Bona Vietnamese Restaurant

Nice restaurant. The server was pleasant and helpful. I had to leave the group party early due to a commitment and she was kind enough to let the chef know that. The food was prepared accordingly.

The Pho Ga was good. The taste of chicken is a bit different from what I had from other Vietnamese restaurants, not in a bad way.

Lunch times could get busy, so make your way early to the restaurant.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Food is quick and warm, needed comfort today and this place always provides. Definitely coming alot in the future 4 yrs

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Solid pho 👍 I would come back here!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I went there at least 3 times in the past year. Each time I ordered different things but food was consistently disappointing.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 3

I had a great time! I ordered butterfly shrimp and duck vermicelli soup (Bun Mang Vit). The dipping sauce for the shrimp was a great sweet and sour sauce. The soup came with a green dipping sauce that was too hot for me, but is a nice touch. The soup has a wonderful broth and the noodles are tender. The duck was well flavored and served bone in, making for some fun gnawing to get every bit of delicious meat off the bone. Very fast and good service. I'll definitely come again!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Fried, Soup

I was really disappointed with my lunch in Bona. The service was okay, but the food wasn't. The noodles from the Togu Chowmein were really salty, and the fried rice was leftover fried rice, not fresh fried rice. Overall, the food quality was not what I was expecting.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 4

Although there are many negative reviews about the service, it's unclear which server they were referring to. I was served directly by someone who seemed to be the owner, and I had a meal without any major issues. The restaurant wasn’t very clean, but the food was decent.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 4

The only reason why I put one stars because I couldn't put no stars. Very low quality Vietnamese food if you want some good quality Vietnamese food this is not the place thank me later.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

The food here is disappointing, and disgusting. The fried rice was just eggs and rice, and the beef peppers and Bamboo is disgusting. I should have knew this place was nasty when the coke he gave me tasted like metal. I’m extremely disappointed.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 3

This Vietnamese place has an immaculate semi-casual sit-down kind of atmosphere, that's welcoming to students trying to grab a quick lunch but also professionals and family's that are looking for a just a teensy bit more of a thought out aesthetic. The price point reflects this, the restaurant offering a decent and simple lunch menu for cheap to more characteristic traditional Asian entrees that are a little more expensive.

I ended up ordering the inexpensive pork and chow main lunch entree alongside a Vietnamese coffee. The pork chow main was exactly as named, a pork and vegetable medley laid over a bed of just undercooked noodles - such that the crunchy noodles softened as they soaked in the warm broth of the medley. The flavors were simple, but not bad for the price. And the food came out very fast. The Vietnamese coffee was served as a slow dripper over a cup of condensed milk which, while taking a minute, was well worth it having a delicious sweetness and being strong enough to wake me right up.

The service was interesting. The servers were definitely friendly, having a kind of mom and feel. I did think that they may have been a just a teensy bit intrusive - coming by to offer water often- and I felt a little rushed near the end when I was served my bill. However, since I was in a hurry I was happy to be able to get my food, eat, and checkout quickly to get on with the rest of my day.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 3

I used to be a student at UMN and used to always dine here for basically everyday for the first 2 years of my schooling, which was about 6 years ago. I received great service during that time and I have always loved their cream cheese wontons, thus one of the reasons why I keep going back. For the past 2 years, Bona has disappointed me time and time again. This time is the last time that I will ever go back to dine in ever again.

This server has been nothing but rude, racist, and mean towards multiple multiple PAYING customers. I have witnessed this server happily chatting with White customers then turn around and be rude to customers of color. It's surprising considering he's also a minority.

When we walked in to Bona today, I was considering walking out once I saw that this server was working today. My partner convinced me otherwise and we decided to stay. BIG BIG mistake. Once he saw us, he rolled his eyes at us and pointed for us to sit down. When we did, he came over and tossed two menus and two chopsticks down on the table. He didn't even look at us or greet us despite the fact he was happily chatting away with others, and yes, those customers were White Americans. We are not.

Once we were dining away, two other customers also got seated in a rude manner. When these two customers were ready to order, they raised their hands to let the servers know and guess what happened? He yelled at them, saying that the restaurant is busy, they are not the only customers, they didn't need to raise their hand, he's busy, etc etc. The restaurant had less than 8 tables by this point and everyone was basically dining except for this new couple. The couple asked him why he was giving them attitude when all they did was barely raised their hand for less than a minute. He argued back and said he did not give them attitude and they were the ones being rude and inconsiderate. This couple was also of color. I felt really bad for them. If I were them, I would have gotten up and left. After yelling at the couple and taking their order, he proceeds to toss their items at them.

I am utterly disappointed that Bona is no longer a safe space to dine, especially as a person of color myself. Despite the fact their food quality has gone downhill, their service has worsened over the years. I hope that Bona can do something about this as this restaurant is located on campus, where inclusivity should be a thing, but it really isn't.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

The food is okay. I went there by myself for lunch once and was shown in by a lady. I don’t know if she brought over a new glass of water. I thought it was from the previous customer and asked the guy who was standing near the water table to change it nicely. He started yelling at me. When he brought my order I thanked him, he threw my bowl and plate at me in return, a bunch of stuff fell from the plate and onto the table from the impact. I almost cried due to such horrible treatment as he was chatting quite vibrantly with other ladies sitting behind me. It was my second time there but I am never visiting again and my friends are horrified to hear such an incident. I hope these people realize they are loosing actual customers due to this one rude guy (other reviews here also point towards a rude individual) and advise him to be polite to customers in future.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

Best Fho in town.

The service was extremely poor; the waiter completely ignored us upon arrival and seemed more interested in chatting with other customers. Moreover, when we called ahead, the person who answered was extremely rude to my dad, speaking Vietnamese, and even hung up on us mid-conversation. Another issue we encountered at the restaurant was that the waiter simply pointed at a table and told us to go there, then threw the menu and the bill on the table, behaving as if we weren’t paying customers. Overall, I do not recommend this place at all!!! (I’ve never written any bad reviews, but this place, SMH)

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 1

The food quality for Bona when dining in and ordering take out is so different. Every time I order take out, I am disappointed. The egg rolls aren't as crispy and the carrots inside of the egg rolls are not fully cooked. Today, I got the chicken and potatoes and the container wasn't closed all the way, so the gravy leaked out, but the most disappointing part was that I paid $2 extra for the fried rice and it wasn't cooked well. The rice was still hard and cold. It was not edible! Do not order take out from Bona. It is super disappointing - which sucks because I also just don't have time to dine in and I know I love their egg rolls and when dine in.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Egg Roll