A note: Based on my most recent experience, Ben Moore's would receive 1 star. But I'm rating the restaurant based on the two times I've been there, which are described below.
My boyfriend and I went yesterday to check out a special they had - "Free dinner with purchase of alcohol". It sounded like a good deal. The food was set up buffet-style (spaghetti and meatballs, rolls and fruit) right inside the door. Hungry and thirsty, we walked into the bar to find someone to buy a drink from. It was crowded and there were no employees to be seen. After wandering around for a bit, trying to decide whether to sit down or wait at the bar for someone to come back, we ended up at the bar. Eventually an overworked, grumpy bartender showed up. He took the order of a woman who showed up after us, then the order of a man who showed up after us. When the man pointed to us and said "They were here before me", the bartender looked at us for a moment and then began tidying up the bar. There we about 5 other people in line, and we stood there for several more minutes. Then the bartender left. We went to look at the food again to see if it was worth staying for. I decided to try a piece of spaghetti to see if it was overcooked or not. Of course, I dropped it into my hand right as the disgruntled cook walked in with meatballs. He addressed me as though I'd stuffed a big handful into my mouth:
Cook: You have to have a plate to eat here.
Me: Oh, someone is finally talking to us.
Boyfriend: The bartender wouldn't take our order.
Cook: You have to wait your turn.
Boyfriend: We did, but there's no one to order from.
Cook: Just wait your turn.
So we left. I don't recommend going to "free dinner Monday", if they even still have it. They are highly understaffed and the staff they have are rude. If you're really hungry, patient, don't mind crowds and only have $5, go for it. But I thought I was all those things and it was a big flop.
We also saw 4 other people leave after trying to order, unsuccessfully.
--------------------------------------------------Â-
Okay, on to why I'm giving this restaurant three stars.
I went here a few months ago and some of the food was really good (some, not so much). The salad was iceberg lettuce with watery dressing - yuck. I ordered chicken cordon bleu for an entrée and it was surprisingly good. 4 stars good. My boyfriend's dish was equally tasty, but I don't remember what it was. When we asked what they had for dessert we were told "today we have vanilla ice cream". It should have been a red flag, but we ordered it anyway. It tasted like it had been in the freezer for a year. Service was spotty, but the waitress was nice. We were seated in a room at the back of the restaurant that others have spoken of in reviews. It was dark with a fish tank and possibly some insulation rolls in the corner. I was looking forward to a return visit - until the "free dinner Monday". I will not be returning to Ben Moore's. Even if I like the food, I make it a point of not patronizing businesses where the employees are snobs.
We found Ben Moore's staff to be very rude and unprofessional. Â We had purchased a $10 gift certificate online to be used at Ben Moore's. Â The certificate said it was good for lunch, so we came on Saturday around noon, and the server informed us that this was "brunch", not "lunch", and therefore was invalid, in a very rude way. Â We then came by in the early afternoon and was told that they "just don't accept gift certificates in electronic format, even though the website that we bought it from said that they would. Â So, finally, we went and printed it out, and by that time, their "lunch" was over, and they STILL refused to take it. Â We are never going to patronize this business, which is a shame, as it is such a beautiful, historic place.
Review Source:First plus: it's a piece of Oly history, and the decor shows. Â I'm not sure how long they've been in business, but they have photos from before I was born (the photos date from 1949). Â It hasn't been updated in years -- hence the charm -- but it _has_ unfortunately been redecorated since the 1949 pictures were taken: the bar has lost some of its then-deco charm.
But on to the food. Â They offer a full menu, and so lunch items are not all that's on the list. Â Interestingly, an old (and uncommon) American favorite was on the specials list the day I was there: liver and onions. Â I was tempted, but had arrived with a burger in mind, and was not (too much) disappointed:
I ordered the bacon cheeseburger with fries, and everything (with one exception) on the burger was stupendous: the burger was perfectly done, juicy and pink in the center with lots of tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, etc.; but the only discordant note was the bacon, which was burnt and reeked of a scorched scent.
On the downside, the fries will please those who like those from Five Guys: that is, they're limp and laden with grease, but not at all to my liking.
Still, there's much to like here: the history, and some of the food prep. Â I am absolutely not writing this place off after one visit despite some less than stellar remarks, and look forward to another visit to compare notes.
2 stars for the food which was the best part about this place. When we walked in, we were very untheusiastically greeted and then brought by the open "kitchen" through a dark room back to another dark room with funky old furniture and candles for ambience. We immediately noticed the stacks and stacks of boxes in the back corner of the room which took up half of two walls. Next to said boxes was a Leonardo Davinci lookalike playing piano. On the other side of the room was a large aquarium with one lone fish, next to that was an old table of some sort with old insulation stacked under that. My boyfriends son went looking for the bathroom and instead found an open room filled with stacks and stacks of file cabinet drawers and old picture frames leaning against the wall. I did not use the bathroom but I was told the men's room was covered in graffiti, the toilet paper was unreachable from the stall because it was just sitting on the bathroom counter, and the garbage can was a white 5 gallon bucket. my boyfriend & his son (who is 10) went together and his son was afraid to be in the bathroom alone, it was that scary. For a "Olympia staple/funky jazz bar" with decent food, you would think the owners & staff would pay attention to the appearance of the place and maybe think, this may not look good to potential customers. It felt dirty and like nobody gave a crap other than making sure people paid $18 average for a dinner....a dinner you eat while staring at the wall of boxes in the corner and a waitress that cared more about cleaning tables than providing service.
Review Source:I had to try this place, since it's an Olympia institution. I went in for brunch and ordered the tomato catsup and vodka Bloody Mary that I'd read about. Nope. She said they ran out of mix. I ordered the razor clams and eggs. The eggs were okay. I mean, how can you mess up eggs? The clams were rubbery and overcooked. The booth we were in had tears in the benches, and my seat wobbled like a seesaw. I guess they aren't going to put any money into this place to keep it up. What really surprised me about this place was how dirty it was. The table had coffee stains, the floor had stains all over it, and the bathroom was gross. I love hole-in-the-wall restaurants with great food. This isn't one of them.
Review Source:My wife and I dined here last night. Service was extremely slow. It was a good 20-25 minutes after we ordered to get our dinner salad. The entrees came 15 minutes after that. Considering the volume of customers, that seems excessive. I ordered the razor clams with a baked potato and she ordered a steak with baked potato. Evidentally we should have gotten there before 6:45 because I was informed that they only had ONE potato left. I let her have it. She probably wishes I hadn't as it was cooked on one end and hard as a rock on the other. The clams were good but temperature-wise they could have been warmer. I would go back to take advantage of the happy hour 9-11pm menu of a burger and fries for $3.75 but won't spend more than that. I could have gotten a much better meal at the Outback for my $50.
Review Source:Michael is an amazing chef. He is a big wig chef from afar that wanted to do something great in Olympia, but he could have done it anywhere. He has his family working the front of house. Its the coolest place in town. Political dialogs with young urban scenesters and older greying coots, all to a warm sultry jazz background. No TV's, no obnoxious fake cheery employees. Its like the cool family you never had. Catch Tom tending bar midweek and careful listen to his humor. Its brilliant. Marcy will remember anything she ever sees or hears. Once someone asked her what the cities fax number was.... she rattled it off like it was her own. I'm telling you, if you respect this place, it loves you back. Its wonderful.
Review Source:Good Northwest/American fare at a good price + drinks at a very reasonable price + an Olympia icon = 5 stars
the dinners run the gamut from a northwest favorite, razor clams, to an American traditional such as NY steak, all tasty and value priced. Â The breakfast is is the best value in town, a full meal (hangtown fry to bacon/2 eggs/hash browns/toast and more ...) that always satisfies.
The happy hour special (also a late night version too) in the bar is awesome. Â For 3.50 you can get a nice sized burger with a heaping helping of fries or fish and chips. Â The drinks are always a good value but even more so during the happy hour.
If you are on a budget but want to leave fulfilled then Ben Moore's is your place. Â If you are looking for good food then Ben Moore's is the place.
I've eaten a lot of lunches here and been to the bar only a couw of times. To be clear, I would prefer to go here because it is a local icon and not some out of town chain up the street. Â But... some might find lousy service endearing and rude waiteress what give it it ambiance, I simply call it bad service. Couple that with a sence of uncleanliness, uncomfortable seats and mediocre food - I really wish this was a better place. Like a lot of downtown bar/restaurants I just don't think they care.
Review Source:It's historic, it's dependable, and it's pretty good... but not very good.
Stopped in for a late Sunday Father's Day brunch after Sage's had run out of food and New Moon had just closed. Service was cheery, bloody mary was very standard, and the food came quickly. The food had a couple issues though... they were out of gravy, so Father had to seek a different item. Both his eggs and mine were overcooked considering what we ordered and the hollandaise was kind of meh. All complaints aside, it should me noted that they have fried spaghetti on their menu, which sounds just weird enough to be excellent.
With so many other excellent breakfast options in town, it will be head to Ben Moore's again, but I'll certainly be there for the nice bar and other food.
I should give Ben Moore's a better rating since it is a mainstay of Olympia. Just for that alone I would recommend going but really I only go when I want a quiet drink. All of the old pictures of Olympia are pretty great and the mass of games is excellent when you want something to do with friends. I'm just left with mixed feelings though because there are other bars in Olympia that are simply better.
Review Source:Ben Moore's is great. Â Do they still put out bowls of condoms on the tables in the bar?
Little known fact-The characters of Patty & Selma from the Simpsons are loosely based on the surly female bartenders that have worked there forever. Â Matt Groening went to Evergreen and hung out in Olympia-you'll notice lots of Olympia area stuff on the show.
Um, well, I didn't love this place. I liked it. It was a decent breakfast, but I didn't love it.
One of the diners with me said her biscuits and gravy were cold. And I didn't see any non-pork breakfast items, so I carbed up. It was good. This  is home cooking style and every once in a while that is shiznit, but I couldn't imagine it becoming a habit.
Ben Moore's is like four restaurants in one. Â You got your barstool counter, your small-town, 50s-style booth area, your rowdy bar area, and your white tablecloth back dining room. Â All sections have their charm, but how do they decide where to seat you? Â Based on whether or not you use the word "ain't" and/or scratch your privates while asking for a table? Â It's certainly not based on attire. Â In a ballcap, down vest, and ratty jeans, I was seated in the dining room with the church group and the golfers. Â Thankfully, I was neither saved nor clubbed. Â Hee.
The service at Ben Moore's is excellent and the food is adequate. Â The bacon is very, very good as is the blue cheese dressing. Â However, I find two problems. Â Problem #1 - The hours. Â It's fully outfitted as one of those places where you can grab food after a late movie, pub crawl, whatever. Â BUT the kitchen closes at 9! Â And when I pass by during the day, it's often closed. Â I didn't visit for the longest time - because the door was locked. Â
Problem #2 - The drinks are way too strong. Â After two bloody marys, I was seriously teetering. Â I'm pretty sure it was vodka with a half teaspoon of ketchup and a squirt of tabasco. Â A place like this should have an excellent tasting, big, salt-rimmed bloody mary with their own secret house mix using horseradish (or something) and garnished with lots of veggies. Â It should be like a side dish that goes along with your burger or eggs. Â And it should not include enough vodka to make you want to lay down under your table.
Their breakfast sounds good, but I'm not an early morning person (especially not after drinks like those) so it's unlikely I'll ever check that out. Â Oh... Problem #3 - They don't serve breakfast all day. Â I'd like to give this place more stars, it being an Olympia institution and all, but the basic diner food wasn't quite good enough to get me there.
Mary had a little lamb....then I ate it.
Ben Moore's is a lot like that stalled out car on the side of the freeway that slows down traffic because everyone is trying to crane their heads to see the carnage and mutilation, but really the car just got a flat tire. Â Benny's just isn't all that great to look at, but for some reason you can't stop the staring.
By this I mean that the restaurant is pretty unremarkable in its ambiance and appearance. Â Midday jazz plays from the kitchen as we sit in a well worn booth with the tiniest water glass in the world awaiting our food. Â One of today's special was a lamb burger; strangely enough it was exactly what I was in the mood for and didn't even know it. Â It was tasty, juicy, and lacked the sub-par greasy standards of neighboring burger places. Â
Unfortunately they were served with fries that weren't worth a damn. Â Why can't places get hand cut fries right, perhaps I am confused, are they suppose to be a soggy, grease laden mish-mash with the consistency of eating a sweaty shoe's insole? Â Give me the crispy fries that stand at attention before you plunge them head-on into a glob of ketchup, the crusade must start now, no more flaccid fries!
Despite that the burger was spot on and would return for another. Â I am also intrigued by their diverse menu which offers thing not normally found downtown such as geoduck (when in season) and croquet madam. Â I have heard many a ravings about how great the razor clams are and plan to try then the next time they are on special. Â Despite Ben Moore's outward appearance it's my opinion that it is worth slowing down to ogle it with your taste buds.
As the Dinosaurs of Olympia's past become extinct there is still one place that has that old feel left in it bones. After one of my favorite historical establishments The Spar, which was established in 1935, recently became a McMenamin's. I find myself being drawn to Ben Moore's more and more. It still has that old Oly feeling to it.
The current building that Ben Moore's resides in was built in 1929 and was originally a club and became Ben Moore's in 1984. Sure that's not much history but they haven't forgotten the past like so many of the other places in this town. Maybe it is the giant picture covering one wall of Oly circa 1948 which is pre Capitol Lake and pre I-5. Very cool. Or any of their old art work. Or perhaps the pianist sitting in the corner. It just feels old, warm and comforting like a hug from my grandmother.
The restaurant doesn't have a really eye popping entrance and has no windows other than in the front of the building. However they do get some natural light through the two huge skylights in the bar and main dining area.
They have a pretty decent sized menu with fried foods, steaks, seafood and pastas. They are a little spendy though but I find it well worth the price. The few items I have had I have really enjoyed. The Fish and chips should not be missed. Sure it's only cod but the batter is light and the pieces decent size, the fried oysters are good and I have had numerous mouth watering steaks here.
So last night I went here for dinner and I am still thinking about Bacon (which I'll be honest isn't exactly a new thing I mean come on its BACON) and the reason is I had my first burger here. The Bacon Cheeseburger to be exact.
It came with mayo, crisp lettuce, tomatoes; thick crinkle cut pickles and a whole slice of sweet onion. The patty was thin but flavorful and cooked medium well. The Cheddar was melty perfection as it should be. Now about that Bacon. Two big thick redwood size slices cover the whole burger. You get bacon in every bite and that makes this guy happy. Typically at other bars/restaurants you'll find two spindly slices covering maybe half of the burger.
Now the fries that came with it were natural cut. Some of them were crispy others a little limp and soggy. Normally soggy fries bother me but not these ones and I couldn't figure out why. Maybe because they tasted really good dipped in my side of tarter or maybe because I could tell that they in fact used to be a potato.
Ben Moore's will continue to get my business for as long as they survive the change and growth of this little town. For multiple reasons one of which is in hopes that I don't have to once again see another piece of Olympia fade away.
Our knitting group of 20 and  30 somethings meets here every week in the bar. It's truly and Olympia icon, and represents the relaxed, casual, slightly zany vibe of downtown. Most of us have a beer or glass of wine, many of us grab some dinner before getting to work on our scarfs and socks. Their cheeseburgers are legendary, the chicken marsala gets rave reviews, and their fish and chips is quite tasty. If you're there at the right time, you can even get home-made pie.
It's not just greasy-spoon food here, and the interesting space always provides plenty of fodder for conversation.
I'm not from Olympia but I was passing through and...
I wanted a place to have a cheap beer and I found it, $2.25 PBRs, the waitresses all had interesting attitudes but the regulars that came and went were all cool and it felt like the customers were almost family. They had a piano player in the dining room and a cool fish tank.
I really liked the atmosphere of this place.
The last stop on my way out of Olympia was Ben Moore. What a great little place - old, funky, full or character! They've got a bar in the back and a sign made from a Scrabble board and tiles, who wouldn't like that kind of place? Â
I had Hangtown Fry which is like an oyster (fresh!) frittata. It was awesome!
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