Amazing food, reasonable prices, and great service. You can't ask for much more than that! I'm pretty picky on what I eat. I loved this place. read more

Stopped in again and Tasha was bartending. Had good special today with soup and chicken sandwich. Fairly busy. Bar was full. The staff here is always the best. Service was speedy and soup had just the right amount spice. read more

All the Bennigan's locations near me have closed so I was delighted to find this one in Clear Lake, IA. So I drove there with two friends to introduce them to the Monte Cristo sandwich that I remember as a favorite from years ago. While I acknowledge that there have been some sketchy reviews for this location that was not our experience. We were greeted and seated promptly. Our server, Rhonda, took our drink order and returned within a minute with our drinks and to take our lunch order. We all ordered Monte Cristo's with fries and our food arrived within around 10-15 minutes. All of the sandwiches and fries were hot. No evidence of sitting under a heat lamp (which if my pet peeve with fried food). And we all three agreed that they were delicious. Just as I remembered. I've had Monte Cristo sandwiches at other restaurants, hoping to experience what I remembered from my local Bennigan's before it closed over a decade ago. But non came close to the amazing taste of the Bennigan's version. But, wow, you get two whole sandwiches, each cut in half diagonally. Maybe at 66 my stomach is smaller, but it was more than I could eat. But that was my fault. When I mentioned the size to Rhonda she suggested next time that I order the soup and sandwich version which has only one sandwich instead of two. When the Manager, Derek, heard of our extended trip to his restaurant he came over and engaged us in a pleasant conversation about Bennigan's and their future plans. Upon leaving he thanked us and sent us on our way with free desert to share! All in all, a pleasant experience. Will stop again the next time I have a reason to drive South on I-35. read more

Thank goodness this restaurant was a franchise and not owned by the corporate office that went out of business last summer. The Clear Lake Bennigan's is still open and still offers the great food you expect. Nice location just off of I-35, too. read more

Four stars because they deliver room service to the Best Western there. The building was under construction so I don't have any comments there. The people on the phone are very friendly and the prices are good. However, a couple negative things I experiences was once the tray wasn't picked up even the next morning, a second time the sides I ordered were wrong, and the third time they forgot a spoon when i ordered soup. The food is good, standard Bennigan's. read more

A group of us staying in the attached Best Western stopped here for dinner after a long work day! We were sure glad we did! The drinks, the Tower O'Rings, the Irish Quesadilla with the grilled onions, everything was good. However, the experience was only made better by such a phenomenal waitress, Shelly! She was courteous, attentive, provided good recommendations, and was super attentive. When we were leaving and she noticed some of us still had food on our plates, she came back with all the plastic we could ever need to wrap up our food and save it for later! Next time I'm in Clear Lake, Iowa, I am definitely coming back to say hi to Shelly! read more

The food was ok, but the service was horrible. It took 30 minutes to get a flat soda. People at tables around us had to get silverware from other tables because they couldn't get any from the server. Don't think I will be going back. read more

Bad food, dirty bathrooms! My French onion soup was way too salty, and there was a plastic wrapper in it. The seasoned fries weren't seasoned. Go to Denny's instead! read more

3 stars for bennigans it is nice to revisit my past staying here at the hotel. The food is just as I remember. Average. But that being said it is way better than Applebee's read more

Stopped in after getting some car repairs and sat at the bar. Shelly was my bartender and she was quick to guide me through her favorite items And i settled on the whiskey glazed chicken. The picture on the menu didn't quite match my plate. It was more of an oven baked chicken than a grilled chicken like I was expecting but it was still tasty. Shelly was a great server the whole time and made me feel right at home. Will definitely be back with my girlfriend the future. Next time ill probably follow Shelly's advice and get the ribs. read more

Nothing to write home about but wasnt a bad experience, fries were room temp and old and burger wasnt that great but the service was fine, I enjoyed the irish theme and had a nice booth, I might come back and give it a second try someday. read more

HORRIBLE service, food tastes like it was microwaved, and the place had a grunge feel to it even though it had just been remodeled ??? I have ate here 3 times total. Once with just my husband and I and 2 times with our children as well. Was never impressed with food or service. This last visit was the straw. Waited 10 minutes after being seated to have our drink order taken, then the waitress brought us all the wrong drinks - placed a BEER in front of my 7 year old because she thought it was apple juice?? We didn't even order a beer. Next - her excuse was that she was new.......according to another wait staff she had been working their for a couple of months. They really need to hire some competent staff. Moving on to the next issue - placed our order - 20 minutes later the wrong appetizer came out. Her excuse "I only heard rolls". Well open your ears and listen please :) Waited another 20 and finally my husband had had enough and we got up to leave. The manager, if you want to call him that, comes running over to apologize for the long wait and the mess ups. I threw a $5 on the table and said that should cover the drinks we never got (she never did come back with our drinks after she got them wrong) and he picked up the money and walked away!! 2 other tables saw what he did and they proceeded to get up to leave as well. This place is horrible and not worth anyone's time or money. It really gives the Bennigan's franchise a bad name :( read more

Don't even go in the door! No one came to our table for 5 minutes. Then we finally got a drink, but only 1 of 4! And we never got a another one. We finally left after 20 minutes. read more

I stopped by for lunch while on a road trip from Minnesota to Iowa. The service was friendly and fast. Delicious food. I definitely would stop in again! read more

On 1-5-19 ,our group of 15 showed up to eat. We had made reservation in November. We even had a person go down at 4 p.m. to make sure of our reservation. No record of our reservation. At 6 P.M. we arrived and no table set up. Then when we did get seated, drinks were ordered. After a half hour I went to the bar to get my wife and I a drink. No one behind the bar. Waited 5 minutes before a bartender arrived. I looked around the bar, counted only 13 people in there. I was told there were two weddings there. I went for a walk by all the party rooms, all dark. I noticed not a lot of cars in the lots. I am assuming they all walked there. After one and a half hours we were able to eat. Our family has had our Christmas gathering there for two previous years before this. All three times we were told there were two weddings there. What are the odds of having two weddings on the same night as our party for three years in a row. We all made sure the waitress knew we were not upset with her, not her fault. We were all staying at the Best Western which is attached. Found out Bennigan's caters the breakfast for the Hotel. Made sense because the orange juice came out as water. Coffee had ran out. The bananas were the only thing that was the right temperature. Previous year we waited three hours to eat. Year before that it was two hours. We did get a meal voucher for having to wait so long. We did not ever use it, not worth a free meal to have to wait a couple of hours. I do not know who the manager is, but the degree they have must not be in the restaurant managing field. I am guessing the degree may be in manure management field as what you do there is spread out the product and hope it gets in the right place. I waited a couple of days to write this, thinking I would cool off as I am the most laid back person you could ever talk to, did not help. I could go on and on, but to what end. Gerry M. read more

Service was terrible waiter didn't really know what he was doing. Got our food had to wait to get silverware cause they forgot to give any out. Steak was terribly under cooked. Very expensive for the lack or quality service and food. Would not recommend going here. McDonald's hands down beats this place. Just fucking awful read more

My brother and I were road tripping and got tired of fast food so decided to sit down somewhere. This place came up so we stopped and I got the best potato soup I've ever had and a great salad and a great club sandwich. My brother grabbed some chicken tenders and fries that were pretty amazing too. The service was quick and polite. Highly recommend especially for people just passing through. We were able to eat a good meal in under 40 minutes and under $40 altogether. read more

Our waitress was extremely respectful and did an excellent job and the manager, Derek was very funny and charming.

The waitress, Liz is very sweet and he manager, Derek is hilarious and charming. Derek is a great manager and the food was absolutely fantastic! read more

My husband, daughter and I arrived around 8:30pm on a Friday night and the place was pretty empty - 1st clue. Stood at the hostess stand for about 5 minutes before I finally went to find a waitress who then had to go find the hostess to seat us - 2nd clue. Our waitress came over pretty quick to get our drink orders, but then it took a while to actually get the drinks ( a draw beer, water, coffee and soda)- she came back to get our dinner order ( 3 wraps/sandwiches and a cup of soup) before we got served our drinks. Drinks finally came, no soda though, 2 waters. After about 30 minutes the manager was making his rounds at the tables and said that our order would be out in just a minute or two. 7 minutes later we get our food - minus the soup. My husband asked the waitress for some water, then asked the manager for some water when he came to make sure our meals were okay, but he never got it. Our daughter asked the waitress for the soup again and she finally brought it out. We didn't see the waitress again until she brought the check. When we looked at the check we noticed that we were charged for the soda that never arrived. My husband took the check to the bar where the manager was and explained what happened. After a couple of minutes he printed a new bill - which was $20.00 more than the original. My husband pointed out the mistake and the manager said 'sorry, wrong table'. The food was okay, but not worth the price. The customer service here was not part of the Bennigan's makeover. read more

We were on our family weekend getaway and decided to eat here. HORRIBLE mistake. The service was non existent. Our server had 3 other tables besides us (this was at 1:30pm and 2 had already been served their food) and it took her 15 mins to even greet us and take our drink order. We she came back with food or drinks she couldn't even be bothered to serve us. She sat our food and drinks at the end of the table and expected others in our party (5 of us) to hand it out. When the check came ($54) later, we right away put our credit card in the folder and placed it at the end of the table standing up. After 20 mins she still hadn't come back. We placed some cash in the folder and left. We noticed the other 3 tables received the same "service" as we did. They all 3 had to chase her down to pay. When I lived in Clear Lake, I used to go there weekly for dinner and drinks. It's sad to see how bad this restaurant has become. We will not be going back. read more

Waited 20 minutes to get drinks. Server never took our order. She would stand at the podium and mess with her hair and walk around all the tables to avoid doing her job. Manager was not helpful, he walked by three times making eye contact with each table. Will not be returning. read more

I love coming to Bennigan's! The food is great and the staff is wonderful. They are generous and willing to do what you ask. I love it here.

My daughter and I were seated at 3:28pm. There were 4 customers at the bar, a single gentleman seated near us and another table of 3. We walked out at 3:40. The waitress looked at us a couple of times. No one every came to our table or even acknowledged us. I guess the three employees behind the didn't have time for customers. Never going back. read more

After traveling for around 8 hours, my husband and I thought that Bennigans would be a fairly safe option for dinner. After walking in and being seated our drinks order was taken and our main order placed. We were only one of two other families seated at that point. After ordering we waited a full 40 minutes for our dinner to arrive. After tasting the quesadilla that was supposed to come as a chicken with fried onion and sour cream special, I was bitterly disappointed. There was perhaps one precooked tiny piece of fried onion around the edge of the slices, and the chicken was so doused in cumin, it tasted terrible. I asked for some sour cream to try and add some flavor and it was never delivered. I also asked for a cup of ice for my daughter and it never arrived. My husband ordered a chicken salad and the chicken tasted like it was precooked packaged item. At one point we spilled a cup of water and had a pile of napkins on the table for us to clean it and the sopping wet napkins were never removed! For the cost of the dinner overall, it felt like we could have had the same quality of food for a much lower price at McDonald's or Taco Bell - but at least there your expectations are pretty low! Not going back read more

This place seems to be hit or miss. I sat in the bar dining area tonight and ordered the Irish country pot roast as my meal with the French onion soup as an appetizer. I was seated quickly but sat for a few minutes before my server came to get my order. I started wit a tap beer and a glass of water. She brought my beer but had to ask for the water again. The soup came quickly and was very hot. About a minute after my soup came, the meal came out and the server only said it's came out one on top of the other. You would think a server would know not to order the meal out the same time the appetizer is out. Needless to say, by the time I ate the soup which was only a few minutes, the pot roast and veggies were cold to the touch. I large gentleman came by and asked how my meal was and I just simply stated how everything came out together and the meal was cold. He did ask if I wanted him to take it back. I quickly thought that if the customer service is like I received tonight, what would happen to my food if I sent it back. I think if the cooks and servers will prepare and serve the meal and appetizer so close to each other that anyone can't possibly get to the food before it cools down, then having to reheat food would probably set them off where who knows what they would do to my food so I told the manager that I will just take it to go and put it in the microwave. The manager was so quick to simply say OK and get away from an unhappy customer as quick as he can. The server brought me the to go containers with my bill at the same time. Never offered any apology but just dropped the check and cashed me out. She did say thank you, not sure why. In my opinion, my tip was a little too much for the service. It is sad these days that an establishment will put more value on a $11.00 meal then to try harder to make things right and get repeat business. With the whole experience, I sensed a half hearted effort and the staff too quick to get away from an unhappy customer. I thought twice about putting the meat in the microwave. Meat and microwaves don't really go together so I left the entire untouched meal on the table and left. I drove across the street and had a hot meal at Taco Bell. What happened to good old customer service these days? It is a rare thing to find. Sorry, after putting the staff to the test, I just can't find it in myself to give anymore than one star. I'll be eating elsewhere from now on. read more

Beer cheese soup was excellent. Burger was good-cooked perfect. Shepherds pie was greasy with hardly any vegetables. Service was terrible. The gal was trying but, not enough help. It appeared to be poorly managed. read more

The food at this restaurant was fantastic and the manager, Derek was very nice. The staff was respectfull and well trained.

Visited on a Friday evening for dinner. The service was very slow and not friendly. Three hostesses, one in training, started out unfriendly. After 12 minutes our server came by. Brought back drinks, then about 20 minutes later food, surprised to see our glasses empty. Five to ten minutes after we were finished saw the waiter for the fourth and final time ad he dropped off the check. My wife and daughter went to the restroom and the waiter still never came back for the check. So, we left it at the table with no plans of returning. read more

I have eaten here two times in the last month, and shared my experience with a few locals who both agreed with my observations. The first time we went for lunch about 12:00, the service was good, not great, but the food was excellent good sized portions and flavorful. The second time was on a Tuesday about 2:00 PM, and I sat at the bar. The bartender/waitress combination was more interested in getting a date and she was about waiting on any customers. Took 10 minutes to get a menu and longer to get a flat soda, as she was discussing all her past relationships and dating preferences with another male customer. The food took longer than expected, but like before the food was good, and a great value for the price. With some adult supervision this would be an excellent place to eat. read more

The worst service. The hostess kept coming by and asking if we had been helped. She ended up getting our drinks and eventually our order. We had to ask for our food. We waited 45 minutes for salads. 1 star for good food. read more

The service is horrible! We split the nachos. They were really salty but good. For $16 I expected more. We were really thirsty by the time the waitress came back to check on us. There was a guy that came in after us that never got waited on that eventually got mad and left. read more

Probably the worst restaurant experience I have ever had! We made reservations on a Monday for a Friday visit for a group of 16. Our reservations were for 6PM. We arrived at 6PM our waitress told us she was training a new wait person that night and she would be there to help her out. That was the last time we saw her all night. I felt bad for the young lady who was training that night. We ordered our drinks shortly after 6 and didn't receive them until almost 6:45. We ordered food right after we got our drinks and it was almost 8:00 before we got our food. The restaurant was not busy at all that night. We had tickets for an 8:00 show at the Surf Ballroom that night and didn't get our food until 8. We had asked for the manager at one point during the evening and he never came to our table. We were all done eating and one person in our party had not even received his food until almost 8:30. We again asked for the manager, who finally did come to our table and after speaking with him he told us he would take care of the food for the night. It was now 8:30 and we were ready to leave and we hadn't received our bill yet. We approached our waitress (the one in training) and she was flustered and was giving the people their tickets, but they were all wrong, plus the manager had not taken care of anything. The waitress who was supposed to be training started to argue with one person in our party, giving all kinds of excuses. Finally the manager came out and tried to argue with us again about the service and meal. He finally took care of our whole bill, but it was the worst experience I have ever had. I would not recommend this place to anyone!! read more

We ate there tonight. Arrived about 6:30 and did not get our food for over an hour. We we arrived there were 2 other tables filled in the room. Ordered a Diet Coke with lemon and got a flat Diet Coke with no lemon. One person ordered a dinner salad with his meal and they asked if he wanted it out first and he said yes. Didn't get the salad. After the meal was served he didn't get his salad either and had to ask for it again. The special was clam chowder and one person who ordered it didn't get his soup and had to ask for it again. 3 of us had clam chowder and it was served Luke warm with a skin on the top. The monte cristo sandwich was very greasy and deep fried and was barely warm when served, the cheese wasnt even melted. The waiter never came back to check on us , we had to flag him down when he passed by. Didn't ever ask to refill drinks. No tip was left and will never go back. Never saw a supervisor come in the room to check on things either. Very very poor service and food quality. Horrible experience. read more

the bbq ribs were way better in my opinion then the what the local competition offers have tried em all and Bennigans definitely was my favorite a must try for those who haven't yet had them two sticky thumbs up read more