Bun-Haus Vietnamese Kitchen brings something new to Bradenton area with fast, build-your-own dishes
Liam Chu knew he had his work cut out for him in January when he took over the space formerly occupied by Kruk’s Philly Steaks at 5231 University Parkway in the The Market at UTC shopping center.
“I got the place in early January and took two months to get it ready. That’s when the pandemic hit,” said Chu, a 2006 graduate of Sarasota High School.
It wasn’t until April 22 that he was able to open Bun-Haus Vietnamese Kitchen, offering to-go meals, and then, following the governor’s executive order, on May 4 was able to open his dining room at 25 percent capacity.
The restaurant has sitting for 60, but following the governor’s update mandate, is now operating at 50 percent capacity.
So, what is Bun-Haus? Bun is the Vietnamese word for noodle, and Haus is the German spelling of house. Not that there is anything vaguely Teutonic about the restaurant, but Chu wanted to emphasize that his Vietnamese restaurant is a little different.
For one thing, the menu is very simple, essentially limited to the most popular items from the Viet cookbook. Those offerings include pho (beef noodle soup), noodle bowls containing an egg roll, grilled pork, grilled shrimp and more, and the rice platter with white rice, a pork chop, meatloaf, fried egg, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and pickled carrots and daikon.
Finally, the traditional menu includes banh mi, the Vietnamese sandwich.
Bun-Haus has no wait staff. Customers walk up to the counter to order and can choose items from the traditional menu or they can have staff build a noodle or rice bowl for them, choosing their protein (grilled chicken, grilled shrimp, lemongrass chicken, tofu, or beef short ribs), vegetables (avocado, basil, beansprout, chili pepper, cilanto, jalapeno, lettuce, mint, onion, scallion, and pickles) and sauces.
Customers can also build their own pho, choosing beef, chicken, or vegetarian broth, and choice of protein.
Build-your-own pho and the build-your-own noodle or rice bowls list for $9.50. From the traditional menu, the banh mi sells for $5.50, while the rice platter and noodle (bun) bowl list for $12 and pho for $13.
The menu also has starters, including egg rolls, chicken wings, fried shrimp, ahi tuna salad, shrimp crackers, salmon salad and more.
Rounding out the menu are hot and iced Vietnamese coffees (with or without out condensed milk), smoothies, tea, lemonade and orange juice.
Before the pandemic, most Vietnamese restaurants had bottles of Sriracha hot sauce and hoisin sauce on each table. You want find that at Bun-Haus. The sauce is delivered by the food runner with each order in sealed plastic cups in the interest of health and safety.
“We wear gloves and masks as we work and we sanitize tables and chairs after each customer,” Chu said. “On a weekday, business is steady, and on the weekends we get really busy.”
Most popular items on the menu are the bun bowls and pho.
Chu’s personal favorite is the pho.
“I have eaten a bowl every day for the last five weeks,” he said.
Bun-Haus is open 11 a.m.- 8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, call 941-702-6066 or visit bunhaus.com.
