Baby Bao at The Pond, Brighton

Whenever we have friends visit us one of the places we always try and take them is The Pond. Situated just down from Brighton train station in the North Laine area, it not only serves a great selection of craft beer. But the food is by Baby Bao. Serving up their take on Taiwanese street food in steamed buns and on small plates it’s one of my favourite places to eat in Brighton.

I actually cannot believe it has taken me this long to write about Baby Bao. I have already written about Easy Tiger which is another pub run by the people behind The Pond. We are definitely very lucky in Brighton when it comes to finding good places to eat. There are a lot.

The last time we went just so happened to be a Monday, which meant the entire menu was meat-free and vegan which isn’t an issue for us. We decided to go for the tofu classic bao (£5.50) and the aubergine tempura bao (£6). For sides we picked the house fries (£4.50) and the korean cauliflower with seasame (£5) because it is just too good to resist. Seriously, I think I’ve had dreams about the cauliflower, no where else can do it this good!

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The menu is varied enough, and with daily specials on offer there is something for everyone. I struggled to pick between the mushroom bulgogi and classic tofu but in the end the tofu won. The combination of the peanuts, hoisin sauce and crispy tofu was just right. The aubergine tempura looked and tasted really good as well. Sadly the donut bao weren’t on offer on the day we went but I can seriously recommend them. I have previously tried the peanut butter ice cream one and it is very tasty.

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As usual both of the sides were really good. We like to get two sides to share but if you were on your own you could get away with just one side. The house fries are meant to be amazing but I don’t like pineapple or kimchi. The mac and cheese also looks good but I always remain loyal to the fries and cauliflower.

If you are planning a visit to Brighton then make sure Baby Bao are on your list. Or if you live in Brighton/Hove and you haven’t been yet, what are you waiting for? Get yourself down there ASAP.

You can find The Pond and Baby Bao at

49 Gloucester Road, Brighton, BN1 4AQ

Open from 12pm – 12am all week

Baby Bao serve food 7 days a week. The kitchen is open Monday to Friday between 12pm-3pm and then again from 5pm-9pm. On Saturday it is open 12pm-9pm and Sunday between 12pm-6pm. They can also be found at Street Diner which is just around the corner from The Pond on a Friday lunchtime.