Ben Ben Restaurant

A cool hot pot spot in Berkeley featuring individual mini hot pot, Qing dynasty "Pork Tripes & Chicken soup" base, all-you-can-eat menu with vast variety, a spacious round-table party room with karaoke, and ample free parking right at the door.Good for groups small or big, or by yourself, or with kids. Friendly staffs keep you feel home and cozy, besides already feeling warm & joyous behind the steam of those mini hot pot

We were here this Saturday and they had severe shortage of food. More than a dozen customers had to line up in front of the fridge multiple times to compete for the portions that are only enough for 3-5 people WHEN THEY DO REPLENISH FOOD(more than 50% of the time the fridge was basically empty). For any "fancy" (beef tripes etc) items you ordered, you had to wait for an hour plus to get THE EARLIEST ITEM (yes, just 1 item) that arrives.They replied to my review on Google basically saying that they are ENTITLED to charge customers the full price (for an AYCE experience) despite the severe food shortage and the ridiculous long wait. You can eat nothing when we serve you nothing but sorry customers, you still have to pay the full price!

Decided to do date night with the hubby and have passed by this place a few times and decided to stop. The food is very good. The service was good as well. The cuts of meat are fresh and tender and once you add in things from the condiment bar you can really make your hot pot as flavorful as you'd like.

So I am torn between a three and a four, on one hand, I do like the fact that the hotpot is very homey, like how we used to do it when I was a kid. But on the other hand, some things should not be put in the hotpot. Pro: Self-service Sauce BarQuality of sliced meat (beef, lamb and pork belly)Personal pots that heat up quickly.Con: Everything is self-served (bowls, water, etc).Some cuts and veggies are not hot pot choices (cubbed steak, iceberg lettuce)Limited choices and no description in the app for phone ordering.For the price ($28 for AYCE) and service, it is nice but there isn't any interior redo from the previous restaurant. The tables (6 top) are a little weird, as some have 6 burners but only 4 chairs. I wish there were other veggies like bok choy, chrysanthemum leaves (crown daisy/tong hao), more mushroom choices, and fishballs with roe. Also, some apps would be nice. I did like the sliced Beef #1, lamb, and pork belly, but there were cuts like cubed beef that were tough after cooking. The veggie plate had thinly sliced lotus root which I liked but I can't stand cooked iceberg lettuce. It is a very Chinese thing, but I rather have many other cooked veggies.

I came back and was disappointed to see some changes I felt were negative about my experience. I was sad to see there was no improvement in the meat selection and quality, but also that the oxtail broth changed from a more tomato like broth to a standard beef broth. This is also a very calm restaurant, so if you are looking for a lively atmosphere, this is not it. There was a piano tune on repeat for hours.

Not a local so don't come after me! At first I was hesitant but WOW AM I GLAD I ATE HERE! All you can eat! All the toppings minus the red meat is self serve! You order the broth and what meats you want, then you go on and grab all the toppings you'd like. From noodles, to sea food, to veggies. They also had a hot area with chow mien and Chinese bbq (defs recommend) we had a large group so we were at a private area. Staff was so friendly! Such a fun hot pot experience.

Good shit brother I love the way you have the hot pot and the effort is phenomenal to the food and I could have given me hivs or aids. Gg man

Great food, great and easy service. Staff were friendly! (though there was slight language barrier)

Great service !! The waiter was super nice. Food was some of the best I've had. 10/10

workers were actually so sweet and nice, and kept checking in on the customers. they kept asking if I wanted more meat which was very good. nice atmosphere, enough room for my party of 40 people. someone also did not pay by accident but they waived the fee which was very cool