Ben’s BBQ

My wife and I went here quite a few times, in my case mostly for the hush puppies. I loved ‘em. We enjoyed the food generally, and the people were always very friendly and nice. I can’t imagine why I didn’t Unilocal it considering how many times I tried it; must have been that at some point I just assumed I already had. Disappointed to see them close, but very excited to find that Ben and his crew are now the kitchen staff at the Frog and Fiddle. Had a good meal over there, but will wait to Unilocal it until they expand the menu as they intend. Especially looking forward to the day they bring the hush puppies over to the new place. Assumin the food is the same, the new place will deserve and extra star just forthe added ambiance and location.

The people are really nice, but the food needs help. Specifically, the meat doesn’t seem to be actually smoked or hitting a pit in any way, so calling it barbecue is a bit of a stretch — more like grilled and braised in sauce.
I’ve had the pulled chicken and pulled pork barbecue sandwiches (served on a big olé white hamburger bun with nothing else) several times and each time, the quality seems to be going south. The sides are not that great. I like the beans and the quinoa hush puppies are really good, but can you really make a meal of just hush puppies? Maybe.
Not too many people milling around here, so it looks long for this world.

If looks could kill, this place would be dead. It’s not much to look at and almost a little deterring. But we were hungry and BBQ was sounding mighty good, especially with our buy-​one, get-​one card from Hanger One’s St George Spirits visit. The service is friendly and fast, but we were the only one’s there.
I had BBQ chicken. Very good, I just wish they would have de-​skinned it first. The beans were eh, the slaw was tasty and not drowning in it’s own dressing. I tried one of my sister’s hush-​puppies, and it was mighty fine. A deep-​fried cornbread ball but way better than any cornbread I have had. My brother-​in-​law has the shrimp po-​boy and liked it so much he wanted to try the fried clam po-​boy. Sounded better than it tasted, the three of us couldn’t finish half it was so off.

Tried the pull pork it was great! People are really friendly — Looking forward to going back!

The service here was wonderful. They were friendly and helpful, and even gave us a discount when they found out we were headed over to St. George Spirits.
I enjoyed the food. The barbecued pork sandwich was good, though I felt it was missing a little something. They however made up for the BBQ with the hush puppies.

Nice people. Mediocre BBQ. I had the sampler with 2 ribs, links and brisket. The brisket was not bad, but a little dry. Maybe I like a little fat on my brisket. There were a lot of pieces. The links were spicy, but felt like I could have found those links and fried them up at home. And finally the ribs. I found it odd that it was specified as 2 ribs, not listed just as ribs. When I saw the ribs, they were pretty small. I think if it just said ribs, and I got 2 in the box, it would have irked me less, but to be told that it was 2 ribs, and then see 2 small ribs, I was a little less happy.
The sauce, well, I don’t remember much about the sauce.
There’s definitely room for improvement. With a lot of places closing down, there’s room for existing places to get better.

Pure and simple, great BBQ! From the moment I walked in the door and caught a whiff of that delicious aroma, I was sold. The pulled pork is delicious, and you HAVE to try the hush puppies… unlike any I have ever had.
So, if you enjoy good southern BBQ, Ben’s is a must… ummm, ummm good.

I really like this place. Right outside the Alameda Army Base you will find Ben’s BBQ. The red quinoa hushpuppies make it all worthwhile. I have tried the Shrimp Po-​boy the price is great, the sandwich is pretty good for a west coast po-​boy. I have had the chicken, ribs and links. all were very tasty, although my ribs were fatty and seemed under cooked, but that was only 1 time. All the other times everything was good.
My favorite thing about Ben’s are the prices. Very reasonable and the food is good! i have been there once a month since I heard of it 3 months ago. Glad to have a good cheap BBQ place on the island.

Awesome bbq. Tons of food for so cheap! My husband and I literally could have shared one dish. If you like spicey bbq, you should definitely check this place out. The pork fell right off the ribs and the quinoa hushpuppies were YUMMY!
This is my new bbq place. I’ll drive over from Oakland to have some good bbq.

Thought we should try this place out because I love BBQ. First thing I didn’t notice was the smell of BBQ smoke. You should always smell hickory or some other type of wood in an establishment as this. So I was a little leary at first. Easy menu with lots of side dishes to pick from. I always like to get a sampling of everything so i got a 3 meater. Ribs, pulled chicken & brisket with mac salad and hush puppies. First, the ribs were very meaty, pulled chicken was pretty good and the brisket was ok. Mac salad very good and hush puppies were great. The meat definatley lacked the smoked BBQ flavor. When you go to a BBQ joint you want that flavor. All in all the portions were a good size for the money. More food than E&J’s. Good food, good service. Could use a little cleaning. Had a lot of spiders in the corners.

Yea! BBQ food that’s walking distance from my home, very reasonably priced and very good quality! I’ll be back!

Hands down, the best BBQ I’ve had in the Bay Area to-​date! Even better than… dare I say… Everett and Jones! Tried the ribs and hot links and they were both oh-​so-​good! Delicious sauce has just the right amount of kick. Great prices and HUGE portions! You definitely won’t leave hungry and if you do it right, you’ll be in need of a nap after you finish your meal!

Came in for brisket with a few friends. The place was very popular and noticed a bit of a line. I realized then that the prior location used to be a much earlier BBQ joint around the earlier 90s. Decent portions and not oversalty. Delicious and ahem. Cheap eats.
Loads of flavor and not overdone.
I think they are working on a beer and wine license.