Benson’s NYC

This place is dope. The atmosphere, bartenders, food, owners, etc. Great gem in the LES

Possibly the best burger I have ever had.
I came here on a trip to NY because we heard it was one of the best burgers in the city. I was definitely not disappointed. The place is small– only a few tables plus bar seating, but the food is incredible.
I ordered the special– a BBQ burger with grilled onions and bacon (it came with cheese but I ordered it without). It was incredible. The BBQ sauce was a little spicy, which was unexpected but amazing.
Bf ordered the Benson burger, which comes with an egg and beets and jalapeño pineapple salsa. I tried a bite, and it was delicious. The odd combination definitely worked!
The owner of the place was our server, which I thought was great. He was friendly and welcoming.
I absolutely want to go back.

Went here this past saturday. Visting from dc. I was looking for a unique laid back place and had heard of the great reviews for this place. It did not disappoint.
Located lower east side. Very unassuming place. Nice sign but small interior that doesnt stand out. Suprised by how small it is and especially the bathroom size.
Nice bar and casual seating. Not a huge selection of beers but a great selection. Varied and all good choices. Good craft beer scene.
Came for brunch. Had heard about the burgers so opted for those. Burgers run 15 plus here, not the most expensive but not cheap either but worth it. Came with side. I got the fries, which were like wedges. Very crispy and salted well. For brunch they have a deal with entrée and three drinks which is very reasonable.
Burger was the star. I got the benson. Its quite a combo of flavors. Beet, fried egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and jalapeño pineapple salsa. Wow. Im not a huge fan of beets, but perfect here. The other star is the bacon. Thick cut and delicious, as well as the bread. Believe it was ciabatta. Thick and perfect for a burger.
The beef was well seasoned and large. I ordered medium closer to medium well but it was still juicy. The egg was over medium, i prefer over easy but really these are small issues. The couldnt really taste the salsa, but The burger was so flavorful and balanced. It was one of the best ive had. Gf got the bbq bacon special and it was also excellent.
The service is fast and friendly. Seek out Benson’s.

I AM BENSON! that’s a lie.
truth be told… i discovered this place via one of the NOTORIOUS
.‘s (aka Manhattan CM Ruggy) elite events. since that event… i’ve been to Benson’s a bunch for eats and beers.
drinks
with over 40+ beers (draft/​bottle/​can) to imbibe, i have found many tasty brews to guzzle. i hit Cooper’s and Keegan’s Mother’s Milk on the reg. both are delicious – Cooper’s being an Aussie ale and Keegan’s is a milk stout, brewed in NY. the taps change, but that which pours for them is tasty.
the food?
savory, filling, and perfect for lunch, brunch, or post-​work dinner. the thick cut bacon is to die for… eat too much of it and you may die… delicious death. the hand-​cut fries are thick-​cut and have a nice blend of crispiness to soft tater heaven. the beer-​battered onion rings are a must as well.
my favorite burger is served at brunch: the Benson Burger… egg, bacon, beet, and a roasted pineapple salsa. yeah it sounds over-​the-​top bc the flavor is over-the-top…bold spicy, meaty… with the soft run of the egg… YUM! the burger comes a hefty pile of fries. we eat with our eyes and when i saw this burger come out… i was like i made the right choice. the «Big Breakfast» is a filling platter of eggs, bacon, sausage and mushrooms & spinach… so much food… so lil tiiiime!
ambiance?
casual, clean to the eye, and relaxed feel. exposed brick, finished woods of different tones, and small décor elements with old time-​y flair. there are quite a few seating options: a medium sized bar with a good amount of seats for solo days or date-​y drinks; a few narrow high tables; and a few two tops and larger corner seating in the back. overall Benson’s uses it’s space well to keep the bar open and airy despite the bar being note that big. the bar has a lot of flex… solo drinks, date night, group hangs, etc. and burger addicts will not be disappointed. there’s something for everyone at Benson’s.
the staff aka owners?
AWESOME! Annie and Dave are super welcoming, have a great knowledge of beer, and really are fun to chat with… their genuine love of sharing Benson’s with newcomers and regulars is evident in every inch of the bar and their contagious good moods will elevate even the most trying of work days.
Benson’s is an Aussie bar – a neighborhood bar with charm and a a relaxed vibe.
drops mic, so can chomp down on this Benson Burger with no interruptions.
i out.
zzz

Seriously. Amazing. Just a great chill atmosphere. Amazing beers on tap rotating and a great selection of bottles. And then there’s the food! Everything is quality. Serious burgers. Get medium rare but more to the medium side and enjoy. Not to mention Dave and Annie. The owners. Are the cool rated bartenders on nyc!

Very cute place in LES. I personally loved the vibe here. My friend and I came here early on a Tuesday and there was barely anyone here, which was great. The servers were super friendly and attentive, although food did take a while. The burger tasted delicious and the salad was also very fresh and interesting. The only downside was that my friend complained about the difficulty in eating the burger with his hands. Even so, I definitely enjoyed my evening at Benson’s and I will definitely be visiting again soon!

I was expecting the place to be packed given the difficulty to get reservations. I got the barbeque burger that was delicious. The barbeque sauce was not overpowering, but gave the burger a nice taste. The onion rings were perfect. They had a few drafts, but nothing that stood out.

The food and staff were fantastic. We ordered the spiced nut mix– it came out right away and had just the right amount of heat. Next, we split the sausage flat bread, and it was crisp and delicious. Finally, we ordered burgers. They came out cooked as specified (medium and medium rare) and they were incredibly juicy and well seasoned. The fries and onion rings were delicious as well.
Our bartender Annie was friendly, polite and warm. The ONLY reason this is not a 5 star review is because they didn’t have the air on and it was over 90 degrees out. By the time we finished eating we needed to leave Bc we were uncomfortable. The beer selection was decent and the prices were reasonable. We will be back– just when they have the AC on.

So great to come across this place that had an Aussie style beef burger! The range of beers is definitely not one to disappoint. The co-​owner of the bar is super cool, friendly and can recommend any beverage to suit your palate.
Come through and try The Benson!

If you’re not from Austria, maybe you think that Australian food is all «shrimp on the Barbie», as the documentary Dumb and Dumber illustrated. But it turns out that Australians, like their former-​British-​colonial cousins here in America, enjoy an excellent burger now and then, although they do (adorably) call them «sliders», because the «eye» sound is easy to make with an Austrian accent.
Fact checks: sliders and burgers, like Australia and Austria, are not the same thing.
On to the rest! The beer is good, the fries are good, the bacon is GREAT, and the bartenders/​owners are cool. The place is also decorated like a museum sneezed, which is always a positive.

Limited selection in their brunch (I prefer savory) and drink menus. The food was good, nothing to write home
I came with a group — we received good service, didn’t feel rushed. ~$ 40 for brunch + 2 drinks (before tip).

Spotty service, not that welcoming. The two guys at the bar barely looked at us, and looked like they were doing us s favor to serve us food and drinks.
I had their Benson burger, and although I was impressed by the mixed ingredients, if actually lacked flavor, and the meat was not seasoned at all.
The double IPA they currently have, though, is bomb.

This review will be in 2 parts. First the establishment and then why i ended up in this establishment.
First benson’s is a nice hole in the wall bar, Dave and Annie have a little gem on their hands. It is not the biggest place but the way the table is situated in the middle you can easily navigate around the place without bumping into someone seated at the bar.
If the sliders and bacon where any indication of the food they sell i recommend everyone visit this place lol. Im not big on beer but the six point with a little sour taste was not half bad. My only issue would have been space. For such a nice place you would hate to be there when it is ridiculously crowded.
Now the 2^nd part is this was my first Unilocal elite event. I love the whole were a name tag so instead of saying im sorry what is your name its right there out in the open. I cannot wait for the next even.

We’ve been back here at least four more times, and we love it every time. The service is always so warm and friendly, and now they take online reservations?! Yall need to get on that!
Since our first visit, we’ve tried the sweetened nuts (like praline nuts, but honestly, the Nuts2nuts cart is better), and the kale dip with assorted breads (would be better warm, but the breads are fun).
The pineapple and pancetta flatbread is crispy, light and delicious — it reminded me of the rectangle pizza I used to get in grade school with the cubed pepperoni, but far tastier. The boy adores the peppercorn burger, but my heart remains with the Benson burger. Beets + beef = life.
It’s a shame not more people seem to know about the churro ice cream sandwich, which has swirls of fried cinnamon sugared disks with vanilla ice cream and honey drizzle. Somehow light (least it felt that way because we inhaled it), and oh so satisfying!
Benson, we love you. Will be back soon!

Cool new bar with friendly staff and comforting food. Heard this place can get packed, so stopped by around opening time on a Saturday morning to try a burger and a beer.
More limited options for brunch (ugh), though they had what I wanted. Medium rare Benson Burger ($ 16) and a beer ($ 8). Burger is intimidating — a hefty patty dripping with pineapple salsa, topped with bacon and an egg. Each bite is juicier then the last, unfortunately almost all the salsa poured out after my second bite. The bread is hearty and kept the other ingredients in place for the most part. The meal comes with thick cut steak fries that are crisp and fresh.
Loved the meal and the service is excellent. Tons of beers on bottle/​can, but they were out of the first three things I tried to order. A nice kickback place that I’d like to try later in the night after brunch.

Sometimes you find a place for the place, not just the food. Hankering for a late night bite in the LES on a Monday night I stumbled upon Benson’s due to the beautiful juicy burger that awaited. It was windy and freezing outside and nothing sounded better. Alas, the kitchen had closed for burgers by the time I stumbled in like an idiot that wasn’t wearing enough in the NYC night.
It was then there was a small group of misfits watching ball and laughing about and another sole traveler like myself at the bar. It was where I met Annie. She could see the eyes of hunger or more likely my growling stomach behind my shivering mess, but it was then that she suggested the only remaining food items on the menu and the plethora of liquid diets that her esteemed keep possessed.
I scarfed down the assortment of bread with a lovely miso pesto sauce that tasted amazing and felt remarkably healthy. Then the liquid diet. Oh the beers! I only have two pint this night over conversation with Annie, but to describe it as pleasant would be a disservice. Thank you for the amazing suggestions and accompaniment as I then proceeded to waddle back out of your establishment.
On a better night, I will most certainly come back, because it is businesses like these amongst the hoards around it that make me want to return and definitely try that burger amongst my first NYC Unilocal establishment friend.
Cheers!

It was OK but to me it didn’t live up to the hype of an almost perfect score on Unilocal.The place is tiny so you are cramped especially if the bar is crowded, the front door opens directly into the cold street, and the was barely anyplace to hang our coats so we wound up sitting on them.
My medium rare burger was undercooked. My daughter’s breakfast sandwich seemed to be a better choice.
At $ 4 for a cup of nothing special coffee and the server never asked if we wanted a refill, added to my disappointment.
My sense is that it is the bar scene and not the food that is the attraction here. Even at 1PM on a Saturday the bar was very crowded.

I wanted to find something on Unilocal that had the perfect 5 stars and I stumbled upon this place. I was like, okay, I’m going to have to come here. I came here with my buddy on Super Bowl Sunday.
I have to admit, this place was smaller than I expected. But the atmosphere was great. The wooden décor is pretty cool with semi dim lighting. The kitchen was something I wondered where it was for the longest time ever and apparently there are stairs to a basement level, so I hope I saved some of your brain cells from thinking too hard.
This place has quite the beer menu. I like my dark beers and was recommended something called the Baba Dark Lager. Tasted pretty darn well. Will have to come back to try all the other beers they offer.
I got the Benson Burger with fries. The presentation of the burger is phenomenal. If you get the salad instead of fries, your burger would be served on a plate. For fries, the fries are served in a basket on a wooden board with the burger. Just a fair warning, you are going to make a mess no matter what, but worth every drop.
The waitress/​bartender at the time was Ann as she introduced herself. Definitely one of the most active server and most helpful in deciding what to get.
To sum it up, yes this place deserves those 5 stars and lives up to the hype. I can’t wait to come back.

The Bacon Appetizer was the draw to the place at first and why I chose it.
It did NOT disappoint… thick cut and crispy and greasy. Me and my friend killed it.
I saw The Grey Lady beer being served so I figured I would try it and it was great. A Light Beer that had a bunch of flavor profiles. Very good… I had 2. lol
I got the chicken sandwich to try the Peri Peri sauce as I didnt want a heavy Burger during the day. That was great as well. Handcut crispy french fries are always good as well.
My friend had the Lamb Burger and he enjoyed it. Said he wanted to bring his wife back.
Great atmosphere and great Bartender… he was hanging out and talking to us the whole time and serving up the whole restaurant.
In short… GO HERE! You will love it.

An outstanding restaurant. Annie and Dave know how to make people feel welcome, and how to serve fantastic food and drinks. The restaurant is a quaint square just south of Houston on Essex. The exposed brick, wood floors, funky art, and the wood tables and stools give the place a very homey feel.
The beers on tap represent a good cross section of types and locations. But the bottle and can menu shows amazing depth. And both Annie and Dave can give you the lowdown on everything they sell.
The food menu is relatively small, but it hit high notes on everything we tried. The dips and bread were fantastic (and the beer cheese that was subbed for the eggplant was excellent). But the burgers were the star.
Whatever you do, have your burger southern Australian style and get «The Benson.» The bacon, egg, beets, pineapple and jalapeño salsa work perfectly together. (I’m told that northern Aussies like a little cucumber on their burger, but that’s another story…). But be prepared for a mess as this is one juicy burger.
I’ll be back the next time I’m in town. And so should you. If only I had them in my neighborhood, I’d be a regular.
Dave and Annie: Bravo!