Benny’s Burger Joint

C L O S E D.
Took 6 months to kill and bury this mess. Went there once with a 2-​for-​1. Ordered some large mess of a thing with pulled pork. It might have been well executed and imaginative, but here it was just a mess. My wife swore there was some kind of sedative in the burger — we both went comatose after eating here.
What were they thinking with that air hockey game?

Appears to be OUT OF BUSINESS. I stopped by a few days ago, the building was completely empty (all furniture and video games are gone). The website is no longer active. The comments on their Facebook page seem to also indicate they are closed.

Saturday lunch with some friends well spent. We were greeted by a super cheery Chris. He was amazing from beginning to end. Super sweet and attentive. He even brought us free onion ring baskets which were mind blowing amazing. We all had a variation of burgers and fries, the tatter tots were fantastic and the avocado burger with bacon was the best ever. We were also allowed to bring our own wine !! I would love to come back here again If it wasn’t so far. But always ask for Chris.

Had lunch with several family members. Tried going across the street but they had a waiting line. To our pleasure we came here
Burgers are great. Really good. Fries are fantastic. Did not play any games but sound of air hockey is a memory of childhood

Benny’s Burgers is totally retro. Ima break it down for you.
Food: I’ve gotten take out from here twice, and sat down to eat once. The food is totally «retro» in that it harkened back to a time when restaurants could get away with bad food because Unilocal didn’t exist to call them out. Each time my burger has been cold and undercooked. The time I sat down I got the Double Double Cheese Cheese Burger, with grilled cheese as the buns, and the cheese wasn’t melted, and the bread wasn’t buttered. It was also raw on the inside, even though I ordered medium rare. My wife’s mac and cheese was luke warm, and oddly flavorless. She did say her veggie burger was good.
I got a shake to go, the Chocolate Egg Cream. It seems like something your grand parents would have drank in 1926 before desserts were actually good.
Décor: Totally retro. The place is «kid friendly» covered in retro murals of old video game characters that most people under 25 wouldn’t recognize (ie Qbert). If they wanted to cater to the modern youth, they’d spray paint flaming skulls and screen shots from World Star Hip Hop videos of bums beating each other with baseball bats. Because the modern youth psyche warped by the internet is terrifying.
Service: Totally retro in that it no one is there to greet you at the door, bringing back that pioneer spirit that made our country so great.
Prices: Totally retro. It reminds you of those heady times when people actually had 12 bucks to spend on a hamburger.
I’ll keep coming back here though, because A) I’m sort of dumb B) the menu is intriguing, and C) I really want to like this place.

If you are going to be a «Burger Joint» then make sure you know how to cook the burgers the way the customer orders them. We ordered one medium rare and the other medium. Both came out well done.

«Tried» eating here Sunday, was actually excited about it. Whose bright idea was it putting an air hockey table in a restaurant. Had to leave before ordering because of the nonstop click-​clack. Told our server, and I think the owner, why we were leaving and neither apologized or offered a solution, they just stared in disgust. After reading these reviews, looks like I didn’t miss much. Should have just gone to Pour House!

Went on a week night with my GF. NO ONE to greet us. Waited over 10 minutes for someone to come out of the back. Crappy service through the whole experience. As far as the burger goes, chewy, old meat and roll. Save your selves and just go to Five Guys. Good riddance to a horrible experience. Looking forward to your demise. Benny is a loser.

First, I loved West Side Gravy. The staff are the same as from the old restaurant, and they have always been very polite and professional. (We even went when it was busy, and our service was very good!)
The food left much to be desired. My husband and I built our own sandwiches. He got a burger concoction, and I built a chicken sandwich. (Before West Side Gravy was dismantled, I ordered a barbecue grilled chicken sandwich that was beyond excellent. I was hoping to recreate the experience.) We also got tater tots, mac & cheese, and a milkshake.
The amount of customization options were good, but the prices were not that great. It seems they want to push their own creations to get a better deal. The sandwiches were mediocre. Too much bread, not enough filling, and my chicken was dry. The milkshake was good, but very thin. The tater tots were okay. The macaroni and cheese — which had been one of my favorite things to order at West Side — was horrendous. It had absolutely no flavor and is a far cry from what they used to serve.
I get that they’re trying a new thing and wanted it to be kid friendly, but the food should be good for both little ones and grown ups alike. The atmosphere was very kid friendly, but also very loud. The arcade games are fun, but there aren’t many of them, and they are oddly placed. We won’t be going back.

Read the specials on the back of the menu. I will not eat the fries again unless they cook them properly… too greasy. Hamburger was OK… cheapest burger is about 7 bucks and all the specialty burgers near 12

Update Jan 2014: closed.
«Can’t talk. Eating,» was the text I sent out to a friend. I didn’t want to put down my veggie burger for a second. Pure fat kid kingdom.
I ordered ‘Veggin Out’ (7.99) with a side of tater tots. My veggie burger was smothered with alpine Swiss cheese and sautéed mushrooms. I liked the way the cheese oozed out and melted onto the bun. At the ‘first bite moment’ not much else seemed to matter, it was worth every dumb squat, jog or push-​up I did during the week. To top it all off is an onion ring, mmmmm, fried fabulousness. Is this fine dining? No, but it is pure gluttony.
My partner in all of of this ordered his childhood dream sandwich, ‘Peanut Butter and Jelly, Yeah!’. For $ 12 it is a burger with bacon and blue cheese dressing between two peanut butter sandwiches. For me, completely disgusting but for him it seemed to be a match he challenged himself to try out. Overall, he was satisfied. The only complaint was that it easily could fall apart.
That’s not the only creative burger on the menu. There is one with two Krispy Kreme donuts that act as the bun for an angus burger with cheddar, bacon, ketchup, mayo, pickles and onions. Another burger on the menu is with a fried egg between French toast and drizzled in maple syrup, appropriately named: the Brunch Burger ($ 14).
The variety doesn’t end there: pulled pork, pork roll, chicken breast, chicken strips and Ahi tuna. All the bases seemed to be covered, but if nothing on the menu works there is a build your own burger option.
Let’s talk sides: The guy had sweet potato fries and I had tater tots. This was where the disappointing part comes into play. Both sides could have been much better. They were grocery store frozen section style.
After you eat, there are arcade games and classic two person games. A great way to end a meal is by dusting your dinner buddy in a hockey game. SCORE.

After many disappointments or food and service just not hitting the mark at neighboring restaurants on Haddon Ave, my family was chomping at the bit to see what would take the place of Blackbird and West Side Gravy. My son was armed with a fist full of quarters, my party of 8 had some cold beers and we all had an appetite for a big dinner.
Upon walking into BBJ, you instantly feel like you stepped out of a Delorean into your beloved 1980’s arcade. The murals are spectacular and reminiscent of the old Cherry Hill Skating rink. (dating myself!)
As we were lured to our table mouth watering smell of burgers and fries from the kitchen, our server was there to put or beers on ice and get the kids some soda to fuel some intense gaming. (most of the games are a quarter to play. Take that Dave and Busters)
We had a few vegans and vegetarians in our party as well as 2 solid carnivores. Having a kitchen and servers who were knowledgeable and so accommodating made it easy for everyone to enjoy the meal.
Veggie burgers were a mixture of polenta and the flavor was spot on. We ordered fried pickles that ended up stuffed on a few burgers we loved them so much plus a giant basket of tater tots. My burger was cooked perfect and seasoned so well I had to devour all of it before my 5 yr old snuck it off my plate.
I have posted my rant before about NJ restaurants using sad pink ideas of tomatoes during peak tomato season. Well, according to the servers, BBJ uses the ripest, reddest fruit right out of their own garden. They were to die for.
Looking forward to coming back with a group of friends and tackling the PB&J burger as well as granting my 5 yr olds wish of having his bday party at BBJ.

Love it! Menu that I enjoyed but the bonus was choices that it pleased my dates. Hard to please little boys. … they cleaned their plates. Fresh apple slices, ice cream floats, nutella sandwiches. …Phoney Luke for me with fresh Sweet Potatoe Fries. Had a blast playing the old school games and building memories with them. Look forward to coming back with friends for an evening of fun, great food, and air hockey and more times with my sons! Clean, reasonable and fun.

After years of suffering through countless Pop Shop diners with my son (he loves it there), their mediocre food and spotty service I was thrilled a new burger, kid friendly place was opening up in town right across the street. Also, I was a bit impressed with a chef who has balls big enough to open a place right across the street from the holy grail of family friendly dinning and plaster the windows with the monicker: «THE BETTER BURGER». I though, well this place better come correct with all that hype, but unfortunately, it did not.
The interior is great — very kid friendly. My son loved the retro video games for only 25 cents. A lot of the old décor from when the place was West Side Gravy was reused, but I think it works. My only complaint against the location was the bathroom was dirty — trash can was broken, there was no toilet paper, and we were one of the first customers of the day. I am always leery of restaurants with dirty bathrooms.
The service was terrible — It seemed like only one girl was working there and after she took our order, we only saw her once more and she didn’t ask if we needed anything. There was no silverware on the table and since she was no where to be seen, I had to grab some from another table. When I ordered she never asked how I wanted my burger cooked, and when she saw I didn’t eat my fried pickles the one time she came over to check on us, she didn’t say anything — I had to mention it. She asked if she could get me anything else, but at this point, we were almost done with the meal, so no, I did not want anything else. After we were done eating we had to wait 10 – 15 minutes for her to even enter the room to get her attention so we could ask for the check.
But I guess I can get over all of this, because hey, the Pop Shop’s bathrooms are not that clean either and their service can be terrible when they get slammed — but then we get to the food. I got a simple cheese burger with the fried pickles ($ 13), my son got chicken fingers ($ 5), and my dinning mate got the Alpine Burger with onion rings ($ 15). On the plus side, it seems like the chef sat down with a Pop Shop burger and decided what sucked and tried to improve upon it. Benny’s burgers had a great potato bun that held up to the toppings, which were fresh and plentiful, and the hamburger it self was very juicy and had that flame broiled (think Burger King) kind of taste. The only issue I had (kind of a big one) was the mix of meat that they are using. Now I understand I am eating a hamburger and fat equals flavor, but there was so much gristle/​fat chunks/​random stringy bits that it was off putting. (sorry vegetarians out there).
My fried pickles were terrible, and after a bite or two I didn’t even bother to finish. I have had fried pickles at a few places and they are never dipped in flavorless tempura batter like this –it was just a greasy, doughy mess. My dinning mate said the same thing about her burger as I did about mine — great flavor, but same problem with the meat mix. She gave me one of her onion rings to try and it was chewy (?). I am not even sure how this could happen. My son’s chicken fingers where just barley cooked through but charred on the outside. I am going to assume that the frier is turned up too high, which might account for the chewy onion rings.
If you want fun burgers with schtick, just got to PYT in Northern Libs and if you want kid friendly just go to the Pop Shop — and it really pains me to say that.

This is my second go around with Bennys Burger Joint. There will not be a third.
The concept seems simple. Burger, special sauce, onions, pickles, lettuce on a bun… but the execution is seriously flawed.
They need a new chef to flip the food and to operate the fryer… burgers are over cooked, fries are soggy, and chicken fingers dry. My wife ordered the most unappetizing grilled cheese
The service is slow and don’t forget to ask for napkins and plates. In addition, I enjoyed having a pen practically thrown at me while paying the bill.
The menu itself is over priced considering the size of the burgers and sides. Every topping is extra as well. The chips that come with the food are the cheapest Lays Potato Chips you can find. 1.99 for the fries is not worth the extra money considering the plate already costs $ 9.
I prefer a McDonalds Happy Meal for the value.
If you don’t care what you are eating and enjoy children running around screaming. this is the place for you. Bön Appetite!
Otherwise, stay at home and get busy in your own kitchen. You will eat faster and the food will have more flavor.

Really great burgers in a casual setting, came in here for lunch with a friend. We ordered the Let the Alpine play a burger with swiss, mushrooms, and caramelized onions. I really enjoyed the burger and it was cooked perfectly to medium. My friend tried the Chick-​fil What a crispy chicken sandwich which she really enjoyed.
The murals were great, and the servers were attentive but not overbearing. I would ask to sit in the dining room if there are a lot of children in the main room near the entrance, it is quieter there and more «adult» friendly.
Burgers and sandwiches are better than the pop shop!

I learned my lesson today at Benny’s. In the future, I’ll order take out.
Today was the annual craft festival in Collingswood, but this place was holding its ground well. We were greeted by a friendly hostess and only had to wait about 15 minutes for a table.
Now, while the food here is actually really good (turkey burger + crispy chicken sandwich), the rest of the place fails terribly. Unless you are 5 years old. If you’re 5, you will love it.
Basically, I spent the vast majority of my meal being stabbed in the back by a little boy playing a hockey game, while hovered over by several small children and their stressed moms. Yay. I understand it’s child-​friendly. That’s great. What’s not great is having, quite literally, no personal space.
The restaurant is not itty-​bitty. It’s a pretty good size. So why not get rid of the awkwardly placed half-​booths and replace them with tables? That way, more people could sit, there would be less of a wait (the two tables next to my two-​top were vacant but there was a half hour wait during my meal), and perhaps the children could play their games without stabbing customers. But hey, that’s just my opinion.
Again, the food was worth it, and for that, I’ll definitely order take out in the future. But considering the layout of the restaurant and the lags in service we experienced, I won’t be running back for a sit-​down meal any time soon.

I wanted to like this place. Actually I wanted to love it. But unfortunately it’s extremely weak. I question the earlier reviews which appear to be written by first time reviewers to Unilocal.
Service was exceedingly slow and I’m not just talking about the food. Sofa refills took over 10 minutes from the time she asked if we wanted refills. The burgers themselves took forever to come out. Inexcusable at a casual burger joint.
On to the burgers themselves. First of all the bin to burger ratio is WAY off. Made it impossible to taste the burger in some bites. The burger patty was ok but nothing special. The turkey burger on the otherhand was gross and burnt and seemed like it may have been previously frozen.
The onion rings lacked flavor and I would recommend skipping them.
The only redeeming factor are the cool arcade games. Simpsons is one of my favorite arcade games ever and it was a trip to see it. However that’s not enough to bring me back.
As a Collingswood resident I want this place to succeed and I hope they why their act together. It’s a good concept but poor execution.

First, let me get this out of the way — Blackbird, West Side Gravy, I miss you!
On to the review: we were seated quickl, early (5:45) on a Friday night. Quickly took our order, and while we sat there, the place filled up. Ordered two burgers, and an order of tater tots, which my wife said could have been cooked a little longer, but I liked. The tots required a couple reminders to come out (after the burgers were delivered, despite asking for the tots up front). Service was friendly and perfectly fine.
Both burgers were ordered medium rare, one came out correctly cooked, the other one on the well side of medium. Pretty wide selection of toppings, and the menu is set up for you to take advantage of them.
As it turns out, so are the burgers! I wanted to see how their standard cheeseburger stood against the benchmark for South Jersey — The Pour House. Benny’s Bun/​Burger ratio was way off — too much bun, which overwhelmed the burger. If you load it up with dressings and toppings, the bun might be a better fit. So how was the burger? Just alright — better than the Pop Shop’s burger, but not nearly as good as the Pour House or Keg and Kitchen. It was well-​seasoned, so the meat didn’t really stand out. Certainly wasn’t a greasy/​fatty/​juicy burger, for better or worse. For a place that calls itself a burger joint, my expectations were higher. We didn’t try the non-​cow burgers, but if we go back, I think that’s what we’ll try.
For two adults, the ambience was not really ideal for conversation. This is perfectly set up to bring your little kids, and let them run wild, playing the video games. I am a huge video game /​arcade fan, and I didn’t feel like I wanted to play the games, especially with all the kids. I could see some parents that wouldn’t want to take their kids to Barcade in Philly, so this is a great, close-​to-​home option. If you’re looking for a place to bring your kids that’s better than your typical run of the mill chain, hit up Benny’s. If you want a better burger, stick to the old standard of the Pour House, which I think is the best bang for your burger buck around.
I’ve never had a bad meal at Blackbird or West Side Gravy, and while Benny’s isn’t for me, I totally expect it to do well with the parents-​with-​kids set! If you’ve got kids, I’m sure they’ll love it, and it’s way less overwhelming than the Pop Shop.

I was so sad to hear that Alex Capasso’s Blackbird was leaving South Jersey… but I’ve been watching how things were changing on Haddon Ave in the old Woolworth building over the last few weeks. I brought my 8 year old son in for dinner last night and was SHOCKED at what I saw… this place looks amazing! The murals on the wall brought me right back to being a kid and my son was having a blast listening to me tell my stories about all the «characters» … There are fun old video games to play and my son absolutely LOVED the air hockey table.
I ordered the «Let the Alpine Play» and my son ordered a kids burger. Both were cooked PERFECT and the size of my burger left me with enough to have lunch later today… I did not want to stop eating trust me but saving room for a hand spun malt milk shake was very important. :) The sweet potato fries I got with my burger were so delicious… fresh hand cut fries are better than anything frozen ANY day of the week. The burgers themselves were FRESH! Not a frozen hockey puck but juicy fresh ground beef that just exploded with flavor! The sauce on the burger, I think was a Dijon type sauce… oh my goodness… that with the melted Swiss cheese and mushrooms… I can not wait until lunch today! My son had tater-​tots with his burger which he loved. His burger was just the perfect size too. Exactly right for a kid. There was such a great mix of people in there too… Lots of adults, young couples and kids. And it seemed like everyone was really enjoying everything! So Chef Capasso, While I will wait patiently to hopefully visit Blackbird again in the future for those oh so amazing gnocchi I will DEFINITELY be back to Benny’s Burger Joint to try everything I possible can on your new menu! Who knew a burger could be done so many awesome ways! Great Job and Best of Luck on your new endeavor!