Benley: A Vietnamese Kitchen

• Cuisine(s): Vietnamese
  Hours: Mon 5pm-9pm, Tue 11am-9pm, Wed-Sat 11am-10pm
• Price: $
  Features: Takeout, Catering, Business Dining
• Reservations: Accepted, Not Necessary
  Parking: Lot Available

Description

No self-respecting Vietnamese person who is aware that Little Saigon exists could ever accept some of the prices Benley charges. This small, long hallway of a restaurant on the outskirts of Long Beach-where it encroaches on Cypress and Los Alamitos-levies $9 for a bowl of pho and $5 for banh mi. Little Saigonites would be right to balk-and you should, too. But to dismiss Benley on this alone would be a mistake. Focus instead on dishes you're not likely to find on Bolsa Avenue, such as the braised short rib on mashed avocado, a tender-as-sin hunk of meat slow-braised to be anise-scented and yielding when you tug at it with chopsticks. And the fried cuttlefish, which is just like all other crispy calamari appetizers, yes, but tossed in a zesty salt-pepper-lemon mixture and some wilted cilantro to make it surprisingly addicting. Definitely stick around for dessert, particularly the unfussy and downright-earnest bananas Fosters served with a scoop of ice cream and chopped nuts.