Nong Lá Vietnamese Cafe — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Having grown up in 626 and been to Vietnam several times, I can say that I know what good Vietnamese food tastes like. I'm also (kinda) Vietnamese as well - another story, another day; so I have family who knows how to cook legit Viet food. Basically, I know my shiz!

Before Nong La opened, we only had places like Pho Citi in the westside to get Pho from. If we wanted to venture a bit further, there were many ktown Pho places as well. So compared to these options, I would say Nong La is pretty alright.

But because I've experienced authentic Viet food, I wouldn't say that Nong La compares. First off, it is very expensive for what you get.

A bowl of Pho with minimal amount of noodles ( a handful) is about $9. A bowl of bun bo hue is similarly priced. A banh mi is $8?! I unfortunately can't get full from the bowls, even when I drink all the soup. And banh mi in 626 is priced at $3 each and usually with buy 2 get 1 free specials... WAHHHT

The taste itself is alright. There is a word in canto meaning clear, healthy, pure - "Qing." I would say good broth that has been cooked for a day with bones, not MSG and boullion powder tastes Qing. My uncle owned a Pho restaurant in AZ, the land of NO pho, and he skimped out on this traditional style of cooking and just bowled water and added beef boullion and MSG. THANKFULLY, Nong la doesn't taste like this, but I would say it is closer to this flavor on the scale and further than the traditional.

Their bun bo hue is very lemongrassy and acid-y (is this a word?!). I went to Hue recently and ate the first bun bo hue that I've ever enjoyed. It was balanced in the taste from the beef bones, and the lemongrass. Also, nong la gotta add more noodles in this shiz.

I commend the owners of Nong La for using their bizness smarts and opening a bougier pho restaurant in an area that lacks Viet cuisine. But I roll my eyes in the patrons dumping srirarcha and hoisin in the broth, deeming this place "the best pho...

UPDATE 11/14/22 I couldn’t resist going back because the food is really good. I’ve been back 5 times and had no further customer service problems. The food is delish. Hopefully the staffing got worked out. The crusty bread on the Bahn mee, the pork. Everything is really good.

Terrible Customer Service Experience at the La Brea location. I ordered dinner last night via DoorDash, and they gave the DoorDash driver the wrong food. I was really craving the chicken/cabbage salad, so tonight I tried again, and I ordered for pick-up not wanting to risk another screw up. When I placed the order it sounded like she said chicken Pho, so I corrected her she said yeah yeah. When I got there to pick up the bill seemed expensive so I asked her, and she said yeah the prices went up. I confirmed with her again two chicken salads (plus a bunch of other stuff). And she said yeah. I get home and of course it is two chicken pho -- the wrong food two nights in a row. When I called to ask for a refund she said I had to drive back in person and she cannot do a refund over the phone. Then she took my number and said she'd call me back, and then hung up on me. Now when I tried to call back, it appears she blocked my number -- I have tried calling a number of times and the call will not go through. Too bad, because the food was good. But this was a very frustrating experience, and her response was to be dismissive and unhelpful. She didn't even say she was sorry. Adios Nong La. I...

Worst Pho I have ever had! Like water in a bowl! I’ve been to Vietnam twice and eaten Pho all over LA…and it’s all about the broth! We shared the chicken Pho and the recommended Lemon grass chicken salad…. Both had NO flavor at all! And Pho is supposed to come with Mint leaves, they served it with basil? Even adding a chicken bouillon could have helped! How do you have a Pho restaurant and not know how to make Pho?? The women with a bike cart in Vietnam with a full chicken in a pot, had much better pho for 60 cents! All you have to do is cook the bones, chicken and a few spices! I added in siracha, hoisin sauce, lime, and the side sauce to dip the chicken… we still couldn’t eat it. And the chicken tastes like it was cooked in boiled water. Zero flavor! And instead of rice noodles they had this thicker noodle. Try making it correctly before trying to be creative.

Not much chicken in either dish and even the lemongrass chicken had no flavor. Only thing edible was the Vietnamese eggs rolls. All we had was the soup, lemongrass chicken noodle salad and egg rolls and it cost $70!! Get a new chef or add a chicken bouillon or something! You should be embarrassed. Sucks to go out to eat, spend so much money and not even able to finish the food because it has no flavor! They also never took our two dishes .. or asked if everything was okay. Which you should notice when TWO bowls...