Benley was recommended to me. This was my first time eating here, and I will definitely be back. I had the lunch combo of pho with brisket and the sliced beef banh mi. Everything was great from the food, the service, to the price. read more

Benley Vietnamese Kitchen - Sliced beef banh mi and pho with brisket. - Vietnamese Near Me - Long Beach, California

First time here. Greeted right away by two smiling faces. Super nice, and offered a recommendation on the favorite Banh Mi based on customer feedback. I went with the Lemongrass Pork. Oh myyyyyyy.... smells amazing. I asked for it to go, but need to finish this glass of wine.... do I rip the bag open and go HAM on this sandwich or wait? I'll wait. Or not. Okay, I waited until I got to my next location, couldn't wait to get home. The lemongrass pork was bursting with flavor, and the bread was a light crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. Absolutely perfect. My splurge to eat some carbs was WELL worth it. I am so coming back. YUMMMMM! read more

Benley Vietnamese Kitchen - Walked in for take out. Why not have a glass of wine while waiting? Love their tip sign. - Vietnamese Near Me - Long Beach, California

They are open for takeout in these times and really everything they make is so good and fresh. I've come here on/off for years and they never disappoint, so scrumptious. read more

My dad and I went here one day for lunch, and this place is bomb!!! The staff was very friendly and nice, and the food was really good. The prices for the food was also very reasonable. They had really cute decor on the inside. This place is definitely my go to when it comes to pho. read more

We've been enjoying Benley for several years and each time it has consistently out performed itself in quality and service. As if right on cue, our hungry family was greeted with pleasant service and awesome Vietnamese cuisine. Fried egg rolls: good, fried to perfection Rare steak pho : spiced well, bay leaves ,lime, etc on the side Chicken fried rice surprisingly extremely tasty (?+/- cauliflower) Rib steak stew an all time favorite for the hungry Each time I come back it gets better. read more

Omigod love love this little VNmese gem. So glad I don't have to drive all the way to OC to get some good VNmese good. Their pork& shrimp spring rolls are so fresh, plump, and delish!!!! I've never not get them. Pho is awesome! Slightly Americanized but in no way not authentic. Love the cute lady owner as well. Cannot go wrong! read more

Benley my favorite go to Vietnamese kitchen! Service is always amazing and the food is great quality at a good price!!! Love me some Benley!! read more

Great spot! Delicious food, great service and affordable. I'm so happy I randomly found this spot. I've come back at least 10x and will keep returning. read more

Delish banh mi sandwiches - is a little cheap with the fillings but it is very tasty. Needs more filling for the price.

Love the food and the service! They even had gluten free options for my friend who has celiac. Will definitely return.

No longer as good as they used to be. Overdone salmon, excessive salt, wrong order. Their cassava cake still top-notch, though!

I had the chicken pho and it was ok. Chicken didn't look great and didn't taste great, so I ended up taking it out. The pho itself was a strong onion/scallion flavor. Past that nothing much to it. I've seen better reviews for other food outside of their pho, so maybe I'll try something different next time. read more

It's hard to find a place that is good, high quality and gluten free. They do it all! Let them know you're celiac and they will be super accommodating. read more

been coming here for years and years and have never had a bad experience w the food or the service. all of the employees are SUPER nice and the food is truly amazing whether you dine in or take out. i love the fried green beans and that you can ask for a half order if you don't want the full. my favorite is the egg roll vermicelli and it also makes for a really good leftover meal! read more

Great food and service! Loved their banh mi sandwiches and chicken pho. This is one of my favorite pho restaurant.

This place is amazing, I repeat, AMAZING! Me and my friend got out of school and we were craving for pho since it was raining, we literally googled this place and decided to try. We ordered pho and the fried beans with spicy sauce. Growing up having authentic pho at home so I always have such high standards for pho. Normally I would put a bunch of siracha and hoisin sauce in my pho because other places make really plain soup. However, I refused to put anything else in my pho this time because the broth itself was so good and flavorful. I only put some extra veggies because I love veggies. If you love pho, this is absolutely the place! The spicy bean was amazing! I have never tasted any better sauce. The beans were crunchy even though they were soaked with sauce and the batter tasted soo elegant. I love this dish I think it's such a unique appetizer which I have never had at a Vietnamese restaurant. Also, the services were nice. I love how the waitresses are very happy with the customers. Definitely recommended for those who love to try Vietnamese food. We will definitely come back to try other dishes as well! Thank you Benley ! read more

Always excellent service. The staff is so friendly and never let their busy times affect how they treat their customers. Beef pho and cabbage chicken salad are my go to. read more

Love this little place! The pho is great! The broth is fresh and tastes amazing. The staff is friendly and welcoming. The spicy green beans are a must as well as the egg rolls. read more

food was yummy and Seraphina (sorry if I misspelled the name) had really good service

One of the best and greatest Ban mi sandwiches with tofu. The service is great I would recommend to anyone. Many different vegan options.

Great food and service. I have explored their menu and have tried most of their entrees. Their broth is always clean and bright. Food is consistently delicious and a good value. Best in this area. read more

Benley has been sitting in my bookmarks folder so long, patiently waiting while I consistently pick other bookmarks before it. But, Benley's day finally came. And I must say, you didn't let me down, Benley. I've gotta let you know though, I had some weird preconceived notion of Benley that, one, it was in North Long Beach, and two - it was all hoity toity, schmancy, and expensive. I was waaay wrong on both fronts. First of all, it's practically in Cypress and secondly, while it's not a dive by any means, it's certainly not super fancy and pricey - most dishes range from $11-$15. The service was nice, and you could tell they're used to serving newbs to Vietnamese food, because when he brought out the plate basil and such for my pho, he warned "Now, don't eat that yet." Yeah, guy. I know. I eat pho so much, I'm hoping my heart has grown immune to high sodium intakes. The food was delicious though, while I wouldn't say it's the best pho I've ever had, it was definitely different than any pho, kinda sweet...(and most certainly unhealthier, as there was gobs and gobs of oil in it), but the noodles in it were superb. I think next time I'll get a noodle dish. The shaken filet, on the other hand, was perfect. Perfectly season and cooked beef cubes, with some damn tasty rice. Here's something that weirded me out a bit about benley, for a tiny, hip-seeming spot, with only about 10 tables, and playing MIA and MGMT all night...they sure do have a lot of 55+ white folk in there. Not that I have anything against 55+ white folk, it just automatically brings back old memories and makes me feel like I'm in church, or a Rotary club meeting. So, Benley has finally made it out of my bookmarks folder and is well on its way to five stars for me...but not quite yet. read more

I have been a customer at Benley since moving to Long Beach in 2007 and I have to say that I have always had great food there. The vermicelli bowls are excellent and well worth the trip. The excellence of the cuisine makes it all the more painful to review this place negatively, but I have to be up front about their billing problems. In July 2011, I received a mysterious charge of around $30 on a day when I had not eaten at Benley. Nor had I been there anytime in the previous week. When I investigated this charge, I learned that they had forgotten to bill me for an earlier visit to the restaurant. While this seemed plausible at first, a look at my records indicated that the right amount had been deducted from my debit card for all previous visits. This was an extra charge completely unrelated to a meal at the restaurant. What followed was a series of phone calls in which managers suggested they would call me back and/or email me the receipt for the supposed meal related to the July charge. This never happened. When I persisted in calling, they finally admitted that the charge was a mistake and refunded me the money. While I suppose that it's possible that this was an error, I have two other friends who received almost identical charges that were not for prior meals. In each case Benley argued that they were for prior meals, but later admitted the mistake. Similar stories can also be found on yelp. They made an error and they finally admitted it, but their references to past charges and meals were completely false. In retrospect, it feels like a scam for them to get some extra money from folks who don't read their bank statements. I want again to say that they have great food, but I can't get past the deceptive business practices. I suggest that you skip Benley or, at the very least, pay cash. They shouldn't be trusted with credit and debit card information. read more

Cool little viet place located right at the border of Long Beach and Los Al. It is very tiny, only seats about 20-30 people. We went here, as I am on a never ending quest to find the best bowl of Pho. $8.99 lunch special will get you a small bowl of Pho, with rare steak, and a half of a Bahn Mi. The pho was decent, not the best I've had, but decent nonetheless. One thing that I didn't care for was the absence of the condiment caddy on the table. My husband really likes to doctor up his Pho, and they don't offer the giant bottles of hoisin, and chili sauce. The Bahn Mi really won my heart and taste buds. I went with the shredded chicken, and it was very very good. I would come back just for the sandwich. read more

Benley: A Vietnamese Kitchen is a (very) small Vietnamese restaurant in East Long Beach/Los Alamitos serving up more-than-decent Vietnamese fare. The first thing you'll notice is its location: it's in the far corner of a strip mall, tucked away at the foot of a large hill. It's certainly not visible unless you're looking for it, so the fact that it's remained open should already suggest that the food is a primary draw. To that effect, there's an advertisement for a lunch combination which includes half a banh mi sandwich and a bowl of pho, and both dishes appear to be all the rage. I wouldn't be surprised if lunch covers are Benley's bread-and-butter-- they're closed on Sundays, and for early dinner service on Monday night, the place is quiet as a church. For all its thrust-upon pretensions of contemporary plating, hard-cover menus, and walls lined with gorgeous photographs of the Vietnamese city, at its heart Benley is a simple restaurant serving down-home food. Lemongrass pork spring rolls deal out the flavor, with fragrant lemongrass notes matching the sweet, spicy, and slightly peanutty dipping sauce with a decent balance. What's missing here is texture: the wrapper is unusually chewy and resilient, and the addition of vermicelli noodles feel like mushy overkill. It lacks a meaningful crunch, either from vegetables or from anything else, and so it can become tedious eating. The egg rolls, to contrast, are plenty tasty and just lightly-fried. No extra chewing here, the fried wrapper gives with the slightest pressure and almost melts away after a couple bites. The bun (cold vermicelli) is also excellent; the noodles are well prepared, not clumped together in an unappetizing heap but nicely firm, autonomous strands that pair well with the fish sauce and crunchy cucumbers and carrots. Where Benley fails is when it tries too hard to impress; flattened chicken with red wine au jus arrives on a square plate atop a bed of garlic sautee'd bok choy. The first thing that caught my eye was the complete absence of red wine in appearance or in flavor; instead, the only visible liquid is a menacing pool of grease that seems to have drenched the bok choy. The chicken itself was overcooked, which is surprising considering that it's all thigh meat. Any infusion of wine or attempt at a subtle balance of flavors is immediately destroyed by the overpowering scent and taste of turmeric. Save for a couple sauteed leaves of bok choy which had not been ravaged by grease, the dish was a failure. The dining room is small and looks worse for the wear. Various nicks and scratches mar the black wooden booth which lines the east wall of the dining room, and the similarly scratched oak-colored tables felt a little sticky on my arms, which is never a good thing. I suppose these issues could be dismissed as adding to a Southeast Asian "rustic" touch to the proceedings, but they come off as idiosyncratic and sloppy given the overall attempted polish of the food's presentation. Overall, Benley is a serviceable Vietnamese restaurant, on par with a decent restaurant in Little Saigon at a slightly higher cost than you'd expect. Relative to the area, it's a gold mine: there are no comparable Vietnamese restaurants in nearby Cerritos or Long Beach. read more

Look, I usually scoff at frou frou Vietnamese food but damn, this place is GOOD!!! It's totally a hidden gem, located in a very unassuming strip mall on the border of LBC and Cypress. My Boyfriend took me and his 2 BFFs here for dinner around Christmas. We each ordered a different dish so we got to try a good portion of the menu. **Chicken Curry: Never had this in a restaurant before. Just as good as my mom's! Filled with tender pieces of chicken and served with a warm baguette. **Chicken Cabbage Salad: So good. We got this to share. Wished I had gotten my own. **Beef Stew: Beef melts in your mouth. Also served with a warm baguette. **Catfish: Flaky, yummy goodness. Only disappointment was their bananas foster. No pizazz. read more

The food is actually a 3.5 - not stellar,... you can obviously find much better Pho in Bolsa, for less, but this place is convenient to my house. However, after being a steady takeout and occasional dine-in customer of theirs for many years, my family and I will no longer being going here. They keep screwing up their credit card charges. It's not maliciousness or criminal intent. It seems to be just plain, basic INEPTITUDE! Whatever their reasons, they've miss-billed me 4 times now and have never seen fit to issue an apology when I call in to correct! They're always blaming junior employees or their bank. In any case, I will be making the slightly longer drive to Cerritos. The Vietnamese places there are better and cheaper (Pho Tasty, Pho 77, etc.) and have never screwed up my bill. read more

I came here to order takeout. I do not understand the concept of making it a priority to take a phone-in-order over a customer who is physically there already waiting to place their order. Service levels are low with only 2 waitresses and with the amount of business this place has it would make strategic sense to hire a full-time cashier to optimize their efficiency. I have no choice but to issue only 2 Stars which I believe to be extremely generous in this case. Recommendation: Staff and train appropriate personal to take orders from customers. You will better maximize your efficiency. Ensure to give priority to customers physically present to avoid a bottleneck in your work flow. read more

Came here for lunch today for a workmate's last day. Ofcourse I'm gonna be totally racist here by saying that as soon as I walked in... I thought this place wasn't the "real deal". (I was the only asian in the place except for the manager or owner... and that's including the waitress.) Ofcourse, it didn't help matters when I asked if they had tendons and tripe for the pho and she said that they didn't carry that kind of stuff... Wow. Okay. Rare steak it is... ---------------------- I was pleasantly surprised when the broth was very flavorful. And yes... they didn't have all the lovely bits of tendon and tripe. But it was still a decent bowl of pho. 3 stars. I wouldn't mind coming back if someone else wants to go. read more

Really great food but terrible, terrible service. I've been in at lunch and dinner multiple times. The wait staff ignores customers, is rude, and I don't think the food is good enough to warrant poor treatment. There's no excuse. I won't go again. Plenty of other Vietnamese restaurants with cordial and respectful wait staff. read more

Based on the reviews here we made the trek out to Benley. As we drove down Wardlow we actually missed the turn in to the strip mall and at quick glance thought it was closed. We made a U-turn and drove closer to happily see, no, it wasn't closed --- it is just dark. There were slight glimmers of candles that we could see from the parking lot so we were happy happy. I'll premise by saying my husband is a chef and really notices everything (at least that is my observation). I sometimes feel sad when I get a plate of food to see that he is less than pleased with his. I think his palate is far more superior to mine and so I often think a place is "ok" when he is thinking blechk! It was much to my happiness that my recommendation from start to finish was given the big thumbs up from his side! It's all about the simplicity for me with this restaurant. No ultra frills, no over done anything really. From the logo/custom dishware to the soft lights and minimalist decor, I love Benley! We ordered 3 appetizers and one entree to split. Appetizers chosen were the Shrimp and Pork Eggrolls, the braised Short-rib with Avocado and Taste of Pho (with chicken). The short-rib was served as one chunk, with the slicing left to my husband. It was so darn moist, and I loved the presentation. Entree choice was Bo Luc Lac, mmmm the meat was so tender it just melted in the mouth. Attention-to-detail-guy thought that the menus (on what looks like mini clipboards, reminiscent of something a cop would write your speeding ticket on) were just so cool. My favorite thing? The order was taken with no pen/pad and was taken correctly with no screw-ups. So used to someone writing things down, repeating them twice (usually wrong) and in the end getting the thing messed up - even with the repeats! They played groovy tunes too. We'll go back, we'll bring vino (we were so jealous of the couple next to us with the appetizers and their own wine) and would definitely recommend it to others. read more

Great place to go eat. I really love it when you find a small place that has good food and good service!!! See you guys again soon!

So I walk in with my mother to order pho on a chilly day. We walk in and there is just two people sitting and eating at lunch hour...hmm. We seat ourselves since there is no hostess or server to be found. We wait and wait the chefs see us through the little opening but they don't call a server over to give us a menu. So we wait, 5 minutes later a blond lady, maybe the owner, comes over and throws two menus at us and says they have no bread, I wanted pho and Bahn mi combo. So then we order the pho and I ask if she could bring out extra basil since they usually give you one tiny stalk. She yells "WHAT!?!?!" I calmly restate what I says sand she says fine. Well lady you are very rude, just because you are the owner doesn't mean you can speak to customers like that because we will never come back and that is a shame because your pho is delicious. Through out our whole meal she kept making little comments and it was just annoying. Maybe get it to go next time because the customer service here is just non existent. It really is a shame. As far as food, it is amazing. Service is horrible read more

The chicken pho is delicious & the hot/iced jasmine tea is amazing! It's a very small restaurant that is family owned (they're closed on Sundays) & the staff (usually 2 servers in the evening) do their best. They do a lot, so cut them some slack if they forget your limes or extra napkins. Just ask again. The food is delicious & home made. read more

I had dinner with Katie and baby Ethan yesterday evening. We ordered their garlic chicken wings as an appetizer. The flavor was spot on but for $8 they could've included a few more wings. I got their chicken pho. Their broth lacked flavor or maybe it's because their noodles were a little al dente- not good for pho. I got their panna cotta to go. It was good, but missing the tangy sour cream like flavor I'm used to. Also, they changed their sauce which had more honey than I was anticipating. Where was their graham crumbs with raspberry sauce? Everyone has an off night and maybe this was theirs. read more

Simple but oh so good. I came in at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday, so my group of 4, including myself, dodged the lunch rush. We started with garlic wings and shrimp and pork rolls. It was the perfect size for our small party. It whet our appetite for what was to come. Sure I've paid less for pho bo vien- my main entree, but there was a charm to this place that is often missing in hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurants. The service was great and we were served by a bubbly red-head (who knew the menu very well). They played Cody Chestnutt (one of my fave singers) over the speakers, and all of a sudden my experience improved. They played a variety of good music, and the simple aesthetic of the place allowed you to focus on the GREAT food. My colleagues got the pho and sandwich combo. And if Lee's and Benley sandwiches had to throw down... Benley would leave Lee's in stitches and crutches. Yes, the perfectly toasted baguette wasn't too hard and the meat and ingredients tasted fresh. Because this was a going away lunch for our friend, the waitress gave us a free white custard dessert with a key lime cream like topping with Rice Krispies. The buttermilk panna cotta was a white, creamy happy ending for sure. Now please, get your mind out of the gutter and head straight to Benley's. Thanks. read more

I've heard about this place and thought it was an Americanized Vietnamese... so I refused to try. One day I happened to be nearby and need to eat. So my hubby and I decided to try. We were so impressed with the ambiance, the service, and the food! All the dishes we ordered were delicious and, very importantly, fresh. The drawback is the price is too expensive "for me" when I know how to make those food or we can go to Little Saigon. read more

If only there were more than 5 STARS!! Seven of us went here to celebrate my husbands birthday and we were pleasantly surprised. We started our evening with the Shrimp and Pork springrolls and the Lemongrass Charred Pork springrolls. Yum!! They were perfect -- light and airy bursting with flavor! They have a great option for the Pho on the appetizer menu as well. It's the same soup as the regular size, all the same trimmings - just a smaller portion for those that want to have a "taste of Pho" to go along with their meal. This was a huge hit and many of our party decided to partake! Next, the entree's. Not one of us was disappointed. Each of us ordered something different so that we could "sample" each dish. We had quite a variety. Curry Chicken, Shaken Filet, Short Rib Beef Stew and Pan Seared Salmon. Each dish was flavorful and well prepared. The presentation was excellent - Iron Chief has nothing on these guys! Now - Dessert! A lip-smacking Melting Vaihona Chocolate , Buttermilk Panna Cota, Bananas Foster and Cassava Cake... There isn't a better way to end a perfect evening then with a perfect dessert... We WILL be going back for more!! :) read more

After reading all of the glowing reviews on Yelp, I thought I'd give Benley a try. We nearly missed it as we drove by; it's tucked away on the far end of a dull, ho-hum strip mall. We didn't expect anything stylish here and were pleasantly surprised by the hip decor. I especially loved the blown-up prints of Vietnamese cities (I'm assuming) on the walls. When we got there we were only one of two tables being served. By the time our appetizer had come out, the place was pretty much packed. The waitress was very attentive and even charming. She was very gracious despite being accidentally showered with champagne by a nearby guest saying, "that's OK, I love the smell of champagne!" We ordered the fried cuttlefish as an appetizer and it was to die for. The seasoned panko breadcrumbs gave this cephalapod a wonderful crispy, salty exterior. A squeeze of fresh lime juice over the cuttlefish was the finishing touch. We ate every last morsel of that dish. I am not ashamed to admit that I was picking at the remaining tidbits of breadcrumbs on the plate. My only complaint is that the portion was a little skimpy for the price. I was left wanting more and was totally bummed when it was gone. For dinner, I had the chicken pho. The flavors were very vibrant and fresh and the noodles--perfect. My dining companion had the vermicelli noodles with prawns. While his dish was very good, I liked my pho better. I'm rating this place 4 versus 5 stars because of the small appetizer portions, lack of booze(though you can BYOB--just don't spill it on your waitress), and the fact that it's in the boonies. Overall, I was very pleased with my meal and service. read more

I have had the best bowl of Pho in my life.. and it wasn't in Westminister, Alhambra, Los Angeles, San Diego.. it was in Long Beach, California! Benley is one of the better Vietnamese restaurants I've had the pleasure of going to. This isn't one of the "typical" pho joints with spring rolls and all that.. this is more like Slanted Door in San Francisco... fancier dishes, some traditional Vietnamese dishes with an enhanced twist , and some more "American style" dishes. It's also a wine friendly restaurant with low corkage. I came with a very large party, so they set together some dishes for us that they thought we'd enjoy. We had two of each dish for a table of 8-9. First dish wasn't part of the set menu, but the organizer said this was one of his favorite dishes! Fried Calamari. Nice salt and pepper on the flour. Light batter , good ratio of batter/ calamari. My only problem was the use of cilantro, a bit too sharp.. I think I'd prefer basil with this. First appetizer from the menu were Eggrolls with sliced beef. The eggroll is stuffed with sliced marinated beef, cucumbers, vermicelli, and mint. The wrapping was fresh and soft, the right blend of chewiness and firmness. The beef itself was a little bit overcooked. The peanut sauce was very rich almost soupy. I liked it a lot! Next dish is more "traditional" Vietnamese food, Banh Beo. Banh Beo is pressed rice cake with ground shrimp on top with a generous amount of green onions and fish sauce. The Banh is soft and foldable, you can get one piece in per bite. The sauce is just the right amount, sometimes fish sauce gets overwhelming but this was a good balance. This is the best version of the dish I've had, all the ingredients were well done and worked together perfectly. Next dish was a Cabbage salad with sliced chicken. I'm not a fan of raw cabbage, it tends to be too bitter. As well they used too many fried shallots. The chicken was tender and the fish sauce was flavorful. If you ate small bites of this, it'd taste good, but if you took too big of a bite you get too much of the shallot and cabbage. Next dish was fried Texas Shrimp The shrimp were frozen shrimp, which kinda sucks... but the batter was nice and crispy. The mustard sauce was overwhelming, it was just far too strong... Kind of a Eh~~~ dish.. but you don't really go to an asian restaurant and order plain old fried shrimp do you? The next dish was stir fried filet mignon with potatoes and red onions. Look familiar? Looks like Lomo Saltado Beef @ a Peruvian restaurant! But it looks the same but tastes very different. * In a good way*. The potato is well cooked, not too mushy. The beef was of good quality, but the very best part was the sauce they used to cook it. A combination of fish sauce, pepper, soy sauce, and some other things. Creates a sweet and salty mixture. I give it an A! Sorry for the fuziness of this picture, this is their "flattened" chicken. A spicy chicken dish cooked with lemon grass, red wine, and other spices. A bit of a crisp exterior, the inside was still moist and flavorful. A delicious dish, when I come here again I will definitely get it. The next dish was the bass cooked with mushroom and ground pork. The fish itself is a bit too bony for me and the pork really overpowered the fish. The fish itself is a "meaty" type of fish, so if that's not your style you'd definitely not like the dish. And now.. the star of the night.. the Pho! This bowl is the "sample" size bowl.. it's $6. They have a larger bowl for 8.50. The soup is INCREDIBLY rich with beef and spices. I have never had a bowl of pho with such concentrated flavorful soup. The owner said the broth is simmered for over 40 hours to get the dense beef flavor. The noodles were also of good quality, al dente! Like my usual self, I order my meat on the side to dip. Look at that beef. So shiny and pink. Great quality! All Pho meat ought to be eaten lightly cooked. I really can't gush more about the quality of this bowl of pho. The restaurant itself is very small, probably 6-7 tables.. I suggest you make a reservation. read more