Gros Bao - Paris — Restaurant in Paris

What a disappointing experience! It started well, the hostess was very nice and friendly, helping us secure the big table for our group of 6. However, after a 40 mins wait, we were told as we were being seated that half the menu wasn't available because "there was a problem in the kitchen". One would think this is an important point to communicate to your customers, especially when the line to enter is 30+ mins. Furthermore, not only was half the menu not available, the service was slow. We had to remind the server twice about our dish that was still missing, before it was finally served. Also, the walls of the rez-de-chaussee are covered with photos of dishes that are in fact not offered on the menu at all. I was told that that was was just the menu at the restaurant's opening, but it's current menu is much more limited. Well, perhaps they should update this so that you don't mis-lead diners.

Finally, the prices are exorbitant. For example, ONE SINGLE dessert bun (of average size) is 6 euros. In comparison, at a more low-key restaurant, it would cost between 1.5 - 3.0 euros. So all in all, not worth it and poor customer service. The decor was very nice though, so you are paying for that.

Update in response to the owner’s response: sure, emergencies happen and you can’t help it. But in this case, perhaps you could have offered some compensation to your customers such as a discount on the bill, complementary drink or a voucher for next time. Instead, we got missing orders, waiters who weren’t clear on what was and wasn’t available. Also, no, the issue is not a price discrepancy between what you advertise and what’s real- the issue is that you advertise many items that are not at all available on your menu. Imagine standing in line for 30 mins - one hour looking at all the dishes you have painted on your wall in such a way to imply that you serve them, only to finally get seated and realize most of them are not on the actual menu. And of what is on the menu, half are unavailable. Anyways, bad experience and management who don’t seem to care about the...

FOOD🍜 : The concept of the Chinese canteen is good and all of the dishes are well executed, very tasty as in China. The bao are handmade and you can tell. They have a short and clear menu so that everything is fresh. Generally speaking everything is tasty but there is nothing new in terms of flavors.

PRICE💶: THE most repellent of all. The concept was good so far BUT you just can't claim a chinese canteen when you have 2 bao sold for 7€. It's just not ok. I know how long and hard it is to make the dumplings from scratch but 3.5€/bao is just too much. Same goes for the quantity of the chicken dish, 13€ for a small plate? You can't honestly be full for less than 30€. If you've been to China and you know all these dishes, you will never spend so much for it.

SERVICE👩‍🍳 : Great. The staff is young and very kind. I think they will get better with the time as the restaurant just opened, some don't seem so familiar with the chinese culture but they are all very nice. I also think it's important for a chinese restaurant to have chinese a speaker staff, especially when the menu has Chinese too.

ENVIRONMENT🏡: Amazing. The restaurant is right in front of the St Martin's Canal, the view is so cool. They have arranged the huge place with a smart chinese decoration : a little too much but that's what makes it special. I would however put paper in the toilets instead of a dryer machine, especially with the covid 19...

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Here in Paris this restaurant group is known for their Chinese food and I had never tried it so I decided to go and try Gros Bao next to the Canal St. Martin (great location).

Make sure to make a reservation because this place is always full… this being said I don’t know why… other than the location, the ambiance and decor which is beautiful and very aesthetic the food was average and disappointing.

Considering the restaurant is known for their baos we tried their 10 mini baozis the flavor was good but the meat wasn’t juicy and there wasn’t very much filling compared to the amount of dough… this was already quite disappointing for a place that has bao in their name.

We also tried their crunchy mushrooms but same thing. All I felt was crunch… I didn’t feel any of the mushroom texture and there was no flavor… it was missing a sauce or something.

This being said the sweet and sour chicken was absolutely delicious and their aubergines with spicy sauce was also to die for.

To be honest in Paris you can find much better Chinese restaurants and honestly wouldn’t recommend this place unless it’s for the location and decor...