Yall don't sleep on this lil gem of a restaurant. Ben Franklin Nistro has been around for a while and have always served up great food and a cozy atmosphere. Well, it'd been atleast 15 years since I'd been in. There is a wonderful new owner that actually worked with me as a barista a long time ago. The food was delicious like I always remembered, the service was pleasant, and the place was still cozy like I remember. It's nice that our little town of Clinton has a place to grab some quality bites. read more

Everyone is very polite and friendly! The atmosphere is calm and peaceful. The food i ordered is so light but filling. read more

Ben Franklin Bistro - Amelia Earhart - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Clinton, Missouri

This is the reason to detour off the highway and go through downtown Clinton. Terrific breakfast and lunch bistro with unique and tasty offerings. Mainly sandwiches with interesting spins, but soups, burgers, salads and desserts as well. Fresh and delicious, with unusual takes ingredient-wise. Great old 1890s building, eclectic and inviting. Wife had sandwich and salad, I had sandwich and pasta salad. UPGRADE to the pasta salad over the chips...you won't regret it! This is not a fly-by-night operation. Been here 25 years, and the proprietor has been running it the last 13. Truly one of our best meals recently. read more

Wonderfully creative menu. Quirky but comfortable dining area. Great tasting sandwiches and pasta salad. Extremely helpful staff. Found this on Google when looking for somewhere to stop on our way from Kansas City to Springfield. This is going to be one of our regular stops from now on. read more

Got 3 sodas and was charged 15$. Smh. The staff was also extremely judgy and rude. Also extremely dark and unwelcoming

Te peanut butter pie was one of the best PB pie I have Bert had. I would very much recommend this bistro. We also had the soups flight wonderful soups read more

Not great food. Not great service. No one in there on a Saturday morning for breakfast, should tell you all you need to know.

Loved this place! So cute and cozy- I had the quiche which was amazing! I highly recommend this little bistro.

I had the Clara Barton salad and it was good. Husband had the Ben Franklin sandwich and he thought it was really good. Overall I would recommend but there was no toilet paper in bathroom and we mentioned it and I waited before going to give them time to restock but they never did so paper towels were the answer. The worst part was the soap in bathroom. I used two squirts and when I left the perfume smell was so strong we both could not stand it. Went to Walmart to wash hands there. Smell still super strong. Bought lemon juice and Clorox wipes. Perfume smell still there. Now we both have headaches. read more

What a find! A great variety of excellent sandwiches. Our waitress was wonderful. The older building was fixed up so nice. I would definitely go back again! read more

They have great food and desserts. Also they have coffee and wonderful scones and cinnamon rolls. Service is excellent and love to go there for lunch with a friend read more

Great service, great food, and my dad got the coffee with mocha and can't stop commenting on how outstanding it is!

Cute place. We had a Ruben and a quiche and salad. Ruben lacked meat and was sloppy to eat with too much sauce. The flavor was good however. The BLT quiche was good. The salad was good but portion was quite small. read more

Really cute little breakfast and sandwich shop. Loved the various gift items, lots of fresh pastries and lovely staff. Stop by and check it out. read more

Ben Franklin Bistro - Inside the Bistro - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Clinton, Missouri

See all

Coffee was good, the pancakes were hard and cold. ??? How can you screw up pancakes? Well, they did. Waitress was friendly enough, but I won't be a returning customer. read more

This place is amazing! Never fails to impress. And the workers there deserve some praise too. Super nice! Fast paced too.

Very good food and service. It is priced just right. Located on the great Clinton Square.

Really great food! Service was great, cool building. Wish they had a decaf coffee/tea option, but water was fine. Highly recommend. read more

Ben Franklin Bistro - Three Egg Breakfast - already partially devoured! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Clinton, Missouri

See all

I was so disappointed when I picked up lunch today. I got the chicken salad sandwich which was thrown on top of some stale bread and it tasted off. The chicken was not fresh. To top it off, it had a brown pickle slice on the side. Per their menu, the sandwich is supposed to be on top of Hawaiian role. Never coming back. I threw it away read more

My friends and I were on our way to Lake of the Ozarks for the weekend and stopped at my favorite restaurant in Clinton, the Ben Franklin Bistro. We had a YUMMY lunch! My favorite waitress was on duty and was her usual friendly, hospitable self, keeping us laughing and making sure we had a lovely time. Our meals were all fabulous: I had the Santa Fe chicken quiche (delicious!) and salad, and my friends each had the Amelia Earhardt (roasted vegetables panini on naan). We thoroughly enjoyed everything! The ambience at the Bistro is homey and welcoming; it's filled with antiques that are artfully displayed, and the architectural features (including the high ceilings) have been lovingly preserved. I've been coming to the Ben Franklin Bistro for a few years now, and I'm never disappointed. With great food, great staff, and great surroundings, I'll keep coming back! read more

What a pleasant surprise the Bistro was for lunch -- on our way to the Lake of the Ozarks. So much better than fast food -- fresh baked breads and desserts! Honey had the "Paul Revere" chicken, grilled red paper with basil pesto on grilled naan, and I had the "Joe DiMaggio" - a ham and 3-cheese grilled sourdough with sun-dried tomato pesto. Both were fabulous!! Creative and diverse menu, and I'm sure there is not 1 bad item! Looking forward to our next time thru Clinton Square. If you're going thru Clinton it is worth the 3-4 minute drive to roll through the square to visit. (Ps: it is in an old Ben Franklin Store --5&Dime -- with original ceiling and wooden floors. -- nice touch!) See you soon!!! read more

Really cool place! Been here a couple of times. Food is good, service is pleasant and the place is really unique!

Neat little bistro in an old building on Main Street. The breakfast menu is rather sparse, the lunch looks like a better selection. My wife had the French toast and bacon, I had the eggs, toast, hash browns and bacon, definitely recommend read more

I was driving thru Clinton around lunch and wanted something other than the chain fast food places. Ben Franklin was downtown and fantastic, I actually had the Ben Franklin sandwich, made fresh and very large! Great lunch spot! read more

We stopped for lunch on the way to Kansas City. The food was great. The service was top notch. We will be back! read more

See all

Had Chicken Fiesta Quiche and Creamy Tomato Bisque. Both were delicious! Looking forward to coming back and trying more of their very creative menu. The only negative was the annoying too loud and tinny Motown music on a very low-quality speaker. Didn't fit the charming antique vibe of the place at all. Would recommend something like an acoustic or coffeehouse chill playlist from Spotify. read more

The Reuben sandwich is on point! My husband ordered the Humpty Dumpty (burger with an egg). It looked amazing and he said it was really good. Friendly service and a cute place. read more

One of my favourite places to eat lunch! Had a wonderful lunch today, the service was fabulous and the food was delicious.

Love the downtown eatery. Wonderful sandwiches, quiche and daily specials. Service is terrific - always make you feel at home! Great place to have a 1:1 or small meeting at the antique' surrounding the space. read more

When I was a little boy, say five or six at the most, my grandmother and I would go to Ben Franklin's, which at that point was a general store. She would hold my hand, and walk me over to the stick candy, let me pick out a sweet treat, then we'd leave. Some thirty years later, every time I walk into Ben Franklin's - now a fantastic little bistro that Clinton really, really needed - I still think of sweet treats. And I think of how much my grandmother would have loved this place. I've since moved far away from Clinton, but Ben Franklin's is always one of my first stops when I come home. For breakfast, they have many different food options from heavy to light. My personal favorite is their breakfast burritos; they're full of flavor, not so huge that you'll feel disgustingly full when you leave, and they are really, really inexpensive. Lunch is quality at Ben Franklin's, too. I had an excellent chicken salad sandwich on a croissant - the croissant was soft without being mushy, and the chicken salad had grapes in it, which is exactly how my Mom makes it and my favorite type of chicken salad. Did I mention that they have free WiFi, too? You will likely really enjoy the decor here, too. The tables are an eclectic mix of styles - some old, some new. There are beautiful old quilts on the wall, and every kind of antique something-or-another you can think of. Tip: Many wall hangings are for sale, and priced quite reasonably for antiques. The best thing about this place? If I could only pick one? The coffee special of the day. I've had a lot of coffee here, and the specials never let you down. I've had mint chocolate lattes, Snickers bar lattes, hazelnut vanilla capuccinos, and more. When you walk in, look at the big chalkboard behind the counter for the coffee special. You have my word that you won't be disappointed. Ben Franklin's is a gem in Clinton - a great place to grab some hearty food, good coffee, and just take a moment to wind down and relax. read more

Fantastic, you should try it! This is a cross between a tearoom, a bank building built in the 1800s (with15 foot metalclad ceilings), and a fantastic New American restaurant. It's a spacious couple of rooms with a really cool old bar; place is just filled with antiques, quilts for sale, and collectibles. It looks like my great-grandmother's house. I had the quiche and salad; it was delicious. The Queen Kamehameha was also unique and really great. I wish I had room for the desserts; they are made here on the premises and look really great. They didn't have it today, but they said their carrot cake was good. I don't doubt it a bit. read more

Ben Franklin Bistro - Saturday afternoon at 1:45 PM - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Clinton, Missouri

Nice & quiet breakfast joint with a slimmed down & focused menu. Friendly...recommend you come check it out. read more

Ben Franklin Bistro - Great little breakfast spot! Small but focused menu & burrito & pancakes were great! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Clinton, Missouri

See all

This place is wonderful I wish I lived closer so I could try a new sandwich each day read more

Traveling between KC and Branson? Meet your lunch stop. It is worthy. Sandwiches, salads, and coffee (they have an espresso machine and they know how to use it). But to a high standard. As always, chicken salad. Delightful chicken salad. read more

I must say, the best coffee and scone I have ever had in my life...and I am super snobby about baked goodies. Scone was actually soft and amazingly flavorful. I also ordered a Fireside and it was by far much better than any Starbucks coffee and even better than some of the local cafes. Great place, I will stop in every time I am in Clinton! read more

Can't rate it because it wasn't open Came through and darted off the main highway to enjoy a good cup of coffee. Website Yelp and trip advisor all claimed they were suppose to be open but they were not. There are no hours on the building to tell you if this was an out of the ordinary occasion or if they are just not open on Mondays read more

Wonderful food - surprisingly gourmet sandwiches - latte' not so good... not bad but not good. read more

Ben Franklin Bistro - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Clinton, Missouri

Underwhelming. Had to search for the chicken salad on my sandwich. Bread to meat ratio would have only justified 1/2 sandwich. Were definitely not prepared,as there was no soup for the day and their advertised pasta salad was not made either. We arrived at NOON! They were also waiting for tea to finish brewing. No thanks, there are surely better places in Clinton. read more

Another small town treasure. We were looking for a chill lunch place on our long drive up to Kansas City, and Ben Franklin's Bistro was the perfect place to relax and stay for a while. It doubles as a coffee bar and lunch shop, so it gave me the vibe that I was supposed to take my time and bring a friend to chat with. Open, friendly atmosphere in the heart of old town Clinton. I ordered the Sausage Pesto pizza on Naan bread, super fresh ingredients and exTREMEly delicious. Highly recommend this place to people driving through, a great pit stop for lunch! read more

This wonderful locally owned coffee shop is great for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The super structure was at one time a Ben Franklins Five And Dime. The original ceiling, floors, as well. Some fixture as still present. It offers wifi and a bar top if you choose not to sit at a table. While inside you can shop the many antiques that are for sale and placed throughout the dinning room. The food is good (not amazing) however you will get a quality dish that for the price really works. Going with there Bistro theme you can choose from over a dozen sandwiches. My favorite is the Queen Kamehameha which features a fix of apples, honey nut cream cheese, and smoked turkey on a sweet Hawaiian bread. Along with a full dinner menu Ben Franklins features a solid wine list that is a challenge to find in a rural area. Tips for the owners: Get Splenda for your tables, the pink stuff is so not used anymore. Get a better brand of in house coffee. Talk to your food distributer and ask for a high end institutional brand. Add plugs for laptop users Add another side beyond chips and pretzels for lunch items. This place is very quaint and worth your dinning dollar Xoxo DearDanna read more