Cappuccino is excellent. Venue is funky. GF bread is okay. Parking is difficult. Best if you're a Belmont student.
Dietary restrictions: GF bread. Occasionally GF pastries. Alternative milks.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Avocado, Avocado Toast
Jay W
Great location but the cafe was dirty everywhere the tables weren’t clean the staff taking orders didn’t say hello to anyone even though there was no line. Get some new staff and clean up this seedy place. The latte was fine though. I’d like to support the neighbor but this makes it a challenge.
Vaibhav
Forgot my order and made me wait super long to get it. People behind me got their food before me.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Havyn Wardrop
First time ever visiting Nashville, trying to get brunch on a Sunday. Obviously this is a difficult task, as other successful business like BMR and Frothy Monkey have over an hour long wait. We decided to go here, because we heard that there was no wait.
We were not surprised.
Trying to order was borderline embarrassing, they were out of bread (which is on half of their menu), and also out of avocado. It's almost exclusively a breakfast and brunch restaurant. The food was well priced, but the flavor left much to be desired. This isn't the main issue, though. It took 30 minutes to get a plate with hashbrowns, a bagel, and eggs. The worst part is, when it actually got to the table everything was cold and was obviously sitting on a table for a while. There was a table of young women next to us, who also took a long time to get their food, and I overheard them saying "there's no way it should've taken that long." They literally had to put their food in a to go box the second they got it.
Service is almost nonexistent, the front counter people were kind, but other than that they were just there. If you want water, have fun pouring it yourself. If you want silverware for your meal, have fun getting it yourself, because it won't be brought to you with your food. What exactly did I tip the servers for?
There was zero pest control outside, there were wasps, bees, flies. We are outside, but this shouldn't be an excuse, it's obvious there is no up to date pest control, as the wasps are flying into nests established in the ceiling. There is no justification for it, I usually eat outside at restaurants and never deal with the issue.
I almost never leave reviews online, but this experience just left me and my girlfriend disappointed, wishing we ate at a different brunch place. I'd spend your money elsewhere.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Patrick K Currie
Friendly staff and fun shop!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Connor Esau
The coffee is pretty good and service is good. They are still using plastic cups and lids even when dining in, however.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 3
Mike Wazermacalit
Better coffee places in the area, refresher tasted like a Capri sun and latte was just okay for seven dollars.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Russell Robinson
Great staff and coffee. Great little quiet outside seating with a great view historic blogs.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Drip Coffee
Dustin Olson
Some of the best coffee in town and the food is great too. Love the open patio. Wish they were open later though.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Breakfast Burrito
Watson McCollister
What happened to this place? It used to have a good little breakfast and pretty good service.
Vanilla latte was great - cappuccino wasn’t great, had an extremely bitter taste and couldn’t finish it. Staff were nice and service was quick.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Katie
The experience at bongo has certainly improved recently, but could still be a lot better. Their matcha is most definitely the worst I have ever had. It tastes like bad milk. And the matcha lemonade looks and tastes like it was taken from the garbage disposal in the back. I also wish they had a bit more variety in terms of food. However, the service has gotten much better and the atmosphere is good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
roberto schipp
My family and I have been frequenting this coffee shop since it first opened and have been regular customers for many years. Over the last decade or so the quality of the food had been declining steadily and so we would only visit about once or twice a year, reminiscing the earlier years when this was once a thriving coffee shop, enjoyed by locals and students alike.A few days ago, with family visiting from out-of-town, we decided to visit for breakfast and were disappointed enough to unanimously agree that this would be our last visit.Firstly, the tables outside were dirty to a degree that it was obvious that they had not been thoroughly cleaned in quite a while, at least many days. The porch was littered with debris, including some wet paper napkins. After we requested assistance in cleaning the table, one of the employees quickly wiped across the table, leaving it wet and with most of the dirt adhered. Some time later two other customers sat at a second table and chose to clean it themselves, though the employees were clearly not busy.We placed three identical orders of fried eggs with hashbrowns and avocado, since we learnt that salsa is no longer on the menu. What we were served were three plates with scrambled eggs, not what we had ordered, and some tater tots which were badly oversalted. We all agreed that it was a badly prepared breakfast and almost inedible.Noticing that only 5-6 other customers frequented the coffee shop over the first hour of the day while we were there, we were not surprised after our experience.In summary, a once thriving coffee shop now serves badly prepared breakfast at a dirty and dumpy place. It is all the more surprising as there are now more breakfast options in the neighborhood.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Rylee Davy Taylor
Bongo Java lets me down every time I visit. I have been here many times over the years. My husband went to Belmont and I would frequently go across the street to get a cup of coffee while he was in class or studying on campus. The espresso quality is subpar at most and the shop is frequently dirty. The oat milk they use tastes chalky. If given the option between bongo java and any other coffee shop in Nashville, I would choose the other option every time.
Beth
Food was amazing once I got it but a frustrating time experience. I ordered with a group and all the food came out expect mine. I let the girl know and she said okay and went back inside. I waited about 10 minutes and went in to check. I asked the girls about it and they said I didn’t order too sandwiches/it didn't get rung up. They said I could get back in line and reorder- no apology or anything. I ordered again and waited 25 minutes. Went back in and had to ask the girls about the food. They had forgotten about it and said they would get to making it soon. Very disappointing
Cappuccino is excellent. Venue is funky. GF bread is okay. Parking is difficult. Best if you're a Belmont student.
Dietary restrictions: GF bread. Occasionally GF pastries. Alternative milks.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Avocado, Avocado Toast
Great location but the cafe was dirty everywhere the tables weren’t clean the staff taking orders didn’t say hello to anyone even though there was no line. Get some new staff and clean up this seedy place. The latte was fine though. I’d like to support the neighbor but this makes it a challenge.
Forgot my order and made me wait super long to get it. People behind me got their food before me.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
First time ever visiting Nashville, trying to get brunch on a Sunday. Obviously this is a difficult task, as other successful business like BMR and Frothy Monkey have over an hour long wait. We decided to go here, because we heard that there was no wait.
We were not surprised.
Trying to order was borderline embarrassing, they were out of bread (which is on half of their menu), and also out of avocado. It's almost exclusively a breakfast and brunch restaurant. The food was well priced, but the flavor left much to be desired. This isn't the main issue, though. It took 30 minutes to get a plate with hashbrowns, a bagel, and eggs. The worst part is, when it actually got to the table everything was cold and was obviously sitting on a table for a while. There was a table of young women next to us, who also took a long time to get their food, and I overheard them saying "there's no way it should've taken that long." They literally had to put their food in a to go box the second they got it.
Service is almost nonexistent, the front counter people were kind, but other than that they were just there. If you want water, have fun pouring it yourself. If you want silverware for your meal, have fun getting it yourself, because it won't be brought to you with your food. What exactly did I tip the servers for?
There was zero pest control outside, there were wasps, bees, flies. We are outside, but this shouldn't be an excuse, it's obvious there is no up to date pest control, as the wasps are flying into nests established in the ceiling. There is no justification for it, I usually eat outside at restaurants and never deal with the issue.
I almost never leave reviews online, but this experience just left me and my girlfriend disappointed, wishing we ate at a different brunch place. I'd spend your money elsewhere.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Friendly staff and fun shop!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The coffee is pretty good and service is good. They are still using plastic cups and lids even when dining in, however.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 3
Better coffee places in the area, refresher tasted like a Capri sun and latte was just okay for seven dollars.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Great staff and coffee. Great little quiet outside seating with a great view historic blogs.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Drip Coffee
Some of the best coffee in town and the food is great too. Love the open patio. Wish they were open later though.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Breakfast Burrito
What happened to this place? It used to have a good little breakfast and pretty good service.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Vanilla latte was great - cappuccino wasn’t great, had an extremely bitter taste and couldn’t finish it. Staff were nice and service was quick.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
The experience at bongo has certainly improved recently, but could still be a lot better. Their matcha is most definitely the worst I have ever had. It tastes like bad milk. And the matcha lemonade looks and tastes like it was taken from the garbage disposal in the back. I also wish they had a bit more variety in terms of food. However, the service has gotten much better and the atmosphere is good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
My family and I have been frequenting this coffee shop since it first opened and have been regular customers for many years. Over the last decade or so the quality of the food had been declining steadily and so we would only visit about once or twice a year, reminiscing the earlier years when this was once a thriving coffee shop, enjoyed by locals and students alike.A few days ago, with family visiting from out-of-town, we decided to visit for breakfast and were disappointed enough to unanimously agree that this would be our last visit.Firstly, the tables outside were dirty to a degree that it was obvious that they had not been thoroughly cleaned in quite a while, at least many days. The porch was littered with debris, including some wet paper napkins. After we requested assistance in cleaning the table, one of the employees quickly wiped across the table, leaving it wet and with most of the dirt adhered. Some time later two other customers sat at a second table and chose to clean it themselves, though the employees were clearly not busy.We placed three identical orders of fried eggs with hashbrowns and avocado, since we learnt that salsa is no longer on the menu. What we were served were three plates with scrambled eggs, not what we had ordered, and some tater tots which were badly oversalted. We all agreed that it was a badly prepared breakfast and almost inedible.Noticing that only 5-6 other customers frequented the coffee shop over the first hour of the day while we were there, we were not surprised after our experience.In summary, a once thriving coffee shop now serves badly prepared breakfast at a dirty and dumpy place. It is all the more surprising as there are now more breakfast options in the neighborhood.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Bongo Java lets me down every time I visit. I have been here many times over the years. My husband went to Belmont and I would frequently go across the street to get a cup of coffee while he was in class or studying on campus. The espresso quality is subpar at most and the shop is frequently dirty. The oat milk they use tastes chalky. If given the option between bongo java and any other coffee shop in Nashville, I would choose the other option every time.
Food was amazing once I got it but a frustrating time experience. I ordered with a group and all the food came out expect mine. I let the girl know and she said okay and went back inside. I waited about 10 minutes and went in to check. I asked the girls about it and they said I didn’t order too sandwiches/it didn't get rung up. They said I could get back in line and reorder- no apology or anything. I ordered again and waited 25 minutes. Went back in and had to ask the girls about the food. They had forgotten about it and said they would get to making it soon. Very disappointing
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 1
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