The Baowry

Now, I never got the chance to eat at the old Baowery, but judging from the reviews i wasnt missing all that much.
It’s always hard to write bad stuff about someone’s business, however, this place has earned a specific place in hell amongst the growing population of restaurants that should have never opened (…reopened?) in the first place.
Aside from the clear identity crisis the old restaurant experienced, the food is lackluster at best. When we approached the restaurantified cottage, it appeared as though there was seating in the back, we chose to sit inside, cause you know, closer to the bar is always better. the menu was small, and heck, small menus are great, but this one had kabobs, a kabob plate, and a hot dog. Not something i consider when thinking asian, or asian fusion, or anything relatively close to asian at all. The server informed us that they had served mexican the previous week, and possibly sushi sometime later on. I was told their brand new awesome executive chef was writing new menus each week to see what grabs hold of peoples attention the best so he could incorporate it into their permanent menu. Great! was my thought.
«How many kabobs come in an order?»
«just one»
*confused expression*
«$ 5 for… ONE kabob?»
«well, they DO have veggies on them»
«…»
”…”
“ill have the bacon wrapped hot dog”
«we’re out of bacon»
«…»
”…”
“ill have the hot dog.“
Previously i had said that its nice to try to find your niche, try a few dishes out, see what sticks. I personally wouldnt change the menu every week, certainly not to different global regions every time, but who the heck am i? only some dude whos been cooking professionally for 15 years whos opened some (still) successful kitchens. but im certainly not the chef at the baowery.
In case you guys out there arent aware, kabobs are meats on sticks. Sometimes, very occaisionally there will be veggies on those sticks, but not the way we have taken license to turn these items into salads on sticks. Well seasoned meat, roasted over an open fire. Thats what a kabob is. Shish kabobs are a type of kabob. Doner kabob is a type of kabob that is often stickless. the type of kabob you serve depends on what part of the world your food is from. Had this place been smart and done its homework, there is actually a really tasty type of chinese kabob, cause you know… bao-wery…bao…chinese. Its called Chenjeh Kabob, and its made with mutton, and its freaking delicious.
Since now you know what the kabob is supposed to be, i can share what these kabobs were. Small chunks of unseasoned chicken, two or three pieces to a skewer, and definitely not roasty toasty delicious. Not even spiced. Very american style with tons of red onions and bell peppers. for real guys? five dollars?
Now im no math genius, but chicken, which weighs in at around 4 dollars a pound on average, and onions and bell peppers coming in at around 99 cents a pepper and 50 cents for an onion, at roughly 2 ounces of meat per skewer comes to like a dollar (generous) a skewer gross cost. one dollar cost for a five dollar skewer is basically like these guys punching you in the face and taking your money. period. less any salt/​pepper/​seasoning that they obviously didnt use.
My hotdog was fine. Not made in house, not bought from a charcuterier, not served with any accompaniments, but it was fine. Most likely not worth what i paid.
The chef, who in all likelyhood is a kid who has recently graduated from the Food Network self administered home cooking course, doesnt know what hes doing, and if writing the prices for these ungodly menu items, is robbing his customers.
The only advice i can give to this place is as follows:
Pick a goddamn direction
Hire a chef who can cook
Dont be out of things
Price menu items according to what they cost and a target food percentage of 30-​ish give or take
if you dont want to cook chinese food, change the name
Thats about all i got. Stay away all. Nothing to see here.

Nothing quite pisses me off more than when I am meeting a friend in St Johns and we pick a restaurant to have them be closed after I drive across town to get there. That is just what happened here… Tuesday… I am very confused staring at their sign on the front door which is locked and the lights are out… it is 545pm… I am staring at the sign which says they are open Tuesday from 5pm till midnight. If your restaurant is going to be closed, you might want to update your Facebook or website… or front door… something because the day prior I checked online to make sure they were open.

This place, located in St. Johns, has the potential to bring some needed diversity to the area with great asian fusion fare. Unfortunately, Baowry seems to be a restaurant with some serious identity crisis issues. The décor is a confusing mix of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and asian-​american stereotypes. The menu isn’t sure which cuisine it’s searching for but, at the same time, doesn’t seem quite fusion. We ordered two different bahn mis and the bread isn’t crunchy, the pickled radish and carrots were lackluster, and the meat overcooked. It came with large shrimp chips like you’d see in a traditional chinese restaurant but was overly oily where it seemed like you were ingesting pure oil versus a lightly fried snack. Basically, Baowry is trying as hard as it can to be ‘authentic’ but missing on execution on all points.

I love the Baowry. My husband and I will occasionally go just for drinks-​they make amazing cocktails; the soju pimms is my favorite. But dinner there is awesome. Duck buns are probably our must ordered item, but we have had many wonderful meals there. Also the atmosphere is so pleasant, inside in the winter is my preference, but the patio is nice.

Came here because of the name. I ordered the chicken bun. It was dry, didn’t have sauce, and I did not really like it. The service was okay, she was friendly. I don’t think I’d return. However, my friend that ordered the duck bun said it was good.

I love this place. It’s super nice & homey inside, and the atmosphere in the yard is really amazing. Last time I went there, it was in the late evening & I felt like I was on an island somewhere far away. The music was at just the right volume. The lighting was perfect, & it was totally relaxing. The smells coming out of this place will fill you with all kinds of happy memories of your travels in southeast Asia.
Needless to say, the food was fabulous. Most other places with this caliber of eats have long wait times & a stick up their ass.

Pork bun was great but also got the pork with noodles and for 14 dollars in would expect to not be served over cooked spaghetti with pork that is not even seasoned. I grabbed some of the noodles and they mashed right into a very un appetizing ball. Don’t charge people 14 for a dish that would be possibly put done by a pork top ramen, which honestly I would of rather had. Get your stuff together or just close up shop and spare us the baday experience.

Miso Butter Noodles were great! The St. Johns Champagne Cocktail was well balanced. Service was OK. I agree with other reviewers that it feels damp, cramped, and sticky in there.

My Roommate and I tried this place when we first moved to St John’s in 2014 and were unimpressed by the poor service, sticky, cramped tables, and the small portions of mediocre food. Upon hearing that the land has been sold and the Baowry is closing within the next year, we decided to give it another try. The most flattering thing I can say is that this place is consistent: it was as overpriced and dirty as it was a year ago. The overly-​inked Server seemed annoyed that I ordered wine and it took so long to arrive that I thought she went to the vineyard to get it. The steak I ordered was cold and my Roommate’s prawn dish looked like something that was left over from lunch. The menus were stained and falling apart, the table rocked, and yes, it was sticky. The bulldozer can’t come soon enough.

We loved the outdoor seating area. We found this restaurant in general to be overpriced for what it is. The portions were teeny tiny. We tried several bao and they were good, but not great. I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you’re looking to see what the hipster holler-​than-​thou Portlandia-​ish vibe is all about, then this is the place for you!

It takes a lot of bad vibes and poor service for us to walk out of a restaurant, but if you are interested in being insulted by an insolent server and being surrounded by really bad and loud music, then this is the place for you.
Saturday night we walked in around 800PM and were excited to try a new place, but that quickly changed. We were the only people in the restaurant and the staff were clearly annoyed that we were there. It felt like they were trying to close early and we just busted their plan.
After reviewing the menu we asked about the spice level on a few items given their description. The annoyed hipster male server looks through me with a blank face (and clear annoyance that I am asking a question) and says, «Well, if your an Oregonian it might be too spicy but I don’t think so». I respond that I like spicy food but wanted to gauge their definition of spice. He literally just stares back at me without a response. The blonde waitress that was sitting at the bar behind us responds, «Yes, it is spicy.» They have some spice-​level banter back and forth. At this point, my early warning signs are starting to go off, but we are hungry and so I go with the order.
The waiter doesn’t ask if we want anything to drink (which as a restaurant owner you might want to know that your servers are not even attempting to up sell). So, we sat with our water in little plastic cups waiting. So far, things aren’t too bad… but we are waiting… and waiting and now all the front staff are on the front porch chatting. Then the inside music changes to some sort of death screaching/​yelling loud music. We can’t find a staffer inside (unless I were to have gone to the back kitchen) to adjust the music and it was just the final straw that is telling us to leave.
We decide to cancel our order and save our money. When we find the staff out front and tell them to cancel our order, they didn’t seem taken aback by the request or indicate that the music could be changed when we said why we were leaving. We are also pretty sure that the blond waitress was yelling at us down the street as we left but we weren’t interested in furthering our experience with them.
We did feel bad about canceling our order, but this place was just screaming (literally) at us to go home. So we found a fantastic restaurant down the street and spent our $ 60 dinner/​drink money there.

I’ve been here a few times now so I feel like I can confidently dole out a 5 Star review.
First off. Their pork buns are a must try. In fact, all the buns.
The staff is always super friendly and quick even though it seems like they’re always packed and only two people are working. Very knowledgeable on the food and the drinks.
They will tell you the dishes aren’t too spicy. However, I’m not a big spice guy and this place is just on the border for me. I love it.
Overall I’m a big fan of this place. I’ll continue to go back.
Just a heads up the main noodle dishes are $ 15-​$ 18 and that’s the most expensive items on the menu.

When we moved to the neighborhood over a year ago this was the first place we tried, and it quickly became our favorite. It was a must for any visitor in town. Then last summer we went, ordered our usual (spicy pork noodle) and something completely different came out. It was terrible, no flavor. We talked to the waiter and he said there was a new cook and still getting the hang of it. It’s been a while since we’ve been back, until last night. We wanted to give it another chance because we used to love it! Ordered the usual again and some buns. The buns have always been good, but the spicy pork noodle was better, but still not the signature dish it used to me. Sorely disappointed. Other favorites like the kimchi fried rice and beef and broccoli are also gone. So I felt the need to update Unilocal because it’s very out dated.

I love the converted home and amazing outside space. It’s in my neighborhood and I have given it multiple tries over the past few years. The food is ok, priced like it is much better. The service is consistently poor. Even with different servers, it is clear that there is minimal investment on training.
Overall if you want to wait to long for average food in a great space, then check it out.

My boyfriend and I and a friend went to Baowry for dinner. We ordered the «perfect egg», which is a pretty tasty dish they have. It’s noodles with an egg and fish roe on top. We asked the waiter if the kitchen could leave off the roe, because we’re vegetarian. Specifically, we’re lacto-​ovo vegetarian, which means we eat dairy and chicken eggs but no meat. Yes, I know roe are eggs too, but you have to kill the fish to get them and besides they gross me out.
The waiter said, «Well, do you want me to leave the egg off too? Because you know, eggs are animal products.»
«Oh,» we said, «We’re vegetarians, not vegans, so we do eat eggs and-​«
The waiter interrupted us with this smirky I’m-messing-with-you face. «Well, it’s hard, because you know, eggs come from chickens. You know, like the chicken and the egg?»
A couple things here, Mr. Waiter:
1. It’s none of your fucking beeswax what my food preferences are.
2. Wait… eggs come from chickens? I thought they came from the carton. Good thing you set me straight.
3. This is Portland. We have vegetarians, vegans, gluten free, and every other damn thing here. They teach the difference between vegetarian and vegan in my human development class, for Pete’s sake, and you work in a RESTAURANT.
4. I thought you were a condescending militant meat eater, my friend thought you were a condescending militant vegan, and my boyfriend thought you were just clueless. Either way, it ain’t good.

My girlfriend and I love this place. One of the best Bloody Mary’s I’ve ever had. The Buns are great, especially the pork bun. The dipping sauce for the shrimp chips is buy worthy.
Cocktails are on point and awesome. Loved the Black Walnut Manhattan.
Solid awesome service. Great low key, chill vibe.
A solid and much needed establishment in St. John’s.

Such a creative and original experience. Definitely in a league of its own here in St. Johns for this style of eats.
Lots of unique coctails to try while exploring this comfortably small venue.
You’ll pay more than you’d like to if you are living on the average north portland budget but honestly it’s quite worth the extra pennies to dig in to their luscious, fresh filled Bahn Mi sandwich. I’m craving one even typing about it.
*Recommend but be prepared for less than great service. No hurry up service here. So relax, put your phone down, and enjoy the moment.

Came here on Saturday night for some birthday cocktails. We both had two drinks each — we got the same thing: The kimchee cocktail and the ginger whiskey cocktail (don’t remember the actual names of either). The champagne in the first drink was flat — no bubbles whatsoever. The ginger whiskey drink had way too much ginger liqueur. While we didn’t have any food, I wasn’t totally impressed with what was on the menu. And it was almost 6pm on a Saturday night and there were only two tables taken… Not a very good sign. The service was so bland too. Overall, not impressed. Not sure we’ll even give this place another shot.
p. s. what’s with the lack of light on the porch? When it’s dark and wet, it makes it challenging to see where you’re going.

Salty. Overpriced. Uninspired service. Spiraling downward.
I wish I could write a positive review. Unfortunately my last three trips to the Baowry disappointed. After last night I won’t return.
They were out of duck confit so we opted for a $ 12 basket of pork buns. One had nothing but a sliver of pork fat and sauce with a slice of carrot sprinkled on top; a sign of haphazard, careless plating. The «dark soy» flavor of the sauce overpowered any hint of garlic or ginger. Overall the bao were flat and damp, as if stored improperly.
The $ 11 burger was nothing special and certainly unworthy of the price. I bet a blind taste comparison with a lowly mcmenamins burger could have fooled us for their $ 4 happy hour version.
For $ 15, the sizzling rice soup was perhaps the biggest disappointment. Enticed by the description of a «rich broth» and «pork belly, braised greens, and prawns,» we were presented with a mediocre bowl of salty, oily broth, two shrimp, and shreds of pork swimming alongside oversalted greens. I fear they dredged the bottom of the pot to serve us, as it was a Sunday evening and they are closed Mondays. Even so that greasy broth left my stomach unsettled. «Rich» should invoke flavor not fat content.
I want to like the Baowry. On a brisk fall evening walk, the warm orange glow of their sign lures me into the cozy yet muted interior in hopes of a gratifying meal. In reality, the food has become consistently subpar, unfulfilling and undeserving of the price point. I don’t see a reason to give it another shot.

John M, Sheila, and I met up here for a UYE last night. I’ve always liked the look of this place and thought of how lucky it was for the owner (s) to have managed to get this cozy house to revamp into a restaurant. Since our event started at 8 p.m., the lights were on and cast a welcoming glow. The Baowry inside is clean and uncluttered and has a nook where the bar is front and center. The Asian theme is nicely understated and well carried out.
We decided to sit at a picnic table outside and this was an excellent decision. The front and side yard were attractive and fortunately the weather was still warm enough to allow us to sit and talk as long as we wanted (we walked part of the way and were still warm from our little bout of exercise, so being outside was nice and cool). I opted for «The Baowry» cocktail on the advice of our pleasant waitress (ginger liqueur, Wild Turkey, egg whites, lemon, and other things) and it had a nice little punch with a lemony backdrop). Without thinking of it, we each ordered a dish from the three main divisions of the well-​thought-​out but small menu (sandwiches, bao, and noodles). We were entertained by our own stories, but also by a spicy story told at the table just ahead of us.
I had the Togorachi chicken sandwich (fried chicken strips on a bed of vegetables on a good bun). The fried chicken strips were a tad dry and the vegetables could have used some sort of light citrus dressing to moisten the sandwich up. I like heat in my food, so the peppery taste was fine for me. I had tastes of the noodle dish (tasty but could have used a little more hoisin sauce) and of the pork bao (rich but tasty). Some have mentioned the prices here as perhaps being a bit high, but I found them reasonable for obviously fresh food cooked with care. I did not use the bathroom, but understood from my companions that it could use some attention.
The highlight of the evening was the company I kept. We don’t often have time to chat, so that was the real treat of the evening. I would visit again and have the bao, but probably only once in awhile. I was mostly glad to have the chance to visit another St. John local business last evening, have a great night with friends, and have a drink that topped off a long work week in the best way.

AMAZING AMAZING!
Have the buns! Have a basket! Have a million, they are amazing! The pork were my favorite. There were so many good looking things on the menu! The patio is great– maybe a tad under staffed (or someone called out the night I came in) But the guy working hustled his ass off and even made this incredible Black Walnut Manhattan for me. I would HIGHLY recommend the Baowry!

Great place for Asian fusion food. It’s a pretty small place and I was glad to see that it wasn’t very crowded on a Friday night.
PERFECT EGG ($ 7): Saw this dish in lots of reviews so I had to try it. Slow poached egg over pan-​fried noodles with a black vinegar reduction and ginger scallion emulsion, topped with plenty of tobiko. This was a pretty dish and tasted delicious too. My biggest complain would be that the dish was very salty. I wish they had less sauce or more noodles.
CONFIT DUCK BUN ($ 12 for 3): My favorite dish! The duck was slow cooked in five spice, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns so it was very flavorful. It was served in a Chinese style steamed bun with hoisin sauce and picked vegetables.
TOGARASHI CHICKEN BANH MI ($ 8): I’m always a fan of banh mi and this was an interesting twist on the traditional versions. The French baguette and picked vegetables are the same as usual but they threw in a fried chicken for the meat. Chicken was a little on the dry side but still good. I liked how this dish was served with prawn chips.
SPICY PORK NOODLES ($ 14): Spicy braised pork tossed with pan-​fried noodles. They used Korean style gochujang flavoring for the meat but had the little red ginger that’s used in Japanese yakisoba. It was an interesting dish but falls behind the previous 3 dishes I listed above.
THE BAOWRY STEAK ($ 16): This was my least favorite dish. Flavor of the steak was good with Sichuan peppercorn, shiitake mushrooms, and a slow poached egg, but the steak itself was not a good cut. It was very chewy and stringy and I had a hard time swallowing some of it.

A friend of mine recently moved to St. Johns. This is a good thing as I get to explore a part of town that I haven’t really explored much of since I moved to Portland 7 years ago. Part of that exploration includes new food places like The Baowry.
We headed over here on Saturday night to get some dinner. Both the friends I went with had already been here once before. This was obviously my first time and I was looking forward to it.
The Baowry is known for their steam buns. They have pork, duck and tofu steam buns. You can get 1 for $ 4 or 3 for $ 10. Not exactly huge so if you are hungry you might have to order more food. I had one of the pork steam buns and split the Peking Duck ($ 22 for a portion that is supposed to feed 2 people) with one of my friends. Both the friend and I who split this dish probably could have eaten the whole thing by ourselves.
The food was very good, but the portions are not large. With the duck you get 2 duck legs along with 4 steam buns and various pickled veggies like cucumbers and hot peppers. The duck was very juicy and I detected a black licorice flavor in the marinade that they used, but it wasn’t overpowering which is good for me as I’m not a fan of that taste at all.
Service also could have been a bit better. Seemed like our food took a long time to come out. Also at the end of the night 2 of us used credit cards to pay for our portions of the check, but they ended up charging my friends card twice. We went inside and sorted this out, but not quite sure how that happens.