Benny’s American Take Away

Very friendly staff. I liked the UNO cards while you waited. A decent sized hotdog and the poutine tasted great! Not quite as good as the real deal but a lot cheaper than flying over to the US. Well done guys :)

I wasn’t hugely impressed by Benny’s, but I think maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for what the food was, so I’m going to review it objectively.
It is very american and I think that a lot of people would love that about it. I ordered the «fire and ice» hot dog, with jalepeno, pickles, horseradish cream and sour cream and the hot dog was high quality more like a cransky to me than a typical hot dog. The bun was fresh and light and the ingredients were all well done.
I think the interior could be made a bit more comfortable, but all in all it was a cool place. NBA jam in the corner and a tv absolutely blaring some 50’s american music. I’ll be back for the buffalo wings.

Terrible service, rude incompetent staff. Too busy flirting with the chef to listen to my order. I had to repeat it 3 times then fix all the errors when read back to me. No milkshakes despite being advertised on the website. The coleslaw was a tub of cabbage covered in cheap tasteless mayonnaise. The chilli cheese fries had no cheese. The garlic wings were delicious as were the buffalo wings. The buffalo were only slightly spicy but delicious anyway. Overall very dissatisfied.

First time at Bennys and went on a recommendation of a local! Was not disappointed, had a load of wings and a pulled pork hotdog! Both were fantastic! The hot sauce was good, the very hot was also tasty, but if you ask there is a ultra hot sauce that is the best!
I’ll be back!

Australia still has a loooong way to go to really mirror an «American» restaurant in terms of both décor and food. Bennys in Findon is no exception.
Being Canadian I KNOW my poutine and Bennys got this right! Kudos!
The wings on the other hand displayed attempt but the sauce (hot & really hot) missed the mark and didn’t have the zing like you would find in the US.
Good, friendly service. Kudos again but get rid of the plastic forks and styrofoam packaging.
Will try out New York Dreams and HDCB before coming back.

A SAD STORY…
…once upon a time there was a small American diner in Blackwood called Benny’s. When me and my friends discovered this place we thought we had won the lottery. The food was amazing and consistent. Even though I lived almost 30 minutes away I would go there at least once a week and every time introduce new people to the place. Everyone I took there loved it and for good reason! Nobody cared about the ‘no-​frills’ décor or brown paper menus or that the food was served in Styrofoam containers because it tasted so good and was great value for money. One of the big hits was definitely the pulled pork. I would get it in either the wrap or bun. I also loved the chicken wings as they were juicy with a crispy skin coating. On occasion we would also visited the Morphett Vale store.
Anyway recently Benny’s opened up in Findon which is a lot closer to my place, only about 10 mins away. Of course I couldn’t contain my excitement in anticipation of the opening. On Thursday the 21^st May it officially opened but I decided to wait until Friday night to go there. I went up to order and pay and then went to sit down to wait for my food. Eventually a girl come to me with a plastic bag and said ‘here you go’ enjoy! I told her that I had not ordered takeaway and wanted to eat in but she said that no-​one told her. I was never asked when I ordered about his. Anyway I let it go and decided to take it back home to eat. Here is how it went down…
1. The ‘pulled pork’ wrap had lettuce and tomato in it, not the usual coleslaw, but this wan’t the main problem, the problem was that the meat was not what I was used to from Benny’s. It tasted like boiled meat with no taste but a strong ‘pork’ flavour. The meat was also a light brown colour not consistent with the dark brown/​reddish meat I was used to from the Blackwood store. I also found bits of ham or bacon mixed in with the meat which I had never seen before.
2. The chicken wings were served in a foil bag and not the usual Styrofoam contained which of course made them very soggy. On top of that the ‘hot’ sauce was not mixed through but served in a separate plastic container. Now that the wings were soggy the last thing I wanted to do is pour liquid on them, so I decided to throw them out.
3. The BBQ ribs were so burned that there was more black char on the bone than actual meat. I had to throw these out too.
Believe it or not that initial experience didn’t deter me as I figured that it was only their 2^nd day of opening and they needed time to settle in and sort out their procedures, staff training etc.
So a week later (tonight) and being the following Friday myself and 2 others went back there, to dine in this time! Once again I ordered the exact same things and we also got some Poutine to share. This time I also made sure to tell them that we were dining in.
When the food arrived I was surprised to see the chicken wings served in a foil bag with the ‘hot’ sauce in a separate container again. WTF… Why? Next I turned to my ‘pulled pork’ bun, this time and was glad to see the coleslaw in there but a few bites in realised that the same tasteless brown meat mixed with ham/​bacon was used. I was gutted!
All hope was now resting on the BBQ ribs which turned out to be less burnt but the meat was just chewy and didn’t fall off the bone as it did every time from the Blackwood store.
I don’t know what went wrong with Benny’s (but I have my suspicions). I can now only hope that the Blackwood store hasn’t fallen to the same fate as the Findon store. Only time will tell…
The End

After watching an episode of Man vs Food, where they visited a few rib places in the USA, and after I stopped drooling, I ran a quick search on the web to see if Adelaide offerred any suitable establishments.
The results were small but looked impressive, and so Benny’s was chosen mainly due to being the closest. After reading varying Unilocal reviews and others besides, we made our way up to Main Rd Blackwood to test the waters.
True to it’s name, takeaway is the preferred option, if the cars pulling up and then leaving bundled with poly and cardboard cartons of food were any indication. However you can also sit down inside and outside to taste Benny’s wares.
We decided to be a bit posh and «eat in».
We ordered some fries in cheese and sauce, some ribs (our main reason for being there), some buffalo wings and some pulled pork. Food was still delivered to our table in poly and cardboard cartons. Fair enough, although I did notice an absence of bins to place the refuse afterwards!
The food was nice. It was. It was nicely cooked, had good flavour and looked good. The buffalo wings were tasty and the pulled pork was succulent. The ribs however were «meh». After expecting a rack smoked and then grilled with special glaze until it was juicy with a nice caramelised crust, we were instead treated to ribs that were just grilled with sauce over them. After the episode of Man vs Food, my expectations I suppose were very high. And I did feel let down. I was expecting the bar to be raised and to feast on something my taste buds would remember forever. And it … Didn’t … Happen … At least not for me.
I will keep looking for that special USA style ribs. Dry rubbed or not, the perfect rib is out there, somewhere. Maybe I need to bite the bullet and just fly over and tour the US for best ribs.

If you go expecting a restaurant, you shouldn’t. It is a take away shop, but you can usually get a seat on the bar or on one of a few tables. NBA on as well (although not a fan of the wrestling.
But this place is about the food! The wings, the hot dogs — damnnnnn boi. Just like NY. And ten there is my favorite — the milk shakes. The guys know what they are on about there.
I recommend the BBQ wings, and the Ribs!
The other kicker is the pulled pork. I have to admit I have a soft spot for pork. And for anything pulled. And this does not disappoint.
It really does work as a place where you can grab a couple of wings and then take home some food.
Two thumbs up. Get involved.

The hot dogs and wings here are fantastic. There really aren’t many places in Adelaide where you can get proper hot wings, but these are it. They also use viennas for the dawgs which is pretty much a must in my book, yet very few places do. Overall I love how cheap this it is and the fact that it’s just around the corner probably contributes to how much I eat there.
But… ordered the crispy chicken tacos and the shell hadn’t been toasted! It MUST go in the oven for 5 or so minutes otherwise it will be ‘raw’. Fries can be a little soggy.
And finally, I have a serious issue with the disgusting excess and waste of food competitions. People should be ashamed of themselves for being involved in that kind of activity. I’m a teacher, and I have students going hungry because their parents can’t afford to feed them breakfast, meanwhile a bunch of overweight guys are playing a game of lets see who can vomit up 6 whole chickens first. As you can tell, it rubs me the wrong way, but there isn’t really anywhere else in Adelaide to get pulled pork, wings etc. and sometimes when you got a craving, you got a craving!

This place really is hard to find! I tried twice to find it and almost gave up when I spotted their sign. Once I found it I had to work out which shop it was as they have no sign on the door. They seriously don’t make it easy. I asked Benny where’s the sign. He said «we ordered signs when we first moved in and accidentally threw them out with some rubbish and haven’t bothered to get any since.» I’m guessing business is doing alright not to need them? Ha ha.
Any how I ordered a small chilli cheese fries just to try something. Not bad. Now that I know where it is I might go back and try a dawg. The servings are massive.

Wow… What a gem of a place… Hidden away in Blackwood in a small square of shops where you wouldn’t expect it!
They specialise in American style cuisine… Like wings, ribs, pulled pork, hotdogs chilli fries etc and best of all poutine… A combination of seasoned shoestring fries, gravy and cheese with extra toppings such as pulled pork, crispy chicken or bacon. It is an awesome concoction worthy of the trip.
The pulled pork is also a highlight of the menu… Available in several flavours!!!
The eat in portions are slightly larger than their takeaway equivalent but doesn’t mean they are small!
Best of all though are the prices… They are so reasonable and keep you going back for more. Now if only they could move a little closer now or open another outlet it would be perfect…

Benny’s is a cool little place when your not in the mood cooking. The Hot wings are off the hook and there are so many hot dogs to chose from its crazy. Friendly staff and we’ll priced.

Bennys was a lovely surprise. The food was really good and the milkshakes were great. The price was really good too. $ 4 for a large milkshake?! My husband and I had dinner (chilli dog, slow cooked pulled pork, traditional poutine and 2 milkshakes) for under $ 25. Bargain! We’ll definitely go back.

Tucked away in a shop complex in Blackwood, this is a place that is easily missed (especially since they hv yet to put proper signage up).
Ok, let’s get down to business:
The Mash and Gravy was disappointing — mash was chunky and gravy was watery. Chilli cheese fries were meh, slightly stingy with the cheese. Fries however were nice and crispy. And my hotdog… fell apart on me.
Not impressed.
PS. Apparently the pulled pork is really good. If anyone tries it, do let me know?

Benny’s is a new American takeaway in Blackwood with very reasonable, affordable and great tasting food. We tried the Southern chicken wings, large fries & amazing melt in your mouth pulled pork cone (wrap) with coleslaw, pickle, onion BBQ sauce. This is proper succulent melt in your mouth pulled pork that has been slow cooked for 20 hours! Yumm :)