Banyan Asian Cafe

Soooo slow, and so Americanized. I ordered the PHO. It didn’t even come with a spice tray. The fresh sides were already added in: the bean sprouts, and basil. No cilantro. So disappointed.

There phở was great noodles a little tough but overall no complaints. There fresh homemade coconut cake will have me coming back again and again … I’d say to them to play a little music just to prevent from hearing every other customers conversation ;)

FINALLY! I have found a spot in Wilmington that serves Phở! And its not just mediocre. its actually quite delicious. Do you understand how happy this makes my heart, especially when I am sick and sad and trying to cope with a deployed husband? Not even my XL sweat pants can make me feel as warm and loved as their Phở. The other menu items are pretty delicious as well, and the staff are pretty swell group of very nice human beings. My only complaint is the janky location, which is wicked deceiving from the street view.
Totally recommend this place for Asian cuisine. its looks like a shit hole on the outside, but once you’re inside, its totally different, and worth checking out. I have yet to find a place in WIlmington that compares to Banyan when it comes to Asian cuisine.

My lunch visit here was soooo disappointing. I had very high hopes for this restaurant based on the beautiful décor, fabulous lunch prices, and Vietnamese and Cambodian menu items. But having to wait over 30 minutes for a bowl of Bun Thit Nuong is unacceptable. This dish is very simple: cold rice noodles, raw veggies, some grilled meat, sauce. I was absolutely starving by the time it finally came out. It tasted OK, but the meat wasn’t seasoned at all. The waitress apologized for the long wait, saying that they only had 1 cook that day instead of the usual 2, but she did not offer me anything to compensate. She also seemed annoyed that I did not order an appetizer or dessert. I would have ordered dessert had my entrée not taken so long. When I eat out for lunch I need to get in and out. I have places to go and things to do! No one in Vietnam would wait so long for a basic bowl of noodles. I certainly won’t do so in Wilmington.

After realizing that the wait at a nearby Thai place was a hour we decided to try Banyan (now called Thai Bistro) We walked in and there was NO wait! I ordered the phở dinner which comes with bubble tea and spring rolls (all for $ 14) The spring rolls were cooked perfectly and the phở was some of the best I have ever had. The wait staff managed to be helpful and attentive without being overbearing. I will definitely be going back.

This place is totally awful. They took more than an hour to get the food. After all that worst service, they missed food for one person. Finally he had to walk out without even having dinner. They didn’t even care to hear our concerns. Worst ever service! Never go there

I’m usually leaving hotels with restaurants to go out and find other restaurants not in hotels so you can imagine how juxtaposed I was to be walking INTO a Ramada in search of good vegan vittles. There weren’t a ton of options and our time was limited so we ended up almost across the street from where we were staying.
Banyan’s was empty when we got there, admittedly later than the usual dinner hour but that always makes me wonder how fresh everything is. Needlessly here. The place has a woody planty green and brown motif with some kind of big mats under the tables and chairs. It’s a nice and inviting, comfortable place. We sat near the front window, hopefully to serve as a beacon to other wayward vegans but no one joined us that evening.
Our waitress was friendly and happy and knowledgable about the food. My vegan wishes were understood and I felt that this wasn’t going to be a meal where I worried about fish sauce creeping into my dishes. I love it when the response is, «Vegan? Ok sure, no problem, been there done that.» Ahhhhhh.
I ordered the Coconut Curry which I ordered with Seitan and my buddy wanted to only eat fried rice. I would have split it with him but he wanted egg so I ordered the Pad Thai with Tofu.
For a starter we split the spring rolls.
They were served with a sweet chili sauce and a chili vinaigrette, both medium on the spice index and nice to dip the fried crunchy rolls into. The rolls themselves where crispy and not greasy at all and had some flavor and really didn’t need anything else but hey, it’s there right?
The Pad Thai was excellent and if I had a fork instead of chopsticks I’d have shoveled the whole dish into my mouth in hugh swirling twirled forkfuls. The pasta was cooked nicely, just past al dente and not yet mushy and it had a rich flavor and the tofu had a very nice chewable yet not chewy consistency.
A little bit of Srirracha never hurt. Crispy sprouts and peanuts and a squeeze of lime.
Don’t look at the eggs but isn’t that an amazingly colorful plate of fried tofu rice? No, I didn’t taste it.
My Coconut Curry, nice heat but I threw in the Thai Chili Flakes anyway
The coconut curry was so incredibly coconutty and creamy and … wait, what’s this? Tofu? I thought, … oh Miss?! Yes, she thought the cook had put in tofu instead of seitan and she’d be right out with the seitan. Just mix it in. OK. One day everything will go right with a meal I have but this wasn’t like I was finding chicken in the food or anything. Just silliness. The seitan was a nice addition and I wouldn’t have known it wasn’t house made if I hadn’t asked. I think pre made seitan works out well most of the time if it’s cooked and this was.
A closeup of my curry. Notice the seit… uhm … the tofu?
There we go, just dump in some seitan.
And let’s double the amount of stuff we can take home and dump in the rest of the white rice. Why do I eat white rice? Well, there wasn’t any brown served here. That should be changed.
Any place that actually uses seitan in their ethnic cuisine gets a few points right off the bat, even if they don’t actually put it IN the dish the first time around. I’d go back here in a heartbeat and highly recommend Banyans. There are a few other places in Wilmington I’d like to try as well but this definitely gets a «go back to» rating.

We like this Thai restaurant because they cater to vegetarians/​vegans! Many of their dishes contain animal products, but, if you ask, they will make the dishes vegetarian/​vegan. You just have to specify, and they will do!
Most places do not do this, but, another plus: they will not make the dishes in the same pot or near anything that had cooked meat/​seafood inside. They will use new pots and pans, so, you feel good that there won’t be small traces of animal products in your dish.
I tried the vegan version of their pad thai, and though it was on the spicy side for my taste, the fact that they were flexible to cater to my dietary needs was impressive.

On our way home from the Ft. Fisher Aquarium, we both agreed Thai was in order (because, you know, staring at fish all afternoon makes you crave… noodles.) After my slight disappointment at Indochine, I was down for trying something new, and Banyan was next on the list.
It’s not like we haven’t passed by the place half a million times. But it’s situated in such an odd location, bizarrely tacked on to the end of a questionable Ramada Inn, that we’d admittedly made some suppositions about the place. It was a recommendation from one of Jeff’s professors that finally gave us the courage to pull into Banyan’s parking lot.
Well, fear not, my friends! Banyan, while not the atmospheric wonder that Indochine is, was a pleasant surprise. Cozy and candlelit, the room is divided to offer a little privacy and keep noise to a minimum. Our server (Jim, I think) was extremely personable, serving with appropriate decorum but a casual attitude. After my first glass of Riesling (a crisp, apple-​y and not too sweet one), I might have bombarded him with questions, but he was more than happy to chat with us and familiarize us with the menu (the desserts sounded fantastic, but a bit of poor planning left us sans room for them).
As to what we did eat? I was very excited to find a spot-​on Pad Thai (just be prepared — it’s a saucier version than I usually expect, but I didn’t exactly mind) and Jeff’s red curry was creamy and zesty (Jim informed us that the chef is happy to take the fire up or down a notch on all the curries). Also a must: the chicken satay — one of the most tender renditions I’ve experienced, served with a classic peanut sauce. Nothing crazy, just simple and satisfying.
Prices are in line with places like Indochine (entrees average $ 12-​$ 15) with almost equally large portions.
I’m feeling a little Goldilocks with this whole thing — Banyan was neither too expensive nor too cheap, neither too posh nor too casual, neither too packed nor too empty. It was just right.
So right that I was almost tempted to keep this kitty in the bag.
Almost.