I've heard great things about Bennett's and was looking forward to trying it...I went tonight and was disappointed. I had the special which was not special and too salty. My friend had the steak which came overcooked. The waitress was nice but unrefined and needs to know that using her body to describe the food is not appetizing and if you're going to ask us if everything is perfect, wait for a response. Nothing terrible but  way overpriced.
Review Source:The food was fantastic. Â Our server was scattered and forgot to put part of our order in so some people were waiting for food - but he was apologetic and we got a couple free desserts because of it. Â My salmon was a little more cooked than I like it but I think that is the style. Â But everything I ate - and I sampled other dishes people had ordered - was extremely good. Â The desserts were amazing. Â Service was prompt and friendly - aside from that one problem.
Review Source:I knew Bennett's would be overpriced, but I was also hoping it would be good.
Originally, we went to Stopsky's to try their dinner, but they were closed so we headed to Bennett's instead.
We ordered the beet salad and the burger. Â The beet salad was under dressed. The burger that we asked for medium rare came out well, and it seemed like the meat was handled too much, as the burger was also very tough and dry. Â In addition it was a pretty small burger.
Our server was very friendly and accommodating. Â Unfortunately, the food just didn't cut it.
I have been to this place for several times. I can feel that their customer service is improving. Last time, I was busy at talking to my friend and didn't eat right away. The waiter came to offer me to warm the dish. I thought that was very nice! So far, all the dishes I ordered were very good. The price may be a bit high by comparing similar restaurants in Bellevue or Seattle, but considering the gas and time, it's still within reasonable range if you want to stay on the island.
Review Source:I have been going to this place for quite a while and finally an getting around to writing a review. Â I have always found the food to be consistently great, the service excellent, and the people who work here are very cool. Â Their happy hour is especially excellent. Â Thanks Bennett's for being here. Â Years ago, there were very few choices on the Island, love the fact your here.
Review Source:This my second review for Bennett's. Two in our party had the beet lasagna at dinner and it was inedible. The beet was raw and may as well have been red cardboard. I so want to love this place. Our server was fantastic and so sweet and attentive; however, even tho one of the entrees was removed from the bill, I still had to pick up the tab for the other. This is my sixth, yet last time I will eat a meal here. The food is mediocre for the price.
Review Source:We are here during the Seattle restaurant week. Â First, we waited a long time, more than 10 minutes, trying to order. Then another server came to ask if she can take our order since our server was no where in sight. Â We are finally able to start ordering the prefixed menu plus a couple of drinks. Â I had the northwest salad for appetizer only to find that my main course was a salad too. With many other nice restaurant I've been to, I was always offered advices on the dishes as I order. However, the staffs here looks pretty rushed today. Â I also asked Coca Cola only to hear a response: oh, we don't use any artificial things here. Â Her tone of voice was a bit strange. Almost sounded like she's never heard of coke before or something. Â Anyway, the flavor of the salad wasn't bad. Overall, I'm pretty disappointed with the service tonight.
Review Source:After a series of poor experiences at Bennett's, I took a break (read previous reviews + updates). I continued to hear stories of how their staff portrayed the very nose-up kind of attitude we don't need on Mercer Island. Yet, reluctantly, I met my Mother there for happy hour dinner last week.
I'm not going to beat around the bush on this one: Bennett's failed once again.
At 10:30am the morning of our visit, I went online to make a reservation. The tool is easy to use and includes a section for 'special instructions.' Because of some health issues, I specifically requested a booth for us to sit at. When I arrived, they didn't inquire if I had a reservation - they just began telling me how long the wait was and I felt that they were discouraging me from eating there. I had to interrupt the hostess to tell her I had a reservation. I noticed that she didn't look at any notes and then proceeded to take me to a regular table. I asked if a booth was available and she said there was not. I did not bother to tell her I had made a request because I could see that they had filled all the booths already and I would get nowhere with her. Bennett's failed miserably here. How difficult is it to look at the notes in a reservation? They should have had a booth waiting for us and if, for some crazy reason, a booth could not be reserved even though I placed the reservation 7.5 hours in advance in the middle of the week, they should have been prepared to inform us on arrival. Awful service with very poor attention to detail.
Disheartened and wanting to eat and leave as quickly as possible, we each ordered the Hamburger Sliders and I also had a Northwest Salad (I was planning on ordering a nice entrée until they sat us). My Mother really liked the coleslaw that came with the sliders, but we both agreed that the sliders were terrible. The meat was dry and over-cooked. There was little sauce on the buns and our server didn't offer or ask if we needed anything for our sliders, either. Finally, there were no pickles or pickle chutney on the sliders. This was an all-around fail. Worst of all, the Northwest Salad, which has been a favorite of mine didn't meet the bar, either. The salad was flavorless with too little dressing.
The last time I had a poor experience the manager emailed me to apologize and offer a free meal, which I did not take him up on because my review cannot be bought with free food. But this visit I should have cashed-in on that offer because I definitely didn't deserve to pay for the awful food or mediocre service (server was okay, hostess was not good).
Bennett's: You're not that great. Stop acting like you are the best restaurant on the Island. Your high-and-might attitude is disgusting and frankly I can't wait for another restaurant to replace you. I believe I'm officially done patronizing Bennett's.
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UPDATE: Within a few hours of posting this review I was contacted by a representative of the restaurant. He provided, what I consider, the appropriate customer service actions so I'm adding another star to this review to reflect his positive actions.
It is the worst brunch I have ever experienced. Â The scrambled eggs were like the ones one would have at a Rotary breakfast. Â Pre mixed rubber. The so called Latke was inedible. Â So hard I could not cut it. Â The only good note was the tea came with it's own pot, very nice. Â At lunch I have enjoyed the BLTA, the best around, but my friend and I were so shocked at the poor quality of breakfast, we would never return in the morning.
Review Source:I was trying to find available reservation spots on Open Table for New Years Eve and found this place. Â I was attracted to their website description about their commitment to using all natural/local ingredients. Â
I loved their "Tip of the Iceberg" salad, it had very tasty, creamy zesty caesar/vinaigrette dressing. Â We also ordered the Mishima steak, which is wagyu beef grown in US. Â For the price, we got a pretty big slab of meat which was great! Â
Service was attentive overall, except our desert came a bit late but we saw that they comp'd us when we received our bill.
I enjoyed dining at this place on New Years Eve. We had no problem parking, and they seated us very quickly with the reservation.
Taking me here after a flight pick-up, my grandfather couldn't stop singing its praises the whole way there (literally). Particularly fond of the tomato soup Grandpa Brien made me fight to earn my ciappino order. Unfortunately, I should have respected my elders and gone with the tomato soup. The ciappino was as mediocre as can be. This is my first unamazing ciappino experience ever. Also, they don't offer whole grain or whole wheat bread... odd considering the number of sandwiches on the menu.
On a more positive note, the lobster salad and tomato soup are spectacular. So stick to the left side of the menu and you're golden. Service was great too (Gpa needed a little blood sugar boost and they even threw in the O.J. for free).
Definitely a restaurant with a ton of potential. Simply a new ciappino recipe and some whole wheat bread and this place is golden.
I had the crab Cobb salad. The dressing was completely overwhelmingly acidic. The bacon wasn't fresh and looked like it came out of a bag from the grocery story. The flavor profile was totally off. The cheese didn't go with the dish. Â Over priced for what you get. The avocado was the only upside.
Review Source:Visited Bennett's Pure Food Bistro during Seattle Restaurant Week. Â I tried their butternut squash soup, pan seared chicken and flourless chocolate cake from their SRW 3 course menu. Â My goodness! It was a spectacular meal, plus I was able to take half of my dinner home to enjoy the next day. My husband also ordered the Bennett's burger sliders from their Four to Six Happy Hour Menu. Â He loved them! Â I tried one of their happy hour cocktails with a house infused liquor (carrot/ginger). Â While good, the flavors didn't compare to the rest of the meal. But I am definitely willing to stop by for happy hour and try a different cocktail. Â
Their waitstaff is friendly and answered our questions with a smile!
Bennett's deserves 4.5 stars, but yelp does not allow half stars. Here's why:
Even though I gave Bennett's 4 stars last time, I walked away nonplussed. My main problem with Bennett's is the cost. I just don't think the food you are served is worth the cost. Yes, it is good food, but it is dressed up food that I make at home and often stuff I serve with children in mind. As good as the food is, the cost is a huge deterrent. We can't bring our kids here to eat (and maybe that is one of the reasons for the high cost - to keep families away) and we can't afford to eat here regularly, although we would visit quite often if the food were more reasonably priced.
That comment of why Bennett's is not 5-star in my book out of the way, let me sing the praises of the food. Today we visited Bennett's for Seattle Restaurant week where you can get a 3-course lunch for $15. The choice of appetizers was very difficult, but we settled on the Tomato Flagship Soup and the Caesar salad. They were both good. For the entree we had the mac and cheese and a Caprese sandwich. Both were delicious and rich. In fact, the mac and cheese is the best mac and cheese we have ever had. It is really good and worth having. Then we finished up with the bread pudding and cookie and cream for dessert. The cookie and cream was okay. It wasn't anything special. However, the bread pudding was fantastic. Another "best I've ever had". It's worth going to Bennett's just for dessert to have the bread pudding.
I've been here several times, and neither the dinner nor lunch have impressed me. I feel like I get the same quality of food elsewhere for 20% less. Perhaps this is the effect their sourcing causes, but I can't taste a difference. The brunch makes up for this somewhat as they have a fairly broad number of unique options and the pricing feels a bit more appropriate.
The service has always been polite, but they have made some mistakes. When I brought my mother-in-law in for brunch, there was a large amount of coffee grounds in her cup of coffee. When I came in for restaurant week, the checks were totaled incorrectly. Both of these were met with legitimate apologies, but they're the kind of things that should be caught before they get to the customer.
In summation, everything at Bennett's is just fine. Not amazing, not bad, just... fine.
Bennetts is a higher-end organic restaurant that sources locally and only from certified organic producers. Â +1 star for environmental sustainability and local business support!
The location is very accessible. Â Plenty of parking in the apartment building where this is located at. Â Not that I need to drive here ... I can walk ... but for those that do want to drive or find themselves on MI, it's a good thing to have.
Atmosphere is very nice. Â In the summer they can open the restaurant up to have no glass walls. Â In the winter gloom, there's intimate lighting and a warm atmosphere. Â So they know how to make you feel at home.
Service is good. Â Always attentive and always eager to talk about the food. Â I've never had any problems here.
The food is also excellent. Â They have a smaller selection but that is good, because it allows focus on the meals they serve.
I recommend the Bennetts burger. Â Not only is it one of the most reasonably priced, it is absolutely delicious. Â Also try the blueberry salmon. Â The Beecher's mac and cheese is deadly delcious, and the organic coke soda is awesome. Â
I don't give it 5 stars but if I could give it 4.5 I would. Â I'm tempted to make it 5 out of spite for others who rated it lower, but I'm feeling nice today.
Definitely a place for people with stuck up palates. If you order a soda, you will get an eye brow raise with "uh... no soda here.. we are PURE food". Â OK. so.... water please.
The menu selection is small, and the portions are small.... I always leave feeling hungry. It's either that, or I'm so used to SUPER SIZED lunch and entrees from other restaurants. I think the only dish is really stick-to-your-ribs, food-coma-inducing is the Beecher's Mac and Cheese. If you haven't had it anywhere, try it here... It's delicious. But, for how little they give you, they do charge an arm and a leg. NOT in my price range, but hey, It's Mercer Island...
Overall, the food tastes yummy, healthy.... guilt free... You feel lighter, your wallet feels lighter... But if you feel like eating quasi-snob food for the day, this is the place.
The food here was pretty solid; the service was a little shaky.
We both had the soup to start; it was very good. Â For my meal, it was probably the highlight.
I had the cobb salad as an entree, which was a basic cobb salad plus curried crab meat, prosciutto and jalapeño lime vinaigrette.  The dressing was good, but a little overly salty; same for the crab, good but salty.  The crab that had dressing on it was very salty.  The'crisped' prosciutto was not all that great, but, if the prosciutto is of a reasonable quality (which this prosciutto may have been), cooking it is a criminal act.
As an entree, my girlfriend had the pan roasted chicken with mac and cheese. Â She liked it quite a bit, the chicken more so than the mac and cheese, if I remember correctly. Â She was not impressed by the seasonal vegetable accompaniment.
The carrot cake that we split for dessert was very good.
As for the service, although we were there a little later, I guess (seated at 8:15, I think) we felt we were getting the bum's rush out the door starting at about 9:00. Â There was some general busing of tables and cleaning up going on, places being set for the next day's service, and our waitress was chatting with a friend loudly across the dining room (I think the friend was an off-duty waitress). Â
Also, though this certainly may not at all be the restaurant's fault because I made the reservation through OpenTable, when I made the reservation I wrote in the note that it was my girlfriend's birthday. Â By the way we were received upon check in and at the end of the meal (not rudely, but certainly not warmly) I would guess that the restaurant just never saw that in the notes. Â (again, i acknowledge that this may be more a problem with open table than with the restaurant, I am just noting it here.)
This is by far, one of the best restaurants that I have ever been too!!!! If I could go higher then 5 stars, I would.
This was me and my fiance's first time coming to Bennett's. We were meeting our friends for dinner, and wanted to know about recommendations. My girlfriend said her and her husband come in all the time, due to the quality of food, & due to the fact that they have no additives, no preservatives, no fillers, just good pure food. She was not lying! Also when she told me about the restaurants, I read yelp reviews and it looked like close to 90% of visitors, love this restaurant.
We were seated at a great table and were immediately given taste tasting of the latest house red wine. We then went on to order appetizers, the mushroom tart, the cheese tray & "The Worlds best mac n cheese"
The mushroom tart, OMG, can't say enough good things about it! Literally I am craving it while I write! Tons of yummy mushrooms, over a crispy flaky tart crust, with an awesome light cream sauce...FRICKEN UNBELIEVABLE!!!! MUST MUST MUST TRY!!
The cheese tray was fantabulous as well! 5 different wedges of cheese ranging from goat to cow to sheep's milk, all very different & complimented with different crackers. The Bree was by far the best!
"The Worlds Best Mac N Cheese"...hmm, this is where it gets tricky. Was it the best...no. Was it good, yes it was. It was made with penne pasta, which I am not a fan of, but it had tons of ooey gooey cheese, could have been a little more hot.
The drinks were great, the service was great. We sat down for dinner at 6pm, and due to so much conversation, we left our table at 10:45pm! Our waiter left us alone when we wanted him to, came over and helped us when we needed him, and not once made us feel like we were a distraction, since we were sitting there for a little under 5 hours!!! Bill for the 4 of us came to $140, with all the drinks & appetizers. Worth every penny in my book!
I am now a true fan of Bennett's and plan to come back many many more times!!!
Sitting outside on a sunny day is a treat in this lovely location. The quality of their butternut squash ravioli in sage cream sauce merited the $19 lunch menu price.
Delicious and beautiful presentation. Be sure to ask for it with extra sauce.
Service was a little absent but courteous.
I uploaded a picture of my ravioli.
Bennett's has undergone a makeover and I'm not sure it's for the best.
My wife and I moved off the Island nearly 2 years ago and just came back to Bennett's hoping to rediscover one of our favorite classy Mercer Island cafés. My wife still likes it here, but it's not a place I like anymore.
We came for Happy Hour and discovered that the unique à la carte-ness of Bennett's was gone and supplanted by the usual waiter-menu-may-I-take-your-order-ness.
The prices here are high -- too high, in my opinion. The food is still pretty tasty but I can't get over what I'm paying for what it is.
My approach to dining out is either good food at great prices or spectacular food at high prices (especially for special occasions). Bennett's doesn't fit in either classification. There's not enough of a user experience and the food isn't amazing enough to justify the price tag. And you're not getting a good deal, even at Happy Hour.
Bennett's seems to be dealing with a bit of an identity crisis. What is it? Is it an upscale café? Is it a happy hour destination for affluent boomers? Is it a rich-folks-only dinner locale? I don't know and I'm not sure Bennett's does either.
I won't say, "Run screaming in the other direction," but I think it will be sometime before I give Bennett's another chance.
Sigh...talk about over priced.
When it comes to dining on Mercer Island, there aren't many options. Â At the same time, you can easily find other more affordable and tasty options. Â Steer clear from this 'pure food bistro'. Â
On the plus side, the restaurant has a lovely atmosphere with high ceilings and a dark setting. Â The servers are alright, nothing special in particular. Â The menu is very limited, and I wish they would have more options. Â It consists of starters, soups & salads, signature sides, specialties and entrees. Â Dessert is available too. Â Bennett's also serves brunch! Â
I've haven't tried any of their starters, but the wild mushroom tart sounds pretty tasty. Â As for soups & salads, I have been given a free Northwestern salad. Â Nothing stood out to me in particular, but I do like the toasted almond slivers. Â One of their specialties is summer salad with pomegranate vinagrette. Â Sounds good to me! Â
I have ordered two of their entrees before, pan roasted chicken and  bbq pork shoulder.  Both entrees come with their 'world's best' mac & cheese and seasonal vegetables.  Starting with the pan roasted chicken, it is not a bad piece of chicken.  It's cooked decently, and pretty juicy.  The skin is also crispy.  Underneath the chicken, there is a gravy, which I wasn't too crazy about.  When I dug into the 'world's best' mac & cheese, I was super excited.  Mostly because it was labeled 'world's best' mac & cheese, but also because  it smelled and looked wonderful.  I took a bite of the pasta, and was immediately disappointed.  It was LUKEWARM.  Mac & cheese is supposed to be hot and the cheese should be melted nicely so that it is almost impossible to get all around your fork.  The cheese sauce was bland, and it wasn't nearly salty enough.  Maybe it was just an off day...
I can't comment on the desserts, though Oregon hazelnut bread pudding sounds pretty good. Â I love bread pudding, and am interested in trying it out sometime. Â If I do come here, I'll be trying their summer salad & bread pudding!
I stopped by for brunch today (Sat) and sat at the bar. There were two servers at the bar preparing drinks, and although I was acknowledged, it took them at least 5 more minutes before providing me with water and offering a menu.
I ordered the chicken chilaquilles (favorite mexican breakfast dish!), and the food was very good! I especially enjoyed the salsa verde, and the slaw has a unique, limey citrus flavor!
I think I'll order the tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich next time. All of the food coming out of the kitchen looked fantastic!
Although services was slow to get going, and a bit slow on the uptake at the end, the servers were friendly and hard working.
I will return. Nice music soundtrack and atmosphere! The outdoor area is terrific!
Since I normally am not a huge fan of generic bistro restaurants, I decided to stop by for Bennett's for happy hour today to try it out since I was hanging out on the island anyway. I have to say I was pretty impressed with what I had. I had an infused vodka on the rocks which, as the drink of the day, was $5 and pretty good for a happy hour drink. What really impressed me was the pork sliders and the flatbread. The meat in the sliders was high quality and there was a great balance between the taste of the sauce and the taste of the meat. The flatbread was covered with vegetables and chicken and the bread was just the right texture. I made sure to enjoy every bite. Overall they seemed to use quality ingredients to cook their food, which always impresses me and keeps my sensitive stomach from becoming unhappy with me.
Given that the service was good on top of the good food I will definitely be coming back here at some point to try dinner.
Not bad. Â Not bad at all. Â
Happy hour is from four to six with four dollar appetizers. Â
I'll start out with the music - which was perfect, both for volume and genre. Â Bennett's has figured out the right balance on how loud to have the music so you can hear and enjoy it, but not so loud it drowns out your talk. Music was a mellow electronica. Â
I really like the look of the restaurant's design. Â It's modern, but more Northwesty, with forest-like colors. Â
I like the huge painted mural on one wall. In the center of the mural is a snow-covered volcano. Â Maybe it's the painter's style, but I couldn't liken this volcano to any I mountain I know (it's not Hood and it's not Rainier). Â Beneath the volcano in the mural is a lake or river with boats. Â Near the water is a wheat field, a barn and a couple of American Gothic-type farmers with blanked-out faces. Â Â On other walls are advertisement labels for fruit packers. Â I loved the landscape painting on the wall outside the restrooms. Â I want to steal it.
Finally, I really liked the black snakeskin frame for the mirror in the "M" room. Â The tables also had the snakeskin pattern. Â Looks good! Â Above the full bar is a T.V. Â that rules silently.
Oh, the food you ask? Bennett's heart and soul seems to be local produce and ingredients. Â
I hadn't thought about ordering off the happy hour menu when I arrived tonight, but since it was available I took advantage.  I ordered a "Seasonal  Salad" and "Bennett's Slider."
My seasonal salad was the best part of the night. Â On a good lettuce came a very nice vinagarette with a pleasing garlic punch. Â Â It came with a generous helping of toasted pine nuts. Â And I loved the two tiny crostini that came with the salad. Â Each crostini was topped with a smudge of goat cheese blended with oregano. Â That is an excellent flavor combination!
Now, on to the Bennett Slider. Â The menu reads "house burger with spicy chipotle slaw." Â Generally, I think of a burger as beef. Â I'm about 70% sure my two beef sliders were pork. Â So maybe they were beef, but it didn't seem so. Â One of my sliders was too salty, the other okay. Â They were spiced like sausage. Â I did like its spice, which was chili-like and fairly hot. Â So the sliders were rather okay, but not great.
Service was very good.
This wouldn't be a Jens J. review unless I mentioned it...the spicy Chipotle slaw that came with the Bennett Slider was loaded with cilantro.
Expensive, sometimes delicious food which seems to have declined in quality the last six months or so. I live right next to this restaurant, so I have been here many times. The service is spotty at best, if you don't look rich and/or are ordering lots of wine I think they wish you were dead. But what do you expect for a restaurant that mostly caters to 50-something Island residents with too much money?
The dishes I have had myself have always been really good, I like their tender bbq pork and the salmon or halibut are usually high quality and cooked properly. The biggest letdowns are their side dishes, their "world famous" mac and cheese is most definitely not and they usually have some mediocre potato as the other choice. They are owned by Beecher's cheese so I think they are forced into making these side dishes, even though they suck, as the company sells frozen versions of them.
Now for the really bad, my wife has twice received severely undercooked food. Once was a pork chop which was half totally raw and half medium-well, like it was not fully on the heat. The other was shrimp in pasta, so basically the two worst meats possible to undercook. The service at those times seemed to be unapologetic, her shrimp were literally uncooked (still translucent and grey/cold), like they threw them in raw and sent out the plate, and the waiter seemed to be exasperated we were sending it back and wanted a refund. Needless to say, we do not go here anymore, as its obvious the kitchen has no quality control.
I was torn and still gave it three stars because when it was good, it was really good. We have had a lot of really solid meals here, just not recently unfortunately. I might go back and try again, hopefully they have improved their kitchen processes by now.
Bennett's is great because:
*The food they serve really is very, very good. Â And fresh. Â
*Servers are friendly and attentive.
Bennett's is not-so-great because:
*It's a bit on the expensive side.
*They took away the lunch menu, which happened to have the most delicious caprese sandwich I'd ever eaten.
*It's sort of snobby. Â Not food-snobby, really. Â Just real-housewives-of-orange-county snobby.
*Oh, and their iceburg salad is deconstructed and impossible to eat.
I decided to use a free Southwest ticket to hop from Oakland into Seattle to visit a kindred spirited friend : Â my first boxing partner, spiritual and intellectual girlfriend and romantic peer, the lovely Z, who has settled in Mercer Island with her beautiful boys - her husband and Wonderboy prince my little love - Sebastian (with an IQ of 144 at age 4.5 yrs).
Sebastian and mommy picked up Auntie A in SeaTac and we drove back to Mercer Island to settle. Â For brunch we decided to enjoy a cozy noontime hour at Bennett's. Â It was amazing. Â My lovely Z and I enjoyed the crab benedict while our little prince indulged in a full plate of scrambled eggs with bacon and hash browns. Â Our young and beautiful waitress served us with love and compassion as she enjoyed the flirtatious winks of our little Sebastian. Â The place was not too crowded as we opted to brunch early in order to enjoy a few hours of hiking through the Mercer forestry.
This place is very hip, modern, minimalist and quite cosmopolitan, given that it is situated in the shopping-mall area of Mercer Island.
The experience, great tasting organic-based food, and ambiance was a welcoming treat for me. Â
Less one star as my kindred sister's dish lacked the same abundance of crab as in mine. Â
Overall, it was the best of times.
I've been to Bennett's twice for dinner and once for Sunday brunch, and each time it has been a fabulous experience. Â The food takes the center stage here, and the products are delicious. Â If you require tuxedoed, obsequious waitstaff or uber trendy decor, this place may not suit your needs; but, if you want tasty, organic - and where reasonable locally sourced - food, cooked well, in a relaxed atmosphere, this is your place. Â
As for prices, it's not cheap to eat here, but the price-to-quality ratio is quite good. Â The wine list is also well priced for Seattle.
I went to Bennett's for dinner this past week and thoroughly enjoyed it.  From the tomato soup that was quite creamy and bisque like with cheese in the middle, all the way to the bread pudding, it was  all quite good.
Their whole deal is the "pure food" angle, obviously, and they do a good job of it.
I had a pomegranate cocktail which was quite good. Â Made with fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, mmm. Â For an appetizer, we had the Salmon Poke (i believe thats what its called) but basically its a a crustini type bread, with sashimi grade salmon, and avocado. Â So fresh and good.
As a main course I went with the braised pork shoulder w/ mac and cheese. Â Both were quite good. Â The pork was so tender it fell apart with very little pressure from my fork. Â That mac and cheese was top notch as well, with some tasty pasta and nicely cooked mix of cheese. Â Not to mention the fresh asparagus, spinach, broccoli, and peppers that lined the plate.
All five of us at the table were very happy with everything. Â It was a nice atmosphere with the open windows, and the staff were all friendly. Â It wasn't cheap, but it worthed and I will definitely go again to try more things on the menu, which all looked delicious.
I should start out by saying I've only eaten here for lunch. Â I've had both take-out and have dined in.
Their famous tomato soup? Â I don't know...I tried it, thinking maybe I'd find a tomato soup that I liked. Â I didn't.
Their paninis are very good as are their deli pasta salads.
The drinks are limited and expensive.
I was very unimpressed with their take away foods (the pre-packaged foods kept in a cooler to the left as you enter the building). Â The lasagne was not great...not even good. Â My son sad I made better. Â And for $40, it should have been fantastic.
All in all, I'll probably eat here again when I'm in the mood for a panini. Â But as far as I'm concerned that's all it's good for. Â If I should be stuck on the Island during dinner time I may try it then since it seems like it has rave reviews for that. Â We'll see. Â But on an island full of so-so dining choices, it fits right in.
Love love the salmon with blueberry sauce and lemon risotto. The salmon was so fresh, the sauce was really yum and went with it really well. You've just got to try this one.
I also enjoyed poking at my co-worker's "World's Best" mac and cheese enough to order it the next time we went there. It's a good side to get but consider sharing it - it's interesting enough to fire up your appetite and not too heavy for a mac and cheese but it gets too much if you eat the whole thing. Â My friend said it couldn't be the world's best because it just wasn't like traditional mac and cheese, but that's usually too cheesy/bland for me, so I liked that this was made with pepper-jack cheese and, I think, even a touch of some mild spices.
Other things I wasn't crazy about:
- The rich tomato soup was more rich than tomato soup: too oily/cheesy, specially for an organic restaurant with "pure food" in their name.
- Bennett's seems to have won the misfortune of being the only good restaurant in Mercer Island - it took forever to get a table and we had to wait outside in the cold on a Tuesday night: make a reservation
Also good to know: there's free parking for Bennett's patrons in the building's garage
They had me at free wine.... Â And it just went up hill from there.
The food here was great. Â I had a delicious and beautifully executed beet and buffalo mozzarella cheese salad and a sun choke ravioli which was divine. Â The kids had a really amazing cesaer salad. Â My husband had a burger with the smashed potaoes. Â It was so reasurring to know that everything we ate was organic, seasonal, and hormone free, and yet still tasty. And did I mention we were offered a free and generous tasting of a local wine which was awesome. Â Yum!
The weather was gorgeous so the floor to ceiling windows were open. Â We were there at 5:30 and the sun mixed with a cool breeze was incredibly enjoyable. Â We did not experience any traffic sounds or fumes. Â It was just a gorgeous day to sip wine on the Island.
The service was shockingly good, especially since we showed up at this hipster restaurant with two young kids. Â They mostly behaved, and the waiter was super friendly to them as well as very informative with our questions with the wine.
Oh, the clincher was the Hazelnut bread pudding. Â I am a real fan of that dessert and it can go terribly wrong. Â This was not the case. Â It was one of the most amazing warm bread puddings outside of the South. Super scrumptious.
We'll definitely be back.
I read about Bennett's in the Times shortly after it opened. Â It sounded so good that I knew it was a place to try out. Â Lots of other people felt the same way, because I couldn't get in (with a reasonable wait with hungry kids) on a Thursday night!
We had a swim team meeting on Mercer Island, so I made advance reservations. Â I was going to eat at Bennett's one way or the other. Â The restaurant is located in the downtown shopping area on Mercer Island, in the street level of a condominium building. Â I think that is a really neat way to mix commercial and residential properties.
As I walked in from the free and plentiful parking garage, I knew I was going to be impressed. Â There is outside seating around a small fountain, even with heating lamps for the cool Northwest evenings. Â Inside, there is a walk up deli counter (the chalk board sign says they do lunch), a small bar and several tables of varying sizes (there was one that seated 12 or maybe they do the communal thing). Â We sat inside, but they have doors along the entire patio, so we got that outside feel.
The server introduced himself, the restaurant (everything is organic or all natural), the good sized menu and poured tastings of the featured wine. Â As I looked over the menu, I came to the conclusion that just about everything fit my fancy. Â The starter menu was large enough that you could do the small plate thing for a full meal or go the route of great sounding entrees.
We started with a Beet'rese salad, their take on a capresse salad with red and golden beets in lieu of tomatoes and a mozzarella made from Buffalo milk. Â It didn't take long to clean that plate up.
The kids ordered Caesar salad and while they weren't all that pleased with the capers in the dressing (they're still in the single digits), I thought the dressing was excellent. Â I felt bad destroying the presentation while I cut the whole romaine leaves into bite sized pieces for my daughter. Â There were also several add-on meats to make the salad into more of a meal.
I had the burger, a blend beef and pork roast, which gave the burger a unique taste and my wife had the sun choke ravioli. Â We were both quite pleased.
The dessert menu rotates, but my wife supposed that this was the kind of place that would have a great bread pudding, her favorite. Â And she was right - she loved it - no raisins and an excellent sauce. Â I had a vanilla bean cheese cake, which did meet up to my exacting standards and the kids shared a chocolate cake which I thought was really good too.
With all the time we'll be spending on Mercer Island at swim practice this summer, my stomach says I could eat at Bennett's every night. Â It is a little pricey for nightly dining, but it is worth it. Â This is the kind of food you find in California's wine country.
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