orrkid

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  9     

Great value, friendly service and we always leave with full bellies and a smile on our face! The kids are well catered for with the extensive menu as are the vegetarians. Staff have always been happy to alter dishes and are very helpful when let know of allergies. Obviously there will be better restaurants around but if you are looking for a fast, casual meal at a very reasonable price the Pho Ben is the place!

Jan 21, 2012

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.5 Average

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  2      Value  5     

We dined here last night and the food was fabulous. My polenta was so crispy on the outside and creamy inside. It was cheesy and just delicious! The goats cheese entree was just perfect and every mouthful was a joy to eat.

Unfortunately, the service let this place down so much that it has turned all the diners at the table away from ever returning. While other reviewers have rated the service so highly we were very surprised to have such a negative experience.

Perhaps, if we were to have visited on a weekend rather than mid week we would have had a better experience. We were barely able to get a drink, were not offered any refills and when the waiter did approach the table he did so very quietly and timidly.

Furthermore, the wine list was minimalist and the lighting was far too dim to read the menus easily. I do hope that in the future the owners hire professional wait-staff to allow the service to be up to the same standard as the lovely dishes being served.

Aug 17, 2011

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  9     

We visit nearly every time we go to the bay, the food is always good and the service attentive and friendly. My husband orders the pla lard prig (whole snapper) each time and says it is up there with the best he has had. The kids always eat all their dinner at this place! Good vegetarian options for those in the family who need them and massaman beef and sweet and sour chicken always popular with the others. Great family restaurant.

Mar 18, 2010

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

1.3 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  1     

Worst restaurant I have ever eaten at! what we did eat was tasteless. The wait staff were uninterested to the point of being rude. The risotto was made from long grain rice and it was nothing like a risotto. We left our meals pretty much untouched on the table and were lobbed wiith a $100 bill plus a hefty public holiday surcharge. it was meant to be a nice night out, never again!

Mar 18, 2010

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.3 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  2      Service  4      Value  1     

Worst Italian food I have ever eaten!
When we walked in we could smell septic from the toilets outside and that set the standard for the evening.

The caprese salad at $12.90 was one tomato sliced up topped with a thin slice of bocconcini and a miniscule piece of basil. No seasoning or anything else to be seen.

I had gnocchi rosa ($17.90). It was slimey and tasted as though it had been heated from frozen. There was nothing fresh in this dish! All serves were small and not one dish at the table looked like something I wanted to eat.

The service was less than attentive, considering we were the only ones in the place at the time! I had to ask for parmesan and it was the plastic shaker type poured into a bowl.

When other diners did come in toward the end of our meal they were offered cracked pepper and even a specials board to look at. We were given none of this. I will definitely be giving this one a miss from now on.

Feb 27, 2010

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  9     

Great value, friendly service and we always leave with full bellies and a smile on our face! The kids are well catered for with the extensive menu as are the vegetarians. Staff have always been happy to alter dishes and are very helpful when let know of allergies. Obviously there will be better restaurants around but if you are looking for a fast, casual meal at a very reasonable price the Pho Ben is the place!

Jan 21, 2012

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.5 Average

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  2      Value  5     

We dined here last night and the food was fabulous. My polenta was so crispy on the outside and creamy inside. It was cheesy and just delicious! The goats cheese entree was just perfect and every mouthful was a joy to eat.

Unfortunately, the service let this place down so much that it has turned all the diners at the table away from ever returning. While other reviewers have rated the service so highly we were very surprised to have such a negative experience.

Perhaps, if we were to have visited on a weekend rather than mid week we would have had a better experience. We were barely able to get a drink, were not offered any refills and when the waiter did approach the table he did so very quietly and timidly.

Furthermore, the wine list was minimalist and the lighting was far too dim to read the menus easily. I do hope that in the future the owners hire professional wait-staff to allow the service to be up to the same standard as the lovely dishes being served.

Aug 17, 2011

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  9     

We visit nearly every time we go to the bay, the food is always good and the service attentive and friendly. My husband orders the pla lard prig (whole snapper) each time and says it is up there with the best he has had. The kids always eat all their dinner at this place! Good vegetarian options for those in the family who need them and massaman beef and sweet and sour chicken always popular with the others. Great family restaurant.

Mar 18, 2010

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

1.3 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  1     

Worst restaurant I have ever eaten at! what we did eat was tasteless. The wait staff were uninterested to the point of being rude. The risotto was made from long grain rice and it was nothing like a risotto. We left our meals pretty much untouched on the table and were lobbed wiith a $100 bill plus a hefty public holiday surcharge. it was meant to be a nice night out, never again!

Mar 18, 2010

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.3 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  2      Service  4      Value  1     

Worst Italian food I have ever eaten!
When we walked in we could smell septic from the toilets outside and that set the standard for the evening.

The caprese salad at $12.90 was one tomato sliced up topped with a thin slice of bocconcini and a miniscule piece of basil. No seasoning or anything else to be seen.

I had gnocchi rosa ($17.90). It was slimey and tasted as though it had been heated from frozen. There was nothing fresh in this dish! All serves were small and not one dish at the table looked like something I wanted to eat.

The service was less than attentive, considering we were the only ones in the place at the time! I had to ask for parmesan and it was the plastic shaker type poured into a bowl.

When other diners did come in toward the end of our meal they were offered cracked pepper and even a specials board to look at. We were given none of this. I will definitely be giving this one a miss from now on.

Feb 27, 2010

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

What a great dining experience! Staff were very friendly the food was fantastic. We went on a very busy Saturday night and had to wait a little while for our mains to come, which was fine as it gave us a chance to talk without the interruption of food. The manager however sent us free drinks to apologise for the delay and came to our table to check on us.

When our mains did come they did not disappoint. My husband loved the veal millones and his vegetables were cooked perfectly. My gnocchi aroura was beautifully cooked and fresh and very filling!

The dessert menu looked good but we were too full to try it! The restaurant is noisy but we didn't mind and could hear each other easily. The staff should be congratulated for the attentive service and they were run off their feet all night. It is great to see a new restaurant in the area making such an effort to make everyones night an enjoyable one.

We could not fault the food and look forward to visiting again.

Feb 27, 2010

4 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  1      Value  5     

Have been twice now. The first time was fine, no real complaints. The staff were pleasant and the food was ok. The second time however I left even before ordering. I had taken my child in a pram and while this could cause problems when the restaurant was busy there was no one else in there.
The waiter was so rude and kept telling me to move or collapse the pram (which was in use and was in a corner out of the way). Appalling service for the prices in this restaurant they really need friendly and accommodating staff.

Feb 16, 2010

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

I cannot speak highly enough of Arax! I was shocked to read such negative reviews on it. We have always found the staff to be attentive and friendly. We love that the owners come and talk to us, it makes us feel very welcome and adds a warm feel to the busy restaurant. The food arrives in no time at all and we have loved it every time. I do agree that it is quite a bit more expensive than Lebanese in Surry Hills but if you order the banquet ($35pp) it is really a great value. (you get garlic pizza, salad, 2 mains, coffee and baklava. I cannot complain about that for value!).

I was also shocked to read that one diner was offended that the staff were speaking Lebanese, after all is it not a Lebanese restaurant? Try the anti pasta, the vegetarian dish or the mixed plate and I am sure you will not be disappointed!

Jun 21, 2007

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  6      Service  9      Value  10     

We love this place! always fresh, fast and friendly. The panang curry is beautiful and my husband swears the whole snapper in chilli is the best he has had. It is without a doubt our favourite restaurant on the North Shore.

Jun 20, 2007

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.3 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  1     

I have visited a couple of times but after today will never go back! We waited 15 mins for the 2nd main after which the first was taken from the table and microwaved then they tried to charge for the sauce on my stirfry! The rice was gluggy and the serves seem to have decreased dramatically in size. The entree's were nice but my main was sweet and watery. The wine also tasted as though it had been sitting on the counter open for a week. Overall it was a very disappointing dining experience.

May 31, 2007