While attending a conference in College Park, some colleagues and I looked for a 'traditional college bar/restaurant' for a quick lunch before our meetings began. With a couple of vegetarians, some picky eaters and a wide variety of tastebuds, there weren't many options but we landed on R J Bentley's. And it was fine. We chose the restaurant because it was featured on the Big Ten Network once for Campus Eats at the University of Maryland. Honestly the food was unremarkable but good enough for lunch. The vegetarians had salads that were 'ok' there was a burger choice, some fried pickles, a crab dip and a giant crab covered pretzel. I had the nachos with chili as a main entree. It was pretty good, but the chili was a bit sweet for a nacho covering. The pretzel stole the show for me, and I fully admit to loving it. The atmosphere was exactly as expected - college bar casual. It was nice to see that, and our server was a current student. He was fantastic (Hi Cole) we enjoyed chatting with him and learning about the area, the university and his studies. He probably wanted us to leave him alone but it wasn't crowded so we just enjoyed chatting with him. He did a great job as a server and ambassador for the U. Three stars feels about right. If I was there at night for a full college bar experience I'm betting the place would make it up to four stars, but for lunch I think 3 is right on the mark. read more

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Cheap wells and amazing chicken tenders. They also have good honey mustard and burgers.

I was in College Park on a rainy day and had a hankering for some lunch near campus. I found a parking garage with an hour of free parking directly behind RJ Bentley's and saw their outdoor patio open. I was greeted by the bartender, Daniel, who also acted as my server on the patio. Burgers were half off so that was a surprise! I enjoyed the Continental Burger of Swiss cheese, mushrooms and grilled onions. A side of fries and a Coke hit the spot. My lunchmate had the Beyond Burger. Our entire lunch bill was $15. Unbelievable. I'd say this was typical bar food...burgers, fries, soda. Nothing special about it, just standard fare for cheap. The service was great and the ambiance of a local college bar was cool. read more

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I'm laughing at myself. I don't know why I thought reliving my college days by going to a bar in College Park would be a good idea. First of all, the whole place was sticky. The bar tables, bar stools, door knobs, cups. I mean everything was sticky and everything even looked sticky (I didn't know that was possible). On top of that, it smelled horrible. All I could smell was urine and a lot of random not so pleasant smells. The only silver lining was the cheap drinks. Don't be like me and try to relive your college days. There's a reason it's called your past. Lol read more

R J Bentley's Restaurant - New American Near Me - College Park, Maryland

This is basically a college bar, but not like a nice college bar like Looneys. The place looks dirty and is sticky. The service was good and the staff were nice, but the food is not good. Chili is sweet. Sweet chili is gross 1/10 Fried pickles were okay but not really good 5/10 The French dip was not good at all, just tasted bland and had a slight weird taste that I couldn't pinpoint. 4/10 Even the Miller lite draft tasted a little watered down. I suppose if you were a college kid and wanted to come here drinking it would be fine, but other than that, I'd recommend skipping this place. read more

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What a neat place. Tons of memorabilia on the walls, lots of charm between the walls. Ordered the crab cake sliders and was very pleased. A bit too much bread, but that's why they give you a fork. Fries were excellent, too. Service was quick and very friendly. Would not hesitate to come here again. read more

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As we start to tackle the college search for kid #2 I get to tackle the restaurant choices...and this will be fun. At an unplanned stop at the University of Maryland (where Wifey and I met) we decided to also grab an early lunch at one of our old hangouts - Bentley's. It actually hasn't changed much in 20+ years, which is a good thing I suppose. Service was still slow, but the food was still good. We started with some Fried pickles and Wifey and I went old school with a couple of Natty Boh's. My daughter had a Caesar salad with grilled chicken and a Grilled cheese (kid is an athlete and has the metabolism of a hummingbird); Wifey had the Lug nuts crab cakes (basically crab cake sliders); my son took a chance on the Salmon BLT; and I had the Mark VI burger with bacon and cheddar. In a nutshell, the service was very slow-especially since the place was empty. It wasn't the server's fault...food just took forever When it got to us the food was very good. Burger was a little overdone, but not ruined or anything. Crab cakes were pretty tasty and both kids liked their meals. Overall a pretty good meal...oh yeah, Natty Boh is as terrible as I remember! read more

R J Bentley's Restaurant - New American Near Me - College Park, Maryland

They force you to wear a mask but don't care once you sit down, just as you walk in the door, so they don't even take themselves seriously. That is an automatic loss of stars. Masks are ridiculous and do absolutely nothing. Nobody here and it took over thirty minutes to get our food. The food was OK, nothing that great. Bathrooms look like they came right out of a homeless shelter. read more

We had the Rolls Royce and LTD sandwich. The Rolls Royce was okay, worth the reasonable price. However the LTD was dry and not much flavor. Tables were sticky and bathrooms were questionable, but definitely had a college bar charm. Our server Jax was great! read more

Nothing in this review incorrect however Jamie, Brady, and Luis make this place the tits

My friend and I were in the area and stopped by here for a drink. Given it was 2 pm on a Friday, it was absolutely dead. Like so dead there was barely even service. The place looked closed. I guess I'm over my college drinking stage, but this place was pretty dirty. The bathroom smelled soo bad even though it looked decently clean. The prices were unbeatable though. $20 with tip for fries and two drinks! I probably wouldn't come back here again, but my college self probably would. read more

R J Bentley's Restaurant - New American Near Me - College Park, Maryland

Fun alumni bar, cheap beer, sticky floors, but if you get a table, the food is pretty decent. They have good patio seating in the front. Highly frequented by students, so can get really busy on Fri and Sat nights. read more

R J Bentley's Restaurant - $7.00, for both! In the basketball stadium it would be $9 for one! - New American Near Me - College Park, Maryland

Stopped in to get food and drinks 2.5 hours before the football game. Had to get my own beers from the bar and never got waited on for food. When a waiter showed up over 1 hour later at our table, he said food order could take over an hour and the tables next to us confirmed this. Too bad as they had a lot of customers but no help. read more

This used to be the "decent" place to go for lunch or dinner in College Park back in the 80's; they had decent food (themed sandwiches) and made a great Long Island Iced Tea (LIIT), served in beer mugs. I used to be a semi-regular, but not during the weekend evenings when the college kids line up for half a block to get in (not my scene). Fast forward 30 years and I took my daughter, now a UMCP student, there for lunch to get her acquainted with the place. The food is still ok, but nothing to shout about. I ordered a LIIT for nostalgia reasons, and it tasted like bad lemonade - *nothing* like the taste I remembered and expected. Perhaps I had a clueless bartender, but I suspect they are "going cheap" on the ingredients. Either way, it was Not Good, and I could barely finish it. Next time (if there is one) I'll get a beer. (The beer selection is ok, but don't expect craft brews. I think Sierra Nevada & Sam Adams are the high-end beers they serve.) Can't comment on the weekend evening meat market situation, but I fully believe the one-star reviews here, as I've been in the area for almost 40 years now (I work at UMCP). To sum up, it may be ok for a 21 yo to get wasted & pick up chicks on a Fri/Sat night, but for adults, you can probably get a decent sandwich & a beer for lunch or dinner. read more

Great food and better bartenders! Brady, Jamie, Jenna, Luis, and Evan make this place absolutely amazing!! read more

R J Bentley's Restaurant - French dip lug nuts on point - New American Near Me - College Park, Maryland

RJ Bentley's has over and over again been a TERRIBLE experience. The place smells like pee and puke, the floors are sticky, the service is terrible and there are a bunch of underage, immature drunks. I do NOT recommend anyone visiting this bar. The drinks are overpriced for what they are. Tonight I paid $5 to get in to this crap hole and wish I could get a refund. GROSS! TERRIBLE! No one here is even over the age of 20 it's honestly a joke. I would not recommend this place to anyone and will not be returning. I've given it a few chances due to my friends attending the local college but have been disappointing time and time again. Ugh. The money I've spent here is STUPID and a WASTE. I'm really just distraught by this place and do not wish it upon anyone. DO NOT GO!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR YOUR TIME! read more

Sometimes I feel like my college experience is incomplete because I didn't join a fraternity. Ignoring the fact that I would have never received a bid because I'm not white, loud, and don't own very many salmon-colored articles of clothing, I think it would have been fun to have a bunch of people who were obligated to be my friends and a never ending supply of mediocre parties to attend. A recent trip back to College Park presented an opportunity to turn back time and since it would have been weird to just walk into a frat house and "network" I decided eating dinner with greeks would suffice. But Bentley's took the lustre off of greek life quickly and completely. The image of cool frat guys with really white teeth was replaced with a bunch bros wearing jersey tank tops exposing their hairy shoulders and arms that look like fat baby legs. At one point a guy we didn't know started slamming his fists on our table and shouted something nonsensical / probably bath-salts related. A little later, a girl got up from her table while screaming at her three dinner companions, and stormed off, but was careful not to leave her mixed drink behind. Everyone in here acts like they were raised by wolves and all of the staff have this disenchanted zookeeper look in their eyes. The real horror (other than the fact that the bathroom was basically post-apocolyptic) is that people actually bring their parents here. It's like a cross-generational lack of situational and self awareness type thing with nachos and wings in the mix. At the end of the day I just wanted to return to DC and go back to judging people who give me a little less material to work with. read more

This place is a sub-par restaurant living off of it's proximity to the University of Maryland campus. If it wasn't for the late night bar action this place would not survive. I wouldn't recommend the food, I mean why eat from a bar that is probably barely profitable from food service. The interior is just barely maintained and the cleaning standards seem pretty lax. Late night it get sloppy, I mean I know it's a college bar but should it have to feel so grimy??? As a late night spot I never choose to come here as a first option as soon as you walk in it feels like you need a shower. read more

Bentleys is the worst bar in College Park, and I assert that with confidence. I am trying to think of one good thing to say about the place, but I can't. Lets start with service- it is repeatedly the worst service I have ever experienced. They can brag about their specials all you want, but I'll be damned if you get a server. And if you do, prepare not see them again for at least 20 minutes between requests. I went there one time with a group of friends and after ordering our drinks, our waitress disappeared, never to be seen again. We let 30 minutes pass before putting some money on the table and just leaving (we ordered a first round of drinks and didn't want to leave without paying, hence even waiting that long). I must also agree with Jim M.- the people who work here are the Home Depot in terms of tools. The food here is just as crappy as the service. I have sent food back from here before because it was cold when it [finally] came out. At night, this place still manages to suck. The girl's bathroom may be one of the most repugnant places I have ever entered. There is about a 25% chance of there being something to wipe your cooch with and a 75% chance one or more of the toilets is either clogged or overflowing. In sum, I will not come here anymore. If the people and the food suck, then what's the point? I'll get my $2 beer elsewhere, thank you very much. read more

Yeah, so this was not a great experience. I went here a while ago and long story short, the bouncer was too busy talking to his friends at the door to care about the customers and when I tried to get help, his friends started yelling obscenities and insults at me while he just stood there and ignored the situation. Also, the bar-back at the table had an immediately rude and grumpy attitude when we tried to have small talk with him. This place is sticky all over, not clean, and they have gotten my order wrong half the time I place one. Half the time I've asked for a whiskey sour, they've given me a ginger sour instead. Really disappointing service, atmosphere, and treatment of guests. If you're looking to have fun on a weekend, I think Looney's or Cornerstone are better options. read more

Wow. The other reviews are horrible. Unfortunately, I cannot attest to a bad experience. But then again, I havent had a complete dining experience since I ran in and placed my order to-go at the bar...some type of chicken burger with a crab cake on it. I thought I'd give it a try but I've decided I prefer my chicken and crab separate. RJ Bentley's more like RJ Yugo's. The place/ambiance reminded me of an ole boy scout cabin or something...with that old dirty swamp water smell. But for some reason, I was in the mood for a sandwich and onion rings from this establishment. And for those of you that consider this a "hole in the wall", I disagree. "Hole in the walls" are those corner spots that shoved an oven, register and 2 table dining room into some crappy structure. But usually, "hole in the walls" crank out really good food. Usually the place itself, from a visual standpoint would get a D but the food is like an A. This.....uhhhm, not a hole in the wall. This is just a crappy looking restaurant with mediocre (and in some cases poor) service. read more

RJ Bentley`s is my go to spot before going to class and after class. Normally arrive around 4 pm. I last two times I went to the bar I was pleasantly one of just a few patrons at the bar. I have a thing for "neighborhood" style bars. Sarah is my go to bartender. She is also a student at University of Maryland and she is the best. Sarah is always very tentative, she is friendly and make very good drinks. (Sometimes too good to have before class). I normally do not give 5 stars but I honestly have nothing bad to say about this place. The wings are. GREAT! I ordered the Honey Mustard wings lightly tossed with blue cheese on the side. I also ordered a Margarita from Sarah which was off the chain, good! The RJ Bentley is a classic sports bar. A nice addition to the bar is the wood burning fireplace in the corner of the bar. read more

R J Bentley's Restaurant - New American Near Me - College Park, Maryland

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Whether it's the smell from too many late night events or the noise from drivers stopped at the light in route 1, this is a challenging eating experience. The food is correct as the French would say, and the portions ample. Points too for giving job opportunities to college students. But, some training should come with that. Go only if you're in the hood read more

Peaceful spot to go there at a early time and enjoy the warm weather. Nachos were super good! I ordered a Philly cheesesteak also, it was seasoned perfectly. I wasn't feeling the amount of steak on the sandwich though. Double the meat please! Their fries were pretty horrible, yuck. Next time I'll go with chips or sweet potato fries. read more

R J Bentley's Restaurant - New American Near Me - College Park, Maryland

Used to love this place as a student. I brought my family here right at opening on a quiet Saturday. An hour later...my wife still didn't have her quesadilla (the rest of the food showed up around the 50 minute mark). My food (French Dip) was extremely dry. The server was polite, but come on...more than an hour for a quesadilla? I have fond memories that are better left in the past... read more

I've been a CP regular for 15 years now. Bentleys was never my first choice because it's terrible, but the employees Jamie, Luis, Jenna and Brady make this place a little haven for me and my idiot friends. 4/10 would recommend. Five stars cause I get booze now read more

I understand that most of the people rating this bar are college students at Maryland. Therefore, they spend a lot of time at this bar and have many fond, drunken memories here. I was a student at MD, so I get that. However, let's be honest about it...this place is a dump. Calling it a dive would be too generous. Where to start? I know! The bathrooms. Wretch! There is piss, vomit and probably trace amounts of fecal matter everywhere. If the line gets too long I have seen several occasions where the people pee in the sink. Whatever amount of cleaning/sterilizing they do is not enough. The only way to solve this problem would be a can full of gas and a hand full of matches. The rest of the bar cleanliness is a small step down from the bathrooms. I have actually seen several occasions where people have peed or vomited on the floors and it was not cleaned up until the bar closed. Never under any circumstances should you wear sandals to this bar! Based on the cleanliness of the rest of the bar I imagine the kitchen is pretty similar. Therefore, I would never eat at this place. Seriously, why would you eat here? The bar is always absolutely packed and it is impossible to get around. Getting a drink at any point usually takes about 15 minutes or more. Oh yeah, the dance floor is generally wet and sprinkled with shards of glass. That sounds like a good combination. For the people rating this place high, once you get out of college you will understand what a sh** hole this place is. It's disgusting. read more

Did something break here, because all I ever see here are a bunch of tools. Out of the three bad bars in College Park this is by far the worst one. Small, cramp and no fun at all. The outer area in the front is the best area in the place. You get a nice view of Rte 1 and you're near an exit. The next room over the main area always smells like puke. Someone puked there 20 years ago and they've never cleaned it up. This area is always packed and it's ridiculously hard to get a drink. The "down stairs" area is the bar next to the restrooms, meaning the bar down stairs smells like a restroom. That ain't spilled beer on the floor. If you ever walk anywhere down here, burn your shoes when you get home. Funny cause the worst part of this place is the service. The bartenders are jackasses. First, they only serve their friends. It's a bother to them to serve you. Two, if by chance they do serve you and you happen to start a tab, they put their friends drinks on your tab. A $20 will become a $90 tab in a heart beat. The DJ, yeah he's playing the same set he did 10 years ago. You'll hear the same three song cycle multiple times over a 2 hour period. read more

This place is a bar for the students of the University of Maryland. If you accept and understand that, then you know exactly what you're gonna get. During football or basketball home games, this place is filled with obnoxiously young drunks. Good luck in getting a table, service or even standing room. If you come here outside of game events, then getting a table is pretty easy if a hostess is around. The sign told me to wait to get help, but I had to walk in and find someone to get me a table. Service was fast and friendly, but remember no home game, so no crowds. Food is mediocre. It is not memorable. So go back to where I started: this place is a bar for students. read more

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This place is the move except the bouncers always reject me and my boys...I like their drinks it blAcks me out consistently. The trick is to arrive at 9-9:30pm and get a wristband, then come back and you get to skip the line. They have a nice outdoor area which is fun(if you like PG county alley parking lots, I like alleyway parking lots) Any review below that doesn't rate this place 5 stars is because they're sped Knox read more

I guess what can you expect from a dirty college town bar? Just wanted a light dinner and to chill with an old friend who is going to school here. We shared rolls royce which was essentially a reuben and a beer-- the sandwich was awful. Wheat bread drenched in butter with slices of lee budig-style corned beef (not sure if yall have this brand, it's basically the 4 for $1 lunch meat at the store in a baggie) sauerkraut, cheese, and thousand island on the side. Anyway, the sandwich was disgusting. The fries were actually ok though..all this plus a pickle and a side of disappearing waitress for $11. I felt so cheated...and the other reviewers are right..it smells!!! read more

This joint gets high marks for excellent ambiance - the front four garage doors all open up to give you the inside-outside experience. On the day we went, it was sunny and beautiful with a light breeze- so this place was perfect! The waitress was friendly and prompt. The beer selection is decent, although most of it comes in bottles not in draft form. However, the food leaves a LOT to be desired. We started with the crab and artichoke dip that is served in this great bread bowl, yet still comes with chips. However, to me the dip was pasty, did not taste good, and smelled REALLY funky. My companion - who was quite hungry - didn't seem to mind it though. For my main, I ordered the taco salad. The salsa it came with (thankfully on the side!) was awful tasting, and I didn't even end up using it. I also should have read more carefully because it came with guac, and I don't like that. The chili portion was all lumped at the bottom instead of over top of the salad, and made the taco bowl soggy. All and all, I'd skip this place unless you're looking to just hang out on a nice day and have some beers. read more

We were a group of 20 university staff members from around the country. For some reason our UMD hosts thought this would be a good place for us to have dinner one night. Worst.Decision.Ever. The evening started out ok. We were there on a Wednesday evening, and there were only a handful of other diners in the restaurant. A waitress took our drink orders. Took a little long coming back, but ok. One of the women in the group found mouse droppings in her water. Ewww. Two waitresses took our dinner orders. I ordered grilled salmon with baked potato, broccoli, and a house salad. Others ordered appetizers, entrees, salads and soup. After we'd been there for about 75 minutes, the appetizers started trickling out from the kitchen. We assumed the salad and soup course would come out next. Nope. About ten minutes later, entrees started coming out. Since two waitresses had been taking orders, the one waitress serving the entrees wasn't sure who had ordered what. That was a confusing mess. After everyone else had gotten their meals, I asked the waitress if mine would be out next. She said yes, then went back into the kitchen. She came right back out to tell me they had forgotten to make my meal! Wonderful. Everyone else at the table was just about done with their meals, and I had yet to get mine. Ten minutes later, my grilled salmon came out. It was warm, but lacked seasoning. The baked potato was cool enough that butter wouldn't melt in it. The broccoli was good though. I asked the waitress about the salads... they STILL hadn't shown up. She brought out six or seven Caesar salads and passed them out to everyone who was supposed to get one - or really anyone who wanted one at this point. I asked her about my house salad, which had been forgotten again. She asked what kind of dressing. When I told her that I had asked for creamy garlic, she looked at me funny and said they don't have that. Odd, because when I had asked the waitress who took my order if they had it, she'd said yes. Whatever. I took a different dressing. We were at the restaurant for a total of TWO AND A HALF HOURS. Management ended up comping us for my meal, plus everyone's drinks and appetizers. And those who'd ordered soup that never arrived got it taken off their bill. As we walked back to our hotel, we learned that no one thought too highly of their meal. Unremarkable, bland, flavorless, not hot. Even their Maryland crab cakes were mediocre. We all wondered how this place stays in business. read more

This place was crawling with young THOTS!! As Lil Jon and the East Side Boys would say, "From the windows, to the walls, to the sweat drops down my balls, all these females crawl, aw skeet skeet skeet." That basically sums up my experience as this fine establishment. Will definitely come back to skeet again!! read more

Everything about Bentley's Restaurant screams "college," and that's a good thing. It's a relaxing, laid back bar, serving classic "pub grub" during the day, and beer, mixed drinks, and shot specials at night. Nothing pretentious here. It's the old standby to take your parents when they show up at your place at two on a Sunday afternoon (still too early). Stick to the burgers, sandwiches, wings, and nachos. At night, the restaurant morphs into a fraternity party environment, with nightly specials, a DJ, and a sticky floor. Bentley's is responsible for countless good memories from my college days in College Park! read more

Cheap beer and decent scenery. Favorite memory was witnessing a full on dry hump on a tabletop adjacent to the dance floor. Cheers! read more

Great food and friendly service. I'll always come straight here when I visit UMD to remind me of my time in undergrad. Order the buffalo chicken lugnuts! read more

I ordered strawberry lemonade vodka and there was literally no vodka in it. During happy hours they literally dont put alcohol in drinks

Great selection of food and pretty fair priced drinks. Especially on nights when there are drink specials. Liked that they had a half off burger deal on Wednesday! I got a beer and burger for less than $10.00 read more

This restaurant is terrible when it comes to serving soft drinks. Every restaurant you go to your coke or pepsi is delivered with free refills. Our waiter delivered our first round of drinks in a glass that had more ice than coke or iced tea. Without even asking about refills he brought us each 3 refills...or so we thought. When the bill came, we were charged for 8 drinks...apparently, refills are not free, even when the waiter brings them without asking and we both got more ice than any semblance of coke or iced tea. We complained to the manager but all he would say is refills are not free. We didn't even ask for the refills, the waiter just brought them and we were expected to pay for them...never again. read more