Benchmark Restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Excellent experience- great food and service!

A wonderful culinary experience! Highly recommend.

Food was fantastic, presentation remarkable, service above and beyond. Only one complaint the parking. Parking: Only 2 disabled parking spots and not easy access to restaurant for anyone with a mobility problem.

What a lovely treasure to have here in Niagara . The food was amazing, service exceptional! I was able to enjoy a glass of NC Chardonnay with my meal . 5 star +++++

Thankyou for our amazing lunch at Benchmark today. Compliments to the creative kitchen team. The food, the wine was top notch. The front staff, particularly Ethan, was welcoming and attentive. A wonderful culinary experience. Thanks again.

Our club group consisted of 10 persons and we chose from two set menus. I loved the ambiance, food, drinks and company. The waiters were very efficient, courteous and impressively brought everyone s food at the same time. The food presentation was lovely and everyone enjoyed their meal. I definitely recommend this restaurant.

Our server and all front of the house staff were excellent. The food was absolutely delicious. A delectable amuse-bouche, followed by a wonderful choice of starters and main course. The short rib melted in your mouth. The desserts were perfect. I would highly recommend Benchmark.

Excellent! Randomly stumbled upon this place and so glad we did! Food is so good, taste is excellent, presentation is phenomenal and lovely service! Fixed price menu lunch is completely worth the price.

Just had lunch at the Benchmark restaurant. Great service, outstanding food. Highly recommended. Parking: You need to register online in advance for free parking.

Went there for lunch with family, food was excellent. Unexpected gem in the area!

Fantastic restaurant, wonderful service and the food was amazing. Really beautiful ambiance. Looking forward to our next luncheon there.

The three course meal was very good, excellent presentation and well priced.

My partner & I had the pleasure of having their special 6 course Valentine s Day dinner with wine pairing from NC. Everything was great. Will definitely be looking for other dinner specials the will be holding.

Tried their pizza pop up Definitely fresh and tasty. My only comment..the crust was chewy and soft. It would have been great to have a little crunch to the crust. But you cant beat the price! 12 dollars Check em out when they another pop up.

A refreshing experience in an interesting location , tasty food,and staff that provide great service.

Best food ever! Will come back again :)

Lovely lunch date with hubby - food was exceptional. We had the 3 course prix fixe menu for $40pp and it was well.worth the price. This included appetizer (we both had the butternut squash bisque), main (we both had the steak frites) and dessert (both had the apple tart). I also had a glass of Pinot Noir (made by the college) and hubs had the cider (also made by the college). Highly recommend this restaurant. Parking: There is free parking for restaurant goers

Great food & service.

Good food and local wine and brewery

Very cozy and nice restaurant. We love their menu as they update it with food in season so the quality is very good.

Is a little expensive but is run by students. The food was delicious and the service/servers were great. The atmosphere is really cool too, the restaurant is almost a hexagonal shape and all windows, very neat. If Im in the area again I will be returning.

Great restaurant with passionate staff. Highly recommend the food and atmosphere.

Great teaching restaurant. They ve redone their menu concept so it is now a la carte, which I think works better for them. Great value and a nice menu, ranges from sandwiches and pizza to nice entrees. Good place to go with a group. Only caveat is things can be a bit slower as it is still a school, but if you re in for a nice leisurely meal it s a great find in the Niagara region.

Always a pleasant spot to eat, all in-house fresh ingredients, family friendly and decently priced for the area!

Great food, and an exceptional wine list. The service is amazing for a teaching environment and has lots of Iof local homemade options. Would highly recommend.

Very good food and prices. Its a supervised teaching restaurant, so the service is excellent. The view of the escarpment in the fall is also a bonus. My only complaint is that if you go regularly, the menu can remain the same for quite a few months.

This place was so NICE and the food was AMAZING I would definitely recommend this to everyone We will be going back

Both, the food and the service are amazing. I wouldnt mind driving all the way there from Toronto for dinner.

Tasty food and great service

A first class restaurant in Niagara for the foodie. Located at the Niagara College campus in Niagara on the Lake.

Such a delicious Sunday lunch to end our weekend of wine tasting! Beautiful restaurant with incredible views, and the food was fantastic to boot! I would highly recommend (for the wine too - very nice, especially their 2016 Viognier!

Great place to eat and great food!

Great food. Beautiful view. Suggest trying a few wines or beers at the tasting centres before dinner to make it a truly amazing experience.

Today I went to Bench and asked for helping because I have no idea on what their meal be like. Cashiers there really friendly and helpful by showing me the pictures of their Monday lunch meals so I can decide what I want. And I got the Sausage fries which is delicious with its sauce. Will be back and try more lunch options.

Excellent food.....very nice restaurant

Loved evrything about this place! Service and food is excellent!

So-so food with high prices. Meh.

Great Place, Good food

I Looked around for a place for lunch when visiting Niagara on the Lake and we were lucky enough to get a reservation at Benchmark. Its refreshing to find a restaurant of this calibre considering some of the overpriced restaurants located in town and at the Winerys nearby. Its a beautiful space with soft unobtrusive music and tables spaced to give diners space. A good selection of both wines and beers produced at the College and neighbouring wineries and craft beer producers. It was my wifes birthday and she ordered the Duck which she pronounced to be the best shes ever had.I ordered the Lamb Cavatelli Bolognese which I found to be excellent. The portion sizes were in our opinion to be very generous. The quality of both our meals were excellent. Our server who called herself Mo was great and made our day really enjoyable . Fantastic dessert large enough to share. We will certainly be returning here as the students do a great job and the food excellent.

Good

I plan on going back. The setting is gorgeous, the drinks are fantastic, and there was actually a mothers day buffet with well-crafted tasty food. Also the staff was professional and courteous.

Excellent food quality, service and value for money. Delicious and beautifully presented Fogo Island cod. Interaction with the students and staff was an added bonus

Very impressed, excellent staff and food!

I attended Benchmark Restaurant for the second time with 4 neighbours. This is a lovely, large, 2 story round greenhouse feeling space enclosed in glass with wooden beamed ceilings. It is part of Niagara College Campus. Free parking for restaurant patrons. We were greeted by Mo who enriched and charmed all us ladies. He was our waiter and informed us he was, in training as a student and graduating the following week. Then going back to school for restaurant management degree. There is a varied lunch menu including sandwiches and main dishes. Started out with a delicious parsnip soup. 4 of us had it and enjoyed it. Food is prepared by students studying to be cooks, food preparers, etc. There is a gourmet flare to the food. Lunch with wine about $40.00. (including tax and tip). I had the crispy tofu with kale, salad, wilted red onions on a bed of rice which was delicious. The deserts were outstanding and enjoyed. Afterwards we took a tour of the greenhouses and another separate building for wine tasting and purchase of wine made on the premises at the teaching winery of Niagara College. I would recommend this resaurtant for a special occasion.

I ve been to this restaurant twice. Both times a great experience.

One of the finest dining experiences my wife and I have experienced in a while. Price, presentation, quality and service, all exceptional. Wont be our last visit

The service and food was excellent. Their creme brulee was absolutely delicious and it was very clear that the wait staff were working extra hard to provide a great experience.

This was a pleasant surprise food was great atmosphere and great friendly service it will easily be one of my favorite places to eat... it was beautiful and prices were very fair I highly recommend it!!!

Very good food and always a pleasant experience. The Bench to go is also great for grab and go food.

Excellent food prepared by students. Great value. Nice to support young learners too.

Great food and service, all by students. Get a former experience at student process

First time stopping at Benchmark from the highway before heading into Niagara. A lovely teaching restaurant offering food, beer and wine from the local college. Scallops were excellent, as was the chicken. Theres something for even picky eaters. Service provided by their student in front of house programs was very good. Wines and beer are on par with other Niagara establishments.

My go to lunch place on the way to Niagara area! Always a new menu and fresh ingredients. Great service!

The food was satisfactory.

Although this is a school restaurant, I think the food here is very delicious. I will come here every time I have a meal in school.

Always my first choice in the area. Never disappoints. Food quality and service are top notch. Superb value.

You will be pleasantly surprised!

A MUST GO TO PLACE! I had the best pasta of my life....yes, i am talking about the future too....i dont think anything will ever beat it! Amazing service by the students. Highly recommend this place.

Good food and nice selection of Niagara region wine.

Great place to eat and fancy food too.

Excellent food and great service. Everything ordered was top notch. Scallops, shrimp, etc. Will be going back soon.

Attended my nephews wedding here, the food was absolutely delicious, the ambiance was amazing, my absolute favourite was the ice tea it was the best tea I have ever had. The catering staff, servers, bartender went over and above to make this day outstanding. Thank you

Amazing experience. Loved the service, eating area, noise level (dome shape keeps noise low), food quality and value! Cant believe the large portions with the superb quality. Well be back.

This is a great restaurant on the Niagara College site. The food was excellent and the drinks amazing. The service was great. I know hotel and catering management courses like to talk about the meal experience and this place delivered the real deal.

Super nice place to eat great ambiance

Amazing! I have been to a number of colleges that have culinary programs but Benchmark beats them all. Delicious food, beautifully plated, fantastic wine list, and their cider is made on site and is a flavourful, dry, cider. We went for my Moms 90th birthday and our waitstaff were so welcoming and made her feel very special. The dessert menu was incredible. Benchmark is fantastic and I highly recommend it!

Went there hungry on a Friday evening expecting a fast service. The restaurant was about a half empty. The service was very slow. I guess they do not work for the tips. The menu selection was short; the food quality an average. Very nice food presentation. I expected more based on all the 5-star reviews below. I do recommend it for a glass of wine to enjoy the beautiful scenery around you.

One hour fifteen minutes until appetizer. Another half hour until entree. Way too long.

Good food but abysmal wait times. We wanted food, got excuses, waited nearly two hours to be served. All other tables around us received their food despite us being the third party to be seated right at opening time. Experience is part of dining, not just food.

Food was great. Beer was great. Service was great. Atmosphere was great. I really enjoyed my meal here. The Roasted Beet Salad was unlike anything I had before and was delicious.

Dinner was fabulous. Service was a little quiet. Our server was good but not super knowledgable on the beer and wine but knew enough to ask. The bread and honey butter was perfect. Delicious. I had the scallops.. a little oily for my taste but Im sure perfect for most every one else. My husband had the steak. Plate is cleaned and even got the hmm hmmm after the first bite which is high praise. Sitting eating and telling friends we need to come back.

Lovely place, delicious food I will go back

I have been there 3 times and have never been disappointed.

Excellent food, made by well trained students

Great food and good service. Local ingredients, VQA wines. Highly recommended.

We were excited to try this restaurant based on all of the amazing reviews. We love the farm to table concept with in house beer and wine options, and that all of the employees are Niagara College students. The service was excellent, but the food was honestly not great. We had the Digby Scallops (bland), Cavatelli Alfredo (bland), and the Duck Breast (good but not great). All of the food was only luke warm which, per previous reviews, is because they spend a lot of time on the plate presentation. Also note that its not easy to find the restaurant - it looked like it was empty and closed from the outside because the windows are tinted very dark.

Wonderful, unobtrusive service, excellent food and a great selection of brews and wines from the school. An absolute must if you are in the area. Even if not, well worth the drive.

This is the second time we have been here. Each time we had young children with us. The restaurant is quite accommodating to the dietary needs of our children. This visit being a time when there is only the Valentines menu, the kitchen that accommodate by providing additional childrens menu items. Christian, our server, was very attentive, polite and helpful. For the price point, we felt the food whats excellent. Favorite was the slow-roasted Angus striploin. It was extremely juicy and tender. Have a peek at the menu items that we posted from the Valentines menu. It was quite delicious. Highly recommended

Delicious beef hoagie. Hit and miss here but today they crushed it. Best Ive had in a while.

The Benchmark restaurant is inside the niagara on the lake campus its not a big restaurant but its really nice and clean. it serves alcohal also and diffrent kind of wine and specially there wine is really great coz they have their own brewery. they have kids menue too. I dont think that they have much options for vegetarians but ya you can find plenty of diffrent courses in non-vegetarian.

Great environment, super friendly staff. Good food. A little lean in the goat cheese and candied walnuts on beet salad and took awhile to get the food. Beer brewed in site was good. Waited Brandon M. Was great.

Good food for a quick grab

Very nice restaurant. Thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance, service by Nathan and Hannah . Food was delicious . Very calming touch to the nice evening.

Very fair price and nice environment. However the food we ordered taste very flat. Ordered the tempura squash and it is very crunchy/hard to eat (not fully cooked, taste like a very bad tempura yam). The seared cod and the duck breats also just taste like a hung of protein with not much flavour. The presentation of the food is stunning, drinks are good (that have their own brew) and their servicebis excellent. However I think the quality/taste of the food is important so I can only give a 3 star.....

Very good place to visit.

Always amazing food!

If you are in southern Ontario, Canada, and are looking for a great place to enjoy dinner, I highly recommend the Benchmark. Its run by culinary students from Niagara College....and jts wonderful. Great, inventive, tasty food and exceptional service.

Unique and beautiful setting, reasonable prices, great wine and the knowledge you are helping future culinary and food service professionals.

Always amazing food and staff. The students do so much work behind the scenes and do such a great job. The mothers day brunch is awesome too. I also love that they serve the student beers and wine.

Excellent food, excellent service, great ambiance.

Food is great. The service is slow and clumsy, but the students are learning.

Great resteraunt.

The food quality of this restaurant is fantastic, the service is always top knotch and the setting is second to none. You can stop and purchase beer or wine after your meal and the teaching aspect of all three makes this a very unique area to visit. As a graduate of Niagara College I am very proud of all 3 venues.

What is there not love about this place.....everhthing I ate was good.... The service was friendly (thanks Nicole) and fast.......must try! Parking is free and the establishment is wheelchair accessible.

Fresh, affordable food.

This is an amazing restaurant. We have been here a number of times. The majority of front and back staff are students from Niagara College and they are nothing less than extremely professional. The food Is amazing and comparable to fine dining restaurants. Would highly recommend Benchmark.

Thought it would be better since its a culinary school. Bread wasnt up to par. Dinner was ok. Service was good.

Great food at affordable prices

Ok for a teaching restaurant.

Unusual rotunda type building which contributes to positive ambiance. Food is good but not out of this world. Service was variable, started good and became less attentive as the evening progressed. Would suggest an earlier booking (our was for 8) otherwise you have to enjoy the spectacle of 5 or 6 students clattering about setting up the bain maries for the next days guests. I would say 7/10 for service and 6/10 for quality.

The food tastes good and they are friendly.

Very clean, quiet restaurant; delicious & reasonably priced meals; fast service and friendly staff. What else does a person need in a restaurant?

Delicious local food, very good service, extensive wine list. I strongly recommend you stop here if you are in Niagara-on-the-lake.

As usual the service, menu, food and drink were top notch at affordable prices. The staff even turned off the outside speaker on the patio so we could hear the atudent2 concert on campus.

The food was great and service was good - I was expecting a more fine dining experience but it really wasnt fancy... Great food and like I said the service was good. Also the prices are great.

Beautiful atmosphere

Amazingly great food and great service

Over priced for small portions. Food was decent but dont think wed come back all the way from Toronto when we can get food prices the same for better quality and quantity

Amazing

A must... stop in for a bite if visiting Niagara. The students put their heart and soul into their work. Food is amazing and can not brag enough about their wines.

Was too Pricey for the value... but great location.

Excellent food and service

Great food, excellent prices and service

very nice atmosphere

A bit pricey but great food and atmosphere.

Love eating here, Ive never had a bad meal, and the service is always friendly and engaging.

Nice

Disappointing. We were a group of 6, three of us ordered steak, and all three came out very overdone. A rare was completely grey and dry. Sent back, and the replacement steaks were hardly better, medium-well at best. Well priced wine selection, but the food was market priced, and very poorly cooked. We thought it would be nice to support the students, but youre better off visiting a winery and getting a meal from a competent cook for the same price.

Delicious food and lovely ambience!

A wonderful experience. We spent several days at the venue for CISO training. We enjoyed 3 lovely meals each day prepared and served by students with beer and wine all made on-site. A fantastic experience.

Excellent quality and service

Amazing food, I would definitely go back. A bit hard to find at night.

Excellent food. My only issue is that there are no signs from the road. Google takes you to the residences vs the actual restaurant. Put an arrow or 2 from the road so first timers know where to go.

Nice place and food

Great food, awesome service!

I would award it a Michelin star. (And yes, I have eaten at several Michelin-starred restaurants in New York and France, including a 3-starred one.)

Fantastic food and a beautiful location - food is seasonal and prepared beautifully. Be sure to tour the schools greenhouse and have a tasting at the brewery and winery.

Excellent food and excellent service!!!

Fabulous venue, options, food and service. Wish we lived closer.

Great concept! Beer and wine made at the college as well as the fresh organic greenhouse produce they use in their dishes. Awesome!

If you are in the area, you need to come here. Very high quality food and top notch drinks at very reasonable prices.

What a great experience! You sit in a beautiful little dining room, surrounded by windows and the crops of all the vegetable that will be on your plate. Farm to table at its finest and a fantastic beer and wine selection from the students. We could not understand why every table was not occupied on a Friday evening but will recommend this great college run restaurant

This is a good restaurant where the staff are students in the cullinary program at Niagara College. The food is very good with some imaginative dishes, and there are vegetarian and vegan options. The excellent draft beer is brewed by students (although they also carry bottled domestic beer for those who dont like craft brews). Prices are OK - $15 to $20 for an entree, $8-$10 for the interesting starters - bookings are mandatory. Great value, good experience.

we have the experience the dishes were as beautiful as they were good, several textures on the plate but, services a little long

We went with a group on the wine tour of Niagara College Wine Education Centre. The tour and the meal were superb. Its nice to know that the future of wine making and food preparation are in good hands. Next year, well take the brewery tour at NC and visit some local breweries as well.

Great place and patronage helps groom the next generation of chefs.

Ambiance was romantic and unique. The Benchmark Burger was out of this world incredible. The Benchmark Crispy Chicken Sandwich was also delicious. We ordered an extra side of the Lemon-Thyme Fries with the Triple Crunch Aioli because it was so scrumptious! Would absolutely return for both the burger and sandwich with the fries! (We didn t care for the Polenta Fries pictured in the middle)

Wonderful food .. Fantastic food .. Great atmosphere