Benson's Tavern — Restaurant in Reading

I grew up in Reading and knew this building only for the bar "that filled the jugs of beer" for family get-togethers. It is no longer "just a bar" but a very nice restaurant.

I was pleasantly surprised two weeks ago when I went inside for a pick-up order, so much so that it was first on our list for a dine-in celebration for my sister's birthday the following Sunday.

The "front" (just inside the front door) is still the bar area with several tall tables spread through the area. But, when you walk to the far end of the bar, there is a "Please Wait To Be Seated" sign that indicates the entry to the restaurant section. And, it's a surprisingly large seating area that includes booths and tables in three separate location: a smaller, cozier area just behind the bar; a larger area that looks like it could accommodate larger groups with tables that could be moved together; and a small outdoor space with tables and overhead garden lights.

We were there on a Sunday afternoon and it was not crowded at all; maybe four separate groups. But the atmosphere is so "small town" that we ended up talking with the group at the next table as if we'd been friends before just meeting that day.

Staff was friendly and attentive to our needs without being overbearing. We even got to say "Hi!" to the kitchen staff as the handicap entrance opens right next to the kitchen, and we were able to compliment their excellent preparation of our meal on our way out.

The food was SO GOOD!!! We started off with the West Benson St. Sampler: Reuben Rolls, Potato Skins and Mac & Cheese Balls. This comes with three complimentary sauces. Delicious!!! For the meal, we each tried something different and shared a bite of each, so that we all got a taste. Two burgers: 1 Up Burger with mushrooms, onions and melted Swiss cheese. (It was a 3 napkin sandwich.) Side of sauteed vegetable which were of perfect tenderness. Second burger was the Benson's Tavern Burger with a side of mashed potatoes. Fish 'N Chips with Fries: It was perfectly deep fried to extra crispy on the outside and hot/tender inside. A favorite to everyone's sampling taste-buds was the Benson's Country Bowl. It is "comfort food plus"!!! It's a bowl of mashed potatoes (a large portion), which are delicious on their own, topped with three deep-fried chicken strips, gravy, corn and Cheddar Jack cheese. The pleasure of the flavor, as soon as it hits the tongue, creates an immediate response of, "Oh my gosh, I should have ordered that!"

It took us a long time to place our order because everything on the menu sounds delicious. We have agreed that we need to return several more times just to order different items each time, but the challenge is going to be to NOT order what we so enjoyed the first time.

The quality of this restaurant has changed my view of Reading as not only "my beloved hometown" and "the place to be for everything wedding", but now a "TRUE DINING DESTINATION". This is a great place for date night, business lunch, girlfriend get-together, family gathering, etc. It's right up there with many of the other "talked about" restaurants around greater Cincinnati. I'm glad we finally...

My party went here for a late Mother’s Day lunch. They recently had a kitchen fire, but have since re-opened. I was excited to try it bc they had Sunday brunch and lunch options. Perfect for the whole group. I double checked the website for menu and information about them being open. When we arrived the restaurant was not busy so we were seated right away. When we asked about brunch menu, we were told they were not serving brunch again yet. (Disappointed, as this was what the two mothers really wanted and the website did not reflect this but ok). We immediately ordered 2 appetizers for the table bc small children and hungry husbands. We ordered the Reuben egg rolls and pretzel sticks with beer cheese. The appetizers took a very long time to come out, probably 35-40 minutes. They were hot. The egg rolls did not taste like anything. The pretzels were good. I also ordered a margarita soon after being seated that did not come until after the appetizers. I honestly thought they forgot about it. It was ok but not great. The food took an additional 30 minutes + to come out. (We were at the restaurant for 2 hours) For the most part everyone got burgers for their meal. The burgers were thicker than expected, but dry and over cooked. One came out with no bottom bun? It was weird. My son got the build your own pizza and did not eat more than a bite. He did not like it. No one else liked it either. My daughter ordered the Mac and cheese and it was inedible. Maybe the filling for the Mac and cheese balls? It tasted like there was breading stirred into it and so dry but no flavor. The only thing people ate were the fries. Not sure if they are having issues starting back up or if they changed things since the fire but this food was not good. It did not reflect the menu descriptions or the website. It definitely did not live up to the previous...

It pains me to write this as a Reading resident, and as someone who wants to see local businesses succeed, but this was the last straw for me.

Sunday evening I placed an order for 24 wings around 7:30. I was told they would be ready in twenty minutes- no problem. I actually had some errands to run so I arrived 30 minutes later to give them a little extra time. I walk into the front entrance and pull up a seat at the bar, I sat for probably 5 minutes before someone comes up to greet me. I told the lady, (who was VERY nice) I was there for my pickup order and she told me they were just putting it in containers and it'll be right out. I sat for another 15 minutes before the food was ready. I was out by 830.

That's an hour for pickup on chicken wings. If it was a Saturday night I could understand...

I get home and sort through everything to make sure it's all good, and come to find the opposite. My order was for 12 wings spicy BBQ, 6 plain, and 6 spicy garlic. I open the box of 12 and 6 are BBQ and the other 6 were I guess... Spicy?? Not sure. But on top of that they were smaller than any wings I've ever gotten and way over cooked and dried out. Pretty much inedible.

Incredibly disappointed that not only did we have to wait an hour+ to get our food, our food was unacceptable...

Stuff happens, we move on... As I mentioned before this saddens to write this because I've regularly visited this restaurant in the year that it's been opened and it went from a place I was proud to tell people about to a place that I'm taking 20 minutes of time on a Monday to write about how disappointed I am. The people there are super friendly and I just hope they can...