Benny’s Restaurant Bar

Worst sports bar ever! Bartender (latin guy) was unprofessional and gave us a huge attitude for asking to change a channel for NFL Sunday. No one was watching the game on and he lied and said people were. Food is not good. About time this place has closed. Look forward to a better restaurant.

Bad News/​Good News. Owner Benny has sold to the owners of the Irish Inn at Glen Echo. Last day is Oct. 25 and it will reopen after renovations as «LAHINCH Serving Great Irish/​America Cuisine.»
We will miss his generally angry Unilocal responses regarding food & service, but look forward to the Irish food and professional management. Looking forward to Shephards Pie & Bangers & Mash with a real Pint.
Added: Per his response, clearly, Benny needs to take a well deserved break. Best wishes to him and the staff.

I’ve been to Benny’s a few times since it opened a couple years ago, mainly to grab a couple drinks after work. They have a pretty good happy hour, but the crowd is nothing special. Their original menu was average at best and not really worth the price, but now that they’ve changed their chef and updated their menu it’s 1000% better. They have a large variety of burgers that are delicious! Will definitely be back again!
On the negative side, the owner/​manager seems like a jerk. Something about openly yelling at your employees with customers around just turns me off.

Just had a grilled chicken with onions, very tasty, nice size roll. Wife had a burger, very good, hummus presentation very good, kinda fair tasting. Have been there a couple of times surprised it’s not busier. Service was friendly.

My partner ordered the crab cakes and spent the night throwing up. Maybe we got there on a bad night, but I’m still trying to deodorize my car.
EDIT: The owner seems to be close to a psychological breakdown, as he is making hostile comments on everyone’s reviews. He had a friend write a positive review yesterday, and then quoted it back in response to my incident as if that changed our experience somehow. So let me revise my comment: Only 50% of reviewers got food poisoning from Benny’s crab cakes in the past few days.

I really wanted to like this place, as it fills a need in the area, but there’s just not much to recommend it. It’s a shame, because especially when the windows are open, it’s a really pleasant place to be.
I’ve eaten here twice with my family, and there’s simply nothing on the menu that has made me want to go back. The calamari tastes like it sat in the freezer too long, the ribs had none of the promised smoke, and tasted of nothing but the sauce. Various sandwiches are fine, but unmemorable. Fries are freshly cut, but too thick, which the kids hated.
Might as well be a Chili’s/Ruby Tuesdays/​Fridays with higher prices and less consistent cooking.
Our service was fine.
Really though, this place perfectly fits Unilocal’s definition of a 2 star place, «Meh. I’ve experienced better.»

Good food, great service! I love the open garage doors do it feeling like you are sitting outside but you get the comfort of a booth. They had live music in one room (the room with the open garage doors) and a dance floor with a DJ in the other room. My children really enjoyed the dance floor. I would go back to Benny’s.

I am not one to write reviews and I work in the food and beverage industry. Immediately accepted like family at the door. Only been a few times with a few buddies. We have come accustom to ordering lots of apps and fight over which ones to order because we want them all. A little bit of drinking in usually involved. But the food is my reason to post. The batter on the shrimp and the hush puppies are atop the favorites. Highly recommend. Certainly not your normal owner. He’s always around and tries to hit every table and cares about your experience and your feedback. Great location for the concept. Stop by and you will be surprised. Cares about taking care of his guests.

Third response: RUDE/​UNCLASSY/​2 thumbs DOWN…
It was yesterday, so if your employee turnover is as high as it used to be… Then having that employee not work there anymore is possible.
HaHa way to disregard my last point about handling unsatisfied customers, and In fact, doing the complete opposite and disrespecting them, very classy move… truly shows true colors.
HaHa its astonishing and humorous the way you manage to terribly handle these «complaints» that are very exaggerated as you claim. I will stop wasting my time with a company that is obviously not worthy of a customers feedback, however they or I wish to express it. Oh and let me get back to my corner in the basement where I spend my time writing the only review I have ever written for what I find a mediocre establishment.
Also, since I have only spoken about the bad service, let me add that the one and only time I had ever come there to dine (never went back because the food and drinks were unsatisfactory and bland), that the calamari was tasteless and way too battered and the drink was poorly mixed (margarita to be exact). I will state that this was awhile ago so I am not sure if the «Chef» has changed but I sure hope so!
Best of luck Benny’s because you need it!
All I have to say is you are lucky you don’t have direct competition in the suburbs, smart decision on location.
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Second response:
No rocket scientist needed… And an average employee works at an average restaurant, that is correct. None the less, next time I will take your suggestion and call, although, the way management handles these reviews is also very important and I don’t think you did a great job at that either.
I think a more appropriate response would have been, ‘We apologize you had a bad experience with one of our employees, is there any more information you could provide us via email or phone that would allow us to correct this. We hope your next experience with us will be better and in fact to do so why don’t you have a free drink at your next happy hour on us’ … That is how this situation should have been handled. –in that case I would be like wow look at that and then delete and or raise my rating, but the way it was handled, was again… average.
I think I have made my point.
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In response to Benny’s 1^st comment:
I’m not rating the restaurant, just the service I received, and this is why each rating is subjective. Also, I made a mistake, I meant to say that the employee gave me short answers* such as «no» when I asked a very simple question actually about happy hour. They did not continue to say our happy hours are from … Instead, I the potential customer had to keep asking and his tone made me feel as if I was Inconveniencing him. So I would train who ever answers the phone with proper etiquette. You are welcome for the suggestion which some people charge money for consultation, which is based on my experience working in high end restaurants. And another thing, I never have ever left a Unilocal comment because that’s not my thing, the reason I took it upon myself to rate yours was because I was so bothered by that telephone Called to inquire some information and Terrible phone etiquette for a restaurant or in general. Was not greeted when called and was given very short one word
suggestion would be to train the staff better.
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Called to inquire some information and Terrible phone etiquette for a restaurant or in general. Was not greeted when called and was given very short one word
suggestion would be to train the staff better.

I visited (⁴⁄₁₈) for dessert. I ordered the pineapple upside down cake-​after 20 minutes of waiting I was informed by server it was out. Benny (the owner) came to the table to say it’s no longer on the menu. Yes its on the menu I read. He looked w/​astonishment & acknowledged I was given an old menu. I picked the chocolate toffee cake w/​vanilla ice cream-​Delicious.
Server is not at fault here. Benny should Throw Away Old Dessert Menus!

Great food and atmosphere. Fire place for the winter and large open windows for the beautiful weather.

I’ve been to Benny’s three weekends in a row now. They are really marketing themselves as a mature events place. It’s a great idea. Sometimes they make mistakes. The smoke machine at the singles dance. Not enough bartenders. Overpriced food. But the food is good. And it is a fun place.

The service was nice but the food and alcoholic drinks didn’t taste well at all. The prime rib was garbage, tasted horrible! Don’t get the prime rib! As I was finishing my meal I went to the bathroom. The bathroom was a mess, pee all over the place… ugh so nasty. The server was nice but nothing else was up to par for me.

We ended up at Benny’s at 7:30 on Saturday night after a change in plans due to the bad weather. We had been there a couple of times before but not for a while, and since there was no wait for a table, so we decided to try it again. What a mistake.
The staff was very friendly but clearly wanted us to finish and leave so that they could do the same. Since it was such a cold, windy and snowy night, I won’t hold that against them, although we did feel very rushed.
What I do hold against them is the fact that my crab cakes were ice cold, the substitution I requested wasn’t made, and despite the waitress heartily recommending the carrot cake and the warm cookie (hey — it was Valentines Day after all), they were out of both, and it was only 8:15. She convinced us to try the «warm apple pie» since it was such a cold night (her words, not mine) and the pie was also cold. Dinner for the two of us, with one cocktail, was $ 100.
I normally don’t write reviews (my Unilocal account will reflect that) but I do read them. I wasn’t going to post this one, but after reading some of the owner’s responses to other diners with complaints, I decided to do so. In two different responses to two different customers, the owner responded with «even Stevie Wonder could see…» My husband is blind and I take great offense to that response. Coupled with other things I read, we won’t be back nor will we suggest it on those nights when the lacrosse or basketball games end and the team’s hungry and there are a lot of mouths to feed near Cabin John Mall. What a bummer for Benny’s — we could have brought a lot of business with us!

Amazing that the owner has proven again how he runs his business by commenting so negatively. I would suggest he read the reviews that have some constructive criticism and learn from them. When Unilocalers take time to comment rather than a one off piece from a paid paper comment … I think Ben F should take the Unilocal reviews into consideration. Total amateur move by this classless owner. Benny acts like his place is anything but what it is… poor food, overpriced drinks and an owner who should transfer management to someone with people skills and real management experience.

Met a fiend on 10.23.14 for happy hour. Sat at the bar. Had 2 beers and spinach artichoke dip. Food was fine. Beer was fine.
At some point during my visit, at the table directly behind me, a waitress has an accident with her tray that contained beer and sliders/​burgers. The result was beer on the back of my shirt; and beer, ketchup, and burger grease all over the back of my suit jacket, which was draped on the back of the bar-​stool next to me. Accidents happen, no big deal.
What IS a big deal is that I was offered no apology of any sort. Neither from the waitress or the manager. The only acknowledgement whatsoever was from an employee (manager perhaps?) who was mopping up the floor who said (in a slightly sarcastic tone) that I should tell him if there were any «deleterious effects.»
I asked the bartender for some club soda so I could treat the suit jacket. I spent the next 5 – 10 minutes tending to the jacket before heading out. The bar area was about 50% full.
I would even grant the waitress a pass because she was probably occupied trying get fresh beers and sliders/​burgers for their intended recipients.
While I was slightly annoyed at the lack of customer service, I was prepared to let this incident go and move on with my life. Then, out of curiosity and work-​procrastination, I looked up Benny’s on Unilocal to see how it fared and then I started reading the reviews AND THE OWNER’S REPLIES/​REBUTTALS (if this is the first review you are reading, scroll down and take a look; it’s hilarious).
My experience now makes perfect sense. The owner/​manager has an attitude that may not be the best fit for a business that relies upon customer service. Good luck with your business. I can’t wait to read your reply.

Back again since our sons soccer practice is near here, had live music playing and they had the big windows open.
The place had a pretty good crowd but we were able to get a coveted seat near one of the open windows
We used to live in the area, and now stop in here occasionally when we are in the area.
The food is always good, and the staff is always friendly.
It never seems crowded here no matter what time we stop in, my wife is concerned they will close unless they bring in more clientele. I say, don’t let anyone know our secret, they must be doing okay, never seen a break in the quality and the staff always seem upbeat.
A bit pricey, but given the area and the quality of the food, I think its a pretty good value.

This is a great new addition to Potomac. The food is great quality and the service is great. It’s located in the back of the shopping center so unless your familiar with the area or live close by you would never know it’s there.
Plenty of free parking unlike downtown or other limited parking areas for dining out.
The Crab Cake is real a cooked perfect.
It’s a great quality food.
The food is cooked to order and you get real sides not out of a microwave or anything.
It would be nice if they started having live music with dinner.
It’s still a new spot. But a great addition to the local area.
Benny always there and if any isn’t right he will make it right for you.
I really enjoy this place.
Well Benny’s has now closed. It will be missed it had good food for Cabin John area.
Nobody knows how hard it is to run a business in MOCO.

I really wanted to like this place. It is near my house. It has great ambiance and easy parking. What’s not to like? I imagined giving it five stars for all its pluses, four if there was something annoying about it I couldn’t even imagine, but… I find myself having to give it a two, because I can barely stomach the thought of returning. I feel really bad about that, but in a way, even that is generous.
You see, this restaurant has a problem that’s especially difficult to correct; A rather nasty owner. I discovered that when having had only one experience there (with a date, so I’d not asked to speak to the manager then), I returned hoping to merely talk to the manager about it.
For reasons I may never understand, while I was chatting with the manager, she suddenly excused herself and chose to get the owner. She must have known what a terrible temper he had. I’d barely greeted him when he flew into a rage accusing me of «driving such a long way» just to criticize his restaurant. The manager, who knew I’d barely crossed the street to drop in, looked mildly awkward at that point.
I did my best to calm the owner. I assured him that the food I had was very good and that really I’d only visited to casually make a harmless suggestion regarding how drink orders are taken to prevent the mix-​up they had with the drink orders when I’d brought my girlfriend there a week earlier.
In the following discussion, still trying to de-​ruffle his feathers, I spoke of my hopes to bring my social club to his venue one weeknight, but despite my own assurances, I was already thinking that with a loose canon like that in the place, it wasn’t worth bringing my friends. I mean, we like a nice quiet environment, and this place almost qualifies, but we have a lot of people with food sensitivities who might ask for a special accommodation, and if this guy flew off the handle at one of them, well, I don’t even want to risk it.
I find it particularly sad that I was reminded of this place when posting a positive review about an Arby’s I stumbled into along a highway. If I can find myself sitting here wishing that Arby’s had opened on the same spot, then something must be pretty wrong with this place, but it’s not the food, it’s the treatment.
I will PROBABLY try to return ALONE to this place and see if I can make the best of it. If that visit isn’t unpleasant maybe I’ll update this review and raise the star-​rating a bit.

After receiving a few emails and comments from the owner (one of which you can see below my original review!), I decided to give Benny’s Bar & Grill another chance. In the words of GOB on Arrested Development, «I’ve made a terrible mistake.»
Service was embarrassingly atrocious. Our party of 12 was the only one in the restaurant at 11:45am, yet it took over 35 minutes to receive our food. Three of the orders were wrong, one of which came out incorrect twice. A 25% error rate for a restaurant open for 6+ months is disappointing. Throughout this process there was no apology for food delays or incorrect orders from anyone. Benny’s staff took no accountability for anything that went awry and through our whole meal they treated us as though we were inconveniencing them. We asked for drink refills multiple times before receiving them and never ended up getting the side orders of sauces we requested.
One of our colleagues’ food came so late (almost 50 minutes after ordering!) she didn’t have time to even eat it at the table. When we asked whether they would comp her meal, the manager and Benny himself both scoffed at the idea and adamantly said no.
Look, it’s fine if your policy isn’t to comp meals, but figure out a better way to communicate this to your customers. Hearing customer feedback such as, «We are disappointed you refuse to comp the burger that took 50 minutes to make correctly» and then demanding, «I LISTENED TO YOU, NOW YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME!» is an absolutely unacceptable way for an owner to act. I could go on and on about the rudeness of the manager and the owner, but there’s no point. It’s clear they’re apathetic about the customer experience, so this feedback would fall on deaf ears.
Anyway, let’s get back to the food. All of us agreed the food could have been warmer (temp-​wise), the hamburger bun completely overwhelmed the burger patty. My veggie burger came out cold in the middle, the bun wasn’t toasted (as everyone else’s was), and the cheese wasn’t melted. (See Pic.) Normally I would have sent it back, but they took so long to get it to the table, I couldn’t risk waiting.
I will 100% never be back to this establishment and neither should you.