Bon Bao brings pan-fried and steamed bao to Soho

Bon Bao, a new grab-and-go counter serving Chinese bao, opens at 4 Tisbury Court in Soho on Friday 18 September 2026.

The counter is the work of founder Nelson Yang, who built the concept around his childhood in China. The two bao styles on the menu each represent a different place and a different memory for him.

Bon Bao serves two distinct styles from one counter: sheng jian bao, pan-fried with a soft top and a crispy bottom, and zheng bao, the steamed version more familiar to Londoners. Yang notes that the pan-fried style is still relatively rare to find in the capital, despite London's fast-growing appetite for bao.

A pan-fried bao still hard to find on a London high street is worth queuing for.

Bon Bao's two bun styles

The pan-fried menu lists two options: "OG Pork" (pork, ginger, spring onion, sesame) and "Beefed Over" (beef shin, star anise, soy sauce). Both are made to order at the counter.

The steamed range is wider. "Cheeky Chicken" (chicken thigh, black vinegar, ginger, spring onion) sits alongside "Beefed Up", "Pickle Party" and "Golden Hour" on a six-bun opening menu.

"We can't wait to bring our traditions to the heart of Soho and invite both locals and visitors to discover the craft, flavour and joy of Chinese bao," Yang said.

A crowded bun market

Soho and neighbouring Chinatown have hosted Chinese and East Asian restaurants for decades, and London's bao and bun category has grown quickly over the past ten years, through chains and independents alike. Pan-fried sheng jian bao remains less common on the high street than its steamed counterpart, which gives Bon Bao a specific point of difference rather than a marketing line.

Bon Bao marks its opening with a street giveaway on 18 and 19 September: 1,000 branded tote bags, each holding a discount coupon, handed out around Soho. From 20 to 27 September, anyone buying a bao gets a second one free. The counter joins a run of London openings this month, including Juno at Olympia, which opens with 265 covers on 16 October.

Whether Soho needed another bao counter is a question passers-by can answer with their feet, and their tote bags, from 18 September.