Ben Thanh

Pre-​made, sealed coconut shakes. Used to be made in house. Don’t order. Yuck. Pad Thai was bland, no peanuts or tofu. Spring rolls were yellow? Dipping sauce smelled like rotten fish. So dissapointing. Will never go back.

Well, we did not want to drive to Waterloo, so we decided to give them a second chance. In short — the Tom Yum Soup was a disgusting excuse for anything. It was light yellow in color, spicy, and had no flavor at all apart from hot and spicy. Dirty dish water would describe it well. There were a few uncooked mushrooms, 4 overcooked (precooked) shrimp, a scattering of cilantro and two pieces of unripe tomatoe. Yuck. The spring rolls were fine. The Spicy Thai Rice Noodles were weird, and swimming in a light brown sauce (WTF was that?). NOT at all what we have had previously when we ordered this dish, at least not at the Waterloo location. This location is just plain disappointing. The wait for food tonight was no joke either!

Came around 9pm, got served frozen dim sum. I guess I should’ve gone to a dim sum place? Stick to the phở. The server was nice though.

The service is okay. I went here with my fiancé for our date night. I’ve read about people experiencing terrible service but for us it was just mediocre.
The food was not my favourite, but was edible. My fiancé like his meal though. There are a lot of choices, but that might be part of their problem.
A 3 star rating seems a little harsh, but I wouldn’t give it a 4. If I could give half ratings in this app it would get a 3.5, which is more accurate as there was more good/​average than there was bad.

Literally the worst experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant. A very rude expediter slammed down hoisin and hot sauce on the table, ran off and started laughing with her colleagues. I was instantly put off and was no longer hungry. I can tolerate poor service if the food is good, but this was just rude. I spoke to our sever and she handled it really well, but everyone else was rude the rest of my meal. No intervention from management. Very disappointed.

Good food but horrible service. The food was delicious but it never comes out at the same time. You end up having one person either staring at their food waiting for everyone else or everyone else is watching that one person eat. Their staff was horrible, slow, and had an attitude. Avoid this place. Not worth it. There is also a complete lack of diversity in their staff. A little bit of hiring favouritism.

I walked in to a nearly empty restaurant that I debated entering. Immediately, I stood at the empty host’s stand making eye contact with three employees. As I waited, awkwardly making eye contact with customers and employees, finally the bartender came over to seat me. She sat me at a booth, in the back corner; not a big deal as I was alone on a business trip. I sat and waited for the waitress to at least introduce herself and take a drink order. More than five minutes later I was ready to order and she finally came.
I ordered an ice water to drink, my typical beverage of choice. I said I will start with the pork dumplings, mainly because the photo in the menu reminded me of the dumplings I had in Shanghai. For my dinner, I asked for a recommendation between the scallop stir fry or the Thai General Tao chicken. I went with her recommendation of the chicken. Additionally I requested a straw for my water.
Within a few minutes, my straw came out. And as typical fashion, about 15 minutes later my entrée came out. I wondered over the next 10 minutes where my appetizer was, but didn’t say anything as I was hungry and dug in to the chicken. The chicken wasn’t what I expected, but it was good, better than I anticipated. With my glass empty, I sat and ate a dumpling when they finally came out. The look was very similar to the Shanghai style dumplings I had eaten before, so I knew to take a nibble of the edge and let the inside cool down. I also knew there was a chance there would be a broth-​like juice inside that would burn your tongue like a hot iron. I was right, and poured the juice out onto the spoon that was provided. A few minutes later, the waitress came over to see if I wanted her to box up my half-​eaten meal, as I sat there with hands folded. I said no, just some more ice water please. This happened twice more over the next 20 minutes. She seemed not too observant.
Throughout the meal, a family sat at the table next to me, I heard the father order an appetizer, soup-​that he specified to be served before the dinner, and a few entrees. The appetizer came out and was eaten. Shortly after, as I was waiting for my bill, their meal came out. He was clearly upset, but ate the entrees so they wouldn’t get cold while sitting waiting for the soup. Frustrated, he explained the situation and canceled the soup. As I continued to listen, it was the second time this has happened to them. I could feel their pain since my appetizer came out halfway through my main course. Again, still waiting and listening, the waitress came and apologized and asked the family if there was anything else. The father asked for a coke. At this time I looked at my watch out of curiosity. I had been sitting at my table for an hour. And five minutes later, I heard the father say, «I guess the coke takes extra long.» Again I could related and chuckled a bit.
Finally after a total of ten minutes, the waitress comes and asks if I’d like some more water. I said yes please, and the bill. While sitting there, I thought about what else I could write about in the review of the establishment. So, I looked around. On the ledge behind me, was a layer of dusty filth. I noticed it was on all the ledges around me. Additionally, I acknowledged a fruit fly-​like creature buzzing around. I saw the little guy earlier but wasn’t too bothered by it. At this time I knew it was time to start the review process.
Overall, the food was really good. The service, as I’m sure you could tell, was not so good. It wasn’t that the staff was unfriendly, but maybe Canada has different service standards than I’m used to in the US. I would recommend the food, but be aware that the service you will receive will not be up to the expectations of such an establishment.

The vermicelli is terrible as I mentioned earlier but the phở here isn’t bad. Then again, it’s very hard to make bad phở. The rare beef was quite tough for some reason. Good portion sizes and the atmosphere is pretty upscale.

Classic Thai & Vietnamese cuisine. Very extensive menu with lots of choice. It was my goal at one time to try every single menu item, but i never reached it. Food was always good. Spring rolls were awesome, and the grilled meatballs excellent. The banana smoothie was also good. I go back to this place once in a while when im in kitchener. It never disappoints.

Service was ok. My wife and I had the dim sum quite disappointing! The Gyoza did not taste fresh. Prices were average. Would not recommend!

The food here is always fantastic.
I highly recommend any of their bubble teas or fruit drinks. Presentation is fantastic and they taste great.
The staff here are very friendly, and willing to explain the menus and choices in detail. However, it is a little slow. But the atmosphere is great to relax, sip your drinks and take your time.
The interior is very nice as well. It’s a old fav to come here. Tom yum soup is the best !!

Service sucks. So slow. Waitress didn’t come by once. Took ten minutes just to come by. I could see her messing up other people’s orders. I won’t ever come back

I went there with a friend who enjoys Phở. The food is very good here. At times, the wait staff did not hear us say no onions in the Phở or no peanuts in the 501. The Vietnamese Deep Fried Spring Rolls (501) and Thai Green Curry Shrimp On Rice (215) are my regular meal. I do wish they would leave a jug of water on the table. Sometimes things are hot!

Friends of my wife came to visit from out of town, and they were staying at the nearby Radisson hotel. When they wanted to go our for Vietnamese food, we knew exactly where to take them: Ben Thanh.
The Fairway Road Ben Thanh is the latest incarnation of the Ben Thanh restaurant in Kitchener. They used to be located in the downtown Kitchener area at Cedar and King Streets, but the land and restaurant was expropriated to make way for the new Kitchener Market, and Ben Thanh disappeared for a time from Kitchener. But Ben Thanh is back now and is here with a somewhat more upscale concept of Phở establishment, and with a very complete menu that covers not just Phở and Vietnamese dishes, but also borrows from the cuisines of Thailand, Singapore, and various regions of China as well.
Our meal started with the Fresh Rice Paper Shrimp Rolls (504), which were delicious and came quickly. Three of us ordered a selection of the Vietnamese Vermicelli Bowls (300, 303 and 304… My preference is for the 303, which includes Grilled Pork Meat Balls, BBQ Pork and a Spring Roll) and one of us ordered the Cantonese Chow Mein. All the dishes were fantastic, and the portions were quite large, especially the Cantonese Chow Mein! Service was attentive and efficient, which is a big plus, but the entrees took a lot longer to arrive than we expected.
If you’re in the area and looking for a nice place to eat that won’t break the bank, you owe it to yourself to give Ben Thanh a try!

Service:
Very good service. It is rare to walk in and get an unpleasant waitress. Going at night, there is usually a line: which is good! Food doesn’t take too long to come out the kitchen, and waitresses are always smiling.
Food:
Could say they’re the best in KW for phở. Always good quality phở. Up to par with downtown Toronto. A large bowl of phở will you run ~$ 11
Décor:
Modern décor, everything in the restaurant is clean. Not much else you can say.
Edit: I wrote this a few months ago and things have changed since then. It appears that they are always over staffed. Often times you’ll see random waitresses standing around doing nothing. The service you get is on and off. sometimes you’ll get a nice waiter who is polite, but if you’re unlucky you’ll get stuck with a waiter who doesnt care at all and is untrained.

My first experience here was very much a 1-​star. If I could have given it negative stars, I would have. Sticky drink glasses, the stuff in our curry looked old, the meat had a bad texture, the soup tasted like soap, and the shrimp smelled rotten. We had to send a dish back. We wanted to send them ALL back, but we paid anyways.
But then we went again. We got smoothies, stir fries, and some of the crunchy fried stuff, no meat and no soup. Oh SO much better!!! I wanted to order dozens and dozens of wontons. Mmmmm… This place is excellent, but there is too much menu choice (I can’t help but think of kitchen nightmares lol, too much menu choice = disgusting food… this was the case here!!). I think they should cut their menu down and remove some unpopular dishes. Their menu feels like a novel, and half of the stuff doesn’t even taste fresh.

This place is definitely a hit or miss when it comes to food and service. The prices are reasonable and the atmosphere pleasant.

Amazing place. Fantastic food. Great modern décor. Friendly service.
We got a great sampling of the menu. We sorted with the calamari with a creamy wasabi dipping sauce, which was great. Next, we had beef fresh rolls, which were tasty and refreshing. For a main, we shared a mango salad, which was so very satisfying.
On the drink side, they have a great variety of Asian beers, which we got, along with a mango shake. All were great.
Prices were very reasonable. For everything, it worked out to $ 40ish.
I really like this place. If I’m in the area, I’ll definitely be coming back here! Check this place out!

I love Ben Than! The food is amazing. The prices are reasonable. The décor (in the Kitchener location) is gorgeous, and the vegetarian options are endless!
BUT the service is terrible. Despite that, I do eat here quite frequently, because i love the food and the locations close to my house. There is often a long wait for food, and if the resturant is busy, there is no doubt you will wait. I’ve waited up to 30 minutes on a fast day. Sometimes, they can be fast. I have never seen my parties food all come at once. I often order a soup with noodles on the side, and i will always receive one way before another. I’ve had my appetizer come at the end of my meal and my partners meal come 10 minutes after mine. I’ve been to both the Cambridge and Waterloo locations and the service is impeccable. So if this location isn’t convenient for you i would go to another location. Its sad, because bad service can always take away from the amazing taste of the Viet-​Thai cuisine.
Again, i must state the food is amazing. It’s what keeps me coming back. The spring rolls are to die for, and its great if you have a vegetarian in the family or vice-​versa. The food is always hot, and always tastes great. The price is about 25 $ for a meal with appetizer for two people without tip. The Kitchener location’s décor is very demure and high class. The alcohol is expensive, around 7 $ for a mixed drink.
I urge you to try this resturant, just not this location. Luckily its a chain!

I had lunch here with my parents and had a wonderful dining experience. Something I’ve come to expect from Ben Thanh’s in Waterloo, not Mississauga. Being a newer location than the Waterloo restaurant the atmosphere in here was very nice. Its a bit dark, but it’s quiet and there is lots of seating. Unlike the Waterloo location there was no lineup when we arrived and we were seated right away.
Their menu items were the same as the Waterloo locations, which I was pleased to see. I ordered my usual Thai dish, a vermicelli bowl with a spring roll. I also enjoyed a mango shake with my meal. I’ve become accustomed to getting my mango shake after my meal arrives (because they make the meals so quickly) but this time I was presently surprised to receive my shake before my meal. I was very impressed with the entire experience here.
All our meals came together and each were up to par with what I have come to expect from Ben Thanh’s.
With it’s proximity to the movie theatre this restaurant would be a good choice if you were looking for a good meal before seeing a show.
I will definitely be back the next time I’m in Kitchener or Waterloo.