Food here used to be good. BoNe is the signature dish and usually comes with the salad, and pâté/butter with decent cut of beef. Now its just thin cut cheap sh*itty beef from food town. Marinade seems less flavorful possibly due to cutting cost. New manager came in and killed this franchise. Only going to Bellaire out skipping this crap altogether. So disappointed
Amy C.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Kingsbury, TX
A lot better then the one in Bellaire cheaper too and they give you more meat. On the Bo Né’ special. I was really satisfied. Great customer service we got our salad n food right away and the place is cleaner and bigger too.
Nhan L.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Houston, TX
Terrible service. Below average food. Bo Né is the only thing that should be on the menu.
Danny L.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Houston, TX
I ordered the beef and egg with rice for $ 6.50(before tax). I realized(as I’m writing the review) I ordered the wrong dish since the meat on my plate was more like thit nuong style and not bo luc lac. Anywho, the dish comes with fish sauce and a small pile of greens on the side. You really can’t go wrong with beef and egg, especially with fish sauce. The meat was good but nothing spectacular. I think I could have(or should have) ordered a banh mi sandwich with it. I wasn’t hungry after my meal or anything, I just like to eat… a lot… Service was unusually good. We had our drinks and food to our table relatively quick. The waitress(much older lady) seemed like she cared about our experience. Maybe she saw me check in on Unilocal? Overall, the food was good, the service was quick and polite, and the price is cheap(My dish was only $ 7 after tax). I wouldn’t mind coming back here. It’s nice to rotate through all the different mom and pop Vietnamese restaurants around the area. Next time I’ll order the dish the restaurant is named after.
Turquoise A.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Diego, CA
First time here and I am truly enjoying myself. I usually don’t write reviews while dining in establishments but today is different. I have the whole place to myself and I love it!!! The staff is kind and attentive and the establishment itself is clean and well organized. My food came out hot, fresh, and tasty and in a timely fashion. I love service like this… it keeps me coming back for more!
Amy P.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Austin, TX
Wasn’t great. Just hype. I should’ve known when there was only one other table when we arrived. $ 11 for the steak and eggs with baguettes.
Kim T.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Houston, TX
So I came here this morning, and I have to say, I just don’t understand how people can be so angry about this place. First things first, as soon as I walked in, I was pleased with how nice the place looked. I mean, they have those typical standalone tables that every viet restaurant has, but they also have booths. What kind of sicko doesn’t love booths? They also have an outdoors patio attached that looked adorable, but it was just a little too hot outside to try it out. The kid who was taking our order was really passive, and unfortunately messed up my dad’s order(he ordered goat curry, or ca ri de, but he got chicken curry, or ca ri ga). But I can’t be livid about the service when the place seems family-owned and the waiter looks like a preteen. An older girl who brought the food out was polite and got my dad’s order fixed right away, and she was really good about refilling the water. Now on to the food. My sister and I got the Bo Né Houston, my mom got bun thit nuong, and my dad had the goat curry. They brought out our bread first, and it was very good. Extremely crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. Absolutely nothing wrong with the bread, except that I honestly don’t prefer my bread to be that sharp on the outside, but that’s a personal preference. The star of the show was the pâté. The pâté was super authentic and I couldn’t get enough of it. My mom got her bun thit nuong, and nothing seemed that special about it, but they do give a lot of the meat. Next, after the curry ordeal, my dad finally got his goat curry. He didn’t give me much of an opinion, but he was definitely satisfied, and my dad is picky about viet food. Finally we got our bo né … Now I understand that everyone has a gripe about the price. Honestly, the meal is extremely filling, it has a ton of protein, and it tastes so good. The price is not that big of a deal. People are willing to pay more at, like, an Italian restaurant for a plate of noodles. The sheer amount of protein, plus a salad and the delicious combo of bread and pâté, is worth the price. The bo né came out sizzling on the plate, and that’s always pleasing. The steak was flavorful and juicy enough. The eggs, well, are hard to screw up but eggs are always exciting. And they let you substitute the salad for more meat now. Was it as much extra meat as I hoped? Definitely not. But at least they’re trying. I would still suggest you get the salad, unless you’re totally anti-vegetable. They also started playing music, so the creepy quiet thing is over with. Overall, I left very pleased and FULL. I can respect a place where I can get a delicious plate of sizzling meat and eggs.
Amy Y.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Houston, TX
I guess this is on of those cases where if the restaurant is named after a dish you should only order that dish… We did not. :/ I ordered phở tai and my mom got a bahn mi cha lua. My mother wanted to add sardines to the sandwich but the waitress said that she couldn’t. I think it was possible but I think she just said no because she didn’t know what to charge for it. Sucky customer service… My mom said the bread was nice but it was a poor execution of building the sandwich. The were very stingy with the ingredients… Even the cucumber. My mom got very thin slices of meat, small half slices of cucumber, and a sprinkle of carrots. She had to ask for extra carrots, and they were stingy with the extra carrots too. My phở was nothing special either… It smelled a bit strong of fish sauce when it was placed in front of me. The veggies(bean sprouts and mint) looked a bit old and bruised. Unappetizing… So I passed on using them. I told myself if I wanted to try their specialty dish I would probably go to the bellaire location because I hear nothing but good things from there. If I want phở I’ll go to the many others phở places in the area… Also this place is a bit pricey compared to the others… Probably won’t return
Isabel C.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Houston, TX
We walked into a relatively empty restaurant on a gloomy Monday for lunch. The two ladies behind the counter rushed to meet us and seat us. They had a bit of difficulty understanding our orders, but they brought everything out correctly and quickly. I ordered the small Bo Né, which came with a small(3 – 4 oz) of steak and one fried egg. I got a giant helping of crunchy, fluffy french bread and pâté. At first, looking at the small plate, I thought it wouldn’t fill me up. I left the restaurant feeling a little hungry, but after about 20 minutes I was really full. Maybe they know me better than I know myself. The steak had some flavor, but it didn’t taste particularly special. I thought it was a well put together dish, but a little expensive for what you get. The pâté was the highlight of my meal. It resembled a livery, crumbled sausage rather than the normal gray pâté you find at other places. I enjoyed it spread with the anonymous fatty sauce that was paired with it. Overall, a good place to grab lunch, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here again.
Samantha J.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Houston, TX
I agree with all the other reviewers. The steak and eggs(Bo Né) is good. It’s a little pricey but the order comes with eggs and bo luc lac(steak tips) on a sizzling platter, a salad, and french bread with pâté and vietnamese butter. I am not usually a pâté fan because of the fishy/weird taste it has, but this pâté is really, probably one of the best I’ve ever had. I’ve tasted better bo luc lac, but it definitely gets extra points for being served while it’s still sizzling. The salad however, doesn’t taste like the salad i’ve had at the other location and that makes me sad because it was a really good tasting salad they had over there. So a solid 3 for the actual eggs and steak but 4 for the awesome bread and pâté!
Eddie S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Houston, TX
Crack… crack…crackle… do you hear that? It’s the sound of a breaking heart. How come so many bad reviews my Unilocaler friends? I know… it is what it is so this is had to make two visits right behind each other. Welcome to Bo Né of Veterans Memorial Drive, right across from food town. You won’t ever have a hard time finding parking because it hardly is busy here at night time and I would probably assume daytime maybe? This restaurant took the place of a Mexican restaurant that failed but has a brother location by Bammel/Veterans. The interior when you first walk in would be described as «crisp, fresh» and why? Because there is plenty of lighting and an almost white ceramic floor to help reflect and light up all four corners here. Clean, no offending smells except for the good ones that petew from the kitchen. I went mainstream first and tried the flagship item«Bo Né». Not being a Bo Né expert and expecting much I was pretty much satisfied. I can see where everybody is a little upset at the meat portions but if you look at the big picture, the salad, the bread, the egg, there really is enough to fill most of us up. Oh, and don’t forget about the Pâté’ and butter. I must also compliment the bread, crispy on the outside that has you thinking you must be biting onto a high pitched glass but within the same moment that soft pillow feeling of the inside tells you that this isn’t your day old bread batch. Meet the goat, yes, the goat curry. Mother had the goat curry and loved it better than the Bo Né. Maybe a little watery compared to how I fix curry but the flavor is there, that and that addictive bread that compliments as it’s side kick. Service, this isn’t your typical stoic faced, beg to get water to your table place, you are being watched, not in an spooky way but these people want to make sure you are happy. They use these itty bitty 8 ounce glasses for water so I kind of felt sorry the lady had to make it to my table about 10 times but she kept up with me. I see a crawfish taker a few tables over and was tempted to ask how it was but I guess it’s my turn to try it on my next visit. Each pound is $ 7 and they did not seem to be the big ones that we covet but this was from viewing about 4 tables over so I could be wrong. The menu is pretty ample for what you might think that is in here. The Phở’ is not to be forgotten and if you feel like sandwiches you can have that here as well. Banh Xeo is my next target, coming to a review near you. I hate to admit it, but yes, as another Unilocaler said it is kind of an eerie quiet since they don’t play music or have a television to mimick an ambient background but that can be had over. Hopefully a good spark can get out and save this one from being downed within a year but I don’t think it will happen so step in here before you’ll be forced to go over to the 249 area to get your Bo Né local fix.
Michelle R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Houston, TX
I did not have to wait to be seated which was a good thing. The two locations(bellaire & north houston) are owned by the same owner and the bo né was just as good. Bread came out fresh and hot and the steak was just as flavorful. The salad was good and had the right amount of vinaigrette dressing. I don’t eat bo né often but I must say when I tried out the new location I forgot that I wasn’t in bellaire. We also got to order half a pound of crawfish just to try it out bc I’m a fan of jolynn’s crawfish, I think bc of the season they were small but there was a lot of flavor with the minced garlic but they didn’t seem to put enough and it wasn’t spicy, but it wasn’t bad at all! I would definitely come here again when I’m on the north side of Houston.
Lisa J.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Houston, TX
First time I went to try it out I was excited. The food came out and of course I ordered the steak and eggs. Well the salad that came with it was bland. Looked like dry lettuce with sliced cucumber and tomatoes… The dressing tasted like pure soy sauce. I’ll pass on that the next time I go. The steak was tender but lacked on the portion. The bread, pâté and butter was decent. Second time I went I wanted just two eggs and the steak. I tried ordering the smaller one with one egg and add another egg but he said I had to order the larger portion which doesn’t make any sense at all… So I paid $ 4 for one extra egg. You can’t order just the steak and eggs with out having to lay $ 11, which is a bit pricey if you ask me, I probably won’t be going back soon.
Elizabeth H.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Houston, TX
Been wanting to try this joint since all my friends have been going to the Bellaire location. Walked in and it was completely empty that should have been an indicator. Ordered the Spring Rolls, Bo Né and the Banh Canh. The spring rolls were so squishy with nothing but vermicelli. The peanut sauce had no taste and GROSS! I dipped it once for a taste and didn’t even try again. Bo Né platter looked appealing but the meat was so tiny. For $ 11 bucks I better be getting more. A baguette, butter, pâté, 2 eggs and steak(that’s probably not even the best cut). They are making over 75% profit. Banh Canh was decent. Different from what I’m use to but it was probably one of the better dishes. I won’t be returning even if it was free. Good Luck Bo Né.
Eva D.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Houston, TX
It’s as if they didn’t use enough oil so the meat and eggs were stuck and crusted onto the skillet. The meat isn’t as juicy and flavorful as the location on Beechnut but if I don’t have to drive 25 minutes to get down to Alief then that’s fine with me!
Diane N.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Austin, TX
Not a good sign when you walk in and its empty. The Bo Né Houston wasn’t good to me. They are a little stingy on the meat they give you. Plus, the flavor wasn’t there. It was a bit too sweet the way they marinated the beef. The pâté and butter were okay. I wish the bread came out warm and crunchy, but it was cold. I still felt hungry after my meal though. The only thing I liked was the salad. For a bo né place close to home, it filled the craving, but I’d rather get bo né in Bellaire(Chinatown).
Anthony H.
Rating des Ortes: 3 San Antonio, TX
This is my second time here and I’m a little disappointed. Hopefully it’s just a mistake but they changed the salad dressing to something really salty. Of course ordered the bo né here which is the steak and eggs. Came with pâté and butter. Tasted as mouth fulfilling as usual. But hopefully they fix the salad. All my friends complained as well. Can’t expect amazing service for Asian places so don’t be afraid to ask for a refill of water or bread. First time I wasn’t able to finish a salad and I usually go through mine as well as my friends salads. Hopefully they change their salad to be more enjoyable because having a bo né place up north is so much better than driving 40mins for it in Bellaire.
Patty C.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Houston, TX
This is a new location! Just missed the grand opening two days ago, but I was able to stop by for lunch today. Of course you have to try their steak and eggs aka bo né, as the restaurant specializes in this Vietnamese breakfast dish. The steak and eggs comes in kid size($ 7.50) or regular size with extras($ 11). The regular size is served with a fresh baguette with pâté and butter, side salad, and of course cubed steak with two eggs. The steak and eggs comes out on a hot cast iron skillet and is still nice and bubbling. The eggs are even still cooking on the skillet as you start digging in! Cubed beef chunks are incredibly tender and melt in your mouth. I substituted my salad for extra steak. The baguette came out hot and perfect! Light crispy outside and soft pillowy inside. Homemade pâté and butter. Can we say harmony? I feel like $ 11 is a little pricey for Vietnamese food and for what you get, however, it is very very tasty and worth the occasional visit. They also offer sixteen different types of banh mi, noodle soups, curry, various appetizers, Vietnamese coffee, and bubble tea. Oh, and they have those deep fried sweet sesame balls with the bean paste filling. You know the ones I am talking about!!! They weren’t playing any music here, and it was still quite empty, so it was eerily quiet. They also offer party trays and sell some of their items by the pound including their house made pâté.