Shanghainese Restaurant Baos & Bowls Opens in East Village
Baos & Bowls, a new Shanghainese restaurant, has opened on 13th Street, east of First Avenue. The restaurant's menu features dim sum, rice bowls, and soup dumplings, and it is currently awaiting its beer and wine license.
- The restaurant is located at 401 E. 13th St., a space formerly occupied by the Japanese restaurant Ichibantei, which moved to a larger location on Third Avenue in 2023. - Its menu focuses on Shanghainese cuisine, featuring dishes like pan-fried pork buns (sheng jian bao), crab & pork soup dumplings, and a popular braised pork rice bowl known as "Lu rou fan". - One of the most talked-about items is the pan-fried baos, which are praised for their crispy bottoms and soupy interiors. - The East Village location places it in a competitive and vibrant culinary scene, which in 2025 has seen a rise in regional East Asian eateries. - Early reviews highlight a self-service model, which some patrons appreciate for eliminating tipping. - The restaurant's menu also includes Taiwanese influences, such as popcorn chicken and beef noodle soup, suggesting a broader approach to regional Chinese comfort food. - It joins a neighborhood already populated with notable Asian restaurants, including the long-standing Momofuku Noodle Bar and the recently acclaimed Vietnamese kitchen Bánh anh Em.
