Ben's Place

When it was open, I enjoyed the food and the patio. But my understanding is that they closed late 2010. more

Ben's Place has really good food and a comfortable, friendly, laid-back environment. It is a refreshing change from all the drab chain restaurants in Raleigh. I am mostly vegetarian and a very picky eater. The staff always go out of their way to accomodate my dietary restrictions and preferences. It's amazing to me how completely crazy some restaurant reviews can be (like the psychosomatic paranoid person below who thinks someone's trying to kill her-- you belong in a nut house. I order veggie quesadillas quite often here and never had any problems. Even if it was an honest mistake, people are human; mistakes happen... get over it). CitySearch needs to be much more conscientious about the reviews they post. Make sure their legit and not from disgruntled ex-employees or people who are mentally unstable or just plain hateful. All I can say is try Ben's Place for yourself. I love it and can't say that about too many places around town. more

First off i would just like to say that restaurant is not trying to ""kill"" anyone. We take food allergies very seriously. But as a customer in a restaurant when you are about to order food and you have an allergy to a certain food no matter how minor or serious it is you should always inform your waiter/bar tender about your allergy. Your husband of all people should know that in a kitchen many different types of food are cooked around each other. I'm amazed you haven't had a reaction at other restaurants because you decided not to inform your waiter/bar tender. I apologize to you for everything that has happened but the bottom line is its your own fault for not telling anyone about your allergy. I personally know from the server you had that night that he heard chicken quesadilla and not only wrote it down but repeated your order back to you like he does with all his customers more

My husband and I are new to this side of town and my husband went in to Ben's for a burger. All was ok and he said we should go for dinner. We went with a total of 5 people for dinner. We arrived at 6:30 and ordered right away. I am allergic to Meat so I ordered a Vegtable Quesadilla. Our food finally came at 8:00 and I took a couple of bites of my food and there was Chicken in it. (I am married to a professional chef for 30 years so I know what should and should not happen in the kitchen) My husband called the waiter of and explained what happened while I took some benedryl to combat the instant throat hives! 20 minutes later the waiter came out with what appeared to be the correct thing, however after further examination there was still chicken attached to my food Instead of putting it on a clean plate they just slapped it on the existing plate. The waiter said oh im not charging you, big deal there. I went home and spent the night and all of the next day on heavy meds. They could care less even after they knew of my allergy. If you value your life Stay far AWAY from this place. more

My husband and I have been to bens place for drinks before and had a fine experience. We decided to pop in for lunch on a Saturday for something different to do. Huge mistake. Our first tip off should have been the fact that there were no other customers in the restaurant at 1:15pm on a Saturday. I now know there was a reason for the restaurant being a ghost town. We ordered quickly and food arrived ridiculously slow (over 45 minutes for a burger and pub sandwich). Our server (while completely nice) was unapologetic for the slow service. The food was mediocre at best. We will NOT be returning. Pros: location, bar Cons: poor service, poor food more

We heard good things about the place and were looking forward to attending. We were not dissapointed. The food was good and had decent prices. Not a fancy place but a good place to get a decent meal. I wouldn't suggest going hear during sporting events if you expect to have a conversation during dinner. Pros: Tasty food, good prices Cons: Can be loud as it's a bar more

Ate here recently. Was seated immediately. Waiter seemed to be high. The waitstaff kept going into the kitchen to laugh loudly about something and we would also hear them gagging. Not entirely appropriate for a restaurant. We were skeptical when we received our food, which was mildly disappointing in the end. Price was pretty good (bill for 2 was under $20), but the quality of food was lacking--standard at best. Too bad we won't be returning. Pros: quick to be seated, price Cons: waitstaff decorum more

My wife and I stopped for a quick dinner hear last night. The food was pretty good the tomato bisque and the calamari appetizers were good. The mescaline salad was a little salty but my sandwich was very good, a chicken cordon bleu. Nice beer selection. At a higher price I wouldn't have been so happy but I really felt that this was a pretty good deal. Pros: Good Food, Decent Beer Selection on Tap more

It was nice. Nice atmosphere, very casual. Food was great, especially the calamari and the fish and chips. Fat tire on draft. I was wondering from some of the reviews if the negative comments about some of the staff are just hateful competitors. Sadly no. 1 brunette hostess in particular strutted around like we were supposed to be grateful to be in her presence. I just ignored it. I have worked in restaurants and know that some staffers just do that. The boss needs to stop ignoring it. No doubt s/he knows about it. We will go back, having said all that. The food was good and it was a new place for us. It was a nice date for an old married couple. ....and my wife liked it. Pros: My wife liked it, she is very picky about Fish N Chips Cons: Hostesses need cust svc training or replacement more

Love the fish and chips, love the fish tacos, love almost everything I've eaten. Also, did I mention the great selection of local beer on draft? Pros: Local beer selection, menu more

Excellent food and service; nice, relaxing atmosphere. By far, my new favorite restaurant in town. Best seafood I've had in awhile. The fish tacos are actually made with fresh mahi. I wish more people would share their positive experiences with others. These days, it seems like most people who write reviews on web sites like City Search are only looking for a way to complain-- especially people with personal problems who like to take their misery out on others. Let Ben's Place speak for itself... you won't be disappointed! Pros: food, food, food Cons: N/A more

Really good food and friendly, prompt service. Even better, the whole restaurant is non-smoking until 10pm (they still have one room that stays non-smoking but its closed off from the bar). They have a huge patio and live music most weekends-- day and night. The setting is relaxing and unpretentious-- but it's the food that will keep you coming back. Try the entree specials whenever available-- excellent without breaking the bank! Pros: food, service, smoke free dining more

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Ok so onions are not the most common allergy but I have an onion allergy and had to send food back due to being smothered in onions - server never offered anything that could be back to the table before everyone was finished eating, he said EVERYTHING would take 20 minutes to prepare. Never offered a manager to come to the table and after others were sending off there dishes from the completed meals, the server offered 'chicken fingers'! Why would I want food AFTER the people I came to eat with had already finished? Why was I not offered a salad when I sent the food back - oh wait, because EVERYTHING takes 20 minutes to prepare........ Very disappointed in this local place that I thought would have been a great local place to eat/ drink. Pros: choices of beer on tap Cons: server and his no personality more

Edit: I wrote the review below a while back, but recently dined there again and everything seemed better! The food was great and the service was pretty good. I'd recommend it for sure, especially with the weather getting nice for the patio. Also, they are nonsmoking now until 10PM which is great. Old review: I used to be a regular at Ben's since I live in the neighborhood, but for a variety of reasons have not been in the past 3 months or so. I used to love the food and atmosphere, and tolerated the consistently slow service. However, I took a date there recently after speaking highly of it and it had changed for the worse. The food, which was very good in the past, was bland and terrible this time. I hope they turn it around soon. Pros: Still has potential.. Cons: Food has been uneven in quality more

I used to go to Ben's Place frequently, but very seldom any more. The service is marginal at best, sometimes horrible and other times just adequate. The food used to be excellent, but my last two visits I could tell it is going downhill fast. I went yesterday, and the service was horrible and the place was about empty. One thing I have not heard mentioned is the fact that the tab is almost always wrong. Word of warning: always check your tab amount!!! Mine has typically been wrong about 60% of the time. I feel overall it is a management problem, and that is unlikely to improve. I foresee Ben's Place going out of business in the near future. It is a shame because it had so much potential. Now I would suggest avoiding this place and going to Manchester's or the new Leesville Taproom. Both of them have much, much better service and a very expansive menu. Pros: Good TVs; clean restrooms; outdoor seating; nice ambience Cons: Horrible, inconsistent service; incorrect tabs; poor management; going downhill more

I didn't know about this place until a friend recommended it. The food is really good and even as a vegetarian, I have plenty to choose from. Best of all, there is no smoking until late at night so I don't have to deal with smoke in my face while I'm trying to eat dinner at the bar. The staff are friendly and usually attentive. Overall... a great place to relax and enjoy a meal. Pros: Food, service, no smoke more

We went to have a beer and watch the dallas game and were pleasantly suprised to find a place not overly crowded or noisy that has great food. they had 5 tv's all with different games on and the waitress was very nice. my chicken wrap was awsome and my friend said his fish and chips were good too. i will be back. Pros: food, parking, not to crowded Cons: none yet more

I've been to Ben's Place several times now and the service is very inconsistent. On a recent Sunday afternoon visit we ordered drinks and waited more than 20 minutes before we got up and left. It was quite frustrating watching the waitress stand next to our drinks as she continued to talk with a friend instead of bringing the drinks out. I would say this was a case of one lousy waitress but it's happened a couple of times now so it is really a case of lousy management. At any rate I have had enough and will not be returning even though the food was actually pretty good. Pros: Good food, nice atmosphere Cons: Service annoyingly slow more

Last night was the first and last time I've been to this ""restaurant"". I went with my hubby and two friends on a Friday night. It took 15 minutes for our waiter to take our drink order and another 10 for him to take our food order. After 45 minutes, we finally got our appetizer, ""loaded"" fries. They were cold and had a bare minimum of cheese and almost no bacon on them. Five minutes later, our entrees arrived and were crammed onto the table along with the now empty fry plate. They didn't even clear away the dirty, empty plates! All the meals were lukewarm and tasteless; two of them were mushy from having sat too long. My fish and chips consisted of a half inch wide piece of fish surrounded by inch-thick mushy, tasteless breading. Three small pieces lay on a bed of wrinkled, dried looking PEAS. I've never in my life had fish and chips on peas, and they weren't even listed in the description on the menu. My meal was supposed to come with a side of ""homemade"" remoulade--a mayonaise-based Creole dip. I had to ask for it, since the waiter failed to bring it with my meal, and then when I got it, it was relish stirred into mayo. Somehow, they managed to make this tasteless, too. When I complained about my meal to the manager, he insisted that was how fish and chips were supposed to be. I then picked up the fish and showed him how bendy and mushy it was. He offered to take it off the tab, but then asked if I wanted anything else. I told him that since no one at the table had had a good meal, I wasn't very confident that his place COULD make a good meal, so no, I didn't want anything else. I don't think this was an uncommon occurrence--judging from other reviews on this site, I think this happens a lot and that not a lot of people bother to comment on this site. As for why so many people have given this place a good review: they must either have no taste buds, no standards, or are employees of the restaurant. Go somewhere--anywhere else--to eat! Cons: Slow service, incompetent kitchen and management, DISGUSTING food. more