Bun Bo Barcelona - Vietnamese Inspired Food — Restaurant in Barcelona

I am truly stunned that this restaurant is claiming to be remotely Vietnamese or even Vietnamese adjacent. The food was so far off the mark that it's no where near what any Vietnamese person would ever recognize it as their own. It's madness that this place is on any list in Barcelona much less the top for Vietnamese. The place is colorful and interesting but there has to be some resemblance to the food of it's origin. The words Bun Bo means, literally, beef noodle. If it's the name of your restaurant, that has to be your most popular dish or, at least, claim to fame. I ordered it and was simply terrified of the taste, texture and the sauce was simply frightening. If it was remotely close to Vietnamese in flavor, I would almost let it slide. The meat was chewy like rubber, noodle was dry and the vegetable was not fresh. The final insult was the sauce. It was the strangest thing I had ever tasted. It was suppose to be fish sauce but I still have no idea what that sour thing was. Never is it suppose to have tamarind for that type of dish and zero garlic or chilis. It was just bizarre. I had ordered the egg rolls as my backup plan in case if the 1st dish went sideways and it did. It had the exact same "fish" sauce which is simply not edible w/ eggrolls or anything for that matter. The rolls had zero flavor and it's fried. How do you mess up egg rolls? Since I was starving prior to my arrival, I completed my meal under serious protest. I shared the photo of my meal and menu with my family and we all had a great laugh over the Phorrito. We all said, WHAT IS THAT?. They use the words Vietnamese inspired but i can't really eat inspiration because it will never replace the real thing. While my review is critical, I know it will not detract any local Barcelonians from going to this place because the place is in a central location, interesting color and lots of booze. My review is for any serious foodie & fellow travelers out there that might mistaken this place for Vietnamese because it simply is not. If you want an authentic Vietnamese place in Barcelona, I discovered another place today that really impressed me called Pho Hanoi.

Response to the owner. If you want a positive review from a person that you claimed your food is from or "inspired" to be, then make the food good or, at least, edible than I would leave a review worthy of the food. You claim to be a Vietnamese restaurant and charge us good money for it, but you don't want to make the effort to give us the correct product or food that is worthy of what you charge. Just like these reviews, you only want positive ones from 99.9% who have never been to Vietnam or know what Vietnamese food should taste. Then you get my review from a person that knows exactly what Bun Bo should taste and I write exactly what I experienced and you don't like it. Your "hard working" staff did not seem that eager to provide service to my table. So, I don't think any comments from me directly to your staff would have made one bit of difference. Even if you had offered a refund, I will never get that time and calories that I wasted at your restaurant. If you refuse to make authentic and only "inspired" food from Vietnam, then improve the dishes or call your place by another country and NOT Vietnam. I can place a safe Vegas bet that any respectable Vietnamese person would agree with every single thing i wrote. My review is to give a clear counter point against many others that seem to have zero idea what Vietnamese food should taste and stop giving your place a 5 star until it is clearly deserving of it. I do not believe in false praise or mediocrity. I felt tricked and misinformed by the positive reviews i read before I decided to visit your place, so i wanted to help others to avoid the...

I’ve been a client for several years from bun Bo in raval and I’ve start to use Uber eats because of them and order Several times the summer rolls and I’ve always asked double sauce ( SINCE ITS SO LITTLE SOUCE THEY PROVIDE) Until today they have been sending the double sauce. And today I’ve order the summer rolls and the nam rolls with double sauce again, but today it was my last time they had me as a client. Has they actually called me from the restaurant saying that it’s the last time they will send double sauce free because I need to pay for the sauce. I would understand that you call me when I ask for the first time… I DONT UNDERSTAND WHEN THEY ACTUALLY STATED THAT IVE BEEN ORDERING ALOT AND THEY NEED TO CHARGE ME FOR EXTRA SAUCE… I think the appropriate would be that u actually call me tanking me for being a regular customer and ordering a lot from ur business. Well I understand that greed it’s more important than maintaining clients happy or rewarded for being regulars. Saying this its your business and it’s my money. So u keep ur businesses and I’ll keep my money.

FYI: I’ve brought a lot of clients to ur business in bun Bo raval and you can check with the workers that work there as they all know the double sauce guy 😜 For this bun Bo I’ve brought also so customers because I have always recommended but not anymore and my friends for sure they will follow me This is not a question of paying for sauce it’s a question that I believe that if u care for ur customers u will retain and...

Literally the worst bowl of pho I’ve ever had in my life (And I’ve had pho in the middle of nowhere, USA) I’m not only offended as a Vietnamese-American but I’m offended as a human being who eats food.

The high ratings here must be from people who’ve never had Vietnamese food. The menu says “Vietnamese inspired” but it’s more like some hipster European googled “Vietnamese recipes” online and didn’t even make an effort to try to find the proper ingredients. It’s 2019, everything delivers everywhere, no excuses.

The pho broth was literally just beef broth, too salty, lacked any kind of spices that would make beef broth into pho broth. It lacked depth and sweetness. Tasted like packaged broth full of MSG.

The pho noodles were the kind from the $1 instant pho packed, thin and floppy texture on the side and thick and powdery in the middle. It just instantly breaks apart in the soup. I understand you can’t get fresh rice noodle in Spain but for 10 euro/bowl better quality noodles is expected.

The chef/owner clearly doesn’t understand Vietnamese food because they would know important ingredients that make Vietnamese food can’t not be substituted. For example, pho is served w basil NOT mint. They’re not the same and can not be use interchangeablely.

Only came here because I got sick, should’ve just stayed in my hotel and drank water. If you’re a local looking for Pho, get the instant packages online and save yourself 9 euros, literally...