Ben Michael's Restaurant

First time here. I am traveling through New Mexico. I just stopped for a bite to eat.This place is very unusual... the chef is the owner and his food is delicious.I say unusual because the food is a cut above what you would expect ...this place has live jazz on Tuesdays. It's fairly small but the food and coffee are fabulous. He made a bowl for me with pinto beans, organic squash, delicious pork, with some cheese on top. Very flavorful.The coffee was basically a cappuccino. Very good.On my way back I can't wait to try his ribeye steak and a world famous margarita. It says in here he tales credit cards but he doesn't. However he tales checks and cash. I didn't have any cash on me so I wrote him a check That's the first check I've written in a long time LOLI definitely recommend this place 100%

What does a pharmacist turned restaurant owner who is literally a one man show do when his name is the restaurant? If you are Ben Michael, you are the host, waiter, bartender, chef, bus boy cashier and entertainer. Cash only. Entrees are $15-$33. The guy is literally amazing as his friend says, Renaissance man who whips up the Southwest dishes. But if you are lucky and not in a rush, he opens his piano for a little sing a long. If you come, be prepared to wait for the check, but you'll leave smiling.

We came here for dinner before the holiday stroll. We were happily surprised that there was not a huge crowed and my partner joked with me that I had not been here before. I really enjoyed coming here. Ben Michael was there, he made some beautiful flower garlands from his garden, played piano with a patron, and made sure that each person enjoyed the food. Everything was freshly made, organic, and delicious. I will definitely be back. It is cash only, but completely worth it. There is an ATM close by so it is easy.

You know I haven't written a review in a while, so I have to give it to Ben Michael....thank you for pulling me out of my slump!Unfortunately not for the right reason. One star is for the live music, one star is for the food and patio.You know I've been able to support a a plate sale a few times, whether for someone in a tough financial spot or trying to pay medical expenses, always for a cause you can feel good about. That being said, plate sales are never about the food, but just supporting the family. Somehow I felt the same way, minus the feeling of you doing something good to help someone in need. The food was fine, grass fed burgers and wild caught shrimp. All from the Costco freezer section. But is that why you go out to eat? For items you can easily buy and prepare yourself, not me. Save your money and make it at home. Now if you just want a beer and listen to music, this is your place. Customer service was bad, worst part it was from the owner, I assume is the gentleman manning the black-stone outside was pretty rude and very rigid. Not the kind of qualities you want in a service/hospitality business. 1st thing- he did was tell me "don't be picking at my S&!#" as I tried to grab a few onions and tomatoes for my burger. This was right after he told me condiments are right here, help yourself. The tomatoes and onions I guess didn't fail under that category even though they were right beside the "condiments" Once he realized my confusion he said "oh my bad"Do you want some more? 2nd thing- he wouldn't allow any furniture moving in the patio, so if you have a larger group and you want to move the table 2' closer you will get a "No, they're set where they're set" 3rd thing- THER'RE CASH ONLY!!!!! This minor irritation would probably roll off me normally, but when you're that unprofessional with you customer USING PROFANITY, it's adding to the reasons not to come back. On top of that he proceeded to tell me "do you have anything smaller than a hundred when you just bought $50 worth of food and drink" Sad 1st impression, go to Sawmill across the street, better value, more options, and owners won't use profanity with you. If you really want the Ben Michael's experience without the irritations, light up your grill in the back yard, slap on some Costco grass fed burgers, and play some easy jazz on you portable speaker, you'll have a better time I promise!

So I went to Ben Michael's tonight, it was my second time there, I went for my friends birthday, and I'm glad I did. The jazz musicians were awesome, loved the old school New Mexican theme. Ben michael got himself an old traditional New Mexican adobe house, and transformed it into a restaurant himself! It really made you feel at home, no pun intended! :) I feel like many people who were there were regulars snd I saw a lot of them even seemed to know each other, it had a very quaint vibe to it. Ben Michael himself is a really nice, social, and really cool guy all around once you get to know him. But I wanna touch on why you guys are seeing the negative reviews about him. So, you gotta understand he has sort of a unique personality, the minute you meet him he might joke with you in a way that you think is rude, he's treating you as if you're familiar to him. My friend gave me a heads up so I knew that as it was happening, but he warms up to you and you can tell after a while that he's a super friendly guy just has an interesting way of dealing with his customers. You see at ben Michael's, when you step foot inside, be prepared to be treated like you're at his family party and you're one of his cousins, uncles or brothers, that's the way he will communicate. It's important to know this and be okay with it before you go there. Also he's a little sensitive about his cooking, he gets his feelings hurt from what I've been reading, but luckily I liked everything I ate and I had no reason to make any comments or else I would probably experience what he would be like in that situation lol. The picture I attached was a Scratch made key lime pie with peach jam made with peaches grown by the restaurant owner himself! This taste nothing like store bought or most restaurant key lime pie so if you usually don't like key lime pie you gotta try his version of it. He had a buffet today I forgot to take a picture of it, but normally you order from a menu but he had a big turn out for jazz night and we went with buffet style. Something you should know about this restaurant is there's no real menu, everything always changes and ben makes everything fromScratch, organic, locally grown and sourced.

We had a long day learning a plaster technique at American Clay, we decided to come and enjoy a dinner at Ben Michael's. What an absolute treat. We had an amazing caprese salad (with homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers, and mozzarella). Then we had their delicious enchiladas that came with calabacitas (squash) and beans. Their margaritas are top-notch as was the flan and key lime pie. Very reasonably priced. Plus, the owner (Ben Michael) was awesome. He played some piano for us. He made us feel like family. Annette, from San Juan Capistrano

F food is good. It's really nice you like the people they're really fun, blah blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Such a lovely small restaurant. Very friendly staff, the feel was very homey and the food was fantastic!Note: be prepared they are cash only

The most unique, entertaining, delicious experience. Ben Michael is a one man show, and a show it is. Hope you take the time to get to know the man. We were privileged to meet him and enjoy his food, and his stories. We were a 2 top until Ben Michael prepared himself a plate and joined us for lunch. Doesnt happen every day. Then he popped open the old piano and boy oh boy. If you go.... dont be in a hurry. And be open to whatever comes your way. You wont regret it.

Went on a Saturday night and one guy is there doing it all. The front dining room was closed off so you had to eat in a smaller side room that had a few tables and one high top. There was a smaller heater on that had the room super hot. After seeing a piece of pape menu, depressing hot room and one guy doing it all we left.