Disgusting food went one time with boyfriend and never returned. Restaurant was dirty looking too, we likened it to nursing home type food. Not surprised it shut down. read more

I've been wanting to stop here. It's a cute restaurant that serves typical diner style food. It was all as expected. Clean place.

I happened to be on a fishing trip close by at Deer Creek , but had planned to catch lunch at the Lodge! Unfortunately, lodge was down due to renovations! I lucked out in finding this place , but they were close to closing! They had 2 daily specials, but I went the simple route ordering a bacon cheeseburger and fries!I got it fast, fresh,and very tasty! Truly handmade patty and looked like mom made it! Service was attentive and very friendly! Everything reasonable in price, will return soon ! read more

Simplistic yet delicious. The food is simple and does not go above and beyond with creativity, yet as mentioned it is really freaking good. Their seasoned fries have the perfect amount of crisp and came out hot. Their Reuben sandwich was proportioned with ingredients that one didn't overpower another. They have slices of pie and a buffet. Our server was great! I believe his name was Tyler? He was friendly and checked on us often. Even when we were through with our meal and stayed chatting Tyler made sure our drinks were refilled. It was a nice stop to sit and relax for a few after spending the morning at Deer Creek. read more

We were looking for a place to celebrate Mother's Day and my dad found this place about 30 min south of Columbus that was having a special buffet lunch for Mother's Day that included a drink and roses for the mothers. I'm glad we had reservations as this place was packed for lunch. The buffet had many choices, one of which was the fried chicken. It went fast and they were constantly bringing more of it out. There were times that we had to wait for more fresh fried chicken but the wait wasn't too long. I loved the choices on the salad bar, and the price was perfect for what was offered. We were stuffed and thoroughly enjoyed our meal I would highly recommend going here, and it's not really that far of a drive. read more

We found out about a Mother's Day buffet and drove 35 minutes to get to this place! Each mother received a rose, which was a nice touch. The restaurant itself had three large rooms attached to one another, like overflow seating. We ended up in the far room, which was fine with us because it was less crowded and farthest from the buffet line. The buffet had lots of good classic American dishes on it, very old school, like the food your grandma cooks. Of course, Joy could be your grandma - it was fun to meet her! At one point during our dining experience, she sat down at the piano and started playing some hymns. That doesn't happen every day in the city. Maybe in Mt. Sterling, it does! The fried chicken is evidently what everyone goes for. A few times while we were there, they had a wait time on more chicken coming out! Everything I tried from the buffet was delicious! There was beef and ham in addition to the chicken, salad and toppings, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, basically everything you'd expect from a classic American diner. The bathroom was probably the tiniest single person bathroom I've ever seen, but it served its purpose! read more

Very good breakfast! Fresh tasty food! Clean! Friendly waitresses! Just passing through, but hope to return.

Ben & Joy's is A-OK in my opinion. It's one of those staples that's been around Mt. Sterling for quite a while and is frequented by locals looking for a quick bite. It's a small buffet setting. You walk in the doors, seat yourself, and while they do have a menu for specific entrees, most folks just head up to the buffet, which varies from day to day. The chicken here seems to be the big winner with everyone, but the kitchen staff neglects to keep the buffet stocked sufficiently, so I suppose, you should be here during peak times in order to not risk having no food on the buffet. Buffet offerings are typical country home cooking fare -- Green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, chicken noodles, Fried Chicken... etc. They also have a smaller salad bar with cold fixings, and some sort of weird mixed jello-y green salad that a lot of people freak out over. Should you still be hankering for something to satiate the sweet tooth, they do have pies here that change daily, but I would not recommend, unfortunately. Not certain if our pie was old, but the meringue was a bit.... rubbery. The place is really a throw back... whether this is good, or bad... I have yet to decide. There's some mention of an 'Angel room'. I have yet to see this element of kitsch spectrum, but it'll be on my bucket list the next time I visit Mt. Sterling. It's ok, but nothing to go out of your way for. Great for locals, or if you're passing through and not looking for anything fancy. read more

The buffet was delicious... the fried chicken is to die for... I'll never drive by without stopping again!

Ben & Joy's is HANDS DOWN, my favorite Sunday afternoon spot for a buffet brunch. Brief history: I found out about Ben & Joy's one Sunday while producing a Walmart commercial in the area. I was searching for a mom to be in the spot who was from Mt. Sterling, Ohio. We decided to meet at a store that unbeknownst to us, was closed. The only other open establishment was B&J's. Walking in, the room was full of family style tables, chock full of locals in their Sunday's best attire from church service. All packed in for the famous Ben & Joy's fried chicken Sunday buffet! We got a table, and for me it was an instant classic! For $10, you can eat as much as you want! The marque item is the fried chicken, which is some of the best I have ever had! I ask for honey and hot sauce which I like with mine. The family recipe is a light salty batter. They bring a 600 hotel pan out of the kitchen chock full of chicken every 10 or 15 minutes. The rest of the bar is a familiar salad bar, mashed potatoes, brisket, noodles in gravy, and steamed veggies. There are also home baked pies and a la carte items as well. I give Ben & Joy's a 5 STARS for the chicken and atmosphere, which is all you need! The rest of the food I would rank as average buffet offerings, but seriously, the chicken is so outrageously good, there is no need to even think about the other things on the buffet table. Like Thanksgiving where it is all about the stuffing and gravy. Who gives a rats behind about the carrots?!?! Other than the chicken, what makes this place so special is the fellowship inside. The first time I came in, I was so touched by the atmosphere, I asked who was behind it all and the waitress said a woman by the name of Joy. I asked her to send her to my table if she had a moment. A few minutes later a beautiful senior came up to me and introduced herself as Joy, grabbed my arm, and whisked me from the table. She gave me a tour of the kitchen, showed me the staff, and brought me to EVERY table and introduced me to practically everyone in the restaurant. She knew everyone by name, and there must have been close to 100 people eating like maniacs, all chicken filled plates, from an all too familiar Sunday service fast just waiting for that great meal. I felt like I had just been invited to someone's family reunion. So perhaps it was that love i tasted in the food, or the service towards her neighbors that Joy and her family tend to, and maybe it is the family recipe too. Maybe it was all of those things including my wanting to be a part of something larger than my regular Sunday routine. I have been back to Ben & Joy's a number of times and they treat me like family every time I stop in. It's a little bit of Sunday fried chicken heaven you should not miss out! When you go, do yourself a favor and say hi to Joy, she's amazing! ~ Keida Mascaro read more

Ben & Joy's Restaurant - Sunday fried chicken buffet with hot sauce honey! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Mount Sterling, Ohio

Every Memorial Day my man and I go to visit the family graves. We have to drive through Mount Sterling every time and we try to eat at a different place each time. Sometimes we do not get anything other than the Dairy Freeze, as it is the only thing open on the holiday. But this holiday we went on Sunday, not actually on Memorial Day and we had a choice of several places that were open. We decided to try out Ben & Joy's and we are glad that we did. It was Sunday Buffet, yummy. My man tried everything and liked everything, a couple of things were missing some seasoning. I had very little due to having a hangover from the night before. But I did have the mashed potatoes with gravy and corn. Both were wonderful, I did have to add some salt and pepper but it was still great. I also had a fried chicken wing that was great, even an hour later when I could actually eat it. It is like stepping back in time. The decor appears to be original and from the at least the 1950's. That being said it was still as clean as you would expect for the bygone era but it was not dirty. You could tell that the place has been there for quite a while. Everyone was very nice and there were all types of people eating, so I do not feel that they do not accept certain kinds of people like another reviewer stated. We sat ourselves and the few staff there were there were nice, even if they were quiet. The staff did not come to the table every few minutes, only two or three times during our whole meal, it was very pleasant. Unlike some more recent\newer restaurants where it seems like the staff wants to be your friend and sit down with you or pester you eight times during your meal. read more

I work in the Mt. Sterling area and have had a few sit-in business lunches at Ben & Joy's. Up until today, I have never had a problem and enjoyed the service/food there. Unfortunately, I will not go back. Today I walked in to get a to-go buffet and the waitress handed me two boxes. A large and a small one. I filled the larger box and as I went to fill the second smaller container a woman (who I am told is the owner) came up behind me and said "You can't do that. You can't do that." I asked her what she meant thinking that I had done something so wrong as to warrant a scolding from an employee and she told me that the small box was for cold items only. Nobody told me of this rule. There were no signs and the waitress that handed me the box never mentioned it. So, for the woman to act as if I was stealing directly out of her pocket was uncalled for. She then made me dump the food that I had put into the smaller box already back into the food sitting on the buffet. This was done in front of everyone in the establishment. That's disgusting. Then I heard her mention to the waitress who was checking me out (the same waitress who handed me the box) "I'm glad I caught him" Very unprofessional and humiliating experience. My thoughts are with that very cranky woman. read more

Went here for dinner with a large group. The service was great as they were very accommodating. The menu if fairly simple, but it has everything you want in a small town restaurant. The buffet and salad bar were okay. I wish there was more variety in the buffet options however. It has fried chicken every night and a second rotating entre. The night I went it was bbq ribs and they were good not great. read more

Ben & Joy's Restaurant - Buffet - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Mount Sterling, Ohio

They don't even ask you if you want extra drinks they just automatically bring the drinks to you and then they charge you for all those extra drinks your not realizing that you're being charged so for a single meal depending on how many drinks they bring you they could be up there over $36 just for extra sweet tea read more

At one time a few years ago this was my favorite place to eat in the state of Ohio I scheduled work around Mt Sterling on Friday just for the perch on the buffet. But the food has gone down the tubes. The buffet is not kept up and the last time we were there my wife sat down and I went to look at the buffet. A waitress came over to the table, looked at my wife and said "I guess you expect me to wait on you, dontcha". Needless to say my wife wrote the place off immediately. It took me a while longer. I don't require good service but the food has to be good and at Ben and Joys is just isn't anymore. read more

Ate lunch here a couple weeks ago and although it was good I miss the buffet !

Quick detour found this lovely restaurant, pleasantly surprised to find out that they where in the middle of their buffet special for lunch! lots of southern comfort foods with a salad bar option. The fried chicken was amazing! Friendly staff & costumers. read more

Ben & Joy's Restaurant - Yummy ! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Mount Sterling, Ohio

So...if you are looking for fancy or gourmet, you really should go somewhere else. This place is nothing more than what it wants to be: friendly folks serving good food at a real decent price in their home town. There's just not many places like this around anymore. Relax, chill a little, and enjoy it! It's old fashioned because it is - not some corny imitation of old fashioned. This place is always good and sometimes it's just what the doctor ordered. Go! read more

Had breakfast here while visiting Deer Creek. Food was relatively good, though nothing fantastic. Just very ordinary breakfast fare. Real issue was the less than enthusiastic waitress. She wasn't unpleasant but definitely was not the least bit interested in conversing or even faking at being happy to see new faces. Perhaps they only want the locals to eat there. read more

Bang for your buck: 8/10 Quality: 7.5/10 Service: 9/10 Ambiance/Location: 7/10 Overall: 7.5/10 read more

This place is just awesome. My husband and I went out to Deer Creek for a quick getaway and the restaurants at the State Park Lodges are not that great so we always try to find a little locally owned restaurant in the area to try. This one is one of our favorites so far. We were greeted right away. We went at 10am on Sunday and there was no wait. My coffee was never less than half full. The food is delicious My eggs were cooked perfectly and their home fries are different from anywhere else I've had them but they're seasoned so well and crispy on the outside but tender underneath. Oh and it just had a certain amount of small town charm. It smelled like my grandmas house at thanksgiving. And since they don't use a computer system, every so often you hear "order up! "Order in!" Overall, it's just a charming little place with good service and great comfort food. We'll be back soon to try their cream pie!! read more

The food was great. Service was friendly. Loved the vegetable soup and the pie was great (we had the lemon meringue, peanut butter and Coconut cream pie) I think we might come back for dinner :-) read more

Stopped in to Ben and Joy's haven't been there for quite a few years the chicken was very good baked steak our waiter Tyler was excellent very friendly and efficient young man! Will definitely return!!! read more

The best fried chicken, and just a short drive from Columbus. They had a dinner buffet. The star was the fried chicken, and the usual buffet fare played well. The coconut cream pie was divine, with an excellent meringue. The service is friendly and welcoming. Did I mention the Fried Chicken? read more

Very good, especially for a small town. Waitstaff very friendly, the decor like stepping back in time - just the kind of thing small towns are known for and exactly what we were hoping for - very charming. You can order off the menu or take advantage of the hot & cold buffet - and I was VERY impressed with the buffet. Standard small town fare - good old meat, HOMEMADE mashed potatoes, several vegetables, two different kinds of HOMEMADE bean soup, etc. You could shut your eyes and swear you're eating your grandma's cooking. We loved it. The salad bar wasn't fancy either, not a huge selection but I wouldn't expect it to be - the restaurant obviously knows its usual clientele and does what its good at and that's a good thing. Bravo! We'll be back! read more

This restaurant is disgusting!!!! I will not be back the staff was rude and there was hair in our food not just one hair but more than one!!!!! The only nice person was our waitress Lisa!!!!!! This was absolutely horrifying to take our out of town guest to!!!! The owners will be aware of the issues that they have!!!! read more

Very friendly service and great food! Love those little mom and pop Restaurants not to many left

My husband and I pass through Mt. Sterling regularly, so we decided to stop by and try this place since the reviews were good. For the first time ever, Yelp led us astray. We gave the place two chances, and both were terrible. The first time, I got the taco salad. It was not on the menu, so I asked the waitress what came on it, and she had no idea. She said all she needed to know was if I wanted salsa and sour cream. My husband got the open faced turkey sandwich. The food came out pretty quickly. The "taco salad" was huge core pieces of lettuce, a small scoop of taco meat, a few tomatoes, and a small handful of cheese. There were stale corn chips poked in around the edges. By the time I picked out the inedible pieces of lettuce core, there was barely anything left. My husband's open faced turkey sandwich looked ok, but it was quickly evident that it was made with instant mashed potatoes and canned gravy. We gave it a second try a couple of weeks later, and were equally disappointed. I ordered beef & noodles (the Thursday special & reason we stopped in) and my husband got a chopped steak. There were no beef & noodles, the waitress said they don't have those anymore and that they need to change the menu. When I asked for the ham steak, she said she hoped they had it. I also got mashed potatoes and when I asked for country gravy, she said they had the white kind with black specks in it. Anyway, the ham steak was just ok, but the gravy was canned and the potatoes were instant. My husband's chopped steak was a frozen hamburger patty. Also, both times, the service was bad. Both servers were clearly unhappy to be there and refills were difficult to come by. Needless to say, we will not be back. I am truly puzzled by the reviews, as we tried the place twice and did not experience anything that might make us want to return. read more

Great food but unfortunately you have to fight for it. They never have the buffet stocked and are never on top of replacing what they run out of. We drove 45 minutes to get there on a Friday night and the restaurant full of people with about 3 items left on the buffet and people were sitting around waiting for them to restock it. Our waitress came up to us and asked if we wanted dessert and we said no we were still waiting on the food to be brought out. We left the restaurant after about an hour and they still barely had anything on the buffet read more

One of the worst hamburgers I have ever had. The $3 order of fries was barely a handful. What a joke.

I know that the restaurant has had a change of ownership recently so I am not sure if that is the reason for the poor service. I went there on a weekday afternoon and there were a few other customers. I ordered the special and it took twenty five minutes to arrive. I finally asked when my food was coming. During this entire time, one of the cooks was visiting with the other staff. Why didn't she take her break later after the orders were caught up? The food was O.K. but small portions. The icing on the cake was when the waitress could not be bothered with saying thank you something similar. read more

Ben and Joy's is one of the best small town family restaurants you will ever find. Joy is one of the most Loving and Caring person that you will ever meet and her personality cares thru all of her help. The Buffet is all home made and if you are looking for a chicken diner "Wow". The Chicken is done in a Henny Penny cooker and it turns out as good if not better than Broasted Chicken. Joy keep up the good work... Love you. Jack & Susie N. read more

This is a great place. Stopped for lunch on a road trip. We felt welcome with warm and friendly greetings. The buffet had fried chicken and Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies, salad... everything tasted great, just like homemade. Recommend highly! read more

They serve breakfast all day. Standard fare breakfast just what you would expect and that's not a bad thing. Wait staff friendly and quick on refills. Would recommend. read more