I went there on Friday evening and had great food (veggie burger), great (attractive) service, and the owner (whose name escapes me) made me feel at home.
The outside seating area makes me feel like I’m not in Taipei (Key West, maybe).
And I was pleasantly surprised when the bill came.
I can’t believe I left it so long before returning there; won’t make that mistake again. 
FYI, our Happy Hour on October the 11th will be at Bongos. Stay tuned!
I had a very nice afternoon on the patio earlier this week, when it was sunny and warm. 
This is what Bongos looks like, for those of you who haven’t had the pleasure:
Did Andrew read all theese books?
I doubt he has the time – he’s really packin’ 'em in. Every time I go there it’s pretty much a full house. Plenty of local customers too. Place seems very popular among students.
He’s certainly doing something right and I’m never disappointed when I go.
a thumbs up from sandy is enough for me to go and check it out… sunday brunch
Where does Sandy have his thumb? 
Where does Sandy have his thumb? :p[/quote]
That is the question of the day!
Besides the thumb thing, I am very happy things work out for Bongos, at least I am not (yet) the largest foreigners in Taipei owning a bar 
and the few times I have been there I had a good time.
Today’s Taipei Times has a review of Bongos:
[b]Vegetarians will feel right at home at Bongos.
Photo Courtesy of Bongos
[/b]
Way to go, Lunman; you da man! :bravo: :bravo: :bravo:
Except when you tend goal for the Raptors or I run across you on the golf course!
I went to Bongos today, and while I didn’t eat any food, I did browse the books. They’re great. Really good selection and cheap enough for students to afford. Thanks Bongos, I bought five.
damn it, before the article I could go to bongos at any time and get a table, the last two times no luck 
they need a bigger dining room or something.
I went there and bought a few books yesterday. No time to eat as it took a while to find the place.
Called, but the lady on the phone seemed not to really understand where she was, or maybe was just really bad at giving directions.
Eventually I just started asking everyone I met on the little alley/street.
yeah the first time can take some time to find the place, they really need a bigger sign, had to wait 30 minutes to get seated tonight then another 40 minutes to get our food and we weren’t even inside I think from now on I can only go there during the week. way too crowded on weekends.
I went back on Saturday to try the food, and left without eating anything. We had a largish group, and I rang and booked us a table. The woman on the phone was really abrupt and impatient, and told me that if I wanted to reserve a table, I should make sure not to be late, because if we were more than 10 mins late they’d give the table away.
When we got there, they’d seated us in the outside area, which was really really hot, despite a (small) fan. Then the (slightly surly) waitress told us that their drinks machine was broken and that the only drink that they had was apple tea. She also said that the food could take a while to get to us.
So we left. It’s a shame, because I’ve heard good things about the food, and I like the books (see above). I’m going to give Bongos another go, but some of the people that I was with didn’t seem keen to go back.
Hello, After reading the Taiwan Times 6/9/06 piece I went to the restaurant on 6/29 (Th) and again on 7/3 (M). I’m an American, a pescatarian, and I’ve lived in Taiwan for more than 10 years. On 6/29 we were told there was a 30 minute wait for a table. They called us and we returned to sit outside. We liked the Belegim beer. The falafel wrap was all right but too small for my taste. It took 40 minutes to get our food. We had to remind our waiter of our order but we liked the beer. Still too long and so so service. Cest le vie. Try again.
On 7/3 I returned with a different person. We were seated outside where it was way too hot. Very uncomfortable. The waiter told us it would be 40 minutes. I ordered an appetizer which came in a reasonable amount of time. But the food took an hour. I couldn’t try the vegie burger because they were out. We ordered a chicken wrap and falafel wrap. There’s no way 2 wraps should take that amount of time. They need a better site and more help in the kitchen. I won’t be returning. There are tons of food options in this area.
I give it 2/5 stars.
I’ve had a run of bad experiences with restaurants recently, and my last trip to Bongos was the latest one. I went with a friend last night. The first problem was that as soon as we sat down, the waitresses started giggling about us. We figured out that they thought that we were on a date (my friend is a guy) and were watching us. Being watched by giggling waitresses did not make for a relaxing meal.
Second, the food was not as good as I was hoping. Perhaps we chose the wrong things, but I did not enjoy my felafel wrap. I don’t pretend to be an expert on felafel, but I usually enjoy them. The ones that I was fed last night were super super oily. I know that falafel need a bit of oil (given that they are fried), but this was extreme.
Given this and my last experience (see post above), it’s unlikely that I’ll be back at Bongos for anything more than the books.
Wow, I hope Andrew is reading this and makes some adjustments. I have nothing but good memories of the food, although I too think more signs are needed to find the place.
It sounds like Andrew’s problem of being packed, almost all the time, is a problem most other restaurant owners would love to have.
They have problems with service and organisation of bookings.
I went there one Saturday recently at 6:30PM. The were just two of us. There were three people seated outside, two down the side part and NOBODY inside. We were told there were no free tables. Further, difficult inquiries led us to find out that there were bookings at 7PM and 7:30PM. However this information was hard to ellicit from impatient waitresses (who can’t have been busy) and we were given no choices such as “we can seat you, but you may ahave to move or leave by 7:30” or “would you like us to call you if there are free tables later?” or “would you like something to take away” or even “I’m sorry, perhaps you can book ahead next time - here’s our card”.
It’s ridiculous that a restaurant with 5 people in it can’t accomodate 2 walk-ins in some way. The way we were dealt with has put me off the place somewhat.
Brian