John Bentley’s

New favorite place! It’s great to find a beautiful classy fine dining atmosphere with a quality of food to match! And so close to our home. The service is excellent. John is so personable, engaging, and takes interest in his guests. If you want fantastic cuisine — I had the ribeye and my wife had the pappardelle mushroom dish — you will delight your senses here in a very tasteful ambience. People do dress up when dining here, so dress up; it will make the experience grand.

Great dinner and service. Highlights include the watermelon, avocado Napoleon appetizer and the desserts!

Beautiful restaurant, classy/​dressy ambiance, great for a fancy night out together or with a group.
Food top to bottom was excellent, every dish was great. Tab was steep but not really any more so than other places in its tier (tier being $ 30+ entrees).
Our server was very attentive but not exceptionally charming, though I don’t consider charm a prerequisite for great service. Water also never went empty though for most of the night the place was packed.
Pork belly appetizer, filet mignon entrée and pork chop entrée were the biggest hits.
For special occasions, this is a very worthwhile night out.

We had our company Holiday party here last week, and it turned out great, thanks to John Bentley’s! I am very glad that I picked the right spot this year. First of all, the Upstairs room is very nice, the dimmed lights and Christmas tree set a great holiday mood. Although it was a tad tight for 46 guest, but it worked! The servers were excellent. Very friendly, hardworking and they even remembered my name. The food was delicious! I ordered the Rib Eye, and it was so tender and tasty. My fiancé had the Surf and Turf, he enjoyed it as well. Lastly, the desert sampler… mm mm mm! I received many compliments on my choice of restaurant. Thanks again!

Nice little spot in Atherton, right on El Camino. There’s another place just down the block that serves a similar level and fare and similar clientele, called Chantilly. Of the two of them, John Bentley’s is my preferred option, b/​c (in no particular order):
1. I love steak, and these guys know everything there is to know about making a steak.
2. The golden beet ravioli. Don’t ask, just order it. Trust me.
3. The wine selection — esp the dessert wines. zOMG
4. The desserts — I could eat their pumpkin cheesecake every night and never get sick of it. Srsly. Unfortunately it’s seasonal so order soon!
5. Private parking in back — very convenient!
6. Service — very friendly and they make good recommendations.
Only downside — many times I’ve ordered something and they have already run out. So, maybe make an earlier dinner reservation to ensure your faves are available! Other slight downside — menu has been relatively constant over the past year — switch it up a little, guys! But in any case, I will be coming back :)

Made a reservation via OpenTable a week ahead of my visit the other night and was able to be seated upon arrival. The restaurant is located on El Camino a tad South of the Redwood City border. …I think there’s a private parking lot in the back. There was plenty of street parking.
The interior is rather romantic… and the clientele is rather senior… Service throughout the meal was okay… definitely not Michelin standards…
Started off with the Crab w/​Watermelon as a starter and it was okay. …it was the first time I’ve had such a mix…
Moved on to the pork chop that Unilocalers were raving about and it was decent. It was breaded and tender, although still quite far away from NOPA in the city in terms of quality and tenderness.
Finished off the meal with the Blackberry crisp which was again okay, nothing spectacular.
All in All, 3.5 for the food, 3 for the service, and 4 for the environment, although it was rather senior…

Overall the highlight of the night was talking about how over priced everything was for the quality of the food and attitude of the waitstaff.
My girlfriend made a surprise reservation at this restaurant for my birthday, called before hand to let them know and everything. Nothing special, no free dessert. My girlfriend actually asked about it when we got the bill and the waiter simply said «Well you didn’t order dessert, we can’t stick a candle into thin air.»
Our waiter was straight up rude. I’m not sure if he didn’t take me and my girlfriend seriously because we’re under the age of 60 but wow. If you see a large guy with glasses talking much too grandiosely I hope you’re on his good side, apparently we weren’t.
The food was extremely mediocre for the price tag.
I got the rib-​eye steak and honestly with the heavy sauce I had a hard time tasting the meat. It was cooked okay but what’s the point if you drown it in an extremely potent sauce? There was nothing to be done.
I simply cannot recommend going here. Gave an extremely pretentious vibe and wow the food is seriously not very good.

First time here and very solid place, fancy but too much so and with very solid food. Imagine the Village Pub dressed down a bit on dropped on El Camino and boom, you have it.
The Manila clam special was amazing. The hangar steak was superb. Service attentive and sufficiently formal. Overall very good.
Only downside: the parking. If you miss the turn off it is very unforgiving to get back into the lot.

I took my son and girlfriend to John Bentley’s for dinner this last Saturday and we were not disappointed.
The ambiance and décor is nothing special. It’s understated and not really the focus of the restaurant. I initially I thought «alright, typical upscale dining».
Our server was exceptionally formal and very helpful. He was happy to answer any requests or wait for me to take a sip of wine before asking a question. Five stars.
For dinner I had the quail starter with crispy sweetbreads as my main an sticky toffee pudding for desert. All dishes were phenomenal and I don’t have one complaint. My significant other had a wedge salad and the salmon, same thing. Amazing. My son had a wedge salad and the hangar steak to start. Also very good.
Overall I’d say given the quality of food and service this place is a hit and worth the cost. Surprisingly their wine and cocktail prices were very reasonable.

I want to love this place more. It’s a charming spot, with attentive staff, and delicious food. But I expect amazing food, especially if I drop $ 100 for lunch.
The was a lack of attention to the details: I was given a dirty plate, silverware with food stuck to it, and there was a bug floating in my water. Those are my only negatives.
But, the hangar steak my boyfriend ordered was sinfully delicious! I would have preferred medium rare, but medium melted in my mouth.
The Watermelon Napoleon was a wonderful summer salad. I’ve never had grilled watermelon, and it was light and refreshing with a hint of mint (?) and a ton of citrus.
My porkchop was divine: not my favorite ever, but the totally tender in the center. The gravy on both plates was sopped up with the warm bread the waiter delivered with unsalted butter (I want salt in my butter, I’m consuming… not baking!).
Go for dinner so you can try the porkbelly, I was sad to have missed out on that. I guess that means I’ll be returning!

My boyfriend took me here for our first real date almost five years ago and have been back several times since. John Bentley’s is THE BEST — creative and consistently delicious food preparations, wonderful service, and a great atmosphere. I recommend making a reservation, but coming a bit early to enjoy a drink at the bar before your meal! The bartender, Bob, is great. My Favorites:
Appetizers: Pork Belly, Crab/​Avocado thingy are my alltime favorites
Mains: Scallops, Veal Medallions — and don’t be afraid to try the specials
Desserts: Can’t go wrong.
I can’t rave about the food enough and pricing is very reasonable for upscale dining experience; I would highly recommend for a special occasion or a nice date night.

Came here to celebrate my birthday. I’ve been here before but it’s been years. The restaurant is beautifully decorated. It’s dimly lit and classy with high ceilings-​perfect for date night.
We were promptly seated and the waitress took care of us. After hearing the specials, we decided to get the foie gras appetizer. Mr opted for the cod special and I got the double breaded pork chops.
All three dishes were very good and incredibly filling. Of course we had to get dessert and opted for the special– salted caramel crème brûlée. Now that dessert was perfect for ending the night.
Overall the experience was great. I would have given 5 stars but I felt a little rushed. They cleaned up our plates almost immediately after finishing our meal. I think we got out of there in about an hour.
I will definitely come back since I love sharing great meals with people that matter but will hope they will slow down a little bit so we can enjoy the experience a bit longer.

Came here for a birthday dinner. Décor was on the elegant side with dark wood trim, dim lighting, candles, lots of artwork on walls lined with fabric panels to help dim the noise level.
The Panko Crusted Double Cut Pork Chop with Yukon Gold Mash, Haricot Verts, Apricot Cherry Chutney was delicious. The pork chop was a very generous size, and the seasonal chutney added the perfect tart accompaniment to the rich meat.
The wild King salmon with sauteed spinach was good. Portion size was on the small side, but a good entrée if you are not super hungry.
My birthday guest got a complimentary dessert, and ordered the much anticipated sticky toffee pudding. It came looking more like a slice of pound cake with ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. It was just OK. We realized after the check arrived that we really got the bread pudding special. I guess we will have to go back sometime to try the famous sticky toffee pudding.
The chocolate soufflé cake with white chocolate raspberry gelato had a deeply chocolate flavor and wonderful soft fluffy texture. The raspberry gelato had great raspberry flavor and was the perfect complement to the cake.

Celebrated our 21^st wedding anniversary at this restaurant last night and it didn’t disappoint!
Everything was great from the moment we walked in the door.
We were seated and was given a menu right away and a few minutes later our server Dean approached us apologizing for interrupting our studying of the menu :) we started off with two cocktails, my Raz Drop was delicious!
We started off with Grilled watermelon and lacquered pork belly for appetizers. My hubby is a fat snob on any kind of meat but he devoured this one. He said it was a little overcooked but I thought it was just perfect. Mine was very refreshing with the avocado and Dungeness crab and the lime drizzle on the side really paired well with the dish!
Dean mentioned the specials for the night but I really wanted to try the pork chop and hey I have a big appetite! Hubby however, ordered the duck special and he said it tasted like steak but delicious nonetheless. My pork chop was cooked to perfection with the mashed (love that it has bits of potatoes still) I almost picked up the bone and started licking it! But I had to stop myself seeing that most patrons were so elegantly dressed! Haha
For dessert, Dean surprised us with two on the house desserts… he said since we are celebrating (that was a nice touch) we tried their famous sticky toffee pudding and the Chef’s very own creation peanut butter mousse cake… both were scrumptiously delicious!!!
We’ll definitely come back to this fine establishment… and try other stuff on the menu!
Yes definitely recommended!

Back again on a Saturday night!.This fine dining establishment has become a habit, I admit, so they have earned the fifth star.
The Pork Chop with black cherry chutney (the scalloped potatoes were very good with it) and the sticky toffee pudding cake were spectacular.
The service is text book good, and one of the features of John Bentley’s we like the most.
Enjoy!

I had organized a company lunch of about 18 guest here. The price seem fair and the selection was plentiful. The catering folks were attentive to calls and email, set up was a breeze! This is really a 3.5 Stars review.
We had the upstairs private room, it was very roomy and a conference table set up. It was nice.
The food was really just ok. The asparagus soup was luke warm when arrived; it was thin and tasted sour, I asked the server and he couldn’t comment and brought me a salad instead. The salad was nothing special, just butter lettuce with ordinary dressing and blue cheese on top. I ordered the filet, it was juicy and tender, however the sauce was on the salty side. The dessert was delicious, we had a sampler — flourless chocolate cake, apple tart with vanilla bean ice cream, a crème brûlée item, and a cream puff with chocolate ice cream, they all were great. A few of the guest left before dessert and I had asked the server to pack up all the dessert so I can bring it back to work, unfortunately, they decided to pack the ice cream portion onto the pastry, which made is soggy and wet. I was quiet suprised and disappointed that they didn’t think of packing it seperately.
Overall it was a great place for a business gathering, the food was just ok.

Woo! For the prices, you get some pretty good food — with respect to both quantity and quality.
1. Loved their free fresh bread: warm, crispy, crunchy yet soft on the inside, and small but sliced.
2. Salmon: they ask how you want it done, freshly caught wild salmon — was pretty tasty but not a huge fan of their sauce which was a tad sweet.
3. Scallops: so fresh, so gigantic — perfectly tenderly cooked and seasoned
4. Daily special, Steamed clams: family loved this (though I’m not a fan of clams myself), they ate it all and were ready to soak up the tasty sauce with the delicious bread.
5. Apple tart: always super bomb. Apparently they didn’t always have this here (I’ve had it at their old woodside location) but It’s hands down one of my favorite desserts of all time — light, no custard, crispy crunchy pastry with lightly sweetened tender thinly sliced apples.
6. Flourless chocolate mousse, probably wouldn’t go for this one bc its so rich — but if you’re a chocolate fan, might be up your alley.
Overall, service was great — friendly and fast. Love the care and attention to detail, I think this place is a steal for what you’re getting really :)

I would give this place a solid 3.5 stars. I wanted a place with a legit dessert. That seriously was my only requirement. I had options in South San Jose and I didnt expect to find one in Redwood City but meh. I saw the sticky toffee pudding cake and I was sold. I made a reservation and bam. The waiter was super sweet and since it was my birthday, our desserts were free!
1) Grilled Watermelon– This sounds weird but it was yummy! there are two pieces of watermelon and then guac and avocado in between. Totally should get this
2) Soft Shell Crab– I think this was a special but of course fried soft shell is gonna be good
3) Pork chop– I have actually never had a pork chop in a restaurant so this was an interesting item. There were string beans and mashed potatoes on the bottom. I think I am more of a steak person and more so chicken so I wasnt absolutely feeling it. Ribs are better doe
4) Steak– I was able to try the steak but I liked Alexanders Steakhouse better
5) Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake– This is why I came to this restaurant. I expected that this would be bomb dot com but i was too sweet and it wasnt crazy ridiculously good.
6) Blackberry Crisp, Cinnamon Gelato– This was just a crumble thing on top with blackberries. I wouldnt get this again.

4.5 stars.
John Bentley’s has been our go to place for special occasions and we’ve never been disappointed with the food and service.
Though the menu is limited and caters to lovers of red meat (I’m not one), my family and I have always been pleased with our dishes.
In our latest visit, we had two outstanding appetizers: pressed duck and watermelon/​feta/​crab salad. The salad was served like a sandwich with slices of watermelon as «the bread.»
For entrees, I had a salmon dish that was nice. Others had the veal medallions and rib eye and said they were excellent.
We skipped dessert on this last visit with a birthday fruit torte waiting for our return home… but the staff was kind enough to offer us some really, complementary decadent chocolate truffles, with a birthday candle.
The dessert menu is outstanding and we’ll make allowance for it next time!

I came here for lunch with a co-​worker, and was pleasantly surprised by everything.
We had the best server. I wish I knew his name, but he worked the lunch shift on February 25^th. Very attention and really friendly.
I ordered the burger with no bun, and the fries. Simple lunch, but so tasty. Really great flavor and cooked perfectly. I also loved the fries.
My friend had the crab sandwich and loved it as well.
Nice quiet place with a really classy and clean interior and the staff was welcoming.

excellent service
Yummy foie gras
Extensive wine selection
Recommended :)