Benjamin, Fine Dining Restaurant Prague — Restaurant in Prague

For a restaurant that is "fine dining" experience - this was one of the worst experiences in my life... 30 minutes in and I wanted to leave..

Seating Sitting on the bar stools for 3 hours was not comfortable I made the mistake of reserving blindly on so many recommendations, and we had a decent group of people but one woman kept staring at my mouth sometimes when I was biting food and it really made me uncomfortable and maybe it's part of the experience to share the food with strangers, but I don't understand the "fine dining" label with this There were 2 seats extra that were free and we were bunched up together instead of having those seats as space between us. 10 people must be very tight and crowded The space you sit is very small overall and also didn't feel "fine dining"

Appetizers The server offered appetizer at start with drinks to which I said I don't want any and we will just have wine later. He still poured champagne for us (which of course was extra price in the end) The second appetizer with asparagus was just.. steamed asparagus.. the sauce tasted like nothing.. it was super bland as if someone just steamed a vegetable and brought it to you

The first dish was probably my favorite from the 8 dishes and had a really interesting texture and overall composition and sauce The rest 7 dished were just awful. It tasted very basic. I only been 2 times in my life in fine dining, and it was a very pleasant experience with taste just rolling through your mouth with different tastes. A bit sour, a but sweet... then a hint on spices in the end, a hint of something else.. you take a bite and you're trying to figure out what is it you're tasting. Sometimes you taste a cabbage and it has a very unexpected taste and it really tickles your taste buds and makes you wonder how they prepare it. Here this was absolutely not the case. It was a straight forward tartar sauce and some deer meet for example. There was no pleasant mix of taste and something that makes you wonder how it all rolls around Most of the dishes had A LOT of vinegar and mustard. It was just so overpowering and weird.. it felt like a joke we were not in with my mom.. In other fine dining experiences they would tell a nice story how the dish came to be and why. Here it was dry description about ingredients

Wine pairing Was absolutely terrible. A couple of times the server mentioned about choosing the wine specifically not to overpower the dish and be a light compliment to the dish. I think like 4 times out if 8 it was just completely sweeping the taste out of my mouth with wine and I didn't taste like a great pairing overall, just random The only truly part that was really tasty were the last 2 deserts! They really had this interesting look and it tasted not how it looked, and had a variety of taste that rolled through your mouth and those alone truly felt like a wonderful experience and dish and made me and mom equally happy and it was truly tasty so that was my favorite part of the evening with first meal being second favorite

Service The server also was a bit odd. It feels like a small kitchen that is ran by 3-4 guys, 2 of which were bringing dishes together with the server that was talking about the dish The server asked not to keep items on the table due to limited space, and later wouldn't take away wine glasses, even tho I told him beforehand I won't finish and to take it away after 2 glasses stacking. I had 5 glasses stacked extra in the end 10% tip fee was included even tho I didn't find anywhere on the site about it In the end they asked visitors about what they liked and didn't but skipped us, maybe because they saw I was upset or just skipped. Felt weird we were brushed off anyway for "10% service fee"

It feels like a popular place because it's popular. The seating was unpleasant. Food dull. Wine meh. Service subpar. Yet it's labeled "fine dining" and they include fee automatically.. I don't get it And in another review here I saw they also angrily reply to comments too.. that's fine dining...

We are a group of four well seasoned travelers and foodies. This restaurant, albeit far out of our way, was highly recommended by friends. The concierge at the Four Seasons made a documented reservation for our party of four. Upon arrival, only two seats were available. When we showed them our confirmed reservation, they said it “must be mistake”. When trying to resolve the situation, one employee condescendingly said, “hey lady“ to one of the women in our party. It was clearly meant to be offensive. Finally, it was admitted that two of the people on the other side of the communal table were actually their own friends that had taken two seats from our reservation. They eventually asked their friends to leave and then called out, arrogantly and loudly, “you Americans come sit here! “ -from across the restaurant. This is horrible, HORRIBLE behavior from such a highly “touted” establishment. Needless to say we left. The employee followed us onto the street, a brief argument ensued. He was aggressive and VERY rude. He then left to call his “friends” back into the restaurant to recoup OUR seats. This from a Michelin starred restaurant is beyond unacceptable. I will take this experience and tell my local Czech friends as well as any other international travelers to NEVER frequent this...

We absolutely loved our experience at Benjamin and we regard it as one of our favorite dining experiences we have had across the world. Having dined at multiple Michelin restaurants, Chef Červenka is creating dishes that are on par, if not above, many establishments with stars. The courses had several elements that made each unique with different textures, taste, and balance. Another note is their care for sustainability in an ingredient; utilizing ingredients that are in season in multiple aspects of the dish. The concept of the restaurant is one that also makes for a great experience to understand where the ingredients come from and how they come together, there is great time taken from the Chef to explain his creations in detail. The wine pairings are carefully thought out to compliment not only the individual dish, but the whole course. Would highly recommend making a visit here and experiencing what this chef and restaurant...