Benjamin’s Raw Bar

we come to Benjamin’s often for the 1dollar oysters and shrimp. they have the best cocktail sauce! we were there last Tuesday and the oysters were a bit on the huge side. kinda hard to get down.

I’ve never experienced anything like this restaurant/​bar, and not in a good way. We had spent all day in Newport and wanted a few drinks so we went to Benjamin’s. We spent a lot of money so after ordering our beer we asked the bartender (seemed to be the manager) what the more inexpensive shots were that he would recommend. He responded by saying «nothing is inexpensive here» and walked away without answering. He was very smug and arrogant and seemed to be taunting us when we looked visibly annoyed/​uncomfortable. He sarcastically asked us if we were having a good time and a friend responded that we were not having a good time anymore and he looked at us and said «the feeling is mutual». What kind of a manager talks to his customers this way? His employees looked super uncomfortable during all of this. I asked him directly, doesn’t he want to make all his customers happy and accommodate to them? And he said he doesn’t care. He seemed to be drinking while working and was so unprofessional we left after one drink and went next door to Speakeasy bar and grill which was great. I’ve attached a picture of the manager and recommend to never go to this establishment, literally the type of guy that needs to be on Bar Rescue. Maybe the food is good, I wouldn’t know, but the service is just embarrassing. I don’t take a night out to be treated like garage.

Great restaurant. Prime rib was delicious. Melt in your mouth. Fried scallops were out of this world and cooked to perfection. Atmosphere was very inviting and wait staff was pleasant and efficient. Glad we stopped in.

Surprised the lobster nachos cost so much and had so very little lobster. Usually Benjamin’s doesn’t disappoint. Skip this dish.

Had a wonderful dinner here last night. We had a little bit of everything. My husband had a plate of littlenecks, fried lobster ravioli in a white cheese sauce, delicious, then the very generously sized prime rib. I had the shrimp cocktail, shrimp were cooked perfectly, took the horseradish out of the cocktail sauce, as the cocktail sauce was just hot enough. Had the clams casino, delicious. Tomato and mozzarella salad, had a balsamic drizzle, but asked for extra olive oil, the slices of both are more than generous. Had a few bites of the crab cake, which is the size of a hamburger, also delicious, but couldn’t finish so took it with me. We took a piece of the chocolate layer cake back to our hotel, that was fabulous as well.
Dining room upstairs is small, so get there early, atmosphere is great! Really enjoyed this place!

I like it here! Ok so it’s off season & it’s nice not dining with a crowd. Prime rib was delicious, succulent & only $ 20. Shrimp cocktail had very firm, sweet shrimp. Garlic bread was very good. Shrimp scampi was in a creamy garlic sauce with fresh minced garlic. Peanut butter Chocolate Chip Crème Brûlée was a treat & my decaf coffee was freshly brewed & flavorful. Nice ambience upstairs for fine dining & very friendly staff.

Went there this past Saturday night. Little
bit of a wait to be seated, folks at table
were a little slow to leave, no big deal.
We were a group of six and I have to say
everybody raved about there meals. From
seafood linguini to surf n turf. The prime rib
was monumental! Service was a little slow,
but that just gave everybody more time
to chat. Best seafood I’ve had in a long time.

Yeah, just don’t do it. You’re better than that. As a born and raised islander I’ve always felt Newport’s seafood game isn’t playing to its full potential. Benjamin’s is the perfect embodiment of that.
The location, not the best in Newport but still tons of foot traffic. You won’t get a view. But apparently what you will get is a Bartender who ignores you and touches your oysters with his barehands (not the shell either).
As far as raw bars go this is the worst in Newport. The service is consistently slow and there is nothing consistent about the oysters. No reason to stop here other than a beer.
In the words of someone Adam Devine «hard pass»

My husband and I almost didn’t come here based on a few of the bad reviews, but I’m so glad we did. Why are bad reviews more convincing than good ones? I don’t understand why people had issues with the service here. We definitely did not. Both our server and the bartender were very friendly and attentive without being overbearing. That being said, this place definitely caters to locals. You can tell that immediately based on the fact that there is a Grand Marnier membership club where people have their own bottles on reserve (by number), and by the number of people who come in and know the staff. No one here is going to go out of their way to cater to tourists, and I respect that. The food is awesome and very reasonably priced. We had a chowder and 1 ¼ pound steamed lobster lunch special for $ 17. That’s incredible and enough of a reason to return. That and the fact that the cocktails are served in pint glasses. :-)

Had a very pleasant dining experience tonight. The 4 of us girls enjoyed our means, dessert and a shot of Grand Mariner (which was a first). Would totally recommend going.

My family and I were visiting from out of town and decided to try their early bird specials.
We arrived before 6pm and was seated quickly. After 6pm the place got pretty crowded.
The early special prices were great, food was delish and service was decent.
I had the prime rib, my wife went with the lobster and alaskan crab legs. We both were pretty happy with our choices. Children menu was about $ 6 but nothing really special there.
We would probably go more often if we were locals.

BEST nachos I’ve ever had!!! Waitress was wonderful, good prices on drinks.

So, we visited a LOT of bars in Newport and almost every bartender told us their favorite place was Benjamin’s. I have to admit the atmosphere was pretty chill. We visited during the day so it was kind of dead, but I have to imagine at night the crowd picks up. They have a downstairs bar and an upstairs bar, and two seating areas, one indoors and one outside (covered) upstairs. TVs at both bars.
I was kind of disappointed in the service. The hostesses are super nice and seat you immediately, but then you wait and wait for a server to stop by. I thought the food and drinks were mediocre, but then again, I think people come here for the atmosphere. We ordered the calm chowder, which was pretty watery but it came out hot! We also ordered oysters, which were great, and the shrimp are huge. The Bloody Marys are definitely underwhelming. They’re a bit fishy too, but maybe that’s a Newport thing. I’m honestly not sure. Our server missed small things like bringing us silverware and napkins, or checking to see if we wanted another drink.
Bottom line, if you’re looking for a nice place to grab a (ONE) drink in the open air, Benjamin’s could be worth a stop.

Great local place for those in search of raw bar. If you want a «dining» experience, this is not the place. If you want awesome 1 $ oysters 12−2PM — you found it. Other Newport oyster 3 $ plus — pricey.
Local brew Newport Storm rocks!
Shrimp cocktail is proper U −12÷14 i.e. BIG
Lobster excellent.
Don’t recommend the Casino or Rockefeller or Portuguese — leading me to believe chef not really getting it. Too much bread crumbs and other problems like no Pernod /​insufficient bacon/​onions not enough shellfish etc.
Steamed little necks excellent. Fresh bread excellent. Fresh shucked seafood excellent.
Not interested in sandwiches and other pub food — here for the blue points, little necks, shrimp & lobster.
All in all come for the fresh seafood:)

Came in here on a Sunday right after the breakfast hour stopped (sad face — those brunch dishes looked incredible).
Ordered ourselves some beers and a light lunch of 12 oysters ($ 1 each it was hard to pass up), and I ordered a crab cake while my boyfriend had their new england style clam chowder. Both were delicious but… THE OYSTERS.
Wow! These were the biggest oysters I had ever seen. A friend of mine who works at Benjis mentioned that they import them from Long Island so they are not the typical small oysters you get in the area typically, but they were so delicious. 12 may have been an excessive amount, but we were definitely satisfied.
Highly recommend popping in here for some of those oysters!

Cool little bar in downtown Newport with those $ 1 oysters everyone’s speaking about!
Swung by and got 20 oysters and two of Newport’s own brews for a nice little lunch in town. It’s definitely got more of a dive bar feel — tight, old school, but it’s got a nice heir of modern about it as well. Parking is tough, but not too bad.
They had Blue Point oysters, which weren’t bad at all. They even offered us up some chopped onion for the mignonette — delicious.
DOLLAR. OYSTERS.

I have been to the raw bar downstairs in the past and loved it, the servers were friendly, drinks were fast and oysters were bomb. This year I was embarrassed after bringing a group here.
We put our name on the list for the 15 minute wait and returned to sit at the adjacent bar and have a drink while waiting. The hostess was rude and stopped us. We eventually got to the upstairs bar and the bartender was rude and wouldn’t make eye contact. We asked to change our Bloody Mary to the specialty belvedere Bloody Mary and the bartender did not acknowledge us. We ended up with the regular after the bartender yelled at my husband, «I’m making it!» Off the a great start!
We were quickly seated after that and got a window seat — how awesome! We didn’t see a waitress or anyone for another 15 or so minutes. No drinks, no nothing. The place was only about half full.
Long story short, we eventually ordered, only after nearly everything on their specials menu was out and we ordered it and they still had the items listed. I can’t understand why the hostess wouldn’t cross them off their daily paper menus if they were out, or why our server wouldn’t mention what they were out of.
We asked for salsa on the side of fish tacos, it was sloshed right on. I got a halibut and risotto entrée and it was totally inedible. Overcooked and bland, for $ 20 at a seafood place, I expected more.
We got the mini shucker platter which was awesome, but it is all raw which is probably why it was so good. I would highly recommend this.
I hate to be such a crab but our waitress was nice but it really seemed like our table was an afterthought. We ordered drinks and her tip was big because we ordered a lot but the service overall was deplorable.
If you come to Benjamin’s, stay downstairs at the raw bar with the nice servers and all the delicious raw seafood.

Favorite bar when I come to RI. The seafood is so fresh, they have the oysters and lobsters laid out by the bar. I tried the oyster shooter, very interesting shot, it’s all you put in an oyster plush patron in a shot, including the oyster, it was pretty freaking good! The bartenders are super nice and friendly!

This place was pretty good! We sat up by the window and looked over the balcony on a chilly day. It was nice to be able to feel like we were outside but not have to deal with the cold temperature.
They had a great happy hour deal. Prime Rib is 13.95– Now thats my ticket to heaven baby! 5 of us ate (Prime rib and Lobster), drank, and were very merry for $ 125 with tip. Now thats a steal! Try out Benjamins!

This place is outstanding. They have an early bird special from 4 – 7. One of the specials is a first mate cut prime rib. For $ 13.95, you really can’t go wrong.
When the dish arrived, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Look at the picture. The cut had to be at least 20oz. It came with grilled asparagus and the meal was absolutely delicious.
This cut is normally $ 17.95 if you get it outside of the early bird special hours.
I also included dishes my friends ate and they looked delicious too.