Abstract: A bicycle shift operating device basically comprises a bracket, a shift lever and a shift operating unit. The bracket includes a grip section having a lateral side with a shift cable guide portion. The lateral side faces towards a bicycle longitudinal center plane when the shift operating device is in an installed position. The shift lever is pivotally mounted to the bracket. The shift operating unit is mounted on the bracket. The shift operating unit includes a spool. The spool is rotated in a rotational plane in accordance with movement of the shift lever to wind a shift cable extending from the spool to the lateral side. The shift cable guide portion is arranged at the lateral side of the bracket such that the shift cable guide portion guides the shift cable along a guiding direction that is non-parallel to the rotational plane of the spool.