Capt. Benny's — Restaurant in Austin

My husband & I decided to give this place a try, as we were attracted to the building, which looks like the front part of a boat. Upon entering, I found that the boat section of this building was, actually, the bar, while the restaurant section is more to the side & the back of the building. I also noted how "homey" this place looked. I guess that I was expecting the interior to be similar to that of a Red Lobster, but it's quite the opposite. The restaurant, as well as the women's restroom were all very clean & tidy, though, so I wasn't too worried. Our waitress must have been new &/or didn't speak/understand English well. Upon my husband & I telling the waitress what we wanted to order, she got a confused look. We, both, had to actually take the menu & physically show her what we were wanting to order. The waitress, verbally, took our order, writing nothing down (thankfully, we weren't ordering anything complicated), which was rather worrisome. However, within 10 minutes, our food arrived & the order was totally correct! Our waitress was very attentive & very helpful for anything else that we needed. The menu items were, somewhat, pricey ($9.99 to $16.99), but this was seafood being ordered, so we, very well, expected such. I was also pleasantly surprised that the batter coating our seafood was cornmeal based. The food was EXCELLENT & our plates were plentiful. Our visit was at 12:30 p.m. on a Friday, but, it was not very busy & we were able to complete our meal, from start to finish. If, in the future, we were wanting to meet some friends for a casual lunch, this would be the perfect place & one that I'd, definitely, recommend as an available option. We plan to...

I'll start with the positives. The staff were very kind and professional. The atmosphere is relaxing and entertaining; nautical themed accents, tvs on the walls, a small bar that serves beer and wine. There's a great patio with shaded cover. Certainly a good little spot for a lunchbreak drink or a glass of evening wine.

Sadly, the food was incredibly disappointing. We had the calamari, the fried alligator, and the gumbo for appetizers. The breading on the alligator was flavorful enough, but both fried items were painstakingly chewy. The "gumbo" was practically celery broth with rice and baby salad shrimp. Flavor profile was entirely absent and to be frank an insult to what gumbo is supposed to be. For our meals we had the combo basket with fried fish, the broiled scallops, the scarlet snapper, and jumbo fried shrimp. The fried fish was very thin cut and mediocre. The jumbo shrimp were in fact average sized shrimp that appeared flattened and were also terribly chewy. The snapper was supposed to be stuffed with a shrimp and crab stuffing, but apparently you have to request that separately. It did not taste or look like fresh snapper. It was overcooked and you guessed it, chewy. I suppose at this point I don't need to comment on how the scallops were... we had shrimp fried rice as a side, coleslaw and garlic bread. I didn't bother eating more than a couple of bites.

At their prices, I'd expect to at least be mildly satisfied. We wouldn't return. Not without a new chef. Shame really because it truly is a quaint little place, and once again, the staff were...

First time trying and honestly, outside of how easy it was to order, how quickly I was able to get my food and how friendly and quick the staff was I just wasnt impressed with the food in the slightest. I tried the gumbo, the stuffed crab and the shrimp lovers meal. The stuffed crab looked and was very crispy but there was just no flavor at all. It was just gray and soft and it wasn't even worth finishing. The hushpuppies were too hard and chewy and again flavorless. The stuffed shrimp had the same stuffing that was in the crab so the only thing I tasted was the actual shrimp in that. The fried shrimp was subpar and overcooked. The shrimp skewers were ok but again just lacking any real seasoning or flavor to them. The rice was honestly the only thing with flavor and with that it was over seasoned and too salty. Even the fries just seemed old like they had been sitting around for a while and reheated. I at least thought the garlic bread would at least have a decent garlic flavor but it was stale and flavorless. Lastly the gumbo. I was so excited for this as it's been made out to be so delicious but again, it was just full of okra and celery with a few tiny shrimps floating around and some rice. It tasted more like hot okra water. I really was hoping this place was as good as I've been told it was but I'm sorely disappointed and couldn't even...