Phong Nam Bistro — Restaurant in Bratislava

Probably the best food in Bratislava, even if quite remote to the traditional Slovak cuisine. The most authentic, flavor rich, complex Vietnamese food I've had in Europe so far. Whether one has the iconic Pho (in 5 varieties), or Bun Cha, or Bun Bo Nam Bo concoction that Slovaks like for its crazy name, or something more experimental. The place was created and is run by Vietnamese, no "inspired by" shams. Phong Nam brings to shame many of the more fancy-looking Asian restaurants downtown.

Regardless of the shabby look and the "school dining room" mess, regardless of some of the staff barely speaking any Slovak, ordering and receiving the food by the pictures and numbers, this place attracts hipsters from all around the town - so there can be quite a crowd during the lunch time. It is pretty much a miracle how the food can always find its owners in this mayhem. All the quirks of the place are somehow tolerated or even loved secretly by the regulars - they add to the odd authenticity.

it would be lovely to get some more in-depth descriptions of the meals, some more rational ordering by the type of the meal and the ingredients. And I pity all that plastic that it uses for take-aways. Particularly the tea now served in plastic cups is a sad new feature. By the way, price wise, it used to be a miraculous low-budget, now it is slightly more pricy considering the usual lunch menus in Bratislava (6-8 EUR for the meal), but still good compared to Western Europe and still...

Disclaimer: not very helpful and a bit personal.

After seeing how the staff of Phong Nam had to calmly deal with an arrogant white man, I’m thankful to (not only Slovak) people who are willing to come here, wait in a long queue during a lunch time, try to read the menu off the hardly readable pictures on the walls, pay by cash and patiently wait until their number gets called while sitting very close to strangers who came to do the same. Seeing how this man kept yelling at the staff, telling them to “speak his language”, telling them they “don’t belong here”, it broke my heart and at the same time made me feel grateful for all the others who come here to enjoy or try Vietnamese food without any prejudice or judgement. Yes, the place has its flaws but it makes me feel the closest to home, even though I haven’t visited Vietnam yet.

Regarding the food (notes from me and my company): Bánh cuốn chả lá lốt - the portion is too huge to be eaten by one person at once 😂 I wasn’t a fan of the minced meat and its texture, it was a bit hard to chew. Bún cá - there’s dill, pineapple and fish but the soup was surprisingly light and pleasant; “good soup” 👌🏼 Bún tôm xào - maybe a bit too sweet but...

This place is otherwordly. I have lived in Bratislava for a very long time and went for the first time to this bistro now and I immediately regretted how come this place have been eluding me for so long… did go for the top fav’s they serve - BumBo NamBo (excuse typos) - rice noodles with ton of veggies and slices of tender and soft beef. (No chewing gum type of meet crap) Must have been like 30 - 40 pieces of meat. This size of the meal was gigantic and overall value for money was best I have had in a very long time. If you are a heavy eater like me, finishing the meal will be nice challenge and if you are a regular eater, you will take half (at least) of your meal home for dinner with you. Like 90% of customers did while I was there. I am already looking forward to go there next time and get shrimps based meal and very curious how many shrimp pieces will I get, but I already know it will be much more than any other restaurant with...