We had family in town for Christmas and were so excited to bring them to the Benson for Christmas dinner. We heard the Jazz piano player was wonderful (which she was) and the holiday decorations were beautiful (which they were). Sadly the service was horrible and the food less than mediocre. We had made reservations in advance for dinner in the lounge. We sat down wondering if we were in the wrong place and inquired with our server. We explained we were there for Christmas dinner. For some reason she was immediately rude and did not want to share a wine/beer/drink menu. In addition she did not want to be bothered explaining the set 'Christmas Dinner' with us. So, while we were figuring out the menu for ourselves we asked for bread. She said she could not bring bread unless we ordered food first. (I could not believe this since we had already ordered and were served drinks, and we were obviously ordering dinner) We ordered soup, salad and entrees. Everything came at once. The crab salad was good as was the corn chowder. However, the prime rib (for $50) was not good. It was dry...like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for hours.. Huge waste of money! Still, the most disheartening part of the whole experience was not the food, but the waitress. She was beyond rude. She totally ignored our table. We could barely even get her to give us the time for our check. Too bad for her and The Benson, because it was Christmas and we were more than ready for spend a few more dollars on drinks and dessert. We finally got our check and had to request someone else process it as she continued to ignore us. Without a word we left a 10% tip and walked out the door. I have heard great things about The Benson, and I know it has a wonderful history in Portland. Unfortunately, I will not eat there again nor would I recommend any family or friends to eat there. I know it was only one experience...but come on, it was Christmas.
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