Bong Lua Vietnamese Restaurant

Bong Lua Vietnamese Restaurant is a place I passed by quite frequently although I am never sure whether it is a good place to eat or not.  Since I had not been here before and was looking for a Vietnamese noodle place to eat, I decided to venture into the place on a Saturday night.  The place was full although when I got in there was an empty table right in front of us.  The table was clean however it took over 5 minutes for a lady to come get us.  The place is not overly big but it appears to be family run where the hostess was the cashier, the waitress and the cleaner all in one. 

When we finally sat down, it took another 5 minutes to come back and take our order.  The girl literally disappeared and some of the other patrons in the restaurant were also getting restless.  A gentleman, who was sitting at a table next to us, began complaining that his specialty drink still had not arrived despite the fact that he had already finished his meal.  It appeared that the girl had fallen way behind and despite being told that the gentleman wanted his drink during his meal, that unfortunately was not the case. 

Regular Meat Pho

After we had placed our order, it actually took another 15 minutes for our pho to arrive.  So in total from the time we got in to the time we got our pho, 25 minutes had already gone by.  We didn't even order anything special.  We just went with the signature pho which basically contained everything including tripe, brisket,  beef and meatballs.  

There was really nothing special about the meal.  The noodles were about as plain as one can see and taste.  There was no real razzle and dazzle in the soup base.  I ordered a large bowl and it cost about 7 dollars plus tax and tip. 

In all, there really wasn't anything special from this place.  This have special milkshakes and drinks but we were not even given a drink menu that evening so we had no clue what was available.  The menus were falling apart and looked like they were in some seriously need of repair.  The noodles were okay and the price was decent but the service was super slow.  If you are famish and need a quick meal, this may be one place you might want to avoid.  Some of the patrons who were standing at the door decided to go somewhere else.  Overall I give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Bong Lua Vietnamese Restaurant
2572 Birchmount Road
Scarborough, Ontario

647-351-0809