The Bottom Line
- Tasty Polish food
- Excellent side salads and pickles
- Bargain prices
- Mediocre service
Description
- Address: 71-24 Fresh Pond Road, Ridgewood, NY 11385 (at the intersection with Myrtyle Avenue)
- Phone: (718) 386-4400
- Parking: If Fresh Pond Road is too busy, try the local side streets.
- Subway: The closest subway is the M at Fresh Pond / 67 Ave. Buses: B13, B20, 55, 58.
- Open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week
- Eat in, takeout, or delivery
Guide Review - Bona Restaurant: Polish Cuisine in Ridgewood
Bona is a great, small, neighborhood restaurant serving Polish food. Maybe 40 people could squeeze in its attractive brick and wood room, and most of them will be speaking Polish. A meal here is filling and cheap, but doesn't skimp on flavor, especially the Polish favorite dill. Main courses are heavy on meats ($6-$8), either fried or with gravy. I recommend the pork cutlets. Better than the main dishes are the accompaniments: soups, salads, potatoes, and desserts. There are over eight soups on the menu, with a chicken soup worthy of awards, an old-home favorite done right with plenty of carrots. Salads come with the meal, small plates of slaws, beets, pickles, and other nibbles. For those free of Atkins, the potato pancakes are a necessity. They are big, greasy, and crunchy on the outside. A plate of these with a soup would satisfy. The potato dumplings also rule. Wash them down with Zywieck, a tasty Polish pilsner. For dessert, the blintzes come stuffed with fruit and cheese, somehow a light complement to the meat dishes.
The only drawback at Bona is service. As the tables fill up, the two waitresses struggle to keep up, but this gaff shouldn't keep you from a a tasty meal when in the neighborhood.
