Ben Thanh Viet-Thai Restaurant

Ben Thanh is a Vietnamese/​Thai/​Chinese Cuisine located in DownTown Hamilton. Entering in, Ben Thanh has two clear glass doors (try not to bump into these glass doors)! They have two seating areas, one on the outside (that is almost never open) and one on the inside, which is usually filled. They also have a bar, if you would like to purchase a few drinks.
Coming from Toronto Area, I definitely feel that this place is a little expensive. One thing I find really interesting is that Ben Thanh serves ALL DAY DIMSUM. Wow, this is really rare, but I don’t think people come here for dimsum most of the time anyways. Their dishes are a little small, I usually get their phở or pad thai with a fried rice. Their phở is mediocre, it’s probably the largest dish on their menu, though I feel like it’s pretty average compared to other places. Their fried rice however, is really tasty. If you order seafood, they give you LARGE shrimps and not small tiny ones. In addition, they add a bit of herbs to the fried rice, such as basil. It tastes very Asian Fusion like. The waiters are all English Speaking, though I know there are a few ladies here who speak Cantonese.
I think for the Hamilton area, Ben Thanh is a pretty good Vietnamese slash Thai place to go to.

Come here usually once a month. Clean restaurant with friendly staff. Today, I picked up a vermicelli bowl and brought it home for lunch. It was so gross. I felt like I took a bite of cow shit – from a dish I always get and love. I lost my appetite immediately and have been recovering with Spitz sunflower seeds. I might call the cops.

Love coming here with my family. The service is quick and the food is amazing at a reasonable price. The ambience is great and intimate.

What can I say… I love this place! I’ve been going to this restaurant since the mid 90s and it’s still one of my favorite in Hamilton. The menu is so vast and offers so many choices it always makes ordering a dilemma. The problem is, that I rarely go and when I do, I want the same dish I had the time before because it was so darn good! I’d highly recommend going here and don’t be shy if you’ve never ventured into this cuisine, they have a lot of pictures on their menu. Even if you sit for a while looking around the dining room you’ll be sure to see something on the next table that will urge you to ask the waitress ’ what number is that one?’ Each dish on the menu has their main ingredients fully explained in English which will assist in ordering. They have a location on the corner of James St., North and Vine and also a new location on upper James. Both of these locations offer comfortable and classy dining experiences. Having said that, you could very comfortably walk-​in with casual clothes or be very dressed up and still fit in. The focus really is on fantastic food however the atmosphere and the seating arrangements cater to the customer experience and is welcoming and nonintrusive. Will continue to be a fav for many years to come thanks B&T!

I miss the old location. Really. I remember going in there many years ago and being placed at a table with total strangers. They continued to happily slurp their soups while I looked around in confusion. Lurch would come around with menus and tea, not saying a word or even attempting to smile. It was such an authentic, foreign experience, and the restaurant was filled with the most diverse and interesting people.
Those were the good old days of B&T.
Sadly, they have moved. Fancy booths. No boogers on the menus (Ok, I don’t miss the boogers). Smaller portions and higher prices.
I miss blue awning B&T.
I miss Lurch.

Below average. The Phở is not very tasty and the price is higher than Saigon’s. I don’t think I will come back again

Terrible service, so short staffed that it takes forever to be seated and have your order taken.
Standard bottles Sriracha (which is extremely watered down) and hoisin sauce must be asked for (They give you a small plate of it instead). Food and price is average, nothing that wows me.
Bill had to be asked for 4 times before i got to pay… Not very impressed. I’ll be going to Phở Do Bau down the street instead

First time there, was not sure about the restaurant from the outside but once inside it was a fantastic place.
Décor is great and food was better! Will definitely be back, the menu is incredible with so many choices!
Definitely check it out if you are in the area!

Coming from Toronto it’s easy to see that the food is way overly priced for the amount of serving that you get. Thai beef rice noodle was very bland and a small bowl of Phở soup will cost you $ 7 which is normally $ 4 – 5 everywhere else. Be prepared to still be empty afterwards just like your wallet.

Good as all of the other BT’s! Parking is a bit tough though.

New location @ 113 James Street North.
Still great quality food and service.

B&T’s has had a firm place in the collective memories of every Hamilton student. So, to mark the return to the Hammer over the Christmas break, we went. What flashy new digs! Very pleasant change, and even though generations made do with the old décor, it’s always nice to eat great phở off a shiny new table, no? The restaurant looks fantastic and the food continues to be tasty, well priced, and varied. I didn’t notice a single change with their pricing. The service is a bit slow but the décor was really nice and the location is very convenient. As for the phở, remains some of the best I’ve had… and, it’s sriracha sauce’s finest companion.

New location is nice. Waiting staff was eager to please. Food arrived amazingly fast. Pad Thai was good, though not the best I’ve ever had.

telling it like it is…
am here for a business trip.
the place is very run down… not a good feeling upon entering the restaurant. he menu was very dirty and looks like a notebook from ages ago; in other words, it needed to be made presentable.
the phở — got their B&T special — very bad, i could not even finish a third of the bowl. i guess i’m just spoiled to ‘phở oregon’ in portland, OR.
the mango shrimp salad — was great… until almost the last bite; i discovered a rice bug on the second to last shrimp. i got a weird feeling in my stomach and had to stop.
the ‘che ba mau’ — not very good.
WILL NOT EAT HERE AGAIN IF I AM EVER IN TOWN.

Simply the best Viet/​Thai food I’ve had in this country. Amazing stuff, with absolutely huge portions that belie the exceptional skill and quality of the cooking. While the décor is a bit rundown at this point, and the plating is functional rather than pretty, none of this matters. At B&T it’s all about the delicious, perfect food.
If you’re in the Hamilton area and enjoy this style of food, there’s really no reason to try any other restaurant. Ben Thanh is where it’s at.
Yes, I’m an unapologetic fanboy, but considering I’ve been to this place a couple dozen times over the years despite not living in Hamilton I think I owe them a rave review.
The menu’s huge, so I won’t single out any one thing. Order what catches your eye. You won’t be disappointed.

I’ve been here countless times… It’s one of thoughts places where, when you can’t really decide what you’re feeling like B&T will make you leave happy.
Where to start, with Cons perhaps:
If you’re looking for a classy spot, don’t go here… a possible first date spot… yes, but probably not best… it’s atmosphere is nothing special — they have tables, and chairs and it’s pretty loud with blenders and spoon counting — BUT they serve GREAT food.
Pros:
If you’re looking for cheap, good quality, faster service, and large portions — now we’re talking. This place has awesome food. The soups are ENORMOUS, order a small and you’ll still probably be able to share it with 2 people. The rice dishes are great and they do fish pretty well also.
Try it out, I bet you’ll be back!
Ps. Parking is a small lot out front (east of the restaurant is an overflow lot)

It is with great pleasure that I write this review. After tiring of the sub-​par phở places in and around the NJ town where I currently study, I fondly remembered my favorite phở place in Hamilton, Ontario… Ben Thanh!
Ben Thanh restaurant is run by people who also own the B&T supermarket, right next door to the Hamilton restaurant location. Like the supermarket, the restaurant gets kudos for its quality of food: the varieties and deliciousness of the phở; the incredible shrimp rolls, wrapped-​in-​rice-​sheets with thin slices of cucumber and other ingredients and dipped into a sweet, light sauce; the shrimp rolls spun in what looks like many strings of fried flour-​like material… it looks like a shrimp cyclone, crispy and tasty; the many flavors of special beverages available (including a good job on the flavors you’d expect at good Viet places); and the freshness, variety, and quantity of the plate of condiments that come with your piping hot bowl of phở… all are fantastic!
I like how B & T doesn’t skimp on the thai basil leaves that come with your order of phở, and how the bean sprouts are fresh (they go bad very easily). I also like how they provide both Sriracha sauce (on the tables) as well as chili garlic sauce (if asked… I think I remember that sometimes it’s available on the table directly). The original, basic beef phở option is my favorite, and I really miss not having it, especially now that I no longer eat meat (ah well, seafood phở, here I come!).
As for service, don’t bother looking for particularly good service here… the priorities are to clean the tables, serve the food and beverages, and somehow fit the many customers in without a huge wait on their part. These impersonal priorities reflect the low prices here, and the staff who aren’t always equipped with the fluency of multiple languages to engage you with extensive small talk in the language you appear to be comfortable with… this kind of talk isn’t warranted anyway, in my view: I just want my food and efficient, polite service!
All in all… the food really is excellent, the best Viet place in the Hamilton region in my view. Don’t forget to stop by at the supermarket next door if the restaurant food inspires you to make some quality phở!
BEN THANH VIET-​THAI RESTAURANT
115 Park Street North,
HAMILTON, ONTARIO
TEL: 1−905−528−6888
Open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m.
Fully licensed. Takeout and delivery available.