Hot Bennys — Restaurant in New Orleans

We were coming back to the hotel from dinner and my wife wanted a cup of coffee. Benny's was conveniently located outside of our hotel so we decided to try it out. We both ordered cold brew coffee expecting it to be blended by the barrista. The girl got a jar of cold black coffee from the fridge and poured it in two cups with ice and put it on the counter. We asked about cream and sugar and she bluntly replied that it's self serve. The coffees were well over $5 each and the girl requested we tip when checking out. So essentially we paid $12 approximately for two small coffees. The self serve cream and sugar did have genuine half and half and raw sugar. Overall the atmosphere and service was poor, but that seemed to be consistent with half or more of the places we went to in Nola. The coffee itself was middle of the road and the fact the cream and sugar was self serve with typical coffee shop prices really brought the ratings down on the actual food section of this review. The cold brew must've been an espresso drink with amphetamines. It pretty quickly spiraled both my wife and I into the shakes. I typically drink a pot of coffee or more, plus 3-4 Monster energy drinks daily and are quite accustomed to caffeine. I'm typically falling asleep regardless at 8-9pm. We drank the Benny's cold brew at approximately 8pm and both of us were still wide awake at 11pm. I would not recommend this to anyone looking for a typical experience. Google also states that Benny's is open at 6am. One morning prior to this I attempted to visit Benny's to get coffee in the morning. Oddly the Westin hotel doesn't have anywhere besides your room to have coffee before 7am. We were excited to see that Benny's opened earlier than everything else as I typically am up and ready to tackle the day by 4am. Benny's was not open at 6am. Overall Nola is not an early birds town. If I'm ever forced to visit here again, we are bringing our own coffee...

OhEmGee!!! I am so happy I found Hot Benny’s. Lemme fill you in on the goodness I experienced.

I have been in NOLA for a week and haven’t had any Dunkin at all. I’ve been forced to drink hotel coffee the whole week and I want to cry. 😂😂😂😂

As I was walking up the street I saw Benny’s and decided to give it a try. The shop is super cute. Small, cute, lots of natural light and the store is super clean. I walked up to the counter and placed my order. Though it wasn’t my usual Dunkin order I was excited to try something new. I ordered a “Benny’s Brew” which is the famed New Orleans chicory coffee. Now, don’t judge me but I had to add in a few pumps of Vanilla. The way the shop is set up, you add your own cream and sugar. As such, I walked over to the counter, added my milk and sugar and took my first sip.

Whew! Is what comes to mind. The brew was fresh. The flavor profile was exciting and def has a twist. According to my research the twist is the best part of the coffee itself.

“Unlike coffee being made from the coffee beans; chicory coffee is made from the roots of the flowering chicory plant. This blue flowered plant is a part of the dandelion family and can be found in several parts of the world.”

I had no idea about the origin of the coffee. I am so excited that I had the chance to experience the coffee and partake in a part of the culture.

Oh yeah, you know I had to order me some beignets. Babeeeeeeeeeeeee!! The beignets were the BOMBBBBBBBBB

Hot. Fresh. Flavorful. Crispy on the Outside. Chewy on the Inside. And most of all, they hit the spot.

Flavor wise, as I am from up North, they put me in the mindset of like a mini Fried Dough but with a Puff Pastry aesthetic. Yasssssssssssss. These are def a win!!

Overall, my experience at Hot Benny’s was ahhhhhhhhhmaaaaaazinggggggggg and I will def be back before I leave. LoL!!!!

If you’re near Hot Benny’s,...

Absolutely Atrocious service. Really wanted to enjoy this place, gave it a chance because it is off the beaten path from traditional touristy Quarter locations. However, the service was beyond bad from beginning to end. The first warning sign should have been when the cashier taking our order couldn't be bothered to utter a greeting or pleasantry and continued doing her manual tasks while we attempted to order. When she finally could be bothered to order of course we were prompted to add a tip BEFORE we received our order or service. We added a nominal tip for our coffee and beignets (we shouldn't have).

Eventually our beignet order came, it was fine, not great. We literally waited over 10 minutes for our coffee, while the cashier scowled at us. After finally inquiring where our coffee order was she finally began making the coffee, no apology, just an "oh". When asked if the manager was there, Luisa Fernanda G falsely claimed she was the manager in an attempt to circumvent us complaining about her lackadaisical and flippant attitude. When finally we asked another employee if the manager was there, we were informed the manager was off for the day, and Luisa attempted to poo poo our concerns and to get rid of us.

My advice is that there are plenty of pleasant and bona fide restaurants and coffee shops to enjoy a beignet nearby. Avoid this place...