore ordered a selection of different dishes. We enjoyed them all with the wings the stand out dish for us. The food was of high quality and very tasty. We felt full and very satisfied when we left. The service just needs to be a bit less formal at lunchtimes and a bit more relaxed.

A very small restaurant i loved it. Flavours are strong sweet and rich. Must try the cocktails they are as good as the food

Wow. That was some delicious food. A few dishes too spicy for my personal taste but I can’t hold that against them. 5*. Would highly recommend

Even better than I expected! The restaurant itself is lovely, decorated very tastefully and they've got the lighting and atmosphere just right. The food was incredible - we shared two of the boards across our group and every bite was amazing. If I could, I'd eat here every week.

Wonderful food, would recommend

I've visited here about 4/5 times now and I really think it has gotten better each time. All dishes are so flavoursome. We had the sharing board last time we went, absolutely epic!

Stopped here for lunch on a Saturday afternoon, had the Cornflake Chicken Bao, Drunken Crispy Duck Bao and Korean fries. All were delicious. Service was quick and friendly. Location is really nice on a quieter street away from the main shopping routes.

Wonderful. Fantastic menu, flavours excellent, great for sharing and having a taste of everything! Service great, cocktails well mixed.

Korean varsion of tapas. Take three or four if you are hungry. They have also good sharing selections. Great sauces and spices are used there. The staff is helpful and ready to answer any questions you may have.

Pleasant bar in ni e surroundings

Very good food, super flavours on the meat. Negative point, we found the ribs dry and the drunken crispy duck wasn't crispy in the Bao. Would have been a 5 star if it wasn't for the dry meat.

Really nice food great service lovely atmosphere but costly I paid £120 for a sharing plater for just me and my partner which I thought it was priced at £44 for a minimum of two people I even asked if it was for two people but was charged £44 per person ? so was shocked to get such a high bill for what was a selection of some BBQ meats few buns cabbage and side order of fries and few cocktails at the beginning, nice to experience but to expensive for a meal out for what it is , didn't want to make a fuss on the night as it was my partner's birthday, probably wouldn't go back for another visit.

Upon arrival we were greeted by a lovely host who took us to our table. We were seated next to the open kitchen which was brilliant to watch the chefs at work, you can see the attention to detail and care that is poured into every dish. We had a second host who was explained the menu to us and was super friendly and attentative. We went for the master menu and it did not disappoint. If you haven't been here before I definitely recommend it has a bit of everything and is displayed on a beautiful wooden board. The only thing I think that should be different I. My opinion is the starter. The arranchini balls, I feel they should be on one of the corners nearest the table as I struggled to pop them on my plate. The food was incredible and did not disappoint. All in all I had an amazing experience and would definitely recommend going to visit.

Don't like being told you can only have certain food and it happened to be the most expensive...

We are privileged in Cheltenham to have restaurants like this as clearly a lot of thought has gone into the menu the atmosphere the staff and most of all the quality and taste of the food I just had one regret and that was not having discovered this place earlier

Slick service, great cocktails and the food was spot on. Happy to recommend and will be back again.

Fantastic food, great atmosphere and service. We had a variety of dishes and everything was packed with flavour and perfectly cooked, also plenty of great vegetarian options and splendid cocktails. Next time we're in Cheltenham we'll definitely be stopping by!

Difficult place to review. The atmosphere is spot-on: very cool, very sophisticated. The service was attentive without being overbearing. Everything we ate was either good or excellent. The crispy pork belly was superb, as were there Korean chicken wings. The popcorn snack starter was also creative, unusual and delicious. My mockjito was zingy, fresh and delicious. I just felt it wasn't quite 5-stars. The bao buns weren't great: while the fillings were delicious, the buns themselves were a bit claggy with a slightly sour flavour and at £8 for a single bun, seemed a bit overpriced. Two for £10-12 seems more reasonable. The broccoli dishes were also delicious, but again at about £7-£8 for some (lovely, well flavoured) broccoli seemed a bit steep. Also the dishes could have done with some variety. The flavours of Korean barbecue are deep, smoky, hot and intense and I needed a dish or two that didn't have that just to balance it. Drinks are also really expensive. The aforementioned mockjito is fresh lime, ginger beer and mint. It cost £7. So basically, it's excellent. You'll have a lovely evening. You'll eat good food. But at these prices you won't be stuffed.

We booked after seeing the menu online and seeing prices of £10-14 which seemed on the more affordable side for restaurants now. When we got the menu there was a note at the top that they recommend 3-4 dishes per person. There was no suggestion on their website or online menu that it was more of a tapas style. As such, we picked from the menu, but I wasn't sure what a good mix of things would be, and ended up picking things that had quite strong flavours, and needed something lighter to balance it, but having not been there before this wasn't know. Quite a cool, stylish place, and the food was nice. Had the balance of flavours been there, and had I have known what to expect going in, I would have rated higher.

Really good service and food. Def a recommendation for a nice dinner. £25 per person with no wine. No super cheap but given the market prices right now, at least the quality is superb

The service was supper good and the food was very nice, especially the pork belly, one of the best I have had. But the music was a bit off for the space, could be a bit more classy instead of night club style.

Very tasty small Asian dishes and great cocktails. The bao buns were especially good.

Love this place! Food, staff and atmall great. (A faint wife of drains when we were there last, but didn't affect the meal)

Unique atmosphere. My first experience of this restaurant made me want to try it again and share it with others. Great service. They do warn you the dishes will arrive as they become available, but I recommended 2 dishes a bit before my fellow diners!

the food here is very very good, have been a few times and tried a few of their dishes and everything has been very delicious & yummy. service is amazing, very friendly staff and very accommodating to allergies or any menu alterations where they can. prices are a little on the more expensive side for the size of some of the dishes. other than that, would recommend :)