A Review of Bensi Restaurant in North Brunswick, New Jersey

While visiting Princeton, New Jersey I wanted to try a new Italian restaurant, Bensi, in North Brunswick because a friend of my father's recommended it; however, I was disappointed and definitely would not recommend Bensi if you're looking for authentic Italian food.

Bensi is a modern restaurant chain that has interesting décor and the feel of a European hotel. Everything was decorated in black and red - very chic -and the wait-staff were young and attractive. The temperature of the restaurant was downright cold though; they had the air conditioning on full blast and it distracted from our experience because it's hard to enjoy your food when you're concentrating on keeping warm the entire time.

They have an extremely varied menu including pasta, pizza, salads, desserts, chicken, fish, steak, soup, appetizers, Calzones - which they call Zazones - and even a low fat menu and a children's menu. The menu is spectacular with large font for everyone to read and the pages are laminated with bright colors. Bensi also has an extensive alcohol list with several different types of martinis - obviously their specialty.

A loaf of freshly baked ciabatta is provided for free on every table and I must say it was really nice. The bread was crispy on the outside, and warm and fluffy on the inside. I dipped my bread into olive oil and black pepper but this is not something the waitress puts on the table - you have to do it yourself. We finished our bread basket pretty quickly and had no problem receiving more free bread.; They even have an employee just to provide bread! We were given water with ice and lemon at no charge, and I was pleased that they had cranberry juice - something a lot of restaurants do not have.