Loved the vibe and the hostess was generous yo find seating for us despite being crowded and booked for the night. Ordered fried rice and it was perfect smokey flavor. The server was really nice too ! Also Ordered chilli noodles from chef special - was disappointed. Looked at pics on yelp and expected it to have chilli crunch but turned out noodle cooked in Korean military soup sauce , no chilli but tons of basil which overpowered the dish instead of adding flavor. There was a group of kids who ordered kalbi on next table that looked good. So maybe this place can be hit or miss depending on what you order just not for us.
Braden J.
Came here on my last day in Santa Monica for a quick lunch. Nice and quick perfect for an afternoon work lunch or just a weekend treat. Atmosphere: Quaint little area with an open view of the kitchen and bits of asian decor. Food: Fresh and filling, I remember really enjoying the chicken katsu and baos. Succulent and filling. Service: Great service, no complaints, came in and the hostess greeted me and even gave me recommendations. Since I was from out of town I didn't get a chance to try Secret Bao again, but if I lived in the area I can see myself easily recommending it for a quick and easy reliable lunch spot.
Marcus E.
This place is amazing! Located near the Santa Barbra courthouse Secret Bao is a must visit. All the food was fresh, flavorful, and very delicious! We ordered several bao, the hamachi poke, and the jjajangmyeon and all of us enjoyed it! The servers were very attentive and helpful and all the food came very quickly! The inside is well lit and homey, yet modern. All the food was also fairly cheap. This is truly a great spot to eat!
Petra K.
Delicious baos! And in a good location close to State Street. It gets busy here, but they don't take reservations.
Maria Stoimenova
Tasty Asian food! Reasonable prices. Fast and friendly service! Clean and modern space.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Japchae, Dumplings
Geo M.
First time at the Bao. Just arrived for Happy Hour. Ordered an assortment of delicious food! Passion fruit iced tea- great, not too sweet Pork belly Bao- Amazing Chili Dumplings- full of flavor Kungpao Cauliflower- spicy Curry Crab Noodles- full of flavor. So good! Service was great. Food came out quickly and was fresh. Will be back to try some more items. 100% need to try
Jonathan S.
I stopped by secret bao at 6 on a Friday. They only had seating outside. It was a bit chilly but there are heaters nicely spaced out. I got the Chinese pork bao special, kfc bao, and pork belly bao. The presentation, taste and quality of the kfc and pork belly were awesome! See picture. The chicken on the kfc was large and cooked perfectly. The sauce tasty. The boa bread was nice airy and warm. So good. My favorite of the 3 was definitely the special. Although less dressed up than the menu boas the taste of the Chinese pork and size of it was awesome. And with the scallions to compliment it was blissful bites. The service was super fast. Not deep but efficient.
Kristina M.
The first time I came, I was around a four star ranking, since the portions were relatively small, given the price, and my date and I were seated on a tiny counter top right near the door; but this time around, I felt like I truly got the value of my meal. First time: got the kalbi, curry Biang Biang noodles, pork belly bao, and soft shell crab bao. The kalbi was very tender, as was the pork belly bao, but I felt a bit scammed on the biang biang noodles as the portion was quite small and the flavor had an overpowering spice to it. 2nd time: No more tiny counter top! The restaurant seemed much more spacious with a number of booths added. Started with the duck spring rolls (not pictured) which were much smaller than your traditional egg roll - they are fried btw - but the duck flavor with Chinese 5 Spice was spot on. So delicious, and then the Curry Crab noodles were absolutely epic! The price was totally reasonable for what was offered in flavor and portion, and I want to learn how to cook this dish, because it was so amazing. Pork belly fried rice definitely has a kick to it and I loved it, especially when I could take some of the leftover curry sauce to drizzle on top of the rice. I cannot stress this enough, but BOOK YOUR RESERVATION IN ADVANCE via OpenTable. The food is worth it, but the space is small. Love how much light it has inside, and noticed there is outdoor seating available also.
Anika T.
It was my dad's birthday and he was recommended this place by his colleague. As a person with high standards, his mind was completely blown by the fusion of flavors secret bao created. Our server Claire was prompt and so sweet to us. She recommended the Curry Crab Noodles and it was incredible!! The K.F.C. Bao was spectacular and our night was topped off with the date cake which resembled a sticky toffee pudding but BOY WAS IT GOOD. I urge you to come eat at secret bao, I promise it won't disappoint.
Michael L.
Interesting restaurant in Santa Barbara! Looking for something unique decided to try this Asian Fusion. Unique is definitely what we found. We didn't have reservations so we were limited for seating. Although we like eating outdoors but the weather this evening was iffy. We made it work. We decided to try a little this and a little that. We started with some mocktails. The tropics and honey citron lemonade. Both were delicious and refreshing. For food we went with the special salmon on crispy rice, pork belly Bao and udon carbonara. The salmon was my favorite. Lots of flavors in one bite. Pork belly was good but the cut has admittedly never been my favorite. That's my fault. The Udon Carbonara was the most unique; and it worked. Not sure how but it did. Overall everything was good but not "wow". Something I recommend to try at least once.
We stopped in and ordered take out. We shared the octopus and sticky rice and they were both the bomb! Friendly staff and nice ambiance.
Wesley C.
First off, make a reservation! Highly recommend making a reservation by calling a couple days ahead as the wait can be long. The experience we had from checking in to the server was great, no complaints. The staff was attentive, checked on us frequently, and the food came out quick. All the dishes we had were tasty. Be warned, the portions are small. The focus is on presentation and flavor, instead of quantity. Therefore, the quality was on point and high. Our favorite was the chow fun and the soy chili dumplings. The restaurant is on the smaller side, with both indoor and outdoor seating. The indoor has tables in close proximity of each other, but aesthetically pleasing. They were maximizing the available space they had with putting tables so close. It's a little loud, due to close proximity of the tables. Would recommend for a good date night and a fuzion Asian flavor. Not your traditional Asian restaurant.
Audrey O.
I had a dinner reservation and while I understood that the restaurant was packed, when we arrived we were told our table would not be ready for a while. We ordered multiple things including the pork belly and KFC bao, char siu bao, soy chili dumplings, and the hamachi collar - I would recommend the last two. The KFC/pork belly baos and char siu bao were tiny portions considering the price, and the fundamental flavors of an authentic bao were just not there. The steamed bun on one of them was also wet. However, I would give the date pudding (a la mode) a 10 out of 5 if I could. It was delicious, and at the level of Gordon Ramsay's toffee pudding. The atmosphere was very comfortable, and the servers were exceptional.
Don T.
Really nice food. Great balanced menu. Very tasty. Will be back. Casual but beautiful restaurant.
Ashley R.
Good food Good decor Good menu Good service Those scallops were solid. I wish we had ordered ten plates of them.
Loved the vibe and the hostess was generous yo find seating for us despite being crowded and booked for the night. Ordered fried rice and it was perfect smokey flavor. The server was really nice too ! Also Ordered chilli noodles from chef special - was disappointed. Looked at pics on yelp and expected it to have chilli crunch but turned out noodle cooked in Korean military soup sauce , no chilli but tons of basil which overpowered the dish instead of adding flavor. There was a group of kids who ordered kalbi on next table that looked good. So maybe this place can be hit or miss depending on what you order just not for us.
Came here on my last day in Santa Monica for a quick lunch. Nice and quick perfect for an afternoon work lunch or just a weekend treat. Atmosphere: Quaint little area with an open view of the kitchen and bits of asian decor. Food: Fresh and filling, I remember really enjoying the chicken katsu and baos. Succulent and filling. Service: Great service, no complaints, came in and the hostess greeted me and even gave me recommendations. Since I was from out of town I didn't get a chance to try Secret Bao again, but if I lived in the area I can see myself easily recommending it for a quick and easy reliable lunch spot.
This place is amazing! Located near the Santa Barbra courthouse Secret Bao is a must visit. All the food was fresh, flavorful, and very delicious! We ordered several bao, the hamachi poke, and the jjajangmyeon and all of us enjoyed it! The servers were very attentive and helpful and all the food came very quickly! The inside is well lit and homey, yet modern. All the food was also fairly cheap. This is truly a great spot to eat!
Delicious baos! And in a good location close to State Street. It gets busy here, but they don't take reservations.
Tasty Asian food! Reasonable prices. Fast and friendly service! Clean and modern space.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Japchae, Dumplings
First time at the Bao. Just arrived for Happy Hour. Ordered an assortment of delicious food! Passion fruit iced tea- great, not too sweet Pork belly Bao- Amazing Chili Dumplings- full of flavor Kungpao Cauliflower- spicy Curry Crab Noodles- full of flavor. So good! Service was great. Food came out quickly and was fresh. Will be back to try some more items. 100% need to try
I stopped by secret bao at 6 on a Friday. They only had seating outside. It was a bit chilly but there are heaters nicely spaced out. I got the Chinese pork bao special, kfc bao, and pork belly bao. The presentation, taste and quality of the kfc and pork belly were awesome! See picture. The chicken on the kfc was large and cooked perfectly. The sauce tasty. The boa bread was nice airy and warm. So good. My favorite of the 3 was definitely the special. Although less dressed up than the menu boas the taste of the Chinese pork and size of it was awesome. And with the scallions to compliment it was blissful bites. The service was super fast. Not deep but efficient.
The first time I came, I was around a four star ranking, since the portions were relatively small, given the price, and my date and I were seated on a tiny counter top right near the door; but this time around, I felt like I truly got the value of my meal. First time: got the kalbi, curry Biang Biang noodles, pork belly bao, and soft shell crab bao. The kalbi was very tender, as was the pork belly bao, but I felt a bit scammed on the biang biang noodles as the portion was quite small and the flavor had an overpowering spice to it. 2nd time: No more tiny counter top! The restaurant seemed much more spacious with a number of booths added. Started with the duck spring rolls (not pictured) which were much smaller than your traditional egg roll - they are fried btw - but the duck flavor with Chinese 5 Spice was spot on. So delicious, and then the Curry Crab noodles were absolutely epic! The price was totally reasonable for what was offered in flavor and portion, and I want to learn how to cook this dish, because it was so amazing. Pork belly fried rice definitely has a kick to it and I loved it, especially when I could take some of the leftover curry sauce to drizzle on top of the rice. I cannot stress this enough, but BOOK YOUR RESERVATION IN ADVANCE via OpenTable. The food is worth it, but the space is small. Love how much light it has inside, and noticed there is outdoor seating available also.
It was my dad's birthday and he was recommended this place by his colleague. As a person with high standards, his mind was completely blown by the fusion of flavors secret bao created. Our server Claire was prompt and so sweet to us. She recommended the Curry Crab Noodles and it was incredible!! The K.F.C. Bao was spectacular and our night was topped off with the date cake which resembled a sticky toffee pudding but BOY WAS IT GOOD. I urge you to come eat at secret bao, I promise it won't disappoint.
Interesting restaurant in Santa Barbara! Looking for something unique decided to try this Asian Fusion. Unique is definitely what we found. We didn't have reservations so we were limited for seating. Although we like eating outdoors but the weather this evening was iffy. We made it work. We decided to try a little this and a little that. We started with some mocktails. The tropics and honey citron lemonade. Both were delicious and refreshing. For food we went with the special salmon on crispy rice, pork belly Bao and udon carbonara. The salmon was my favorite. Lots of flavors in one bite. Pork belly was good but the cut has admittedly never been my favorite. That's my fault. The Udon Carbonara was the most unique; and it worked. Not sure how but it did. Overall everything was good but not "wow". Something I recommend to try at least once.
Restaurantji Recommends
We stopped in and ordered take out. We shared the octopus and sticky rice and they were both the bomb! Friendly staff and nice ambiance.
First off, make a reservation! Highly recommend making a reservation by calling a couple days ahead as the wait can be long. The experience we had from checking in to the server was great, no complaints. The staff was attentive, checked on us frequently, and the food came out quick. All the dishes we had were tasty. Be warned, the portions are small. The focus is on presentation and flavor, instead of quantity. Therefore, the quality was on point and high. Our favorite was the chow fun and the soy chili dumplings. The restaurant is on the smaller side, with both indoor and outdoor seating. The indoor has tables in close proximity of each other, but aesthetically pleasing. They were maximizing the available space they had with putting tables so close. It's a little loud, due to close proximity of the tables. Would recommend for a good date night and a fuzion Asian flavor. Not your traditional Asian restaurant.
I had a dinner reservation and while I understood that the restaurant was packed, when we arrived we were told our table would not be ready for a while. We ordered multiple things including the pork belly and KFC bao, char siu bao, soy chili dumplings, and the hamachi collar - I would recommend the last two. The KFC/pork belly baos and char siu bao were tiny portions considering the price, and the fundamental flavors of an authentic bao were just not there. The steamed bun on one of them was also wet. However, I would give the date pudding (a la mode) a 10 out of 5 if I could. It was delicious, and at the level of Gordon Ramsay's toffee pudding. The atmosphere was very comfortable, and the servers were exceptional.
Really nice food. Great balanced menu. Very tasty. Will be back. Casual but beautiful restaurant.
Good food Good decor Good menu Good service Those scallops were solid. I wish we had ordered ten plates of them.