Joe & Ben

Joe & Ben’s is one of my favourite places in München! Super close to Hauptbahnhof, nice interior design, nice terrace outside where you can enjoy the sunny days and most important, there are always sweet friendly people speaking many languages and offering nice service and quality products. And it’s the only Canadian place in Munich :)
If you’re in for a coffee talk, come here, the coffee is strong and flavored, one of the best I’ve tried in Munich and the atmosphere is excellent for a meeting.
Interested in lunch or dinner time? The food is yummy, I took different sandwiches, pastas, cakes, all of them were delicious. And if you happen to have time when they organize their famous Canadian Poutine party, you sure don’t want to miss it! It’s delicious, nom nom :) Like their facebook page to find out about the Poutine events.
And when you talk of the cakes and the cocktails, don’t be surprised to find the Canadian touch in most of them: a bit more Maple syrup in the carrot cake or some Cranberries delights in the chocolate brownies, they all are special tastes that offer you the real Canadian flavor. And the lemonade! … have you tried it? It’s a must! so delicious, with or without alcohol, with more or less maple syrup, all customized on your taste and excellent every time!
Talking of unique Canadian things in Munich, have you tried a Pale Ale beer? I’ve never tried it before stoping by Joe&Ben’s and it’s certainly worth having it, an interesting different beer with a fruity taste. The place has TV as well, from time to time screenings of Canadian games can be organized. Just ask for it :)
I first visited Joe&Ben’s during their launch party organized together with Unilocal and I enjoyed so much the Unilocal event, the community of people in the bar, the service, the nice mix of music played in the bar and the tasty Canadian lemonade with a delicious Canadian Carrot Maple Cake and the Canadian Pale Ale beer… and since then I’m a regular of this place! See u there? :)

War ein toller Abend mit leckeren Getränken in entspannter Atmosphäre. Hier waren wir definitiv nicht das letzte mal. Ein echter Geheimtipp. Um es in drei Worten zu beschreiben gemütlich, nett und lecker.

Sehr freundliche Leute betreiben dieses nette Lokal mit kleinen Speisen und ausreichend Getränkevorräten. Sehr schöner Freisitz in einer Straße in der ich aufgrund eines kurzen Aufenthaltes schon befürchtete zu verdursten und das während des Oktoberfests! Grund sind die vielen antialkoholischen Hang-​outs drum herum.
Aber hierher kann man öfter mal kommen und vor allem auch eine nette internationale Clientel kennen lernen zu dem sich Alteinwohner aus dem Viertel und auch Touristen öfter mal gesellen sollten.

This place serves pale ale! If you’re a New Worlder like me, that alone is a major draw to check out this place. The pale is indeed brewed here in Germany, but they hit the nail on the head with crafting a good pale ale.
But you know, the atmosphere here is really special, and honestly, even if they had no beautiful, beautiful bottles of pale liquid gold to offer, I’d come here just for the ambiance. Despite being just one or two tram stops from the Hauptbahnhof (I walked), this joint is an oasis of New World laidbackness and friendliness. It all just seemed so calm and relaxing, even with the door open to sidewalk/​patio seating and street. I think my blood pressure even went down when I stepped inside. Based on the pale and the atmosphere alone, I’m a fan of this place.
In addition to my pale tasty treat, I tried Ben’s Hot Chocolate (hot chocolate w/​maple syrup and whipped cream). Very sweet, but I couldn’t really taste the maple syrup itself. For the purists, they also have straight up hot milk with maple syrup.
The décor is pretty much all taken over from what the previous café, Café Vergnano, had, meaning it’s definitely a little (a lot) classier than what I was expecting, but that’s cool; waste not want not, y’know? Plus, it’s possibly easier to persuade a nice Mädl to join you for coffee at a place that isn’t decorated like a wood-​panelled ski/​hunting lodge, i.e., no need to put on your best flannel to fit in here.
The menu looks pretty good, though I didn’t try anything non-​liquid. Top on my «to nosh on» list though will be the «Fudgy Crownies», which are some sort of brownies. They don’t look particularly fudgy (real fudge seems to be the sole province of the Heartland), but they do look like a nice complement to some Ben’s Hot Chocolate or some hot milk with maple syrup.
Poutine is not yet on the menu because of licensing issues, but that is still planned for the future. In the meantime though, if you’re missing the Great White North (or ‘murica), I think you’ll enjoy yourself here.
PS: They also have a flatscreen, so I was able to catch some Olympic action too. Score :)

This establishment recently moved from a location in Haidhausen to its current location north of Hauptbahnhof. (Currently most of the reviews seem to be for the old location and while many things are the same, there are some differences, so take details of reviews from before June 2012, or so, with a grain of salt.) This location north of Hauptbahnhof has in common with the areas around many German (and other European) railway stations that it’s richly populated with casinos and strip clubs. It’s not too bad in this case, but it’s not an area where many families with kids hang out, for example. Having said that, the new location looks pretty nice inside though still a bit unfinished. The can crank out a decent coffee (the decorations are very coffee-​centric, because the previous establishment at this address was a coffee shop) but are more focused around beer and such. In particular they have a nice, local Pale Ale (by the name of CREW Pale Ale), which for those of us who miss the beers of the Pacific Northwest is a very happy encounter. I did not try the food in the new location, but the chili used to be good and I hope they still have their strange bread pudding with bacon. Free advice: go to Joe & Ben and have a Pale Ale. Or two.

Ich bin derzeit auf meinem Roadtrip auf Durchreise in München und die Unilocal Community Managerin von München, die Vee hat mich auf das Relaunch Happening im Joe & Ben aufmerksam gemacht. Also bin ich da hin — alleine.
Die neu eröffnete kanadische Bar ist stylisch eingerichtet, es ist aber nicht zu gross und man fühlt sich total wohl. An einem lauen Sommerabend (oder natürlich auch tagsüber) bietet es sich an an einem der Tischchen an der Strasse Platz zu nehmen. Die Preise sind, jedenfalls für mich als Schweizer, schwer in Ordnung.
Da es wie gesagt eine kanadische Bar ist darf man sich deren Cocktail natürlich nicht entgehen lassen: Hard Lemonade. Eine Mischung aus Zitronenlimonade, Vodka und Maple Syrup, schmeckt echt lecker, ist aber sehr gefährlich, der bzw. die melden sich dann erst am nächsten morgen! :P Preis: 7.50.
Ich bin sehr begeistert von diesem Ort, die Leute hier (von überall aus der Welt: England, Kanada, Deutschland [logischerweise], Russland, USA, Schweiz^^) sind total offen und so hatte ich doch viele nette Menschen kennengelernt. Auch der/​die Inhaber sind total nett und cool drauf, einfach wie Kanadier halt sind: sehr zugänglich.
Unbedingt hingehen! Auch wenn resp. vor allem man alleine unterwegs ist! Free Wifi gibt’s hier übrigens auch.

Super netter neuer Laden und mal ganz anders als die übrigen Cafés in Haidhausen. Die Einrichtung ist mit viel Liebe zu Kanda ausgewählt und das Personal ist äußerst nett. Die kanadischen Köstlichkeiten locken einen immer wieder in den Laden um Neues auszuprobieren. Wir freuen uns auch immer sehr wenn Ben da ist ;-)

As an airline person, it’s always helpful to have your «go-​to» places in far-​away cities for a touch of familiarity. Joe & Ben’s is that sort of place. Great for an after-​dinner drink and a bite of dessert with your friends and co-​workers (although I hate that term, but that’s a different story). Always friendly and accommodating. Didn’t know they had breakfast, but I’ll be trying that on my next Munich layover.

rated so far just on the breakfast, may update after trying again in the evening. and the desserts looked really great.
as for the breakfast, the eggs were cooked very nicely (not overcooked, for perhaps the first time we’ve tried in Munich). But the pancakes were just OK (a little … tough somehow. could be fluffier). and I will order an extra shot of espresso for the latte next time too (for me it was too much milk in the milk-​to-​coffee ratio).
The service was reasonably pleasant but seemed a little scattered. (i felt kind of like, ‘sorry i’m bothering you, can i spend some money in your restaurant please?’) We weren’t sure the place was actually open, we had to ask what the menu was, we had to ask for forks & knives when the food was served, we never got a napkin, and the maple syrup was served ice-​cold (such that the melted butter on top of the pancake re-​solidified when I poured on the maple syrup).
But despite all that, I really like the concept and will definitely be back.

I was excited when this friendly little Canadian café moved into the neighborhood. During the day it’s bright and cheery, the perfect place to linger over a coffee. In the evenings the atmosphere is more pub-​like. The long wooden tables are an apt setting for a beer with friends. Speaking of beer, I think this was the first place serving pale ale that I’ve come across in Munich.
There’s also a shop section selling a few delicacies from Canada and the UK. The maple syrup looked a lot more appealing than the jar of pickled eggs (but hey, I’m sure someone will be delighted to find those, too).
I’m looking forward to trying the food on my next visit. I hear poutine might be appearing on the menu sometime in the near future.

Sehr schön, ein neues kanadisches Café in München vom ex M-​Poutinerie Betreiber (früher Occamstr.). An der Außenfront wird noch gearbeitet. Innen eine interessante Naturholz-​Einrichtung mit Betonung der kanadischen Farben. Die Sitzgelegenheiten waren (noch) relativ beschränkt, darunter ein langer Holztisch. Gute Auswahl an Kuchen, Kaffee und an selten gesehenen Softdrinks. Das Speisenangebot ist knapp, es gab eine sehr gute Karotten-​Ingwer-​Suppe, zu der Brot und unaufgefordert sogar Wasser serviert wurde. Daneben war u.a. eine Chili-​Variante auf der Karte. Die Lage neben der Schule an der Franziskanerstraße bringt mittags junges Publikum. Es wohnt auch ein grosser Hund hier (möglicherweise ist das Ben), der aber brav und schläfrig war. Eine schöné Bereicherung in München. Poutine solls später auch mal geben.

Herzlich Willkommen lieber Nachbar,
gemütliches Ambiente, ein super Espresso, Kaffee, wir sind quasi täglich, auch mehrmals Gast, haben schon alles ausprobiert, können die Speisen sehr empfehlen und freuen uns schon auf die kanadischen Spezialitäten die da noch kommen werden.

ich finde den laden super! die farben sind total einladend, das ambiente warm und freundlich, super ist auch der lange tisch an dem viele leute gleichzeitig platz finden, so kommt man auch schnell mit anderen gästen ins gespräch. das personal ist stets gut gelaunt und sehr zuvorkommend, die kleinen gerichte liebevoll angerichtet und der hausgemachte maple chai latte mein absoluter favorit! kann den laden nur weiter empfehlen!