I haven't been to a Bennigan's in nearly 20 years, so I checked this one out more for nostalgia purposes. That, and I was hungry and didn't want to fast food. This Bennigan's location was close enough to my motel (Econo Lodge) to where I didn't have to look far for quality food. There was plenty of seating within the restaurant despite it being 7 PM on a Wednesday. I chose to sit at the bar in order to ensure that I wouldn't have slow service. The burger was a bit bland and w/o much flavoring, yet I didn't make a big deal out of it. I just used hot sauce to spice it up a bit. The fries were fine, and the draft beer was hoppy. Nonetheless, my hunger pains were satisfied. The two female bartenders were cool to chat with. They made the difference in what could have easily been a completely ho-hum experience to that which I thought was just "okay." There appears to be a hotel that this restaurant is attached to, and I was able to witness several hotel guests come to the bar area to pick up to-go orders. Certainly convenient for the hotel guests. Parking is a bit weird though. The lot itself is fine, yet you have to make a weird U-turn if traveling east. The same with departing west, heading towards the Econo Lodge. Again, this isn't a bid deal, yet if you are a first time visitor to the area like I was, this can be of small concern, especially at night. Definitely park with caution. Other than that, this Bennigan's was okay.
(3)
Kurt S.
I ordered room service from this restaurant a few weeks ago when I was in Des Moines and I stayed at the Holiday Inn that it's connected to. I didn't step foot in the restaurant. The ticket time was pretty good to my hotel room, about 15 minutes. The food was a tad overpriced but not too bad for a restaurant. The food was a disaster from the get go. First, I got a different burger from what I ordered and the burger was raw! (I took a picture of it and posted it on Yelp). Just ridiculous. Because of this, I will never return to Bennigan's OR the Holiday Inn.
(1)
Greg M.
We waited for 10 minutes to be seated 4 employees walked right by us and did not say a word. I will never go there again as they set the reputation as being rude and inconsiderate towards customers.
(1)
Sandi M.
We stood there for almost five minutes. Three servers walked by and didn't acknowledge our presents. No hostess ever came to seat us. So we left.
(1)
Andrew T.
Chains are usually not my favorite, but I was in town and decided to give it a try. I had their chipotle burger which had spicy mayo, fried onions, and the other fixin's. I liked that my food arrived hot and well done. They did not overload the plate with fries either which was a plus. No bones about it, a great dining experience. Good food, firendly and helpful staff, and a great atmosphere to dine in.
(4)
Gregg S.
Happens to be attached to the hotel I'm staying in this week. It's convienant to stop into this bar for a night cap after a full day of work. I ate in resteraunt twice. Once for breakfast and again for dinner. Food is ok. Seems like every bun is a pretzel bun.
(2)
Shelana L.
chain ... food is same in all locations. My fav is the turkey o toole. French fries are often cold :(
(2)
Carrie M.
I give it one star because the best part of my dinner was the free ice water. I haven't been here in about ten years and dinner tonight was too soon. I had a few bad French fries, one bite if terrible cold slaw and a couple tasteless chicken strips with bad honey mustard sauce. My advice....keep driving until you get the Famous Dave's a quarter mile up the road.
(1)
Holley B.
If I drive through here again I will definatley be dropping in for some Mac an cheese and a drink omg this place is bomb I'm glad I stopped in!!! Staff is freely and food is bomb
(5)
Ash H.
I have never dine at Bennigans before and this is was first dining experience at Bennigans. The restaurant weren't even busy and we were sitting in the booth waiting for a server for more than 20 minutes !!! we are also servers so we understand if there's a little wait but nobody even acknowledge us and we were starving and ready to order so we decided just to leave. What a disappointment ! we have never walked out of a restaurant before .
(1)
Hugh J.
Came here for breakfast with some out-of-towners. We were there around 8:00 AM and we were the only table there in the entire restaurant - just the 4 of us. We each got a coffee. It tasted like cheap generic coffee, but that was to be expected. Here are the problems: The eggs were cold. The 2 strips of bacon were cold and resembled bacon that was cooked the day before. Whatever, I guess this is to be expected since I don't expect a restaurant to cook bacon-to-order. The toast was barely toasted. It was cold, doughy, floppy, soggy and had the tiniest tinge of toastiness on the outside. How do you screw up toast? The hashbrowns were cold (see a theme here?) and soggy, no crisp to it. How did a restaurant screw up such simple foods? I am so confused. It ruined breakfast for my out-of-town guests. I feel really bad for even suggesting Bennigan's. I will never return.
(1)
Anonymous Z.
Great food and fantastic service. I had the chicken stripes and sweet potatoes, they were excellent and a huge salad. Hubby had a Monte Cristo and he loved it. When we travel through we will stop again. I also love how reasonable they are.
(5)
Mean Eyed C.
In town 2 weeks in a row at holiday inn. Stop in connected bennigans twice. First time my beer was out dated by 4 months, wings called 'premium' were marginal at best. 2nd week visit, beer was 4 months out of date again with same bartender. Ordered hamburger at bar, no salt, no pepper, no ketchup, no mustard, took it off a table myself. Bartender uses the annoying 'hon & honey' to everyone. Seemed nice, just did not know her job! Will not return! Too bad, people need to realize what good food and customer service is.
(1)
Chris R.
Why do I have to give this 1 star if it wasn't?!???!? Draft beer lines have to be packed with bacteria, as ALL the beers had a rotten taste to them. Went for drinks, after dinner there, and our bartender had the WORST attitude EVER! Even demanded everyone out at 1120, with a full bar of people!! If I were the owner, I'd be pissed! Don't go here, even if you're like me, and have to be, for a convention!!! Cabs are cheap......this place sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!! FYI, my party spent over $400 before this happened. Even our waiter, Drew, messed up our order but still seemed like a good guy, but works for a shitty restaurant.
(1)
Paula S.
Absolutely horrible service and the food was disgusting. Save your time and money, don't eat here.
(1)
Levi W.
Went to Bennigans for state baseball and was very disappointed in the service and food. Definitely would not recommend.
(2)
Stephen K.
This place is gross. On top of being dirty (don't even get me started on the restrooms) everything about this place has a film of nastiness on it. We almost left as soon as we got to our table, but the kids were tired and hungry and we decided to tough it out. Stupid move. The fish and chips (recommended by another Yelper) was extra heavy and the tartar sauce had a greenish glow to it (beyond the pickle relish). They served Mac and Cheese out of the box for the kids. My wife was looking for cheese quesadilla but was told that they only serve them with chicken because they are pre-made and they cannot take the chicken out. Stay away. Far away. I wanted to take a shower as soon as I left the place.
(1)
Tom P.
Drive on by! First, let me say whenever we hit the DesMoines area around the lunch hour, we always head for this Bennigans. Second, the staff and management are great - always friendly and attentive. This visit was no exception with the manager stopping by to chat. Unfortunately, they seem to have been handed a disaster of a new menu from corporate. What a train wreck. We ordered drinks and should have stopped there. There is so much fat and salt in every dish and not nearly the variety that we always loved in the past. If you do stop in, have an active gall bladder. Let's just say the remainder of our trip was dubbed the "Bennigan's Memorial Rest Stop Tour."
(1)
Kathryn M.
Friendly staff, but running on Iowa time. Not attentive at all. The French Dip (sandwiches were on special that night) was straight up gross. Hardly any meat, the cheese was greasy, the au jou was salty. My drink was empty most of the time, the man sitting at the bar couldn't get the bartender to notice him even though there were only three customers in there. Apparently they don't work there for the tips. I'm guessing that it's the Holiday Inn attatched to it that is keeping Bennigan's in business. I should have braved the freezing cold and icey streets for a decent meal.
(2)
Ingrid S.
Well I made it through 6 months before I stepped into a chain restaurant. It was unavoidable this week. This recent gig that I have been hired for has left me stranded with just flip-flops to motor in. So waking from a much needed nap, I find myself at a Bennigans which is attached to this Holiday Inn where I'm staying. Ravenous due to the never ending flight through O'Hare, I order a draft and order my favorite stand-by dish, fish n chips. Well what else do you order from an Irish Pub? I was surprised at the quality AND the quantity. The dinner came with a salad and OMG, IT was fresh too and delicious! Did Bennigan's just re-tool their menu and step up the quality? I was certainly impressed.
(3)
Jeremy W.
Once again, not a fan of chains although the group I was with wanted to stop here. I had a Guiness burger which did not live up to the one I had at Dubliners in Washington DC. It was decent for a burger though and the service was fairly quick for a pub on St. Patties day.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Average Good For Dancing : No Alcohol : Full Bar Happy Hour : Yes Coat Check : No Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : Yes Dogs Allowed : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Eric T.
I haven't been to a Bennigan's in nearly 20 years, so I checked this one out more for nostalgia purposes. That, and I was hungry and didn't want to fast food. This Bennigan's location was close enough to my motel (Econo Lodge) to where I didn't have to look far for quality food. There was plenty of seating within the restaurant despite it being 7 PM on a Wednesday. I chose to sit at the bar in order to ensure that I wouldn't have slow service. The burger was a bit bland and w/o much flavoring, yet I didn't make a big deal out of it. I just used hot sauce to spice it up a bit. The fries were fine, and the draft beer was hoppy. Nonetheless, my hunger pains were satisfied. The two female bartenders were cool to chat with. They made the difference in what could have easily been a completely ho-hum experience to that which I thought was just "okay." There appears to be a hotel that this restaurant is attached to, and I was able to witness several hotel guests come to the bar area to pick up to-go orders. Certainly convenient for the hotel guests. Parking is a bit weird though. The lot itself is fine, yet you have to make a weird U-turn if traveling east. The same with departing west, heading towards the Econo Lodge. Again, this isn't a bid deal, yet if you are a first time visitor to the area like I was, this can be of small concern, especially at night. Definitely park with caution. Other than that, this Bennigan's was okay.
(3)Kurt S.
I ordered room service from this restaurant a few weeks ago when I was in Des Moines and I stayed at the Holiday Inn that it's connected to. I didn't step foot in the restaurant. The ticket time was pretty good to my hotel room, about 15 minutes. The food was a tad overpriced but not too bad for a restaurant. The food was a disaster from the get go. First, I got a different burger from what I ordered and the burger was raw! (I took a picture of it and posted it on Yelp). Just ridiculous. Because of this, I will never return to Bennigan's OR the Holiday Inn.
(1)Greg M.
We waited for 10 minutes to be seated 4 employees walked right by us and did not say a word. I will never go there again as they set the reputation as being rude and inconsiderate towards customers.
(1)Sandi M.
We stood there for almost five minutes. Three servers walked by and didn't acknowledge our presents. No hostess ever came to seat us. So we left.
(1)Andrew T.
Chains are usually not my favorite, but I was in town and decided to give it a try. I had their chipotle burger which had spicy mayo, fried onions, and the other fixin's. I liked that my food arrived hot and well done. They did not overload the plate with fries either which was a plus. No bones about it, a great dining experience. Good food, firendly and helpful staff, and a great atmosphere to dine in.
(4)Gregg S.
Happens to be attached to the hotel I'm staying in this week. It's convienant to stop into this bar for a night cap after a full day of work. I ate in resteraunt twice. Once for breakfast and again for dinner. Food is ok. Seems like every bun is a pretzel bun.
(2)Shelana L.
chain ... food is same in all locations. My fav is the turkey o toole. French fries are often cold :(
(2)Carrie M.
I give it one star because the best part of my dinner was the free ice water. I haven't been here in about ten years and dinner tonight was too soon. I had a few bad French fries, one bite if terrible cold slaw and a couple tasteless chicken strips with bad honey mustard sauce. My advice....keep driving until you get the Famous Dave's a quarter mile up the road.
(1)Holley B.
If I drive through here again I will definatley be dropping in for some Mac an cheese and a drink omg this place is bomb I'm glad I stopped in!!! Staff is freely and food is bomb
(5)Ash H.
I have never dine at Bennigans before and this is was first dining experience at Bennigans. The restaurant weren't even busy and we were sitting in the booth waiting for a server for more than 20 minutes !!! we are also servers so we understand if there's a little wait but nobody even acknowledge us and we were starving and ready to order so we decided just to leave. What a disappointment ! we have never walked out of a restaurant before .
(1)Hugh J.
Came here for breakfast with some out-of-towners. We were there around 8:00 AM and we were the only table there in the entire restaurant - just the 4 of us. We each got a coffee. It tasted like cheap generic coffee, but that was to be expected. Here are the problems: The eggs were cold. The 2 strips of bacon were cold and resembled bacon that was cooked the day before. Whatever, I guess this is to be expected since I don't expect a restaurant to cook bacon-to-order. The toast was barely toasted. It was cold, doughy, floppy, soggy and had the tiniest tinge of toastiness on the outside. How do you screw up toast? The hashbrowns were cold (see a theme here?) and soggy, no crisp to it. How did a restaurant screw up such simple foods? I am so confused. It ruined breakfast for my out-of-town guests. I feel really bad for even suggesting Bennigan's. I will never return.
(1)Anonymous Z.
Great food and fantastic service. I had the chicken stripes and sweet potatoes, they were excellent and a huge salad. Hubby had a Monte Cristo and he loved it. When we travel through we will stop again. I also love how reasonable they are.
(5)Mean Eyed C.
In town 2 weeks in a row at holiday inn. Stop in connected bennigans twice. First time my beer was out dated by 4 months, wings called 'premium' were marginal at best. 2nd week visit, beer was 4 months out of date again with same bartender. Ordered hamburger at bar, no salt, no pepper, no ketchup, no mustard, took it off a table myself. Bartender uses the annoying 'hon & honey' to everyone. Seemed nice, just did not know her job! Will not return! Too bad, people need to realize what good food and customer service is.
(1)Chris R.
Why do I have to give this 1 star if it wasn't?!???!? Draft beer lines have to be packed with bacteria, as ALL the beers had a rotten taste to them. Went for drinks, after dinner there, and our bartender had the WORST attitude EVER! Even demanded everyone out at 1120, with a full bar of people!! If I were the owner, I'd be pissed! Don't go here, even if you're like me, and have to be, for a convention!!! Cabs are cheap......this place sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!! FYI, my party spent over $400 before this happened. Even our waiter, Drew, messed up our order but still seemed like a good guy, but works for a shitty restaurant.
(1)Paula S.
Absolutely horrible service and the food was disgusting. Save your time and money, don't eat here.
(1)Levi W.
Went to Bennigans for state baseball and was very disappointed in the service and food. Definitely would not recommend.
(2)Stephen K.
This place is gross. On top of being dirty (don't even get me started on the restrooms) everything about this place has a film of nastiness on it. We almost left as soon as we got to our table, but the kids were tired and hungry and we decided to tough it out. Stupid move. The fish and chips (recommended by another Yelper) was extra heavy and the tartar sauce had a greenish glow to it (beyond the pickle relish). They served Mac and Cheese out of the box for the kids. My wife was looking for cheese quesadilla but was told that they only serve them with chicken because they are pre-made and they cannot take the chicken out. Stay away. Far away. I wanted to take a shower as soon as I left the place.
(1)Tom P.
Drive on by! First, let me say whenever we hit the DesMoines area around the lunch hour, we always head for this Bennigans. Second, the staff and management are great - always friendly and attentive. This visit was no exception with the manager stopping by to chat. Unfortunately, they seem to have been handed a disaster of a new menu from corporate. What a train wreck. We ordered drinks and should have stopped there. There is so much fat and salt in every dish and not nearly the variety that we always loved in the past. If you do stop in, have an active gall bladder. Let's just say the remainder of our trip was dubbed the "Bennigan's Memorial Rest Stop Tour."
(1)Kathryn M.
Friendly staff, but running on Iowa time. Not attentive at all. The French Dip (sandwiches were on special that night) was straight up gross. Hardly any meat, the cheese was greasy, the au jou was salty. My drink was empty most of the time, the man sitting at the bar couldn't get the bartender to notice him even though there were only three customers in there. Apparently they don't work there for the tips. I'm guessing that it's the Holiday Inn attatched to it that is keeping Bennigan's in business. I should have braved the freezing cold and icey streets for a decent meal.
(2)Ingrid S.
Well I made it through 6 months before I stepped into a chain restaurant. It was unavoidable this week. This recent gig that I have been hired for has left me stranded with just flip-flops to motor in. So waking from a much needed nap, I find myself at a Bennigans which is attached to this Holiday Inn where I'm staying. Ravenous due to the never ending flight through O'Hare, I order a draft and order my favorite stand-by dish, fish n chips. Well what else do you order from an Irish Pub? I was surprised at the quality AND the quantity. The dinner came with a salad and OMG, IT was fresh too and delicious! Did Bennigan's just re-tool their menu and step up the quality? I was certainly impressed.
(3)Jeremy W.
Once again, not a fan of chains although the group I was with wanted to stop here. I had a Guiness burger which did not live up to the one I had at Dubliners in Washington DC. It was decent for a burger though and the service was fairly quick for a pub on St. Patties day.
(3)