Ben’s Kosher Delicatessen Restaurant & Caterers

Worst customer service experience I have ever had at a restaurant. I have gone here for years, but after the way my family and I were treated we will never return. I went on a Sunday afternoon with a party of 7 (6 of which were there) and the 7^th member was on the way and we knew their order. The restaurant was ¼ full. Empty tables EVERYWHERE and plenty of staff. They refused to seat us until the 7^th member arrived. This is the «rule» which they re-​iterated several times. We have two small children and I would have no problem with waiting if the restaurant was busy/​full. We spoke to two managers (one named Allen) who were both dismissive and rude. Food was served cold but wasn’t even worth saying anything. Don’t waste your money on this establishment! They don’t deserve to stay in business.

First time at Ben’s. Finally. A real New York deli in south Florida. Corned beef is sooooooo gooooood.
Traditional half sour and sour pickles and thin stredded Coke slaw sooo good too. Monday night line out the door for dinner or was it because of Presidents’ Day?
I’d definitely go back …

Are they really refusing orders for pickup due to Super Bowl? Turning down a guaranteed income from a regular customer?

This place is the real deal. Is that an authetic kosher delicatessen, with all the traditional dishes. I had mushroom barley soup which made me want to cry it was so good. The meal starts with a huge bowl of fresh coleslaw pickles and rye bread complementary. The omelettes were impressive. The corn beef sandwich was worthy of the picture. The waiter was fun and the décor is classical deli, but really clean, with fun signs and posters all around. It was a most enjoyable experience. Our infant grandson was with us, and they accommodated his needs as well as ours. I cannot recommend this place more highly, and will go back as often as I am in the area.

The «Double Dip» was awesome… a bowl of matzoh ball soup and ½ of a corned beef sandwich. Wash it down with a Dr. Brown and you’re in deli heaven!

Really good food & lots of it. EXCELLENT coleslaw. Nice atmosphere but booths are way too tight. Tables much better. Service pretty good but our waiter could have been a bit more attentive but I’d definitely go back for the food.

Ben’s Deli and Restaurant is New York! Being born and raised there, I know about NY food. This is one of 7 restaurants with all the others being in NY. I of course had my favorite hot pastrami on delicious rye topped with Russian dressing and the best creamy cold slaw. They also give you a side dish of cold slaw and one sour and one half sour pickle! Love it! I also had my favorite Dr. Brown’s black cherry soda. I had to bring ½ of sandwich home… it was huge, so delicious. Great service too. Fast and efficient. The best thing is Ben’s is only 3 miles from my apartment. Don’t go any place else if you want a taste of real NY food!

Love the Pastrami (not too lean) and the derma but the fries not not the best. I have been here 50 times and will be back 50 more times. Very nice people working behind the counter.

We were very excited to try this place out based on reviews. However, it was not what we had hoped. The meat on sandwiches was very dry and not flavorful. Also, the men behind the counter went out of their way to be rude. It’s not worth the wait in line.

It makes me sad that this spot doesn’t have very good food.
The big problems are the attention to detail — like flavoring things or serving them hot. Particularly the matzoh ball soup is a disappointment.
It is a great scene for bocas retired community though!
Free pickles and slaw also a good time. But it’s all downhill from there.

Best Deli in south Florida by far! Amazing sandwiches, delicious cole slaw, wonderful meats!
Great service.
Very clean.
Great Russian dressing.

Service excellent! Prices are decent, cole slaw very good, pickles only 2 styles.
Ok, having said that, corn beef dry and tasteless, don’t even order a potato knish because it was cold and bland. The derma was very good but my dessert was stale.
Folks this ain’t even close to anything I have had in NY but what would you expect we are 1000 miles away! Kosher? If it is, I sure didn’t see the rebbe! There has to be better and the Only reason I gave it 3 stars was because of the friendly service. Katz’s deli in NY has nothing to fear from Ben’s

I am a native of Manhattan, I know from Deli. This place was deli.
We went here on my birthday (23÷04÷15) It was great. The server was very friendly & highly efficient. The food was delivered promptly & was DELICIOUS. The pickles could have been a bit more sour, but that is a matter of personal taste, they were plentiful none the less.
The Pastrami was outstanding as was everything else.
The prices are not bad, not cheap, but you get what you pay for.
The place is VERY clean, and cheery.
I highly recommend this deli.

It’s not two stars. It’s really two-​stars plus, or three-​stars minus. I’ve never eaten at Ben’s, or any place who’s URL starts with four (4!) w’s.
I’ll keep this one quick. My wife went to meet a friend for lunch today. She brought me back a corned beef on rye, along with some po salad and cole slaw. The meat was just OK… a little tame for my jaded NY Metro taste buds. It would have been OK but for the so-​called rye bread. Are you kidding? This bread was crap. It was like white bread with a few caraway seeds thrown in the mix. Positively awful and a real bring-​down. This only reinforces my view that bread in Florida is all crap.
How would this be: when I get down here in December, I’m going to bring a loaf of real sandwich rye from Pechter’s bakery in Harrison, NJ. I’ll bring my bread in and ask you to make my sandwich on my own bread. If I want to be really mean, I’ll distribute my Pechter’s bread to other diners and ask them to use my bread for their sandwiches. It’ll start a riot.
Maybe my next career will be as a rye-​bread baker in Florida. I’ll clean up! BTW, the pickles are only meh, if not feh.

1^st, a rant about what seems to be half of my reviews I have given on Unilocal for various places disappearing. Ben’s being one of them. With that said, I will try and give the shortened version here.
The food is fantastic. The quality and taste is the best around. What stinks are the people. You know what I mean and who I am talking about. The short ones with walkers, etc. Rude, selfish, and obnoxious. If you can deal with hundreds of them swarming the place at nearly the exact time so that they can take their medication on a full stomach by 6, then you will enjoy the entire experience. If you hate New Yorkers, head to Too Jays… just dont call it a deli.
Most recently I had the Matzo Ball soup and black and white cookie, both to go. (no way I’d spend a second longer than needed there past 4pm). Very Very good. The broth was flavorful. Of course it was not salty (see comments about the short walker touting groups). The matzo ball was soft and had a great taste. It was most likely cooked in broth. A lot of places I’ve been to cook it in plain water. When you bite into it, it is bland. This one was very tasty. The cookie wasnt that wonderful. It seemed a little hard. The «black» side was really good. It tasted like fudge actually.
So all kidding aside, this place is perfect. Nothing is bad there, other than the jerks who fill up the place.

In my book, Ben’s is one of the best New York /​Kosher /​Jewish style deli’s outside of New York. Is it worth a 30 minute wait to get seated? — YES
The meat is amazing and flavorful. I, being a purist, got a corned beef and pastrami on rye with cole slaw and Russian dressing. DELI HEAVEN.
We also got some Knishes, potato pancakes and bowls of Matzo ball soup.
All were great!
As you’d expect, you get a bowl of both sour and dill pickles and they’ll keep em coming until the sun don’t shine. (Err. You can get unlimited pickles during dinnertime as well.)
If you’re not feeling a huge meal, a pro tip is the half sandwich and soup combination. The hot matzo ball (if that’s your thing) will warm you like a hug from the inside.
Check out Ben’s if you’re in Boca!
(Ed: This review is from ’13, not ’15 — cleaning up my drafts folder…)

Awesome service. As some have mentioned in the reviews below, they serve you unlimited pickles (two different kinds, the normal kind and a less pickled one that tastes more like cucumber) and unlimited coleslaw. I’m not even a fan of coleslaw but theirs was pretty darn tasty.
We had a pastrami sandwich as well as a kasha knish. It was my first knish ever :). The pastrami sandwich wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either. I added plenty of mustard. It’s a pretty good spot for their coleslaw alone: p

I’ve been here a number of times when visiting family in South Florida and I consider it to be one of the best delis in the country, along with Katz’s in NYC, Brent’s in LA and Stage in Detroit.
Perhaps what I enjoy the most is the free and bottomless cole slaw. My family generally goes through two or three bowls of it. It’s just awesome.
I typically go with the Double Dipper which is the half sandwich and bowl of soup combination. This past Sunday night, I went with the hot pastrami and matzo ball soup (which they don’t charge extra for).
I’m a big fan of their matzo ball soup. The consistency of the ball is just right– not too firm or too airy. There is also a generous portion of noodles in the soup whereas some delis like the famous Canter’s in LA don’t include any. The broth is always delicious.
And their hot pastrami is excellent, of course. The meat may not be quite as good as Katz’s or Brent’s but it’s still the best in town, and it just happens to be Kosher too. Their rye bread, however, is really what stands out. It’s possibly the best and freshest rye bread I’ve ever had and I always end up eating a couple extra slices from the complimentary basket they bring to the table.
Minus one star for their new dill and old dill pickles which both have a strange funk to them. A great deli has to have great pickles. I’m always a little disappointed that theirs don’t hit the spot.

Good for Kosher. Always a crowd. Chicken soup with Matzoh balls are great. Good Jewish favorites. Just a little limited for my taste. Not a fan of the crowds. I must be wrong and the crowds must be right?

Oh, matzo ball soup, I could eat you every day. And I’d be really huge, but I’d be happy!
Ben’s matzo ball soup is terrific. The corned beef on rye was very good. The cole slaw and pickles are yummy!
I did get a latke last time that was so dense, I couldn’t really eat it. An anomaly? I’m not sure.
Also: The black and white cookies? Heavenly!