Benji’s Deli & Restaurant

Benji’s is everything I hope for in a diner. Great brunch food and intimate vibes, with servers that treat you like an old friend and make sure the coffee in your mug never gets too low. They have a quality Bagel and Lox that always hits the spot, awesome corned beef, great matzo ball soup, and killer potato pancakes (ask for em crispy!)
So much good to be had here!

I’ve been going to Benji’s consistently since I moved to Milwaukee (about 10 years now) and its will always be my go-​to place to eat. I love so much on their menu, but some of my favorites are, The Bagel and Lox (preferred on a sesame bagel with capers), The Epiphany (it automatically comes with pastrami but its also great to sub it with corned beef), the Super Hoppel Poppel, Hear-​o-​israel (featured on Man vs. Food and MORE than enough to share), and the Gonzo because it combines their amazing corned beef along with their coleslaw. The service is always stellar and you’re made to feel like you’re a guest in their home. you seriously can’t go wrong with Benji’s.

With all of the claims about the chicken broth in the Matzo Ball soup, I decided to check it out. It was good, but not the best chicken broth I’ve had. The matzo balls were well done though. Most of the time I am stopping in, it is for the New York-​style bagels. They are perfect and the closest thing I’ve found in the Milwaukee area to what is going on in NYC. Get the Everything bagel!
The to go counter makes the trip in for bagels easy. You can get a package or an individual bagel and their soup and other things are packaged to go. Good, friendly service!

i worked as a waitress at benji’s in 1964. Benji was a wonderful boss. i worked there a week & he gave me & my husband several $ 1000.00 to take to his bank & get change for him. we couldn’t believe he’d trust us like that but he did & we brought back his change for the weekend. Benji was a very hard worker. he ordered huge cheesecakes & we waitrersses couldn’t wait to esat the crums leftover from cutting serving slices. The pastrami was probably my favorite but corned beef was a close 2^nd. the shorewood police were regular visitors on coffee breaks & that gave me a sense of security. my husband’s parents came to visit us from ND & my husband brought them & our children out for fish fry on friday night. i was working but Benji insisted I sit & eat with my family. when it was time to pay the bill
benji cut the amount in half. another time i had a table of hungry people & i turned in the order to the kitchen. my table asked where their food was so i asked the cook. he said i never turned in the order. i was in tears now & told Benji. he fired the cook & cooked the order himself. Benji’s was a wonderful place to work & eat. i also enjoyed good co-​workers. i read that benji’s has new owners. i hope they can live up to his dedication & service to the public & his workers. if you get the chance please stop & enjoy good food, smells & surroundings. if you live in the area I encourage you to be a regular. thank you.
florence Mitzel rapid city, SD

Sometimes you just want food that is no frills but just warms the belly… that is what you get a Benji’s. Today was a rainy dreary day and Benji’s hit the spot.
I swear they have the best matzo ball soup. The broth is flavorful and not salty. The matzo balls are firm but not tough. I love their corned beef on rye bread with some brown mustard with some of the coleslaw on top. The coleslaw is a vinegar base and pairs well with the corned beef.
I like to sit at the counter. The staff is friendly and on top of it.

It is almost impossible to screw up corned beef. (You boil it or steam it. When it’s tender, it’s done.) I’m approaching 40, and having grown up in Milwaukee I remember Benji’s when it was owned and operated by Benji himself. The deli had charm and ambiance, and they served delicious and tender corned beef (again, how could they not?! Throw it in a pot and boil it. Done.) After Benji sold the restaurant some years ago, the new owners literally stripped the interior of all its character, creating a bland and soulless «diner» atmosphere. What followed was a slow and steady decline in the quality of the food. Now, the corned beef — it *sucks*. It simply sucks. It’s tough and it’s terrible. I’ve been all over America, all over the world, and I remember my childhood. If I were served corned beef like this anywhere else, I would send it back. But you can’t send it back at Benji’s, because that’s how they serve it now, day after day, as unacceptable garbage. It’s the new standard there, and most of the (new) customers don’t know any better.
So why does this place get such good ratings on Unilocal?Theories: 1) Reviewers haven’t eaten corned beef anywhere else, like literally *anywhere* else; 2) Benji’s was featured on Guy Fieri’s «Diners, Drive-​Ins, and Dives,» so it *must* be good (despite the fact all it takes to be featured on that show is an email and a $ 1,000 good-​faith payment); 3) The reviews are fake.
The service sucks, too.

Nothing in the world gives me the warm and fuzzies quite like a good kosher diner/​deli. And none in Milwaukee more so than Benji’s.
— The menu: it makes my indecision flare up. A lot of really good choices, whether you’re brunching or looking for a sandwich with all the glorious meat you can handle. I always get the Matzo Ball Soup as well — I can’t help myself, I love it. It’s also one of the rare places you get several menu options that include Lox. And above all things, I recommend that if whatever you get has a bread option, get the Challah bread (yes, you can get it as toast too!). Benji’s Challah bread makes life worth living.
— The atmosphere: like you’re family. Like the old man drinking his coffee and reading the paper at the counter is the Jewish uncle you wish you had. It’s cozy. It’s diner heaven. Sometimes it can draw in a very mismatched crowd and get a little too intimate feeling (due to the small dining space), but it’s always entertaining.
— The downsides: the parking lot is small and can be a bit awful (especially in the winter) to get in and out of (odd angle parking). And since the diner itself is very small as well, if you catch it at a busy time (weekend brunch), you’ll not find a place to sit and will need to wait it out.
To this day, even though it may seem a strange pick, Benji’s is one of my favorite «comfort food» places in MKE.

We come here often and for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The French toast is yummy and the bacon is always done perfectly. Honestly, if you want a classic no fuss breakfast, benjis is your place. I always start off with the chicken soup with matzo ball, noodles and carrots… Recently tried the kreplach and loved that in it too! The burgers are great, and you can not get better corned beef anywhere! We always have wonderful servers and even after not visiting for months, we showed up and our server remembered our usual drink and food orders like we had just been there yesterday… Awesome! The atmosphere is very diner/​no fuss/don’t expect fancy. Definitely a go-​to neighborhood spot for us!

I felt very at home at Benji’s, like it could be a «Cheers» kind of place (except that it’s a diner) if I came here regularly and sat at the counter. They are famous for their corned beef and hoppel poppel, so this seemed like a good spot to check out while I was in town with my mom and brother. We didn’t end up getting the corned beef, but there’s just something about this place that made me very comfortable and happy. It wasn’t a super busy night, but I was still amazed at how attentive and nice our server was.
The food was top notch. I settled on the potato pancakes, which are huge and come with sour cream and applesauce. Soo potato-​ey and starchy and yummy. My mom got a lox omelette, which she loved, and I tried a bite and almost which I’d ordered that instead, it was amazing! The bro got a hamburger with fries. He’s boring; ignore him. The only thing that wasn’t amazing were the American Fries. They were good with some ketchup and salt, but had no flavor by themselves, which isn’t my favorite. But everything else, A+! If I lived in the area, I would totally come back and try something else from their massive menu.

This is the ultimate (Ashkenazi) comfort food. There is nothing like this between Milwaukee and Chicago. It is classic Jewish style deli/​diner and all the expected favorites are done very well. I suggest the Hear O Israel sandwich or the tongue. Their matzoh ball soup is great, but I suggest getting the Mish Mosh. Also they have the full line of Dr. Brown’s soda, including Cel-​ray. The worst thing I can say is the décor is lousy and off-​putting..

My husband and I usually go once a week. The portions are generous and the waitresses are friendly!

Short and sweet: corned beef that melts in your mouth. (I had the Reuben.) Décor and vibe that’s old school diner meets your grandmother’s kitchen. Breakfast egg scramble called Hoppel Poppel that defeated my 6’2″ food loving boyfriend. That big and that good.
Potato pancake was okay, but not my favorite (mashed potato-​ish, rather than chunky or grated.)
Yes, you need to try this place.

Drove from Waukesha to try this place out. We knew that it was on Man vs Food which is pretty cool. Not a «cheap» breakfast but definitely worth the money. Also, you can order anything off the menu, not just breakfast in the morning. Great corned beef and motza ball soup. Will be back

This place is a Milwaukee staple. I absolutely love the bagel and lox spread here. You can order a single or a double lox plate and both come with all the fixings — capers, lettuce, tomato, pickle, etc.
Other items I’ve tried have been good but more of a greasy spoon type. Their omelettes are huge! Their Ruben is soooooo good! Drool! Their Matzo ball soup is killer and I really like their challah.

Great spot for corned beef sandwiches, Matzo ball soup and Doc Brown’s Cel-​Ray soda. Coming from Chicago I’m spoiled with Kauffmans and Max & Bennys, but this Shorewood institution stacks up nicely. I used to come here as a kid and go to Baskin Robbins, Bagel Nosh and Kohls… alas all are gone, but I’m glad Benjis is still here!

This place feels a bit like hanging out in a friend’s bubbe’s kitchen, maybe whiling away the morning with some bagels topped with lox, cream cheese, capers, onions, tomato; and talking about what a putz the governor is. («He visits the Western Wall, the meshugge who doesn’t know ‘molotov» from «mazel tov?») But this is a restaurant with a large menu. Decisions, decisions. I really want the corned beef; I really want the potato pancakes. Blintzes sound good too, but I have to narrow my options.
I go for the potato pancakes, with corned beef on the side. Let’s start with the corned beef: firm, thick slices of tastiness, as lean as a vegetarian yoga instructor. Delicious. And the potato pancakes? Alas, I was dreaming about the pan-​fried, shredded potato variety and forgot that delis serve the deep-​fried latke style. (I’m not Jewish, I only play one when I’m noshing in a deli.) Perhaps it serves me right for eating sour cream and meat in the same sitting. For latkes, though, they were delicious: cooked perfectly without being oily.
I wondered to my Jewish friend if they served egg creams. «What’s that?» he said. «Oy vey,» I thought, «What did this mensch learn in Hebrew school?» «It’s that Brooklyn concoction with neither egg nor cream,» I instructed. «A refreshing mix of cold milk, seltzer and chocolate syrup; Fox’s U-​Bet, for the purists.» Not only did the server know from egg creams, but she stirred-​up an excellent rendition.
I do have to kvetch about one thing: a major error in the Italian Beef description. I quote: «Italian Beef? Fuhgeddaboudit!» Italian beef was invented in Little Italy in Chicago. To say «fuhgeddaboudit» in Chicago would show as much chutzpah as putting ketchup on a nice kosher frankfurter.

If you are visiting this area of Milwaukee and desire some awesome brunch food or a sandwich, you need to stop at Benji’s. I generally order to-​go or place an order for pick-​up I live very close. The corned beef is amazing — I highly recommend the corned beef omelet. On the most recent visit I desired a breakfast sandwich, which is not listed on the menu. The guys behind the counter were able to whip it up for me and it was nothing short of amazing.
I love the fact you can get beef bacon rather than pork bacon and they have plentiful choices of bread and bagels to go with the breakfast dishes.
Service for carry-​out is very speedy; it is hit or miss with the take-​out — sometimes it is very speedy and other times it is a decent 15 min wait.
Overall, excellent food and large portion sizes. A must try for a corned beef connoisseur!

Benji’s is a go-​to for me. There’s something so discreetly charming about this little diner tucked into the end of an aging strip mall. But Benji’s isn’t so well-​loved for its atmosphere, it’s well-​loved for its food.
Benji’s is famous for their Reuben, and don’t get me wrong, it is good, but I think other things on the menu far outshine it. Try the Reuben, but try other things when you (undoubtedly) come back. It’s hard to find some of the deli-​style menu items elsewhere in Milwaukee. Absolutely try the matzo ball soup! The broth is guaranteed to make you feel better when you’re sick.
The wait staff is always great. You’ll more than likely have a spunky waitress who will remind you of your grandma and will go out of her way to make sure your meal is great.

Corned beef was okay but the fries tasted homemade and were delivered right away while they where hot.
Sandwich is too much for one meal so looks like I will have enough for breakfast.
Pleasant crowd and the service was fantastic.
I am sure James would love the corned beef hash.

This place is a total gem in the Shorewood neighborhood. A friend was visiting home from school, and he was craving Benji’s, so we stopped by on a Saturday mid-​day. The place was packed, but we managed to score a seat at the counter.
The server was super nice. She recognized Cody right away and asked him how school was, even asked if he wanted his «regular» — that’s the kind of service you get when you come here, extremely personalized!
I had the Matzo ball (my favorite!) and the french toast. Both are exactly what you expected them to be, which I appreciated. It’s a cozy diner with the right feels to it, and I will definitely be back!

Walking into Benji’s is like walking into 1979 in the best possible way. This diner is all about great food and it appears updating the décor never crossed their minds.
And that’s A-​Ok because you are here for the food and you will love what you find.
No trip to Benji’s is complete without chicken soup. The broth is the BEST I’ve ever had in a restaurant. The depth of flavors is like no other. The richness is much more soothing than overbearing which makes it the perfect cold and sore throat remedy.
And the add-​in choices are fantastic. There’s classic matzo ball (pictured below), noodles, rice (white short grain), kreplach (small dumplings filled with potatoes, and kasha (a cereal make from cooked buckwheat that tastes like quinoa). There is no wrong choice although I tend to favor the classic matzo ball. ($ 6.99/quart)
Another favorite of mine is a classic deli sandwich. Topping choices are tomatoes, lettuce, onions, pickles, mustard (yellow or brown) and mayo. And bread choices are white, wheat, rye and half rye.
But the meat or filling is the star. For $ 10 there’s corned beef, pastrami, or turkey pastrami (I’ve search often and this is the only place I’ve found this deli meat). Oro for $ 9 there’ salami, turkey, bologna, roast beef or smoked ham. And for $ 8.49 classic chicken or tuna or egg salad is available.
I tend to favor the turkey pastrami and the meat is pilled high enough for at least two sandwiches so one half (they do cut unless you specify otherwise) makes a meal. The flavor of this pastrami is divine. Especially when accompanied with chicken soup it’s comfort food at it’s finest.
The staff is efficient and friendly although usually pretty busy.
And there’s no better cure for the sniffles or the blues than Benji’s!

From the moment I walked in, Benji’s had me at its retro counter reminiscent of the old soda fountains gone by. In a nod to that era, they serve old-​fashioned chocolate phosphates here. And homemade carrot cake…
But I digress. I stumbled in here to have breakfast. And it’s a pretty authentic Jewish deli, more than I’ve seen here in Milwaukee anyway.
So, I ordered eggs with corned beef hash and am pleased to tell you it was delicious. Nothing like the canned corn beef hash I remember my parents serving in my childhood! This was thick, hearty stuff with no potatoes that my eye could see. Just corned beef, with a little onion and green pepper. And enough to easily stuff a Reuben. Topped with scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese that was thick and stringy, it was a feast.
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Like any good Jewish deli my plate had a side of coleslaw. A nice accompaniment that stopped my from eating the corned beef. And I have to stop. Did you know Goldi’s shoes is next door? I have some shopping to do!

Now I am biased. I grew up in the 718 (queens/​Brooklyn/​Bronx) so delis are in my blood.
If you are looking for fancy pants dining (yeah I’m taking urban hipster) this is not your place so read no further. It’s ok.
Now if you dig bagels and lox (oh yeah) it’s a big check!
If you like matzo Bri (they call it fried matzo here) it’s a check! It’s a blast from my past circa 1973. Mom used to make this.
If you dig fried salami (cardiac surgeons are excused from rolling eyes) this is your place!
Haven’t been for lunch but Sammie’s look huge.
There are many amazing bf places in MKE. Many top notch. But if 718 is what you’ve been looking for complete with ripped bench seats, then this is your place.