Banh Canh Tom Cua — Restaurant in Houston

Our review for this restaurant is long overdue. We've been here countless times and this is by far one of our FAVORITE places to eat in Bellaire Chinatown.

Service is always friendly and prompt. Unlike some smaller restaurants, both cash and card are accepted.

Atmosphere is also a plus! Restaurant is clean and the background music isn't too loud. They have tables by the windows for those that enjoy a bit of light and also booths by the wall for a more private dining experience.

The food here is the main attraction! Even though they have a pretty big menu, we've always stuck with the same items for all of our visit.

Goi Tom Sate - their salads are AMAZING! The portion size is big enough that one plate can easily serve as an entree or be shared between 2 people. It is a bit spicy so be aware. The standout is the vinaigrette itself. Always full of flavor and delicious 😋

Goi Do Bien Sate - the same salad as above except it also has clams and squids alongside the classic shrimp. Both dishes are equally spectacular!

Banh Canh Dac Biet - the signature dish, Vietnamese Udon with softshell crab. Portion size was great! The dish was full of meats and noodles. Broth was perfectly seasoned! You can also choose between a thick or clear broth.

Banh Canh Tom Cua - much like the previous dish except for having loose crabmeat and crab cakes instead.

If you're craving Vietnamese Udon, this is THE PLACE to go! Great pricing and a phenomenal dining experience. We cannot wait to try the rest of the manu and will remain loyal customers for many more years to come....

Update - Service has improved

Three stars only because the food taste good. Otherwise it will definitely be closer to one for the experience. Used their online order platform to place pickup order at 11:50 am and their confirmation said ready in 20 minutes. Arrived at the restaurant and the food wasn’t ready per the waitress. She said needs another 10 minutes. So no problems there, although it looked like the order was never entered or started. Restaurant wasn’t too packed at that time. 20 minutes later food haven’t finished and the waitress did apologize for the wait. Another 10 minutes and I see food getting packed thinking order is finally ready, but found out all the items getting packaged was for a take out order for a dine in customer. That’s the first issue: if there was such a large togo order, why would you tell a customer 10 more minutes. After another 10 minutes another customer receive their Togo order I approached the waitress and questioned my order, she mentioned 3 more minutes. Second issue is the wait time, 20 minutes online order and another 45 minutes at the store with total wait time of an hour. Once I opened the box another surprise; 1. the order mentions no green onions for one of the items and 2. I was given the wrong item, one of the order was supposed to have ribs. Basically had to wait an hour to get the wrong order.

During current times, really want to support local businesses. But businesses has a responsibility to ensure order is correct and order ready time is accurate for...

I have been waiting for this place to open for so long to try but today it was such as disappointment! Whoever love banh canh as much as I do would know how banh canh supposed to taste like.

Pro: beautiful design inside, give you a cozy feeling. There is also fresh pennyworth juice on the menu, which taste was good. Waitor was nice (although not knowing much abt the menu, doesnt know if quail egg come with it or not when i asked)

Cons: broth was blank, no crab or shrimp smell. No quail egg available at all. Crab paste: taste like pork paste and absolutely no crab taste in there. Shrimp paste: no smell of shrimp in there either but probably because too much seasoning there. Crab meat: exactly 5 crab fingers in the bowl (banh canh Hai San). I wish you would put actual crab meat , not crab finger in there. It has more smell and taste to it. Squid did not taste good either. And I would prefer fish paste (cha ca) vs shrimp/crab paste. It would be more authentic banh canh.

Over all: would not come back until they improve the taste. I think banh canh tom cua at Jtea for $5.99 taste so so much better, or the banh canh tom cua at Banh Cuon Thien Thanh (their banh cuon suck though) also so...