Benito's

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#6 of 23 Restaurants in Dalkey€€ - €€€, Italian, Pizza, Vegetarian friendly

+353 1 285 1010+ Add website

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Hours

Sun

13:00 - 22:30

Mon

17:00 - 22:30

Tue

17:00 - 22:30

Wed

17:00 - 22:30

Thu

17:00 - 22:30

Fri

17:00 - 22:30

Sat

13:00 - 22:30

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.0

321 reviews

#6 of 23 Restaurants in Dalkey

Travellers' Choice 2024

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Italian, Pizza, European, Grill, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options

“Grazie Mille , to all at Benitos .”

“... then had a pork Milanese with a salad and an excellent pasta with sausage...”

“Partner had the calamari which was very good, and she had pizza for the main,...”

“So is the arancini.”

Location and contact

46/47 Castle Street Opposite Tramyard, Dalkey Ireland

+353 1 285 1010

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Does this restaurant serve Tuscan food?

Yes

Unsure

Details

Manage this business?

About

Benito's Restaurant is located on the main street of the heritage town of Dalkey. Benito's chefs specialise in homemade pasta and wood-fired pizza, grilled meats and local seafood. Celebrating 14 years in business.

PRICE RANGE

€12.00 – €25.00

CUISINES

Italian, Pizza, European, Grill

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, After-hours, Drinks

FEATURES

Delivery, Takeout, Reservations, Private Dining, Seating, Street Parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Digital Payments, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music

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4.0

321 reviews

Excellent

155

Very good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Jen

11 contributions

Service needs to go an extra mile and ensure that clients are happy with their meal.

May 2024 • family

I had been here with my family on Christmas even and had a wonderful meal. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all of us. We went again last night. A party of 3 to celebrate my daughter's 21st birthday. Two of the party ordered pasta whereas I ordered Pork Milanese. It was not great at all. There were two pieces of thinly sliced pork crumbed in bread crumbs and parmensan cheese. It was overcooked, tough and not pleasant. I struggled through one tough piece, which was burnt and it tasted of oil that had been overheated. The second slice was not touched. The waiter handling our table was very pleasant, professional and understanding of the dilemma. He went to the chef and advised him and was told that it rarely happens but the pork was a tough piece of pork when the reality was that it was badly cooked. When one smells burning oil wafting through the restaurant one knows that someone's plate of food has suffered. In this instance, I was the unfortunate one. Look, they kindly did not charge me for this meal I had, however, I would have preferred when eating out on an important occasion as a 21st that I could have enjoyed the meal. I do not understand, that after serving a table a meal. That there is then no interaction with the clients to actually see if they are enjoying their meal. I do not get that, I do not get that staff will stand at the bar and spend the evening polishing glasses and not interact with those who are spending money in the restaurant. If it were me, I would be out there engaging and checking to see that everyone was alright. Just a quick visit to a table to see that the table of clients were happy. Not a lot to ask, in my opinion.

Written 16 May 2024

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

nta_11

London71 contributions

Great Italian experience in Dalkey

Mar 2024 • friends

A nice cosy environment, a little stuffy but ok. Great staff with a smile and always ready to serve. This is Dalkey so be prepared to pay over the odds of what the food is worth. The food is well cooked, presented & tasty. All of us enjoyed the waiter allowing for specific dietary requirements on changing the ingredients on a dish. The restaurant is clean and kept modern which puts shame on some of the other eats in Dalkey. The menu is a little unclear with its fancy wishy washy small font you cannot read clearly. If you know what you are looking for it’s good, if not you need to ask the staff for some help! Overall, a great experience which was well overdue after an arrogant experience from the Grapevine restaurant owner in Dalkey. We will be back, thank you Mr Benito :)

Written 20 March 2024

LindosAnn

Dublin68 contributions

Good food. Excellent service.

Aug 2023 • friends

There is a varied wine list, anything from just under €30 to several hundred. I had the Calamari with Lemon Aoili to start. The calamari were lovely, but the Lemon Aoili consisted of a tiny amount slicked around the dish the calamari was served in, I had expected more. The Pork Milanese was uneventuful but the rosemary and garlic potatoes were excellent. We didn't have dessert.

Written 2 August 2023

Bish1010

2 contributions

Attitude to kids appalling!

Aug 2022 • family

Booked Benitos a few months ago for a Christening on the 6th August for 12 kids and 18 Adults. Should have guessed that that when unwilling to do a kids or set menu the rip off was imminent. Kids pasta was 8 (10.90 in one case) euro for a tiny bowl (20 pieces of Penne) and on top of that charged 2 euro for cordial and 4.80 euro for 2 scoops of icecream....yes an expensive kids dinner.! Table layout was not as agreed. Put one long table and people could not get out to go to the toilet. One 3 year old broke a bottle of wine that was on a wine rack at floor level and they insisted on charging 25 euro notwithstanding the final bill coming just short of 1,000 euro. Benitos is one of those restaurants that in time the saying "little apples will grow again" will surely apply to. On the positive side pizza was great!

Written 7 August 2022

365gerrytravels

Dublin33 contributions

Excellent food and great service, recommended

Apr 2024 • couples

Visited recently for lunch. Friendly and attentive service. Very impressed with the food, very high quality ingredients and great flavour. We shared a prawn in a bisque based sauce as a starter, very tasty, we then had a pork Milanese with a salad and an excellent pasta with sausage meat ragu as our main courses. Both were very good. Overall well worth a visit and based on my experience of Italian restaurants in Dublin, this restaurant is up there as one of best in terms of good food and value.

Written 15 April 2024

Yogmart

297 contributions

Very nice Italian

Jun 2023 • friends

We were here for a meal last week for dinner and it was the first time I had been in Benito's. The decor is nice Italian and everything nice and clean. I had a Meatball starter and a Pizza for main and they were very good. Another at the table had the Lamb and it was cooked to perfection and the last person had the Special which was Seabass. They felt the fish was a bit overcooked but was nice. Will be back here again. Very nice Italian

Written 12 June 2023

d0nt50

Auckland Central129 contributions

Amazing restaurant

Feb 2024 • couples

I rate this restaurant as one of the best restaurant we go too. The service is amazing the food to die for and the atmosphere is fantastic. There is also a great drinks menu. I highly recommend this restaurant a must try when in Auckland. Booking is highly recommended as the last time we went it was booked out. Thanks to the staff that made our visit so special.

Written 24 February 2024

kris t

2 contributions

Fabulous

May 2024 • friends

Second visit in recents weeks. Apart from years ago when the standard was poorer. They have certainly pulled up their socks and deliver fine Italian cusine, well done. Myself and my friend were in for a quick meal before a gig. We had a starter each and shared a pizza half one set of toppings other half different set. Regazzi down the street won’t do half and half. I enjoyed a great limoncello spritz made with soda as menu used 7up. Go figure!!! Spritz’s should always be mage with soda not 7up!! Anyway. Food was fabulous. Lauren our waitress was Stella. Her attention to detail and service amazing. Only down side, as I work in hospitality myself. Was some lack of communication between Lauren and the waiter. As the other waiter, I don’t know her name tried to clear my starter twice while I was still eating. Yes my friend had finished and I was talking but dish not finished knife and fork not together etc. Lauren tried to clear too. So that’s the lack of communication between them. It’s a small thing but worth the mention. Even my friend picked up on it and he doesn’t eat out often. Anyway I/we had a great meal and were looked after well. We’ll be back as I love your food. Your prawn starter is amazeballs!! So is the arancini. Be back to try more. Thanks Lauren for a great evening, you’re an asset to your employers. ❣️

Written 3 June 2024

Jason S

Dublin9 contributions

Feb 2022 • none

We were here on Saturday. The food was good. Chips were very salty and the tomato ketchup they serve is weird? Not sure what it is. Mashed potato in the adult mains was very sloppy. However what really let the place down on this occasion was the service. Very bad. Constantly looking to get somebodies attention while 3 or 4 staff were in behind the bar having the craic. Had to call them to clear up after each course, never came to see if our food was ok and one of the kids ice cream took 10 minutes to get from upstairs. Waitress who sat us was just plain rude and annoyed with us because we asked for a different table. Really enjoy this restaurant as its usually very good but this visit was a disappointment.

Written 28 February 2022

Paul McDowell

Dublin242 contributions

Great food - really top notch!

Jul 2021 • none

Wonderful dinner under a canopy and nice warm heaters as we sat outside people watching, Really friendly service with chat and the sort of atmosphere where you got chatting to other adjacent diners. Probably the best crispy calamari ever and a really fresh Heirloom tomato Caprese salad for starters followed by two excellent pastas with great depth of flavour - a Tonnarelli Frutti di Mare and a Fettucine Mare e Monti. Accompanied by a lovely Sicilian red, Perricone, one forgets how good the food here is being one of our local restaurants. Strongly recommended.

Written 9 July 2021

Guest Manager

Hello paul_mcdowell, Thanks so much for your wonderful review, we are glad that you enjoyed the experience with us, that certainly made our day here! We will pass this on to the whole team and we look forward to serving you again! Kind regards, Benito's Team

Written 10 July 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

peterW5184BC

44 contributions

Bellisimo - Five Star - Forza Italia !

Feb 2024 • friends

Brillante - Five Star , Comfort, Food and Service . First time dining here with two Ferrari Tifosi friends . Wonderful atmosphere , and comfort, accompanied by superb Italian cuisine , and Italian hospitality. I enjoyed superb Ravioli Fiorentina , the Tiffosi both had steak, which they described as 'Supremo'. Excellent house red complemented a memorable dinner . Grazie Mille , to all at Benitos .

Written 25 February 2024

Angus49

Killingworth25 contributions

Great Authentic Italian Food

May 2023 • couples

Went to Benito's on a Saturday night for dinner. The restaurant was crowded but not too noisy. The service was very good considering how crowded they were. The true star of the restaurant was the food. Coming from an Italian family I was skeptical that I could get good Itailian food in a small town in Ireland and I was right right, it wasn't good it was great! The calamari was cooked to perfection and the main courses of Frutti Di Mare and Rigatoni Ragu were great. The wine selection was good also. I thought that the price was very fair and worth every Euro. All in all a great time and experience with exceptional food.

Written 7 June 2023

carol b

County Louth57 contributions

“Walk in “ booking - Amazing

Dec 2022 • family

We took our chances on a walk in table Christmas week 21st dec and it was excellent from start to finish - we were very early 5.30 and we’re told we had 1 hour or less so that was great , we were very happy with this .The staff were pleasant and service was very efficient , The food was incredibly good (we love Italian) , we secured a table for the following evening g early and again everything was amazing - Truly the highlight of our Xmas holidays in Dalkey, we were staying in the local hotel Our second consecutive evening here was our last night of holidays and we had cancelled a previously booked other restaurant to come here instead. Cannot wait to return to this restaurant Window seats are special

Written 3 January 2023

siobhanglendon

Castlebar2 contributions

Don’t go here unless you are a local!!

Aug 2020 • family

We visited this restaurant for dinner and from the start the staff didn’t make any effort to welcome us. We were given the worst table in the restaurant under the stairs and when I asked for us to be moved I was told other guests had specifically requested 4 seater tables, no wonder as it was like having a herd of elephants trampling up and down while we were trying to enjoy our meal. A party of guests arrived and great effort was made to ensure they had everything they needed to enjoy their meal, we subsequently found out they were locals. Meanwhile the waiter forgot to bring us the dessert menu, brought the wrong tea to our table and then to top it off a waitress asked if we were finished our tea as they were low on cups!! No doubt to ensure they had plenty for their local guests. Very disappointing experience, we won’t be back!!

Written 12 August 2020

GuestManage

Hi siobhanglendon, I am really disheartened to read your review of our restaurant. I have investigated this matter and am really sorry for your experience. Unfortunately on the night in question, I was working on a function upstairs which is why I was unable to address the issue at the time in person. I hate to imagine any customer leaving unhappy. On the night in question, there were a few tables that had requested certain areas of the restaurant, the table that you are referring to had requested extra space so that the grand parents did not have to sit too close to others. Obviously, during this time it is very difficult to accommodate everyone and their needs. I am sorry for the delay in getting your dessert menu to your table. The staff are under severe pressure to ensure that all the new COVID-19 regulations are followed out correctly. One of our new rules is that we are disposing of all menu's after each customer as this is the safest way for customers to be able to physically hold a menu. We believe this will enhance your visit as opposed to using QR codes and viewing menu's online. When your table had asked for dessert menu's one of the staff had to print off some more as we had just run out. We are only getting the hang of all our new systems and will be more organised with extra menu's going forward. Thankfully, we do have alot of regular customers but our policy in Benito's is that we treat every table like regulars. The fact that you thought you were treated differently to the other tables is disheartening as we always try to go above and beyond for any customer that will be dining with us! If you could contact me on jess@benitos.ie I would love to arrange for you to receive a voucher so that we could prove that this experience is not the normal Benito's experience. Kind regards, Jess General Manager Benito's Restaurant

Written 17 August 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

UJClancy

Quin21 contributions

Best Italian Restaurant Ever!

Jul 2021 • none

We had the delight to discover this restaurant during our stay locally. It was the best Italian we have ever eaten. The food is fantastic, it is tasty, a great variety on the menu and it is very reasonably priced. We were a party of 4 including our 2 teenage children. The manager was brilliant, so professional yet personable, he took time to talk to us and really cared that we enjoyed our meal. I would HIGHLY recommend this restaurant and will definitely book a night in the future in Dublin just to eat here. You will not be disappointed.

Written 31 July 2021

Guest Manager

Hello UJClancy, Thank you for the kind words and the recommendation, that made our day here! We are pleased to hear that you had a great time with us and we look forward to your next visit! Kind regards, Benito's Team

Written 2 August 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.