This is my go to spot for a nice bowl of pho! I am always satisfied walking out of here! They have an excellent selection of food ranging from rice dishes, vermicelli, curry's, ramens, pho and many more. The portions are well sized and all the dishes are packed with flavour. There is never a bad choice at Ben Thanh Service was excellent, the waitress was very nice and attentive. The food came out quickly along with all the accompaniments. The restaurant is well decorated with a spacious interior. This is an amazing spot for any occasion whether it's a casual meal or date, you will not be disappointed. read more

Ben Thanh - Rare beef and flank - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

The food was indeed delicious, being both fresh and hot. Our server was kind enough to answer our questions politely. The interior is quite nicely done. My sister-in-law and I loved the drinking glasses. We actually googled to see where could buy them .lol Well done. read more

Popped in for some pho on a cold Saturday afternoon. Was intrigued by some of the fancy pho and ramen but went with the standard with brisket and lean/rare beef. Should have skipped the brisket it was fatty. Otherwise it tasted great. Thai spring roles also good. Service was quick and cost was about $22 per person tax and tip included but no drinks. read more

Being in town for 4 days, we wanted to have Asian food for at least one dinner. You can't go wrong with Vietnamese so we headed to Ben Thanh. We heard the location in Waterloo is better than the one in Kitchener so that's where we went. Food was honestly delicious but the prices were high for a run-of-the-mill Vietnamese meal. $85 for three of us, and we didn't order anything out of the ordinary. Three bowls of soup, spring rolls and fruit shakes. For $85, I'd have expected something more, like adult drinks, lol! read more

Ben Thanh - Rare beef and beef ball noodle soup. Tasty and hot! - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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Green Curry Chicken was good. Pad Thai was really good with lots of chicken. Spring Rolls were excellent. Service was fast and friendly.

I visited the restaurant right when it opened (around 11am on a weekday). I was seated quickly (within under a minute) upon arrival. I would say the service was around average, nothing really stood out. I would have liked for the waitress to be more engaging, though. The waitress didn't come around to ask for any refills in water or tea, even though it was not busy. The restaurant is pretty spacious for a pho restaurant. The food was freshly served. I ordered a vermicelli dish with spring roll, meat balls, and meat on a sugar cane. The spring roll was crispy yet juicy. read more

Ben Thanh - Vermicelli dish with spring roll, meat balls, and meat on sugar cane - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Huge menu with a variety of options. Prices were fair and portions were pretty big. Service was okay. Restaurant was spacious. read more

Ben Thanh - a green and white drink in a tall glass - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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I was absolutely shocked when I walked into Ben Thanh Thai and Vietnamese Restaurant. From the parking lot I thought it was just going to be a hole in the wall small little place but I could not have been more incorrect. It is HUGE and stunning! Despite the tall ceilings, vast floor space and nice decor I noticed there were a lot of students there for a Friday night meal. Their spring rolls and cream cheese veggie dumplings were so delicious and the perfect way to start our meal!!! Especially those fried dumplings. I keep dreaming about them! Crispy and gooey... I could have eaten those all night. I should have realized they would have their own take on ramen. This is not Japanese-style ramen, more like a Pho ramen and I got the one with noodles AND dumplings! I added hoisin which I would never do for ramen but it felt right with the Pho and cilantro nuances. Those dumpling were so delicious!!! This place is clearly a hit with students of the area too and you know they always know where to get great food for a good deal. When it comes to Ben Thanh they aren't wrong! ~ Suzie The Foodie read more

Ben Thanh - Spring rolls and cream cheese and vegetable dumplings - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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This review is for the pho only. Without a doubt, the best pho in Waterloo. It's a bit more of a bus ride for us non-local, non-car driving students, but it's worth it. Customer service is excellent, and quick to help out. The pho broth is my second favorite that I've ever had, better than any I've had back home in California (not saying Pho is pho-nomenal back in Cali, but we have quite a bit more options for places to go). Second only to a home-made broth I had. There is plenty of protein AND Ben Thanh is one of the few local spots that has tendon and tripe, as opposed to just chicken, shaved brisket and a meat ball, like nearly all of the other places here in KW. As for the ambience inside, it does match the exterior. From the outside, it looks like it'd be a generic hole-in-the-wall spot, but the interior is very nice and clean. read more

I'm sorry, but the pho here is honestly so good. I really wanted to dislike the place (because my friend and I were were passed up on for the open booth seat in favour of the people that came in behind us LOL), but my experience at Ben Thanh left me with no (other) complaints. Service was fast and warm. After being seated, they immediately asked us if we wanted water or tea, and our food was ordered and served within the first 15 minutes of being there. The ordering was done on a slip of paper that we passed to the waitress, so we did not feel rushed at any point. The (house) pho here is one of the best I've had- the broth is flavourful and clear, and they are very generous with the portioning of the meat. I also tried the Shrimp Spring Roll appetizer on my second visit, which was good (+10 pts for their peanut sauce). My very filling bowl of pho was around ~$9/10 before tax and tip, so the prices are steeper than usual, but fair for what you get. :-) Hoping to go back soon and try some of their other menu items (the vermicelli bowls look promising)- will keep y'all posted. read more

Ben Thanh - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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Amazing. Just amazing without a doubt get 101 and go on a weekday as theirs way less costumers the pho is amazing and I will be coming back here again read more

Up scale Asian. I really liked the atmosphere. It's clean, service was good. Food was just ok and kind of small portion compared to what I'm used to in Toronto. I had the grilled pork/balls "bun" (rice noodles). My biggest beef (per se) was the couple of slices of pork wasn't really grilled. Albeit its tough to find too many places that has authentically grilled meat. Honestly those are keepers. Anyways I'd love to come back and give the pho a try. read more

Ben Thanh - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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Taste : 9.4/10 Price : $8.95 + tax for small Service ‍: 8/10 Worth it: 9.4/10 I spent over 10 minutes trying to make a good noodle pull but couldn't seem to get it work Regardless, Ben Thanh's pho has been the BEST pho I have tried yet. The broth is rich and clear; it was so good that I could make it a meal with just the broth The meat portions are generous and the rice noodles had a consistent texture. The broth though... that was a banger read more

Ben Thanh - Ben Thanh Special Beef Noodle Soup ($8.95 + tax) - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

It's sad that there aren't many pho options closer to campus, so many people still come here to get their pho fix. It's still such a popular venue - perhaps because it is one of the more clean and parking friendly options. I don't recommend getting mixed drinks here, they don't seem to know how to make them. The pho and vermicelli here are very good. I love getting the vermicelli with grilled pork meatballs and spring rolls - they do it right by having the vermicelli cold (I dread the places that have clearly microwaved their vermicelli from a previous batch). The service is not bad, sometimes a bit slow to come around when it gets busy. read more

Ben Thanh - Was not impressed by this cocktail :/ - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Ordered Ben Thanh for dinner last night and I can't describe it any more accurately than just meh. The tom yum vermicelli with seafood was really strong, in a sour and overpowering way where I didn't want to drink much of the soup. The pad see ew was really oddly coloured and flavoured, not what I was expecting from thai food. I would go for Mimo Thai instead next time. read more

This place was phonomenal! Came here for a group outing with my colleagues for lunch and I was pleasantly surprised at how much value I received for the meal! Ordered the mixed seafood pad Thai along with shrimp rolls for starters. The rolls were a little soggy and there was a lot of lettuce which overpowered the taste of the dish. That said, still savoury and I liked something not as strong for an appetizer. On to the main course, there was a lot, and I mean, A LOT, of quantity! So much so that when I was done, it barely seemed like I made a dent. In terms of quality, the noodles and shrimp were delicious and garnished with a nice sweet and spicyish sauce. I would have wished for more shrimp on the plate and some more seafood options, as it seemed like a lot of tofu instead of the former. Still a really good meal and well worth the money! Would definitely recommend if you're on the lookout for good pad Thai and Vietnamese food. Next dish to try would be their noodles or pho! read more

Ben Thanh - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

First-time Pho customers forewarning - the price of Small / Large / x-Large bowls is $1 MORE THAN your average Pho restaurant's prices. So, expect a large size to be $8.95. If that isn't a problem, then the good side is that customer service, room space & table, and decor are all excellent. Bottom line - good experience, price slightly more than average. read more

I'm in no way a connoisseur of Vietnamese and Thai food but I went with a couple of friends who were. I ordered what was recommended to me by them and the server. The food was delicious! We ordered an Asian salad, Ben Thanh special pho and Thai green curry with rice and veggies and tofu. We really enjoyed the subtle flavour in each of these dishes that came out in every bite. The place usually gets crowded so a reservation is recommended. We were lucky we got a table real quick. A must-go place for a cosy and delicious food read more

Ben Thanh - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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This place has been a tradition for myself and friends each semester to come to celebrate the end of finals. Each visit there is something new that disappoints the eye. Cons: -We wanted to take out our left overs but after the waiter says ok, she begins to sit down and check her phone blatantly... We waited 10 minutes before we called a new waiter. Quite unprofessional if you ask me. -I paid and we were leaving until the waiter came up to me and told us we had the wrong bill... Overall, the waiters could behave more professionally to perform menial tasks Pros: -The portions are amazing!!! $10 for an extra large bowl of pho that makes you tremendously full -Great date choice with beautiful decor -Food is delicious ranging from pho, rice, wraps -My favorite is their beef combo pho read more

Ben Thanh - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Who doesn't like pho or Vietnamese food? The atmosphere of the restaurant is very clean and modern. The decor is very nice and the servers are always very attentive and friendly. Now onto the food. The portions are very generous and the food comes out quick and warm. You'll be looking to spend around $15 with tip depending on what you get. The pho here is phenomenal compared to other Vietnamese restaurants. The broth is not as oily and noodles are perfect. But one thing I find lacking is all the other dishes that are not pho. The rice dishes are very mediocre. I usually get the bbq beef with rice or lemongrass chicken. Compared to other restaurants there isn't much taste unless you use the sauce it comes with. The drinks they have such as smoothies or bubble tea is also below average. With that being said, everything is still tasty and worth paying for. I would come again for the rice dishes or pho. read more

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Tried out this place on saturday and ordered the house special which came with beef flank and tripe. The soup base tasted pretty good. Yes it had a lot of msg, but it was just as much as any of the other pho places, and it really brought out the taste. I expected the large pho to be a little bigger, but it was still an adequate amount for $8. They also only put in about 5 pieces of beef flank, and some of it had a rainbow colour to it, but it tasted fine. My friend's beef ball pho also looked really good. Worth a try if you're around campus as it is on par with other pho restaurants. read more

Ben Thanh - The house special pho - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Have been here many times. My favorite is still the red curry chicken with egg plant the large bowl. we also ordered the sqid appetizer, love the wasabi mayo for dipping and five spice soup. read more

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The traditional pho beef noodle 101 is worthy to try, also other Asian dishes with different varieties, excellent hospitality services in Waterloo, compared with those in numerous Chinese restaurants, also sparkling clean and spacious. Thanks! read more

Ben Thanh - 101 side dish - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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I have to say the pho there is very good! The Thai tea is really tasty! But when I ordered phaithai I got so disappointed , it's just too sweet and too strange comparing to the ones I ate in Thailand, for hundreds of phaithai I have tried in life this could be bottom 3. But otherwise the pho is good, just try the pho. And if u r a girl, don't go for large bowl. read more

Ben Thanh - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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I come here often with friends and family and usually order the following: Food: 425. Shrimp fried rice. 221S Red Curry with Shrimp on Rice Fish Congee Tom Yum Seafood Soup Phu Kien Noodle with seafood Drinks: Triple coloured green jelly drink All of the above is 5 stars. Guests who have accompanied me have complained about the chow mein being too greasy. In the summer of 2015 they had flies inside their restaurant and that was a big turn off. Service has been consistently excellent in my experience. Overall it's a good place with good food which is why I keep coming back. read more

Ben Thanh - 221S Red Shrimp Curry on Rice - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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Pretty spacious, comfortable and nicely decorated pho restaurant. Was glad to find out that they serve several types of noodles and not just pho (rice noodles). Other choices include: udon, ramen, and thick egg noodles. Would definitely come back. read more

Ben Thanh - Vermicelli noodle with spring roll, pork and shrimp. - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Staple Pho Place ~$10 + Tip pp Accepts all major credit cards Weekday lunch No wait Reviewed as local I used to come to this place frequently many years ago and it seems not too much has changed. The quality of the food remains pretty standard as one of the better options in the neighbourhood. Service continues to be a challenge here. The layout hasn't changed in years. There is a narrow corridor of chairs leading up to the hostesses podium. The menu is pretty extensive, but I would caution venturing away from the traditional Vietnamese dishes (stick to pho or vermicelli dishes). I ordered the pho with cold Chrysanthemum tea. Came hot and it took me a while to flag someone down to make the switch. Getting the check at the end took a bit longer than I would have liked. The food was as I remember: decent but unremarkable. read more

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Me like the Thai food, y'all. The atmosphere is fancy-casual and there are two large rooms for seating. We had the littles with us and while they aren't too cooperative in sit-down settings, they made sure to seat us right-next-to-other-peeps. Not the best accommodation. Something about not being able to put a high chair in the aisles because of fire code. Blah blah. I know, I get it. Food was good, but not the best I've had. I'd return for a quick meal if I'm back in the area, but nothing that would leave me craving for more. Solid food. Good service. Meh accommodations. read more

Ben Thanh is set to serve large groups, quick and fast. They are guaranteed to handle big crowds. Summer is slow here when the terraces and patios ELSEWHERE around the city draws the crowds, but the winter season is when they do the most business with the local Asian population and university kids. I walked in on a Sunday evening and was initially turned off by a line by the door, but realized that coming in solo, I was at an advantage to be seated quickly. The menu is quite extensive and has Chinese names for all the dishes. I found the "vegetables" section at the back. Ordered a yellow vegetarian curry with tofu ($11.95) and it came out in barely 5 minutes! Rice was not included, so I had to add a bowl. The curry itself was clearly pre-made, but tasted fine. The soft tofu in the dish was not particularly unique or paired well, and the potatoes in it had previously been roasted and cooked into the curry. While not altogether impressed with the curry, I still took home the leftovers. Hopefully will have some better luck on my next visit, as it's not too far from home. Would come here for efficiency and good service. read more

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. read more

Ben Thanh - Platter with rice wraps - #303 (?) - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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I had been hoping to try Ben Thanh for quite some time so I was very excited when I finally went. There was a group of four of us and we were seated rather quickly. The service was good even while the restaurant was busy. The food was good and well timed. I ordered the vermicelli platter and a soup to share with my friend. The rice wrappers were far too dry and cracked. When we asked for new ones they were dripping wet and made it difficult to roll. Also, our soup came without a ladle and when we asked for one we were given soup spoons. read more

Pros: This used to be our go to place for Pho. Pho is still the best in Waterloo. Food other than Pho is mediocre. Meat ball in the appetizer is good. Cons: The service lately has been very much lacking, when the place is at most half full. The waitress sat us down with a very straight face, no hello no smile. The waitress also never came back after taking our order (I.e. no asking if water refill is needed). When we finished and I tried to get the bill and a take out box for leftover food, my hand was up and visible for two whole minutes before anyone came. The girl at the bar looked our way twice, but avoided eye contact and just turned away, without calling our waitress either. There's also been fruit flies going around trying to pick off our food. So the cleanliness is also a little of questions. read more

I am a regular to this place. The decor is good and the service is great. We are friends with this very kind and helpful waitress called Dolly - she goes out of her way to make the experience good. The soups at this place are OK - not as much meat as you will expect but the taste is good. In the summer its kind of bad because they have a lot of flies. Their Chinese dishes are not as good - their chop suey was quite greasy and bad once. This is the reason of the 4 stars. read more

Ben Thanh - Favourite dish - beef with egg - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

This is a restaurant I always keep coming back to, especially when I feel like I don't know where else I feel like going. They may not be super exciting but they put out solid comfort food-level Southeast Asian fare. Takeout is fantastic as well. Noodle soups and fried rice are my favourite offerings and most recently I tried their Malaysian Chicken Laksa Noodle Soup. Hearty but not too heavy, and the bean sprouts and other aromatics they threw in made it very refreshing. It really hit the spot after a long and tiring day! read more

Ben Thanh - Malaysian Chicken Noodle Laksa Soup - Thai Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

XL pho portion is huge for $10 but the flavor was severely lacking. they gave a good amount of meat within the bowl, but presented us with a teeny tiny plate of a handful of bean sprouts and a sad looking twig of basil (i asked for more). broth was overly oily, like they left a huge amount of nuoc beo in it. it also was not very clear and looked scummy. very disappointing and one dimensional flavor. reminded me of salted water. the noodles were overdone and too soft. there was no nuoc mam, sambal, or pickeled chilis to put in either-- now i understand why some people drench their pho in sriracha and hoisin. actually their hoisin wasnt even pure hoisin but actually a watered down, runnier version (it looked and tasted like they literally mixed it with water to 'save sauce'). might very well be the worst pho i have ever eaten in my life. service decent though. read more

One of my regular stops for lunch or dinner when in the KW area. Have been coming here for some time and have noticed over the past few years that the quality of ingredients in some of the dishes has gone downhill. Seafood Tom Yum Soup used to come with Quarters of Thai eggplant, fish cake, shrimp, squid, and artificial crab leg, quarters of tomato, noodles, and herbs. Lately it's being made without fish cake or squid and just a slice of tomato. Also had pho recently and was served without lime or Thai basil. Hope this was just an anomaly and not a sign of things to come. read more

Don't know what possessed us to give this place a shot, despite all the poor reviews. Pho had absolutely zero taste (literally tasted like noodles and beef in water) and the beef tasted like freezer. Never again, never again. read more

Hello me and my wife went in to your location Wednesday September 9 2020 The person at the front that greet the customers was very rude she wouldn't help us at all will not be returning back to your location. Worst experience I have ever had! read more

Been going here for years and the food and service is always amazing!! The food portions are huge and have so much flavour. I love everything about this place. read more

Very hit or miss. Sometimes the noodles are undercooked or the soup is bland. They also skimp out on meat and recently, changed their XL to their L size while price stayed the same. I only get tom yum or sate soup base and the crispy fried spring rolls as those are alright. read more