Ben Thanh Restaurant

I had high hopes ...

I had high hopes for this restaurant. Service was AWFUL. We waited about 20 mins for someone to take our order. We waited close to an hour for out food. Everyone who was seated after us received their food first. The lady beside me had the same problems, except she got her drink and I didnt. When they finally brought my food it was someone elses order. Since I got charged for my drink I requested it to go. I requested it when i got up to find someone who could give me a drink. I will not be dining here again.

Never disappoints

After living in Mississauga for a few years, I always can't wait to be in KW for the Pho Ben Thanh's! Surprised to see reviews about inconsistency, they always exceed my expectations. I'll admit, when they first opened several years ago, some dishes would be made inconsistently, or different than other locations, but that all was resolved quickly. My favourites are Sweet and Sour Tamirand CHicken, Mango salad, Seafood Pad Thai, Grilled Chicken Vermichelli bowl, Pepper beef, Eggplant Chicken, Spring Rolls (Fried and fresh). I like to dine in with a bunch of people so you can order several dishes, and each get your own side of steamed rice to soak up the sauces from each dish. ALways fresh veggies, always great. Better food and selection than any viet-thai restaurant west of Toronto, definately. Oh, and don't forget to order a mango fruit shake, they are divine!

Disappointed Vegan

I dined at Ben Thanh for the first time since becoming a vegan over a year ago. I don’t remember my past experiences at Ben Thanh, so it was a fairly new experience for me. At first I was taken aback by the open concept of the restaurant which I felt created a noisy dining experience, I prefer more private dining. However I looked at the menu with general uncertainty of my ability to find a meal I can enjoy with such dietary constraints, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of vegetarian and vegan items in the menu. In fact there were two full pages labeled specifically vegetarian. I must say Ben Than is the first restaurant that is not just specifically vegetarian that offers such an array of vegetarian or vegan food. As an appetizer I ordered the Deep Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls, it came with two large spring rolls for $4.45. I enjoy vegetable spring rolls, but found myself disappointed by these spring rolls, I didn’t see or taste many vegetables, which led me to question if they were actually vegetable spring rolls and not a mix up with the regular ones! They were also way too oily; they sat in oil on the plate! For a main dish I had the Stir Fried Vegetables with Tofu & Gluten on Vermicelli for $7.95 for a large portion. It was a good meal but I would have preferred to have more of a variety of vegetables, there was only two pieces of broccoli, two pieces of bok choy with a lot of mushrooms and tons of celery. The tofu was nice, but it tasted like it was just lightly heated up and thrown into the dish which left it with no taste and barely warm. The gluten which was actually seitan was just boiled, which isn’t my favourite way to enjoy it- due to its odd texture and very little flavour when boiled. The sauce itself was very plain, it didn’t have much of a flavour, I expected more of a bold flavour- I felt it could have been prepackaged and just thrown on top of the stir-fry. In the end, I’m glad I tried Ben Thanh but I don’t feel I will return. Being vegan it’s hard to find a restaurant that will cater to the dietary needs without providing a boring and tasteless meal, and I felt that Ben Thanh wasn’t able to do that for me!

Awesome food !!

I went to this restaurant many times and its always been really good. I try something new everytime from the pad thai, the soup, the appetizers, the rice, the seafood platers, etc. and always been very satisfied. My boyfriend LOVES their seafood pad thai. The restaurant is simple but chic, well decorated and spaced out so you don't feel to crammed with the person sitting next to you. The service is extremely fast and you get unlimited tea which is a total bonus. It is now my favorite restaurant in town :). The Shrimp rolls are my favourite appz.

AWESOME!

Been to many Thai places - Ben Thanh is always quick and the food is always great!

a night out with boyfriend

my boyfriend and i decided on the place one night on a whim. we were shopping at the wal-mart and future shop we were starving and decided for some tastey food. i'v been to locations in waterloo and mississauga, bt i hadn't been to the cambridge location. it looked busy inside. we were seated immediately. the menu is extensive and obviously all the restaurants have the same items. my boyfriend took forever to decide, because there was so much (he had never been to any). i ordered the shrimp tom yum soup (i find it very hot and spicy...i don't usually like hot food, but the soup is delicious) if you like tomato broth you'll love this. i also ordered the shrimp cold spring rolls #504 (i love them and so did my boyfriend...too bad there was only 2 rolls...this is a MUST eat), i ordered the shrimp pad thai for dinner and i shared with my boyfriend (he's also never had it). finally he decided he would order the massive pork vermicelli wrap dinner. he LOVED it he's never had a meal like this. he took his time to wrap all his vermicelli wraps. he kept offering me bites, but i was so full and bloated from that spicy soup. (don't get me wrong the soup is amazing and i can't take spicy but i will endure for this soup). for people who like extra hot or spicy you can request it. the food is delicious and i highly recommend the restaurant or the chain. the waiter was friendly and very patient for my bf who took 15 mins to order (i had ordered the soup and spring rolls before he decided on his entree). take your friends, family, date or take out home. side note: a other locations i've had the black bean mussels (amazing....i could eat 2 plates), under the seafood section you can order stir fried shrimp or scallops with different sauces- i always get the garlic sauce. order some plain sauce and it makes a delicious mixture. yum yum!!!

Fast delicious and affordable

Have been loyal fans of Ben Thanh since before they were booted from water street in Kitchener to make room for the new market. This is our favorite location. Don't think I've had anything I don't like yet...love the soups and vermicelli bowls and the seafood pad thai is decent. Plus they don't break your wallet.

Addictive!

My family constantly gets take out here. We love it! with a large family- the portions are fantastic! and the food-- awesome! We get all kinds of things-- started off with certain favourites and over the years have gradually tried new things.. the one thing i MUST recommend is 501 -- ohh the 501! we usually order atleast one each - crispy , delicious-- with the fish sauce-- everyone always fights over the last one...

Great Spot!

Ben Thanh is a favourite spot for my boyfriend and I. The Vietnamese Noodles Soups are amazing. The service is always really fast - take our or dine in. One of the best Viet Thai in town.

Great Place !

I lived in Asia for four years and this place is about as close to real Asian food that you can get in the area. Very fast service, great portions and the food quality is super. We have been coming here since 2003 and it is always a winner. The remodelling a few years ago really improved the Atmosphere

I work in Mississauga, and can't find a place that comes close to Benh Thanh. It has a lot of really good dishes, the best Pad Thai in the area. MUST have the Sw and Sr Tamarand Chicken every time alongside a spicy dish. Vermicelli bowls are fantastic here too. OH, great spring rolls, and Mango salad. I could go on and on......

Wrote a review 11 months ago, I still order take out of Ben Thanh for my favorites. I just wanted to write again that yes most of the food is still very good, but the last two months their takeout has not been terrific, but adequate instead. I still love this restaurant but if the take out doesnt improve my opinion will change.

Consistently delicious meals every time we go...

Consistently delicious meals every time we go, which is about 3 times a month. Service is very quick and food is hot, fresh and delicious.

Good atmosphere, good food and good service. I...

Good atmosphere, good food and good service. I order out most of the time, today I did and got my favorite from Ben Thanh which is green thai curry with long beans with appt. fresh shrimp rolls. If I order with husband we add pad thai. once again excellent tasting food at a terrific price for take out.

Went here with the family after going to Sam's...

Went here with the family after going to Sam's Club around 6pm. Wasn't busy at all and the place had a major overhaul since the last time I came. I haven't had the best experience with the Ben Thanh in Guelph, but it could just be that particular restaurant. We were seated at the corner in what seemed to be their best spots isolated by a short wall. Nice looking atmosphere made to look like it's sister restaurant in Guelph. I ordered the seafood Pad Thai with chicken. Would of been a nice evening if the food didn't come so late. My family all had their food served while mine was at least 15 - 20 min late. Overall the food was great, the pad thai is very tasty.

The food is undeniably great. Their curry dishes...

The food is undeniably great. Their curry dishes are terrific, as are their pho noodles. Service is their achilles heel. They are so busy that they sometimes forget orders, and the service is very slow. My suggestion is that you go to one of their other locations, one in Kitchener and one in Waterloo, and a couple in London, or you order takeout. If you do order takeout, add about 10 minutes to their estimated time for pickup.

Bad Customer Service

I've been going here for a while now and have been happy most of the time. My last visit was literally my last visit. I ordered a dinner salad and in the menu it read single or dinner. I wrote the word "small" and the item number on the bill. When the salad was coming to the table, it looked awfully large, so I said to the server "that's a small". The lady just nodded. when the bill came I noticed they charged me for a dinner sized salad. I told them we write down "small" on our bill. she showed me on the computer that there was not an option to press "small" in their computer system, so she figured I wanted the dinner sized salad. So if I would have written the word "single" on the bill, I would have received what I wanted. The thing that bothered me was they didn't even apologize or try to make the situation better. I love their food and bubble teas, but have not gone their since only because I don't think they have good customer service.

Great Thai place

We felt dumb never having been here as a family -- we line in Cambridge. I'd been to the Guelph location several times, but the rest of my family had never been. Services was reasonable (they were quite busy), and the ambience nice (my daughter liked the koi in the entryway pool). Food came quickly, but the entrees came too close to the appetizers for my wife's liking. Vermicelli bowl was light and refreshing; would have liked a little more zing to it, but they have a gigantic menu full of other spicy stuff, so no biggie. We'll be back.