Ben’s Chili Bowl

How should I feel about the iconic Ben’s Chili Bowl finally expanding to other locations like H Street and Rosslyn? I should be elated and overwhelmed because now I can have easy access to a legendary D.C. establishment.
But besides the fact that this place carries the Ben’s namesake and logo above its entrance, Ben’s on H Street woefully disappoints. In fact, because I am so fond of Ben’s, I was shocked with my initial experience. In an attempt to preserve my fondness for this place, I’ve come here additional times because I was in denial. There was no way my experience could be this horrendous. Now, that brought me to thinking what is so different from the original location that this one feels like an inferior imitation?
After much pondering and meditating, here are three reasons why you should not come to Ben’s on H Street:
1. The service here is horrendous. The person taking your order clearly does not care about you. They don’t make eye contact with you, they don’t explain the menu items to noobs, and they take forever take your order. It’s so clear the workers don’t want to be there. On top of that, the food then takes an additional 30 minutes.
2. The new location feels like a cheap imitation and is far too franchise-​y. The coolest part of Ben’s was all the history and decades of grease stains. Instead, it looks like they took all the furniture from Johnny Rockets and put a Ben’s logo on top. No no no no no. This is how you ruin an establishment’s reputation.
3. Honestly, the food was never great at Ben’s to begin with. It’s a place where all the clubbers and night crawlers of D.C. go in the wee hours of the night to get their greasy food intake before they go collapse on their beds. The half smoke and chili cheese fries are great, but now I’m realizing it’s so overpriced. Maybe their grill just isn’t as greasy and seasoned with the 5 decades of history.
Without any of the historical amenities of the original Ben’s, this place sorely lacks. Do not come here.

The worst. Decided getting Ben’s Chili Bowl would be the perfect cure for my hangover. Walked all the way over here and arrived around 10:40am this morning. The door was locked, and the woman behind the counter kept making weird hand signals. Finally, she came out and said «we open at 11am.» I responded that the sign on the door said 7am, as well as online. She simply shrugged, turned around, and locked the door.
For being new on H Street you would think they would be able to get closing/​opening times right, I guess not.

Nothing special. Food was ok but pricey for what you got. Coffee milkshake tasted like vanilla frosty. Large chili for $ 6.25 looked like the cup size. Service was good.

«Hot smoke! Hot link? …ermmm. Dang it what’s that thing called?!»
That DC «dish» my friend was trying to recall was one of the only things you can really claim to be a DC thing: the half smoke. A cross between a hot dog and kielbasa, somewhere in history, half smokes established their place in DC’s local fast food scene. You can find em all over town at those little side carts, but if you’ve got a hankering for a hefty hot dog, there’s no better place than Ben’s Chili Bowl. This institution does it all, supplying late night drunchies like milkshakes, chili cheese fries, burgers, and of course half smokes (also smothered in cheese and chili).
They also supply the chili for the occasional Ben’s Chili bowl chili eating contest. I saw a lady (black widow. What a boss.) eat 4 gallons of chili back in 2013. It was horrifying.
I don’t think bens is great value but I will certainly continue to bring visitors to this very DC establishment. You kind of just gotta.

First time at Ben’s Chili Bowl anywhere, and obviously I had several preconceived notions since almost everyone in DC seems to have an opinion about it. I was told the chili was too lumpy and bland, what I found was that it was the perfect consistency and quite flavourful. I was told the half smoke was not as good as elsewhere, and I found that it tasted just like any other. I also got a generous portion of fries that were made to order, although they could have been cooked a little longer.
Staff were friendly and quick, and so overall, the experience was great. Will go again for another late night snack.

The food is good, but the atmosphere and the people make it fun. Bria especially made my first experience a great one. She made my day.
I had the chili cheeseburger, but next time I’m going for the half smoke.

Happy to have them in the neighborhood. My problem is cost I took my kids and I had a turkey dog, veggie dog and a half smoked along with one soft drink and a shake. The cost was $ 27.50 With so many options on H street I will not return.
To the owners– The buns are nothing special for the price. Next door at the ⁷⁄₁₁ you can get a dog and big gulp for $ 2. The place is empty most nights, who are you trying to attract; the working class or high income earners.

For people to wait around in a long line only to eat this steaming pile of shit, I’m gob-​smacked.
I looked at this concoction and thought to myself — is this really what people want? Hideous in every way imaginable… 1 extra star for the camaraderie this has caused over on H street.

Came on a Monday night it wasn’t too busy
sat in the impeccably beautiful bright dining room
looked over the menu which is a little different from the one I remember on U street
ordered the Jumbo turkey dog with vegetarian chili and an order of fries I decided to add cheese to mine dog what disappointingly was cold liquid cheese and not shredded cheese on top
the fries were luke warm with no salt
and the soda selection what’s the worst
I really don’t believe that my hot dog was thoroughly cooked or should I say grilled properly
all in all what I return sure if I was drunk

Previous reviewers noted the layout and curious arrangement for picking up food with your pager in hand. All true. It’s not efficient or fun.
I’m stuck on how bad the food is. Just terrible.
Eating at Bens in the 90s when I lived in NW was never thrilling but it was enjoyable. Not now.
My half smoke and chili tasted bland and overdone. The chili was dark and shapeless and scorched. It smothered my dog not added to it. Fries were worse than usual with no texture at all.
And my chocolate milk shake tasted like McDonalds. Syrupy and bland.
The interior of Bens is blinding and intended only to highlight the restaurants supposed special place in the history of the District. Color photos and a museum like timeline cover three walls in case you don’t get the picture.
And merchandise is for sale everywhere!
What could be less charming?
Skip this place.

Same great chilli, much cleaner restaurant! I’d give you 5 stars, but $ 6 for a half smoke really is outrageous. I’ll be back time and time again though, cause y’all really are the best. Much love!

Can I say underwhelmed? The food is really a mess. I’ve had better chilli cheese fries and hot dog at Sonic. I ordered the chilli cheese fries not knowing the cheese was processed. When I realized and asked for less cheese it didn’t go over well. I was punishment by the chilli Nazi as he ordered the server to put less chili on my next order. He then scolded me saying next time tell the cashier so he doesn’t have to waste food. Well sir, what about the waste of my 15 bucks and calories. Nice location but Needless to say this New Orleans Lady is not impressed. I give it a one because half a star is not a choice.

DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE! ! Is going to be the theme for this review… i have been in dc all my life and I have gone to ben’s plenty of times when I was younger and the food tasted like home cooking and now it taste like it comes out the microwave. I got a chilli/​rice bowl and all I could taste were the beans. This is just spot to take friends or a date when you don’t want to do McDonald’s and hopefully see some famous people.

I know its known for chili, half smokes and hot dogs, but I got a turkey burger. Nasty as shid. Like a White Castle burger out of the freezer section of your local grocery store. They need to take this paltry crap off the menu ASAP. Sad in my quest to find good turkey or veggie burgers here in DC. Dear Ben, if you can’t make a good one take it off the menu. Stop wasting folks money and padding your pockets.
Oh and the folks with me who got chili dogs and smokes say that you can go to Checkers, Sonic and The Varsity in Atlanta to get better ones and pay far less. Bye, bye Ben.

Some co-worker’s and I went the new Ben’s Chili Bowl… nice location & nice on the inside! BUT the food is not good matter of fact it is horrible! We were all very disappointed with our lunch today! The food is spicy with no seasoning… very bland, the fries tasted old, the chilli was thin, cheese seemed to have been watered down… Never Again This Location!!! EAT THERE AT YOUR OWN RISK…

Once again after YEARS of not going to this eatery I see things are still the same, bland food with no taste and order completely messed up. I guess I should fault myself for going back but I try to give businesses a chance, but let’s just say I’ve never understood all the «hoopla» surrounding Ben’s Chili Bowl and trust me they’ll never get another dollar from me. If I didn’t live across town I’d take this mess back… ordered a quarter pound chili cheeseburger and chili fries, got home to the smallest burger ever, no chili, loaded with onions, lettuce and tomato and plain fries. The only thing they got right was the milkshake we ordered. Again… I’ve never been a fan and this is just a reminder why!

I totally agree with the last Unilocaler’s review about the layout of this place! You order at the register and are given one one of those pagers at 9:30 pm with hardly anyone in the place on a Monday night… why? I did notice that the menu behind the register is very hard to read without being right at the register.
After placing my order it was very confusing on where I was to go to pick up my to-​go order. I realized, without any help, that you had to go to the other end of the counter to pick up your food with people sitting right there… NOT cool at all!
The food was right on point and very consistant with the original location on U Street, but the service was kind of trained to just take orders and serve orders, not the personal touch such as the U Street location.

#horrible. I was worried this would happen… feels very commerical, franchised, fast foody. Ordered 2 chili burgers and a half smoke with. of course CHILI. Cuz who goes to Bens Chili Bowl for plain burgers or smokes. Mind you I live in PG COUNTY. Get all the way home, sit down to watch the fight and proceed to open my burger and WTF… NO F-​in chili… just a plain ass tired burger… i was sooo pissed. Never again. Only U st., for me.

Ben’s Chili Bowl finally opened up on H Street, and I can’t be more excited! Checked it out this past weekend, to see if it measures up to the original U Street location. It didn’t, womp womp.
Bottom line? I’m somewhat of a fan. It’s the same food as U Street, but this location is trying so hard to be modern. Two flat screen TVs, not much sense of history, cupcakes from some unknown bakery, and a menu on the wall that’s impossible to read. Why do they even bother with the «healthy» section of the menu?! If you’re coming to Ben’s to order from the «healthy» menu, then you’ve got it all twisted.
Apparently you order, and then pick up your food at the end of the counter (furthest away from the registers), but no one bothered to tell us that. You’d think the customer service in a new joint would be great, but the employees here just assume the customers don’t need any help. Also, there’s no designated line for the registers, so you end up bumping into everyone in the place!
If you’re around H Street, then stop in for a quick fix, or if you’re taking it home. If you have time, might as well head to U Street for the real deal. The atmosphere, service, everything is better over at the original Ben’s. No ATM onsite at this location, and you can’t order at the counter. I wasn’t blown away by this experience.

Ben’s Chili Bowl has landed in Northeast, DC! The lines was nearly half a block long and the crowd was excited to see this opening finally in the H Street Corridor. You get the same Quality Chili Dog as you would at the U Street (Original Location). I ordered the Jumbo Beef Chili Dog with cheese giving no regard to my diet. This visit I passed on the fries and had chips. The staff convinced me to order a milk shake knowing fully well I would have a comfortable afternoon. Oh well, I was All In! The floor plan seemed smaller with the line going around the venue. I overhead conversations on how long the lines were on yesterday the Grand Opening. Ok, I’m lucky my order from standing in the line to receiving my meal was less than 15 minutes. Honestly, I had thoughts it would be longer with the new staff. Ownership is making a huge effort to employ our youth in the city. Impressive to see them working hand in hand to teach them not only their position. They are showing them the business too and that’s a huge plus for me. Impacting Our Youth & the community! This location gives relief to the U St NW location and the Ben’s Upstairs Lounge is two months away for another venue to enjoy the New H Street NE, DC Corridor! I encourage you to stop by and try Ben’s Chili Bowl U St NE, DC