A hip new place with triple fried bacon dishes, which make your taste buds dance: Restaurant BaoBae (19. June 2025)
The BaoBae opened about four weeks back, hence, the place is still quite new, and you can see that since the patio in the backyard is still being built. I’m very sure, though, once that is built, it will definitely add to the experience. Once you’re in and seated, someone attends you within no time, which is lovely. We then decided to order a couple of dishes to share and started with the “duck salad (Hoisin duck, cherry tomatoes, smashed cucumbers)” (CHF 21.00), which was, frankly, quite nice, but given its name, there could have been way more duck and less other things in there.
The “The BaoBae (chili crunch, grilled beef, sauce Gribiche, pickled onions)” (CHF 24.00) kind of seems to be their signature dish, given the name. Now, I was very happy to figure that the bao bun was great in terms of flavor and experience, however, I was also happy that there are many more things than just bao buns on the menu.
One of the things on the menu, which truly rocked my boat, was the “triple cooked bacon (spaetzle, braised bacon, bean sprouts, pickled mushrooms)” (CHF 28.00), which was absolutely mouth-watering. Besides the intensity and tastiness of the bacon, the whole dish really works together. The spaetzle, which are prepared in the fat and are cooked until they’re crispy, really add to the experience.
Obviously, I was looking forward to trying the “cheeseburger dumplings (onions soubise, aged cheddar, pickled onions, iceberg lettuce)” (CHF 21.00), but I must also admit that it looked quite different from what I had expected. Personally, the way it’s served is a little bit annoying since you need to break it apart, and the cheeseburger flavor is not only in the dumpling, but also provided by the cheese crust. That being said, from a flavor perspective, the bites were great.
We then decided to go for the “black pepper beef (LUMA iberico entrecôte, black pepper sauce, roesti, fire)” (CHF 37.00), which was surprisingly amazing. Why surprisingly? Well, when you see it served, it doesn’t look that exciting, but I do admit …
… that once it was flamed, and you had a bite, you would totally get excited about the flavor and texture combination. However, CHF 37.00 for three slices seems a bit on the ‘too expensive’ side of things.
Given I absolutely loved the “triple cooked bacon” I asked if I could just get more of that as a dessert, and the chef basically offered us an approximation of his ‘childhood memory’ with fried rice – and I must say, that was absolutely great too, but, I do admit, I preferred the original version with the spaetzle, braised bacon, bean sprouts, and pickled mushrooms (CHF 28.00).
So, all in all, the place is nice, it’s a bit too hot in summer, but still appealing – maybe less from an interior perspective, but definitely from the perspective that the staff is superbly friendly, attentive, and makes sure to find the right balance between being jovial and being professional. Definitely a place, I will return to!
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Contact Details:
Restaurant BaoBae
Badenerstrasse 271
8003 Zürich (CH)
Tel.: +41 43 548 83 44
E-Mail: info@baobae.ch
Homepage: https://www.baobae.ch
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
