It's Bennigans! We haven't seen a Bennigans in years. This place holds allot of nostalgia for us. The Monte Cristo and raspberry sauce were just as good as I remembered. The potato soup wasn't though. It's not really soup season, so understandable. There was a wedding party there, so I can't speak to their normal service. We wouldn't have known it was a wedding without the signs-which means their rooms for private parties are well set up. read more

Nice easy place to get to. Had a happy hour on Wednesday until 6 with $2 draws domestic beer. I had good service as the waitress's were working the butt off. and good food that I couldn't finish and felt a little bad but I was unable to fit it all in. Solid overall place. I was surprised on how big this location was as I found 2 more "rooms" of tables off to the side as I was leaving. If the parking lot starts filling up im sure there is still enough room inside. Give it a try. read more

Bennigan's - Mozzarella sticks hand a nice hard coating gooey center - American Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

See all

Went to Bennigan's, ended up having an Ed Debevic's styled meal. At 7:15pm- me and five others arrived and were fairly quickly ushered to a table to accommodate our party size. Twenty five minutes later, we were approached by our waitress, who stared down one of my friends and said "are you just going to stare at me or order something?" Six waters, two Guinness, an Irish mule, and a Hibiscus mule was our order. The waters came five ish minutes later, followed by half foam Guinness pours 10 minutes later, followed by the mules another 10 minutes later. The restaurant closed at 9:00, and we received our food around 9:10pm. Service: 1 star. I don't know if you can even call it service due to the being trapped in a Bennigan's for almost three hours- our server failed to write down the full order and was unable to separate checks, incorrectly sent our order to the kitchen completely forgetting items, being unaware of the menu and allergies (responded with "I don't know" to allergen related questions instead of asking?) Atmosphere- quiet, barren, and for being next to a hotel where guests are warning other guests not to come in? Not a good look. Note- there were maybe three other tables in the restaurant; a four top, a four top, and a two top. The bar had three guests and one to go order. Call it poor management for not having enough service staff for this sort of "rush", call it overall lackluster service and mediocre food, call it whatever you will. It was an absolute abysmal experience, one I will absolutely be avoiding for the rest of my life, and I hope, god willing, others do the same. read more

I am going to be generous here. We were eating out on a late July Monday night (a notoriously bad night to dine out to begin with) because we were already guests in the hotel. The restaurant turned out to be grossly understaffed, so everything took too long - seating, table service, food arrivals and even the check. I don't blame the restaurant for not having enough help on a shift. This undoubtedly caused every delay. People call in, and places seem to be understaffed everywhere anymore. However, our server, who was waiting on and bussing half the restaurant by herself, was remarkable. The kitchen seemed to be understaffed that night as well and was slow turning around the orders. She kept apologizing for every delay. She was obviously overworked that night and seemed a bit rushed and spread thin. However, she managed to constantly keep a great attitude and smiled throughout. She even managed to pick up our food as soon as it was plated, so it arrived at our table hot. Her name was Paige. She earned a generous tip. Seek her out. And the restaurant is very good. Circumstances may have made our experience less than ideal, but we understand these things happen. The great food and an employee like Paige can sure do wonders to soften the experience. We'll be back someday. It deserves a second chance. read more

It's a Bennigan's in a small town. Clean tables, not very busy, decent Reuben. The kids meals are enormous. read more

Bennigan's - Bar area - American Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

mackenzie was an awesome server. highly recommend. Food was ok. 5 stars for service.

After a long day & a not so good of experience at a restaurant across from this one I landed here for dinner. My waitress sat me, took my drink order, brought me my drink, & had my food order in within 5 minutes. The Mexican place across the street hadn't even acknowledged my presence in the same amount of time. The food came fairly quickly & was enjoyable. After dinner I asked for a bread pudding. The waitress asked if I wanted it to go but I said nah, not realizing they were closing at the moment. She was so sweet & never even made me question a thing. I didn't even realize until after I left. Sorry about that! Anyway, the restaurant was clean & well maintained. Thank you for turning my evening back around with the smile & service! One note though, maybe a little less gravy on the chicken fried steak. It hid my corn. lol read more

Some of the worst food and service I've ever been around. $20 for crappy burgers. $30 for a half rack of the worst ribs in Iowa. Took them 45 minutes to bring out 2 appetizers. They ran out of potato skins and failed to mention that for a hour after we ordered them. Just a horrendous experience. I can see why no one was dining in there at dinner time like us. read more

Bennigan's - American Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

I'll be the first to admit that I did not know Bennigan's was still in existence. Apparently this particular one is attached to the hotel I stayed in while working in the area. Prior to my getting something to eat here I did not look at any reviews. Well my review is definitely on the positive side. I ordered the Danny Boy Chicken ( garlic marinated chicken breast with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli sauté with the Irish whiskey glaze) The chicken had a nice flavor and was tender for the most part. The Irish whiskey glaze that came with it was delicious. The garlic mashed potatoes was pretty good and the broccoli was okay. Not as tender as I like but edible. I also ordered the Kilkenny salad ( fried Chicken over crispy lettuce, diced eggs, and shredded Colby cheese, tomatoes and bacon with a smoky honey Dijon dressing). I forgot to ask them to not include the bacon so I have to pick out the bacon. After doing this the salad was really good and the dressing was awesome. The customer service was top notch the lady working was friendly and very helpful. The next night I ordered the Warm Butter Cake ($7 Rich warm buttery cake with a luscious layer of cream cheese and a golden crunchy crust. Topped with rich vanilla ice cream and made from scratch fresh strawberry sauce). The cake was absolutely delicious. The crust was definitely crunchy yet the cake was dense and moist, just how I like it. Will look for this or something similar when I return home. read more

Bennigan's - Danny Boy Chicken ( garlic marinated chicken breast with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli saute with the Irish whiskey glaze) - American Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

See all

Bad experience! My wife found a long hair in her burger! Disgusting! We also placed an order of apps and entrees and got the wrong appetizers. They did catch it and correct it but I didn't get the app I wanted until I was done with my entree. This app switch up also happened at another table, and it wasn't like they got the two tables mixed up, they were just completely wrong. read more

First time ever going we waited 45 minutes for the Food which was terrible, every one of us (6 people) either had a messed up stomach or puked. And when we went to pay we all handed the lady a card because we were separate and she charged ME only for over $150 when our order was $44. This place is garbage and the manager refused to pay us back. I will fucking starve before I step foot in that trash hole again. If I could give it a negative star rating I would. read more

My husband and I ate at Bennigan's on the recommendation of our hotel staff, and we're so glad we did! It was a quiet night at the restaurant, and we were able to be seated at a booth at the windows. There were clear plastic guards up between each of the booths for [hygiene], although none of the patrons nor staff were wearing masks. We noticed the waiters thoroughly wiping down the tables in-between guests. Rhonda was the hostess and our waitress, and she was superb! She was friendly and welcoming, and was able to give us great recommendations for menu items, including possible substitutions. I had the grilled salmon and rice pilaf, and substituted Brussels sprouts for the broccoli. The sprouts were sauteed with bacon, onion, and dried cranberries and were REALLY tasty! The salmon was grilled nicely and ended up pairing well with their house tartar sauce. The rice pilaf had a good amount of corn and red bell pepper mixed in. My husband's fish and chips were also delicious--crispy and light and not greasy. They have a full bar, and the bartender was able to make a Colorado bulldog that was perfectly blended. It was a great meal with great service. The next time we're in Clear Lake, we'll be back to Bennigan's! read more

Extremely slow service, waited an hour for a burger. Ordered the whiskey burger, wasn't a horrible burger but did not have any whiskey taste to it at all. The fries were pretty good but a little cold. The manager did take a little off for the long wait. So I will try it again and see if it was just a bad night. read more

I don't know what is going on here but they are always understaffed and out of common items. I travel for work and have dropped in 3 times because it's near the hotel. 2 of the 3 times we have left before ordering because of issues. read more

Had the beer battered Fish and chips it is a well sized portion. With a draft beer. The establishment was clean and the service was great.

food was below mediocre waitress Autum took our order and brought the bill. had to flag her down to get a refill on my pop. she had my glass and some elses and stopped to talk to an other waitress for a while before bring it to me. I got the wrong glass and the other guy i could tell be his reaction he got mine. read more

I appreciate the hard work of our restaurant staff during this difficult time. That being said, BEFORE the pandemic I wasn't really impressed, but quite some time has passed. I thought perhaps things changed for the better. Newp. The staff I encountered were friendly, but the food was cold and not appetizing when it arrived an hour later. Our bills were wrong at the end of the gig, BUT the death by chocolate martini was pretty good and they took the crappy, cold food off the check. Much appreciated. Final call...I won't be going back to Bennigans Againagans. read more

Went in Friday night around 6. my dad and I both ordered the monte Cristo sandwich, our server asked how hungry we were. and suggested we split it. so we did and dad ordered a bowl of potato soup. the soup came out first, it was good. then the meals came and I'm thankful that we split it. it was very good. I love sweet and savory. my mom had the chicken strips and they looked really good. appeared to be hand breaded and not frozen. We got 20% off with a yelp check in. I really regretted not taking a picture of that monte Cristo. I didn't use their bathrooms, I didnt realize there were some in the restaurant, I walked through to the hotel. it was clean with paper towels. the trash can was a little to far away for a non basketball player. staff wore masks, our server wore gloves, I don't care for that, but tried not to think about the germs. I think the server did a great job and appreciate the tip to split the sandwich. read more

Awesome fish and chips!! We'll stop here again for sure!! Great service!! The peach old fashioned was the bomb too!!

My husband and I stopped by for supposedly a quick lunch on our way back to MPLS. It's Father's Day and I let him pick and since all the Bennigan's in MN are closed he really wanted a Monte Cristo because they make it best. We got sat down right away but took almost 5 minutes before our server came over to get our drink order. No busy so no reason to be slow she claimed she didn't realize we were there..uhhh really because you were cleaning a table not too far from us and you didn't know two people sitting under a bright light??? Bad communication from the host. Oh and the main reason we picked the restaurant was for the Monte Cristo my husband wanted and they were sold out. Knowing this is your most popular dish on Father's Day and you didn't prep enough for it??? I do say the dishes we ended up ordering were decent, my husband got the NY strip special and I got a half order of baby back ribs with fries. I also ordered a cup of their special veggie cheddar soup to come out first, did not come out until right before our entrees and tasted like it came from a can. read more

Really good service and food was spot on. Clean and open. Great location. Truck parking is close by. Nice meal for the traveler.

This place is a joke. Whoever owns this place should be embarrassed. We had a group of ten and we waited about 10 minutes before anyone even acknowledged our existence. It then took them 15 minutes to clean off a table. We waited forever to be waited on and waited forever to get our drinks. When we got ready to order, the hapless waitress informed us that they ran out of mashed potatoes and several other things. How do you run out of mashed potatoes? We ordered wings for appetizers and they came out boneless when we clearly ordered boned (I was with Chinese people who love bones). My iced tea set empty for half the evening before anyone offered to refill it. Oh, they were also out of steak knives. Our people that ordered steaks had to hack away at them with butter knives. If it weren't for the hassle of rounding up a big group and going somewhere else (we were staying at the connected hotel), we would have left. I cannot recommend this place, it was a total disaster. read more

The Fish and Chips are highly recommended. The steakhouse salad wasn't as good but was still good. Mackenzie to Ronda were great servers and the place had a great atmosphere. Even the general manager (don't know her name) was very helpful. We were staying at the hotel and having a restaurant inside the hotel when the winds were brutal was a bonus. read more

We got the monte cristo because of the reviews and it was amazing. Friendly staff and quick service. Would definitely come here again. Thanks To our awesome waitress Shelley! read more

I'm sorry, but maybe a place of businesses shouldn't except orders online when they can't read the tickets!! I called the restaurant and told the "manager" of my online order, and he blames it on the guy that just picked it up and dropped it at my door! Way to go Bennigan!! way to go!! read more

Rhonda was great awesome personality! Came in right before closing and got just as good food got the new whiskey burger was killer

Monte Cristo and Glazed Pork Chops were great, out of Bacon Salt for their Stout Bloody Mary, but will return. read more

Bennigan's - American Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

Not so much a review of their food but more of a commentary/question. Is it customary that staff including the manager are drinking alcohol while working? Went in this past Sat while in town. Watched the obvious manager guy ask the bartender to make him a mixed drink that he proceeded to sip at the bar while working. Then watched a waitress enjoy a beer in between tables. Not sure I want my food & drinks served by someone with a cool buzz. read more

Stopping here is a "must" anytime we are on Interstate 35. There are very few Bennigan's left, so you have to get the best Monte Cristo sandwich whenever you can!!! read more

I read reviews before I go and look forward to seeing how uptight people can be. OMG there is nothing wrong here. Good place if your in a hurry or don't like the company you keep go to Taco Bell across the street. I like it! read more

Bennigan's - Sitting at the bar loving life. Ain't it great! - American Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

Stopped into Bennigan's for a bite on the way back to Mpls. This place is conveniently located off of I-35 in Clear Lake. It was a Monday night and the place wasn't very busy but it seemed to take a while for the food to come out. Since we were hoping to get a quick bite even at a sit-down place, we were slightly annoyed that it took so long to get the food out. Perhaps it took a while because they had to prepare my Monte Cristo. It was the special of the evening for like $7 including a side, so very cheap. What I didn't realize upon ordering it though was that they deep-fry the Monte Cristo here. It came out and I was just mystified by its appearance and how much of it there was. It looked like fried chicken. I've had a Monte Cristo once or twice before and they were never fried. I found this to be a bit off-putting because I hadn't bargained for all that fried unhealthiness. But I guess it's my fault for not reading the menu properly. The sandwich wasn't bad, especially when you put some of the preserves on it, but it was just such an unholy mix of fried batter, meat, cheese and sweetness that I could only take in a piece and a half out of four monstrous chunks. A friend tried a piece as well and he had a similar reaction: it was temptingly tasty but wrong on so many levels. The side Caesar was just fine and my companions seemed to enjoy their food well enough (Caesar, French dip, onion rings). It's nice that they give you the option of having so many different sides with the meals here. Overall the decor was just like any chain restaurant really, and while the space was nice enough it could have been a TGI Friday's, with all the random stuff bolted to the wall. I did like the framed posters in the entryway that chronicled the tragic plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. They took off after performing in Clear Lake on their way to northwestern Minnesota and never made it. I didn't hang out in the bar area, but there didn't seem to be a whole lotta 'Irish' to Bennigan's. As is the usual in Americanized 'Irish' places, I guess. read more

Bennigan's - American Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

See all

Perhaps it was an off night but there was little to no attention from the host. Then the server seemed overwhelmed tho there was less than half the restaurant seated. Drinks took so long that we opted to eat elsewhere. Not meaning to be harsh but they left a lot of money on the table. Multiple groups were upset. Sorry to the wastage who seemed to have good intentions. read more

We stayed in the attached hotel and spent a number of nights eating and drinking at Bennigan's. The drinks are inexpensive, the food is average, the desserts slightly above average. The broccoli bites are really good. read more

Stopped in here tonight as we got into town for a fishing tournament. Walked in around 5:30pm, not very busy at this time. We were seated right away. Menu seems kind of small, but they seem to have the basics. I ordered the daily special, all you can eat fish and chips with coleslaw and my buddy ordered a burger and fries. For an appetizer we ordered the buffalo wings with a side of ranch. The wings came out in about 10 minutes. Looked and smelled good. No ranch either eh wings however. We asked the waitress if we could have the ranch, she apologized for forgetting and said she would bring it right out. 10 minutes later the wings are almost gone and the ranch finally comes out. A few minutes later here come our meals. Both look very good. I notice the coleslaw didn't come out with my order. I asked if I could get the coleslaw and the waitress replied "yes, I'm sorry. I always forget that". Interesting. The meals were both very good. I did eat all the fish, but was never offered anymore. The special was all you can eat... Overall the food was good, the waitress was not. We come into town for fishing trips often, Bennigan's probably won't be a must stop during future trips. If you're reading this and in town, head downtown to Sevens instead. read more

I go eat at the Bennigans in Borger almost every weekend. They never get everything in my to go order and they don't try to make up for it especially since I live 10miles away. I have made complaints about the paper they put inside the to go orders the dye comes off on your food. Would not recommend going there. read more

Monte Cristo was exactly how it should be!! The waitress and manager went above and beyond the call of duty!! We were very impressed!! read more

Bennigan's - We have waited for a long time for this! - American Near Me - Clear Lake, Iowa

Drinks are good Onion rings are good now we just wait for a food forever because they have a party and they can't keep up Sunday nights maybe not the best idea our food finally came and our salad taste like it came out of the garbage and had Brown old lettuce in it waiter was really good nice helpfthe cooks are making him look bad messed up manager came out and apologized saying that they had people missing the second cook didn't show up and no help said they were really sorry for the food being late and for the salad being old not sure if we will go back read more

See all

Visited today 8/11/14 Sad to see a chain drop this low. This is a place for Jon Taffer (Bar Rescue). Eating lunch at the bar this day. Drain flies (aka) were so numerous behind the bar (active and dead all over bar) (large sanitation issue) and started to get bad odors while sitting there. Salad was wilted old lettuce with heavy coating of salad dressing to hide it. Suggest a complete overhaul of the bar area including effective training of staff. Sanitation and cleanliness is Bennigan's responsibility not a pest control guy that can't fix the underlying issue. Time to take a good look around you, roll back your sleeves, and clean the place up. I see all the previous generic responses - "Sorry you had a bad experience". Maybe time for new management. Don't worry won't be back. read more

Stopped while traveling through Iowa. Ordered Monte Cristo sandwich. When the sandwich arrived, there were no fries that should have been included. Told the server and never saw him again until he gave us the bill. The sandwich was so over fried, it was disgusting and beyond eating! Never did get the fries -- will never stop at a Bennigan's again. Can now understand why they closed the one in Minnesota somewhat near our home. It was a terrible experience. read more

We stayed In the connecting hotel and ate here that night. It was a decent price meal and the beer was cold. Our food was ok but nothing that screams make sure to come back. We did have plenty and took food back to the room as they ate large servings. Service was great and we were paid attention to the entire time we didn't have to sit with out drinks. There was a large party there and we still had great service. read more