Captain Blythers

I was sad to hear that Captain Blythers has closed its doors.
Where are Jac C and I going to go for Valentine’s Day 2010?
*tear*

Total fan of this place. Went there last night and had an amazing dinner — Love their crab cake dinner which is what I had. The vegetable was seared yellow squash and Chayote which was prepared wonderfully and not over cooked (I loathe over cooked vegetables of any kind).
The Garlic mashed potatoes were fantastic! They have a pretty decent wine list, a priceless view and wonderful and peaceful service. Watching the sunset over the Carquinez straight is quiet romantic and no restaurant in Benicia has a better view of that.
My fiancé had the Captains platter which I couldn’t keep my fork out of~ The seafood is cooked «fish and chips» style ~ but the absolute best I have had. I have never been a fan of fish and chips before Captain Blythers. Its crispy on the outside, grease free and the Scallops, Cod and Jumbo prawns are not dried out at all.
The waitress was a doll. Polite, courteous, kept the drinks coming and Spoke softly yet clearly (which matched the romantic environment). She kept the drinks coming but wasn’t one of those annoying waitresses that comes over every five seconds and asks you if «the food is good»; breaking your conversation with whoever you are eating with. ~ Sorry, I hate being interrupted too much.
Love this place, going back and telling all friends, family and co-​workers to get over there and try it out!

Right on the water and serves Mussels? I’ll take it!
Happened here because of Unilocal.Right over the bridge from Martinez. It was a nothing drive for us.
The place is in the quaintest of building’s (See their website for details). They have a bar upstairs with seating for dinning, and the restaurant seating downstairs. On a clear day the view must be spectacular.
The lunch menu is great and the seafood selection is great. We had someone who is pregnant with us and she was able to find plenty of things to choose from also. We both had a prime rib fettuccine pasta dish. It was pretty much the left over prime rib from last night and fettucinine with Cajun seasoning. It was good and Ill turn it into even better left overs as to the slices of prim rib were bigger than I thought. My husband had the Sea Food Ravioli which wasn’t a very large dish.
I would however recommend them having a specialty drink menu. I was really bummed because they had a beautiful bar with a lot of different vodkas available. When I asked if they made specialty drinks with any of them they said no and then proceeded to tell me about the ones they personally didn’t like. If there were some specialty drinks available with the vodkas prominently displayed may be I could make my own choice? Right?
Also the water served at the table tasted like you just washed your vegetables in it then served it. Lemon couldn’t have even saved it. The waiter saw our faces and said that it was Benicia water and that since the rain it recently had changed. I refused to drink it. Which sucked because I pretty much drink a pitcher of water when ever I go out.
Service was great. Our waiter was funny and cute when he commented on the bad water taste. I know now that there’s a great bar over the bridge that I can go to.

As a big fan of Benicia, I have overhead of Captain Blythers by locals and guests of the city. Yet, this restaurant by the Carquinez Strait and at the end of Benicia’s First Street has finally reached my review.
My brother-​in-​law took me and my family out to dinner tonight to Captain Blythers. When we arrived we were quickly seated to a quiet area, which was good because my 21-​month-​old niece was with us. Our server was this really young looking guy, but he was quite attentive and very friendly.
The garden salad was the right size, the kind of size that doesn’t fill you up at the beginning of the entrée. I ordered the seafood ravioli and like its price it was well worth the order. It was very creamy and didn’t have an overpowering seafood taste. Talk about carb heaven with at least 2,000 calories of garlic sauce and four garlic cheese breads for dipping. I didn’t know how I did it, but I finished the entire plate with a semi-​guilt of the hard work I just put into the gym gone within one sitting.
All around the table were satisfied munching and a few empty plates. And our server was able to even jump into some of our conversations without being obnoxious about it. All in all, my first visit was a good visit. I would love to come here again and try a dish that won’t sit on my thighs for the weekend.

I am surprised more people don’t write about this place. I can’t tell how professional this restaurant is.
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«Attention: Kaigan restaurant employee in Benicia, please take notes. Or if you can afford it please go here. You will learn how to run a restaurant in the restaurant business.»
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What can I say this place has a Host or Hostess to greet incoming customers. A wait staff that are friendly and efficient.
I ordered deep fried Captains platter — large scallops, white fish and shrimp. If you know how difficult Scallops are to prepare, you will appreciate the food at Captains Blythers. The scallops were perfect, tender on the inside, crispy breading on the outside. The fish and shrimp were cook correctly as well.
The timing was spot on. All dishes came out on time and the waitress made sure we had zero issues. All drinks were topped off on a regular basis.
This is my second visit, the first was a crowded Saturday and a semi crowded Monday. I was impressed on both visits.
The last visit I had a great Crab Louie. Healthy portions of dungeness crab lots of fresh veggies.
My next visit I want to try their version of Cioppino
I will definitely go to this restaurant again. You will never go away hungry from this place.
You can get a good view of the bay on the backside of the restaurant away from the parking lot on the first floor and a much better view upstairs.
One more thing the Times-​Herald voted Captains Blythers «Best Restaurant in Benicia» for 2004, 2005 and 2006. More info at
02÷10÷07 The food and service is still outstanding. I was able to try the Cioppino on this trip. It was good almost as good as Mom used to make. Mom’s cioppino is fantastic, I think she got the recipe from her wonderful longtime neighbors. BTW does anyone really know how to spell Choppino?
So on this trip, once again Captain Blythers gets 5 out of 5 burps.

The Captain missed the Boat.
Went on Friday night to grab some good eats. We both started with cocktails and I ordered the Seared Ahi Tuna with a mandarin teriyaki sauce, rice and seasonal vegetables (Asparagus.)
Now, I took a little time to digest this… overnight. before I wrote this. What was still on my stomach the next day produced this result.
I had the special — Seared Ahi Tuna with a mandarin Teriyaki Sauce and my dude had the Seafood Cioppino
I’ll start with the good: The asparagus were actually quite good. A rule of thumb is to always undercook rather than overcook. These were done well and just cook to the point where they were warm, but not much further. While it is nice for vegetables of the season to be served in their prime, my only suggestion would be for them to be served a bit warmer.
The rice pilaf was mediocre. While the flavor was there, it was immediately downplayed by the overcooked (lack of) texture from the rice. If we had caught this earlier on in the night, this would be a staple of comfort food, indeed.
The seared ahi was actually a good piece of fish and a sizable portion, but to be blatantly honest, not properly seared presented with a dismal gray hue speckled by black and white sesame seeds. The tuna was also actually a little too thick and uneven in areas which lead to some areas not to be even heated at all and other parts being overcooked. (Yes, I know how Ahi should be served: A nice hot caramelized searing on the outside, fresh and raw on the inside)
Harder to digest was the drowning of the ahi in what was supposed to be the mandarin teriyaki sauce. The copious amount of mandarin wedges (canned!!!) floating in a syrupy sauce with may or may not have contained some teriyaki substance completely took away any semblance of a appetizing or professional presentation. Unfortunately, the entreé was a complete disappointment, especially for being a special at a seafood restaurant.
The Cioppino wins marks though: The salmon in the cioppino was actually tasty and there was plentiful clams and muscles and tiny shrimp. Quite decent and plentiful.
The server was very amicable and timely as was the rest of the floor staff, and I, as always give props to attentiveness.
The ambiance and décor could also use a little help. The walls had little help aside of some strategically bracket mounted mirrors and some nautical framing. The lighting was a bit haggard — sharper in some areas and not enough in others — and the floor of the dining area was worn and showed the bits of previous guests. The panoramic windows offer great views, but the tinting on the glass was bubbling and led to a less than great view.
While the great location and name suggests you’re entering the realm of a seafood aficionado, the Captain really is an eatery that needs some well deserved attention. It has the possibility of becoming a true culinary delight, and when that time is, we look forward to being there to celebrate.