The first time I went here I had a pretty terrible experience, but gave it a second chance and from top to bottom this place killed it. Good food and drinks!
Kevin Schmieder
We caught the Bench at an off time in the middle of a Saturday afternoon in Spring so we had no wait at all. The food and beer were all on point and the staff attentive and on point. Priced fairly for a resort area too. Definitely understand why it's so popular and would recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Adriana S
Good restaurant, very nice surprise. I really recommend the salmon
Bryan Doyon
Good food and fast service in a laid back atmosphere. We went for dinner and while there was a wait things moved quickly and we didn't wait as long as predicted. The service was prompt and friendly and the food came out quickly. Everything was hot and fresh and delicious. Their house made fries are excellent and they have some great spins on old classics. The place is family friendly with kids menus as well as a great selection of adult meals and drinks. A great place for a casual dinner.Kid-friendliness: Kid friendly place with a decent kids menu with the usual menu items.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: The Bench Burger
Valerie P
We have been wanting to try the Bench since the Fall . By the on line reviews it sounded amazing! Finally got there today excited to try some good food as we were both very hungry.Walked in to the restaurant at 4 pm to a half full seating area that was warm and inviting. However, we were seated in a very cold porch like room all by ourselves when there was visibly room for the the two of us at many two people table options in the warm main room for dining.Instead of asking if we could move we stayed in the cold room.I ordered the salmon tacos and my husband ordered the Buffalo Mac and cheese.I have never received tacos with such a minute amount of ingredients on them! Usually tacos are loaded up. Not these. If there was a tablespoon of coleslaw on the one inch by 3 inch sliver of salmon on them that would be a lot . There was also two slices of jalapeño peppers and a small sprinkle of cilantro on a smear of avacado crème fraiche . I had to tear off a lot of the tortilla just so I could taste the toppings with the salmon. So disappointing . My husband said his Buffalo Mac and cheese was good but not hot more like luke warm. It came in a small cast iron skillet and he said it did not fill him up.We love trying new restaurants and I rarely ever write a review . But was very disappointed . If I were a Chef , I would look at the plate I just fixed and would ask myself if I would like to receive the plate I was about to serve to a guest. This plate would have been a big NO! Wish I would have taken a photo to add to this review. ?
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 5
Thomas Baker
Amazing rack of ribs. Get the duck fries. My new favorite spot in town!Wheelchair accessibility: There is a wheel chair accessible ramp located in front of the building
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Duck Fat Fries
Georgia Wilhelmson
Nice casual atmosphere. Decent service. A good number of options on their menu.I was pleased with the fish, although I opted to substitute mashed (tasty!) for the chips. The coating on the haddock was nice and crispy. My friend was happy with her salmon tacos.I'd go there again if I were back in that area.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Avalon Nielsen
A friend and I had dinner here over the weekend. Overall, our experience was pretty basic. It’s clear they were overwhelmed from the influx of people for the eclipse and skiers for the late season snow. The mussel app was absolutely delicious and it is a must if you’re going here! It set unrealistic expectations for the rest of the meal. We both ordered different burgers off the menu, and while the toppings offered were good, both of our burgers were very over cooked. We both ordered medium rare and mine came out medium well at best and my friend’s well done. We both ordered a cocktail each, and both drinks were good. We didn’t received our drinks till after our app, which we had to ask the food runner to check on them. I would still recommend giving this place a try, especially for the mussel, but be cautious if they’re very busy. I believe our experience would have been much better if it weren’t as busy.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Wood Fired Roasted Mussels
Michael Small
Significant cut above your average ski town burger/comfort food joint in terms of quality for that food type. We were happy with our meals and would go again. Reasonably priced. Some kind of special vinegar fries were particularly good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shane Kieran
Bartender Kailee and Cute little Amelia the hostess did a marvelous job. Aboustly Marvelous. The food was delicious to the very last bite. Lick the plate clean kind of yumminess. Blue cheese ? burger ? ? all day all night long. I would highly recommend this place to anyone. Shane from
My new favorite restaurant in Stowe with an amazingly extensive local draft list. Every food item we ordered was delicious and we especially enjoyed how reasonably priced the half duck was. Servers were extremely friendly and attentive. Loved it so much we went back two days in a row!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
tricia nadeau
Delicious!! Excellent service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ravioli
Jonathan Kang
The food here was very good, but the service was far worse than mediocre. It was dismissive and discriminatory. Five of us dined together, and two of us ordered pizzas. We saw that the pizzas were ready, and sitting under the warmers. A few minutes passed, and we asked whether those pizzas were ours and if they could be served. Our server said “No, they aren’t.” We waited patiently as time passed, and now they had been sitting under the warmers for about 15 minutes. We asked again if they were our pizzas. She then said, “Ok, yes, they are yours, but we can’t serve them first. It messes all of us up if we don’t serve all the entrees together.” We were surprised and stayed silent. It was at that point that another member of our group noticed that our server was spending far more time visiting and chatting with guests at other tables than ours. All five of us are Asian, and everyone else that she was serving was Caucasian. Many times throughout the dinner, we noticed that she would make eye contact with us and turn her eyes away quickly and abruptly. The pizzas finally came together with the other entrees, and of course they were lukewarm. Our server continued to dismiss and ignore us as much as she could, while chatting with the Caucasian guests seated all around us. We tipped her and left, not because we received adequate service, but because we saw that we would not get anywhere with her. I would suggest that if you are Asian or a member any other minority ethnic group to avoid this restaurant. And don’t order the pizzas unless all of you are getting one.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
john lowry
This is a gem. Great service, the food is prepared with great attention to detail and pride and the prices are very reasonable. My wife and I ate here twice during our visit to Stowe having; a delicious wood fried pizza, juicy burgers cooked perfectly with excellent ingredients and wonderful fresh fries, ribs that were terrific on mash potatoes that could serve as their own meal, so good! Tough to go wrong in this wonderful place, a prime example that all the little details separate a chef from a good cook. Well done!
Recommended dishes: The Bench Burger
Jennifer Courtney
Everything was great. We had the Cuban pizza, duck fat fries, Caesar salad, and Mac and cheese. Great service as well even amongst our kids.
The first time I went here I had a pretty terrible experience, but gave it a second chance and from top to bottom this place killed it. Good food and drinks!
We caught the Bench at an off time in the middle of a Saturday afternoon in Spring so we had no wait at all. The food and beer were all on point and the staff attentive and on point. Priced fairly for a resort area too. Definitely understand why it's so popular and would recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good restaurant, very nice surprise. I really recommend the salmon
Good food and fast service in a laid back atmosphere. We went for dinner and while there was a wait things moved quickly and we didn't wait as long as predicted. The service was prompt and friendly and the food came out quickly. Everything was hot and fresh and delicious. Their house made fries are excellent and they have some great spins on old classics. The place is family friendly with kids menus as well as a great selection of adult meals and drinks. A great place for a casual dinner.Kid-friendliness: Kid friendly place with a decent kids menu with the usual menu items.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: The Bench Burger
We have been wanting to try the Bench since the Fall . By the on line reviews it sounded amazing! Finally got there today excited to try some good food as we were both very hungry.Walked in to the restaurant at 4 pm to a half full seating area that was warm and inviting. However, we were seated in a very cold porch like room all by ourselves when there was visibly room for the the two of us at many two people table options in the warm main room for dining.Instead of asking if we could move we stayed in the cold room.I ordered the salmon tacos and my husband ordered the Buffalo Mac and cheese.I have never received tacos with such a minute amount of ingredients on them! Usually tacos are loaded up. Not these. If there was a tablespoon of coleslaw on the one inch by 3 inch sliver of salmon on them that would be a lot . There was also two slices of jalapeño peppers and a small sprinkle of cilantro on a smear of avacado crème fraiche . I had to tear off a lot of the tortilla just so I could taste the toppings with the salmon. So disappointing . My husband said his Buffalo Mac and cheese was good but not hot more like luke warm. It came in a small cast iron skillet and he said it did not fill him up.We love trying new restaurants and I rarely ever write a review . But was very disappointed . If I were a Chef , I would look at the plate I just fixed and would ask myself if I would like to receive the plate I was about to serve to a guest. This plate would have been a big NO! Wish I would have taken a photo to add to this review. ?
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 5
Amazing rack of ribs. Get the duck fries. My new favorite spot in town!Wheelchair accessibility: There is a wheel chair accessible ramp located in front of the building
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Duck Fat Fries
Nice casual atmosphere. Decent service. A good number of options on their menu.I was pleased with the fish, although I opted to substitute mashed (tasty!) for the chips. The coating on the haddock was nice and crispy. My friend was happy with her salmon tacos.I'd go there again if I were back in that area.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
A friend and I had dinner here over the weekend. Overall, our experience was pretty basic. It’s clear they were overwhelmed from the influx of people for the eclipse and skiers for the late season snow. The mussel app was absolutely delicious and it is a must if you’re going here! It set unrealistic expectations for the rest of the meal. We both ordered different burgers off the menu, and while the toppings offered were good, both of our burgers were very over cooked. We both ordered medium rare and mine came out medium well at best and my friend’s well done. We both ordered a cocktail each, and both drinks were good. We didn’t received our drinks till after our app, which we had to ask the food runner to check on them. I would still recommend giving this place a try, especially for the mussel, but be cautious if they’re very busy. I believe our experience would have been much better if it weren’t as busy.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Wood Fired Roasted Mussels
Significant cut above your average ski town burger/comfort food joint in terms of quality for that food type. We were happy with our meals and would go again. Reasonably priced. Some kind of special vinegar fries were particularly good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bartender Kailee and Cute little Amelia the hostess did a marvelous job. Aboustly Marvelous. The food was delicious to the very last bite. Lick the plate clean kind of yumminess. Blue cheese ? burger ? ? all day all night long. I would highly recommend this place to anyone. Shane from
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: The Bench Burger
Restaurantji Recommends
My new favorite restaurant in Stowe with an amazingly extensive local draft list. Every food item we ordered was delicious and we especially enjoyed how reasonably priced the half duck was. Servers were extremely friendly and attentive. Loved it so much we went back two days in a row!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious!! Excellent service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ravioli
The food here was very good, but the service was far worse than mediocre. It was dismissive and discriminatory. Five of us dined together, and two of us ordered pizzas. We saw that the pizzas were ready, and sitting under the warmers. A few minutes passed, and we asked whether those pizzas were ours and if they could be served. Our server said “No, they aren’t.” We waited patiently as time passed, and now they had been sitting under the warmers for about 15 minutes. We asked again if they were our pizzas. She then said, “Ok, yes, they are yours, but we can’t serve them first. It messes all of us up if we don’t serve all the entrees together.” We were surprised and stayed silent. It was at that point that another member of our group noticed that our server was spending far more time visiting and chatting with guests at other tables than ours. All five of us are Asian, and everyone else that she was serving was Caucasian. Many times throughout the dinner, we noticed that she would make eye contact with us and turn her eyes away quickly and abruptly. The pizzas finally came together with the other entrees, and of course they were lukewarm. Our server continued to dismiss and ignore us as much as she could, while chatting with the Caucasian guests seated all around us. We tipped her and left, not because we received adequate service, but because we saw that we would not get anywhere with her. I would suggest that if you are Asian or a member any other minority ethnic group to avoid this restaurant. And don’t order the pizzas unless all of you are getting one.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
This is a gem. Great service, the food is prepared with great attention to detail and pride and the prices are very reasonable. My wife and I ate here twice during our visit to Stowe having; a delicious wood fried pizza, juicy burgers cooked perfectly with excellent ingredients and wonderful fresh fries, ribs that were terrific on mash potatoes that could serve as their own meal, so good! Tough to go wrong in this wonderful place, a prime example that all the little details separate a chef from a good cook. Well done!
Recommended dishes: The Bench Burger
Everything was great. We had the Cuban pizza, duck fat fries, Caesar salad, and Mac and cheese. Great service as well even amongst our kids.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5