Benny The Bum's Reviews

Had a holiday gathering here...what a disappointment! On a positive note......... ahhhh there were none to be found. Moving on to the Cons....parking SUCKS......the restroom accommodates (1) person at a time? The food was GREASE spoon like. Was rather confused about what or who they cater too. Walked in and you will see a statue of a fisherman..... must be a seafood place? They had a buffet serving chicken-parm and wings....Benny must have caught that chicken in the sea. After an hour inside it was evident that is a combo establishment (Bar, Buffet, Night Club) The LOUD music and disco lights made it impossible to talk to friends without screaming in the ear. Clearly management doesn’t have a clue ..... in summary if you’re looking for a place NOT to go you’ve found it here.!

I usually come here to watch sports at the bar. There's huge Plasma tv's everywhere. They got half price appetizers Monday thru Thursday, 4/6pm. Nothing fancy on draft. It's not overpriced if you go during flyers or eagles games.

I've eaten at Benny's several times and I have always had great service and great food. Today was just exceptional. My server Amanda was awesome!!! She explained the special's and recommended a few, she was just top notch on top of my order. The food came out very quickly and was superb. I had stuffed mushrooms, sesame encrusted tuna, and mussels in white sauce. Everything was perfect. A+++ guys, awesome job!!!

I actually liked this place at first for the music (played 90s) and the food but then the bar tenders ignored us and barely checked if we needed any more drinks because they were too busy taking selfies and getting drinks for the other people who they seemed to be flirting with. It's nice to be a hip and cool bar but make sure you're catering to all customers, because now we won't be returning again after that treatment.

Went with a group of 12 Sat night. Service was good, food fair. Restaurant is nice, modern. I had the Bum salad, which a friend had raved about. It was ok. Hubby had some type of seafood sampler, said it was fair. Everyone was under whelmed. No-one really finished their meal. Probably will not go back.

I visited Benny the Bum's with my mother. I ordered the caramelized salmon with charred broccoli and roasted potatoes. She ordered the grilled shrimp with broccoli and sweet potato fries and we split the entrees. The food was absolutely delicious. I am a very picky eater, but the salmon was absolutely amazing and the shrimp the best I have had in years. Even at some high quality restaurants, I find shrimp to be very bland, but not here. It was spiced to give it a truly good taste. The service was prompt and courteous. The grilled shrimp came with two side dishes of your choosing from a list. They did not tell us that there was a modest upcharge for the sweet potato fries. When I received the bill I questioned the charge for the salmon and was told that they added a charge for the fries to the price of the salmon. It was only a dollar, but I still feel they should have disclosed it in advance. Overall it was a very nice meal and I would not hesitate to go back.

We stopped at Benny's on a Monday around 12:00. Except for one other table, the place was empty. It was a standard bar / restaurant with a bar covering one wall on the left as you walk in, and plenty of tables and booths scattered around. There were several TVs scattered around the walls. After taking our order, the waitress brought us a basket of bread. I was surprised to find it was cold. Almost like it had been removed from the fridge a few minutes earlier. Not a big deal, just surprising. I had the crab cake sandwich and the wife had the Bum salad. Both were very good although the crab was a bit too processed. I would have liked to see a couple of actual lumps of crab. Again, it tasted good and I was happy with it. My only real issue was how slow the service was. It seemed to take forever to order, get the food and get the check. Had it been a busy lunch hour I would understand, but, at most, there were five or six tables occupied. Not the place to go if you are in a rush. All things considered, I'd go back as long as time allowed.

First, I purchased a Groupon for Benny's, which I believe was a pretty good deal. Then ventured about 20 minutes away for my first visit to the Bustleton Ave location. It was during an Eagles game, so I definitely was diggin the atmosphere. My wife and I started with the crab quesadilla, which was tasty, but it had lacked a distinctive crab taste to it. The chipotle mayo, salsa and sour cream are great toppings to spread on them. We had ordered double apps (everything on the menu seamed appealing and we wanted to try everything), so we ordered buffalo shrimp, but our entrees came out first. My wife ordered the crab cake dinner, with seasoned fries. The fries were cooked perfectly and the crab cake was yummy. I ordered lump crabmeat with vodka sauce over angel hair. It was pretty good, needed lots of parmesan cheese, but was good. We reminded our server about the buffalo shrimp and they came out soon there after. Although it didn't seem like it at first, the timing was perfect, as we had saved the best part of the meal for last. The shrimp was cooked to perfection and although the temperature of the hot buffalo sauce wasn't hot enough for my wife, I thought it went perfectly on the shrimp. Our server was very friendly and helpful throughout. We will definitely make another trip to Benny's, probably during another Eagles game, as the bar had plenty of patrons, which made for a fun game time experience. Will probably try other items off the menu next time, such as the stuffed mushrooms with crab meat and most definitely a bowl of the cream of crab soup, which I should've ordered in the first place. But those awesome buffalo shrimp were definitely enough to warrant another visit to Benny the bums.

On Saturday July 16th we went out for a nice seafood dinner. My wife doesn't eat seafood so she offered the special short ribs. They were extremely fatty. My daughter and I ordered the snow crabs and the steam pot. The steam pot was highly overrated. Not worth the price. The service by Bridgette was horrible. Next time I think I will go to the chains like Joe's crab shack. Bill was about 85 without tip.

Seafood ,wings, jumbolya ,crab balls and calamari, great service fast and polite nice bar -restaurant atmosphere, portions are sizable and food was great. Definitely worth a try.

The 1st time I was there it was good, today HORRIBLE!!!! I stopped for a couple of apps and ordered steamed little necks & clams casino. The clams casino came out burnt. I sent them back & moved onto the little necks. They were gritty and fish, yuk. Then my clams casino came back out. Clearly a frozen item with a piece of hard bacon thrown on top. The clams underneath were so rubbery I couldn't swallow half of them & spit them out. Couldn't get out of the fast enough.

When My Lady and I entered Bennie’s, the receptionist was not at the station. We waited for a while thinking that the receptionist was seating another customer, but I think that position had been vacated. After a few minutes, we asked one of the servers to seat us. We ordered from the Chef’s Specials thinking that would be the best tasting dishes. I ordered a casserole with shrimp, crab, scallops and a very small lobster tail. She ordered fried shrimp. We each got sides of broccoli and mashed potatoes. The bread that was served was the worst in memory. The bread was not stale; it just had no taste. The broccoli was a little mushy, but ok. The potatoes were bland. Since there was quite a bit of potato skin, I assumed that they were closer to smashed potatoes than mashed. My seafood casserole was bland, bland, bland. My Lady’s fried shrimp was the most heavily breaded that we’ve encountered. After she cut the breading off of the shrimp with her knife and fork, the shrimp itself was blah! Bennie’s was so awful, it’s difficult even for bum’s to appreciate it.

Good location. However, service can be poor. A full course seafood dinner is offered at a relatively good price. Of course, you can get other items. There is a d-jay Sat. PM after 9 PM with a small dance floor.

For NE Philly, its good! Food is decent, service can be good. I ate here a few times and can say 80% of the time, the food was great! Reasonable prices... Worth giving it a try, see if you like it. Alcohol is also very reasonable. A lot of parking.

My husband and I decided to give Benny the Bum's a try and we had a "bum" experience. The personnel was just as cold and lifeless as the bread they placed on our table. I had the crab soup that was supposed to have lumps of crab meat. Duh??? I had the stuffed shrimp with crabmeat and my shrimp was soggy and the crabmeat was tasteless. My husband ordered fried shrimp with french fries and broccoli which was also tasteless...The broccoli was watered down. My husband felt as though he was still hungry after eating his meal. We will never go back...Another couple walked out while we were there. The food is overpriced and not authentic. Save your money and go to McDonald's...at least you will be greated with smile. Signed, Still Hungry

I don’t eat crabs that often and of course in Philadelphia everyone raves about chickie and Pete’s. That said, these were the absolute best snow crab legs I’ve had! Not over seasoned so you can actually taste the crabs. The service was also amazing! Absolutely the spot in Philly!

We went here during a dance convention because we were invited as a recommendation. The waiter forgot some of us for our drinks and said he asked if anyone else needed drinks and nobody responded. Some of the food was really good (my steakhouse burger) and some wasn't so good ( my wife's pasta benny) The crab legs were lacking in meat but tasted good. The system was down so it made our check harder to determine but things happen so I can't blame the place on that. Maybe this was one time the place wasn't good overall but I don't think I'd go back to find out.

Benny the Bums is known for its seafood and for a good reason, its really TASTY! Most choices are on the menu, crab specials in season. The "other" menu selections are just as good. Seems to all be home made, some have a signature touch. The BBQ sauce is to die for but they won't give up that secret.. I keep trying... guess I just have to go back... Drink are a true pour! Always a plus if you like that kind of thing... Coupons half off often on the web...that make this a great deal!

Friends went for a birthday celebration. Crab cake wrap, crab legs, and shrimp. Everything was good.

Went there on Valentines Day. Restaurant was big and open. Our waitress was great. I had the Chesapeake seafood dish that came with 2 sides - it was awesome. Some of the best seafood I've had in a long time I would highly recommend this if you love fresh good seafood that is served within minutes after ordering.

I give this place three stars because they have blue claws in a time when seemingly no other places have them. If you are a crab person, this place doesn't quite cut it. But, they do have them and beggars can't be choosers! The crabs were small and not cooked that day. They were on the expensive side for small/medium males, about $6/piece. The salads and soups weren't bad. The atmosphere was very much a sports bar. We enjoyed the Penn State game while eating. For the neighborhood and the price I would check out this place as a sports bar. We will most likely not be back but appreciate that they keep our fav crustaceans pretty much year round!

Location, parking, food, and overall enjoyment. Located in greater Northeast Philadelphia, it is a swinging place for singles, as well as a good diining spot for the senior element. Easy accessability either by car or public transportation is a plus.

DEC 3RD 2007 OMG, What a way to have a birthday dinner!It would have been really nice to be told the heater was out of order. It is sort of hard to eat with a heavy winter coat on. I called the 23 yr old manager over and she took $7.50 off of a $55 check. How generous of her. .NOT! I was not satisfied till they knocked the check down to $30 In my opinion they should have comped the whole meal but I guess they needed some revenue to stay in business which i doubt will be for very much longer. I use to love this place and ate there at least 3 times a month but I was not aware that the original owners gave it to thier chikdren to run into the ground. The line use to be all the way out the door and there was an hour wait if not more. The food was awful too. I liked the seafood crackers but they came from a box you can't mess them up. The clam chowder was potato chowder, not a clam in sight. The waitress was very nice and still got a $10 tip, it was not her fault although she forgot the clams casino but i guess she was so cold in only a t shirt she had brain freeze. Do not waste your time or money at this place. The mother and father should come back, they had class. I would have enjoyed burger king better.

All I can tell you that I was told to try the Bum Salad and it was hyped up and lived up to the hype. I'm tough and not only was it really good, but the value was good and I may have had a dream or two about it since then. The buffalo shrimp were good, tasty medium size shrimp. The mussels were the best size I've seen from at least a dozen restaurants, including the local favorite, Chickie and Pete's. These mussels could easily eat those mussels. The sauce is better at Chickie's but what's a mussel without a mussel? Great place to watch sports games. It's a very relaxed and lie key atmosphere...casual but good.

Went to Benny's for dinner. Food was pretty good. Love their buffalo shrimp and cream of crab soup. The Fries are really good. Short rib was good, as well as the flounder Florentine special. The all you can eat snow crabs were a little pricey at $46.95. Our server was good and friendly. Overall a pleasant experience.

I have only had two things here, but they are so good, I am afraid to try something else! The crab soup is amazing, and has a wonderful taste. The BUM salad, while expensive at 13.95, is worth it if you love seafood and want to treat yourself and are in the area. The decor is a bit sports bar like, and I usually take out when passing through the area, right off Red Lion and Bustleton in Somerton (NE Phila). The salad consists of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, bacon bits, house dressing and a load of crab and cut pieces of shrimp on top. Excellent if you are a seafood lover!

Went to the Bums on Red Lion Rd on 1/5/15 mainly for all you can eat crab legs. VERY disappointing! My crab legs OD'd on Old Bay Seasoning. Don't know why I thought of this after I ate, I asked if I could get future orders on another night with no Old Bay, the FANTASTIC SERVER!!), she told me of other ways people have ordered, so that part is my fault for not asking. Oh well. Anyway, my wife ordered the "Hungry Harry" broiled fish platter. From the description one would think it was way more than she could eat. It cost $22.00. The platter came with 2 medium (not even large or jumbo)shrimp, 3 scallops a small crabcake (mostly crabmeat) and a smallish filet of flounder. It was "okay", she said, nothing special. The crableg platter I had was $31.95, crablegs are a fortune these days, but, $32.00? I don't know. It's up in the air whether or not we ever return to Benny The Bums.

The restaurant is big and there is seating by the bar, by the dj, and in between. They usually have some sort of activity going on every night, wether it's a band or karaoke or trivia. They have delicious buffalo shrimp for the spicy lovers out there. I come here for their delicious mussels and soups. If you are craving sea food you should definitely give Benny's a try.

Recently moved to the area and had a couple people recommend this place. We did not particularly enjoy it when we went for dinner early on a Sunday evening. It wasn't very busy and three bartenders were working but took a while to get drinks and menus once we took a seat at the bar. A different waitress took our food order. Food wasn't anything special. My husband had shrimp cocktail which is difficult to mess up, so that was fine. I had an Alfredo pasta with crab. Good amount of crab which was good; however the sauce was very watery and lacked any flavour. Seems more like a bar rather than a restaurant. Saw a few people getting takeout. Probably wouldn't go back.

Waited about 20 minutes for our food and the food wasn't that great. Our friends ordered burgers which were apparently very good. So I guess if you're going to eat here stay away from the seafood (Hungry Harry) to be exact. Order yourself a burger with some seasoned fries! If you're in the mood for a shot try the green tea. Pretty tasty!

I stopped here while on business in Philadelphia. Great food, great service, and the sports fans in the bar made the place so much fun to be in. Would go back in a heartbeat!

Great service good food the crab soup is to die for and I also had the muscles with which worth it they were huge and the price is reasonable also had a couple drinks. Very clean please nice atmosphere

This restaurant never disappoints. The food is always flavorful and generously served. I love the Steam Pot and the Chesapeake dishes and Benny's soups are beyond awesome!

This is a great neighborhood place to have dinner, we get there about 600pm and are seated almost immediately. The bennys pure crab cakes are to die for. We go there often and hve never had a bad meal. A definite recommendation

First time there since many years ago. Now that family is at Paul’s Run nearby, this will be our go to place when we visit. The early bird specials which we ordered were awesome as was the great service. Plenty of big screen televisions.

By far the best cream of crab soup in all the land. That alone is worth the visit. Food is consistently good .

too much money to go

A buddy of mine bought an online coupon for da bums..so why not give it a shot. It was mid day Sunday and we thought we catch a few games. Benny's has plenty of tvs with the NFL package along with ESPN. So we were happy with the viewing selection. The wings sucked. Overpriced, dry and I would have had more meat for less from Macs Supper Club. How ever the calamari was passable. Tender and spicey and not over breaded. However for the price I would have passed if we did not have the discount coupon. The beer on tap was uninspired "diet beer" except for Yuengling Lager and Sam Adams Octoberfest. The bottle list just sucked. No local brews, just major labels. This a crabhouse. My buddy had the clam chowder, which we shared and It could have fromaProgresso can. The crab legs were decent and he did eat 2 orders. There services was promt and professional. The wait staff and the bar rr staff did a very nice job.

Went there twice, terrible both times - 1st time had cocconut shrimp & friend had fish - shrimp were deep fried until hard as a rock & fish fell apart, had no taste. This time 1/26/12, had Hungary Harry $32.95 - 2 shrimp - 1 crab cake - 1 lobster tail - 4 scallops - 1 piece of flounder - baked potato & broccli - none of the seafood had any taste, everything was bland, even the drawn butter was weak! The lobster was rubberie, the scallops were too chewie, and the fish was tastless and fell apart from the water it was sitting in, draining from it - they even forgot to serve the crabcake with the rest of the meal - Went on a discount coupon both times (not presented until after dinner) - SAVE YOUR MONEY - EVEN DISCOUNT DOLLARS - TERRIBLE MEAL - service was fine and the BREAD was excellent but NEVER again - a waste of money - I can get better fish at McDonalds & better shrimp & scallops at Chinese take-out,. EVERYTHING WAS STEAMED AND LEFT TO SIT HERE - IF YOU LIKE BLAND, TASTLESS FOOD THIS IS THE PLACE - otherwise its a shame to waste your money, even discounted.

We went to this place while on vacation at sesame place. The service was good.We had the shrimp stir fry and the prime rib which were very good. Little one had pizza he seemed to enjoy. Overall good food and service. Average eatery would not go out of my way to go, but would go again when returning to area.

Half price apps and discounted drinks from 4 to 6pm. Crab balls, buffalo shrimp...delish. Dinner is always good, love their signature sauce for snow crabs.

Food and service were average at best. I was really not impressed with the chicken parm sandwich I ordered, but the fries were good. The table was dirty and so were the menus, so that was a bit of a turn off right away.

We were disappointed in the service and the food. Would NOT go back.

Got to have crab legs and crab cake for lunch. they were just great and i would definitely recommend it

Hadn't been here @ northeast location for a long time & was pleasantly surprised. Was inspired to go with a Groupon+ deal. They have their early bird menu back now 'till 7:00 pm.. wow with fantastic prices including soup & salad. My scallops & shrimp stir fry was delicious. Wife said her stuffed shrimp off regular menu, the best she ever had. Now that their early menu is back & their party dance format gone, we will be returning.

Recently Dined at Benny the Bums during a stay at the Holiday Inn. Benny the Bums is the BEST thing going for the hotel. I chose the crab feast. It contained King Crab, Snow Crab and Dunginess Crab in a broth. All were fantastic. The entire plate was overflowed with crab. My wife had the crab salad. She didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed mine. She should have been told it was canned crab meat. My daughter enjoyed her chicken. The waitress was very pleasant and attentive throughout the meal. If you are unfortunate enough to stay at the Holiday Inn Stadium you can brighten your stay a little with a meal at Benny the Bums.

The food was far from great. The crab cakes were bland and the mediterranean salad had a tablespoon of crab meat and 4 shrimp, along with a large bowl of huge pieces of romaine lettuce and a few tomatoes. The salad dressing that came with this salad was way too sweet. I'm glad I ordered on the side. The atmosphere is pleasant - very modern. The noise level was terrible.

Local crab house and seafood restaurant. We stop in for dinner about once a month. The fish is alway's fresh and tasty. Had broiled stuffed shrimp this week, very good. Average prices and good drinks. Free parking by the front door.

Firstly, we went here with a Groupon. Bad idea. Firstly the food was disgusting. We couldn't eat our "special". It looked and tasted like pig slop. The scallops literally looked like they were long since expired and so slimy that it seemed they were barely cooked. They were gray, limp, slimy and had the tongues still on them too. Maybe the chef hates the job. The filet mignon was flavorless. The calamari we ordered was half calamari, half fried peppers. How stupid and misleading. I mean, why call the dish "fried calamari" rather than "fried peppers"? You're paying for calamari but getting half peppers. Ridiculous. The bathroom was disgusting too. And to top it all off, I find out that our "groupon deal" didn't work because I missed the very fine print on the offer. Between groupon and the disgusting food, this whole experience was lousy. I've since disabled my groupon account and would never recommend that people use groupon unless they have magnifying glasses and lots of time to read an offer like a lawyer reading a contract. Also, I've noticed that restaurants who use groupon are typically the grosser ones and that was the case here for sure. The only saving grace about benny's was the waiter. There are way more dining options out there to choose from.

I bought a Groupon for "Benny the Bums" before I read the bad reviews but ,to my surprise it was better than I thought. I had steamed clams which were good, and also Crab balls which were good. My husband had steamed shrimp which was good and also xlarge crabs that were good also. My only bad comment would be that the waitresses would congregate in one spot and sort of forget about you.

Benny the Bums is a good, solid choice for lunch or dinner. The food is fresh, and the service good. If you dine there, you MUST try the Cream of Crab soup.. it is extraordinary. Another true gem is the Bum Salad. Usually, salads containing seafood would have a few shrimp and a little bit of crabmeat. Not this one! The salad contains tons of the good stuff.. along with fresh lettuce and a subtle "special" dressing. So Good!

Tried it only once and was unimpressed. We would not go back again. The food was below average as was the atmosphere. The service was unattentive but friendly.

I recently visited Benny the Bum with friends and was not disappointed. We chose appetizers - crab balls (could be fresher), salad, soup. The main entrees were the seafood platter, pasta dish and crab cakes. Everyone was satisfied with the meal and left the establishment full. The cheesecake for dessert was delicious as well. We will be back to visit soon.

Food was delicious, I had the stuff shrimp which was broiled perfectly and packed with crab meat and It had a spacious dance floor

Save your money and 'intestinal' fortitude. Hopefully, enough said. As a Holiday Inn member and Philly resident, both the hotel chain and establishment should be embarrassed by the quality of 'service' and 'product' unfortunately offered. Please inform me when a change takes place, so that I can once again enjoy a favorite regular spot to visit.

Benny the Bums says that their soup is made fresh daily.....WRONG their soup is in 5 gal buckets and thrown in the walk in fridge...Also the bus boys dont spray anything on the table to wipe it down with as soon as the party leave, they ust take a rag and wipe it down...not good...drinks are way to expensive...imports are $5 + depending on what u get....on avg. the bar makes about 75% profit on each beer and 85% on miked drinks...miked drinks will cost $6+ depending what you order...so you do the math...they pay next to nothing for them...and $9 for nachos thats crazy...wat to pricey for the northeast...and alot of underage kids inside drinking ....never again will we be there...

Took my significant other to Bennys for her annual crab fix. Five to six pm on a Saturday was fine and we were seated immediately. The waitress was excellent, there when we needed her and did not bother us otherwise. We had the lump crab cakes and they were simply the best...mostly crab and delicious. Also had the Tuna which is no longer on the menu for an entree. It was cooked perfectly and the cajun seasoning was excellent. The mac and cheese was extremely cheesy if a little soft and the coleslaw was one of the best. We both loved the horseradish on the table and the house wines were very good. It was a great dinner, fair price and excellent service. We will be back!

My husband and I haven't been in Benny the Bum's in years, we heard there meals were better and that they changed the interior. July 5th went to dinner had the salmon which was so good with julienne vegetables and sweet potato - enjoyed it so much i can't wait to go back and get it again. I do have to say that the interior design is like being in a diner - they need to update.