Benja's Thai Garden & Sushi — Restaurant in Saint George

I realize that other reviews are probably from locals in Utah, but if your traveling from somewhere else and have had authentic or great Thai food Benjas is not that place. We were heading back to Vegas from Zion park and decided to stop for dinner before heading back home, I understand that on Sunday most places are closed and not much to choose from, but the previous night we had Thai food in Hurricane city and ate at a small Thai restaurant called Mekong Kitchen. We weren't expecting much cause of the size and decor of this restaurant, but we were so wrong, it was Great. So we decided to want to eat at Mekong kitchen again before leaving Hurricane city, but they were closed and that's how we ate at Benjas cause it was on the way back to Vegas. First off was our server (a caucasian Male with red facial hair) was not knowledgeable or a very good server at most. We ordered seafood Tom Yum soup and told him we wanted it 1 star cause my 9 or old son was going to have it too, it came out and I took a quick sip of it and it was really spicy about 3-4 stars, I told the server and asked for a small bowl with no spice for my son and my wife and I would eat the large bowl, he came back and told us that the batch they have in the back is already that spicy and he recommends the Tom Kha Kai soup that they can make with no spice, so your telling me that your Tom Yum soup is not made fresh everytime a customer orders it and is in a large pot simmering back there for hours and they only add more spice if customers want it spicier and their seafood like the shrimp and fish tasted old and not fresh at all in the soup and we thought it was the soup only. My wife ordered the Chicken Curry and asked to add shrimp too, well that came out and same thing the shrimp tasted old and the curry was nothing like we've had in the past, my wife took one bite of the curry dish and was disgusted and couldn't eat it at all and also ordered Pad Thai a dish that everyone is comfortable eating and is well known. Cause my son couldn't eat the Tom Yum soup he was really hungry and only ate 1 serving of the Pad Thai and I asked him why he didnt want more, he told me it wasn't like the ones he had before, I took a small fork portion and tasted it, he was right. I realize that sometimes the food makes all the experience of your dining but also the service too. So back to the server, he never came around to fill our waters or my sons coke or any other employees that walked by, we had to raise our hands and get his attention to refill the coke and saw 3 glasses of water empty and still didnt refill them, I asked for more rice and that never came until I asked for boxed for our food to go and never before did we ever have to box every item to go, that's how bad the food was that we couldn't finish a single dish and if I'm paying for it I'm not leaving it there. He came with the bill and apologized for not getting me more rice and gave me a small to go box of rice, not helpful when I'm driving for 2 hrs back home and I was still hungry, I constantly heard him say "Sorry" all the time to other tables. We were going to order desert too, the Mango sticky rice that we always have after dinner at any Thai restaurant, but after all this unpleasant experience I didnt want to spend another dollar here and decided to pass it up. If I ever go back to Utah again and want Thai food, I will drive past Benjas in St. George and drive out of my way to Hurricane city and eat at Mekong Kitchen where I know everything is made to order and the ingredients are fresh. This is my 3rd bad review that I have ever wrote, and as you can see it wasn't a short one either and that's how bad our experience was here at Benjas. If you ever go to Las Vegas you need to try Weera Thai on Sahara or Spring mountain rd and after you eat at Weera Thai in Vegas you will know what I'm talking about in this review and probably never eat here again unless your really desperate for Thai food and this is the only place you have to choose from or drive to...

Benja's Thai is definitely not one to miss while visiting St. George. It's nestled in a quaint, historic looking part of the area with curved paths on the interior courtyard, wheelchair or stair access, a stunning waterfall and blooming trees. As we entered the restaurant, I also had the same feeling with an Asian flare. With no reservation at 6 pm we were quickly seated within 10 minutes near a window that overlooked the courtyard.

We were seated with full cups of water already on the table. It was a nice touch after coming in from a warm day. As an avid water drinker I appreciated the pebble ice.

We ordered the fresh basil rolls as a starter. They were large and cut in half with the basil sauce along with a secondary plum sauce. Each bite left your palate desiring more.

You cannot go to a Thai restaurant without ordering Tom Kha Kai with its coconut milk base and loads of fresh mushrooms. The flavor in each bite was like an explosion in my mouth and was it wonderful addition after eating the chilled fresh basil rolls.

For our main dishes, my spouse ordered the Musaman Curry with chicken and loads of vegetables. They allow you to choose your heat level and he chose a two. It was still rather mild, and he probably could have gone up to a three, but it was so full of flavor that he still loved it. I ordered the mango curry with chicken, which had chunks of sweet mango in the dish. I also ordered the heat to be level two and I thought it was the perfect addition to a sweeter curry. I wasn't sure if I'd like the sweetness in it and was extremely pleased. We were served a healthy bowl of rice to eat it all family style. Every dish was full of flavor without being excessively hot. We normally order Sushi, as it is a favorite of ours, but we just didn't have enough room in our stomachs. That will be a definite part of our order on our next visit.

The waitresses were all attentive, yet you had the feeling of relaxation when they came to your table. You could tell the restaurant had good management because our entire experience flowed seamlessly without excessive wait times. It was a wonderful experience, and I will definitely be recommending Benja's Thai to all...

I loved this place and the food is usually top-notch. Which is why I'm sad to have to report that I was mortified with what happened to me on my last visit. I ordered take-out and was told my order would be ready in 20-25 minutes. I arrived after 25 minutes had passed, but my order wasn't ready, so I sat in the chairs right in front of the register. While waiting, a person came in to get their take-out order and the hostess accidentally gave them my order. Minutes later, her supervisor noticed the error and called the customer, asking he return to pick up the correct order. He returned a few minutes later and swapped out the orders. After that ordeal, 10 minutes passed and I was still not called on to get my order. I assumed this was because they had to remake my order (I had only overheard this whole incident with the other customer). I go up to the hostess to ask her how much longer and she hands me the same order the man had returned earlier. I didn't really think about this concerning matter, as I was annoyed that I ended up waiting 25 minutes after arriving, and just wanted to get home. However, when discussing this with my friend, she informed me that they might have violated a health code! If food leaves a restaurant and is returned, it should not be given to another customer, especially if the customer is not told of this situation. I am relieved to report the food was not tampered with, at least, that I know of. However, that does not make this situation okay. I will have to second-guess my visiting this restaurant in the future, as I see this incident as an indication that there might be other health violations that...