Benjamin's 254 Thames Street, Newport, RI 02840

"I’ve always loved going here. The food is always delicious, has good portions, and feels home cooked! The staff are always kind, especially the waitress Caty who is downstairs. The food and drinks came quickly and the atmosphere was cozy."

"I brought out-of-towners to this restaurant on the day before Halloween. I could not find a restaurant in Newport close to the water, that was open on a Monday, for some reason. The lady who took my phone call convinced me that the food on this restaurant is good, especially the seafood, and it would be a great showcase place for tourists, so I took a chance and booked a reservation for 5 people. Good location as it is right across the Newport Visitor Center and right on Thames St. Our reservation was for 5PM but we arrived 10 minutes early. Thames was not busy and we parked our two cars right in front the restaurant. When we left, we discovered, to our dismay, that we had parking tickets--we failed to see the sign that was at the entrance to Thames. Bummer. What a ridiculous fine; we are right in front of the restaurant and the parking was clearly not busy--but I digress. Back to food. Seafood it is. We ordered calamari for appetizers. For entrees, hot lobster roll, Halibut, Benjamin's Linguini, and Striped Bass. My guests and I were unimpressed. The serving size was good but the lobster was chewy and the linguini was swimming in a lot of sauce (soupy!). The service was good. I felt that having lunch there would've been better."

"Excellent place to eat! All the food our party got was prepared perfectly! I opted for the prime rib and was not disappointed. It came to the table exactly how I asked for it and tasted wonderful from first bite to last bite. Waitress was attentive and engaging. Answered all of our questions and checked in at nice intervals. Atmosphere was very nice, not too upscale but not a hole in the wall."

"This is a great place to eat. Clean and roomy. Kate was great with suggestions and very friendly. I watched the staff interact with other people…genuinely help people. I had the lobster potato skins. They were amazing ($20). Tuesdays is $1.50 oysters. I love oysters and this is why we choose to come here. They were a little disappointing. Not much to them. Very thin. The taste was ok. Of course the staff has no bearing on the way a raw oyster turns out but is worth noting. If you can climb stairs, go to the right side to the second floor. Great views."

"My husband and I wanted lunch and this did not disappoint!! The bar next door was way too crowded and I was sold on $1.50 oysters for happy hour! The service was great and food was also good too! This was a great option that was quiet and away from the crowds. We would definitely come here again!"