Benny’s Restaurant & Cantina

A denver staple. Great prices, decent standard MX food. Solid service. Go to spot for margarita pitchers with a group. Parking sucks so über if you can. Fairly noisy – due to annoying Midwestern transplants who think everybody wants to hear them talk about their dogs or their jobs (at least when I visit) not a great spot for a biz meeting or a feels date but reasonable and solid tequila drinks in the clutch.

My friends and I have been coming for years. It has been declining in service for awhile. Although a few of the old school folks, Laura Troy and Mike to name a few are still great. I have heard from some that the food has also been declining. Dear God yesterday that was right. My boyfriend’s carnitas rellenos looked like it was cooked in a dishwasher and he said tasted like horse. My fajitas were served on a plate without any sizzle and lukewarm. Our other friend ordered his standby steak burrito which he said had so declined. This place used to be packed with hip cap hill folks and again we were one of only a few tables there. Sad to say we won’t be back.

Please don’t eat here. I just need to warn people. The cooks don’t care. They don’t wash their hands after using the toilet. There have been razor blades found in the green chili. What’s more, a mouse was found in the salsa! Wtf?! The servers don’t give a fuck, and Bennys too old to notice. Do yourself a favor and stay clear of this place unless you want to spread disease and bad vibes. A lot of garbage there.

The food is very unimpressive. The ambiance is that of a cheap Mexican-​American bar. The service was good but the food and drinks took a long time to come.

Yummy yummy food. Fast and friendly service. Food came out wrong once and was immediately fixed. No complaints here.

I’ve been going to Benny’s for 20 years, & tonight was the worst! The food was adequate & bone ass dry, see the picture. But the service was AWFUL! I mean bad… his name was Paul & was more interested in flirting with his co-​workers & flexing.(yawn) he took our order & checked back once with us…30 minutes later. We only had one drink, ran out of tortillas, needed everything to complete our meal and received nothing! My friends meal… Combination fajitas were bone dry, desert dry! We wanted the remaining food boxed up & he «spaced» it and threw it out! Who does that?! Did he have too many tables? (there were plenty of empty ones at 7:00pm) or was he your typical Denver robotic waiter who doesn’t care? $ 9.00 for a chewy steak burrito with flavorless cheese, & über bone dry fajitas for $ 12? So not worth the price; especially with such horrible service. Make burritos at home & save yourself the agony of this has-​been restaurant.

GREAT food and AWESOME Margaritas! What more do you need?
We’ve been going here for over 13 years and have always been treated well. The staff are friendly and the food is authentic.
Not sure why other people aren’t feeling the love?

I’ve been going to Benny’s for at least 20 years and most of the wait staff know me and my friend. We would stop by for dinner at least once or twice a week and had memorized the menu.
On May 1, I stopped by for dinner by myself around 8:30 and I ordered the #6, Soft Chili Rellano plate. They quickly brought chips and salsa for me to enjoy and my waiter kept me filled up with water. What was odd, is that I waited there for at least 45 minutes. I was beginning to wonder where my food was, as customers around me got their food, ate and left the restaurant.
Finally the waiter came to tell me that they had run out of the chili rellanos. I understand that chili rellanos take a lot of time to make from scratch, so they can run out. But why did it take so long to figure out that they couldn’t fulfill my order? The waiter apologized and sent the manager over to make things right.
The manager appeared to be in her 20’s and just said «so sorry» and I walked out with nothing. I certainly didn’t want them to cook me something else from the menu; it was past closing time. Both kitchen and wait staff certainly wanted to get out of there after a busy weekend. And most of the customers had gone home; I didn’t want to be the only person in the restaurant eating after they had closed 30 minutes prior.
I now have a list of at least 4 other restaurants that I can go to and am searching to find a new favorite.

Don’t be a whiney twat, this place is exactly what you didn’t know you needed in terms of Americanized-​Mexican. You will leave full, trust.

Oh man!!! I love Mexican but this place didn’t cut it. I asked my server for a few suggestions, and she told me she doesn’t eat it. Ok. Then she tells me she doesn’t eat Italian or Chinese either. Ok. Why are you telling me this? Then she says she likes bagels and cupcakes. Stop already! Then I tell her I’ll have the burrito, with beans because I’m vegetarian. I ask if I can get more veggies bc it looks like beans only. She says lettuce and tomato. I ask if I can get the fajita veggies. She says it will be extra. I say ok. It arrives with a few green peppers on top and tons of chunks of pork!!! Oh noooooo. The man who delivered it was so gracious and took it back. He told my server what happened. She came to my table and blamed me and said «you never told me». Yes I did. Maybe you were too focused on talking about food you didn’t like and weren’t listening.

Came here because they validate parking haha. The chips and salsa were really tasty which I usually take as a good omen of great Mexican food but the actual food was pretty meh. I got a guacamole tostada. It didn’t even have beans on it! It was basically just a chip with lettuce guac and tomatoes. Really unexciting. The consensus at the table was that the food wasn’t really anything special. Service was ok. The wait staff was nice but not very attentive.

This place is great cant believe how underrated this place is. The staff experience can be spotty, but the food more than makes up for it.
I got the steak chimichanga as per my friends order and it was pretty good. The thing that took the cake was the thick cuts of sirloin in it. I personally had no fat or gristle in it. I need to try the green chili sauce on a steak burrito next time from what my server told me.
Salsa is very mild to my palate but i think thats to fit the crowd. Its like a tasty gazpacho, i could eat it like a soup.
Overall great reasonably priced spot for some good mex/​texmex

I had to make a visit to the area and I had a craving for something more than leftover turkey and pumpkin pie. Mexican food sounded good so we decided to give Benny’s a shot.
The outside of the building shows lots of patio type dining opportunity which might be nice but it was 20 degrees out. Walking into the place is kind of dark and dreary and people moving all around you. The greeter never cracked a smile or tried to engage in conversation.
The prices aren’t too bad and the chips and salsa were good and replenished at the first sign of being gone. Our waiter was efficient but again not very engaging or seemingly enjoying his day.
I ordered the sirloin burrito smothered with a cold beer, the beer was good not the food. The sirloin was fatty and in big chewy chunks smothered by green chili with no heat and a stiff chewy tortilla. They try to compensate by throwing in lots of cheese but I expect some heat. There are lots of places I would go around Denver for better Mexican food at comparable prices, better ambiance and service.
I won’t be repeating the experience.

This is a pretty good «go-​to» place for when you just need some Mexican food that isn’t Chipotle. They have pretty decent margaritas as well. For what it is, it’s a pretty good. It ain’t Grandma’s Mexican food, but not much can be.
I think you can tell a lot about a restaurant based on their enchiladas. They’re good. I’m also a fan of the Spanish rice. It’s pretty bad if you mess up Spanish rice but they do a good job here so I’m a happy camper.
The place is huge! They have not one but TWO patios which is really cool. It’s a great location and it’s always busy. I don’t mind that it’s popular but sometimes the service can be a tad slow. But I get it — I’m in no rush.
All in all it’s a good spot with decent food and good drinks. I’m not rushing out, but when the suggestion is thrown in, I’ll never say no to Benny’s.

Hate to rank this Mexican spot so low. Been going for a couple years to the bar, but the service at tables is less than par.
Lady who served my family suggested a refill of chips & salsa costs money, and any servers who gave me free refills in the past we’re stealing from the company.
I also asked to change television to college football and she was unable to that. So I went up to the bar for the remote and changed it myself.
When we asked to speak to a manager for our poor service no one was around. She couldn’t even get someone in authority to speak with us.

Benny’s is a classic. It’s American Mexican. It’s a neighborhood joint that is usually hopping. That said, I’ve never had to wait for a table, no matter what night of the week I’m there.
Benny’s isn’t going to knock your socks off with their food or drinks. It’s never GREAT, but it’s never horrible either. They are steady, and I appreciate that.
I usually go with the tacos al carbon on a bed of lettuce instead of tortillas. Margaritas are also a crowd pleaser. If you’re going to have more than one, it’s absolutely worth it to do a ½ liter or liter. It all depends on the bartender. You may have a really sweet batch, or it could be quite stiff. Cross your fingers.

This is the run of the mill Mexican joint. Some people hate on Benny’s, but I love it. It seems with all of the new fusion style Mexican restaurants, you actually have to pay for chips and salsa, or they charge you for your second basket. Not at Benny’s! All you can eat!
Benny’s has good drink specials depending on the night and one of the most expansive Mexican menu’s I have seen in the area. They almost go through the entire alphabet with their combo section, so you know its legit and have many offerings to chose from.
One of the best parts about Benny’s is the parking lot just to the west of the restaurant on the NW corner of 7^th and Grant. Just make sure you get a token from Benny’s to «validate» your parking for free!

Came here for lunch recently so didn’t get a chance to try any of the margs (pity), but did get a sloppy burrito — or whatever it’s called.
Really enjoyed the chips and salsa that came in the beginning and really liked the flavors of my burrito (and it was definitely sloppy). Only thing I thought was weird was that all the meats were separate on the plate. I figured they’d be all chopped up and inside the burrito.
Left some room at the end for the sopapillas, and I think I’d be back for just those if nothing else!

«BENEVITOS»… Or BENNY’s as the locals call it.
Located in downtown Denver, CO.
I’ve been here many times and felt I should sing their praise.
I love their FAJITAS (Grilled sirloin w/​grilled onions, tomatoes & peppers, jalapeños, cheese & guacamole)
I’ve tried their ENCHILADAS (Ground beef w/​shredded lettuce, tomatoes & a side of sour cream)
They’re known for their strong margaritas & festive atmosphere. You can sit inside or on their outdoor patios.

I’m excited to go here, every single time.
Enchiladas and tacos are just great.
Margaritas are strong, but not ridiculously strong.
Casual, comfy, stimulating vibe for a date or the whole family.