Ben's Kitchen in Blaby

Excellent Tapas night at the Lancaster Arms - great food from Ben Knowles 👍

Taste Sensation! We were delighted to sample the delicacies on offer at the Lancaster Arms in Desford on Tuesday night. The whole evening was nice and relaxed - the staff were welcoming and helpful. The food itself was as good as it looked (which is to say absolutely fan-tas-tic!) A whole platter of delectable portions perfectly presented and dutifully eaten. Looking forward to coming back and having some more!

When contacting Ben to request some menu options for a corporate office opening celebration I knew he was the right choice! Ben came straight back to me with full details and recommendations, he was friendly and more than happy to help me make the decision. He came to do a site visit to ensure he had everything covered on where to setup, where to serve and ran through with me all options he could offer. Ben was in touch prior confirming numbers and ensuring we were ready to go. On the day of the event Ben was wonderful! I was rushed off my feet and he just used his initiative and got on with it! We had chosen a gourmet burger menu and wow what a great choice! The burgers were amazing, salad and toppings galore, more sauce choices than I knew existed and fries! It was so so tasty the compliments came flooding in from all! Ben ensure he had catered for all dietary requirements (as vague as I was!). I wouldn’t hesitate to book Ben again for another event and even search for his pop up’s at local restaurants as his food is just amazing!! Thanks Ben for such a great successful Open day!

Don’t often leave reviews but we had the most fantastic Sunday lunch. Every element was flavoured and seasoned to perfection which is so rare for restaurant Sunday dinners, we all left saying it was the best we have had. Staff were attentive and very polite. Looking forward to the next one!

The best Sunday dinner we've ever had! Absolutely spot on and had a lovely family meal. Thank you 😊

Friendly staff and lovely food, got served probably the biggest piece of tuna I had ever seen!

Visited on Saturday. Burger unfortunately tasted very cheap, no flavour at all. Portion of chips was decent. My mum had the light lunch pie, appreciate this is going to be a smaller portion however it was literally a slither of pie, no more than 3 mouthfuls. Left a lot to be desired at £13!!!

Had Sunday lunch in the past which was good , latest experience was not good , waited an hour for expensive soggy burgers, just beef and cheese no salad no sauce just soggy buns and beef, chips didn't come out for another 15 mins... Expected a lot more for a 16 quid burger, basically a kids meal that came out

Disappointed that they had a large party and could not fit us in, as the kitchen could not cope.

Brilliant place went to wedding reception and been for Greek night both amazing food is A1

Food was amazing and very good service. Definitely worth a visit.

Went for a birthday lunch, the food was delicious, the young lady that served us was helpful. My only complaint was that it was very cold in the room.

This was the best Sunday roast we have ever had! All the staff were brilliant and the food was amazing. We will definitely return to try the rest of the menu

Delicious food and presented really nicely! Loved the mushroom and truffle soup. Would definitely come again. Lovely staff and great service! Only marking one down for atmosphere as seemed quiet for a Friday night need more people to go!

Bens kitchen is a must do! The food is pub classics done splendidly and done the way the dream of when thinking of your fave pub classic! The steak was our favourite, I favoured the Stilton sauce over the pepper corn (but my partner said the other way around!). Its decorated beautifully in there and staff were attentive and kind! We will definitely be returning and keeping our eye out for the specials of the week!!

Superb place for fine dining! Highly recommend and well worth every penny.

Beautiful food. 100% recommend.

Never go again. Service terrible waited ages before our order taken then waited nearly an hour for food.

Been here twice now, absolutely brilliant. Great food, great service always with a smile, great value. Cannot wait to come again. Thank you Ben's kitchen.. Mr & Mrs Appleby

Sunday lunch here for a birthday celebration. We arrived 15 mins early and waited in the bar, a little surprised that 15 mins after our booked time,the waitress told us that the group on our table were 'just paying' and she would call us through asap. 15 mins later,we were shown to our table. We had requested a high chair but had to ask for it as it wasn't there. It took almost 30 mins for our starters to arrive. We could see the staff were busy so didn't want to make a fuss but another long wait ensued and when the waitress came to us,it was to say that they didn't have enough meat to fulfill the orders for mains as they weren't happy with the way it had come out. We were offered another meat to make the portions up but it seemed very unusual to have to do that. Sadly,due to the delays in getting our table and being served,we had to cancel our sweets as our taxi had arrived. I would like to say,the food was good and the staff were all polite and friendly but when you have booked in advance and pre ordered your food,this was a very disappointing affair.

Fantastic food, the very best Sunday lunch I have found! What I also like about eating at Ben's kitchen is the menu changes every quarter or so this keeps things interesting. He also provides all the classics, so you won't be left disappointed. Well worth a visit, keep up the great work.

Starters arrived after an hour and a half. The garlic bread was solid. It's was just hard, warm bread. There's is no excuse for such an awful starter taking that long. Absountly disgracefull. Mains came after 1 hour and 50 minutes of waiting. They were OK at best. There was barely enough food for half a person, and the Yorkshire pudding was burnt and comparable to cardboard. We did not stay for deserts. Overall, it was an awful experience. A refund would be nice, but nothing can make up for the wasted time. If I could rate this place 0 stars I would.

More than 30 years since I last walked out without paying... after a 50 minute wait, my partner had gammon egg and chips okay and paid for. I ordered belly pork and was served a cube that was tough and uncrackled, alongside a turkey slice (allergies or preferences not checked first) to increase the serving size, which was cold, together with cold and burned veggies and a beige roast potato, not to mention a yorkshire pudding when menu had stated gluten free. The apology was that there had not been enough pork - I could have been told that when or shortly after ordering, but my make it up as you go along platter was potentially a health risk. Server fine with my refusal to pay and generous discount offered if I came back. After such fundamental errors, I would not ever. Apparently they are looking for staff from signs around the premises. I know hospitality is hard these days, so good luck.

Ben's Kitchen is a firm favourite for us. Excellent steaks and definitely the best roast dinner!

Just had lunch at the crown food and services were excellent will definitely return again x

Firstly the food is absolutely top notch, best roast I have had at a restaurant. Everything was cooked perfectly. The staff are lovely and got us anything we needed. They do not rush you at all, in fact that's maybe my only complaint the food does take a while to come out but actually was quite refreshing not to feel rushed, I'm not used to this !! totally worth it when it does so highly recommend. The atmosphere is very relaxed and it was nice to be able to have a good chat over good food. Can't wait to go back ☺️

Wonderful Sunday lunch - so filling and very tasty. Really enjoyed it. Will definitely be back soon.

Great food and service! Highly recommend, everything was spot on. Steaks were cooked perfectly and burger with cheese sauce was one of the best I've had.

The food and service were both excellent. The Gluten Free options are some of the best I have seen. It was very busy (being near Christmas).

We've just been for dinner at Ben's Kitchen and it was amazing. We're fairly rubbish at leaving reviews but Ben is so lovely, his food is delicious so we wanted to make sure we wrote one this evening! I had a veggie meal off the Winter Menu and my fella had Fish and Chips which were both so good we ended up having to swap half way through so we could try each other's! 😂🙈 We also like that you see Ben, he's not at all if your face but you know who he is, he wants to check you're enjoying it and that everything is OK with your meal and obviously cares and takes pride in his work. Anyway, great chef, lovely guy, would highly recommend and we'll 100% be back soon, probably for breakfast looking at the pictures you've posted on Facebook! X

I love good food, I have a special place in Edinburgh and I would travel there for a meal....... however, I wanted a good Sunday roast for my wife and I, found Ben's kitchen and oh my goodness if you ever drive past this establishment and not go in you have denied yourself a truly sensational taste experience, if you enjoy excellent food you must dine here.

Food was great but everything cooked with garlic, if you don't like garlic we found out after you can ask for no garlic on your food

Sunday lunch, roast beef was excellent with ample vegetables, four at the table one had the vegetarian option which was also good, we will definitely return. Service was also attentive polite and friendly.

Great food, can't believe it's not always full.

Went to the Greek night here for my 40th birthday! The staff went above and beyond for us all and made my night so special. The food was excellent and the band were fantastic, they even played Happy Birthday and got the whole restaurant to join in. Wonderful atmosphere and the chef even came out to everyone's tables to check all was ok. Would highly recommend, I can't wait to go back!

Brilliant night Greek theme. Reasonably priced and Ben comes out to wish everyone a great evening. A lovely touch.

What fantastic evening amazing staff and food, entertainment was an added bonus. Nothing was too much trouble, for my daughter's 40th birthday. Highly recommended.

After visiting for Sunday lunch for the first time we were impressed. Super tasty food, nice portion & great presentation. Servers excellent, polite and attentive, thank you very much, we’ll be back, cheers.

Sunday roast absolutely brilliant, would highly recommend to anyone

Food was good, although steak was not good quality. Most disappointing thing was not ONCE BUT TWICE we had drinks brought from the bar and glasses had old lipstick on them. Maybe have the staff wash them before putting them in the dishwasher. We was a party of 13 so the staff did good apart from above.

My wife and I and another couple, spent a lovely evening at Bens Kitchen. We will be back.

Put simply...just go! Ben's food is amazing. Incredibly tasty and great portions too. You'll be delighted and walk away full!

went here for my mum and father in laws wedding yesterday the food was stunning loved it my kids cleared there plates aswell lovely place with a nice garden for the children aswell very happy

Ben's kitchen did the food for our wedding today, 16th September, we hired the room at the back which was perfect for our family occasion, the food was excellent and even catered for vegans and other tolerances, would highly recommend Ben and his team and the crown as a location in the future. This made our day all the more special, once again, thank you all. Shaun and Tracy x

Went for a wedding reception and had the most amazing roast dinner, beautifully cooked meat with all the veg options. Staff were so incredible, very accommodating to all dietary requirements.

Great food, fantastic service 👌

High quality, friendly service, delicious menu to choose from.

One of the best Sunday dinners I've had for a long time. We had the small appetite plate it was plenty big enough for me and my partner. The starter duck parfait was lovely. I loved how they brought lots of different vegetables my favourite being the ratatouie one of the best I've ever eaten also lovely to get red cabbage. The only thing I was annoyed at they forgot to bring any cauliflower cheese and delphonaise potato to our table. We was a large party they forgot to bring it to the 4 in the centre of large table. They did bring brocoli with cheese sauce but it wasn't cooked enough for me.

Restaurant large room , original pub atmosphere. Meal well presented but little bit over cooked ie Yorkshire puddings.most of meals ok.

After a long time of wanting to go, I’m happy to say I can finally hold my hand up 🙋‍♂️ and say I’ve been and all I can say is wow wow wow!! I have seen so many posts and heard so many people talking about this place and how good it is and I could agree more!! It was everything I’d hoped for and far far more!! We both agreed the food was the best we’d had in years!!! 🙌🙌🙌 (all 3 courses!!) If you haven’t been here before, I cannot recommend this place highly enough!!! Ben Knowles you are an amazing talent mate and we will see you again very very soon 👏👏👏👏👏(and you never know, maybe I’ll take on the burger challenge 😉) All the best mate 👊

Absolutely exquisite food. Excellent customer service. Highly recommend to all my Friends, Family & Business Associates

Absolutely fantastic all round, amazing food, lovely setting and great staff. 100% recommend and will return. Just perfect 🙂

Staff were very friendly but waited around 30 mins for the starter then the kitchen got two of our orders wrong. One missed starter and one wrong main. Quite pricey. But food was very good, when it eventually arrived. They did also take both of the wrong orders off the bill. Won't be going back as it was our first time going there.

Friendly service, super lunch time tapas at competitive price

Beautiful Sunday Lunch at Ben's Kitchen. We were a large party and everything was beautifully presented with great service. Highly recommend!

Food was amazing! Highly recommend if you are in the area.

Really nice chunky chips, and the garden is spacious with a nice play park for children.

Superb Sunday lunch. I had honey mustard baked gammon and other half had turkey. Amazing selection of vegetables including 3 types of potato, Cauliflower cheese, red cabbage and ratatouille. Summer fruit crumble and custard and fresh fruit salad and ice cream for dessert. Very popular so definitely need to book.

Amazing food! Could not recommend it more. Steak was brilliant and cooked to perfection. 10/10

Amazing beef cob and chunky chips.

Great food and pleasant with it. Definitely will go again.

Amazing food, really good service and friendly people. Ben came out and spoke to us after a short delay on our desserts which was good of him. Definately will be back soon 5*

Lovely food, lovely atmosphere! We will be back, thankyou ☺️

Service was an absolute mess, over booked and under staffed but was still an enjoyable afternoon.

The food is very nice,presentation is great, but wasn't aware when booking a table there was a live band playing in pub side of the business. Had my 10 week granddaughter with us so we got moved to the other end of the empty adjoining function room where it was much quieter. The staff were lovely and helpful especially ,and apologetic when my step daughter & partner food choices weren't available. We don't have a simple pallet,by a long way,but we found some things were not for us! But hey,everyone is different.

I'd heard great things about this place so decided to book in for my son's birthday. There was a table of 7 of us and every one of us said how amazing the food was. I had the gluten free fish and chips which was so tasty and my husband had tapas which I stole a lot of and it was all so delicious. Ben came out personally to check about food preferences/ allergies etc and all the staff were really lovely and attentive. Prices were also really reasonable and the portions were big. Thanks for a great first visit, we'll be back soon.

Absolutely lovely flavours, great service. Well done, will return. presentation is so spot on, nice to see the young lad doind well

We went to try the food for our wedding menu today, I had a smile on my face the whole time I was there. The food and the Service was first class! Absolutely divine and would recommend.

Had a fabulous lunch today. Thanks Ben. Fully reccomend. We will be back soon

If I was scoring the food alone , I would absolutely be giving five stars as everything we ordered was lovely. However, the speed of service massively let it down today. We arrived at 1.30pm and ordered straight away. We knew that we were going to take advantage of the 3 course menu option for £18 which is great value for money. Our starters didn't arrive until 2.25pm so you can imagine we were absolutely starving by this point. The waitress told us that there was a table of 17 in which was the reason for the delay, however there was only two other tables taken of two and one table of four so no more than 25 people in total in the whole restaurant. Disappointingly we then had to wait a further 45 mins for our main course. By this point we had given up with the dessert and decided to forget it. We asked for the bill and then waited ages for that too as one waitress had calculated it then left it on the side of the bar and forgot about it, in the end I went up to the bar and collected it from the side myself! By this point it was 3.40pm god knows what time we would have left had we stayed for the desserts. I was slightly disappointed as I would have like to have tried them as the food itself was amazing. A great restaurant in all, just a shame about the service. I will definately recommend the food to friends and family in the hope that they don't have the slow service that we did today.

Booked a table for 2 for Tapas Tuesday, and enjoyed every moment. The staff are really nice and polite, and good at what they do too. The food was absolutely fantastic and presented really nice. We'll definitely be back again soon. You should definitely have this place on your list if you want a nice evening out.

Popped in for the Tuesday Tapas night. There was a good selection of Tapas many I hadn't tried before. We chose the 6 for £25 . The food was freshly prepared arrived hot and was delicious. I was worried there wouldn't be enough but they were generous portions and very filling. The drinks were also very reasonably priced..a large wine and 2 soft drinks £7.50 ! Would highly recommend this for a midweek night out to try the tapas. Looking forward to returning to try out the rest of the menu as it looks tasty and if the service and quality of this was anything to go by I know it will be good.

Ben, by the way, the Ribeye was wonderful on Friday, Wifey's fish was superb. Thanks .......😁

Superb little restaurant within the pub. Great food and friendly service. One of the few Sunday dinners I'd drive for!

New bench mark ! Been looking for Sunday lunch this good for years absolutely fantastic food & service excellent Keep up the good work Ben & team 🥂 We will now be new regulars

Had a really lovely visit to Ben's kitchen this afternoon. The food was delicious, and the service exceptional. Would love to return again.

Food was superb as was the service. We can highly rate the Sunday lunch. We stayed in the campsite next door. Ate here twice over the weekend and watched a live band. What a bonus to find it so close at hand. We'll definitely be back 😁

We held a memorial for my husband on 1st August and had Ben's Kitchen cater for us, which included vegan and gluten free. It was a wonderful spread and received great comments. Thank you Ben, we would definitely recommend.

Incredible food, very impressed. Burger was fantastic and chips were amazing.

Personal experience . Place is laid out pretty nicely , nice play area for kids . Don’t usually review but had to note that the wrong food was bought to our table ( went with 2 kids ) , we began eating and one of the young server lads came and told us it was the wrong table he bought it to . He took back the food and then our extended wait for food began , followed by asking how long again to be told 4 mins which turned out to be 30 mins , a total of 1 hr and 20 mins or so for food . What peeved me was the lack of communication from the server to us and the length of delay ( I suspect there was a mixup and out food was given to another table ) . I say this as a nearby table also had their food taken back and changed . All in all wished the experience was better as the place seemed nice , hope the young lads get organized better .

We ordered and collected the MOST AMAZING ‘Grazing Platter’ from here today. I really should have taken a photo but everyone was so impressed and couldn’t wait to dive in. It fed 4 of us and two small people really well and we also brought loads of goodies home to tuck into later. We were on a day out at Castle Donington so the pick-up was easy. We were sitting at a picnic table and a random guy walked past and said that our box was the most impressive picnic he had ever seen and asked us where it came from. The communication was also superb, all arranged via Messenger and they really understood what we wanted. The little bottles of Prosecco were an added extra that were very appreciated, thank you.

Best chicken burger ever! Excellent service! What place to go for my first meal out in ages! Can’t wait to come back! Met Ben too and he’s really passionate about great food and service. The birthday brownie was a wonderful gesture too. Thanks to all of the staff for making today special

Had a lovely meal today. Passed the pub many times, but didn’t know about Ben’s kitchen. Lovely place for a meal. Food was delicious. We were celebrating, and Ben surprised us with a plate of chocolate bites. Lovely touch. Defo deserves a good review. Will be back. Has a kids menu and a great outdoor space for the kids.

Went here at the Old Crown Inn which was in Snarestone.Food was amazing and the owner (presume its Ben) was super friendly and gave us everything we needed.We sat outside which was cold but was provided with blankets. Will be going back when the indoors is back in action and have some more of your amazing food.

Its been a while since I've reviewed a pub/restaurant and like most people I have found the return to hospitality has been a long time coming - imagine what a find it was to discover a mini beer festival, in a big pub garden with loads of seating and some incidental entertainment to lift the mood, Many of the big pub and restaurants have shied away from taking the risk of opening, preferring to take the safer route of waiting until the service challenges of outdoor table service for both drinks and food subside. Not Bens Kitchen at The Old Crown Inn - they went for it big style.We ended up going for two days of the three day festival and it was a joy to behold the efforts put in by the teams running both food and drink orders - local youngsters they may have been but they gave of their best and simply didn't stop all day - the pub/restaurant was very busy, mainly because there simply wasn't anyone for miles around who had taken the risk to go "full service" outdoors.The beers were great, Hayles' Ale and Mad Ruby were my favourites - even had a dabble with a Rhubarb cider ; great support to local brewers guys. Service on drinks was flawless - you texted your order to the bar and paid by card on a remote machine.The food from Bens Kitchen was simply excellent - being busy we were advised to order early and in total we had three meals there, a lunchtime snack of dirty fries (I think the chilli won the day with the Hunters Chicken a close second) on the Saturday lunchtime followed by fully plated meals later in the day. There was much debate but the Cod & Chips won for me but there were many positive votes for the huge Burgers and the Shredded Chicken. The use again of (locally sourced) blue cheese added flavour and an unusual twist, great cooking folks.There was some disappointment that one of the specials (a beef pie) had run out on the Saturday but that was a sign of exactly how busy they were (special note to the waiting team for running food an drinks the length and breadth of a large garden, up and down steps and even through a play area). One of the real ales, the Hayles' bitter, had run out by the Sunday which was when we'd gone back to take another stab at the Steak Pie and Mash special - a dish which was rated as excellent by all who had it.Overall - well done Bens Kitchen and The Old Crown Inn at Snarestone - you were brave enough to give it a go in circumstances many others shied away from ..... and for me (and my group of 6) you smashed it out of the park both days with excellent food and beer and great service in trying circumstances - Thank You all

Went to the crown snarestone, yesterday and the attitude from Ben and his teeny hopper crew was disgusting! Ordered food 4 chips , sausage, goujons . Easy order you would think big price £22!. Waited an hour . Nothing came so asked the waitress . Nice and friendly she was took the order again as apparently our order went to the bar but no one had the sense to come and tell us. So manual order put in and told will get it asap. Another hour later still no sign of food. Fobbed off by young cocky waitresses saying 10mins over again. Your food is coming. This was over 2hrs . Time started 1.45pm now 4.20pm. Asked for refund. Cocky arrogant Ben came out insulting me saying I was a liar as I had been told when ordered it would be an hour ....after loads of arguing in front of staff and customers. I asked for bar manager . He said it was separate to bar . Not happy at all the small portions dumped on the table ......absolutely the worse I have experienced. He wont go far with that attitude .

The food is insane. I had the risotto and it was the nicest thing I have tasted! Definitely recommend!!!

Just been to the old crown inn snarestone and bens kitchen has taken the food to the next level what an amazing Sunday dinner. Great service by all the staff beer at its best as usual can't recommend enough well done

The staff are amazing and although, due to the lockdown we were outside, there was a heated area which was good. The chicken wings are very tasty and were a great starter. My 7 year old said they were the best he has ever had. The burgers were amazing and the portions are a good size. I would definitely recommend a visit.

The best t bone steak I've ever had.. Ben is an absolute gent and deserves more than 5 stars... The crown snaresrone (formally the odd house) is a must for everyone.. Kid friendly too so win win... Xx

Fantastic takeaway Sunday Roast delivered to my parents. All boxed up separately so you can serve each person the portion they want with reheating instructions. This is the real full works of a roast and delicious.Ben is also a community hero having fed the NHS over the last year and yesterday donated 20 roasts to some deserving families.

Where do I start??? Have ordered from Ben 3 times now and each time the quality and freshness of food has been outstanding. First up was Sunday roast - ridiculously tasty, especially the belly pork and Devine cheesecakes - Yum! Next was an afternoon tea for Mother’s Day which again the quality of ingredients and presentation was second to none. Thought we would try the fish and chips this evening and WOW they were up there with the best we have ever had, beautiful fresh fish with crispy batter, along with the best chips I think we have ever eaten. I will continue to order food from Ben as the quality and friendly service is just fabulous. Can’t wait to visit the restaurant once lockdown is finally over. Thanks for the great food time and time again xxx

First time ordering from Ben’s Kitchen. Wow wow amazing Sunday lunch, delicious, great quality, highly recommend.

Bens Kitchen best in the game! Incredible food. Ben put on an Italian takeaway night and it was just amazing!! I had a truly delicious Italian burger with mega onion rings and deep fried gherkins done it we had with Italian dirty fries, a great twist on what you would think of as typical Italian food, my wife had the Carbonara which was amazing too! Well done Ben and team, keep smashing it!

Bens Kitchen provided and delivered a wonderful 3 course (vegetarian) meal for my Mum on Mother’s Day. She really enjoyed it, she even received some flowers! I would thoroughly recommend. Thank you.

Wow. I read the reviews and didn't think the food could possibly be as good as the comments but how wrong i was. We had 2 portions of the fish and chips and 2 burger meals and 1 portion of the dirtyFries. The fish and chips were by far the best I had ever had. And the burger was meaty juicy and tasty. 4 of us ate and all agreed we would have been happy to be served the food in any restaurant. Our new favourite takeaway. Can't recommend it enough.

Ordered 8 meals on a Monday evening from Ben, and they were honestly so nice. Very well presented, easy to order, great service on arrival and amazing food. Have visited before and will carry on visiting. Thanks Ben and the team

Me and my husband ordered and wow its was the best food we have had better than any pub food or take away!! will definitely be ordering again they are fast and very helpful with any querys thankyou again both amazing!

Booked a Valentine's meal delivery from Ben's Kitchen. Communication was excellent, booking really easy. On the night, food turned up on time with instructions. Quality of the food really was first class. While lockdown prevented us going out to a restaurant, this went a long way towards recreating the feel of a night out.

Booked a Valentine's meal delivery from Ben's Kitchen. Communication was excellent, booking really easy. On the night, food turned up on time with instructions. Quality of the food really was first class. While lockdown prevented us going out to a restaurant, this went a long way towards recreating the feel of a night out. Quite superb.