Benne — Restaurant in Göteborgs Stad

The establishment, bustling with the tell-tale hum of popularity, promised a modern convenience: pasta, customized, to go. One approaches such an enterprise with a certain democratic hope – a simple pleasure, efficiently rendered. Alas, like a film that spends too much time on exposition and too little on plot, my "simple" dish, a bespoke creation of pasta and tomato sauce, embarked on a thirty-minute journey from order to my waiting hands. In the grand theatre of quick meals, this was a feature-length detour. Now, "simple" can be a virtue. It can speak of elegance, of fundamentals mastered. But the container I finally whisked away revealed a simplicity of a different, more disheartening, sort. The pasta, a character actor that has seen better days, swam in a tomato sauce that evoked poignant, if not entirely pleasant, memories of school cafeterias. It possessed that tell-tale sweetness, that one-note song that makes one suspect its closest relative might be found in a ketchup bottle rather than a nonna's well-loved pot. A scattering of cheese lay atop, like a hasty post-production fix. The price, it must be said, is low. It whispers of accessibility, of a bargain. But a bargain, like a seemingly straightforward plot, must deliver on its promise. When the product itself lacks a certain basic integrity, even a low price point begins to feel like an overcharge for the experience rendered. One expects more than a culinary shrug, even at the shallow end of the price pool. The supporting cast of this particular production – the service, the ambiance – played their parts with a certain hectic energy. Self-service machines, those modern monoliths of efficiency, stood partly dormant, their screens dark, their purpose unfulfilled. It lent an air of mild chaos to the proceedings, a sense of a system not quite in control of its narrative. Would an Italian, steeped in the rich traditions of la cucina italiana, find solace here? I suspect they would view it with the same polite bewilderment one reserves for a foreign film badly dubbed. For the student, perhaps, on a tight budget and with an accommodating palate, it might serve as a temporary sustenance provider. Yet, even for that forgiving demographic, the question lingers: is this truly the value it purports to be? This pasta experience wasn't a tragedy, nor a triumph. It was, instead, a minor picture, quickly consumed, and just as quickly, the specifics begin to fade, leaving only the lingering sense that somewhere, a better, more authentic, and more satisfying pasta story was waiting to be told. Two stars, for the effort, and the fact that it was, undeniably, food. But I wouldn't wait in line...

Went here for lunch and the restaurant was very busy. The food is very cheap and you get a huge portion. The pasta (Shrooms) was tasty and they were not stingy with the mushrooms.

The space is tiny. Really tiny. The tables were crammed and unfortunately, distancing was impossible. You had people standing waiting for their take-away and waiting to order next to the tables. Cutlery is not given by staff or placed on the table, instead you have to grab it from a container. It's impossible to just touch one, you come in contact with a lot.

There was a free table however, it had not been cleared. We stood next to it so we wouldn't lose it and waited until the waitress, who was also the cashier, came and removed the plates. Unfortunately, she did not come back to wipe the table clean as she had to tend the till. I've only been once so I'm not sure if I caught the restaurant in a bad day, but they could've used another waitress or a runner.

The table we sat on was literally beside the toilet and some kind of storage room. We had staff go in and out all the time. I wouldn't have cared had the table not been a meter away from the door.

I would visit this restaurant again but only for takeaway. Due to the size/space, I feel like it's hard to practice proper COVID-19...

This place used to be really allergy friendly but has taken a turn for the worse. Even though the personnel was aware of the fact that some workers add cheese containing egg to sauces without listing it, they gave no warning when we made it clear there was an egg allergy. We spent time asking about which recipes were safe and ended up getting a reaction anyway (to no fault of the lady working the register she didn’t know). When we returned to ask about it we were met with “oh. some people add cheese to make it thicker they’re not supposed to though and I never do although I’m aware it happens”. We weren’t really offered any refund and after some talking ended up getting a new meal but it feels wrong that we’d have to ask, that should have been standard as this caused a really bad reaction that required strong corticosteroids. The food tastes great but if you have allergies please...