Benbow Historic Inn

I love Benbow and come a couple times per year and I won’t stop coming as I love the views, the peace, the history, the food, the puzzles and the place.


My only negative this time was my room was not ready at check-in at about 3:10. I know there had been an event the night before. So I went to get scone and tea to wait. Tea was great...empty plate of scones that did not get replenished till almost 4:00. Minor thing, but not what I am used to at Benbow.

Good experience overall. We will be back to enjoy the dining and stay experience at The Benbow Inn

Excellent service from Jaime. There were seven of us. The guests that had the halibut special complained that it wasn’t fresh. Had a fishy smell. The prime rib Yorkshire pudding special was flavorful however I expected the prime to be cut in chunks instead of sliced. The Coq o Vin was excellent. The wine selection was very good. This was a Thursday and we were disappointed the cheese plate appetizer was not available. No excuse for this.

Food was fantastic. Not bad in price either. Service was a little slow.

The cost was way out of line for the quality. We are accustomed to very fine food and locations. This one just does not match up on any count.

Uneven food experience. My steak was good. Baked potato may have been under a heat lamp too long. Asparagus tempura was excellent. My wife had the Farm Market veggie plate and it was a mess. Pile of veggies. Bad mushrooms. Hot pepper flakes strewn on the asparagus. Serving staff was friendly and attentive. We tried to get in early but were told five other tables were arriving so had to wait. No problem. We had a good experience waiting in the bar. Good conversations with the bartenders. Lobster bisque arrived promptly and was great. Entrees took so long our waitress comped a second glass of wine. We liked the hotel.

Deligvhtful waitress. Very nice sole with mushroom risotto. Very nice chocolate cake and ice cream. Really nice porter. Very nice surroundings.

Food was good but not great for the price. Had 2 drinks at the bar before being seated in the dining room - $40, with tax and tip, for 2 drinks is pretty steep - even worse than San Francisco prices!

Beautiful historic Benbow. Old charm new flavor fresh air natural wonders.

Every year that my husband and I visit is better than ever. This year was no exception. The service was perfect, professional but warm and friendly and our food exceeded all expectations. Thank you, Benbow for another fantastic anniversary.

The Benbow Inn and Restaurant are truly Hidden Jewels. The rooms are spacious and comfortable plus the food is fantastic. The entire staff was friendly and accommodating!! An unbeatable combination!! We highly recommend staying and eating at this great vacation spot!!

Great food and great service. We had a wonderful dinner.

To Whom it may Concern,
We had visited the Benbow In 25 yrs ago and had lunch with relatives on the patio. Lovely experience. 2nd time with our daughter and had a wonderful experience again for lunch and we camped there.
This experience when we arrived for 2 nights on Fri. Sept. 13th for 2 nights. 2 rooms. Because we were treating my daughter and her husband, who had never been to see the Redwoods, because they were celebrating their 11 th anniversary. Their name Curtis and Kerrigan Diehl.
When we were checking in we were told the Elevator just went out......my daughter and her husbands room were on the 4th floor. I thought I had made reservation for them to have rm with 2 queen beds, however the rm was 1 queen. My daughter has a back condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis so the climb to and from the 4th was taxing for her.
I have Psoritatic Arthritis so the climb down to the lower floor to our rm that we pd over $ 400.00 per night, was lovely. Patio was wonderful to have drinks with the kids before dinners. Disappointment for the rm was the coffee maker didn't work and there was no hair dryer. I did not bother calling for new coffee maker , or a hair dryer .
1st night for dinner on the patio was special . Beautiful evening.When we viewed the menu I said I know what in want ... Lamb Shanks. My husband said let's get Crab Cakes for an appetizer.
The waitress came and informed us we are out of Lamb Shanks and Crab . So my son-in -law and I ordered
Coq en Vin. Husband and daughter ordered Salmon. The waitress asked them how they wanted it cooked ??? Never had anyone ever ask that question for Salmon.
Waitress came back and said they were out of the Coq en Vin well. Son in law ordered something else and I said, nothing for me. My husband and daughter had to send their Salmon back because it was raw and only warm. recooked but still undercooked. The manager took the 2 salmon dinners off the bill. He was extremely a nice guy .
Dinner 2nd night,was lovely.
C.D.

Dining at the Benbow can be hit and miss. This occasion was definitely a hit. Food although pricy was very good. We sat on the patio and enjoyed a beautiful summer evening with a couple of musicians playing great tunes in the background.

Terrific restaurant in the heart of the mountains, just a few miles before Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Great food, with creativity (like Carribean curry inspired sauce for a fresh true crabcake) and precision (like the perfect medium-rare on a 12-ounce ribeye). Surprisingly good wine list and very well-trained staff. Good stuff! Special thanks to Latoya, our skillful and caring server.

Overall I’d say our experience was average considering this is suppose to be “fine dining.” I worked as a waiter in fine dining back in college and can say for certain our experience was not fine dining, not to mention, the food did not justify the pricing.

The host was not friendly and seemed confused, the waiter was not attentive, restaurant was full of flies due to doors being left open to the patio and the food was heavy on the sauce, plus salty.

I loved our two nights at Benbow Inn, however drove to Garberville for brunch both days and dinner on day two.

Servers don’t know menu. Have to read from script. Bar manager young person not politically correct. Patronizing. Not worth the price

The Inn was fine but the food at the restaurant was horrible and way overpriced. My beet and arugula salad was $19! It had 2 tiny bits of goat cheese and the beets were swimming in sweetened sauce! Not at all nice! The crab cake was over cooked and drenched in a curry sauce with over cooked vegetables around it. My husband’s crab soup was gritty and tasted of raw flour (thicker perhaps?). The bar got my drunk order wrong (double G &T with extra lime - should not have been too hard! There were a lot of flies at the outdoor seating, but the live music (keyboard and saxophone) was pleasant! Overall a horrible meal that cost a fortune! Do not eat here!

I would recommend the hotel, not sure about the restaurant. Breakfast was pretty awful although the service was decent. Dinner was 50-50. Husband's dinner was great (ciopino) but my salmon was nearly tasteless and had what appeared to me to be canned asparagus. Peculiar. Also, service for dinner was very very slow for us...we were there for over 2 hours. Fortunately it's a lovely setting but still it doesn't feel good to be ignored.

It was a wonderful meal in a beautiful setting! And the service was excellent also!

Benbow Historic Inn outdoor patio is a lovely place to dine! Server Latoya was very professional, kind, and efficient! Support staff is always helpful! And the food was delicious! Thank you!

Amazing place, fantastic atmosphere. Some things were spot on, others were good. Tomato salad was tasty, mushroom soup was delish. Monk fish really good but a little over salted. The old fashioned was disappointing definitely not the classic drink you'd expect from an historic bar. We'll be back but will order simpler drinks.

Dining room was very dusty, cobwebs in the corners and adequate, but not special, dishes. The ambiance is certainly not ‘casual elegance’ with quite a few folks from the campground visiting the hotel for meals.

Set you expectations appropriately.

We ate on the outside deck area, and the weather was perfect, lovely summer evening, could not have been better. The menu has a wide range of choices, service was quick and efficient (almost always), and when delivered, the meals were all excellent. There is also an outstanding wine list for those of that persuasion. Our whole party greatly enjoyed the meal and the evening.

Amazing location, great food. All service was very off. From the hostess to the server to the bus boys, Just not trained well. But still had a nice experience

Came in for Dinner
Had a great time
Live music and good cocktails
Food was excellent

The service was amazing and the food was beyond my expectations. It’s definitely worth it.

Has a very very limited menu my steak was cooked all right it was just tossed on a mountain of mashed potatoes with some sauce on it and I had requested no sauce but my wife had to cioppino what she enjoyed.

Lots of potential. Can’t order lunch after 2PM.
Room for improvement. Rueben sandwich is decent.

Unfortunately our server was poor. And, breakfast the next morning was not that much better.

The Benbow Inn did not have our reservation (made several weeks before, and confirmation the day before. I had confirmation paper in hand, so after saying they were full, they offered to seat us if we would eat earlier than the time confirmed. Then the waiter assumed that we were staying at the hotel and did not ask for a credit card. I signed the papers that were brought and we left. The waiter had to chase us to get a cc imprint. All confusing and distracting from my husband's 89th birthday dinner.

Exquisite ambiance. Beautiful outdoor setting. Historic old world inn and old world hospitality. Loved the spaced-out tables and low-keyed quiet atmosphere. Nice change from crowded and noisy modern restaurants. Service was elegant. Prices reasonable. Rack of lamb and suggested wine pairing - to die for. Bread pudding - awesome. Memorable occasion to celebrate 25th anniversary.

Gorgeous dining area in an old historic hotel. Indoor and outdoor tables surrounded by history and natural beauty. The food and service were secondary, and were all good.

We have stayed at the Benbow Hotel 3 times over the last 10 years. It is a wonderful old hotel, not a motel or bed and breakfast, but a elegant, comfortable, great, yes great hotel. the dining room is medium sized with white table clothes and napkins on nice old tables. The walls are white with dark wood trim from the twenties,arts and craft style. The food was outstanding, partly because they had a separate vegan menu. It was served promptly and as ordered to our taste. An excellent bottle of wine went with the meal. Breakfast the next morning was as expected a delightful experience. Plenty of delicious coffee with the cup never running low. Vegan oatmeal with warm soy for my wife. Highly recommended over night or weekend stay.

The Benbow inn is a national historic location as such has character. It was fun, highly recommend.

Dinner was good with a very limited menu and good waiter. Breakfast the next day was a disgrace. Serving undercooked oatmeal and soggy pancakes with 5 blueberries and a 1/4 strawberry calling it " with fruit" was an insult. The hotel itself should be avoided for anyone who has trouble with stairs. Overall a very disappointing place that does not live up to it's self proclaimed hype.

Appetizers and Entrees were very expensive and really not that great, certainly they were quite overpriced for the value received as the were not well executed

The food was pretty good. However, the menu needs updating. I do not eat much red meat. This menu was heavy on red meat. The only chicken dish had ham in it!! The fish was farm raised and the vegetarian courses were all starch. I think that the chef needs to develop a better light end menu.

We ate there twice, once just the two of us and once with another couple and three children. Sat outside on the patio and both meals were delightful. Highly recommend sitting outside if you can, it's quiet, romantic, beautiful setting. Steelhead trout perfectly cooked, nice pasta dish, one of my salads was overdressed but the Caesar wasn't. Children's menu made the kids (and adults) happy. Very nice wine list. If you don't go here expecting to find 5-star food and service, but see it as very lucky find in the middle of nowhere, you'll enjoy it as much as we did.

This is a wonderful special dinner place. We at on the outside terrace, it was beautiful. We thoroughly enjoyed out evening at the Benbow Inn!