Benny’s Seafood Review
When I first saw Benny’s Seafood, located in a strip mall in Delafield, WI, I thought it was a seafood store. I was excited as western Waukesha County doesn’t have a great source for fish. I later read in the Journal that it was actually a restaurant. Dennis Getto seemed to have a pretty big boner for this place, which isn’t saying a whole lot. Nonetheless we gave it a try a few weeks ago.
The décor is definitely that of a seafood place, with netting and strong nautical theme. We waited at the bar for about 20 minutes for our table. The beer selection is awesome with a whole lot of microbrews. We were asked if we could be seated at a 6-top rectangular table with another couple at the opposite end, which was fine with us. They touted their freshly shucked oysters, which I had a craving for so I ordered a ½ dozen as an appetizer. The arrived with some lemon and some cocktail sauce. I prefer mine unadulterated, but these may have been a couple of days old. They were still fresh, but the lemon added an extra bit of freshness. They were very good.
Dinners are served with soup or salad and my wife and I opted for the clam chowder, which quite honestly was some of the best I have ever had in Wisconsin and I would hold it up to some of the great chowders I have tasted on the East Coast. Filled with a significant amount of chopped clams, the soup was the perfect consistency.
The menu is broken down into preparation types, grilling, oven, pan fried, and house specials. I opted for the house special Soft Shelled Crabs with a rosemary, garlic, caper sauce. My wife tried the Mahi Mahi Almondine from the oven. The soft shell crabs themselves were fried to perfection and were very fresh and flavorful. As for the sauce, I could barely detect it. I definitely couldn’t taste any rosemary. I opted for the rice as my side, hoping that the sauce would add some flavor to it. The lack of sauce resulted in me having a nice pile of bland rice. The sautéed veggies were very good, but that is pretty hard to screw up. Benny’s can now get added to the endless list of places that serve boring bland rice. I think if this dish was covered with a more substantial sauce, like a Remoulade, and some decent rice it would have been good.
My wife’s Mahi Mahi was very bland and a wee bit overcooked, but not to the point of being tough. She opted for the garlic mashed potatoes, which were actually quite impressive. The pineapple glaze, much like my sauce, was undetectable and when I ate a piece that had some glaze on it, my wife was shocked as she was convinced they had forgot it. We are both sauce freaks and were therefore very disappointed in these meals because, while cooked ok, the taste was really boring.
I think with some fine tuning this place could really kick out some great meals but for now, take your seafood desires elsewhere. The service was ok, but the waitress passed by our empty beers about 5 times before asking if we wanted another drink. She also didn't appear to know that much about the menu. I am guessing she really doesn't care too much for seafood. I believe it was the owner who seated us and he was extremely gracious and definitely appreciative of the people in his restaurant.
The décor is definitely that of a seafood place, with netting and strong nautical theme. We waited at the bar for about 20 minutes for our table. The beer selection is awesome with a whole lot of microbrews. We were asked if we could be seated at a 6-top rectangular table with another couple at the opposite end, which was fine with us. They touted their freshly shucked oysters, which I had a craving for so I ordered a ½ dozen as an appetizer. The arrived with some lemon and some cocktail sauce. I prefer mine unadulterated, but these may have been a couple of days old. They were still fresh, but the lemon added an extra bit of freshness. They were very good.
Dinners are served with soup or salad and my wife and I opted for the clam chowder, which quite honestly was some of the best I have ever had in Wisconsin and I would hold it up to some of the great chowders I have tasted on the East Coast. Filled with a significant amount of chopped clams, the soup was the perfect consistency.
The menu is broken down into preparation types, grilling, oven, pan fried, and house specials. I opted for the house special Soft Shelled Crabs with a rosemary, garlic, caper sauce. My wife tried the Mahi Mahi Almondine from the oven. The soft shell crabs themselves were fried to perfection and were very fresh and flavorful. As for the sauce, I could barely detect it. I definitely couldn’t taste any rosemary. I opted for the rice as my side, hoping that the sauce would add some flavor to it. The lack of sauce resulted in me having a nice pile of bland rice. The sautéed veggies were very good, but that is pretty hard to screw up. Benny’s can now get added to the endless list of places that serve boring bland rice. I think if this dish was covered with a more substantial sauce, like a Remoulade, and some decent rice it would have been good.
My wife’s Mahi Mahi was very bland and a wee bit overcooked, but not to the point of being tough. She opted for the garlic mashed potatoes, which were actually quite impressive. The pineapple glaze, much like my sauce, was undetectable and when I ate a piece that had some glaze on it, my wife was shocked as she was convinced they had forgot it. We are both sauce freaks and were therefore very disappointed in these meals because, while cooked ok, the taste was really boring.
I think with some fine tuning this place could really kick out some great meals but for now, take your seafood desires elsewhere. The service was ok, but the waitress passed by our empty beers about 5 times before asking if we wanted another drink. She also didn't appear to know that much about the menu. I am guessing she really doesn't care too much for seafood. I believe it was the owner who seated us and he was extremely gracious and definitely appreciative of the people in his restaurant.
posted by Jeff @ 8:44 AM
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