Nong La Cafe

i came here once with some of my friends. i dont know if its because i’ve had bae area viet food or NYC area viet food, but i just wasn’t that impressed with this place. maybe i was supposed to order the bun buo he? maybe its because they used a thicker white noodle and not those normal phở noodles?
anyway, i ordered the phở with the meatball thingies and the flank steak. the meatballs were kind of hard when they came out and had pieces of fat you could taste still in it. the flank steak wasn’t bad! overall the phở itself is not bad, its pretty par, but i guess i was expecting better from LA /​pseudo-​japantown.
price wise, its a bit much for just phở. thats not what asian food is supposed to be! its supposed to be cheap!
side note: our water looked and acted like the exact human real life version of tina (or tinugh) from bob’s burgers. high five for those that know what im talking about, hahaha.
this is not one of your run down hole in the wall restaurants, btw. this is one of those bougie nice (but tiny space bc its LA) clean restaurants.
only good thing about this place: centrally located so you can walk over to get bubble tea or daiso or lemonade right after your meal!

Not a fan of their phở at all.
The broth itself lacks in so much flavor. You can tell it’s not from real bone broth and from something else.
When I went, they used rice noodle and not even vermicelli noodles! It was not good. The noodles weren’t even cooked properly and we’re still kinda hard in the center.
The eggs rolls were also terrible and not even hot.
Avoid here.

Nong La Café is a great Vietnamese right in the heart of JapanTown on Sawtelle Street. I have been knocking out all these new spots around my work, yet never took the opportunity to try Nong La Café. I am very inexperienced Vietnamese cuisine so I did to research a little before trying this spot.
SO you know, this place is typically busy with a line of people wanting to eat there during lunch and dinner time. I came in at 11:50 knowing I will beat the lunch rush. I sat down at the bar and started my meal with the shrimp and pork spring rolls. Very classic dish that his been replicated in other asian cultures. The way Nong La Café made the dish was traditional simple, which is how the dish should be. The spring roll tasted really refreshing and great appetizer to counter the hot sandwich I got. For my lunch, I went Full Calorie mode and ordered the 12 inch banh mi pork belly and added a fried egg to create a gooey salty goodness meal. They do the pork belly a little differently by thinly slicing the meat/​fat so easier to chew. They also had these three sauces that added to my sandwich. The banh mi was executed really well and was a great size for the price. I splurged on lunch with a appetizer and left with a bill of like $ 16. I was full beyond belief and really happy on my lunch choice.
Overall, this was a great meal. For what I ordered, it was cheap. I could go there and just order the banh mi, and leave with a bill of under $ 10. That’s a steal. Now I know why this spot is always packed with people. Great meal, good service, and full. Cant ask for more. Nong La Café earned that 4 out of 5 in my opinion.

Disappointed.
I’ve been looking forward to coming here, but honestly it was a failed attempt at serving authentic Vietnamese food.
This place uses thick noodles in the phở. It gives it a more chewy taste which I personally don’t enjoy. The broth wasn’t that special. I felt like they didn’t cook the spices in the broth long enough because the phở didn’t have that authentic flavor and aroma. Also, the pieces of meat are so small! I would have definitely appreciated more meat. Last, a bowl of phở here is like $ ¹¹⁄₁₂. If you can, go down to Little Saigon in OC and get yourself a bowl of authentic, mouthwatering phở for $ 6.

A great Vietnamese find on the Westside. As a Vietnamese-​American foodie myself, I love how Nong La keeps it authentic by having the menu feature the Vietnamese names of the dishes with an English translation right next to it.
Their phở uses the bigger noodles, and their broth is really flavorful. It isn’t overly sweet like other places make it in this area. Their filet mignon steak that goes into the phở is really tender. I like to get it separate so I can control how much the meat is cooked (medium rare is the best!). Their spring rolls are also pretty solid, and they have a few different options for Banh Mi which are all fantastic.
I am looking forward to coming back and trying a few of their rice dishes. Overall, Nong La has not disappointed and I have been a loyal customer for over three years now. Highly recommended! :)

I’ve been longing to come here for a while now and finally, so glad I made it today. The place was silent and I was seated immediately. I got the Phở and was fairly delighted. It so delicious and the noodles in were thicker, al-​dente and the veggies are fresh. Oh! Such a comfort food for me.
The price is a bit higher than usual but everything is worth paying for. Highly recommended!

With a lack of authentic Asian on the west side… to even find something like this is amazing. It is modern inside but yet resides on Sawtelle. It’s about what you would expect.
We had several things:
Spring Rolls (shrimp) — Rolls were not that fresh… seemed pre-​wrapped a long time ago. If you go to Little Saigon, they put a bit of fried crunch in it and it’s good. I thought the peanut sauce was good.
banh mi (steak) — I had a bite or two of this… I am not sure why this is supposed to be the most amazing. I know that it does have better cuts of meat than a typically Vietnamese shop
Bön Bo Hue — The thing that everybody claimed was amazing. I thought the noodles were silky but by no means did I think it was the most amazing thing on the menu. It’s more of a tomatoish beef broth I think.
Maybe I’ll try the phở next time…

Nong La is always a must stop in LA. The Vietnamese food is out of this world. It’s clean and very fresh. I order the lemon grass chicken with jasmine rice. The flavors are unlike anywhere else. You also have to try the Vietnamese iced coffee and their spring rolls. Probably the best spring rolls ever actually!

This is one of my favorite spots to come eat at anytime I’m in LA. Super fresh ingredients, their Lemongrass chicken with jasmine rice is to die for. Love all of their sauces they make in house. Their crispy spring rolls are the best I have had. Ever… Prices are so fair compared to the quality you get. Great job guys!

I crave Nong La’s Bahn mi sandwiches with fried egg on a regular basis. This is the best Bahn mi you can find, dare I say, in Southern California. I’ve tried many other Bahn mi from places in SGV and Garden Grove (I grew up in Monterey Park and lived in Huntington Beach later on, so Garden Grove and SGV were in my backyard). The ingredients they use are so incredibly fresh here — no sad, pathetic, broken cilantro! But it’s the fried egg combined with the well marinated meat that is unexpected and what sets this Bahn mi apart from all the rest, making it really unique and special.
The egg rolls are solid, and the phở is excellent too. But as you can tell, it’s the Bahn mi here that has captured my heart.

Nothing special brothwise. Servings were amazing. Spring rolls were more veggies than meat. Attentive service!
I’d go again order one bowl of phở to go and share it with my husband.

Was craving phở when I was in LA last week and Nong La Café had some great reviews, and was close to my airbnb.
I had the Phở Dac Biet, which was okay. I loved that they used thicker noodles, which reminds me of moms home made phở, but the broth was a bit salty, and there was way too many noodles to meat.
Service was good, and we were able to sit down right away. The server checked on us often enough to be thoughtful, but not so often to be annoying. Otherwise, in a pinch, I may check out Nong La again, but otherwise I think I’d want to see what else LA has to offer.

Really tasty and fresh offerings inside a soothing environment. Yeah, there’s a gentleness here that just encourages you to relax. Couple that with good food and really thoughtful and great service — and you’ve got a winner.
Though I’ve always encourage Vietnamese food, I had never really tried Phở. (Maybe they had it back in Chicago on Argyle Street — or maybe I just used to order the same things again and again). So, I was intent on trying Phở — and it was good. It’s typically beef-​based, as opposed to the pork-​base found in Ramen. It has a distinct flavor which can take get used to. On one dish, they offer Phở with in a chicken base. I’d be into trying that. So, I tried the Ga (Free Range Chicken with Chicken Broth) and the BUN BO HUE
(Fragrant Lemongrass beef soup with vermicelli noodles, pork patty and beef, topped with red onions, green onions and cilantro.) Both good, but I preferred the Ga; the chicken.
I was tasting those, but I ordered the Braised Pork Belly w cage free egg (Thit Kho Trung). This I loved. Looked at first to be maybe not enough for an entrée. Fear not, it is. It is hearty and flavorful and you will not want to rush through this. On top of that, we did order some apps; both the GOI CUON/​SPRING ROLLS (the kind of fall apart, but they’re delicious), and the CHA GIO/​CRISPY EGG ROLLS, which pretty much speak for themselves. Bottom line is that they were not too greasy, and they were very good. These two apps are a good combination.
For dessert, try the Flan; we loved it. And it’s not always easy to find good flan.
Lovely place, very good food, excellent service. And we went when there was no line. Yay!

Ah… So love their food. It’s like home to me. If ur Filipino the beef noodle soup I ordered will remind you of «mami.» The ratio of the noodle and the broth for me is perfect. You just want to take a nap after eating it. I called it my «feel good soup.» The broth is so tasty, not greasy with bit of a kick to it.
The braised pork belly reminds me of a Filipino dish called «humba.» It’s so tender you don’t even need a knife. It’s sweet so you have to eat it with rice.
Best part of it… They deliver! But if u are visiting West LA u gotta check out this restaurant. U won’t be disappointed.

I thought I liked this place the first time I came here, and then was hugely disappointed my 2^nd time. That was 2 years ago.
My 3^rd visit was last week and I don’t think I’ll choose Nong La for phở anymore– because it’s just too inconsistent for me. I don’t want surprises. I just want to enjoy a basic bowl of phở.
I like their bun bo hue, but their chicken phở… not so much. The chicken tasted rubbery, as if it was once frozen, then thawed and frozen again. Not a fun taste to have in your mouth.
The only thing I can say positively about this place was their Vietnamese coffee, which was good but not even THAT great. I used to think good viet coffee was only obtainable at phở places but I’ve had better viet coffees from Groundworks.
Surrounded by so many magnificent restaurants, Nong La is just lackluster to me. I wish it wasn’t, because now this means I’ll have to travel to koreatown for good phở.

I was craving Vietnamese food in Sawtelle since I was quite tired of eating ramen around there, so decided to give this place a try!
For some reason, I always thought it was a vietnamese café with viet sandwiches, but they have my favorite thing in the world: vermicelli with pork and egg rolls.
Actually it was pretty damn good! Nothing super outstanding, but good enough.

I love the food here! It’s always fresh and packed with flavor!!! I also often order catering from them as well.
Must try:
1. Bahn Mi Bo Nuong — Grilled Lemongrass Sesame Steak sandwich (with or w/​out egg & pâté)
2. Goi Cuon — Rice paper rolls with tofu, oyster mushrooms, rice vermicelli, lettuce and fresh herbs, served with peanut sauce
3. Bun Bo Nuong — Cold vermicelli noodles served on a bed of lettuce, fresh herbs, cucumbers, bean sprouts, julienned carrots and peanuts with fish sauce
PS The service is inconsistent sometimes, especially for catering so order in advance!

While Sawtelle is my absolute go-​to when it comes to most types of casual Japanese food, the area is far from a one-​trick pony when it comes to having a varied selection of cuisines on deck. (This proves particularly handy when you reside in an area as culturally UN-​diverse as Santa Monica…)
Take our recent visit to Nong La, for example. We were in the mood for some Phở — and since Samo has next to nothing to offer in the way of Vietnamese cuisine, we decided to let Sawtelle Boulevard’s guiding light show us the way:
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+ We came in for dinner time on a weekday night (maybe around 8ish) and didn’t have to wait at all to be seated. This same sense of efficiency was echoed throughout our dinner — drinks were refilled promptly, and we didn’t wait for any longer than 10 minutes for our food to be served.
+ I was impressed by the upscale, contemporary vibe at Nong La. The dining environment is very clean, polished, and has a nice gray/​white color scheme. The sense of trendiness was complemented well by the restaurant’s soundtrack of mellow electronic & chillout music.
+ I was really digging one particular track that was played during our meal, and I asked our server if he happened to know the name of the song/​artist that was playing; without missing a beat, he told me that he would find out — and he was back at our table in a flash with the info I requested. (The soundtrack playing was by Alina Baraz, for those interested!)
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+ We split two entrees — the Phở Tai Bo Vien (Phở with Rare Steak & Beef Ball) and the Thit Nuong (Grilled Pork Rice Plate). Prices for both were pretty Sawtelle-​esque (i.e. a little bit higher than what we’re accustomed to paying for Asian food).
— I was impressed to learn that the phở served at Nong La is prepared without any usage of MSG; what this apparently results in is a lighter, healthier broth.
Unfortunately, this health-​conscious preparation sacrifices some of the trademark heartiness & flavor for which phở is known. The broth was lacking in terms of the complex aromas and smells that I’m used to savoring from authentic Mom & Pop style Vietnamese places; the flavors were milder and less pronounced than what I was hoping for. Also, the «rare» beef served inside the dish was overcooked a bit — and as a result was too chewy and not very tender. Overall, I could’ve passed on this entrée.
+ The Grilled Pork Rice Plate, on the other hand, was delicious!
The pork was crunchy, yet juicy; its slight char provided an excellent textural contrast and a nice hint of smokiness. I enjoyed the sides of pickled radishes/​carrots, cucumber, and fish sauce — each of which provided an excellent complement to the flame-​grilled flavors of the pork.
We also paid an additional $ 1.25 to add on Nong La’s much-​hyped fried egg to the platter; the runny yolk was very pleasing to my Filipino heart — especially when paired with spoonfuls of the jasmine rice. I would definitely order this dish again (and I almost wished that I didn’t have to share half of it with the GF!)As mentioned above, my only complaint about this dish would be that the portion size could’ve been upped a bit.
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While it certainly helps that competition in the area is so lacking, I will say that overall, Nong La wasn’t half bad. Not the best Vietnamese food that I’ve had — but still a solid contributor to Sawtelle’s roster.

Good little Phở spot on Sawtelle, if you don’t have too long of a wait in line its worth checking out.
Phở:
If I were rating on Phở alone probably closer to a 3 star review. I like the noodles they use but the broth is a little bit on the sweeter side. Also they skimp on the meat and side (sprouts, basil, peppers) giving you literally on sprig of basil and 2 slices of jalapeño. Finally a bowl of Phở (meatball, brisket, steak) is about $ 11.00 where at most places its under $ 10.
Spring Rolls:
Shrimp Rolls are pretty good, your standard rolls nothing AMAZING nothing offensive.
Veggie Rolls, I really liked these they make them with roast tofu and mushrooms which I really liked. It added and extra flavor and made them pretty filling.
Bahn Mi:
Ordered the Steak Bahn Mi with fried egg. This is what made me rank up to 4 stars vs down to 3. The bread was perfectly flaky and just the right size. Meat had good flavor and there was a good amount. The sandwich was overall good and delivered. An 8 inch sandwich was about $ 8.00 which is a fair price.
Overall the place is ok it’s a little on the small side, service is average, your Phở selections are slim on the west side, I prefer Mama Hongs for Phở, but Nong La is worth a try if your looking for something different.

Unilocal challenge 2016 (⁹⁄₁₀₀)
One of my favorite places for Phở! Their spring rolls are pretty darn good too! I always get the Filet Mignon Phở. What’s unique about this place is their noodles! They’re fat lol. And it’s so good! The broth is perfect as well and a great portion size. Aaron is the best server :)
It’s a small restaurant and you might usually have to wait. Parking also sucks in this area but it’s worth!