I’m going to admit that I’m not one for breakfast. In fact, the only time I eat breakfast is when I’m on a ship doing a cruise review or when the mood strikes on a weekend morning.
UPDATE: Click here for more photos of the great food at Benny’s on the Beach from subsequent visits from when this review was written.
When that mood strikes, I want something good. Not your run-of-the-mill pancake house or fast food breakfast joint – but a restaurant that serves a delicious, home-cooked breakfast.
Sunday morning was one of those days when the breakfast mood struck and we set out in our search to find a spot. We drove around checking off places in Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Boca Raton and settled on Benny’s on the Beach at the Lake Worth Pier in Lake Worth.
After all, if you’re going to do breakfast, you may as well do it on the beach!
We got there around 10am and parked the car in the parking lot at the Lake Worth Casino and walked over to Benny’s which is literally “on the pier” with views of the beach from all directions.
The restaurant has an outdoor bar in the front, a few tables along the side that are shaded by umbrellas and a small upstairs dining room. The hostess asked whether we wanted inside or out, and since there was a 20 – 30-minute wait for a seat, we asked for whatever came available first.
While we waited, we took a set and watched the waves crash on the shore as a few surfers took advantage of the high surf. Clouds rolled in and it started to drizzle just as our pager went off indicating our table was ready.
Our hostess told us to go upstairs and “pick any table.”
As you would expect from any beach spot, there’s nothing fancy about Benny’s.
It’s plain. It’s simple.
Our server came right over, presented us with the two-sided breakfast menu which had everything ranging from breakfast sandwiches and omelets to pancakes and “healthier” items. There’s also a few items from their lunch menu that you could get for breakfast.
There were so many things I wanted to try, I had a hard time narrowing down my selection.
I ended up going with the “Benny’s Classic” – a plain bagel loaded up with scrambled eggs, bacon, ham and cheese and comes with either home fries or grits. I opted for the potatoes and got a side of bacon as well.
After one bite, I was in heaven. Honestly, I haven’t had a breakfast sandwich this good in I don’t know how long. I don’t know what was on the bagel or in the eggs, but I was tempted to order another because it was so good. The eggs were cooked perfectly, it was cheesy, it was… well, delicious.
The potatoes were a little hard. But this breakfast wasn’t about the potatoes, it was all about the sandwich. Oh, and the bacon was sweet and cooked perfectly – not limp and not crunchy – just right.
My friend chose one of Benny’s Omelets which also came with home fries, grits, and fresh baked bread. The portion was huge and like my potatoes, they were a little hard. He also enjoyed a side of Benny’s Applewood Smoked Bacon and the two slices of thick toast that came with his breakfast.
We definitely made the right choice when it came to picking Benny’s on the Beach for breakfast. So much so, that I asked our server if I could see the dinner menu since I saw table tents saying dinner is available Thursday – Sunday from 5pm – 9pm.
She came over with the dinner menu as well as two additional ones highlighting their Paella which is available Saturday and Sunday as well as their Seafood Bake on Thursday and Friday. Check out their Facebook page or website for more details. But you can stay tuned because I’m going to be back to check out the Seafood Bake!
Benny’s on the Beach is open for breakfast and lunch Monday – Wednesday and breakfast, lunch and dinner Thursday – Sunday. The outside bar features happy hour specials seven days a week.