Benny's Pizza

We drove almost an hour from Dayton to come here because of the great reviews. We arrived around 8:30 pm. The place was very busy which is a good sign.

Strike one:  The place was a mess! There was popcorn and stuff all over the floor.  Most restaurants have a small sweeper that can be used to take care of chaff even while customers are there.

Strike two: There were a few empty tables, but yet the waitress said it would be a 20-30 minute wait.  Since it was later in the evening, we told her we would just go. Amazingly, she found a table for the three of us right away.

Strike three: We were seated and the waitress said it would be close to an hour to get our pizza because two of their ovens were down. She said the hostess should have told us this, but she didn't.

Three strikes and you're out. Now we're trying to find someplace else.

Love Benny's. The pizza here is great (second only to Mellow Mushroom, in my opinion) and the entertainment is equally as good!  There's always fun new bands and events for the weekends. I find myself coming back to absents time and time again.  It has consistently proven to be delish, with good service, good beer, and good times every time.

We were told this was the best pizza in in greater Columbus, so stopped in for a pie when not-too-far away on Saturday night.

This place is a sprawling complex and is *very* popular. We were told twenty minutes for indoor seating, well over an hour for outdoor. We chose indoor and waited about six minutes, so whether that was luck or the whole Amazon-inspired "under-promise, over-sell" thing, who knows. But it sure beat a twenty-minute wait.

Anyway, the pizza is definitely good, but I can't imagine driving out of your way for it--I'd rather have Hound Dogs or Tommy's, and would call Donatos comparable, although I will give them credit for having capicola as a topping--and it's damn good, too. (So was the spicy sausage.)

There's plenty else on the menu, but can't speak for it, beyond the drinks: the homemade root beer is pretty good (it's on the creamy side, and even though I prefer the birch side of things, enjoyed it); my companion ordered a beer despite being a bit underwhelmed by the selection.

The summary: I wouldn't object to going here again, but don't understand the cult following or the people who travel from Columbus and beyond to come here.