Benjamin's Bar & Bistro in Isle of Wight

Tasty food and great service albeit anonymous location, lacking ambience, but happily no background "music".

Popped in here for a meal before going to the theatre. Very enjoyable meal. Will go back. Staff very polite and helpful.

Absolutely brilliant. Very busy on a Tuesday evening and slightly short staffed. However Owen and Lily were amazing - really professional, polite and happy to help. They even put the fan on for me 😊. Portions are good, the quality of the food is really good and it's cooked to perfection

We can neither rave nor complain. The food was average but presented well. The service was good. The cocktails were great. Our only gripes would be that the wine selection was grim and the atmosphere could have used some music! Otherwise, this was a reasonable choice of restaurant and, as we were a large group, the staff did well to cope with us and so we were perfectly satisfied with our experience. That's good value!

Absolutely beautiful food and the staff are all lovely and friendly. The owner was really helpful as well as being genuinely lovely and happy to chat with customers. I would highly recommend a visit to this little gem of a restaurant!

I’ve written a review on Trip Advisor which goes into huge detail. Sadly our experience was very poor. If you look at the reviews, they are either very good or very poor. We went on an evening when the restaurant was a third full and the service was poor from start to finish. We sent the wine back as it was wrong. The next bottle arrived and it had an Asda label on! The starters arrived and having told them my husband has a mustard allergy they continued to put a salad dressing containing mustard on his starter. It was sent back. My starter was fried squid which looked like it was out of a bag frozen squid from Asda with tartare sauce which was tasteless. My main was good, pork loin but my husbands seafood tagliatelle was missing seafood and the sauce was like white water. It was sent back. He ordered a steak and chips, simple, no. It was served bleeding on to the plate, it was tough and the mushroom looked a week old. We again complained. The chef eventually came to the table but she was rude, very rude. It was a bad night, for us and she didn’t care. No apology. Nothing.

Could not fault the meal, it was absolutely wonderful, I had the slow roasted lamb. The waitress Vikki was very friendly and nothing was too much trouble

From the moment we walked in the door we were welcomed in. We came as a family of five and two dogs. The staff were extremely friendly and gave the dogs biscuits. The food was delicious and portion size was generous. We had a lovely evening and was definitely the best meal of the holiday. A big thank you to all.

Looking at other reviews, it would seem as though it depends when You go as to what you will get. Unfortunately we went on a bad night. We were are party of 13, which had been booked for some time, for the second time running ( we had been last year) they had no beer. The tables were not set, no glasses on the table even though jugs of water were bought out. Wine was ordered, plus a bottle of Prosecco which they also didn’t have. Still no glasses. The order was taken, food bought out in cribs and drabs and not the correct order. The chilli that was eventually bought out was inedible. So sad, this really could be a good restaurant,

Rated a 2 because the service was amateur, the wine was labelled from Asda (which I’ve bought but for £6 not £22), some of our food was extremely poor AND they served a dressing with mustard in knowing my husband has a mustard allergy and the chefs poor attitude. It started as soon as we sat down, the wrong wine was delivered to the table, followed with us having to send my husband’s whitebait starter back because they’d served it with a shop bought salad dressing which once checked, contained mustard 😱 my squid rings were ok, the tartare sauce was tasteless. The replacement whitebait arrived and was fine. I had the pork with mushroom sauce which eventually came to our table after being taken to 2 other tables and being left on the bar. My husbands seafood linguine arrived and looked anaemic. The sauce was runny and thin and tasteless with very little seafood and the pasta was advertised on the window and menu as fresh but it was not so we sent it back. My husband order the steak, medium. When it arrived it was a plate of frozen chunky oven chips, a flat mushroom that looked a week old and steak that was bleeding on the plate and chewy. My husband normally orders a rare steak but this was a step too far. It was sent back. Upon calling the young waiter (in gym wear) he said “what’s wrong now?”. My husband left the restaurant in anger. The waiter took the steak and came back to explain to me that blood was on the plate because it was a medium steak. I asked for the chef, she was apparently busy, however, the other 3 tables had all got their mains. There were no other tables waiting. The chef, who is the owner, marched out of the kitchen to explain, as had the waiter, that there was blood because it was medium steak. I’m sure many people know, you need to rest meat before plating. The chef was rude and had an extremely poor customer service. In true Faulty Towers script she turned to a table next to us and in a raised voice said “how is your meal?”, the reply, simply was “good”. I don’t know what she thought she was gaining. It was a hugely disappointing evening after I had read all of the reviews but I have to say, the food served to us that night did NOT resemble any photos I had seen and wasn’t worthy of being cooked in our home kitchen let alone a restaurant. This is the first bad review I’ve ever written.

Our second visit to Benjamins. Great service and the food is amazing easily the best we have eaten all week. Good menu with lots of choices. I would recommend eating here, we definitely will on our next visit.

Good Bistro, very nice food reasonable prices, but didn't really cater, or understand the needs of people on a Gluten Free diets.

The staff were great, very friendly and attentive. The food was delicious and the portions are big. It had a great atmosphere. One of the few restaurants in Shanklin that stayed open a bit later.

Very poor overall experience. Drinks advertised not available. Slow service, food not served as a whole group, and then wrong dishes provided, which when corrected were of very poor quality. When issues then complaints raised, the manager would not come out from kitchen to try and resolve . In the end we paid what we felt was right without any challenge from the restaurant.

First course- calamari was so burnt it nearly broke a tooth. Nachos were flooded with watery tasteless salsa making everything soggy. We hoped for better 2nd course. Hey Ho. Mushroom tagliatelle was like an oil slick and featured home made foccacio turned out to be a slice of brown bread with no warning regarding this, just plonked on the table. Caesar salad from the 'Specials' board - no parmesan, no croutons and chicken so dry it was inedible. We fed back our comments to our waiter. From 3 meals, 1 happy customer with a nicely cooked gammon. That was it. Nobody came out from the kitchen at any time. No apology for full plates being returned.. The highlight of the evening was the complimentary chocolate mint! As residents of the IOW we will not be returning and will certainly not recommend to family and friends. Very very dissapointing

Would no return, food wasn't great & service was awful

A few days in shanklin and we f ound this great place. Couldn't fault service and food was excellent and portions were generous also keenly priced and a good choice menu. Certainly go again. Food was nicely presented and hot

I’ll keep this review to the point. If you like food that is over cooked, you don’t mind bad service and then have to pay at the bar because the owners won’t bring the card machine to the table this is the place for you.

Good food to be fair found the service very slow bit of a wait for menus and drinks prompt service once ordered lacked a little background music

We were looking for a restaurant that offered a range of menu options and. That ideally would welcome us with a 20month old Labrador. Benjamins Bistro turned out to be the perfect choice. The menu offered a good mix of options and the choices we made were excellent ( sea bass and a gammon steak ). On arrival we were greeted and made to feel very welcome and our order was taken swiftly and arrived equally fast. It was delicious and just the right amount. Thoroughly recommended and fairly priced, we will be going back.

The alarm bells should have rung when a) this place was one of the only places to have tables (lots) and b) 2 of the 3 beer pumps were out of order. During the meal they ran out of red wine (!!!!) and had no Coke (!!!). The food that we had was OK but pretty poor apart from that. Not going back

Looked lovely from the outside. Got seated. My partner asked the waitress what range of lagers and beers there were. Not sure if it was her first night but she was very shy and didn't know anything about the drinks. Food was ok but expensive for what it was.

The place was a quarter full - I asked for a table for one and was pointed to a table and told “I will have to get cutlery” - fine, I would need that! Was then given a menu and told there would be a long wait for food! As I was clearly such a nuisance I went to the Italian restaurant Pavarottis where I was warmly welcomed snd the food was great, quick and they were packed to the rafters!

Dropped in on the off chance and so glad we did the food was amazing plentiful and well priced- would definitely go back if we were in Shanklin longer - highly recommended Every picture tells a story!!

Dropped in on the off chance for an evening meal and really glad we did fantastic food and so cheap- wish we had time to come back again! Highly recommend- every picture tells a story

Een van de weinige restaurants die op deze dag in Shanklin open was. Een mooi ingericht restaurant waar we allervriendelijkst werden ontvangen. We kregen een mooie zitplaats (hoewel we niet gereserveerd hadden) en daarna volgde de uitgebreide menu- en wijnkaart. Het eten smaakte uitstekend, werd ook mooi opgediend en de bijpassende wijn was van zeer goede kwaliteit.

We ate here tonight and apart from not having any olives all was well with the world. A delightful young lady called Penny greeted us and served us, what a lovely smile and friendly manner. The food was very good and service was quick. The mushroom sauce was to die for! We thoroughly enjoyed our near and the lovely staff

The service was ok friendly bar staff. However food was below par and really not pleasant to eat me and my wife left most it would not recommend at all what a shame

A pleasant Italian style restaurant with a good menu of well cooked and presented dishes. A pay and display car park is located at the end of the sidestreet opposite the restaurant.

A wonderful meal at Benjamins. The food was excellent, cooked to perfection by a chef who produces meals with enthusiasm and expertise. The service was friendly and efficient. It was very quiet when we were there on a Wednesday evening but this seems to be...

Really good food, really enjoyed, but the food just took to long to come out and there were only a few tables populated. When it did arrive, it was all really very good and very delicious.

Good service, food mediocre. We had macaroni cheese and a burger, was OK but nothing special. First was just bland, second was OK but small burger and large chips., can't fault service but food could be better

Cannot recommend this place enough, amazing food, highly recommend the seafood linguine, delicious. The staff are very helpful and very friendly, such a fabulous atmosphere, we will definitely be back.

Lovely food ,great host, service a little slow as it was busy due to Easter and main chef on holiday

So glad we found this little gem, so many others much inept whilst here we could enjoy a super dinner with good service but most importantly food cooked with passion. We may have missed the catamaran home as a consequence but there was a later...

A hidden gem. Had a fantastic meal this evening with my wife for her 60th Birthday. Steak cooked to perfection along with lovely starters. Would highly recommend a visit.

Great service, and food was delicious

My partner and I stopped here by chance and I can honestly say it was the best meal out we have had in ages. Just the fact that we didn’t need to use the condiments says it all I don’t remember the last time I...

Visited for the evening and the food and drink were superb. Great service. Seafood linguine was fantastic.

We booked here last minute so ate early at 5:15. Greeting was warm and the restaurant was very clean and nicely set out. We had cocktails which were well made and presented. Both our meals were excellent. Couldn't fault the food, presentation or portion size....

Wow ... had an evening out with friends on NYE ....Amber (owner) and her staff (Vikki) were so friendly and accommodating. The atmosphere was so relaxed we felt like part of the family too! The food was bloody amazing! Cannot fault it! We are from...

Enjoyed a lovely evening and a very nice meal,staf very friendly

Had a great meal at Benjamin's Bistro. It was our first visit and will certainly go back. I had pork in a mushroom sauce, one of the best mushroom sauces ever. He had the lamb which was delicious (so he said). Friendly service. All round...

We were visiting the Island for the Bus Museum's autumn running day, and came across this restaurant by chance, in passing, on the way to our usual venue. It looked very nice, and had the ideal combination for new customers - quite busy, but with...

Fantastic meal here for 2 adults & a 10 year old (who demolished her kids rump steak). Hosts could not have been more friendly & accommodating. The food was first class. 100% recommended

Our first time here .Definitely not the last .

Perhaps the greatest recommendation is that having eaten here once, we returned again . There are ample menu choices including home made soup (delicious) and vegetarian options, served in a light airy restaurant. At a time when staffing issues are widespread, the staff here were...

Was very impressed the standard of food was excellent with good portions well presented staff were friendly and attentive.price very reasonable would highly recommend

My mum and I were on holiday and walking around Shanklin for somewhere to eat. Stopped off at this restaurant. What a wonderful surprise. Food was exceptional, generous portions, beautifully cooked, staff couldn't have been more helpful and reasonably priced. We loved it so much...

Fabulous restaurant. Superb quality food, reasonably priced, generous portions, attentive staff. Once we found this restaurant we didn't dine anywhere else whilst holidaying in Shanklin. Five stars not enough 🌟

Little find. Passed a few busy cafes and take aways , just stopped off and found the the food made to order, staff polite and helpful. Enjoyed that much have come back again on. our short

Fantastic service, food was beautifully prepared and very tasty. Staff were very welcoming. Would definitely recommend a vist. I am just gutted I don't live on the island otherwise I would be back a lot.

Great place, great food and the staff are lovely.

Unfortunately didn't get to try the food here after thinking the menu looked delicious. Popped in on a Tuesday evening without a booking to see if there was space for two. It was clearly very busy and the 2 members of staff looked very rushed of their feet. We recieved no hello or acknowledgement as we stood at the door. Not even I will be with you in a second or sorry we are full. The server then proceeded to take the table of 9 peoples order that was directly in front of us. I can understand as a server myself being busy or understaffed and I am usually very patient because of this. But failing to acknowledge our existence when you are 5 feet away is unacceptable.

Just had a meal at Benjamins. Great food and drink. Very reasonably priced and friendly staff. Restaurant was about half full. Nice atmosphere and enough space not to feel cramped in. We are locals and will definately be back again soon. Well worth a visit.

We have followed the story regarding Benjamin's and wanted to support the owners. I regret to say this was a disappointing experience. The owners were not in and the lady in charge had a less than welcoming attitude. I am unable to offer an opinion on the food as after waiting for an hour we decided to leave. It transpires there was an issue in the kitchen along with many of the items on the menu being unavailable. All these things I can accept but talk to me and keep me in the picture. There was no communication and we were just sat there waiting for a meal that was not forthcoming. I hope you sort yourselves out because continuing as you are will result in certain closure.

Calamari batter too thick but tasty , however main meal was absolutely wonderful , pork loin potatoes and mushroom sauce highly recommend . Husband had while bait starter ad gammon also wonderful .

Nice food and good service at a reasonable price.

Lovely food AND staff..twenty odd of us served and catered for superbly. Thank you

I’m very shocked to see the 5 stars people gave.I went have dinner as I saw 5 star.very bad food.i ordered linguini sea food actually I received spaghetti,with few tiny squid pieces and few mussel.very horrible taste.service was very poor.actually I went from London to have sea food there.we having here better food.very irresponsible unqualified staffs I can say. I will say who ever going from London to holiday avoid this place. Don't be fooled like me. The meal cost 14£+ something not worth at all. I will say i ate at sandown in local shops food it was cheep and amazing.my husband ordered fish and chips was rubbish. I wish I could see the the chef are they really chef.I went because of the Google reviews.this is my honest review.I don’t even like to give 1 star.not worth this place

Avoid. Really hot as staff said Aircon doesn't work, waitress said manager knows about the aircon but won't fix it. Service was very slow 45 mins to get meal. While we were there 4 people walked out as they were ignored (they waited for 20 mins for order to be taken). Won't be returning and I suggest you don't!

Absolutely delicious food in a beautiful little town! Super friendly staff providing a fantastic service. Highly recommended! Thank you 😊

Very good reservation process. All mire than satisfied with quality of food and service. Definitely recommend.

Booked for anniversary, really didn't need to book as it wasn't busy but not sure why! Food was great and nice cocktails along with really friendly staff. Definitely don't understand why this place isn't busier but really enjoyed it none the less. Maybe some deals on the cocktails would attract people as can get a bit expensive at £8-9 a go as we would of loved to of kept drinking. Would recommend!

Excellent food and lovely and funny waitresses. Well definitely be calling in again.

Good food and service although restaurant looks a bit dated. No air conditioning on which made the place quite hot on a June day. Reasonably priced. Squash and lemonade drink was expensive and poor quality though.

Nice place to have dinner close by

A limited menu but nice food and friendly service

We were admittedly early bug the place was empty at 6.30 pm bug if this happens to you please don't be put off because the food and service was excellent.

Excellent cocktails, superb food, lovely, friendly helpful staff. Highly recommend x x x

Great food and super helpful staff

Gourmet quality food in a relaxed and informal restaurant. We had the grilled sea bass and pork medallions both excellent. The staff were friendly and service great.

Fantastic food, I had the seabass it was the best , would highly recommend

If looking for a great meal, this is the place. The sea bass dish was outstanding.

This place is amazing the food is lovely can't fault a thing ,staff are great helpful and everyone should come and enjoy this place,make it mega busy,I've eaten many places on the island and this is one of the top choices for us

Excellent service Excellent food good value

Fantastic and relatable owner! Superb homemade food from seafood linguine to the Sunday Road. Love the creamy lime cheesecake

Lovely bistro came here last minute lady fitted us in. Chicken breast with leek and bacon sauce vegetables were absolutely amazing. My son and husband had vegetarian chilli very nice but portion sizes on small side. Would visit again if in the area. Relaxing atmosphere.

Cannot fault the food Steak was excellent and melted in the mouth Highly recommended

We booked well in advance, believing it would be truly busy. Clocks having gone forward, lighter evenings, and it's Shanklin Town Centre location, making it an easy find for locals and visitors alike. For a restaurant, full the last time we visited, we were shocked to find we were the only booked table on a Thursday evening. Rather than cancelling us and remaining closed, saving on all their staffing costs and utilities they opened to provide for us and we weren't disappointed. Cocktails, a Starter and a Main each, all good sized portions with a lovely host. We were egging the few people that passed by our window to enter and experience the same lovely food we were enjoying. Post Lockdown. in this tough climate, myself and my partner had a lovely date night here and would recommend you try it for yourselves.

Wonderful food and friendly staff. Highly recommended.

Fabulous food lovely staff would definitely recommend

Came over to visit mum for Christmas & was excited to go out and have a nice meal, unfortunately the evening was completely ruined , I ordered the steak and 1/2 way through found a long hair in it, the not on the plate IN the steak covered in meat, I quietly told the waitress and would have been happy to have a new one however I wasn’t offered a new one I was accused of putting it there myself as she held it up and repeatedly told me that the chefs don’t have long hair - she offered to take 1/2 the cost of my meal off the bill but I hadn’t even eaten 1/2? She then said she’d remove my meal from the bill and stormed off, So I left hungry and absolutely bemused at the way this was handled and upset that my mums night was ruined we were planning on a nice 3 course meal and a few drinks as part of her Christmas present and we were out less than an hour, without a full meal and an argument with the staff, I’ve never felt compelled to leave a bad review in every aspect of life mistakes happen I firmly believe it’s how you resolve them that counts but to be angrily accused and not offered replacement was totally unnecessary, no wonder we were one of only two tables in there on a Saturday night.

Looks nice but have not had any thing to eat booked for Xmas Dinner.

Absolutely first class food, it makes so much difference when the chef has made everything from fresh. I'm a vegetarian and i usually struggle to get good food.

Good food. Great place to go and have a meal.

Beautifully cooked evening meal

Food very expensive. Order a roast lamb dinner wes charged £2 extra for Yorkshire pudding and £2 extra for stuffing. The price was not on the menus. It seem like it was made up. I thought when you order a roast it comes with all the trimmings. Staff was a bit unfriendly as well.

Nice clean and tidy place as everything you need.could do with a bit of help with the Yorkshire Puddings

Staff were nice and service was good, however can't deny it was the driest burger i've had. Bun seemed like it was defrosted and the patty was overcooked. Expensive for the quality.

Lovely food with excellent service. I would highly recommend Benjamin's.

Excellent food cooked to perfection, the best medium rare steak I have had in a very long time.

Had an excellent meal, staff very friendly, would highly recommend.

Was busy all the time we were there and one of the few accommodating restaurants around the area in terms of arriving without a booking. Come hungry as portions are large.

Lets mention the cocktails - the special 2 for 1 was enough for my wife! Excellent food with quality ingredients. Lovely friendly staff. A real find so hope they do really well, they deserve it.

The food was great quality and the staff were even better. It was very busy but the time it took for food was fair. Hannah and the other young lady was very attentive and introduced us to a new cocktail. Highly recommended!!!

Lovely place, will go back again. Food is very well presented. I had the ultimate burger. The chips and onion rings were nice but the burger was a let down, It tasted and looked like it came from a burger van (not proper meat). The burger is definitely not worth £17.

Chicken supreme was beautifully prepared and could taste the sauce was fresh. Hannah gave great service and makes the best caramel espresso martinis which were 2 for £12

Didn't book and just walked in on a busy Thursday night, staff were very accommodating and couldn't be more welcoming. We had a table of seven, three children and four adults and was very happy with the service and the food. Would recommend and return.

Great food, staff and atmosphere. Really worth trying you will not be upset.