Ben’s BBQ and Beer

The ribs here were not great at all, the Mac n cheese want really good either. The only two things I liked was the cornbread and the French fries.

Eating in Bensalem can be depressing, it’s an endless sea of mediocre chain restaurants and less than mediocre pizza joints — We’d given up eating out locally, it was simply too sad. Happily we (Bensalemites) now have a choice, we can get AMAZINGLY delicious BBQ without traveling into Center City — Ben’s is a welcomed highlight in this otherwise gray suburban food scene, enough babbling let’s talk BBQ. — Brisket! OMG, so tender, so moist, Ribs! OMG the bones just fall out and the meat melts in your mouth — the sides are delicious and plentiful, they’re all good but IMHO the standout side is the collard greens, smoky and addictive. I could babble on and on but you should be getting in your car going to Ben’s and trying the food yourself, I promise you won’t be disappointed

It’s a bit surprising to find a decent BBQ joint in a back room of the Best Western Motel on Street Road, Bensalem, Pa. The place has almost zero atmosphere, no aroma of smoking meat, no beer spillage on the floor, and no one in boots nor large apron cutting the brisket. There is only Julie, the matron of the house and jack of all serving trades, handling just about everything. She bartends, takes food orders, serves everything that comes out of the kitchen, and then collects payment at the end of the night. She makes it personal by asking everyone’s first name, and remembering them throughout.
Don’t let the environment deter you from coming in. The grub is very good. First, there are several beers on tap or bottles, although on this Sunday night they seemed to be out of most of the good crafties. Still, my End of The World draft was pleasantly cold and refreshing at $ 4 for 10oz. Friends seemed to be downing Yards brew as quickly as it was poured.
My crew of three ordered Half BBQ Chicken (3 sides, corn bread, fries); Coffee Rubbed Brisket (3 sides, hush puppies, fries); and a third rack of St. Louis style Ribs (4 bones, 2 sides, fries). There was a ton and a half of food. And, it was all very good to amazing. The Half Chicken came our golden skinned without a crack in the covering. It was über-​moist and had a wonderful flavor. It needed no accompanying sauce to kick it up a notch, as it was really an apex bird. The Ribs were very good, but not the meatiest I have encountered. The dry rub was very solid, but I found it needed a little liquid zing to get to my preferred taste level. The table had 2 unmarked bottle rockets, one based in vinegar, the other, tomato. Both okay, but not the strength of the cuisine.
The unexpected star of the show was the Brisket. This cut of beef in normally dry in my experience, but this was not the case at Ben’s. Whether the coffee rub, or the time in the smoker, this thin sliced pound of nearly black carne was just so moist, tender and delicious. The taste of brisket was very present, but the secret sauce brought out undertones and texture that truly opened our eyes. Even the normal stringiness of the cut was an asset on the platter. It made for more surface area to hold the smoke and rub. Can’t say that I actually tasted coffee, but that wasn’t needed to find this dish remarkable.
There are a few downsides to eating at Ben’s. First, service was slow by definition. Only one person doing everything. She made a few mistakes on our orders, but nothing so egregious as to require markdowns. Then, we were given plastic utensils to negotiate the load of food. They simply were not up to the task of dealing with the meat and sides. Broken fork prongs, snapped knives were a part of the night. How much better to invest in real steel blades and spikes to control the contest. As mentioned above, they seemed to be out of many of their listed brews.
Prices are fair for the menu and (lack of) atmosphere.
Put the smokers out in the parking lot for all to see, maintain your beer inventory, and provide customers with the tools to subdue the wild animals on our plates, and Ben (Franklin)‘s could become a great BBQ mainstay in this area.

I live the bbq here. The smoked Sausage sandwich is my favorite. Also the drafts are always $ 4 each. Don’t be fooled by it being in a hotel. This place is defiantly a hidden gem in the middle of Bensalem.

It’s hard to find consistent ribs in the greater Philly area but this place might be worth your while. The ribs here were definitely good. They don’t put much sauce on ‘em which is just about the way a southern man or gal would want it. Decent sauce selection on the table including a southern vinegar (like something tangy you’d find in the Carolinas), zesty BBQ (my fave), tangy BBQ and a Carolina mustard sauce. This is a pretty clean, modern looking establishment with a sufficient beer selection to satisfy those of us who like to couple our beer snobbery with weekend grubfests. How can you beat $ 4 crafts on draft? The coffee rubbed brisket was a novelty that I partook in with pleasure and is not worth missing. Baked beans and collard greens make for good sides.

Let’s just say I had very high expectations when I read that this place was named Ben’s BBQ & Beer and was not disappointed. Living in Bensalem there are a ton of chain restaurants in the area, so it is hard to find a good mom & pop place, but even harder to find a good BBQ place. The famous one is Smoken Dudes around town, and I was not really impressed by the taste or the prices, so I’m glad that we saw the sign for Ben’s BBQ — which by the way is VERY easy to miss, since it is located inside the hotel and the sign is not upfront in on Street Road at all, so make sure you just pull into the Best Western Hotel after the Dunkin Donuts.
Alright, well the location situation aside, because it is kind of awkward to walk into a hotel and not be staying there, but walk into the back just to eat. The restaurant area looks like a hotel lobby that wasn’t given the full permission to be a BBQ pit. I was thrown off by that situation a lot, especially because it didn’t even smell like BBQ! But, loyal to my review reading, I still decided to give it a shot. There was a wonderful bartender, an older woman, who was taking our order and gave us great recommendations.
I decided to go with the coffee rubbed brisket — because omg that sounded amazing and the hubby went with the smoked sausage which was keilbasa for the day. Let’s just say if I could eat this coffee smoked brisket everyday for the rest of my life, it might still not be enough! It was melt in your mouth good, with a smokey, but sweet flavor, just perfection. The hubby’s kielbasa was great flavor too, neither one of us wanted to share our plates! As for the sides, the Mac n cheese was creamy and out of this world! And the baked beans were like I’ve never had, also amazing. We both got platters, which were good sizes, but enough for one person on the meats. They do give you 3 sides, which is awesome, I could’ve probably just done with 2.
As we licked our plates from the delicious meal, our Bartender told us the history of Ben’s BBQ and how they went from a station in the corner of the lobby to a full restaurant recently. The owner also has a catering business that does well. She told us about their craft beer selection and how everyday is happy hour with $ 4 16oz crafts! They have an array of sandwiches and appetizers which I would love to come back in and try. The only thing I did wish they had was more ambiance, maybe some music playing or even have the volume on of the tvs in the bar. It was creepily quiet, and it would probably attract more people from the hotel. Needless to say, COME TRY THEM OUT, I can’t wait to go back!

awesome BBQ. worth the wait. I had ½ pulled pork and beef brisket with cornbread, sides: collard greens, Cole slaw and smokey baked beans. Jim had full rack of ribs with double Mac and cheese. everything I mean everything was great… flavors all met my fussy taste buds… warning, collard greens are not soul cooking with smoked ham butts ot smoked turkey leg an wings. Greens are flavor sweet and sour, very tasty. yum. I great find. I used « Unilocal» to find another restaurant in my area instead of going to the same Friday evening restaurant.

Amazing brisket. You cannot beat the price on beer at 4 $ a glass. Also you can pig out on apps with coworkers after work for like 15 bucks. I hope longer hours are coming this summer. Also, just warning everyone, platters are huge. You get three sides and hush puppies. That’s a crazy amount of food.

This is my new favorite bbq spot. Everyone in the area likes smokin dudes but this place wins by a landslide. Its hidden in a hotel but that also makes it a gem. My husband and I didn’t sit inside, we just ordered take out but I will definitely be sitting inside next time. We shared the brisket and pulled pork platter. You get do much food for the amount of money. The good has a great smokey flavor… you can tell they’ve been cooking it for hours. They had good sauces but honestly the pork had great flavor on its own I didn’t even use it. Get the mac and cheese and cole slaw. Its so good!

Nice place, nice people, great deal on food and craft beer. Don’t be fooled by the Best Western location, they know what they’re doing.

Needed to eat while also staying at the best western and unexpectedly found out they have this restaurant.
Great survive, amazing beer selection that is probably rarely seen in PA with many IPAs (my favorite). Only $ 4 per beer!
The feed is great too, solid portions and options. We had the pulled pork, brisket, baked beans, coleslaw and Mac n cheese. Also happy the Mac n cheese has more than American, pretty good.
Finally, the hush puppy was a great way to end the meal.
Definitely recommend!

This place is awful. The order was screwed up, they forgot the appetizer and a side order, the mustard chicken was swimming in mustard, the brisket was soggy and the Mac and cheese belongs in a high school cafeteria.
If I could give it ZERO stars, I would.

First off, my hat goes off to the owner Ken!
This is the place you want to have a sandwich and a beer!
The beer selection is well thought out. La fin du monde, 3 beers from the yards revolution line and Great Lakes just to name a few. Let me add that they are 4 $!
4 choices of sauces to dip your food in that are readily available at your table/​bar. The meat is thoughtfully cooked and savory.
Do yourself a favor and venture into the Beat Western for a meal. You’ll thank me!

After a long day of work my wife brought home some take out from here. I ordered the Pulled pork with Mac and cheese (Double order) and baked beans. The pulled pork was perfect and the sweet BBQ sauce was a very nice addition to the meal. My wife got Brisket which was so yummy I wanted to steal it all from her. We enjoyed our meal and my wife said the person running the place was very nice. While waiting she looked at the beer selection and was pretty impressed by all the options. Very good food and staff bent over backwards to ensure food was safe with some food allergies even calling the head chef.

Felt compelled to write the first review of this place after visiting twice and having an awesome meal both times.
Located inside of the Best Western on Street Road, this place is unassuming, yet awesome. The restaurant is inside of the Best Western, and feels like a mix of a proper BBQ joint and dining room in a hotel.
The food: I’ve had both the pulled pork and the coffee rubbed brisket. The pulled pork was solid, especially when mixed with 1 of the 4 sauces on hand, but man, that brisket. I’m pretty picky with my bbq brisket, but this was incredible. Full of flavor and some of the most tender bbq meat I’ve had in quite sometime. Sides are plentiful, with the mac and cheese being the standout for me.
The beer: the bar has around 7 – 8 craft beer taps, with prices that would make a serious craft beer fan smile from ear to ear. All pours are $ 4, with some of the higher end beers (Russian River Damnation, for example), poured in a smaller tulip glass. There’s also a crowler machine for to go beer, and prices are pretty fair. Nothing beats fresh beer to go in a can, in my opinion.
This place has only been open a few weeks and it currently feels like a hidden gem in Bensalem. Excellent food and taps, really good prices (seriously, 12 bucks for a sandwich, 2 sides, and a beer, can’t beat that!, and a quality welcome addition to spots to dine at nearby. Both times I visited were on Sunday nights and business was slow, but I was told that foot traffic was steady during the week and Friday nights. I really hope this place takes off in the coming months, the staff and owner are cool, friendly people and they deserve the success.