Benny and Mary's — Restaurant in Irvine

This was truly an outstanding dining experience from beginning to end. We had a sister date night this past Saturday. Our reservation was for 5:10. The restaurant was beautiful, from the paintings, chandeliers, bookshelves of books, wall décor and tapestry. The atmosphere was really cool. Our waitress was extremely helpful. She answered all of our questions and was knowledgeable about the menu. I started with a drink called, “Punch Me”. I enjoyed the drink, but it had way too much ice. For my second round, I tried “Snake Oil”. I loved the mix of the tequila and the spicy grapefruit flavor, a definite must-try. For apps, we had the Yum Yum Shrimp (Crispy Shrimp Tossed In Yum Yum Sauce On a Bed of Thai Salad) and Cheese Dumplings (Dumplings Stuffed With Five Cheeses, Mild Tomato Bisque, Bacon Bits, Chives). Those cheese dumplings are addicting. I could literally eat 20 of them with that tomato bisque. There were only three of us, and the appetizer came with four dumplings. We had to flip to see who got the last one. For dinner, I ordered the Bucatini. This was a pasta dish. I almost switched out the pork belly for shrimp, but I’m glad I did not make any changes. Such a solid dish. The combination of the cream sauce, parmesan, and the little crunch from the breadcrumbs worked really well together. T ordered the Short Rib Ossobuco. Short ribs were so tender they fell off the bone. The chimichurri sauce was phenomenal. J ordered the Black Sheep, which was a burger with bourbon bacon jam, garlic aioli, and white cheddar cheese. She raved about how well the burger was cooked and tasted amazing. For dessert, we shared a coffee cake that had a scope of vanilla ice cream and chocolate drizzle. So yummy. The staff was wonderful! I was admiring the books and painting on the bookshelves when I was told that if I picked the right book, it would open a secret room. I thought he was joking! No, he was not. A book opened a secret, cool room. I was told the room is used for private events and mixology classes. I know I could have a nice bday party or special event there. Check out the website for more information. Please take a trip to this hidden gem in Irvine. I guarantee that you’ll have a great...

I had a great first experience at Benny and Mary's!

The building used to be the old Prego and Davio's location. I used to come here for lunch when I worked in the Irvine Towers. The interior and decor for Benny and Mary's is so much better and trendy! It's very Posh and clean! If I were working at a restaurant at night, I would want it to be just like this. The colors are vibrant, and I appreciate the detail of the whole place!

We came in for Valentines Day and had the Pre-Fixe menu! MADISON was our server, and we couldn't have asked for a better person to take care of us. She was very attentive, detailed and charming. We brought our own bottle of wine (Corkage $40), and the one thing I really liked was that she decanted our wine. I thought that it was a very nice touch. Most restaurants I have been to don't do that and I really appreciated that.

The Pre- Fixe was $120 per person and included the choice of a few different items.

I chose the Crab Cake, My date chose the Pork Belly for the Starter. For the Main, they ran out of the Lobster Tail and they were able to substitute it for Scallops, which I was happy about. My date ordered the Scallops on saffron risotto. I found that we couldn't get enough of the risotto! Very addictive! My order was the Filet and Scallops! Well prepared!

As far as drinks, I ordered a traditional Vesper (Its my go to or a Dirty Martini) and she ordered the Earl Of Lavender!

Our overall experience was great! Madison helped make the night fun and memorable! Thank you for being attentive to us! We will definitely come back. We are looking forward to trying their bourbon bread pudding and tasting the...

This was the first time here, one of our friends picked to celebrate birthdays. So we ordered:

Cheese dumplings: the cheese stuffing was too little so got lost. However, the wonton cup was perfectly crispy and the tomato bisque was delicious. Goat cheese tomato crostini: was delicious but similar tomato bisque above. Needed more crostini to accommodate the bisque. Beef Tartare: delicious and beautiful presentation. Needed more bread to accommodate the tartare. Shortribs Ossobuco: delicious. The meat was falling off the rib, not salty, not super rich, very meat flavored. Seabass: delicious and plating was beautiful. Fresh, cooked perfectly without being dry, well seasoned. Salmon: similar to the seabass. Generous fish portion. Lobster ravioli: very good but didnt taste much lobster. Ribeye: didn't get to taste it but looks perfectly cooked and good quality meat. Banana froster: great Banana flavor and not super sweet. Ricotta cheesecake: pretty good. Coffee cake: good, not too sweet. However, not much flavors. Birthday chocolate cake: pretty good, light and not too sweet.

We were there on Sun night, not busy but the service was pretty slow.

Overall, the food was very good, beautiful presentations, and "generous" portions compared to similar restaurants for similar prices...