Ban Thanh Vietnamese Restaurant, Twickenham

Ben Thanh, York St, Twickenham

Ben Thanh are relatively recent arrivals to the restaurant scene in Twickenham and have only been serving authentic Vietnamese Pho (pronounced 'fuh') for less than a year. It is a welcome addition to the town and if you have never tried Pho (a more-ish noodle soup that can be served with meat, tofu or seafood) it is well worth a try.

Pho from Ban Thanh Twickenham

Checking your options you will find that some of the food at Ban Thanh in fact is quite healthy, but is also very satisfying. For anyone who is on a diet and struggles trying (like me) to keep the calories down when going out to a restaurant for a meal it is perfect, for example the summer spring roll is lettuce based (no carb), with prawn (bit of protein), but has strong herbaceous flavours so you don't feel like you're going without (going without food always makes me hangry).

Beef Wrapped in Wild Betel, Ban Thanh Twickenham

The night we were there it was a week out from the Rugby World Cup and, as in the rest of Twickenham, it was unusually quiet. But we did have the dining company of a few folk and Ben Thanh's resident restaurant vehicle. I suspect they will be moving that out before the hoards of folk arrive for the rugby.

Calm before the storm, Twickenham a week out from the rugby World Cup, Dining with Cars

To start we had the summer spring rolls and grilled beef wrapped in wild betel leaf. The beef in the betel leaf was delicious, in all honesty it does look ghoulish with very dark, an almost pitch black wrap, but don't be put off because it was prepared with lovely sweet, savoury and slightly crispy finish and the meat inside was soft, salty and juicy.  The summer spring rolls were light and clean as expected, with a kick of mint buried inside with prawn. I would recommend the beef though 100%.

Summer Prawn Rolls, Pho from Ban Thanh Twickenham 

For our mains I had Pho with tofu, beef slices and prawn. It is quite a hearty bowl with good serving of noodles and rather filling. Pho is a perfect plate for winter, I feel like sometimes its one of those meals where it soothes the soul. To eat Pho is a bit like having a relaxing sigh after your first sip from a cup of tea - that is Pho. A comforting blanket of culinary bliss.  Along with this we had a yellow coconut cream curry with plain rice. To finish a very decent sponge, not much flavour but it had actually been cooked quite nicely, not a touch too dry.

Noodles with Pho, Sponge Sweet at Ban Thanh Twickenham

Ban Thanh is a nice touch of diversity that I like, its good to have different options and is also a BYO and very reasonably priced right in the middle of Twickers on York Street.