I mean I hate to write a review for a place that all the cool kids have already thoroughly drooled over, but I will say: Bonnie's deserves the hype. I'm embarrassed to say, since I had their MSG martini, I've set up an unregulated chemistry lab in my tiny greenpoint kitchen with the sole purpose of reverse-engineering the perfect MSG martini. It's a good use of time, people. And yes - the food is incredible. Of course there's the playfully kitsch McRib concept that answers the question: "what if we did the McRib, but like - everything was bougie and perfect?" I think my favorite dish was the hup to ha shrimp with mind numbing creamy acidic umami vibes. Cheers read more

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It is 4:55pm and there is a line at 5pm, some with reservations, some as hopeful walk-ins. This highly anticipated spot was on my list for months. I gathered 5 of my friends and prepared to dine! We started off with the long Island ice tea served in your classic canto tea kettle. Not your average tea, decked with a lemon wheel on top. Our tables of 6 primarily stuck with this beverage, as it serves 8. One person got adventurous and ordered the MSG martini, that contains shaoxing wine + msg. No thx for me. As a table of 6, we ordered chrysanthemum green salad, dao gok (chinese long beans), jiew yeem yao yu, x.o. cheung fun, fuyu cacio e pepe mein, cha siu mcrib, yeung yu sang choi bao, chow nai sundae. Not enough food. I found myself comparing traditional Cantonese style dishes and the cost of this. What can I say? Tasty but don't come hungry if you're not looking to spend. I respect their take and variations on the dishes. Rounding up my 3.5 to a 4. read more

I would say more like 3.5 stars personally, but it was an enjoyable meal and the staff were very attentive and friendly. Food-wise speaking as a Cantonese-eater, I found some of the combinations and moderns takes to be hit or miss. Some I liked better than others, but I appreciated the fun and pizzazz. Among my favorites were their take on the walnut shrimp (hup to ha), sticky rice (naw mai fan) and also the chicken (bak cheet gai). I felt that the oysters were flavored too strongly masking the taste of the oysters in favor of the pizzazz. The main rainbowfish was an interesting but not a favorite take, stuffed and made into a lettuce wrap format with a green almost salsa-esque sauce. The cacio de pepe felt out of place and the wontons amongst some of the other dishes were forgettable in my personal opinion. The staff however was very attentive and service was excellent. The Long Island iced tea pot was fun to share amongst a big group, and the atmosphere was pleasant and what you would expect from a Brooklyn spot like this. Was it worth the hype? Probably not for me, but for those that not avid chinese-food eaters this is more of a fun experimental spot. I don't know if I would come again personally. read more

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I'd give Bonnie's a solid 3. I came for early dinner with some friends. To start, Id say this isn't a spot I'd recommend for large groups. The dishes are rather small and you'd have to order a LOT to feed everyone. For 5 of us, we ordered 1 appetizer and 4 entrees and each of us only got a bite or 2 of each. Value wise, I didn't think it was very worth it. Food wise, I was pretty impressed with how the food had authentic Cantonese flavor (3/5 of our party were Cantonese). The string beans and cheung fun are excellent. The rainbow trout was said to be a must try item but it was just ok. I would've rather tried other noodle or rice dishes instead. read more

I'm not going to lie, my friend asked for my opinion on whether or not we should come here for her birthday. After reviewing the Yelp, I came back to her and said "probably not". Nevertheless, she made a reservation, and boy was I proven wrong! We had an excellent time here with a large group for her birthday. The rib sandwich was incredible (and big, definitely recommend splitting). We shared so many good apps that I'd recommend them all (except not the BLT rice... nothing to phone home about). We also shared a pot of the Long Island iced tea which was the classiest LIT I've ever seen and tasted delicious. Special shoutout the the friendly waiter we had who was able to make some great recommendations for us! read more

3.5/5 stars For how ambitious Bonnie's attempt at modern cantonese cooking is, their menu fails to deliver the final punch in making this restaurant one to remember. As mentioned in other reviews, Bonnie's is notoriously hard to get a reservation at. We managed to get a reservation for 6 on a Saturday evening-- we were surprised that our reservation ended up being outside. They have heaters outdoor, but nowhere near enough to compete with December weather. They did give us complimentary tea, which was a nice touch. We skipped the drinks and ordered 6 main dishes: - calamari: this dish is combo of salt and pepper calamari in Chinese restaurants and fried calamari with tartar sauce. This dish had more onions and peppers than actual calamari which was disappointing, but other than that a cool take on a classic Chinese dish. - long beans: a dish you probably wouldn't think too much about, but this actually ended up being my favorite! the long beans were cooked in fermented bean sauce, and had youtiao as well which was really interesting to me texture and flavor-wise. - xo cheung fun: another must order here! the cheung fun was fried perfectly to get a nice crispy exterior. i have definitely had the same dish at Nom Wah before though for half the price so something to keep in mind - chow mein: i think this dish is slightly overdone-- the sauce was extremely peppery. on the menu, this dish advertises the beef, but none of the flavor of the beef was able to come through the heavily seasoned sauce. i'm also not a super big fan of crispy noodles (i find them hard to eat) so the eating experience just was not super pleasant. - mcrib: bonnie's crown jewel-- and it deserves it! it is a generous portion of rib with a fun twist! the rib, pickles, and sauce were all good. maybe it's just the hype around this dish, but i was left thinking "thats it?" after finishing it. it's good, but doesn't seem to pack the punch it boasts. - steamed whole fish: this dish was the most disappointing to me. i've watched Bonnie's youtube video and i've seen how they prepare this dish. it's an arduous process, and i am not convinced that this dish is worth their effort. I almost wish that they just steamed the fish and served it with their sauce for half the price. the fish ends up with the same texture as a fish cake in hot pot, which just fell flat for me. Overall: although I felt let down by some of the dishes, you should try Bonnie's! I think their menu is fun and creative and should be tried. After trying Bonnie's once however, I do not think I will be returning. read more

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Food was good but for the price I am paying I did not need to see my waitstaffs armpit hairs from the cut sleeve T-Shirt. Great if there is no uniform but that does not mean lack of higiene practices. read more

Food- was disappointed for a place that is so hard to get a reservation :( we ordered the rice noodles which were tasty but very salty, cacio e pepe which tasted nice but felt like I was eating pasta at an Italian restaurant and couldn't taste the Cantonese connection. Lastly we ordered the fish for 2 and I should have asked the server to explain what the dish was. I was expecting a steamed fish but it was a fish stuffed with grounded fish cake with a small pea shoot sauce that didn't have much impact on the dish. $50+ for fish cake dish doesn't seem fair. Service- very good service. Our server was helpful and knowledgeable about the dishes. Ambiance- lively, buzzing, BK hipster vibes, per my husband "like a diner" read more

Bonnie's - Rice noodle - Cantonese Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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I had a great dinner here with friends. All of the cocktails were fantastic and strong - I particularly liked the Riptide and the Henny Kravitz. The MSG Martini is so unique; I'm not a martini fan, but this one was so savory that it overpowered the liquor. We started with the walnut shrimp and salt and pepper squid. The salt and pepper squid is a MUST HAVE, absolutely my favorite dish of the night. For larger plates, we had the sticky rice, cacio e pepe mein, chow mein, cha siu mcrib, and half chicken. The cacio e pepe mein was great and the chicken was generously portioned. The cha siu mcrib was so tender. Highly recommend coming as a group so you can share. read more

3000 stars. I love it. Hard to get a reservation but they usually have spots open up if you get in the waitlist. Food is so fun and yummy in my tummy. Cocktails are bomb.com. Vibes are fun and flirty. Take your hinge date here, or your wife, or your mom. If you're waiting for a table, go to The Richardson around the corner. read more

I had a fantastic experience my first time at Bonnie's. The ambience is really chique, but eclectic, and the service was extremely attentive and friendly. To start, the cocktails are really top-notch. I would indeniably return here just for cocktails. I started with one of the best Negroni I've ever had. The campari was flavored with pineapple and there was an infusion of hibiscus, rendering a very refreshing and smooth drink. We also tried their take on the pencillin & espresso martini- both were exceptional. The food we ordered was quite tasty. The reason for which I would not give five stars is that I thought some of the dishes were similar in terms of flavor; however, this was likely my own fault in ordering. We ended up ordering the chinese long beans, Cacio e pepe, Rice Noodles, Pepper Steak and McRib. I highly recommend the Cacio e Pepe, which has a twist of fermented bean curd that gives the dish both asian and Italian flavor profiles. We also really enjoyed the Pepper Steak. The McRib was delectable, but we were honestly too full at that point to really enjoy it, and had to take the rest of the sandwich to-go. Overall, really excellent food and truly incredible cocktails. I would just be aware that the dishes are a little on the heavier side so 4 is probably fine for 2 people. Im looking forward to trying to wontons in brodo next time among other dishes. read more

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Really loved this place! Came here with a friend who had this on their list and I'm so glad I got to join! We came at 7 on a Thursday. Apparently it's not the easiest to get reservations. Started off with the chrysanthemum salad, which had some great flavors in the dressing! I really liked it. Next I had an oyster which was good. Nice fresh flavors in there. The wun tun en brodo (fish + shrimp wontons, superior citrus parm broth) didn't have a ton of flavor to me other than just shrimp. Most of the other dishes were bursting with flavor, not my favorite. Wouldn't get this one again. Next I had the dao gok - chinese long beans, fermented bean curd garlic butter + yauh ja gwai. Oh my goodness was this amazing! Would for sure order again! The beans were cooked perfectly. There were these crouton things in there to soak up the butter and garlic. So good!!!! Next we had the $18 fuyu cacio e pepe mein - cacio e pepe, fermented beancurd, black pepper + pecorino - somehow this was crazy spicy outta nowhere. Not like anything super special but it was good. $27 cha siu mcrib - cha siu glaze, steamed ribs, chinese hot mustard, b&b pickles + milk bun. Very well done. Good flavors. Would order again. The bread was perfect! Lastly we got the Sundae. malted fried milk, ovaltine hot fudge, vanilla ice cream + buttered peanuts +pork floss. I'm a sucker for ice cream and pretty much everything in here. It was like fried dough and ice cream and toppings. So good!!! Also our server was so sweet! Food came out fast and everyone was friendly. Also this place definitely has a vibe. Loved it! Overall I'm glad I came and would come again. read more

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Unfortunately echoing the sentiments of a lot of these reviews. I wish I had listened before going, or at least had lower expectations. Bonnie's is an overhyped, over-priced, over-Youtubed Cantonese **fusion** restaurant a 10 minute walk from prime Williamsburg/Greenpoint (aka there is nothing else really around there). 5% kitchen appreciation fee LOL - it literally says this on the receipt: "5% kitchen appreciation service charge assists us in working towards bridging the large pay gap between the front + back of house who are unable to receive tips. we are extremely grateful for your patronage and welcome any question you may have about this policy!" Can I suggest you just raise the price of your menu items or have your servers tip-out to the back of house folks? Why is it our job to bridge the wage gap for YOUR employees. I asked for this to be taken off our bill because it was ridiculous. Also for how terrible I thought our service was, it was laughable that the "Add a tip" portion of the receipt went from 20%, 25% to 30%. Highlights **Kumquat Spritz -- server said this was being taken off the menu after today, but was different and I liked they added fresh kumquat to the drink. **Hup to ha (walnut shrimp) -- This was one of my favorite dishes that we had, the walnuts were toasted/candied just the right amount. Loved the texture across all the ingredients. **cha siu mcrib -- This was also done well and I liked how soft the bread & cha siu was. Great fusion dish. Lowlights **MSG Martini -- as a savory cocktail fanatic, this was so salty it was equivalent to drinking Asian dipping sauce. I asked them to take it off my bill, and they were helpful and did it without any questions. **Chrysanthemum salad -- unique, but the flavors lacked dimension and got tiring halfway through. Would've preferred if they added some more crunch, or protein to balance out the leafy bits. **Gai tong (chicken soup) & rice -- I thought it would be more than broth for some reason, but it's literally a bowl of salty, clear broth. Reminded me of what I used to eat when I was ill as a child. **Wun tun ravioli -- Pass on this, it's literally a parmesan pasta with wonton filling and didn't feel unique or interesting at all. It was also quite salty and I ate it with rice. read more

This restaurant is really over-hyped. I thought that ideas/concept of the dishes were very interesting, but honestly all of the flavors were lost. Every dish was so oversalted I was literally thirsty for hours afterwards. I also think they were a little heavy handed with the msg (which I love cooking with, but you can just dump a bunch in and expect it to taste good). Basically, I have no idea why this has so much hype other than the dishes sound interesting on paper and it's a small place so it's hard to get a reservation. Also worth noting when we went here everyone dining and cooking at this restaurant was white, so maybe it's made for a more american palate ‍ We ordered: - the chrysanthemum salad which was pretty good, but nothing special -salt and pepper squid which was basically mushy, extremely salty calamari - long beans and youtiao which again had this heavy salt/msg flavor which got old. The beans were kind of mushy. The youtiao was good, but it's fried dough so that's always going to be a win -mussels these were good and juicy. The sauce was nice and I liked the small shoestring fries. However, I feel this dish was pretty standard. I guess I haven't seen mussels and fries at Asian restaurants before so that's interesting I guess? - rice rolls had the same flavor as many if the dishes above. I liked that they were crispy but wanted a little bit of chewiness that I've had at other places. -the trout was fine. It's a very creative concept and the fishcake was pretty good but not mind blowing. And after eating so much salty, bland food it did not stand out to recover the meal In summary: a bunch of average/below average food for a pretty steep price (both monetary and having to fight for a reservation) Pros: -Service was good -Interior is cute - I actually thought the portion sizes were pretty decent for an upscale fusion place in NYC (though no one really wanted to finish each dish) - MSG martini was delicious read more

Bonnie's - Msg martini - Cantonese Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Growing up in Hong Kong myself - I was excited to try out the food over here. Unfortunately, for the price of the food, it's underwhelming. The Dao gok was WAYYYY too salty The steam eggs were pretty standard (not worth the 17 bucks cuz I know how to make it too ) The fried squid was on point (def exp for the portion) The char siu McRib is something I recommend you try if you're interested - I'd prefer if it was on a toasted bun, but in general, the taste was good. The fried milk was phenomenal, but the amount of whipped cream freaked me out - My verdict: food was tasty, but not worth the price read more

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Everything was amazing! Highly recommend the bkrib, beans, squid, walnut shrimp (my fave). Such a fun take on traditional Cantonese cuisine, I was really impressed and will definitely be back soon! read more

We were looking forward to finally trying Bonnie's and it did not disappoint. The food was excellent and I had a big pile of leftovers for dinner the next night. We had: - the shrimp with candied walnuts and kewpie mayo: I loved this - black pepper squid: loved this, too - the mushroom sticky rice: meh. The sticky rice lacked seasoning and something about the mushrooms was just a little bit too much (and I love mushrooms) - xo cheung fun: really good and appreciated the spin on this, textures were awesome - hubs had the poached chicken: he loved it We both had NA drinks- he had the lemon iced tea and loved it and I had the lychee fizz which was a beautiful shade of purple and I loved it so much I ordered a second. Passed on dessert. read more

We went for dinner for a friends birthday and had an exceptional meal, top to bottom. Our service was excellent: quick and attentive without being overbearing. We all had different favorite elements of the meal, but a few top moments: I loved my rip tide cocktail, the oysters, the cacio e pepe pasta, the chrysanthemum salad, and the dessert (a fried banana sundae). Others at the table loved their MSG martinis, the wontons en brodo, the vegan version of the XO noodles, and the McRib. We will be back ASAP. Excellent meal, worth every penny. read more

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Delicious meal from Bonnie's during their opening week. The chicken over rice is to die for, and the chrysanthemum salad is a great refreshing side starter. Looking forward to trying the rest of the menu. The sundae for dessert is great. We tried it even though we were already stuff. Just two comments. It would be great if the bar staff would be masked for the bar seating. Saw them coughing quite a bit during service and when they were making our drinks. And it would be nice if the staff learned to pronounce the dishes that they were serving. I lived for a half year in Taiwan and Hong Kong in my 30s and still retained more Cantonese than the servers. They are pick up only at the moment due to omicron. But looking forward to visiting again after the surge. read more

Bonnie's - Cantonese Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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3.5 stars. We were a group of 5 having a pre-Chinese New Year meal. We ordered: --dao gok (long beans) --jiew yeem yao yu (squid) --xo cheung fun (rice noodles) --gnow yuk chow mein (pepper steak) --cha siu mcrib --yeung yu sang choi bao (whole fish) Let's start w/what we liked the least: the whole fish. Compared to all our other dishes, which were largely unami bombs (and tbh, some of them were salt bombs as well), the fish was jarringly bland. It's the signature dish here and the preparation is cool, but I wouldn't recommend it. My fave dishes are the squid and cha siu mcrib. The squid tastes very salt and pepper-ish, one of my favorite combos. I appreciate that the meat in the cha siu was not gristly and was juicy and full of flavor. The bread was also pillowy soft. In terms of the vibe, it's a smaller space than we expected and the music was loud and danceable lol. The staff is young, friendly, attentive. This is definitely not cheap eats, but there's a place in the Chinese dining diaspora for restaurants like this as well. We were the only Asians dining on this particular night, and we made a special trip to come here. Would I do so again? Nah. But if you're in the hood, I would recommend checking it out! read more

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My wife and I came here for dinner on a Tuesday night. There was a line to enter as the restaurant opened at 5 pm. We left around 6:20 pm and there were open tables, so I'm not sure if we needed to arrive at 5 or if those tables were already reserved. We started with the chrysanthemum salad. Not exactly sure what that means but it was topped with delicious crispy garlic and sufficient seasoning. When you crispy garlic just right, anything is delicious and this was no exception. Next, we were served the shrimp and fish wontons in a broth. Mild broth with small wontons. Intense flavor though so I'm wondering if there were dried shrimp flakes. The following dish was the green beans with a sort of butter bread chunks. Not sure if the chunks were actually bread but they were light, soft, and absorbed the butter quite well. After, we were served the cacio e Pepe. Thick noodles (thick spaghetti or lo mein) with fresh ground pepper and strips of shaved pecorino. Not as intense as other cacio e Pepes. More of a home style interpretation. Our last main course was their heralded McRib. Served on a well buttered bun slathered with central / East Asian spicy mayo and topped with pickles and onions. Definitely an Asian adaptation to the McDonald's hallmark sandwich with more punch from pickled and vinegar forward ingredients. For dessert, we shared the sundae. I'm not usually the dessert portion in my relationship, yet this was probably my favorite item. I like the tempura style fried bananas. For drinks, I had the msg martini with gin and a glass of orange sparkling wine. The martini was so weird and it got weirder as I drank it. It's fun to try if you like funky flavors and will be splitting it. There is one gender neutral restroom. It's quite spacious and has color changing lights, so it may be one of the most "party-ful" bathrooms I've encountered. read more

I thought the food was very good as were the drinks. The McRib was tasty, the long beans were delicious and the rice noodles were quite good as well. I love salt but I will note that everything was very salty especially the noodles and beans, I thought it was all very good regardless. We also tried the msg martini and the salted spritz both of those were really tasty. My biggest complaint would be the temperature in the restaurant, to be fair we went on one of the hottest days of the year, but it was almost unbearably hot inside. read more

Bonnie's - McRib - Cantonese Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Ate there last night - everything was memorable. I want to go again and try the cha siu mcrib ( cha siu glaze, steamed ribs, chinese hot mustard, b&b pickles + milk bun). The only dish I would definitely repeat on my 2nd visit is the sticky rice with sauteed mushrooms, because there are so many other choices not yet tried. read more

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I may have been the only person who had never heard of this gem but what an amazing place and an amazing meal. Got lucky to be invited by friends to join and this Chinese American - and both Chinese and American represented very well - restaurant is a must try in my opinion. It's Chef and owner Calvin Engs representation of his cultures food through the lens of a first generation immigrant kid - a sentiment I very well empathize with. But most importantly it's just flat out good food. Hit after hit kept coming out. If I had to pick a favorite it'd be the trout - but it's a favorite by a slim margin against the rest of the great items. Cocktails are amazing too - if in a group the big LIT is definitely worth it. Line gets long and reservations are challenging - American Express Platinum offers special reservations, so look into that. All around one of the best dining experiences for me in NYC recently. read more

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What I got: Chrysanthemum green salad Cheung fan Gnow yuk chow mein What I thought: Heard about the hype and had to try it out. My girlfriend and I came here on a Friday and it was fairly busy but luckily we got reservations from a plug. The chrysanthemum green tea salad was delicious and nothing we both have ever tried before. It was light and refreshing. The fried shallots really helped this dish pop. The cheung fan was pretty good, but I wish there was more pork bits in it. The gnow yuk was the main event of our meal. The beef was tender and sauce was flavorful. The noodles were very crispy, but there was a small amount and definitely not as much as other restaurants would usually provide. Overall, the dishes were good and the flavors were there, but I wouldn't say they shined above any other Chinese restaurant I've been to. I felt like I was just eating overly priced Chinese food which sometimes is hard for me to justify. We were also not very full so that was disappointing. A good place to try at least once, but I'm not sure if I would go again given how expensive it was for very little food as other Chinese places usually give bigger portions for marginal cost. read more

Bonnie's - Gnow yuk chow mein - Cantonese Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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I was really looking forward to this place because of the bon appétit video, unfortunately it just didn't meet the mark for me. The service left a lot to be desired. For a place that does family style food the dishes come out extremely slowly and they bring them one at a time instead of all together. They don't time the prep for the entrees well. If you get two entrees you're only getting 1 on the table and have to wait 10 minutes for the next one, not on purpose ... the kitchen is just rlly busy. Overall slow service and the food wasn't that good. Rib sandwich had a weird aftertaste and the noodles with mussels dish was way too salty for me. read more

Very true 4 star review for Bonnie's. It's wicked hard to get a table here and I get why - the environment is very homey and they do pride themselves on service. For a 5 pm table, we were seated quickly and service was great; they spilled some water on us accidentally and gave us free shots as an apology (and our server took one with us!!). And their shot is delicious! The lychee mocktail is also a really refreshing choice. I would say the starters here outperformed the mains. The long green beans are fantastic - cooked really well and they got the crispy garlic right. I thought twice about ordering such a normal dish but I'm glad that I did. The candied walnuts were the star of the shrimp dish my partner got. I only had a couple of options for a main, so I opted for the cacio e pepe. It truly tastes like a regular cacio e pepe, and probably even better than most that I've had. I appreciated their creative take on it, but felt the portion was a bit small and it was an odd addition to a Cantonese menu. Of course, I appreciate the creativity in including this dish on the menu, but it felt out of place. Dessert was a home-run and a must do - condensed milk pastries with ice cream + whipped cream. It was insanely savory & just so tender I could not even finish it. Ambience here is very homey & I feel like I'm in someone's kitchen which is kind of cool. The menu is a bit limiting so I probably won't be back, but it's a popular restaurant to try that is attempting some creative options. read more

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Without a reservation, we went to Bonnie's on a Saturday night as a walk-in wanted to try our luck. The receptionist seemed condescending after we told her that we did not have a reservation. She then informed us that the outside seating was available and it was heated. It was 30 degrees that night and the overhead heat lamp was honestly not enough - so we left our coats on the whole time. We proceeded to order some drinks. Ribena Highball was mid and tasted like fruit punch. Not to mentioned that they missed our drink orders and we had to check with them to get our drinks after we were almost done eating. Food was mediocre at best and vastly overpriced imo. Would rather spend that amount of money at any Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown for a legit feast. I was hoping for creative Chinese food that maintains all the authentic Cantonese flavors because Bonnie's was apparently marketing itself as such but I got none of that flavor but salt and grease. PS. I was the only Asian in sight that night and that speaks volume for a so-called Cantonese restaurant. read more

Discovered this place courtesy of bon appetit YouTube; let's just say I absolutely regret it. Decent ambiance, but definitely doesn't signal 'great Cantonese food with a twist'. Overall: just a mediocre overpriced menu unless you really love pork, small portions, 'string beans that are to die for', a mcRib ripoff, and cold chicken (you can read about the squid and disappointing filled fish in other reviews, but I elected to pass after my initial premonitions). 30 appetizer options and 3 entree choices...Seems a bit backwards to me. Oh yeah found a spider crawling up a string web while I was eating.... that was the most fun I had all night. Save your money, go to Chinatown, and enjoy authentic high quality food without the price gouge. read more

This restaurant is one of the best restaurants I've gone to in 2022. Have t been back in 23 just yet. The service is always incredibly patient and easy to get along with. The food blows my mind as there are traditional Asian dishes with an italian or American flair. Super cool chef and just worth waiting for hours for a table to eat here. Order the entire menu, you won't be sorry you did. However if you are strapped for cash the shrimp, the soup, the chicken are some off my absolute fav! read more

food is def 4/5, but due to the price, i need to knock down to 3.5. i will still round up and give bonnie's a 4. my bf and i have been wanting to try this place for months now and finally snagged and outdoor res for thurs evening at 7:30pm. there seems to be a couple of canto fusion spots opening in the city and i'm so happy that canto food is getting its time in the spotlight. the outdoor seating was well constructed but the ventilation was terrible. if i were to summarize bonnie's in a just a few words, i'd say this is the *gateway into canto food*. meaning, it's for those who haven't really tried canto food and don't want to venture into chinatown or flushing to go to those really good hole-in-the-wall servers-yell-at-you type of spots. bonnie's manages to integrate great canto flavors into a more digestible (literally) form. if you find yourself enjoying the flavors of the cha siu glaze on the mcrib, the xo cheung fun or the jiew yeem yao yu (salt and pepper squid), i highly recommend making your way over to more authentic spots like kong sihk tong, e noodle, or noodle village in manhattan for the same dishes at half the price. don't get me wrong, i appreciate bonnie's creative spin on the authentic dishes but it's not "spun" enough for the price esp when i know i can get the same flavors for less $$. i think my biggest gripe with bonnie's is that it is grossly overpriced - i wouldn't say expensive, just overpriced. the price isn't much higher than a tapas spot you'd hit up down the street, but iykyk that paying $19 for salt and pepper squid or $27 for cheung fun is ABSURD. the food and flavors are great - they did a good job maintaining the canto flair. we got the salt and pepper squid, hup to ha, cheung fun and fuyu cacio e pepe. squid: 4/5 - great dish, tasted authentic (minus the "chinese" ranch which was not chinese at all??) again felt wrong to pay $19 for that tiny portion cheung fun: 4/5 - awesome flavor, tasted super authentic but was it worth $27? no. you can get really great, if not better, cheung fun in chinatown for little a fraction of the cost hup to ha: 4.5/5 - i LOVE walnut shrimp so i may be biased but they did a really great job with this dish. it came with 6 lightly breaded skrimps tossed in kewpie mayo (which you could really taste) and apples, candied walnuts, tangerines, and surprisingly, the star of the dish, broccoli. i think they boiled/steamed the broccoli in chicken broth but it was perfectly soft and had amazing flavor! would've just been a 4 if it weren't for the brocc! fuyu cacio e pepe: 4.5/5, this was really well executed! it maintained the cacio e pepe flavor while adding a really deep umami asian flavor. i wish all italian restaurants did this to their cacio e pepe tbh lol mcrib: 4/5 - i really enjoyed the char siu flavor and the milk bread was reminiscent of the bread i'd get from the asian bakeries growing up, soft, milky and sweet. it was a great combo with the meat. i just wish they served some chili oil alongside it. re: drinks, bf said the highball was not good and he LOVES a toki highball but "nothing about that drink was a highball - tastes like fruit punch" i'm glad we finally tried this place but i won't be back. i'd recommend pot luck club over bonnie's ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ read more

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After having several things come up and canceling a reservation here TWICE, we finally nabbed a seat on a rainy Thursday evening at 9:30 PM. I have little to say about the decor and the loud music, as following them on social media has already hinted those at me for a while now, so I'll just focus on the food: The food is delicious and inventive. I see a lot of negative reviews about the price and portion sizes of the food here, particularly from AAPIs, and it's honestly disappointing. Why shouldn't Cantonese food have a space to be "modern" and/or "elevated"? Why is it that making cha siu into a McRib is "inauthentic," but a pasta dish with ramps (which are native to the Appalachians) is "inventive"? Why do French restaurants get to serve $15 ramekins of onion soup, but we expect Chinese food to constantly be heaping plates of cheap eats? It's okay that some dishes here feel "gateway" to Cantonese food. It's drawing from American classics to add to Cantonese food (and also the other way around). The discourse on keeping food to tradition and separated from other cultures is tiring at best, and cultural regression at its worst. Must trys: - fuyu cacio e pepe, which has the texture and mouthfeel of signature cacio e pepe, but several tiers more of umami - billionaire (millionaire?)'s fried rice- the "wok hei" here is STRONG, and honestly difficult to find anywhere else in Williamsburg - cha siu McRib- everything great about cha siu, everything great about a sandwich (actual McRibs are garbage) Overall, if I can somehow manage to snag another reservation, I'll be looking to eventually try everything on the menu. read more

The interior is nice and modern and the waitstaff are standard. Very Hipstery. However I mostly judge a restaurant based on food. In terms of theme of the food, I would say this restaurant has successfully made Chinese-American food but with more of an emphasis on the American part. The problem is, so has Panda Express, at a much lower price and with food that tastes better. There's a common saying, if you go to an asian food restaurant and there is a noticable lack of asians in there you, the food is not going to be very asian. This most definitely applies as when I went, I was a very noticeable yellow in a sea of white. The actual dishes have very small amounts of food at a huge markup. The Beef Chow Mein: there was waaaay too much salt, pepper, and oil. The sauce was gunky The Charsiu Mcrib: definitely creative, the dish kind of tasted like an American bbq sandwich, again with lots of grease. This one was ok, but I could go to a BBQ and get one better. The final TLDR: Food quality: Mediocre Price: $$$ Would I go back? No read more

Went back a year later in June and their recipes seemed to have maybe changed? All my faves did not taste like they did the previous year. All three of my previously fav dishes were strangely way overly salty. My gf agreed as well. We were quite confused because it was all so so yummy before. However, I did love the chrysanthemum salad. Hoping it was just a bad batch (of all three dishes?) or that it was a recipe change that could be fixed. Because it was so amazing a year ago! read more

Our server was very friendly and attentive. The food was disappointing - very heavy and oily. I wouldn't go back because of this. The food quality was just not good. read more

When you think a traditional Cantonese restaurant, there's an image of (at least to me) a table with many dishes, crowded atop a lazy Susan, as people pick a variety of dishes to sample. That's not the case here. Even with 2 people, what we got was each dish coming out solo from the kitchen, with not enough space on the tables for more than 2-3 dishes at a time. Our server explained it by noting the small kitchen space didn't allow for dishes to come together, which led to an orderly progression of the food, which felt a bit mechanical at times. The food was decent, but there weren't a lot of "must try" dishes. Not saying that every dish has to be "wow, super tasty," but when the best plate was the pork McRib (which was delivered last), and the second best were cheung fun, it makes it hard to come back for an encore. read more

We've heard so many great things about this place so my friends and I were really, really excited when we got a reservation and had the opportunity to try it. However, I was a bit underwhelmed by the food here. My favorite dish that we ordered was the fried calamari but everything else was a bit on the oily and salty side. The McRib was probably my second favorite, but it was pricey for what it was. I'm glad I tried it but probably won't go out of my way to come here again. read more

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I watched Bonnie's reservation system like a hawk to grab a spot during my NYC trip. So glad I got lucky! Our dinner was amazing and so full of flavor. I purposely grabbed an opening hour table to ensure that we could order the char siu McRib - it was such a fun take on the fast food fav. I also loved the Chrysanthemum Salad. I never find opportunities to eat chrysanthemum leaves but the dressing really made it delicious - reminded me of the sesame dressing I love in Japan. Definitely book a spot here and go early to try the McRib! read more

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BE PREPARED TO WAIT IF YOU COULDNT GET A RESY- Got there before they even opened around 4:45 and there was already a long line. Couldn't get a Resy so my friend and I waited 1.5 hours for a seat at the bar :) Fried squid- you can pass on this, nothin special Long beans- really delicious, a bit salty so order some rice Clams over steamed egg- by far the best thing we had. The eggs are silky smooth. MUST GET XO cheung fung- delicious but way too salty Portions are fairly small so it's good to get multiple dishes and share family style with rice :D Get the house shot!!! read more

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Upscale Canto food; you can probably get the same item that tastes 6.5 out of 10 in Chinatown for $10. (This is probably 8 out of 10 for double the price.) I thought the chow Nai sundae with malted fried milk and pork floss was the most unique and tasty (don't be scared by the ingredients, I promise it's good!!) read more

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