Ben's Chili Bowl, Washington DC

It's not the same but still good I use to go here back in the 80s when Mr. Ail run the shop on u street when they where installing the green line when the windows were foggy

The food was everything I was expecting after seeing Ben’s on TV! The half-smoked chili dog was delicious. It was perfectly built so every drop of chili ends up in your mouth and not all over the place. It was worth coming to on my visit to the DC area.

Got the halfsmoke, with chili and onion which was really good, i am going to ask for more onion next time, a bowl of their chili, it was so good and comforting, and whoever makes their coleslaw, to me its what i always look for in slaw, sweet, fresh slaw taste with soaked in "slaw sauce" i am a saucy guy. Cant go wrong at Bens Chili bowl, friendly staff and they were quick too. Ill be heading back soon to try their vegetarian things.

Excellent chili dog, very friendly and helpful workers. The sodas are a bit pricey and it could use a bit of maintenance.

Yo ppl be out here talking like this is the it spot. The food was terrible. The specialty is chili but the chili tastes like it's canned. Even the desserts are trash

Bens is always great, but this time my son was traveling with me to look at colleges & I was able to introduce it to him.

Overrated over priced over salted politicalized swill. Back in the day it was a great place for a half smoke chili dog. Now. Not so much. The half smoke from the cart at the corner is much better. No chili but no line but 1/2 the price better flavor. Still. Its a Tourist haven

So the turkey chili was really good! The burger was cool and the fries were super. I would give a 5 star BUT my first bowl of beef chili was horrible. It was thick like a gelatin goop/paste and really dark brown with a bad after taste. I talked with the manager and he switched me to the turkey chili. He had someone taste the beef and confirmed it wasn't right. Not sure the reason but he said he was going to scrap the rest. I was there around 6: 45 and they close at 8. Kudo's to the manager listening to a customer! Anyway not sure what it usually tastes like but I will stick the the turkey from now on. Teenagers loved the Oreo milkshake. The turkey chili is the one almost gone and the beef had the onions on top.

It was ok. Arrived at 11am by 11: 05 went back to the car to wait for them to open up. Chili was pretty boring. Spicy smoke was good and spicy. Fries were hot:). Soda machine was messy. Wouldn't eat here again.

Iconic DC joint. A half smoke is a great local dish. Don't forget to ask to get it split and grilled. They have other offers on the menu like burgers and shakes. Quality food with authentic local flavors.

I'm sad to say that we were not thrilled with the food. I'll know that the restaurant is a local favorite. It just didn't satisfy our tastes.

Bought what I thought were regular beef hotdogs but seem to be a Lil Spicy or maybe it was the chili unsure. Customer service was nice and they are very pricey.

All I could taste on the Chili dogs was the salt, chili was nasty too. I got home and my stomach was sick until the next morning. I wish I had something better to say about this place.

Place was packed with customers.tons of history on the walls.and the food was outstanding.was really special to eat the same food my favorite politicians have dined on.great experience.

Ben's, although a staple, is over rated. Over 18 bucks for 2 half smokes and drink. Better off at the Weenie Beenie in Arlington. (Also a staple!)

There’s something to be said for historic eateries. The beautiful mural on the wall outside, the many photos of famous people dining in with the half smokes and cups of chili smiling with the owners, and the clearly heavy traffic in and out of the door. Pretty easy to see why Ben’s Chili Bowl is such a famous spot to grab a bite in the DC area.

Ben’s Chili Bowl sits on “H St NW” in DC if you look at the actual road name, but they have added signs all around the area that tell you that you’re on “Ben’s Chili Bowl Way”. The old school look and feel of this place was right up my alley and we came fresh from the Zoo and hungry! We decided to order the famous half smoke with chili, onions, and mustard as well as a cup of chili and the fried chicken sandwich. We altered the chicken sandwich to more reflect the style of Popeye’s or Chick Fil-A with just mayo and pickles. Figured it would give us a better gauge in the Chicken Wars.

The ambiance here is great. The employees were all jumping around and very friendly. The lady who owns the business was there and we got to chat for a moment, she was very nice. All around you are photos of people who have dined here, signed jerseys of pro athletes, and other nostalgia celebrating the history of the business.

Starting off with the half smoke, this is a killer dog. It’s not even really a dog so much as a sandwich I guess. The feeling was a mix between a smoked sausage and a fried hot dog. It offered an excellent snap and a truly different but delicious flavor. The addition of the mustard and onion is a must for me if you’ve followed any of our other reviews/videos…but how about that chili.

This chili was fantastic. Very smooth consistency and just enough bite that it added to the sandwich without overwhelming it. I love spicy and this level of kick was just enough that it made this a really welcomed accompaniment to the half smoke. The chili cup on it’s own was fantastic as well. We were dipping crackers and chips into it and the crunch and saltiness added to the chili was very enjoyable.

The chicken sandwich was quite good as well. It was a few chicken tenders that they used but they were high quality tenders with very good flavor and no stringy, sinewy type connective tissue parts at all. The flavor of the chicken with the mayo and pickles immediately made this a sandwich I’d put against a Chick Fil-A style establishment.

The Super (Chili) Bowl!
So happy that we took the advice of a few of our followers (as well as my girlfriend’s brother) and stopped in here. Everything was fantastic, the service was high quality, and the prices were reasonable. Looking forward to stopping back in next time we’re in the area. Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington, DC – Didn’t Suck!

Please check out our video for Ben’s Chili Bowl on TikTok!

Rude staff, overpriced bland food ($8 hotdogs) and the longest wait time for such a simple business. Such an old DC staple, too bad they are so terrible now.

The wait times at this place are ridiculous, they have a full staff and it literally took an hour to get two chili dogs and an order of fries