Benny's Steak House - Watertown, NY

Benny's Steak House, Inc
1050 Arsenal St, Watertown, NY
Tel: (315) 788-4110

Being a visitor to the Watertown, NY area we did not know where was a good place to eat. Benny's Steak House was recommended by a hotel employee so we decided to try it out. We were told by the hotel employee that it was casual and family oriented so my husband, myself and our two kids thought it would be a nice place for dinner.

Upon walking into the restaurant, I noticed a bar area on one side and a large restaurant seating area on the other side. We were promptly greeted and seated. There were plenty of open tables even though it was prime dinner hour.

I immediately requested a high chair for my small son and was surprised when the high chair brought to our table was not the typical restaurant high chair but more like high chairs used in homes. The only problem was that the vinyl padding on the chair was ripped and the chair in general was not very clean. It was also difficult to get my son into because of the design. They did however bring a pack of crackers with the high chair to tide my small son over until food was served. My 7 year old daughter was disappointed that she did not also get crackers, however!

The menu at Benny's Steak House included the obvious steaks plus some chicken, fish and a pasta dish as well. Nothing was very special looking but we figured that their specialty was steaks. The steaks ranged in price from $10 up to $20, with only one smaller steak at the lower range and other steaks being more towards the pricier side. The menu did not mention what any of the entrées were served with.

After the delivery of the high chair, we did not have a server come to our table for over 10 minutes. At this time, the server did not apologize for the wait but simply took our drink orders. Drinks were brought to our table within 3 minutes and at that time the server took our order. My daughter ordered a kid's pizza and my husband and I ordered chopped sirloin steaks. We were told that the entrées included a tossed salad and potato.

We waited for more than 20 minutes before our entrées were brought to the table. It seemed like a very long 20 minutes too. While waiting, I noticed that there appeared to only be 2 servers in the entire place. There were about 20 tables occupied and this seemed like too many tables per server as the service was very slow.

During this wait time, I also had a chance to observe the décor of the place. They had some seasonal décor, such as lighted pumpkins (even though Halloween was over). The carpet was dark and the tables and chairs were functional but not decorative or stylish at all. The chairs were simply metal chairs with padding on them. The chair I sat in was a bit ripped which did not appeal much to me. The atmosphere did not seem as family oriented as they claimed to be. It seemed like it wanted to be a fancier place than it really was. My children were the only ones in the place!

The food, when we did receive it was just mediocre.

First of all, the salad was simply a bed of lettuce with 2 grape tomatoes tossed on the side. The salad was literally drowned in the ranch dressing I ordered. I think I had more dressing than salad on that plate.

Next, for a place that is supposed to be a steakhouse, I expected much better. My chopped sirloin steak came smothered in bacon and mushrooms, neither of which were mentioned on the menu. Since my husband does not eat bacon and I do not eat mushrooms, we were both pretty annoyed to find these things on our plates without mention of them in a menu.

The meat itself was not cooked to order. I ordered it medium well and the inside of my meat was very red! My baked potato was one of the smallest baked potatoes I have ever seen and it was served with sour cream and not the butter I requested.

My daughter's pizza, on the other hand was very good. It was very large for a child's portion and there was enough for her to share with me and still bring some back to the hotel. It was very cheesy and included pepperoni. She enjoyed her dinner very much!

We left the place not feeling very satisfied and I know that based on the service and the quality of the food, I will not be returning there nor will I recommend Benny's Steak House to others!