Gentle Ben’s

We are new to town and got a reccommendation for this place. We were hesitant being that its in the middle of campus and we have 2 toddlers. But the food was amazing all the way around the table. The staff was wonderful, Sarah took great care of us and was super wonderful with our kids who by the end were starting to get a bit crazy. The drinks were wonderful and its so close to a bunch of shopping too! We will most certianly be back!

Get there about 5pm to beat the rush on a Thursday. Place was packed by 600. Standard college restaurant filled with students, staff, and faculty. Outdoor patio is great. After about 10 minutes of waiting a staff member noticed me and went to «find» my server. Service was fine after that.
Had the California burger. Looked great but immediately fell apart. It was a soggy mess and I had to use a fork and knife for the entire meal. The mess actually dissolved the paper lining the basket and leaked onto the table. I didn’t even enjoy what was left of it. The bacon, guacamole, and cheese all sounded good but the perfumed smoke of the bacon combined with the guacamole was too much fragrance for me. The meal also came with fries and about a half of them were hard as rocks. Porter was good.
It’s the type of place that I’d like to go back to but the food was a big enough problem that I won’t.

The most quintessential Tucson Bar around, Gentle Ben’s has everything the heart desires; be it delicious, locally brewed craft beer (originally in house!), traditional American cuisine, or Sonoran Style Mexican food, they’ve got it all. They have a great happy hour and also offer a club like environment on some nights. Plus, where else can you find the delicious Copper Head Pale ale?

First Visit in November — ABSOLUTELY yummy! So good I ate there twice in a three-​day time span. The dressing on the «Lizzy Salad» is quite addictive. I had planned dinner tonight at breakfast this morning because I am only in town every few months and the salad is quite perfect.
However… I was supremely disappointed in tonight’s meal.
I ordered the Lizzy Salad — No onion/​add tomato and an order of Wings — Medium/​Extra Crispy. I ordered it To-​Go and was told 10 minutes. I arrived promptly and had to wait another 10 more. No big deal. Got home (less than a 5 minute walk) and found my meal was not what I ordered. Figured it wasn’t worth it to walk back, explain, wait, and return home I left it alone.
Salad is supposed to have Chicken, smoked bacon, Gorgonzola cheese, peppers, lettuce and the amazing dressing. All of the ingredients tie in together and it creates an amazing salad symphony. Sadly, I got the tomatoes I asked for but there was NO bacon or cheese. The wings were not what I ordered either. There were two that were crispy but the rest were soggy.
Hopefully the next time I am in town it is better…

What no nachos! Hard to believe a Happy Hour with no nacho choice! (Apparently, other times they do have them on the menu.)
$ 3.50 draft beer… great happy hour special. Mocha Java Stout… really delicious flavor. Nolan’s Porter… enjoyed by others. Reuben sandwich with just-​okay fries. I am wheat-​sensitive; therefore, eat little wheat and even with this sandwich little of the bread, but the corn beef was delicious! Baja tacos… good. Sat outdoors, tv available, good service.

Get the pretzel with the Insane mustard… specially if your sinuses are congested. DELICIOUS and helps with the nose: P

I am giving this place three stars for the atmosphere or else it would have gotten two. The bar inside is convenient and the outside seating is awesome too. The upstairs has a nice environment and a good view of the mountains. However the food is mediocre. The nachos were really plain and lacked a lot of flavor. My veggie burger was just not good especially with he horseradish sauce. My fries were cold and clearly frozen. My mixed drink was not made correctly and didn’t taste good. Overall a cool place to hang out, but there are better places to spend your money for food

Food and service is always great, with a solid beer selection. Excellent for people with dogs who are looking for a great place to have their pet join them for dinner.

I only came here for the Sunday NFL games and would be hesitant to come back. I ordered nachos thinking they were likely one of the safer things on the menu. The menu saying they were topped with green chilis and black beans was a bit of a stretch for what I received. From first glance I didn’t see any black beans or green chilis. I ordered my nachos with chicken and it was served in a little clump on the top. I did end up finding some beans and green chilis, but they were underneath some chips and chicken and were scarce. The chicken was bland although covered in spices. The chips at the bottom were swimming in grease and partially soggy from the green chilis. Half of the nachos on top were burnt. I ordered an order just for myself, which worked out because half of it was inedible. The nachos didn’t come with sour cream or guacamole, which is fine I don’t mind ordering them separately, but it’s a little disappointing when I’m already paying $ 13 for a plate of nachos that isn’t worth that to begin with.
We sat outside to watch the big screen TVs. It was nice because it was heated and the sun was shining, and also because the inside was like a dungeon. It was dark, dingy and dirty. The bathrooms were more on par with a seedy bar than a restaurant, not clean and dingy from years poor care.
The only shining star was our waitress. She was sweet, helpful, fast, attentive and engaging.

Just ate there. Southwest Egg rolls were really good. Looked like large portions. Nice folks and clean

First time visit for late afternoon lunch. The chips and salsa is good but ask for more salsa right off the bat. The onion rings are really good and I had the Diane burger. Large burger and excellent taste. The waitress was helpful and on time.

Delicious! My lips are still tingling from my carnitas tacos with extra guacamole. The carnitas quesadillas are good too! Great location near AU.

This place is so cool it remindes me of disneyland the most wonderfull place on earth.

This place is pretty awesome. I have been here multiple times and I have received great service and great food! My favorite item thus far would have to be the Lizzy Salad! It is simply amazing! The beers are great as well. I would definitely recommend this place if you’re looking for a relaxed environment with great food, beer, and drinks!

Great beers – not so great food. But a really good happy hour. $ 3 for a Nitro Stout? :) Yes, please.

Definitely a college town local spot. Great burger, (The Diane), with beer batter fries, which were amazing. Started out with the spinach and artichoke dip in a sourdough bread bowl, another great. Had a diet RC cola, which is hard to find, loved it. Substituted the fries for a Lizzy salad, hold the bacon, really good. Plenty of help, someone was always there and being very helpful and courteous. It was a pleasure to eat in an establishment like this. Yay Gentle Ben’s!

A brewery with a gelato shop in the back?! I’m not really a fan of beer but gelato? yes please! Although the freezer wasn’t full of gelato when we came so maybe it’s not too popular
the gelato had more of an ice cream texture (which is FINE by me since i prefer ice cream over gelato)
—oreo cheesecake: pretty good!
—mongo sorbetto: more creamy than like a sorbet
love that they have a patio over-​looking the cute University Blvd.

Oh Gentle Bens, the place to go where the college scene is at its best. Now I am not a college student and college students actually kind of annoy me, but what I like about this place is the mash up of college students, grad students, professors and regular working folk like me. I feel like this mash– up provides a really positive energy in the place and I feel like I would love to be a fly on the wall listening to some of the conversations going on. The patio is the place to be, I don’t even go in if there isnt a place to sit outside, not that the inside is terrible its just kind of dark and the air conditioning is always on the frigid side. There are 2 patios, the upstairs one and the downstairs one. The food is typical bar style, I love the Peggy O (vegetarian) and also the chicken and green chile super spicy burger called the The Phoenix! Also these guys do have a pretty great quesadilla and I would skip the fish tacos unless you have a big stack of napkins! Now onto the beer. They do only carry their beers, which is the same beers as the Barrio Brewery downtown (same brewery, different names). They are decent, though not my favorite. The White IPA is fantastic, refreshing and hoppy. The Rosa is their Red Ale and very mild, great for a middle of the road beer. They also have some seasonals that I look forward to like the oatmeal stout and the chocolate porter, actually I crave their chocolate porter when they have it on tap! The best part of being at Gentle Bens is the energy for sure, so come and grab some of that good ol’ college optimism, grab a beer and sit and watch the people along University Blvd.

⁶⁄₂ Review
OMG. AMAZING food! It seems service is not that great here based on other reviews but I had wonderful service (caveat: I was having dinner at 9PM).
I tasted the Quesadilla, Lilly Salad, and the Spinach Artichoke Dip.
The Quesadilla was very hearty with good chunks of meat and a mild crunch on the tortilla. Cheese was balanced just right. The Lilly Salad was phenomenal… Get with the green olive oil dressing (I don’t know what it’s called). But it’s olive oil based and I’m going to guess it’s loaded with pesto, lemon, vinegar, etc. Whatever it is, you’re going to end up asking for a second cup of dressing because it will be THAT AMAZING. The Spinach Artichoke Dip… it is obvious they made this by hand. The dip is EXTREMELY flavorful and will be hard to stop.
Pictures do not do it justice. Go ahead and give this place a shot. They have amazing out door seating area perfect for large groups and children. It’s just around the corner of Marriott if you happen to be staying there.

Beer ok. Carnitas tacos good. Won’t likely be back. The porter didn’t impress. Decent atmosphere being next to UofA. Place was empty. Across the street was apparently the place to be.

Extremely sloooooowwwww service. It took over 20 minutes for our drinks. Our server was very sweet though and explained that there was only 1 bartender on… which was a little surprising since it was 5pm on a friday. I also felt bad for her because she had atleast 5 big parties. It took even longer for our second order of drinks, an entrée came out wrong and 1 person in our party waited 30 minutes for her drink. The food on the other hand was pretty good. We had the southwest eggrolls and spinach cheese dip and I had a ruben.
We sat inside but the outdoor patio looked like the happening spot. Bathrooms were clean and well stocked.

We sat outside which was wonderful. Service was good. Menu just bar food. We split a salad which was tasty with a great vinaigrette but the quesadilla was dry and hard. Also they were out of the house chardonnay so they substituted, with my permission, their only other chardonnay which was $ 10 but I think they should have charged me for the original chardonnay I ordered at about $ 6.

I really liked this place and our waitress was freaking hilarious! Even though they were short staffed and she was busy, she made sure we felt welcomed. Even if the service was a little slower than I would have liked, we could tell she was busting her butt to make sure everyone was well taken care of. So she earned a good tip!
I went here after a show at UA presents and it hit the spot!
I ordered the veggies burger with cheese and pickles. I think I caught the waitress off guard by asking for pickles, she asked me if I had ever gotten pickles there before… When the order came out, there were two pickle spears in my basket, so I just cut them up and put them on the burger myself. So my only negative about this experience, have more pickles! By the way, I love pickles, if you can’t tell…
The burger was great. Hot, flavorful, good amount of cheese, the bun tasted fresh. All around good (except for the lack of pickles…) haha! The french fries were yummy! Just the right balance of crunch and thick.
My friend practically inhaled his order so I assume it was good as well…

My family and I came in here today before going to see a show. It was five of us; my parents, my husband, a family friend and I.
We were greeted almost quickly, but only by a guy telling us he would be right with us. After sitting around for a while, a lady came over and said she would get our drinks started for us. Three of us got iced teas, one got a water and my father got a cucumber drink. After a while of sitting around with our drinks and very ready to order, the same lady came back up and told us she would be taking our food order too since our assigned server was just too busy.
I got the Peggy-​O, my husband got a black and blue turkey burger, our friend got the Firestarter Burger, and my parents split a burger and a sandwich. Our food took about 45 minutes to come out. Well, most of it. They brought out my husband’s fries, and told him there had been a mistake in the kitchen and his burger would be right out.
I would like it noted that since my parents were sharing two sandwiches, they asked for the burger to be cut in the kitchen. We were informed that it was an upcharge. Seriously? I feel like that is a courtesy that should just be extended by a restaurant. Is it REALLY that difficult to cut a freaking burger in half that I need to be charged extra? Gentle Ben’s, if you’re reading, this practice is damned ridiculous. We didn’t ask for an extra plate, for a side of guacamole… we asked you to run a knife through a burger. And for that we were to be charged. They were not splitting one burger between the two of them, which I would totally understand a charge for. They were each getting their own sandwiches and planned on sharing what they got. We told them just to bring a knife and we could cut it ourselves.
We were all pretty much done with our food by the time my husband’s burger made it’s way out of the kitchen. It was supposed to have Cajun seasoning on the burger, but was not seasoned evenly at all. I know this because when he was almost done with his burger he started sweating, his face turned bright red and he commented that all of the sudden his burger got unbearably spicy. Apparently, ALL the Cajun spices were on one specific part of the sandwich.
My Peggy-​O, while it was pretty good, came out without guacamole. This was the key selling point to me! Nobody came by until our meal was over (when my husband’s burger came out), so I had eaten half of my burger already. I decided to try to not eat the other half until I could flag someone down to bring me the guacamole I was promised and so desired.
My mother’s onion rings came out cold, which was a shame. They would have been really good if they had come out at an appropriate temperature.
This meal was incredibly unremarkable. In fact, there were way more instances that would make me never want to come back than would have me give it another try. Ridiculous charges, cold food, service that could use a spit shine, and food that didn’t arrive or arrived way too late.

Love to check this place out while I’m in town since its Barrios sister brew house. Came in a Friday night around 6 and was seated right away. The place had patio, bar, and dinning room seating. I sat inside and decided to go with the porter to drink. Love gentle bens and barrio brews. The menu is a typical college town brew pub fare. You can even find some border treats as well.
Started with pretty simple chips and salsa. The chips were warm and the salsa had a nice kick. Ordered the Diane burger and I must admit it left something to be desired. It said that the onions were roasted in red wine but the floor tasted like the previous meal that was cooked on the grill. It was an average burger for an average price. This is definitely a place to get your craft drink on but the food is so so.
I was granted by a nice hostess but our server was Eh. Seemed like the front of the house manager was helping out and stopped by more than our waitress. Great location on university ace and avoid starting point for some of the better offerings on the street.
Faves: any barrio brew

I can dig it. Food is pretty solid, but definitely driven for the college crowd (no complaints)
You definitely don’t want to sit in the back of the patio; it gets busy, so the servers tend to get tied up.
Staff is friendly, beer is fantastic, & it’s spacious.
People bring their kids, id personally advise against it.
All in all great for groups, beer is where it’s at, & the appetizers are definitely the winners on the menu.