Benjamin Tapas

Really great tapas place! The flavors of every dish are spot on. Recommend the bacon wrapped dates, scallops, beet salad, and the patatas bravas.

Spot on great place to eat! Everything is seasoned to prefection. The only knock I give it is that the espresso machine was not working. If you are in Highland Park you must give this place a try. The bread and butter with sun dried tomato jam was excellent.

Enjoyed the food at Benjamin’s Tapas. We ordered the tilapia, stuffed dates wrapped in bacon and couldn’t decide on a third dish. The waiter suggested the beet salad. Good suggestion. Large enough portions to share and we didn’t need to order a fourth dish. We’ll be back again.

A pleasant surprise, however there were a few cons that I’d like to address first, which I hope will be addressed at this new establishment.
Cons
Bread — I am not sure why, but I really, really, REALLY disliked the bread. It was a shame with so many delicious sauces for dipping. The bread served with the butter (loved the sundried tomato jam on top, by the way) was very dry and was toasted ever so slightly — teasingly so. The bread served with the piquillo peppers and the goat cheese was thicker, a bit more toasted, but greasy as if it had been dipped in butter — yet somehow still dry? Maybe this is a complete personal preference thing, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt as strongly about bread!
Sangria — Not great, and I’ve noticed other reviews that didn’t like it as well. I believe there were only apples in it, so maybe the lack of other fruit affects the flavors?
Pros
Beautiful space.
Good service.
Delicious food (albeit the bread)! Started with the pisto manchego which was a bit TOO chilled for my taste, but deliciously seasoned and nice and light. Next, the queso de cabra, which was not the best I’ve ever had, but still good (the bread probably affected my feelings towards this a bit). Next, we had the garlic shrimp with phenomenal sauce and the mushrooms with a very yummy filling. Lastly, and probably my favorite, the piquillo rellenos, which were sweet, delicious, and probably had enough goat cheese that we didn’t even need to order the queso de cabra. Delish!

Décor is pretty. Food is 5 star.
Had:
Cold Tapas:
ENSALADA REMOLACHA (beet salad with goat cheese and arugula) YUM.
ALCACHOFAS CON ACEITUNAS (artichoke salad) Pretty good.
Hot Tapas:
PIPIRRANA DE BUEY (Skirt steak with blue cheese) YUM
GAMBAS AL AJILLO (Grilled shrimp in garlic lemon sauce) YUM
HOWEVER, BEWARE… seating is tight! We were sitting in the middle of two other tables. To say the least, it was uncomfortable!!! We felt like we were having dinner with them. You could hear every single word. Husband thought this was awful. We won’t be returning.

Pretty much agree with everything Steve R. said, as we also had the dates and seafood paella. Also had the potato salad. We’ve had tapas many times (including in Spain) and this was first-​rate. Service was very good too, although for some reason our waiter gave us the check before asking if we wanted dessert.

The food here is so excellent – highly recommend this restaurant to everyone. Each tapas dish has its own unique and exquisite taste – hard to decide which was best, as we sampled many and each was so fabulous!
Very reasonable, excellent service, wonderful sangria and fun, festive atmosphere!

I think they got it right!
Easy menu, order by number, quick service, and the food is stellar We have told our friends to give this a try, something we would not normally do. We hope they do very well. It is earned!

Sat outside and had a delightful glass of their house wine with the following —
Cold tapas: Aceitunas Alinadas and Atun y Cangrejo Vinagreta (#1 and #16), both delicious.
Hot tapas: Gambas al Ajillo and Mejillones (#20 and #34). Also delicious, satisfying.
I would definitely come back for more of the tuna and mussels. Good portions, fairly priced for amount and quality. Sometimes tapas get over-​hyped but this was not like that :-) Good atmosphere too. Visit and enjoy!

The food was good but too rich for my wife and me. Everything on the menu seemed to have a cream sauce, mayo, aioli or something we shouldn’t eat. .. and our waiter wasn’t knowledgeable enough to help us find what we were looking for. There didn’t seem to be anything on the menu for someone who is at all health conscious. If Benjamin added a few healthy choices, I’d try it again.

I am delighted to say the Benjamin’s Tapas is a wonderful addition to Chicago’s restaurant scene. Highland Park needs another excellent dining venue, and Benjamin Brittsan has delivered the perfect spot. The dining room is redecorated in Spanish themes with vibrant colors and fabrics. The wait staff is friendly and knowledgable about the menu.
The menu is familiar territory to fans of Spanish cuisine, but it is the execution that elevates this restaurant to the higher plane. The beet salad had red and yellow beets with wonderfully fresh and peppery arugula but the light touch of the citrus vinaigrette made the dish a stand out. The garlic sauce that basted the perfectly cooked shrimp of the «Gambas de Ajillo» had just the right amount of lemon to balance the cream and the garlic. The roasted dates stuffed with Marcona almonds and wrapped with bacon, served with a piquillo pepper cream sauce was the best rendition of this tapas that I have ever had, including the one I make at home (I will have to serve them with that sauce in future). The seafood paella with mussels, shrimp, a large sea scallop, and squid with a drizzle of aioli was equally well executed.
There were lots of other items on the menu deserving equal attention, and we will try them another time. Benjamin, you have created a wonderful showcase for your talent, and I hope you have the success that your efforts deserve.

I came here never having had tapas before, and now I can’t wait to go back! The backdrop of the restaurant is relaxed and clash-​container u-​hide-​overflow”>

Went here with 9 of my girlfriends for our monthly Mama’s Night Out and we were pleasantly surprised at how awesome this place was!!!
Our server, I believe her name was Naomi well she was super awesome and very helpful!
We tried all sorts of dishes BUT the bacon wrapped dates REALLY stood out! YUM! I could order a plate just for myself! The spread that they served with bread was also very delish.
The sangria could was just ok, it needs a little work. Having the fruit soak in there might help a bit.
Overall it was a great experience and we will be back for sure since there are a lot of dishes to try.

I had originally bought a Groupon to try out Benjamin Brassiere. I had driving past it multiple times and needed some motivation to try it out. I did not use the Groupon right away and got an email from them saying it had closed and would be reopening as a tapas restaurant and we could use our Groupon there. I thought it sounded a bit strange, but I was willing to try it out. And I am so glad I did. They have turned me into a returning customer!
We a little late for our reservations since the directions on Groupon lead you to a neighborhood. That was confusing since I thought I had driven past it before. Even though we were late, we had a super comfy table waiting for us. It was a corner booth and get this… there were pillows. There is nothing like being super comfy while eating delicious food!
Our waiter Jameson was out of this world awesome! I couldn’t decide which Sangria– white or red– to get a pitcher of (first world dilemmas). Jameson told me that the red is actually sweeter than the white and brought me a small taste of each so I could make an informed decision. Phew. I love sweet wines and preferred the red. I was happy he offered me a sample, otherwise I might have gotten a sangria I personally would not have been as happy with. Great customer service there folks. The pitcher is $ 20 and served about 7 glasses for us. Since it is typically $ 5 a glass, so this was a great deal. The sangria is made fresh everyday.
Upon being seated we were brought yummy, crusty bread. They brought out some amazing butter smothered in spices and oils. I ate it before I could take a picture for Unilocal,so Jameson took a picture of a new butter for ya’ll to drool over.
Between the two of us, we ordered 5 dishes. All three were so good, it is hard to say which was my favorite. I think the hot shrimp dish and the chicken dish with the onions and spicy mayo were my top two favorites. We also noshed on cold artichoke hearts with olives, cured salmon on bread, and stuffed peppers. I can’t say I have a complaint about anything I ate here. We both definitely left stuffed… so stuffed we had to pass on dessert.
I also really liked that the executive chef came out twice to see how our food was an mingle with diners. I am already considering which menu items I will order when I return and who I deem lucky enough to dine at Benjamin’s Tapas with me!

My wife and I had a wonderful time celebrating our 25^th anniversary! Thankfully we came with stomachs empty! We started on the cold size with Salmon Curado, Gazpacho, an assortment of Spanish cheeses, Ensalada Cabrales and Pisto Manchego — all of which were fantastic! On the hot side, we split 4 dishes, including Pato Confitado — a wonderful duck dish, Champinones, Tilapia Romesco and Pincho de Solomillo. For dessert, we had Platano con helado and o course, the Pastel de chocolate, a very rich chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce. The staff, including Benjamin himself, was wonderful and attentive, and we paced the food and evening very well. Definitely a recommended stop in Highland Park for something out of the ordinary in a relaxed atmosphere!

This was a great experience. I have to admit that I was not a fan of the old Benjamin’s. Not that is was that bad, but it wasn’t to my taste. The NEW Benjamin’s TAPAS was great. A nice variety of options. Everything we had was very good – the tenderloin was superb.
Loved:
ALCACHOFAS CON ACEITUNAS (artichokes with olives)
GAMBAS MARINADAS (tiger shrimp)
PATATAS BRAVAS (potatoes with a spicy red pepper aioli)
POLLO AL AJILLO
TARTA DE ALMENDRA (almond and lemon cake – to die for)
This one should be a hit.

Amazing food! I have been here twice since in opened and the food is AMAZING my favorite is pollo al Ajillo which is ABSOLUTELY the best chicken I ever had!

Seriously delicious! We went tonight (Sunday) for an early dinner, and I can honestly say it is my new favorite North Shore restaurant!
Quick review of what we had:
COLD:
Octopus Carpaccio: Very good, but a very small portion of the protein vs the tomato/​red pepper garnish… but great flavor.
Tuna Sashimi: Delicious! Think Caprese salad with Tuna instead of Mozzarella and parsley instead of basil.
Gazpacho: Very authentic!
WARM:
Pinchos de Solomillo: Great quality beef, with a fantastic sauce
Mejillones: Mussels in a lovely light sacue. Delish!
Gambas al Ajillo: Shrimp in garlic sauce… I could drink the sauce!
Seafood Paella: Very good authentic flavors. But this is a larger dish, so if you want to try more items, save this for your next visit.
Pipirrana de Buey: Delicious Flank steak in a blue cheese sauce… you’ll especially love this if you like blue cheese and potatoes… not my thing, but my husband loved it!
Piquillos Rellenos: Sweet red peppers stuffed with goat cheese and topped with parsley, etc. Very nice… with a touch of sweetness to it.
Long story short: I lived in Spain for 2 years and this is very authentic… LOVED IT! Will definitely be back again and again and again!
As for the service… I’m guessing they are still in training, because it was not flawless, but the «old guard» (read: long time Benjamin’s staff) definitely tried to help and pick up any slack!
Give it a try! Food is great and the price is totally reasonable.