The Namesake
KTown K-Town Throwdown, Milk Bubble Tea
noodle salad with tofu
Namesake banh mi & brown sugar milk tea
Noodle salad with an iced green tea
miso kimchi ramen // slurp worthy
milk bubble tea // black tea + milk plus our tapioca bubbles
bon me salad
Study seating
coconut noodle salad // seasonally savory
the namesake // our take on the vietnamese banh mi
the j.p. pairs really well with a milk bubble tea
japchae noodles // soy + sesame goodness
filling + refreshing
ali's pho // chicken pho with a twist
chef-crafted dishes
food, steak
The namesake sandwich
miso kimchi ramen // slurp worthy
ali's pho // chicken pho with a twist
picnic-worthy food
japchae noodles // soy + sesame goodness
Namesake sandwich
Seating in front of our restaurant
Mito I.
Jun 15, 2024
Brief Summary:- Sauce amount wasn't enough for the dish, would have liked a larger sauce container- Good portions- Iced green tea tastes like iced waterThe weather was warm throughout the day, so our appetite was on the lower side. However, heading back to the hotel, we knew that we would have wanted something in our stomachs before going to bed, so we looked around and found this modern looking center that it facilitated students. Inside, there are several places to sit down, cafes and food restaurants. There were more seating areas, but these were locked with a card key.Bon Me is situated near the entrance (unless there is another entrance on the other side of this building) and the cold noodles felt like the right time to eat them. I checked their online menu, and it didn't include the one that we ate, so I think it was a seasonal special. We also ordered iced green tea to drink with the dish. The dish arrived fast and we took a seat near the long hallway. Inside the noodle was vermicelli noodles and different vegetables were decorated nicely before we mixed it. Poured the sauce over the noodles, and saw that the sauce didn't cover most of it, so after some mixing the sauce was already gone on the bottom of the bowl. Taste wise, due to how little the sauce covered the noodles and vegetables, there was not much flavor. I couldn't tell what the sauce tasted like, so in all it tasted like I was eating just noodles and vegetables with no salt or seasonings. The tomatoes and the egg helped add an additional taste.As for the tea, this was refreshing, but it mostly tasted like iced water. The color looked like iced green tea, but the taste was non-existent.
Read MoreCami C.
Feb 19, 2024
A great place to grab lunch in the Smith Campus Center. I love Bon Me in general so being able to grab it for lunch is perk in the Harvard Square area. I love their noodle-salad bowls and typically get it with the glass noodles, tofu, and spicy peanut sauce. It's delicious and filling for a solid meal.At this location, you order on the screen at the counter, enter your name, and pay with either card or apple pay. I waited less than 5 minutes for my order to be ready after placing the order, so I would say they are definitely efficient. Might be a bit of a delay during rush hour times though.Bon Me has a lot of variety from noodles bowls to banh mi sandwiches to ramen. There is something for everyone and ways to customize to fit different dietary restrictions and allergies as well. I think this place meets the expectations in terms of having a quick, efficient, and consistent pick-up food service, while getting a nice meal out of it. Not overly pricey for the amount of food you get too.Not many tables around the restaurant, but there are plenty of tables that you can sit at around the Smith Campus Center, or take to go wherever you are off to next. It's mainly just a place to order and pick up the food.
Read MoreYiping L.
Jul 15, 2023
Came back once again and saw their menu prices are now fixed! Great to see a business actually listening to their customers. The online ordering service was out of order though so I had to go in-person early to place my order.Got the K-Town Throwdown which is a classic and so so good!
Read MoreMelissa M.
Oct 17, 2022
One of the best banh mi sandwiches i have had. The pork was so soft, almost like pulled pork asian style. The bread was fresh and had the right amount of crunch and crispiness without breaking your teeth. I loved the sauce! It wasn't too spicy ( which is great for me) but they do have other sandwiches that offer that spice if you're a spicy person :) The brown sugar milk tea was good. It wasn't bad. Just regular. I think my brown sugar consolidated too much at the bottom but wasn't a deal breaker. I probably should have shaken it up more a bit. I would definitely come back here again!!
Read MoreMorgan C.
Feb 26, 2019
I am a longtime devotee to Bon Me, as it is my absolute all time favorite food truck in Boston! We had some time to kill in Harvard Square this afternoon before jetting off to an Elite Event in Somerville, and dinner wasn't being served there, so we figured why not come check out the new restaurants at the Smith Center at Harvard? The building itself is gorgeous and very eco friendly, with large floor to ceiling walls covered in plants and a rooftop garden that is open to the public in warmer months. Year round, the interior features ample seating, lots of natural light, and a warm and welcoming environment. The Smith Center features lots of food choices, including Whole Heart Provisions (a locally based vegan chain), SwissBakers (pretzel bread for the win!), Blackbird Donuts (closes at 6 PM while everything else is open later... sad trombone), Pavement Coffee (gotta get that pre-class caffeine), Oggi Sandwiches (I have heard good things - next time!), Saloniki (a Greek restaurant, and the only truly "sit down" restaurant in the place), and of course, Bon Me, which I got this afternoon.Like most of the food offerings in Smith Center, Bon Me is a brightly lit and cheerful kiosk where you step up and order your food, then take it to a nearby table to chow down. It's a very similar setup to the stall that Bon Me has at the Boston Public Market. In the few times I've been to both of these locations, they've eliminated the physical ordering to an employee, and instead, customers punch in their order on a screen. This isn't my favorite thing, and it kind of feels like one of those "robots are taking over everything" kind of Black Mirror-dystopian moments, but at least there's no excuses if the order is wrong! Even though you don't really interact with the sandwich makers, I found the customer service to be kind of awkward and cold, and I really did miss the upbeat interactions I had with the truck employees. Oh well.The brick and mortar location with more kitchen space offers more protein and menu options, and I was excited to see my all time favorite, the tender and flavorful Coconut Braised Chicken, as an offering for a salad topper. I also added on some veggies, like roasted butternut squash and charred scallions. My salad was filling and tasty, and I really enjoyed it. Bon Me is yummy, but can be pricy. My salad and iced tea came to $16, but hey, it's Boston after all, and this food is definitely worth it!
Read MoreLinda E.
Sep 18, 2018
Bon Me God! This place delivers in all aspects: quality, quantity,& pricing. A huge banh mi with lots & lots of meat, perhaps even too much meat & a vietnamese coffee for a little bit over $10. Theres really not a lot of Vietnamese options in the area so the addition to this in the Smith center is great! The banh is served on soft crunchy french bread and the pate & pickled veggies really tie it together. I definitely prefer chicken or tofu but this pork is not too bad. The Vietnamese coffee is strong & definitely could use more condensed milk but overall all in all, this is a great meal to enjoy.
Read MoreVincent Y.
Feb 24, 2022
Namesake sandwich was good. Braised pork on it was very juicy and tender. I'll be back here to try the Korean style banh mi that they have. Also under $10 which is nice. And right on campus
Read MoreHong T.
Nov 18, 2023
I got the soba noodle salad with kimchi, peanuts with their Gochujang chicken, topped off with their Spicy Peanut and the flavors were fantastic! Staff was also really nice and gave me some recommendations which were great! The location had multiple huge live plant walls that made the area looked awesome. Will definitely stop by again for lunch next time I am in the area.
Read MoreRon K.
Sep 24, 2023
Wow, I had been their years ago, another site, tried it. The Singapore noodles cold, they then microwaved them, tasteless, sitting around for while, the opposite of fresh. Partner had the Ali pho, just as tasteless, must have been sitting around forever, rice noodles stuck together. Another disaster. Other noodle options available in Harvard Square, go ANYWHERE else
Read MoreJeanette B.
Aug 27, 2023
Please train your staff on how to read orders better. Ordering at the Smith Campus Bon Me is through a monitor at the counter with no human interaction - even when you are the only cusotmer. Despite being detailed with an order, they had screweed up my orders 100% of the time. Unfortunately, it's the only game in town since the Kendall locations are closed on the weekend. The last time I ordered a salad with extra meat and extra noodles, I asked for extra sauce since Bon Me tends to sauce lightly. Not only was my large salad sauceless, I only recieved a single half full sauce on the side. Dry salads aren't good, Bon Me Team. So today I typed in my order and specified very clearly to please add peanut sauce to the salad + add extra sauce. After a 25 minute roundtrip drive to pick up my order, plus having to find parking, I get home and my double-size salad with extra meat and extra noodles has NO SAUCE and a single sauce on the side - enough to cover 20% of the salad and the rest was dry. It may sound minor, but my dinner was lousy after the effort I made. They did the same thing to my boyfriend's salad. We are long-time loyal customers, but will never order from the Harvard Square location again.
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