Benjamin Restaurant

My husband and I went here last night before a movie (very convenient to Renaissance Theaters across the street). I was not sure what to expect based on the reviews.

The place is decorated in dark colors, but nicely lit. We sat at a two top, my hubby facing the wall. I'm not fond of setups where someone has to face the wall.

They bring out hot pretzels with a yummy cheese dip, instead of bread. My husband's Manhattan and my ginger gimlet were well made. I ordered sardines. Most people wouldn't like them, but it's my kind of thing. They were tasty and salty. I should have saved some of the pretzel to eat with it, or they should offer a little crusty bread on the plate. Hubby had tomato bisque. He said it was good, but they poor it out of a tea pot. They should find something else to poor it out of... or hey, just bring it in the bowl.

So before I ordered, I told the waiter "Yelp has very bad reviews on your whitefish. What's the story? Is it too small?" He told me it was 6 oz, and the salmon was 7oz. Hubby ordered the salmon, and I tried the whitefish. While it was not as big and juicy as the salmon (his salmon was fantastic!), my whitefish was very good. I had to take half of it home (I posted a picture so you all could see it). I just ate it for lunch, and it was tasty the second day too. The sides we magnificent! The fava beans were to die for. I also had my husbands fennel from his salmon plate. The was incredible.

We had the key lime bread pudding for dessert. It was good, not great. But I think that is because I like bread pudding better than key lime pie. It has the tastes of Key lime pie, and the bread pudding consistency. I had to try it, and I'm glad I did. It was creative... just not something for me to order again.

The prices are a bit high. We were regulars at Rosebud that used to be across the street. This place is more expensive. Figure $50 a couple or more with drinks, starter, entree and sharing dessert.

We will be back. The piano music was great, and they said we could eat at the bar. So we will either do that, or sit upstairs by the piano.

My parents took me here because they were so impressed with their experience at Benjamin in the fall. This time around, they were disappointed and I never got to see what they enjoyed so much the first time.

We had a reservation, yet when we came, the hostess looked around like she had no idea where to seat us. She decided to put us upstairs, with no other diners. Very strange.

They've done away with the pretzel fondue for spring, and instead have bread with a homemade butter that changes each week. The butter (with tomatoes and peppers) was fine, the bread was nothing special, just room-temperature hunks of white bread. Ho hum.

They've also changed so that they now encourage you to order several small plates, tapas style, rather than one big entree. My family sort of split the difference, ordering three small plates to share and an entree.

So here's the thing: I'm a vegetarian. There is next to nothing for me here, which is a little ridiculous, considering I've gone to steakhouses, and restaurants with meats in their NAME and been able to order things (Sonoma Chicken Coop, Jeffrie's Hamburgers, etc.). But they give a whole schpiel on how they want to use in-season, local ingredients, which (guess what) meshes really well with cooking good vegetables, and cooking them really well.

Except they didn't do that.

We got the beets cubed appetizer... It was okay. The beet chips were fine, the goat cheese fritter was fine, the cold roasted beets were fine. We also got the vegetable terrine, which was really not very good. The vegetables weren't well-seasoned or particularly well-cooked, and it's served cold, so the chewiness of the subpar roasting really came out. I also got the Kinda Waldorf salad... I tasted no dried apples which were listed as an ingredient, and the whole thing was vinegar-y enough to make me pucker.

Luckily they could make their chocolate-nutella bread pudding without the candied bacon in it, so I ordered that for dessert, and it was delicious. Easily the best part of the meal. I could see coming here just for dessert... If they didn't put Baby in a corner next time.

Not too often do I venture out of the city solely for a fine dining experience. When I read and read... and read about this new restaurant, Benjamin, I had to make an exception. The surrounding North Shore suburban residents can be difficult to please, especially how nowadays everyone who has the money can deem themselves a "foodie."

Anyways, let's get to the restaurant.

Step through the front door and instantly, you're greeted by the hostess, bartender, server or whomever notices your entry. Without a moments wait, you're taken to your table carrying the realization; I'm not in Chicago anymore.

There are a few seating choices available; The bar, the dining room or the lofted dining area which allows you to gaze over the entire vaulted space. Due to availability, we opted for a booth in the back of the main dining room. Not a bad decision though.

I wanted to get the full Benjamin experience, so I took a real eater with me. An eater who wouldn't bear any issues with my ordering frenzy. My pops.

After our serving of warm housemade soft pretzels and cheese fondue, we listened to our server's explanation of the menu and I placed an order to entertain our senses and stomachs for the rest of the evening. It went as follows; Mishima Wagyu, ahi tuna crudo, pesto gnocchi gratin, pork shoulder, salmon, and an apple galette to finish it off.

The Mishima farms wagyu was served thinly sliced and raw, with a trio of sauces. The diner can also cook the wagyu with the provided hot himalayan salt brick. I'm a purist when it comes to high quality meats, so I had to take the first bite raw with a pinch of salt. To me, this was perfect. Although, searing it on the hot salt brick for a few seconds did enhance a lot of the flavors from the evoo and pepper. This represented a farm to fork aspect Benjamin's holds true to its name. Simply elegant using the best ingredients.
As did the ahi tuna crudo. The flavors of the ahi were enhanced by seared crispy garlic slices, a yuzu sauce, ginger and shallots. Then topped with some fresh winter greens to directly represent a Japanese style fresh and traditional appetizer.

We couldn't stay light and healthy all evening. I had to take fully advantage of my dining partner's appetite and love for food.

The house-made gnocchi was the passage into the glutinous side of this feast. The gnocchi were soft airid pillows dressed in a pistachio and truffle oil pesto and sprinkled with parmesan and pecorino. A nice char of the torch turning the dish au gratin added another level of texture to bring it all together. Portioned to not put us over the edge and allow the main courses to be anticipated.

At this point, I went off the keel with my pop's. He went into the deep end with the White Marble Farms Pork Shoulder, and I stayed a float with the Cedar Planked Jail Island Salmon.

Again, the reason I chose to dine with him. This is a man with no reservations. A man who jogs 3 to 4 miles a day, so he doesn't have to behave himself at 65 years old. The Pork Shoulder was right up his alley. Just reading the description could put some into a food coma; Pork Shoulder served with a corned beef hash cake, potato gruyere fondue, duck egg and chipotle crema. Good night! Every savory/umami substance even mushrooms were presented in this dish of crispy yet perfectly braised pork which could be cut with the underside of a spoon. Reluctantly, I had my good share of this dish. I can never resist anything topped in a fried duck's egg.

I'm also a sucker for roasted cauliflowers, which is the main reason I decided to go with the salmon. This held up to my expectations. The fish was also cooked to a perfect medium rare and had the nice essence of cedar from the plank it was prepared and served with.

Now for the closer, an apple galette with Homer's Vanilla bean ice cream. A dessert large enough for the masses. Easily able to satisfy the sweet tooth of 4-5 people. Served on a chopping block holding a layer of parchment paper telling you one thing... Dig in. End it all. No reservations. When this mille feuille crusted apple pastry gets drizzled with the salted caramel sauce and topped with the ice cream, it can only be described as indulgent.

I'll be back again for the burger and to try the rest of the menu. All I need is another reason to head back to Highland Park in the mean time, or to come up with some sort of excuse to tell others besides just to dine at Benjamin's again.

About Last Night. A friend invited me to share her coupon. I perused the various Yelp reviews and thought - well, if we don't like it, at least we don't have to pay full fare. Reservation at 6:30 on a Wednesday night. Got seated immediately. We were among the first to arrive. Decor is LOVELY. Very teensie bar at the front and not lots of waiting space.

2 pretzel shaped rolls with a cheese-mustard sauce were brought to the table. Delicious. We each ordered one of their special cocktails. T had kind of a dirty-spicy martini (came with a mini tabasco bottle) and I had a vodka-gin-cucumber concoction. We both liked ours "best" and they hit the spot. Our waiter "Timothy" gave us an overview -- everything is freshly made. Nothing is pre-made. They recycle. They use local whenever possible. All sounded good. We are 2 sophisticated diners and we like to "engage" our server. Why not be nice from the get-go? Must be my (our) humble beginnings. Well Timothy was terrific. We schmoozed with him a bit before getting down to business. He explained the menu to us; shared his favorites and steered us away from things he didn't think were top notch. He left us so we could think about our choices.

T and I each wanted to try a few things and thought it best if we shared. It's not over-the-top expensive, but it's pricey. Even with our coupon. So - we took Timothy's suggestion and ordered the shrimp appetizer (4 very good sized shrimp - grilled to perfection - each served in a shot glass with bloody mary mix). Unique and beautiful presentation. Shrimp had a great crust and very good seasonings. We loved this!

We also ordered the Tuscan salad. Other than locally grown veggies, it wasn't super-special. But it was fresh, pretty. light and good.

We ordered bacon-wrapped scallops as our entree. T and I both asked that these be cooked throughout. We both discovered that neither of us like our scallops to jiggle. Voila! Perfectly cooked. Scallops were served on a white bean puree with snap peas and some green foam and maybe lentils? This was a hit for both of us. We LOVED.

During the course of our evening we noticed some really nice looking dinners being brought out. Quite a few steak/fries and tons of burgers. Once we got a look at the fries -- we had to have an order of those too! Garlic fries. Super-duper-delicious.

We didn't save room for dessert, unfortunately. I guess the fries were our dessert.

Also - Eric, the manager, stopped by our table to make sure we were happy. We also engaged Eric in conversation and asked if he read the Yelp reviews. He said they read them and take them seriously. T and I both agreed that the decor, service and most importantly -- the food -- exceeded our expectations. He seemed delighted to hear that. T had a few menu suggestions (more vegetarian options) and Eric said the menu was being reworked to include vegan, vegetarian and gluten free.

Remember -- we shared everything -- and our bill was $75. They took $25 off for the coupon and our tab was $25/pp. I hope to visit Benjamin again soon. I hope I'm not disappointed. T is going back for her birthday next week and she promises to let me know if her 2nd experience is as good as the first.

We're both hopeful.

We went here 8:30 on Saturday night, pleasantly seated right away! Had a nice little chat with a man who I can only assume is Mr. Benjamin on the way to our table in the loft area of the restaurant.

SUPER GLAD WE GOT TO SIT IN THE LOFT! Right by the piano and super romantic yet comfy seating.

The pretzels, as others have alluded to, were amazing. What a great idea....

Our cheese fries got a little too burnt under the broiler...good thing the other half likes things extra crispy. The food was pretty good. My lamb was delish, other half's pork was super tender.

I would have to say this place SHOULD have gotten 5 stars. Only problem was our waiter: we came with a restaurant.com coupon. We are young and broke and love food, whattayagonnado? Welp, Mr. Waiter gave us some sh*t about using it, trying to make us feel guilty. We tip on the full amount, if that was his problem. But it kind of put a damper on our mood for a little bit. :(

Our second visit ...both enjoyable. Nice atmosphere and delectable menu. Upscale city feel without traffic and parking hassle. Seasonal menu...great idea. Lots to choose from. We were served deliciously soft warm pretzels with fondue cheese sauce instead of traditional bread offering, a very nice touch. I thought our starter dishes were tastier than main course. Food was served timely, but our server seemed a bit green.
We certainly will return to Benjamin...

Two words NOT GOOD.

We went after reading the reviews on Yelp and I figured I'd take the bad ones with a grain of salt. The good reviews were glowing, the bad ones seemingly specific and picky.

Atmosphere - nice.
Service - slightly weird.
Food - yuk.

I had the Rib Eye, my wife had the filet mignion. I asked for mine to be cooked rare/medium rare and the waiter told me he could do it either way, but I had to make up my mind. Weird and inexperienced.

The steak was pretty but fatty even for a rib eye. I took half of it home as it was too dark to see the steak and cut the fatty bits out.

My wife's steak was very average too.

Sides ranged from bland to awful. A restaurant that serves soggy oily fries? Even if they hadn't been a mound of greasy potato, there was too much garlic and no truffle flavor at all.

We started with the mushroom bruschetta. Advertised as wild mushrooms, but they were pretty flavorless button mushrooms on very average bread.

We asked for the steak halves to be put in a doggie bag and only one of them made it in.

What was the worst part? The price. This place charges more than Cafe Central by almost twice!!!! And the food is nowhere near as good.

Summary, weirded out, not satisfied and felt ripped off.

I went there for the first time last week. I went there with 3 friends and we ordered tons of food and a few drinks, of course. We ordered oysters, flatbread, white fish and 3 deserts. I have to be honest, I am not a huge desert person but we ordered some and they were amazing. Everything was fresh and great tasting.

The service was also great! No complaints and can't wait to go back.

Lovely dinner with in-laws who live in Highland Park. They had heard one raving review, and one that was bad, so we tried it. The decor was nice and the service was excellent. I ordered the swordfish special which tender and savory.
We found it unusual that we were encouraged to order appetizers, entrees and dessert at once. Maybe because of the suggestion, we were unable to do so.

The complaint about the dessert menu was that there was not chocolate (just the chocolate mousse cherry trifle). However, the apple gallette was wonderful.

I had eaten here last weekend with my wife and another couple for dinner. Chef/Owner Benjamin took care of us and gave the four of us a night we will never forget. The food was amazing, his techniques and passion really shines through with each dish we had. For dinner we had a tasting which consisted of a 6 course meal including a tour through different regions of Europe while never leaving the table. Benjamin paired the wine or champagne with every course and was spot on, the helped to bring the dish alive.

The first course we had was a seared scallop with a roasted red pepper pesto topped with apple wood smoked bacon and micro greens.
The second course was pumpkin purses (ravioli) in a white wine cream sauce.
Third course was a seared beef medallion with a red wine reduction topped with micro greens served over a creamy risotto cooked perfectly.
Fourth course was a white wine poached Atlantic salmon,
Fifth course was Ahi tuna with a pea oil and served over a piece of crustini with olive oil and garlic.
Lastly we had dessert which was a trio of chocolate cake, peanut butter mouse and concord grape jam (a play on a PB&J Sandwich) and lastly an out of the box idea for a crustini with cinnamon and vanilla topped with a dollop of gorgonzola cheese to give the sweet and savor feel and it worked amazing.

The ambiance of the restaurant was quaint and romantic with a modern twist, dim lighting and space between tables to give a more private setting. The bar drinks we creative and martini's I would recommend.

The service was great from his General Manager checking on our table to our Waitress Grace who took care of us all night. Benjamin is a great chef who pushes the limit with his cooking, he was a very humble chef, he came to the table and interacting with us while we were there asked for opinions of the food. This is a restaurant I would recommend to anyone to visit.
With me being an Executive Chef myself I have tried food from all over the country and the world and let me tell you there is no reason to leave Illinois to try French/Italian Cooking like this. This restaurant is here to STAY!!!