Ben Thanh Viet Thai Restaurant
15 reviews CA Ontario Hamilton, 113 James St N +1 905-528-6888 www.phobt.ca suggest an edit
16 March 2023 12:05
I enjoy Ben Thanh, but my experience at this location was a little underwhelming compared to my experiences at the Burlington location.
I've visited various Ben Thanh establishments many times over the years. It's one of my favorite places to get pho. I recommend getting beef brisket pho over the lean beef, as the meat is much more tender. The deep fried Vietnamese spring rolls are incredible. This location I found the beef portions in the pho was a somewhat small compared to others. On this occasion I had the sate broth added to my pho, which was nice.
Service at this location was slow during our visit. It was a Sunday evening and the restaurant has some patrons, but it was not super busy. There seemed to be only 2 servers, so they might have been overwhelmed. Food was a bit slow to come, and one of us had to wait 10+ minutes after everyone else had been served, to be servered their for the first of two dishes. Their second dish came when the rest of us were nearly finished. After receiving our meals, the servers did to return to our table - we had to go to the front desk to get and pay our bills.
Overall, our experience was okay. I'm willing to give this location another shot - I think I might have visited on a bad night.
I've visited various Ben Thanh establishments many times over the years. It's one of my favorite places to get pho. I recommend getting beef brisket pho over the lean beef, as the meat is much more tender. The deep fried Vietnamese spring rolls are incredible. This location I found the beef portions in the pho was a somewhat small compared to others. On this occasion I had the sate broth added to my pho, which was nice.
Service at this location was slow during our visit. It was a Sunday evening and the restaurant has some patrons, but it was not super busy. There seemed to be only 2 servers, so they might have been overwhelmed. Food was a bit slow to come, and one of us had to wait 10+ minutes after everyone else had been served, to be servered their for the first of two dishes. Their second dish came when the rest of us were nearly finished. After receiving our meals, the servers did to return to our table - we had to go to the front desk to get and pay our bills.
Overall, our experience was okay. I'm willing to give this location another shot - I think I might have visited on a bad night.
17 February 2023 14:42
I've been going for years, and the food is always amazing. Their cheese wantons are AMAZING, and their soups are so good. The broth is so rich, but I miss their ramen: (
We ordered 6 items that came to ~78$ +tip, which in my book is a good deal
We ordered 6 items that came to ~78$ +tip, which in my book is a good deal
17 February 2023 6:24
Food was tasty and good value but service staff was very irritated at us the whole time for no reason.
We asked whether we could sit at the bar in the front since we wanted only drinks but the lady scoffed at us and said no. We felt a little awkward already and then they also slammed down the menu and our food with little to no care very aggressively onto the table. There wasn’t any server for our table and we had to wait a long time for everything. They barely talked to us at all. They never brought us an extra plate and utensils since there is 3 of us and only 2 sets. We thought maybe they were closing soon but it was actually more than 2 hours before their closing time. Overall the experience was just really uncomfortable. I wouldn’t suggest dining in here even though the food was ok.
The beer we ordered for 9 dollars was also in a tiny can instead of a glass as shown in the menu so that was quite disappointing as well.
We asked whether we could sit at the bar in the front since we wanted only drinks but the lady scoffed at us and said no. We felt a little awkward already and then they also slammed down the menu and our food with little to no care very aggressively onto the table. There wasn’t any server for our table and we had to wait a long time for everything. They barely talked to us at all. They never brought us an extra plate and utensils since there is 3 of us and only 2 sets. We thought maybe they were closing soon but it was actually more than 2 hours before their closing time. Overall the experience was just really uncomfortable. I wouldn’t suggest dining in here even though the food was ok.
The beer we ordered for 9 dollars was also in a tiny can instead of a glass as shown in the menu so that was quite disappointing as well.
23 January 2023 2:40
The food is good, portions are big and the price is fair.
Service is heavily centralized on the only hostess, which can cause some confusion, but overall, it is a good restaurant with a fair price.
Service is heavily centralized on the only hostess, which can cause some confusion, but overall, it is a good restaurant with a fair price.
22 January 2023 7:56
Poor value.
Good heat (spice) but no flavour.
Meat (chicken dark meat) was dry and tough. I'd hate to see how bad white meat would be.
Hostess was not helpful in helping us choose the house specialties, so we just chose the standard shrimp Pad Tai and lemon grass chicken.
Good heat (spice) but no flavour.
Meat (chicken dark meat) was dry and tough. I'd hate to see how bad white meat would be.
Hostess was not helpful in helping us choose the house specialties, so we just chose the standard shrimp Pad Tai and lemon grass chicken.
28 December 2022 7:00
One of my favorite restaurants in the city. Consistently great food! On this visit, our group ordered several dishes to share. The Pad Siew is the best I've ever had. Our group loved it so much we ordered another order of Pad Siew after finishing the first order because we all wanted more of it!
11 December 2022 0:45
Overall an amazing experience. Great food, service, and atmosphere. Food was delicious and nice and hot. Would recommend!
03 December 2022 20:41
Let me start this off by saying that I used to love B&T. Especially during their Cannon street days. Now not so much.
First, their new online ordering system is incredibly confusing, not user friendly, and takes away from the charm that was B&T. We also heard other customers nearby that were confused by the new system as well.
Second, we tried to order a veggie pho option but it wasn’t on the menu. That is completely understandable. What isn’t understandable is asking for the chicken broth option with NO MEAT substituted with veggies & tofu, but still having to pay for the meat AND getting charged extra for veggies and tofu. This small Pho came out to $19! I get costs are high for everyone right now but how are you going to charge me for meat that I didn’t eat? !? I’ve been a customer for many years, but will have to rethink my next visit to this restaurant. Such a shame since these guys were a Hamilton staple at one point
First, their new online ordering system is incredibly confusing, not user friendly, and takes away from the charm that was B&T. We also heard other customers nearby that were confused by the new system as well.
Second, we tried to order a veggie pho option but it wasn’t on the menu. That is completely understandable. What isn’t understandable is asking for the chicken broth option with NO MEAT substituted with veggies & tofu, but still having to pay for the meat AND getting charged extra for veggies and tofu. This small Pho came out to $19! I get costs are high for everyone right now but how are you going to charge me for meat that I didn’t eat? !? I’ve been a customer for many years, but will have to rethink my next visit to this restaurant. Such a shame since these guys were a Hamilton staple at one point
02 December 2022 4:01
Some of the best pho I've had. When I go on vacation I always try to find a good pho place and I'm usually let down. Not this time! Great!
28 November 2022 15:26
Excellent Vietnamese restaurant in the heart of Hamilton!
Cozy and warm, for a romantic dinner or festive evening with friends, you will be charmed.
First time client, will return for sure!
Cozy and warm, for a romantic dinner or festive evening with friends, you will be charmed.
First time client, will return for sure!
24 November 2022 15:59
Old friends since passed took me and my wife for dinner here frequently, when we were in Hamilton.
The dishes are beautifully 'Composed' and 'Presented'.
The freshness of the ingredients makes this worthy of a Michelin dining place. Tastes beyond measurement.
The dishes are beautifully 'Composed' and 'Presented'.
The freshness of the ingredients makes this worthy of a Michelin dining place. Tastes beyond measurement.
26 October 2022 8:13
Food was ok but service was absolutely horrible. The waiter doesn’t say anything when we ask for things, didn’t even give us utensils. The waitress never came back with our tea even after repeatedly asking for it.
12 October 2022 16:23
Horrific customer service. Staff don't speak English enough to get your order right and are extremely rude! I've given them 3 separate chances to order and they've NEVER gotten my order right! Prices vary based upon who takes your order. I.e. Ask for extra egg and bean sprouts on an order and once they don't charge me more and then next time they charge me $2.00 more for the same dish.
Noodles were cold and had to microwave my order when I got home. Don't give them your business, staff is so rude and zero edicate. Very disappointed I gave them my business. Will definitely be finding another Thai restaurant in Hamilton.
Noodles were cold and had to microwave my order when I got home. Don't give them your business, staff is so rude and zero edicate. Very disappointed I gave them my business. Will definitely be finding another Thai restaurant in Hamilton.
07 October 2022 13:58
We got one glass of water to share between 3 people.
Also don't bother asking for hot water at 8pm because it's apparently " too late" even though they close at 10
Also don't bother asking for hot water at 8pm because it's apparently " too late" even though they close at 10
05 October 2022 5:10
The food is great and authentic. It's affordable as well. I guess I went on a busy night but the service was slow and our server forgot items and we had to remind them to bring our drinks several times. When I order take out its quick and a reasonable portion.