Great atmosphere, wonderful staff, and always so accommodating! The food and drinks are always perfectly prepared.

Went here for my birthday on NYEve and the food was terrific. Service was good. Glad we went early because it got crowded.

First time here and won't be our last. Our server Ruth was awesome - gave us great recommendations to try, was spot on for service and had such a wonderful, outgoing personality!!!! The ribeye was cooked perfectly as was the cheesy chicken and my husbands seafood platter. And by all means SAVE room for their amazing desserts!!!!!! Will definitely be going there a lot!!!! read more

If you want the same boring burger and flat menu, this is NOT the place for you! Great menu, killer drinks and an always friendly staff is every day at Benjamin's. Get the fresh mozzarella sticks as an appetizer and the seafood is always on point. Consistently great!! read more

We love Benjamin's! They have great steaks from a local farm and lots of seafood options too. Last week I had their black grouper special and it was honestly some of the best fish I have ever tasted! Our family's favorite place for sure for any meal. The staff is very friendly and the outdoor deck is fabulous! read more

This was by far the worst customer service experience ever. Service was slow as well. Not worth the wait. The steak was bland and they don't have steak sauce. I sent the food back and they refused to take it off of the check. They stated "steak sauce is not a menu item, so they are not responsible for the meal". So, I paid $26 for a meal that went in the trash (they tossed it out, but refused to take it off of the check). BEWARE if you don't like your food you still pay for it, so dont send it back! Then they replied to my comment with a lie, because apparently this business cannot handle a poor review. To reply to there vicious comment: No, I did not curse at the server. I am really glad that Lynchburg has other really great places to eat, as this IS NOT one of them! read more

Great food,great people. I love the homemade ranch dressing on the salad, it's a must have. But, we've had burgers, chicken,ribs, fish you really can not go wrong with this local favorite, there's a reason it's always busy. The locals are there having a sangria and a burger and did I mention the onion rings and fries both are amazing! read more

Had wayguburger. Fantastic. Fast service with large daily menu. Dessert tray large. The creme brulee was about double size! read more

Benjamin's - Waygu burger - Seafood Near Me - Forest, Virginia

My wife and I had visited this restaurant a few times in the past and had good experiences with the service and food quality. Last night's experience was extremely disappointing. While the menu is well-rounded and generous in offerings, I ordered Oysters from the menu and was informed that they were out of Oysters. For my second attempt, I ordered the evening special which consisted of a steak, shrimp, and rice. After about 10 minutes, the server returned to the table to tell me that they were "out of the special;" however, I was informed that I could order the steak and an order of shrimp separately. Being a bit frustrated by now, I ordered a medium cooked steak. When our food finally arrived at the table, both of our steaks were served slightly warm and overcooked. While my wife's baked potato was okay. My "tavern" fries were crunchy and slightly warm. The bits of fries appeared to be be the remnants from the bottom of the bag. My mushrooms were satisfactory but a bit on the bland side for taste. The service was abysmal. Our server only returned to our table a couple of times other than the times to tell me that my orders were not available and to leave the bill. Our water glasses were not refilled during the 90 minutes we were there. In our server's defense, they seemed a bit short staffed. In our prior visits, we sat outside and enjoyed the atmosphere. Due to the outside temperature, we decided to eat indoors. After sitting inside for only a few minutes, we asked the server if we could move to an outside table due to the deafening noise/chatter and the very cold AC that was blowing directly down upon us. We were told that the sever didn't have any outside tables available so we remained inside. While I understand that the noise of patrons would be difficult for the restaurant to control, this restaurant should place a "warning" sign at the entrance about the noise level inside. As a disclaimer, this is the first restaurant review that I have ever written. I am not inclined to send food back to the kitchen or complain about it. When I am unsatisfied, I just refuse to patronize an establishment. I am retired and I have 22 years of administrative oversight of food service in an institutional environment. If you are looking for a loud and rowdy bar type atmosphere where focus is on alcohol and less about food, you will enjoy this place. If you are looking for a place where you can comfortably converse with your other table guests and enjoy a decent meal, you might want to look elsewhere. read more

Cows & Crabs... That's what the website says and they are not kidding. This place serves up some damn fine American food: steaks, seafood and yummy cocktails to wash it down. It doesn't look like a whole lot from the outside but do try to get in there - the food is definitely worth it. We started out with redneck nachos which were perfect for my wife who is gluten free. Picture a massive plate of housemade potato chips with Pulled Pork BBQ, Smoked Gouda, Adobo & BBQ Sauce, Scallions, Jalapenos & Tobacco Onions. Yea baby. There were a bunch of specials the night we were there but we settled for some items from the menu: Hoof & Claw (Filet of Beef topped w/ garlic herb butter & a Crab Cake) for me and Surf & Turf for her - and there were some outstanding smoked gouda grits. Holy cow. We were already moving slow from all of the food but what the hell, we had some dessert too. A good time, large portions, and decent prices. All in all a very good night out and we will be back for more! The place gets busy so you may want to call ahead. Parking in the field read more

I really wanted to love this place. it's local and supposed to be great in beef and seafood. Been trying to get my wife to come here for 6 month based on all the ratings. I got the western burger, it was amazing excellent ingredients awesome bun sides were Brussels and kettle chips, 100/% on point, would definitely get again. Meanwhile my wife gets the filet medium well, this cut comes out mooing. I love rare blue, bloody and cold and yet this cut is even colder and rarer for me. The sides of the steak are hit with heat while the inside is colder than my ex-wife heart. She asks to just refire the steak no problems, she understands different cooks different heats. The server Hanrose asks if it's a lighting issue, are you serious. Now this cut is bleeding and cold, it's not lighting, its raw. She gets a refire and attitude, now I have to deal with a grumpy wife and grumpy server. My food was awesome, hers was subpar, and I get to tip at over 30% and have an angry wife and upset server. I would come here again for sure, but solo. Side note, it appears that other servers were engaged and positive we got on the crap list ASAP even before the issues with the undercooked steak. I enjoyed this restaurant but I will have to go solo now thanks to all the drama between the two. read more

I used to love Benjamin's and couldn't wait for it to reopen. Took my dad for dinner and it was definitely not the same. Poor quality food for the price. Very disappointing.... read more

Best Buffalo grilled chicken sandwich I've had! The blue cheese was so tasty and the sweet potato fries were so good. AND the tea was freshly perfect! My father had the cheese burger, potato salad and sweet tea, he said "the burger was very good, potato salad perfect and the best sweet tea I've had anywhere around here". read more

Never disappointed. I know that doesn't sound like the best review but if you know what I know about the restaurants around here then you know that it is limited. I base my reviews on the ones who never disappoint. Meaning, there are about five in this city and Benjamins is one of the five. Enough said. read more

I particularly like the Fish and Chips they serve and have had it several times and will go back and try them again

Great Salmon on a plank again, the only place to get it is Benjamin's!! I had a burger that was delicious again!! Also thank you Benjamin's best burger in this town!! read more

Cute little patio out back and the service and food were absolutely great! Have the tacos for appetizer and they will make you smile! If you're a foodie this place is a must! read more

Went there for the first time with my wife since they first opened. I was very impressed. I ordered the Hoof & Claw. It's a 10oz filet, crabcake, side salad and 2 sides. I got the sauteed garlicky spinach and baked potato. I also ordered the calamari appetizer. It was handbreaded and amazing. Everything was outstanding and so was the service. We will definitely be back. read more

Hands down my families favorite restaurant. Menu offers enough choices to keep everyone happy.. Specials are very creative and are reasonably priced. Beer selection rotates regularly and is consistently good. Make sure you plan ahead and get reservations on the weekend.. Place gets busy... read more

Went for dinner. The staff was friendly and the atmosphere was nice (esp outside where they had live music) but the food was ok. Had the blackened fish tacos, fried oyster app, and steak. Tacos were good, the fried oysters were good but a bit overpriced (imo), and the steak was.... meh. Maybe I'm a bit of a steak snob but if you're not there for steak and had some of their other items on the menu with a drink or something, I think it would be a place to give a try. As for me though, I don't think there was anything special that would have been planning for my next visit. read more

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The food was delicious and the service was awesome!!! I would highly recommend this restaurant!!! Ask for Stephanie to be your waitress, she's amazing!!! read more

Southern charm and southern kitchen = great dining experience. I came here at the recommendation of a friend I hadn't seen in years. She had recently moved to Lynchburg area and had heard great things. We were not disappointed. We started with the southern BBQ nachos. Be warned, it is a huge plate! We probably could have simply split that between the 2 of us for dinner alone. They use crispy thick potato chips and layer cole slaw and BBQ (pork or beef, can't remember) on top with some jalapeños. De-lish-ous! I ordered the fish tacos for dinner and they were also quite good. Unfortunately, I was not able to eat all of them because I was so full from the nachos. They have a good selection of local beers and ciders available. Service is excellent. read more

Benjamin's - Ultimate fish po boy -- I was able to order my fish blackened instead of fried as it is on the menu - Seafood Near Me - Forest, Virginia

Down from NH visiting my Dad. He was quick to suggest we try out Benjamin's. Happy to oblige and wasn't disappointed. The folks at the table had the filet and the porterhouse both cooked to perfection my wife loved the crab cake too. But the pièce de ré·​sis·​tance was desert, so save some room for home made greatness. Lizzy our server was attentive and quick to smile a big plus to the night. We will definitely be back next time we are in town. read more

Lynchburg, the Forest area, is not a big bustling city with lots of options and diversity. Finding a place you want to go back to, where the food is done well and you are getting a good value can be hard to find for us foodie types. Benjamin's ticks all of our pick-ish boxes. The food is delicious, the servers are friendly, it seems well managed, they have live music, and they have specials. Their specials are special. Whoever is running the kitchen (the guy with the beard, and that other guy with the beard, and that guy who looks a bit like a steak ninja)really know what they are doing. They come up with a diverse and eclectic menu weekly, and they do so well with it that we rarely order off of the main menu anymore. Actually, if I were to shave points off, it would be on their main menu, mainly because its comparable to a regular surf and turf place. When you go(when, not if, because you should not miss out), order off the board posted as you walk in. You won't be disappointed. The lunch manager does a great job, so you dont have to wait for dinner, and they have a weekend brunch, so try that too! read more

Great brunch spot! Pre-covid menu had really good Benedict's and pricing! Now the menu lost a couple of the special things it used to offer but used to be my every Sunday brunch spot. Owners are an amazing family!!! read more

Benjamin's is my favorite restaurant! Burgers, salads, steak, fish - it's ALL delicious!! Mama Sue makes the most amazing homemade desserts - the chocolate eclair is the best! Ask to sit in Rachel's section! She's top-notch, too. It's definitely worth the short drive from Lynchburg to eat lunch or dinner at Benjamin's! read more

Was told nothing but good stuff about this place so I decided to bring my wife for her birthday dinner. I am a streak person and would traditionally order a rib eye with out even looking at the menu. The special was a 16oz NY strip for $30. So I splurged and got the NY. It was an absolute disaster. Came out looking extremely dry. The knife they gave me would Barely cut through the steak. I chewed every piece for about 2 minutes and just chewed it to small enough chunks where I could swallow. It was a real jaw work out. I probably will never come back here for steak again. A local chain steak place is ten times better. Now I gave two stars because it is a good atmosphere. Just not a good steak place. read more

We have been trying just about every restaurant since we moved here a couple of months ago and we finally got into Benjamin's and it didn't disappoint us. The service was wonderful, waitress was very attentive and positive. We started with drinks as I got the Strawberry Margarita and my wife got a drink called Grandma's something I just can't remember. We weren't very happy with the drinks, not bad just not great but that is OK because we both had the Seafood Platters and they were wonderful. My wife got dessert and I enjoyed sharing that with her. I would highly recommend Benjamin's, just got early as their dinners can't get very busy. read more

We hadn't been to Benjamin's in awhile so wanted to try it again. Our initial service was prompt as far as getting our drinks and our server was fine. My husband ordered the steak and crab legs and I ordered the fillet and crab cake. We had to wait quite a while to receive our food and our sides came all mixed up. My husband got mine and I got his so the kitchen messed up. Not a big deal, we just switched them ourselves although we did let our server know. My fillet was cooked to my liking and the crab cake was mostly crab with very little filler which was good. My husband ordered his steak medium rare and it was cooked medium well which was disappointing. All in all, or dining experience was just Ok for the price. read more

Disgusted by the service at this place. My wife and I ordered steaks at about 8:15 on this Monday evening. When the food came out we were told they were out of steak sauce. My wife does not eat steak without steak sauce and I prefer to have it. We paid about $60 for a meal that came without the expected condiment. A steakhouse without steak sauce, seriously???? I asked the manager to take my wife's meal off the check, as she literally did not take one bite out of her steak. This seemed fair to me and a minimum standard for any reputable establishment. He refused to take it off the check and offered a $10 gift card. Sorry, I would never come back to use it, so you can keep it. To top it off, a little kid behind the bar was nice and sarcastic as we walked out the door. Never again will I visit this hole in the wall. Pitiful. I forgot to mention my wife returned the totally uneaten steak with the expectation it would be taken off. We asked for the steak back when he refused to comp it, but they had thrown it away!!!! read more

Awesome atmosphere! Killer food. If you're looking for a unique restaurant and can't decide between cows or crabs... check this place out! Highly recommend. read more

Benjamin's - Seafood Near Me - Forest, Virginia

Very very disappointing. Ordered 3 half salads to go with crab cakes and hot roast beef. The salads were so small, side salad size. The roast beef was overdone and gristly. The crab cakes were no better than frozen. Don't recommend except for Sunday Brunchz read more

This is the second time we have eaten at this restaurant. Both times we have been very pleased with the food, but both times we have been disappointed in the service. It is one of the higher priced restaurants in the area and has a unique, rustic atmosphere... but they really need to work on the service. After we finally got our food on a not extremely busy night, it took almost 45 minutes to get our check once we had finished eating. We also never got rolls that we saw the others tables have. There was a major thunderstorm as well and other tables began to receive candles due to the power flickering on and off... which was a nice gesture, but for some reason our table was missed. The atmosphere and price do not match the level of service that Benjamin's offers. I give it three stars because we do enjoy the food and plan on going back... hoping that they will have new servers. read more

Benjamin's - From their website - Seafood Near Me - Forest, Virginia

Service tonight was Soooo SLOW!. We were here for about an 1 1/2 before we got our food and the place wasn't even busy. I ordered the ribeye, terrible, only about 2 bites of meat were actually edible. Also had the French dip. Bland and the meat was way overcooked. This place is overpriced to begin with so when the food sucks it's disappointing. Still enjoyed the porch though! That's the one thing that would get me to come back again and I think I would stick with the nachos and maybe try some of their other appetizers as well. Oh, and the sweet tea was still all watered down, so I guess that's the way they make it. read more

We really like this place. Super good food in a casual atmosphere. A lot of the time we will get take out which is always hot and boxed/ready to go. The people here are always very nice too. A place like this in little forest va is a special thing! read more

I only stopped eating because I ran out of food. One of the best dinners I've ever had. read more

Benjamin's - Ribeye with onion rings and blue cheese crumbles. - Seafood Near Me - Forest, Virginia

Very disappointed in the Friday and Saturday policy of not taking reservations on top of not letting you get a table until your whole party arrives. How are you supposed to makes plans with your friends without fear of it being too crowded to get a table? The bar area won't even let you sit there while you wait. We have been long time customers but will go somewhere else from now on where we feel appreciated NOT an inconvenience. read more

Finally talked my spouse into going to a Sunday Brunch at Benjamin's. Coffee was great from the French Press, Mimosa was good but way over priced. I ordered waffles and spouse ordered biscuits & gravy. I think they forgot the gravy on the biscuits, they were sooo dry.. the Waffles were very dry as well, I asked for more syrup, but a bottle of syrup wouldn't have helped them. I had asked if they had changed cooks, waiter said NO. Well, they'd better change cooks. Waiter was super attentive, but when we told him the food was dry, we should have been compensated and bill should have been adjusted a bit to make us happy, since most of the food went in the garbage & I'd hoped the cook seen the plates still full. We paid the $50.00 bill & still left a generous tip, but won't be back. read more

fried green tomato: off the hook! crab cakes: my wife will not stop saying "this is good!" wagyu burger: awesome! ribeye and beef filet was the bomb! service: Lindsey was wonderful! need i add anything else? read more

Benjamin's - wagyu burger aftermath! - Seafood Near Me - Forest, Virginia

Probably the go-to place in Forest. It has been hit or miss on the food. Some things have been fantastic, others have been average. Please stay away from the coleslaw, it is horrible. The service is always great. Atmosphere with the back patio and live music are fantastic. Beer, wine, and drink menu is 4*. If the food were more consistent, I'd give a 5*. read more