Belly Bao Reviews

Unique takes on Bao served in a comfortable space, perfect for post-work winding down.

Food was truly amazing, floor staff was really nice although as they were busy it seemed a bit rushed.

Delicious food!, we had the spicy bao noodles with shitake mushrooms, crumbled chicken bao, crispy pork belly bao, fried chicken with spicy sauce and both bao desserts and everything was sooo yummy!

Ordered the crispy pork belly babybao, the Japanese curry fries and the BBC baoger. All excellent in taste, the BBC baoger s fried chicken was so crunchy, flavorful and the chicken breast was perfect - not too dry. The fries could have used more curry though. Also tried their espresso martini. It was smaller than I expected but is more on the subtly sweet side, not having a strong coffee or alcohol taste. Staff were very friendly. Overall a beautiful meal and venue to spend dine at.

This is a great little spot. Most food in Newtown is average, but Belly Bao serves up some interesting little dishes with very fresh ingredients at reasonable prices. My absolute favourite is the fried tofu bao: the tofu is hot and crispy, fried to perfection and the spices and cucumber make it taste super fresh and fun! The desserts are also lovely, if a little too sugary. Best thing is that Belly Bao is just next door to The Social Outfit, my favourite spot for ethical fashion!

Get in my belly!
Love this bao joint. Was finally able to do a food tour in Newtown and this was my first stop, and I m so glad it was. I feel like you can t make a wrong decision with ordering. Everything looked delicious.
We ordered the the house made steamed bao buns.
Panko crumbed chicken bao- yes, chicken. The waiter suggested it and I swear I could have eaten an endless amount of them. The coriander and chilli aioli are the perfect touch. We also ordered the Slow braised pork Belly Bao which has mustard greens, coriander, peanuts and mayo, also delish. Soft shell crab bao truffle aioli and lemon vinaigrette and the crispy tofu bao. All 4 baos were delicious but chicken was definitely the best. Would love to go back and try the curry fries and bao burgers. Also, check out those desserts!!! They look so good.
Cute ambiance, full bar, nice staff. Can t wait to go back.
It s Bun-derful!

Loved the salted egg addition on the fried chicken but the regular fried chicken is great too. Other favourites include the king mushrooms and pretty much every bao on their menu. Cocktails are fun - loved their whiskey, aloe vera and lime jug.

Absolutely fantastic food. We enjoyed all dishes ordered: soft shell crab bao, crispy pork bao, chicken bao-ger, fried mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, papaya & peanut salad. Difficult to say which was best. The food also arrived very quickly, even though it was very busy at the time.

The vibe is also good. Pretty loud music but a good volume for 2 people to have a conversation. Cool decor.

They also have Sapporo on tap and Tsingtao which is a nice bonus.

We visited at about 8.15 on a Saturday night and had to wait 5 mins for a table for 2. Probably best to book on weekends but it s not too bad because they put your name in the system and text you when your table is ready, so you can go to the pub next door for a drink.

This place is great, love the atmosphere, it s a great place to grab a quick bite before heading out, social with great music selection & friendly staff. Love the Baos here, we had the pork belly, beef and the chicken with the curry cheese fries, we finished off with the gaytime Bao, would highly recommend all of them, they were all amazing!!!

First visit and absolutely loved this place, service, atmosphere and food was amazing. The bao cheese burger was so good we ordered more after finishing the first! The fried chicken was so crispy and packed full of flavour, and of course the boas were tasty as hell! Dessert knocked it out of the park. A must must try.

Tasty tasty tasty, lots of flavour.
Fast service, good price, great for groups and gatherings
Music can be a bit loud however it's Newtown so kind of expected.

Everything was really good and fairly priced, would recommend the friend chicken with salted egg yolk and spicy noodles

On of my favourite places in Newtown. Great food with amazing service and always easy to find a table. The fried chicken is out of this world but so are the baos. Good selection of drinks and very nice vibe. Go on and try it.

A great addition to Newtown! Finally something different to Thai, burgers and mediocre dumplings on King Street! We had a great experience for dinner with attentive service and delicious food. The cheeseBaoBurger blew my mind so we ordered another (add bacon). Prices are fair and this place gets busy so expect a wait.

the best bao restaurant in Sydney, cocktail is nice as well

Really great food and a good atmosphere! Highly recommend.

Totally love the bar snacks here!!! Our favourites are the sweet potato fries with chilli mayo, omg the pork belly bao, soft shell crab Bao and chicken wings lol everything on the menu basically hahaha!
This is our go to place for delicious pub food and a nice drink. Funky vibes and great when it's not too crowded so go early! Lol otherwise you can get the really rowdy or rough groups that come in and you can't hear yourself think let alone socialise.

Love this place. They braised pork belly bao is my favourite

Delicious food and the staff are very friendly. Highly recommend their BBK wings with salted egg yolk flavour. Bao buns start at $7.50 each

Awesome food! Really loved their boa burger.
Staff were very accommodating and polite. Our group of four got to sit during COVID-19 and were very happy we could get a booking. Would definitely eat here again.

Great Boa buns... And the sweet potato chips were fantastic

Had a double baoger (Thursday's only), all the components worked beautifully together to make a really tasty meal. I was pleasantly surpised the baoger patty held it's shape, yet still crumbled just right.

Fantastic food! Fresh hot and delicious. The only reason I cant rate 5 stars is because we had a booking and the staff weren't 100% sure where to seat us it took the lady a minute to figure it out but the embarrasing thing and the reason for the extra star loss is they called us multiple times while we were eatting our food to see where we were as we were late for our booking however we were not late and right there sitting at the table they seated us at eatting this delicious food. We hope to return and be able to rate 5 stars next time!

I have been to Belly Bao more than 5 times.
I love the food but I find annoying and quite rude the rush to clear your table when there's a wait list. I've felt three times like they're kicking me out after couple of minutes after finishing with my baos.

A "keep the door closed" sign or an automatic door would improve guests experience. The constant freezing wind flow (winter) is not comfortable specially if you are sitting on the tables in front of the bar. People leaves the place and the door opened behind them.

It's not just the food guys! it's the experience as a whole...

Absolutely loved this place! It s fairly small so make sure you ve got a reso before coming here. Try the Pork Belly Bao - it just literally melts in your mouth good. The Gaytime Bao is also a winner. Would recommend everything on this menu. Really nice place to catch up with friends!

Baos seem to be all the rage thesedays. I came here on two separate occasions and got two quite different experiences. This place is packed and I would highly recommend you book or you'll be standing for a long time. And people seems to hog the seats even when they're not waiting for anyone. If the staff can help people get seats I think that would be nicer.

Anyway the baos are delicious. The crispy pork belly one is my favourite and in my opinion trumps all the other ones. The sweet potato fries are addictive with the spicy sauce. The wings are good too but not the star of the show.

Prices are bit high for a small meal. Guys would have to order 4-5 baos before they would be full. Personally I do like smaller portions so this suits me.

Service is so so, our first time there took a long time before the food came and they got our orders wrong.

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Food: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Atmosphere: 2/5
Value: 3/5
Visit again: occasionally
Try these: crispy pork belly bao

Really good Bao and equally great service!! Though I do find it a bit on the pricey side for $7+ per Bao

Delicious food, friendly staff and fantastic atmosphere. My favourite is definitely the crackling roast pork belly and Belly Bao fired chicken!!!

Get the chicken bao it's absolutely delicious, in fact all the bao are great but for me the chicken was the standout

I'll give you a star for service and a star for the bao burger.
Every thing else sounded great on paper but was bland in reality. Your bao is actually nice and very soft, but the filling leaves a lot to be desired. The size of your fries is also a bit of a joke, however the sauce that came with it was a highlight.

I've only come here once but I have to say the food here was very very good. I only wanted the small snack sized burgers that day, and I was so happy with my choice because it tasted amazing. I need to head out to Newtown to try this place again

Came here when it was quite busy but we managed to find a table. No one came to serve us after sitting there for 5 minutes until we had to go up and request a menu. The place was very small and the ambience was quite loud and made it quite difficult for us to talk. However, the guy who served us, don t know his name, but he had short hair and was wearing shorts, he was really nice and made us feel comfortable. The food was amazing, the loaded fries was one of our favourites. We have had some pretty terrible bao experiences and I have to say this one was the best. I definitely recommend this place.

Great great Asian infusion dinning place. Every single dish on it s neat menu is worth trying.

A little pricey, but they had food to cater for many dietary requirements including halal and vegan

Innovative food, and tasty. Very popular. Book ahead.

The day you guys opened up shop in Newtown was a very happy day for us indeed! We've been there a few times including last night and everything we ordered was simply fab. The fried chicken, baos and noodles are our favourites. Plus, the wait staff are always delightful!

Very nice Asian twist of the soft sweet bun bao shell mixed with modern filling.

Truly a refreshing combination.

You have to try the Panko Crumbed Chicken Breast Bao, Crackling Roast Pork Belly Bao, Soft Shell Crab Bao and my son's favourite the Chopped Cheese Baoger.

Awesome place. Pretty busy. Love the food and cocktails. Highly recommend it.

Crispy Pork Bao great! , soft shell crab and chicken one's not so much , the spicy noodles are fantastic and so are their chicken wings they are really good , staff friendly and nice enough, highly recommend and will go again.

Great food, great service. My one recommendation would be to reduce the bass on the Sonos speakers.

Nice tasty food and the service is really attentive and relaxed. Well done. Cant wait for your liquor license to be approved

Amazing deserts definitely suggesting for a night out

Overpriced. The food is incredible though. Slow roasted pork is to die for. No idea how they do it. Staff were really friendly.

The taste is better than I thought, but the price is a little bit high. Even so, I still will recommend here.

In love with this place, known for their baoger (Bao + burger) but their bao noodles is my fave in Sydney. Flavourful and tasty this place is my top eats in Sydney

The food was amazing and so unique! I assumed it was just another dumpling place but it s definitely Asian-fusion so really nice for something a bit different. Would definitely getting one of each bao and sharing with someone just so you can try them all. The cocktail menu was interesting & Asian-inspired too. The Apple soju jug was light & delicious. The staff were extremely accomodating & friendly as well.

Love their amazing food! Love the cheerful team members!
My friend took me here last week cause he was so happy with their taste. So I followed his guidance and ordered some Lunar New Year Specials and some regular menu snacks. Noodle, beef bao, egg with special sauce with flatbreads (can t remember the name), tofu bao were brilliant. Desserts were on point, ordered pandan bao, and another with taro balls w/ ice cream.. just pure satisfaction. Still keep saying to my friend I can not believe we had a great food in Sydney after suffering so long with average restaurants and missing Melbourne and Europe constantly We are so glad that we found you Belly Bao I have also read other reviews before walking in (specially lower rates) so I can clearly say, if you are European with a great taste in world kitchen and have basic knowledge of Asian food, you will definitely enjoy it. But it depends of your taste buds, I couldn t enjoy the tea fusionend whisky jar cause it was too bitter and strong for me but I know other people loved it.

This place has such a winning menu - great variety, reasonably priced and everything is so tasty! Highly rate the Baos, they are hands down the best I ve had. The noodles are also pretty special, grab it with an onsen egg and mushroom. We were just sad we couldn t stay for dessert!

Delicious baos, great fried chicken & sweet potato fries, nice vibe and atmosphere but with the baos being $6.80-$7.80 a pop, it is a bit pricey... With that said the sticky fried chicken wings, and the baos are tasty as!

It was my first time trying bao, it was absolutely delicious! I love how friendly their staff are as well. Will definitely be going back!

Friendly service and great location. Although the steamed bun's filling was delicious, I found the actual buns a not very fresh - they should be moist, light and airy. But hey, 2/3 ain't too bad. A bit pricey, but enjoyable.

Amazing food. Best burger I ve had in a while, chips were fantastic, tried the normal chips and the sweet potato chips and they were both fantastic! Truffle sauce with the chips was to die for! Special mention to the gay time dessert, best dessert I ve had in a while! Top marks!

Excellent service and great food. Really liked the decoration inside the restaurant.

The food at this place is amazing! Everything on the menu is phenomenal.
Hectic drinks and EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE!

Tasty food, nice ambience, nice drinks (I tried the lychee pink drink and the yuzu splash mocktails and both were quite refreshing). I would have loved for a better portion size.
The curry fries was easily the best I have tasted in a while. Service was quick but I wish portion sizes were slightly bigger (for a crew of 3 + 1 kid we had to order $120 worth of food with a note that no alcoholic drinks were ordered)

Excellent food, great service, very short order-to-eat wait time! The traditional Bao and Bao burger were very good, the Bao noodles were great (they had a nice chew/bite to them). The only thing we didn't love was the fries covered in curry sauce (kind of like an Asian poutine). The flavors were good, but the fries were really soggy (as you might expect when they are drowning in sauce, but we didn't think that one through before we ordered it...).

There's a tiny bit of a wait for a table if you don't have a reso but totally tolerable (20 min on a Thursday evening), and you can put your name on the list and go grab a drink elsewhere. They'll call you when the table's ready. Note: there's a small charge to use a credit card.

Great food. A new inventive menu with interesting menu items.

Tasty bao's and tasty fried chicken just don't pick the tables with the dimpled stools, anti comfortable

Great restaurant! Have been a few times now and always enjoy it. Food arrives fairly quickly and tastes fresh. Pricing is really reasonable. They have some great vegan options and would be good if they continue to add some more. My one dissatisfaction is the eggplant baoger is pretty bland, it is lacking some sauce like a spicy vegan aioli or something. Would be a good idea to also have a vegan aioli to serve with the fries as they are plain otherwise.

Baos are delicious, strongly recommend the slow braised pork belly!

One of my favourite restaurants in Sydney if not the world.

The food is delicious and comes out quickly. All of the baos are great and they re fried chicken is incredible. It s hot, crispy, juicy and would be good value at double the price.

I also don t know what they do to their chips but they re so addictive, especially with the truffle mayo.

The golden gaytime bao is one of the best things I ve ever eaten in my life and I drool just thinking about it

The servers are all really friendly and casual and helpful with the menu if you re not sure what to order or have any questions

It s a great atmosphere as well, buzzy and busy and they play great music

love the crab bao.i wish you had more beers on the tap.

A delicious place to have a casual lunch or dinner, the baos are super fluffy and tasty, the Tofu and Pork Belly is the ones to go for,

You have to try the fries

Stopped here for lunch. I had the two pork baos, both of which were delicious. Service was excellent, and the staff were very helpful and friendly. A very enjoyable experience.

I m disappointed they don t know my order by heart. Down right my favourite restaurant of all time!!!!!!!!

Amazing food. Great place to catch up with friends. Nice and cozy.

Dark and cozy place. The baos were too small for me and the sweet potato chip didn't taste as good as I expected.

Service is ok, a bit inattentive. Food is tasty but overpriced for what it is.

Food is delicious and service is quick. A bit small, but otherwise good.

The food is amazing! Unfortunately there was not enough staff on - the poor runner was literally running around trying to get to all of the tables. All of the staff were lovely and super friendly though, just need more on, especially when it gets busy!

Delicious food, friendly atmosphere and vibe! Baogers and noodles were so satisfying!

Simply loved their baos - my personal favorite is the crab bao If you like your seafood, you'd enjoy this one too! I have been here twice, and brought a group of friends on my second visit - everyone agreed the baos were delicious and they would visit again.

Good food and friendly staff! Had a good time with friends here. A plus that we were able to get a table quickly for a group of 6 on a Friday night. :)

Very tasty food and fantastic staff. Was mesmerised by our waiters smooth tones

Such amazing food for great value. Really loved the Baos and spicy noodles. Gaytime dessert was also delicious. Highly recommend.

Laid back Asian diner where the baos are melting and great value. Good for a quick dinner rather than a leisurely catch up.

Best food, tofu bao recommended. You will need to book on busy night to avoid disappointment as they don't have a lot of seating.

Great food. Fast and friendly service. Highly recommend then sweet pandan balls.

Tucked away near Chinatown, a great place for small eats and catch ups. Dark enough, loud enough (but still ok for conversations), hip enough. Pork belly bao, papaya salad and BBC were all great.