Come enjoy an appetizing dish at Ben Thanh Restaurant. They are open after-hours all week. You can get there by bicycle and public transit. They are established in a location packed with restaurants, stores and coffee shops.
I really really love Thai food and the first time I came to Ben Thanh I absolutely loved the food. It is actually a restaurant that holds a place in my heart as my husband and I had our first meal together, on his birthday here! However, the few times we have tried since has been absolutely flavourless and the tofu overcooked and tasting like rubber.
Very sad as we did love this restaurant very much but there are many other options in London that I would be willing to take the chance to test out.
I wouldn't reccommend this restaurant to anyone unless you don't want authentic Thai flavour...
I DO have to say though, they have probably the best fried won tons I've ever had in my life though, strangely enough. Oh so creamy and yummy... mmmm :)
Love this place, the food here just never fails to impress. My favorites are bbq pork rolls, vermicelli bowl with bbq pork, thai green curry with chicken and green beans, pad thai.
I have been coming to Ben Thanh for several years now and have usually enjoyed myself. A few weeks ago we decided to get a large crowd out from work (about 45 of us), so we preordered our meals 3 weeks in advance to try and make it easier for the staff. They only provided one waitress for the entire group (who I think was the owner), so it took ages to have the food brought out to us. People were still being served while others had finished eating. Then instead of starting to process bills while we ate, we had to all wait patiently in line to pay our bills. Each one of us was rudely reminded that the tip wasn't automatically included on our bill, and then we were asked to pay more than 15% - some of us had our tips waved back in our faces! With the poor service, she was lucky to have tips, but to have them questioned was extremely rude. They lost a lost of great customers that day.
Ok, So I took my wife out for Valentines Day, and we thought we should try something new. Well I am glad that we did. This place doesnt look the greatest from the outside, but its great past the front door. They started us with a nice hot pot of tea (it was great)... We got our food pretty quick, and it tasted fantastic!!! I will definatly be back again!!! Oh yeah, when I got the bill, I was very happy!! Two thumbs up.
I wouldn't really go back here if I had the choice, but many of my friends like this place.
I just know people who have worked here over the years, and the thought of the management taking the lions share of the servers tips just makes me sick to my stomach.
Onto the food, I've had better vietnamese food, but this place is pretty consistent in their food preparation.
They offer a pretty vast menu, but much of that is their drink selection.
The atmosphere is well lit and seems to be filled with the chatter of 20 somethings.
The service can be pretty slow, but I can attribute that to the servers having their life sucked out of them by the management.
