The Joe Benny Sicilian Cold Cut Sandwich
food
View from the front counter
Bar area
Orioles Party Punch
Welcome Back & Appreciation!
Pasta & Balls - Regular
Chicken Parm Sandwich
The Woo
Entrance.
THE RULES
Meatballs
Sicilian salad
Outside-Entrance
Inside
menu
The Fire Eater
Decor
The Big Woo
Meatballs
Meatballs
outside
Heather A.
Jan 25, 2025
So happy this place has reopened! The freaking meatballs are out of this world I could eat three bowls of them. Very good cocktails and the pizza was out of this world get the one with the goat cheese you won't be disappointed. And the servers are incredibly kind, funny and attentive. We love this place and wish we lived closer.
Read MoreAlisa H.
Aug 5, 2024
Joe Bennys was enjoyable. The atmosphere is small but nice. The service was excellent. We did love the meatballs with burrata and polenta this is a must. The focaccia pizza bread is good. But if you like a regular dough pizza verses pizza bread then it won't be your favorite. We ordered the baller focaccia it was tasty. However I prefer a regular traditional pizza over pizza bread. The drinks were good. I did the amaretto margarita. I wish lunch on a Sunday at noon was a better menu more of a Sunday dinner menu, as we love early Sunday dinners and I'm not a lunch fan on a Sunday.
Read MoreJon F.
Oct 22, 2023
Extremely bummed that Joe Benny's closed. They had the best focaccia I've ever had. It's thick, airy, fresh and has the perfect amount of crunch.I regret not coming here more often. The last time I came, I told myself I wouldn't wait so long to come back, and when I wanted to come back I find out they're closed. The optimist in me hopes this isn't permanent. Joe Benny's was an extremely lively spot. The last time we were here, our next door neighbor served us (we had no idea she worked here). Joe is one of a kind. I remember coming here when they were newly open and we had great conversation about the city of Baltimore. The next time we would talk about our love for Italy. The food is phenomenal, the space is cozy (bar seating in the front) and the people here are great. Being a huge Kobe fan, I did not expect Joe to create a Black Mamba focaccia honoring him. I guess it makes sense since Kobe grew up in Italy. That was super cool of him. Love this place and I really hope they come back.
Read MoreAhra J.
May 17, 2023
I know they're closing at the end of the month but worth some final 5 star reviews!We had been waiting years to go, we don't live in the area and the few times we made it up there, they ran out of food so we were forced to go elsewhere. We did have to wait a little over an hour but it was certainly worth the wait! We got 3 different pizzas (one was not what we ordered but still delicious) and wine. The pizzas are baked on a focaccia bread and it adds such depth and texture to the pizza. The outside is crunchy and the inside is soft and the amount of toppings to bread ratio has been perfected. Also loved that they cut into strips, making it easy to eat and it held together very well!I am sad I was only able to check out JB's once and more sad to see it go but wishing the staff and owners a bright future!
Read MoreAnita B.
Mar 14, 2023
Enjoyed the best balls on the block (beef and pork blend) topped with some burrata cheese, and paired with homemade focaccia bread. We loved the fiery eater pizza (torn pepperoni, pickled jalapeños, crushed pepper, mikes hot honey). Perfectly crispy, fluffy, and melty. Next time we'll get the chicken parm sandwich or joe Benny Italian sandwich, or meatball sub!Servers and bar tenders were friendly and greeted us when we entered. Also they have a hilarious menu with witty comments sprinkled throughout!!
Read MoreHeidi F.
Nov 19, 2022
I will be honest it took me a while to actually get to go here. I tried a few times in between the owner being on vacation and the store being very busy. I didn't get to try until now. I am so happy I kept trying! The pizza is delicious and there's many more than what are listed online. The hoagie stole the show for me. It was warm and offered soft bread and just plain delicious. This place gets packed quickly. We waited in line for about 30 minutes before they opened and were able to sit immediately. When I asked for water I got a bottle of water and was charged for it. Not a big deal. I just wish I knew ahead of time that was what was happening. This may have been because of the water problem in Baltimore City a few months back. I was very impressed with the meatball pizza and can't wait to try other items.
Read MoreSean W.
Nov 14, 2022
Amazing! Just flat out quality food, service, atmosphere. Everyone is treated with such kindness even when the staff are busy. I love the rules on the wall (every restaurant should have them). If you have never been there before I implore you to be patient, respectful and trust me that you are going to leave there more than satisfied.We waited about 45mins because they were so busy, but it was worth it( I would wait again lol) . The meatballs were tender, and savory. The bread is delicious, like you could just go there and eat the focaccia bread and be content lol. The menu has a ton of choices for pizzas. I even saw one pizza named after my favorite Basketball player Kobe Bryant!
Read MoreJacintha T.
Jun 5, 2023
Sad to report Joe closed his doors last week. Best balls in the town!Foccaia bread makes the pizza unique and delicious. Owned and operated by Joe himself. Yes he is in the kitchen. Bakes all the bread fresh daily and the ingredients are often local sourced. This was my cheers spot! #ThisFeedsMySoul
Read MoreBrad R.
May 11, 2023
TLDR: Amazing focaccia pizza and an unforgettable neighborhood atmosphere. Unfortunately they are closing their doors at the end of May 2023 for the time being. But it's not a goodbye for forever, but see you later! Vibe: 5/5. Located in the heart of Little Italy on S High Street, Joe Benny's is a small rowhome restaurant. Inside, the restaurant holds approximately 30 guests at any given time by way of the long bar top and a handful of 2 tops in the back dining room. Joe Benny's has that neighborhood watering hole vibe down solid. Because the place is so narrow, diners will be in close quarters with the staff and other guests at all times, but that's not exactly a bad thing. The kitchen is located right behind the bar out in the open, so you can watch all items being made from start to finish. Unfortunately, by the time I post this review, Joe Benny's will be in their last few weeks of operation as they are planning to close up shop at the end of May. Due to the imminent closing, demand has been through the roof, so expect to wait 1hr+ at peak hours. Fortunately, it has been said that the closing is only for the immediate future and Joe plans to make a comeback in some shape or form in the future. Service: 4/5. We went on a Wednesday at 4:45pm (they open at 5pm) and there was a line of 30+ people stretching down the sidewalk waiting for them to open. When Joe opened the doors at 5pm, he warmly greeted people and mentioned that the "service may suck" tonight because they are short on staff being it's their last few weeks in operation. My party of 2 missed the first seating, so we decided to wait via standing at the bar inside the restaurant. Joe mentioned it would be around an hour wait, and he was pretty much spot on with that estimate. In the meantime, we kept ourselves busy with a few sangria's as we stood in the background listening to the friendly banter between Joe and his patrons. When we were finally seated a little before 6pm, we already had our order ready to go so the staff promptly took our food and drink orders to get it started. Both the food and drinks came out faster than expected which helped justify the long wait. Small miss, but one of the pizzas we ordered was misunderstood during the ordering process and we received a different pizza then what we anticipated. They asked if we wanted to get a replacement made, but we were totally fine with the pie we received, and we wanted to get the next group of diners in behind us. Food: 5/5. In a sea of pizza restaurants offering up more or less the same things, Joe Benny's truly has something special. The focaccia style pizza just hits different than any Sicilian, Detroit or Chicago style pizza I have ever had. The focaccia provides this unbelievably pillowy yet crisp base for Joe's amazing sauce and toppings. One thing I definitely appreciated was the frequent use of burrata cheese in the pizza combinations. Of the three pies we ordered, our favorite was by far the crabby Joe and the sharini. The Crabby Joe was their take on a crab dip pizza, but a much superior version using homemade garlic sauce paired with lump crab. The Sharini used their famous homemade meatballs paired with a heaping dose of burrata and sauce. Simple by design, but an amazing combination of textures and flavors. There were several other pizzas on the menu we wanted to try, but for 2 very hungry people, 3 pizzas was borderline overkill. Overall, I highly suggest paying your respects to Joe Benny's for a dinner service before they shut their doors. You may have to wait, but that focaccia and family atmosphere makes it well worth it!
Read MoreElizabeth M.
Apr 8, 2022
My family and I came to Joe Benny's while they were in town for the weekend and had a great dinner. We got there fairly early for dinner and were seated right away. It's pretty small, so don't be surprised if there's a wait! I got the Fancy Nancy focaccia pizza (basil pesto, roasted eggplant, lemon whipped burrata, arugula tossed in balsamic). It was SO incredibly delicious. I love thick crust on pizza, so getting to eat all of these delicious toppings on focaccia bread was basically my dream pizza. They originally brought out the wrong pizza for me, so there was about a 15 minute delay between when my family got their pizza and when I got mine, but they were nice enough to waive the cost of my pizza from our bill! Best free pizza I've ever had.Can't wait to come back soon and try some other menu items!
Read More