Bennigan's Grill & Tavern

Once upon a time I was a fan of Bennigan’s and Houllihan’s and other places like this. The atmosphere was fun and there was a lot of merriment. That seems to have changed over the years.

This location opened a couple years ago as part of the area’s growth. We dined here with my in-laws. We had a decent meal, but nothing special. We have re-visited a couple times since. Each time the experience seems to slip.

We gave it Bennigan’s another attempt last evening. It may be our last.

My son and I were seated at a table that was not clean. It took a few minutes, but eventually someone came and pushed the crumbs onto the floor. The table was seated right by the kitchen, so we had plenty of foot traffic throughout the meal. That included a dishwasher who mopped the floor with smelly water. And the mopping continued most of the meal. What we didn’t understand is that the guy kept mopping near us. He would mop down away and then come back. He did this multiple times. Lovely.

Our waitress, Ikeirra, was very pleasant and upbeat. She served us our drinks right away. Then there was a wait for food. Gert had ordered fried mushrooms as an appetizer. They didn’t come. After a bit our dinner was served, but no mushrooms. I suspect Ikeirra forgot to order them. She rushed the order and when they were served, a lot of grease was added to the basket. Splendid!

Gert and I both ordered the French Dip. Eh . . . There was certainly nothing memorable about the sandwich. The au jus, otoh, was incredibly salty. I am sure they use a package and this thing was nearly inedible. It is not recommended.

The children had mac-and-cheese and a grilled cheese. Both were adequate.

The mushrooms, in addition to be greasy, were not particularly tasty. Stems were left on the ’shrooms, the batter greasy, and other than looking good, did nothing for us.

So, two out of the four items ordered were not good and the cleanliness of the restaurant was less than appealing. It will take a while, a long while, for me to want to return.

My former employer took us out there for another staff member’s goodbye lunch. Why, I will never know. The food was awful, 90% of their menu is deep-fried. The service was slow and sloppy.

Until that day I had been sure that the chain had closed down, since I hadn’t seen a Bennigan’s in years – now I wish they really had.