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Bon's is all about breakfast. Huge portions, not so huge prices.
No need to break the bank; breakfast here is $3. Throw in a juice and you're still below $5, and the portions are generous. Two pieces of toast, a couple eggs and pieces of bacon as well as hash browns, and it's all at a quality slightly above Denny's or White Spot!
Not that it's good, or anything. It's a darn greasy breakfast that the locals pack the small dive for every day (especially the weekends), and if you're going during the busy hours, expect to stand in line for it. Service is quick and uncaring, the restaurant is unkempt and old, and the reason you're there shouldn't really be either. It isn't worth the drive to see, but if you're close by and in need of a eggs and toast breakfast and an unbelievable price, stop on by. Otherwise, there are better places to grab an early bite, although it's a fun location to people watch in as a wide variety of characters cram the eatery for some cheap eats.
Traditional western Breakfast Food is almost and addiction with me. I love my eggs poached (medium...white cooked and the yolk still at least 1/2 liquid). So many times with the traditional method of poaching eggs in simmering water, I have received them hard poached or with broken yolks and I guess no short order cook has heard of a ladel with holes in it because their always served in a dish with a puddle of hot water. If you pour this onto your toast you get nasty soggy mess.This always get me ticked-off and sets the stage for a bad day. If you try to extricate the eggs from the puddle with a spoon you risk breaking the yolks...if they're not already broken. Finding a place that gets it right is a daunting task. I don't know why that should be so, but it seems to be the case. But, not at Bons off Broadway. They know that the ancient art of poaching eggs in simmering water is a culinary expertise that is dying. So they cheat and use poaching cups. That works for me!! The eggs are always 'up to snuff'.
I shall close with my thoughts on Bon's potatoes. These are real actual chunks of pan fried potatoes not frozen so-called 'hash browns', not deep fried McPotato discs. No...Acutal chunks of fried potato! And you get a heap of them and they are goooood! In the late 1960's a poet named Richard Brautigan penned a naught little ditty entitled F*ck Me Like Fried Potatoes. It's short & to the point: "F*ck me like fried potatoes on the most beautifully hungry morning of my God-damn life. I hadn't thought of that since I first read it when Brautigan published it in 1971,
But is popped into my head the first time I sat down to breakfast at Bons off Broadway.
Good basic food, well prepared and at a more than reasonable price. Thumbs up!
My buddy and I stumbled on this place on our way to the Parade of Lost Souls. I am so glad we went in. We were quickly approached by a nice waitress and our food arrived fast as well. I had fish & chips, which were excellent, and my buddy had the chicken cordon bleu, which he loved. The ambiance was brash and in-your-face with graffiti scralled everywhere. And the men's washroom goes down in the record books for the most graffiti on the walls. The food was really reasonably priced with the bill being under $20. You HAVED to check it out!
I remember coming here 12 yrs ago and everything is still the same but busier.
We came here on a weekday around 11am and the place was packed. The server, the buff guy, was very polite.
Even though their all day breakfast is cheap ($2.95), their service is poor. It took us awhile to get someone's attention. 3 of us ordered breakfasts. It took them 30mins to arrive. I know they're busy but 30min is just too much. But at the same time, I can't complain much because what you pay is what you get.
As for portion, it's perfectly sized. It filled up the whole plate. I've been to places where they claim they use 2 extra large eggs (ahem ABC Restaurant) turn out to be a bite sized.
I don't know if I wanna come here again but I do recommended it. But I gotta advice for you - patience is a virtue...
I only came here because we were in the area and my friend suggested this place.
Food was decent for the price you pay. Really greasy though. One person ordered the breakfast special for $3, another person ordered the daily sandwich and soup, and I ordered fish and chips. I don't recommend the fish and chips as the fish was soggy. However, it was a great deal for $7. I had 3 pieces, lots of fries and couldn't finish the meal. The bacon and tomatoe sandwich had loads of mayo. The vegetable soup was really salty.
Service was decent. It only took about 15 mins for our food to arrive.
Great value for the amount of food you get.
Ambiance is not my cup of tea. I got a good laugh at the very old Britney Spear's poster and other celebrities pasted all over the place. You can read the previous posts about the ambiance.
If I am in the area and wanted some cheap comfort food, I will consider going back then.
I finally decided to give this place a try since it has been reviewed on this site so often. It was an interesting experience.
The restaurant is really run down and dirty, and nothing matches. Also the mustard-colour paint is kind of ugly. I'm not sure if this ambience is intentional or not. Must be a 'theme’, like the white trash diner experience. Something like that.
I had the jumbo burger plate and Mrs. Chasiubow bravely ordered the 1/4 BBQ chicken. The burger was really huge, if a little overcooked, and the patties were actually made of hamburger, not the usual puck patty. The bun was toasted and there were the expected toppings on the burger. The thick cut fries were okay. The chicken was pretty good, and it had the same fries I got, except it also came with some cooked diced carrot. We also had a shake which was a bit better than what you get at McD's. I didn’t find the food particularly greasy compared to other places, and the plates and cutlery were clean even of nothing else was.
The server was friendly enough, and the food got there while it was still warm, so no big complaints. I was shocked that they asked for an extra fee to use Interac, but I suspect they try to keep costs close to the bone.
A good spot if you just want to eat something and you are only interested in price. I think Tom & Jerry’s (on Hastings near the PNE) or Jane’s in Burnaby would be better choices. Still, it is VERY cheap! Can’t recommend, but it won’t kill you either.
Most definitely huge portions. I can't speak for the breakfast fare, but having stopped by for a late snack/dinner, they do serve up a HUGE greasy burger patty in a decent standard bun with lots of thick-cut fries for very little $$. I do believe the theme of this place is cheap eats for huge portions any time of the day, but beware of all that grease you're taking in... makes me wonder if the kitchen might become a fire hazard....
I've written a review before on Bon's and have since gone back only once. Looking back, I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that review. I just couldn't believe why I gave it 4 stars on food. I guess I was just too over-excited about cheap breakfast. The last time I went back, the service was the same. We had to get our own coffees after waiting about 5-10 minutes for a cup. The coffee was at best, just warm. Food still took forever to get to us. We waited almost 40 minutes. Initially, everything was fine until I reached near bottom of the plate. I was wonder why my stomach felt off...Under the heap of breakfast, was a thick layer of brown grease and burnt bits. It was pretty disgusting when I ran a finger down the plate and two sides of grease formed and never came back together. I couldn't finish it.
Even for only $2.95, I won't go back to Bon's.
A tip to fellow breakfast lovers, go to either Jane's on Hastings for the same price breakfast, or to Joe's Grill on Davie.
Like the sign says I guess. All Day Breakfast is a deal and a half! You gotta wait for it though, it's a busy place! Help yourself to seating, help yourself to coffee refills! It's too busy! The other food at this place is actually half decent too! If you can tear yourself away from the Breakfast! It all looks like it's falling apart, seats are torn, tables are wobbly, but, food is consistent! They don't cheap out! And, ontop of that, I've never gotten sick eating here, you might think you would seeing as it's pretty run down. But, it's not a bad place at all man! I would recommend it to anyone who's not a picky eater!
The food is almost secondary to all the action in this place on a Sunday morning. Man, the stuff that drags its tired ass in here is amazing. Plus, all the early risers and the millions of kids and the cramped spaces give this restaurant a unique feel. Kind of like a bustling Chinatown landmark filled with mostly Caucasians in East Van. The food though is worth mentioning. If you are planning on logging afterward, this is the place to fill up with massive amounts of calories fried right. Yummy in your distended tummy. Ya.
A well known breakfast, greasy joint in East Van. As stated well known for the $2.99 breakfast. With your choice of bacon, breakfast sausage, Ukranian sausage or ham with two eggs, toast/breakfast muffin and home cut breakfast potatoes. Great portion and excellent value. They also have a soup and sandwich combo for $4-5(with fries). You dont have to spend much to fill your belly up here. They also have lotsa other food specials on the feature board.
Don't come to Bon's expecting quality food. It offer's good value for your money. They do have a beer and wine license. Have been here over 30 times over the years. And Bon is always smiling to greet all his costomer's. May not have the best food in the neighbouthood but Bon's get my support. Always consistent and friendly.
Tried the $3 breakfast. Well worth it for the price. The butterfly sausages were yummy and eggs were cooked just right. Really couldn't complain at all. I liked the atmosphere- the only thing that could be better would be the service- the server was fine, but the service was very slow.
I know that this place is really popular for their all day breakfast, and rightly so. There portions were really big, but it's all about the wait.
We had to wait 30 minutes to get a table. Understandably, it was a Sunday morning. When we got a table, the waitress came to take our orders in about 2.5 seconds. I had to read the menu. She kept coming back every 5 seconds like I was occupying her table. Then when I ordered, I had finished my whole entire juice and 4 cups of coffee later, my food came. It felt like they only had one cook. Don't quite understand.
Then I saw this guy that didn't have enough to eat from his order. He made another order of pancakes. It took 3 minutes for it to get there and I'm still waiting for my food. I don't get it. Hmm.....
Overall, I will go back, but maybe not on a Saturday.
I don't know how this place gets by on less than $5 per patron.
But then, I don't *really* want to know.
I went here a couple months ago with a girlfriend after doing the Grouse Grind. It was really the wrong choice given that we were both famished and cold (it was raining that day), but after a long wait and some friendly service by a limping server in a police / sheriff uniform, we exited, full, happy, and rested.
The decor is dated but original - mustard coloured walls with an assortment of movie posters, odds and ends strewn about through the restaurant. I did not visit the famed restrooms, but will next time.
Bon's on Broadway - a Vancouver institution.
Great place, always packed. Not bad on the weekends if you don't mind the wait, fine any other day of the week.
Come for the breakfast special, maybe grab a pancake or two. Everything else on the menu is meh, but why would you come for anything else? $2.95 for an awesome hearty breakfast.
You can't complain. Best hangover food on the planet, and makes for a great tradition.
The food comes VERY slow - make sure you know that before you go. Yeah, you would think the bacon, sausages, etc are all pre-cooked in big stacks, but I guess they're not. You're looking at about a half hour wait from the time you order to the time you get your food. However, I really do like the food there, and it's only $2.99 - it's a steal. I disagree with the other reviewer on the hashbrowns - I actually really enjoy the potato chunks and think they are very flavourful. If you have some time to kill, a good place to have breakfast. Better than paying $10 at IHOP for the same thing.
Been there twice. Very busy place...probably because you get a mountain of decent-tasting food for very cheap. 2.95$ all-day breakfast special gives you more food than the similar deals that other greasy spoons will give.The servers are friendly once they finally notice you... I have one complaint about their fruit cup..mine tasted fishy as if it were prepared on a contaminated cutting board or stored in a fridge with other smelly things abound. Ah well.
and i had basically the same experience as most others. I arrived at about 9am and it had only a few customers. It was strange to me since it was breakfast time and i recalled the long line ups mentioned in other reviews. It was a friday morning though, and after about 10mins, Bon's was filled! Really nice place to grab a breakfast, and nothing beats the 2.99 breakfast. Now i wouldve liked the potatoes to be hashed for i've never had potatos like that for breakfast, how do you complain with the pricepoint. Portions were more than adequate and the service was well aware of all the patrons and prompt to fill up coffees.
Will return for the cheap eats and the relaxing atmosphere!
Okay if you like to sit in a place where the cleanliness is questionable, like to wait forever for your food, and like to eat hash browns that are basically big chunks of dry potato.
It seems like more of a place to go and read the paper for free, and I guess the breakfast for $2.99 is cheap enough and filling if you are really hungry.
Bons has resided on Broadway as long as I can remember, and it has really been an anchor while things around there have changed. The fact is, Bons must have some miracle farmer who can make free food because ever since he's opened up the all day Breakfast hasn't raised a cent in price.
Whatever you might say about the service or the lines, you can't argue that this is because of how popular his joint is. I don't know how he makes any money on the breakfast but one thing is for sure with free coffee refills and a 3 dollar breakfast you really can't go wrong.
When I first came to the place I thought the atmosphere was a little off base what with the movie posters and customer created (but never washed off) pencil/marker graffiti, however like everybody else I've learned to love it.
As a word of caution, don't go in expecting that the other food will be as exceptional or of the same value, it isn't. If you try ordering the lobster for example, don't expect to eat within the next hour, because Bon's operates by having all the cooks ready to make the Breakfasts and the Specials, and maybe a few other popular dishes, and if you order something like Sweet and Sour Pork your not going to get your food very quickly.
However, there is one undeniable fact you can't alter, Bon's has the absolute, non-negotiable best breakfast in town for this price. I recommend you stop in there, but chances are you already have.
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