Bona Vietnamese Restaurant connected to Sidewalk Kitchen on Washington Avenue is a popular restaurant amongst University students that serves Asian and Vietnamese cuisine. Open Monday through Sunday from 11am to 7:30pm and offers takeout and pickup. Their menu offers a variety of options that can cater to any dietary needs and/or restrictions including vegetarian and allergies. Options range from soups, lunch specials, fried rice, lo mein, appetizers, chow fun, seafood, pho and a variety of entrees. Rated 4.2 stars and one dollar sign it can be an amazing option for students who are wanting to eat out on a budget. When looking at reviews online the restaurant only had positive feedback and many suggested the Pho.
When you walk into the building it is split into two restaurants, Sidewalk Kitchen, a Chinese restaurant and Bona Vietnamese Restaurant located on the right. It has a very open environment with spread out tables and a window wall located in the front. During the day it is a great place to go study, get work done or get lunch with friends. Overall, it is a quiet restaurant making it a great place to go get some work done and eat. The natural light brings the cozy environment to life and allows for a more relaxed atmosphere. During the evening on the other hand, the environment changes to a more fun and upbeat environment as students are looking to hang out with friends on the weekend over food. The dim lights and the view of the dark outdoors can even make food a good and affordable romantic dinner.
I ordered the Pho tofu which is a stick soup with fried tofu. Pho is a Vietnamese soup that consists of bone broth and rice noodles and can also be served with herbs, limes, chiles and whatever garnishes. Not to be confused with ramen as it is a lighter soup and ramen has a more complex and heavier broth that originated from China and Japan. When ordering you can choose between a small or large and add extra meat, noodle, rice or bread. It also comes with the option of choosing how spicy you would like it. The food was made and brought out extremely fast. When trying the Pho the broth is extremely good and like previously stated very light. The portions are quite large and filling so ordering a small is still a safe bet if you want a filling meal.
The last thing that I ordered was the egg rolls over rice noodles. When ordering these you can make a substitute for fried rice, ask for extra vegetables and meat and choose the spice level. A traditional egg roll is a fried appetizer that has a flour wheat skin and contains shredded cabbage, can contain meat and are usually fried in oil and served hot with a sauce. The difference between rice noodles and normal noodles is that rice noodles are made with rice flour and water. Rice noodles are also lower in protein and sodium because normal noodles are made from a wheat-base rather than a water base. Overall, the egg rolls were really good and are something I would definitely order again. By the end of the meal I was completely full and had to get a to-go box.
Bona Vietnamese Restaurant is definitely a go if you want really good asian food and want a quieter location to hang out with friends, study, go on a date or just want a cheaper meal. With the variety in foods there are options for everyone.
