- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
Ben Thanh Viet Thai Restaurant
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am - 11 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
13 reviews for Ben Thanh Viet Thai Restaurant
13 reviews in English
-
Review from Sara-Yan Y.
North York, ON
5/6/2012
When we first entered the restaurant, I was surprised that there is an Asian restaurant so nicely decorated in Waterloo. That is because, I am not from around here and all the Asian places I've been to so far in Waterloo have been looking a little...eeehhh.
We were greeted at the front with a smiling waitress, and led to our booth with menus. We knew the restaurant was a bit pricier than other pho places, so we already decided to order a XL pho ($8.95 or $9.95? forgot.) and share it before we even left our home.
When we were seated, the waitress asked us what we wanted to drink, we asked for tea. We marked down an XL house special pho in our little sheet, and very soon the waitress came back to check on us. She looked at our order and confirmed with us that we were sharing. Soon she came back with 2 bowls and a ladle.
As we sat there waiting for our food to come, we noticed all the yummy looking food the other tables were eating.It made us feel even more hungry.
When our pho arrived, we noticed that the beef actually came rare. This...well, never happened before. So it was another pleasant surprise for us. The pho was really good, and we weren't extremely thirsty afterwards, so that's always a good sign. The soup tasted great, the noodles were tender (not mushy or hard), and there was a variety of beef. :D In addition, the sweet sauce was not watered down, and they provided a chilli pepper on top of the bean sprouts, basil leaves, and lime.
I would say this is the best pho restaurant I have ever been to. It looks good, it has great service, and the food is delicious. It is on the pricier side though, but we shared a XL bowl of pho and we were both full from it. Came to $5-ish per person for the 2 of us. So just share a bigger bowl for better value? -
Review from Lauren A.
Waterloo, ON
5/9/2012
Look, the service is terrible, tables are sticky, and the waitresses are often rude. But most of the food is pretty damn good, and for that reason we usually get take-out. Nice shrimp rolls, varied BBT flavours and tasty chili-salt calamari more than make up for scowly teens manning the door.
-
Review from Allie M.
3/26/2012
I hate to be harsh especially because the service was good. The food was disgusting. First of all the menu is about 40 pages long (maybe longer), how can a restaurant make 40 pages of food well? It's not possible. The Pad Thai was basically noodles soaked in tomato paste. It was hands down the worst Pad Thai I have ever had in my life, it was almost unbelievable. Some things were okay...the spring rolls and soup. That being said Pad Thai is a staple in a Thai restaurant and should never be that bad.
-
Review from Ben B.
1/28/2012 1 Check-in Here
The Thai food tasted like Italian food.
-
Review from Jennifer Y.
6/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
Ben Thanh is one of the more popular Asian restaurants in Waterloo. At peak times (lunch and dinner), the wait can go up to 40 minutes, so if you know you're going to be headed there, make a reservation if you can!
The food is good, no real complaints. The pho tastes better on some days than others, but overall it's pretty good. The random thing is sometimes they run out of bean sprouts, or lime, or basil leaves. The pad thai is alright, and honestly, there are other places in Waterloo that make much tastier Pad Thai (i.e. My Thai). My favourite appetizer is the grilled pork meat balls. They are extremely tasty especially paired with the sweet peanut sauce. You also can't go wrong with the crispy spring rolls!
Ben Thanh also makes some of the best fruit shakes. My favourite flavours are pineapple and mango, though I've heard that avocado and durian are also quite good (I personally would never want to drink a liquefied version of either fruits).
In terms of value, it is average. You can definitely get cheaper food elsewhere, but Ben Thanh has a good environment (large sit down restaurant with nice decor and somewhat attentive waitresses) which is probably why it attracts so many people. Pho runs between $6.75 for a small to $8.95(?) for an XLarge. Pad Thai might be closer to $10 and fruit shakes are around $3.50. -
Review from Ceci Z.
3/14/2011
This is my most visited Ben Thanh in the area. As always, the place is nicely decorated and very clean. The services are quick and the waitresses are very friendly.
I've tried most of the items on the menu, everything is quite decent. Don't like their "ketchup" pad thai and the rice wraps, they dry off very quickly. Their special noodle soup is a must try, I've had it for years. Some other nice dishes are Cantonese chow mien, vermicelli bowls, Thai green curry, Vietnamese spring rolls, seafood congee... The food are not as crazy spicy compared to other Thai restaurants I've experienced, so don't worry about chili sign if you are not into spicy food. -
Review from Chris W.
Fergus, ON
12/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
This is a great restaurant. Recently, They have updated the interior of the location and it looks amazing. My favorite items on the menu are chicken pad Thai number 422C, the vegetables spring rolls number 602 and the vermicelli number 209. Only downfall with the location is that the stagger your food and bring items out when they are ready. The kitchens timing leaves something to be desired
-
Review from Ann W.
Kitchener, ON
3/12/2011
Once I had their noodle soup and had massive MSG reactions (fast beating heart, dizziness, light-headed). It was so bad that I had to go home and drink tons of water to wash it out.
If you are not sensitive to MSG though, the food is OK, but don't expect too much. The portion is slightly smaller compared to the others, and the taste is mostly built on MSG so everything tastes pretty much the same.
I really can't say this place has good service, or even any service at all. You always have to wait, and the waitresses never look at you when you order. -
Review from Adilbek I.
2/20/2011
One of the best Thai places in the area for sure (if not the best). Everything I've tried on the menu has always turned out good, and the service is (mostly) fast. Sometimes they get really busy and you're left waiting a bit, comes with the popularity I suppose.
I recommend any of the curries, tom yum, and their awesome deep fried wontons with cream cheese. They also make a great bubble tea or thai tea if you're in the mood for those.
In terms of Thai in Waterloo, this is my go-to place! -
Review from Clement W.
Waterloo, ON
10/13/2010 2 photos
I'm not sure I'd call this place as the best Asian restaurant in Waterloo but it's up there as far as value goes. While the portions are generous, I have noticed that they have reduced them marginally over the decade or so we've been eating here. I tend to eat here almost once a week.
I'm not a fan of their pad thai - while large in quantity, the flavor and seemed light on anything but noodle. Their vietnamese dishes on the other hand, offer extraordinary value with pretty good flavor. It's pretty easy to order with somewhat blurry pictures on their menus associated with descriptions, and anyone who has come here a few times pretty much knows their favorite dish by number. The most popular vietnamese dishes are broken down into components and combined at your leisure on a platter (that include such things as pickled veggies, spring rolls, meat balls, thin rice noodles), or just some combination of meat and noodles in a soup (also quite filling).
You might want to check out some of their funky drinks (I'm not too much of a fan myself but a lot of friends are). My sister is a fan of their condensed milk + coffee though I'm not a coffee drinker myself.
Personally, my standard is Fish Congee (which is an acquired taste, small or large #702) which I balance off with a side of fried spring rolls so as not to be too healthy. Whereas chinese spring rolls have a flaky/wafer type wrap, these ones here seem like more of a batter and thicker shell - but I'm a fan of them (they also come included in a number of the vietnamese platters).
Most recently (yesterday) the bill for the six of us was about $60-70 including tip and we came away full but also with a doggy bag. Their dinner and lunch menus are the same so you can typically expect to pay about the same - about $10/person including tip.
Oh and peanuts are everywhere so if you have a peanut allergy, definitely stay away.
The service ranges between mediocre and good. It can be tough to flag down someone to help you and they don't really time dishes so that they come out together. They bring them out as they are more or less ready. There are some dishes like Congee that take way longer than everything else probably because of volume so if you happen to know before hand, you can tell the waitress to put the order in first while everyone figures out their orders and you might get it at the same time as everyone else.
This restaurant gets busy though. While they don't take reservations, you can call them to put yourself on the wait list during dinner or lunch. If you're trying to avoid the rush, you should try to get there at or before 5 pm would probably be best. I'd say that they get less busy after 8 pm but it's otherwise always crazy busy there during peak times. -
Review from Rob W.
Heidelberg, ON
5/17/2010
I can't believe no one else has reviewed this place yet. Perhaps because they don't want it to get any busier than it already is. Almost always a wait to get in but moves pretty quick.
Lots of Vietnamese and Thai options on the menu including the ubiquitous pho. The coconut chicken soup us fantastic as are the cold shrimp spring rolls. Cantonese chow mein noodles and tamarind chicken (with a side of sticky rice) are family favorites. Lots more items on the menu we have yet to explore.
Fruit shakes are great for the kids and for adults a modest selection of wine, decent cocktail list and a selection of Asian beer by the bottle. Price reasonable if you don't over order or if you do you'll have a nice late night snack or lunch for tomorrow.
Highly recommended - best Asian in K-W. Also have locations in Guelph on Woodlawn (Hwy 7) and in Cambridge. -
Review from ws w.
1/28/2012
The entree arrived before the appetizer and one entree was also missing. Asked when the rest of the food will come and was told they would check. Had to cancel the rest of the order after 30 min. since no one came back to bring the food or update us. We were then billed for the food we did not receive. Really poor service and the food was average. Will never go back and not recommended.
-
Review from il l.
Waterloo, ON
5/15/2011
This has always been our go-to restaurant for about a year and while it was a very nice experience in the beginning, it gradually lost its charm. Don't get me wrong, I love the restaurant but I prefer the Cambridge location much much better. First of all their portions are larger (visibly larger) and there is never a waiting line at the door. Second, the latest 2 times I've been here my dishes had a hair in them. This was pretty disgusting so I haven't been to the restaurant in Waterloo since, I prefer to drive 25 minutes and eat well rather than wait a lot to get seated, realize that the portions are always shrinking or that they skip a few ingredients and most of all, question their sanitary protocol.
In terms of selection, there is plenty for all tastes and I found that even the vegetarian dishes are good. I love their Shrimp tom-yum, the Cantonese chow mien, the sea salt calamari, shrimp cyclones, fried rice... The food is good and the prices are low too. It's a big disappointment that this place in Waterloo decided it was time to disrespect their customers like that. So remember, Cambridge location!
