Bennie's Italian Foods

We were in town for a softball tournament and found this lovely gem. We had Alfredo fettuccini, mostaccoli with the house sauce, cordon blue chicken and it was all so good I didn’t even remember to take pics of the food. Definitely a must try and we will be back. Also our server was very sweet.

Web page looked good. When we walked in, I like the atmosphere. The staff was also very pleasant. Unfortunately though, their food just isn’t good. I’m a foodie so we ordered multiple things to try. The Italian roast (recommended )beef I only took 2 bites from. It was just bland, shredded beef with cheese. Not the favored, thin sliced, medium rare. The aus jus wasn’t bad. No Giardinera. Just a couple whole peppercini’s thrown on plate. Bread sticks weren’t bad. Marinara was sweet. Not my style. Alfredo sauce wasn’t bad. They didn’t have cheese dip. Fries were over cooked. Not going by looks, they’re season fries. Tasted horrible. My last hope was the pizza. I admit I’m a pizza snob. I prefer wood fired. This pizza was like eating on a stale cracker crust. I ate 1 piece. Horrible. I took home a salad for my wife. Added grilled chicken. She didn’t eat more than a couple bites. Said chicken was gross (probably frozen). The vinaigrette was yucky. Tossed it. We threw food away because nobody else would eat it. Munched on something else. Not sure how they stay open, other than it’s a small town. Not a lot of options. Menu I think is also too vast. Instead of focusing, a perfecting a limited amount of items, it’s all over the place. Italian, yet has tamales. An then stir fry??? Bill was $100. Tip $20.

Horrible customer service!! My daughter and I dined in here 7/28/25. We ordered a side salad, appetizer order of cheese breaks and a pasta to split. Our side salad comes out with pasta. No bread? We were told it takes a few extra minutes. No biggie. After waiting 25 minutes, it arrives after our pasta is cold. The waitress tells us she can take it off for our trouble. She says she will bring us a to go box for it. The manager walks out and says since we “decided to take it” we have to pay for it. Thank you for ruining my dinner and the environment here at Bennie’s. Managers name is Jennifer for future reference!! I do not recommend. We also came in while it was slow so being busy wasn’t an excuse. It also took 25 minutes for a check and to go box. Pathetic!

My wife and I stopped in before a nearby concert. We both had a great meal with attentive service despite it being super-busy. My wife is from the area so she'd been many times before and I'd been a few times myself. Our food and service was definitely on par with what we'd come to expect. Give this place a shot! It's pretty delicious.

My first time eating at Bennie's Italian Restaurant in Marion...but will not be the last! From the moment we walked in, it was a great experience. Our waitress, named Emma, was a professional. She was nice, positive, and extremely helpful. She listened to our interests and helped us to the perfect selection. I had the Spicy Sausage Alfredo. It was loaded with flavor and had the perfect blend of flavor. The chili mac, cheese tortellini, and bread & oil was also incredible. Already looking forward to my next visit!

Wonderful, clean and nicely decorated restaurant with a variety of entree choices. We were seated immediately and had our drinks quickly. Our server was very pleasant and friendly. The bread and olive oil Italian bread dip was perfect! Great flavor and the bread was fresh and soft. I had the baked manicotti and it was delicious. If you like cheese, you'll love this dish. My guest had the Rigatoni and said the bolognese sauce was fantastic. If you're in the mood for good pasta, come here instead of those commercial Italian places. You will not regret it.

Great gluten free options and the food was delicious! My family stopped by for dinner while on a roadtrip and we’ll definitely be back our next time we drive through. Our waitress was the best and ensured all of our food was cooked safely to avoid cross-contamination. All of the staff went out of their way to make contact with us and make us feel welcome.

Even though I grew up in Marion, I had somehow never eaten at Bennie's. Everyone in town talks about how good it is. Well, my 10 year old granddaughter wanted to go, so I FINALLY went. I was pretty excited to go! But unfortunately, I was very underwhelmed!! My granddaughter had Fettuccine Alfredo, which she LOVES! She loves it from everywhere. But she wasn't very crazy about theirs. I had mastcholi, and it was okay, but definitely not "great"! The flavors were not blended. It tasted like it had literally JUST been thrown together!

We visited around 7pm on a Saturday night. Almost every table was full, be we didn't have to wait to be seated. We did wait almost 10 minutes for a waitress to stop by the table to greet us and take our drink order, but again it was packed, so not a big deal. They serve you a basket of bread and a plate of oil for dipping when they bring your drinks out. The bread was very soft and fresh. We started with an order of toasted ravioli for the appetizer. We didn't realize that an order only comes with 5 raviolis. Since we had a party of three at the table, we placed a second order. It would be great for them to list in the menu how many comes in an order to prevent the wait for the second order to come out. For entrees, two of us had the Fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken, and the other had the Cannelloni Florentine. The food was good, as was the service.

I keep seeing people mentioning the tamales here on a facebook group. Seems strange for an Italian place, but we decided to give it a try. The restaurant is huge. It was past lunch when we were there so not many people, but I wouldn't worry on a weekend evening. We started with toasted ravioli. You get 5, which is less than most places, but ended up being just the right amount for an app. They do give you lots of meat sauce, and the sauce is very good. It has a very rich taste. I did order 2 tamales with chili snd cheese. They only have beef. They exceeded my expectations. Was only able to finish 1, but I liked it enough to order 3 frozen tamales as a take out. I guess this was the original product the first owner sold. I highly recommend them. My wife got the Mostaccioli. It had the same meat sauce as the app. So she was very happy with that. They also give plenty of sauce on the pasta dishes. The pasta its elf was over cooked and mushy, but at least had been drained well. We will for sure return.

The tamales are amazing as an appetizer, I wish I had 6 before dinner but decided against it, just 1. My waitress (Beth) was very knowledgeable on the menu and gave me a little background history about the restaurant. I really enjoyed the ambiance of the old building. I wish my wife was here to enjoy it with me.

Sad this has Italian in the name because it's the least from Italy. The food is very overwhelmingly American. The "host" a middle age woman with short hair whom I found out from the server is the owners wife needs to learn some people skills. She was very short and not friendly at all. Not the kind of greeting you want walking into a place you've never tried. Server was the sweetest and the bread and oil was good. Was just expecting more authentic Italian food.

I had never heard of this place. Since our previous delivery order with another restaurant was canceled, wifey and I decided to try them out. So, I'll get the negative part of my review out of the way. The wife did not like her order (ham & cheese sandwich, Italian Cream cake) AT ALL!!! Her sandwich had fried(?) ham and cheese on a sandwich bun. The very small piece of cake was almost $8. To her, Bennie's was not worth the cost. Now, for the positive part of my review. I enjoyed my meal. Italian Beef sandwich had good taste, and was meaty (needed some seasoning) with onions and Provolone (?) cheese. It also came with Au Jus, which I dipped my sandwich in. A very messy sandwich, but worth it. Meal also came with pepperoncinis. I also got a regular salad with Bennie's dressing. (Basically, it's watered down Italian dressing.) Still, it was good. The funny part is that it came in one of those small containers that Chinese food comes in. Overall, a meh dining experience, plus a little pricey for the small amount of food. I may order again (for just me).....if nothing else is available.

Best Food & Service in Southern Illinois!!! Long time favorite of everyone. Love it X infinity!

Idk who calls this Italian food not even close. we ordered a tamale it was different but edible. then came out the main dish which was Parmesan chicken crispy. Possibly one of the worse dishes I've had ever. Everything was Microwaved it wasnt even a chicken breast it was pieces of chicken the spaghetti wasn't al dente over cooked and probably microwaved and they just slouched some cheese on top. Never coming back we paid took off we couldn't leave the place fast enough. Not even my kids enjoyed it.

Stopped in for a birthday dinner. We had a gluten free person in our party and this place had gluten free pasta available. This place has dynamite garlic salad dressing! Gotta have a salad! The pasta dishes we had were Mediterranean, Salsiccia sausage, baked spaghetti with meatballs, and GF spicy Alfredo. All were really good. The spicy Alfredo was a tad salty but still good. This place is a good spot. We would go back.

Stopped in after long trip to try this place. Service was very fast and courteous. We tried the Moscato wine. I loved it probably one of the sweetest wines ever tasted Wife had the Shrimp Alfredo and I had the Veal Parmesan. Both was very good tasting. We also tried the salad supposed to be made with dressing and garlic. Lacking garlic in our opinion. We are big garlic fans. So salad a "no" The Garlic Toast bread was awesome ! But over all it was good food

This is THE place to get Italian food in Marion! The food is amazing! The servers are awesome. I always go try something new here every time, and every time I am very impressed with their food! The establishment is what you'd expect in an Italian restaurant, wood tables, decorations on the walls representing Italy

Not quite five stars but service was good, food was pretty good other than the salad was a little weird

Food and service were excellent. Portions were large. Really enjoyed the salad and there was plenty of shrimp in my dish! Hope yo get back there soon.

We stopped in mid afternoon for early dinner. Very nice restaurant. Good service and great pizza. I plan to go again when in the area. We had the deluxe pizza special.

Nice little local stop with a large menu. Was surprised to see they had a tamale, which was apparently a famous dish. It was great. As for the rest of the meal (I had the Alfredo Bistecca), it was just mediocre. The sauce was very runny and there was almost a liquid layer on top of the dish. If you go, definitely try a tamale or two!

No Pasta Fagioli, No Sausage and Peppers on the menu. Chili and tamales, yep for sure. This is not an Italian restaurant. The menu has Italian, American and lots of fried food. Ordered Sausage with Peppers, Spaghetti with marinara off menu. No Bread offered initially but came out with entree. Expectation was low due to menu options. Surprise! Delicious!

Bennie's is the best Italian restaurant in the entire state of Illinois with the friendliest owner. Great salad and the house dressing is a must (extra garlic) The place is a must if you want good food, the Italian cream cake is good to go so full of flavor and made with love.

Terrible service. Waitress appeared sick (kept sniffling) and didn't know the menu at all. Took our order wrong, but didn't try to make it right when we inquired about receiving only half of a meal. Charged us for items we didn't receive. When we inquired with a manager she to did not fix it. One of us ended up with a big ol bowl of grease for dinner. It was the worst restaurant experience we've had in awhile

Excellent food and excellent service. We were visiting relatives and found Bennie's on Yelp! It was a great decision as it is hard to please a group but no one was disappointed!! Highly recommend

Tonight I ordered spaghetti and Italian sausage with a Caesar salad. The sausage was disappointing because it tasted more like polish sausage than Italian sausage- a serious lack of seasoning. The food and service was satisfactory. The bread served with the olive oil prior to dinner was plain bread not toasted no garlic. This was a disappointment. This is a Fazoli's quality, which is sLightly above canned pasta such as spaghettio's. I feel liKe I'm beating this place up but it is what it is. I would recommend Bella Milano or even pasta house over this restaurant. Our waitress was attentive and timely . She did a good job.

Always great food and service! Our table had an Italian Beef salad, hamburger steak, and baked mostaccioli that were delicious.

Server was nice but all the food tasted microwaved. I got the cheese tortellini with Alfredo sauce. It was so salty and the pasta was chewy and hard at the same time somehow.

Known as the oldest restaurant in Marion, Bennie's has some of the best Italian in the area. The Italian Nachos are not your typical nachos but some of my favorite. The spaghetti is my wife's favorite in the area and she says the chili Mac is also one of her favorites. The service is hit and miss but more often has been good. Definitely worth trying if you haven't been here or you're trying to find somewhere to eat

The quality of food and service has really went downhill over the years. Two months ago me and the family popped in for dinner and I couldn't have been more disappointed. The atmosphere is dark and in need of updating. Ripped up carpet, broken tables, etc. We sat there 15 mins until we were seated. When we received our food I could not have been more disgusted. I ordered the chicken carbonara. It was a chopped up microwaved chicken patty with store bought watery sauce. The garlic bread was the frozen kind you can purchase at any grocery store in town. This was supposed to be authentic Italian cuisine. Thoroughly disappointed. Hoping they can get things back up to par for the sake of this local business.

I hadn't been to Bennie's in probably 17 years, as I moved to CO in 2008. Back visiting and remembered the garlic salad. It's still good! We ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo and baked spaghetti with 2 meatballs. Both were fine, but the spaghetti sauce was a little on the sweet side for my liking and the meatball aftertaste was reminiscent of chef boy r Dee. The Alfredo sauce could have been a bit richer and more garlicky. Nothing was bad, but just not great, other than the garlic salad.

Exceptional service! The food and atmosphere were fantastic. The seafood cannelloni is made to perfection and the chicken parm we made special request on and like all fantastic servers should say "we will make it until it is correct!" We look forward to dining here again soon.

First time here. Had lunch here today. We had the cheese bread as an appetizer. Delicious! Upon the recommendation of a friend, I ordered the Baked Mostaccioli. Excellent! I really enjoyed the food. And the service was great!

Good selection of Italian food with good service and fair price. Ambiance is old fashioned.

We are on the road for our 50th anniversary and my wife wanted spaghetti. So we stopped here . Here spaghetti was great. The service was great. My chicken fettuccini was very good . Will spend tomorrow with family- but enjoyed eating here.

Service and food is always great. I've eaten here countless times and you just can't go wrong!

Food is plain and very basic for such high cost. Portions are even small. Servers are rude and the overall service was pathetic the last 3 times we gave it a chance. Poor lighting and dingy atmosphere.

Great Italian food with a nice interior setting in downtown Marion walking distance from the square.

Great food good service wish they were open on sundays. Fave thing is the bread dip! And all you can eat spaghetti on Wednesday!

We had our mother's reception here after her funeral and It was lovely! Food, service, atmosphere, everything was perfect. My mom also loved their food. She would have been so pleased. They made a difficult day so much better. Highly recommend!!

Great Italian food. Nice environment! We had chicken parmigiana. Great! Fried mushrooms are good but nothing new. Bread they serve and dip us excellent.

We have enjoyed this restaurant for years. Family owned. I appreciate all the hard work the family did to stay open during Covid.

A small town, long operating, Italian place. I hadn't been in a few years, and walked in last Saturday night at 6:15 pm, to a half empty restaurant. I wish I had taken this as a signal that the place has slipped, and gone somewhere else. We had a cheesy bread sticks, a couple salads, vegetarian pizza, baked Mostaccioli, and an Italian beef sandwich with fries among us. Saw on Yelp people like the cheesy bread sticks, so we started with those. Bread sticks from a bag, you can get them at Kroger's, shredded cheese, and warmed up, without browning the cheese. They are bad, but, maybe the best part of the meal? The salads are iceberg lettuce, store bought dressing? They are dreadful. They don't even crisp the iceberg so it wasn't crunchy. The vegetarian pizza was delivered as a pepperoni pizza. Good grief. The pizza sure looked like the crust was purchased and not made? Same sauce as the pasta, same shredded cheese. The Italian beef was meat from a bag, bun from bag, no juice in dip in, no cheese option, pretty below average. The fries were just bad. The baked Mostaccioli was what I ordered. It is noodles from the grocery store, sauce from the grocery store, shreaded cheese from a bag, heated in a salamander. You can make this at home for almost nothing. They make nothing themselves. The building is worn, maintenance is bad, the bathroom smells of urine. The service is bad, just bad. You might have noticed that I think what is special in a restaurant is what they don't get off the back of a food service truck in a can? This restaurant doesn't make much of anything anymore, and it shows. I suspect this place can serve large groups, because they make nothing. Their kitchen just takes premade stuff and warms it up. For a party of 8 or more, assuming you don't mind bad service and below average food, maybe this would be OK? Once this was a good restaurant. Maybe there is new ownership, or maybe the owner just got old and doesn't care anymore? Unfortunately, there is nothing good enough to pay for here anymore. There are really good Italian places in Murphysboro and DuQuion, much better to give them your money, if you must have this kind of food. Never again.

Great service! The food was exceptionally good! You get a lot for the price. The house dressing was ver flavorful. We will definitely go back! They cater to the whole family!

It is very unfortunate that this is the only Italian place in Marion, the food quality is horrible, and the inside is so outdated. The sauce is watery and bland. This is the worst restaurant in Marion and I will never recommend it.

Super busy the night I went for the first time, prom/ homecoming!!! Food was fantastic and will be back for sure!!!

Positive: great prices, my entree was good (manicotti) frosted mugs, sat our group of 11 quickly. Negative: veal Parma was not good, veal was mushy. Meat Ball sandwich didn't come with sauce or cheese, just bread and 3 meat balls. Italian Nacho app was just chips, Italian beef and Alfredo sauce, so much more could be done with this by including Italian sausage, peppers, a little pasta and a mixed red and Alfredo. Only bottled beer, nothing on draft. All in all, it wasn't terrible, just have to be careful what you choose to order.

Great Italian food. Every pasta dish I've ordered has been superb! Their homemade Italian salad dressing is tasty but better have a mint afterwards for the garlic taste and smell.

I understand that Bennie's is an institution in Marion. However, my husband and I had the most unpleasant experience from start to finish. As we entered the restaurant, the place smelled bad and the carpet most definitely needs to be changed. The pasta was mushy and clumped together - meaning it was left in water too long or pre-cooked hours before serving plus improper storage. The oil used for the fried mushrooms was old and rancid. The cheese sticks were sad - frozen for a long time and burnt on the outside, undercooked on the inside. Let's not even talk about the "marinara" it came with. The service... Our waitress was very polite, but I felt that she did not know much about the food. Positive: being around and open for so long is amazing! I applaud this restairant's staying power in the community. Many people seem to like the food. I loved the random music they played, the homey ambience. Most of the staff were very polite and courteous. Suggestions: please pay attention to the food! Food costs change but a good preparation, careful planning, and a little variety never hurt anyone. Make sure your staff has seen and tasted every single item on the menu. Do what the customer says - food that is sent back is an opportunity and not a setback. Listen to your customers. Make your stuff in house. It is easy to make your own pasta, mozzarella, and breads. Yall have great potential, so concentrate on what matters: food, ambience, service even if it means to reduce some menu items. Keep building, be creative, make good food and present it well. I may return if I get a response from the restaurant.

Great parm! My husband had the chicken and I had the veal. It's served in an unusual way. The meat is cut up on the bottom, the pasta is heaped on, cheese is melted on the top. Strange, but still delicious

Pizza crust was soft and chewy, taste is very bland. Service was slow and inaccurate. Could have made better in my own kitchen.

Our family came here after a memorial service. There were close to 30 of us and EVERYONE enjoyed their meal. Our waitstaff, Ryan and Hailey, were just so sweet, attentive and helpful. I can't imagine how the kitchen staff managed it, but all our food came out about the same time (we were seated upstairs and only had the 2 waiters so it took a couple trips) hot and ready to go! Everyone commented on how delicious the food was and nice it was that we were able to go sit, eat and visit. Most everyone was from out of town and we don't get to see each other much, so having a nice semi-secluded place to catch up and feel homey was so lovely to have. Allie helped my mother-in-law organize the whole plan and she said over and over how helpful Allie was. I don't know when I will be back in the area again, but I fully intend to come back to Bennie's when I do!

My husband had baked tortellini and I ordered a small meat pizza. We split both. The meat sauce on the pasta was fantastic. The pizza crust was thin and crisp just like I like. We had actually just been driving by and it smelled so good we decided we had to stop and have a late lunch/early dinner. We will definitely be back.

Disregard any bad reviews this place is awesome the Italian beef is great, delicious, and yum yum. Driving across the country we went out of our way to catch this Illinois staple, Italian Beef, and boy did Bennie's deliver. Soft bread, good service, and the beef, moist and tender. Make Bennie's a stop.

We're driving from Kansas City, Missouri to Tallahassee, Florida, and "discovered" Bennie's as a result of our decision to call it a day in Marion, Illinois. What a treat! The entire experience was delightful. We each (spouse and myself) ordered the same thing, but the entire meal included: bread & herbed oil for the table, then we each had small Caesar salad, and the eggplant Parmesan, served over pasta. We also split a bottle of Malbec. Everything was wonderful, paced well, temperature of everything was perfectly as it should have been (eggplant parm in particular was piping hot - like it had been baking for an hour), presentation flawless. We arrived rather late (i.e., in the last hour of business before closing) but felt no rush, and felt very welcomed. Last but certainly not least, our server was Ashley, and she was absolutely delightful as well. Friendly, warm, charming, attentive, and very down to earth. I hope her management appreciates her as much if not more than we did, because she was a real "value added" to the whole experience. If you are in Marion at any point, stop in at Bennie's and enjoy!

It pains me to write this because one of my fondest memories of my childhood was visiting this place with my grandparents a few Friday's a month. This place has definitely gone downhill over the years. The sauces for the pastas taste like canned sauce. Honestly I've had canned sauce that tasted better than whatever they use. My pasta is always soupy every time I come here...regardless if its spaghetti, Alfredo, or tortellini. The garlic bread looks and tastes like typical frozen garlic toast. I just get the feeling that there's nothing authentic here. Not that I expect excellent, authentic Italian food in southern Illinois but I do expect an Italian restaurant that's not a fast food chain to serve something better than a jar of Prego sauce. The servers are normally friendly but it doesn't make this place worth coming back to. I've had better Italian food at Fazoli's and I'm not even a fan of Fazoli's!