Benji’s Vietnamese Cuisine

Yes, I can see why this place is rated 4-​star in Unilocal: it’s really good! Ever since one of my old time favourite restaurants in Ottawa closed — Le Bifteck used to be at this location — the building that housed it was torn down, and this plaza was built up in its place. However, I had previously only ever gone into the Big Rig… sadly I didn’t even realize there were other restaurants in this strip. Ok, now I get it: I like the fact that I can visit 3 different restaurants on this same site that I used to enjoy eating at all those years ago. Ok, so they’re not the old school Bifteck with their fabulous famous croûton appetiser, but these other restaurants are really and truly good!
So, last night, prepping to go to the movies for the 2^nd night in a row, and not wanting popcorn for supper again — if you know what I mean! Love it we do, but enough is enough — and since we are also still getting over this flu /​cold thing that is going around, we decided to warm up with a consomé type of soup — so let’s get PHO! Hubster ordered a medium P4, which is beef Phở, and I got a Medium P8, which is chicken and veggies perfectly al dente, each for about $ 10. We got appetizers of spring rolls which were to die for good, and a pot of green tea which added about $ 2.50. This was a great meal! Adn the bonus was that at least my soup was filling enough to make 2 meals.
The décor is very nice, it’s clean and very pretty inside! The only downer was the double door coming into the restaurant — very difficult to open, and with the wind howling through it — made it sound like a person screaming to get in! Funny that it wasn’t colder inside the restaurant — quite the opposite, warm and inviting. The service was good, pleasant and quick enough without seeming to be ready made.
One thing I found odd (and I truly do NOT mean to offend!) was that the patrons were all caucasian. I wondered why no Asians came in while we were there… perhaps they prefer Chinatown down on Summerset? Still, this place was a gem, and worth the visit. I would definitely go back.

Fabulous food, service is great, booster cushions are funny! We had rare beef soup: wonderful; vermicelli with grilled chicken and spring rolls: so flavourful, and crab corn soup: so good! Well worth the trip to the west end! I would go back again and again!

Seriously you have to eat here!
Great service and the food tastes out of world amazing!
And check this out… Real lemongrass stalks in the tea pot!
No skimping on the shrimp and scallops! The pad thai has unique fresh flavours!
If you like spicy… Just ask and done to your scale of fire breathing dragon!!!

I was a bit skeptical about this restaurant, having the best vietnamese food at home. Looking at the location and the decoration inside, i was not expecting much out of it.
Even though it was a little overpriced, the food was simple but very good, which is what you expect from vietnamese restaurants. An entrée costs somewhere between 12 to 16 $. An traditional hole-​in-​the-​wall viet restaurant would charge 10 $ for the same meal.
Having a Groupon made it more reasonable with regards to pricing.
The presentation of the plates was good. Lemongrass beef was delicious. Shrimps are not pre-​cooked and are relatively large in size and number.

I just moved here from Vancouver and decided I wanted some phở
Taste
The soup was quite decent, not too much MSG (but I’m sure there are some), overall taste is good.
Portion
I ordered a large portion, however I find it to be a bit on the small side, but this portion is good to not give you food coma by 2PM. Could use a bite or two more noodles and beef. Good size of brisket in the soup I find.
Price
The large was $ 10.95, coming from Vancouver this is considered very expensive for phở, the large average around $ 8 – 9 usually.
Ambiance
The restaurant is very clean and nicely decorated, not like your usual rundown phở place, good for lunch meeting with the clients.

Pretty inside, great service. We had soup lunch specials and they were delicious! Jasmine tea and spring roll were included with our bowls of phở, for only $ 12.50. The beef broth was complex and incredibly flavourful. We’ll definitely go back and would recommend it to friends.

The food was good and the service was excellent. The décor and recorded background music are unobtrusive and tasteful, except for a drooping light-​garland. Cleanliness was good, but the washroom offered only cold water.

My husband and I went to this restaurant last week with our two young children and our two month old baby. Benji’s had just opened two weeks prior to our visit, so I think it’s important to consider this as you read my review.
My husband got a full course dinner and it started with the chicken rice noodle soup and chicken shrimp spring rolls. The rice noodle soup consisted of a light, nicely-​seasoned broth with small tender pieces of chicken. The spring rolls were very tasty and non-​greasy. The portion size was good, enough for one big eater or for two people to share. Presentation was simple and pleasant, as pictured. Next was the General Tao’s Chicken, served with a side of rice. This was probably the most delicious meal that was served at the table. The chicken was tender, there were tons of perfectly tender-​crisp assorted veggies, the sauce was VERY flavourful and portion size was quite large… although my husband still managed to polish it all off — it was THAT good.
I had the Chicken with Assorted Vegetables on Crispy Noodles to compare it to my favourite meal at another local Vietnamese restaurant. I have to say, it came very close! The presentation was beautiful, the chicken and veggies were aplenty and cooked perfectly to tender-​crisp, the sauce was very flavourful, with a nice sweet hint of what I think was pineapple… The ONE downfall: as I got further and further into my meal, I realized that the sauce was definitely over-​salted, and I tend to enjoy things a little on the saltier side. I am hoping this was just a one off; with a little tweaking they could totally nail this dish!
My 2.5 and 5-​year-​old children shared an item from the kids menu — YES, they actually have one of those here, parents! — and it was just enough. It started off with a soup, chicken rice noodle, but we upgraded to the wonton at my 5-year-old’s request (it’s her favourite). It was a typical wonton soup consisting of a mild chicken flavoured broth and tender wontons with a nice shrimp filling. As a main, they shared breaded chicken pieces with a cherry dipping sauce and a side of rice. The chicken pieces were tender and perfectly sized for little hands and the cherry sauce was absolutely delicious. The rice was just plain rice. There was a small pile of veggies (lettuce and thinly sliced carrots and radishes, I think) in the corner of their plate that was more for presentation, but they gobbled it up promptly. My daughter exclaimed about her meal: «I don’t like this; I LOVE it!».
My husband’s full course meal came with a round almond cookie for dessert and a coffee or tea, but he gave the cookie to the kids to share, and he and I opted for the Tiramisu for dessert. Wow. Absolutely fantastic and I am going to venture to say that it was possibly even the best I’ve ever had… Even the jasmine tea, which they served in a teapot with two small cups, was delicious and complimented the Tiramisu quite nicely.
Décor was stunning; loved the colours. Washrooms were neat-​looking, the entire place was clean, waitress was friendly (although a little forgetful; initially forgot the kids’ soup upgrade). Overall, we were very impressed and look forward to returning here.