original benjamin's calabash seafood

terrible. like playing 3 times the price for golden coral food...aside from thecrablegs. mediocre at best.


-----31 may, 2011-----

like paying 3 times the price for golden coral food...aside from thecrablegs everything else was mediocre at best.

atmosphere is great, food is delicious and the service was amazing. the seafood is fresh and the all you can eatcrablegs was worth the money all by it's self!

this place was horrible. i will not pay my hard earned money for this bikini bottom food ok. only thing good is thecrablegs and they speak for themselves. over priced like hell but staff is nice.

don't be fooled by pint sized imitations or bad reviews that must be for other restaurants with a similar name. the pirate at the door looked as authentic as pirate can(at least as i would think one should look). this place was packed in the parking lot but everyone was being seated almost immediately, the hosts were great, and our waiter was ever present to quietly help without being a bother. there was no shortage of food and it was all fresh and hot. thecrablegs and prime rib were my personal favorites. and there was plenty of things a person who doesn't like seafood could eat too.

my husband & i always eat here when on vacation for our seafood night. so many choices of every kind of food. thecrablegs are great and many kinds of shrimp. they have a pasta bar also.

the idea of a seafood buffet is new to me. i had never been to one but my husband made us go here. he grew up going here every year so i figured i would give it a chance. it was a ridiculously long wait and there is no where near enough parking. once we finally got seated, the waiter was helpful and pleasant. he explained everything to me and sent us on our merry little way. there are definitely a lot of options at the buffet. but to make it worth my while - i just ate my body weight incrablegs. the 'butter' they have to dip the meat in is so good. my husband loved eating here too. i recommend it as long as you realize it's $32/person. while i know it is a seafood buffet, our total including tip (for 2 people and 1 soda) was $85. was it worth that much? i'm not sure personally but it's up to you to decide!

good service. seated right away. plenty of options but nothing spectacular. crabwas waterlogged, ribs were tough, fried shrimp was soggy. definitely didn't get our money's worth.

when deciding on a delicious feast to eat on your beach vacation, this should be your last choice. i think dining with satan would be more delightful than eating within the overly tacky decorated walls of this restaurant. in fact, they have spent more on their decor than they would ever consider spending on the quality of their food. as we ventured through the doorway of benjamin's, we were greeted by a nice gentleman who gave us mardi gras beads. i don't understand what these beads have to do with the theme of their restaurant, but it was a pleasant greeting. i do wish this man would have been handing out umbrellas. because as we waited in line, we had to navigate buckets which were placed in the middle of the path entering the restaurant. these buckets held old rainwater and air conditioning condensation. i guess perhaps it is an obstacle course before you attempt to stuff yourself at their buffet. we finally got to our table and were greeted by a pleasant server who is the only reason i am giving this restaurant 1 star rating. she did the best she could, and i think she knows deep down in heart this place is worse than hell. but she needs a job. and she did her job with a smile and always made sure we had refills and napkins. one by one, we made our way into what i think dante referred to as the 9th circle of hell. this is a cramped, poorly designed buffet area. lines snaked around recently thawed out frozen seafood, side dishes, and desserts. they do havecrablegs, which i'm pretty sure came out of a box. frozen. shrimp tasted foul. if you like throwing down to get your dinner, then you might give this place two stars. i don't like fighting for my food. will never come back.

good seafood, plenty of options! great friendly staff and i loved thecrablegs! would recommend for a buffet, which normally i do not enjoy since the food is made in bulk and the waste is probably astronomical, however this place was well kept and almost an event in itself! the offseason was a good time to try as i heard the wait can stretch from an hour +

great food, great service! we were met at the door by a very friendly "pirate" whom my son (3 yrs old) loved (probably because he gave him "treasure"). we waited aprroximately 5 minutes to be seated. the host was very friendly and the waitress was one of the best we've had. she even brought steaming hotcrablegs from the buffet. it was an exceptional experience! i've seen a few bad reviews but i think they are probably from the type of people who can't be pleased. if you leave this restaurant unhappy, it's probably your fault. $31.95/adult, $11.99 / ages 5-12, $2.79 / under 5 (drinks not included in price)

here is an honest and accurate review.

the food is abundant and great. there are an absurd amount of choices ranging fromcrablegs,crabimperial, cajun salmon, and many other fishes, as well as a "cooked to order" pasta bar, prime rib, and some great desserts. it's not cheap at 31.95 per adult, but my wife and i felt we got more than our money's worth.

the only thing i would throw caution at if i was being honest, is the mass chaos that sometimes is present. the place seats 1000 people. i went to the buffet 9-10 times(getting plates for the kids), and sometimes i could go straight to the food, and sometimes there were lines that rivaled concert port-o-johns. if you don't mind saying "excuse me" a few times, this place is a must!!

we ate at both the top two buffets in myrtle beach and this one i must say beats captain george's, hands down. service was surprisingly excellent to be as busy as they were. with or without a coupon be prepared to spend roughly 30-33$ for adult buffet, 13$ for 6 and up , and $3 for kids under 4. seems to be the going price for ayce buffets here. captain george's was a little bit more but tip and all it cost $100.00 for the four of us at both places. go here, better items on buffet,crablegs are warm and the fried oysters are delicious.

wish i could turn back time. i wish i could turn back time and undo our decision to visit this restaurant. i paid $111.00 for a meal that was much less than mediocre. the atmosphere, decor, staff, and variety of food was amazing. unfortunately the taste was a complete let down. from the shrimp to thecrablegs to the dessert we were disappointed. i've had better food at a hospital cafeteria. save your money, it's not worth it!!

we went forcrablegs and were not disappointed! big, juicy, full of meat! $29.99 but well worth the money. can't speak of the other food but saw plenty of things to choose from. will be going back.

i am a certified chef and a hard critic as well. from the start the hostess was nice and took our reservation for six on a wednesday night and was told it would be a 45 minute wait. the reason being there was two coach busses just leaving. the wait was extremely less then projected, which from the start is a plus.

from this point the hostess took our party to our table, explaining where restrooms were and how the buffet is set up, again another plus. also another advantage, the restaurant didn't smell of gross fish, like you find when walking in restaurants such as red lobster. as we were seated, we were given a basket of sweetened hush puppies, taste like a donut, was absolutely amazing.

our server, lorna, was the absolute best. she was attentive and friendly.

now onto the food. from a chefs prospective, this is the best buffet i've been to. the seafood is fresh, flavorful, juicy, tender. the food is amazing. the mussels where perfectly seasoned and cooked, and for a buffet mussels are difficult to not over cook. for thecrablegs the chef hands you three clusters ofcrabat a time. definitely enough to keep you busy for awhile. i was extremely impressed with how delicious the food was, especially for being a buffet. only complaint is that the plates aren't big enough, for i'm one who likes to get one of everything.

time for dessert. all items are make in-house in their bakery. the items were delicious! i have no complaint on food at this restaurant.

now lets talk about pricing. the cost is $30 a person. why? seafood is an expensive product, especially with the selection they have, the price is extremely reasonable. now if you are one who is a picky eater or doesn't like seafood, then perhaps you may not feel the price was worth it. i see reviews of how it's too expensive and expect more. hello!!! this is a seafood buffet! buffet = all you can eat! if you want seafood, expect to pay a good price. and if you are more worried about the price instead of great food, there's a mcdonald's in the area, get a mcfilet. and again, for being a buffet, this place exceeded all expectations.

i can't help but to strict down all the ridiculous complainers on here:

some say the fried seafood tastes the same. well no duh. if you fry something, it's going taste like grease and breading. what do you expect?

another complain people say is about the price. let me put it this way. you pay $30 for all you can eat. if you go to a restaurant with an a la carte menu (pay for individual items or entrees like red lobster) how much will you pay for that one entree? about the same? if you don't want to pay for great food, go somewhere else.

this restaurant, from a certified chef perspective, receive the best review i have given any restaurant. i highly recommend this restaurant. a+++