Jonathan Lee
A true Evanston staple. Bennison’s has been around for almost a century and has stayed true to its family-owned practices. The interior is small, but the bakery items are not. You’ll be treated to the fresh scent of bread, butter, coffee, and rich caramelization as soon as you walk through the doors marked by their bright neon sign. It’ll be hard to hold yourself back from choosing an item on every shelf. They have everything from croissants to cookies, macarons, donuts, Danishes, and more. You can also order online to pick up your order, but even when it’s busy, their ordering process is quick and efficient. Everything is freshly baked with love and attention. You can’t go wrong with their donuts and Danishes, but I still have so many other pastries to try.
If you’re around for Fat Thursday season, you’ll be lucky enough to taste their famous pączkis. I tried a raspberry one, which was stuffed with an insane amount of raspberry jelly and so delicious.
Another one of my favorites is their massive apple fritter; it’s apples and dough deep fried and covered in crispy glaze. What more could you ask for?
Their chocolate croissant was good as well, with soft layers lined with rich chocolate throughout.
I doubt you can find anything you won’t like at Bennison’s. I am positive it will continue to impress for generations of Evanstonians!
… moreAustin T
I needed something really fast, and this bakery did not disappoint! Service was friendly and they had a wide variety of pastries that all looked delicious!
… moreMarissa Vanecko
I live in the area and go here quite often – it’s such a lovely place! Warm inside with a variety of wonderful baked goods.
I’m actually surprised to see people complain about the price, I think they’re quite fair overall. They’re a local bakery serving treats daily since the 30’s. To me their pastries measure up! I haven’t had anything I didn’t like here: the custard morning buns are delicious, I’d highly recommend the caprese sandwich and my friends LOVED the petit fours and macaroons I brought for my birthday! And now it’s paczkis season! Can’t wait to head back in for more treats. ☺️
… moreS P
It’s an okay bakery. The food is decent but not something that makes me want to keep coming back. The service is weird – most of the employees don’t seem to want to work here, and so I never experienced a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. The store itself is charming and nicely decorated. Overall this is mostly somewhere I stop by for a quick grab-and-go pastry, nothing more, and not really a place I would recommend to friends and family compared to other bakeries.
… moreBen Guthrie
Went on a Saturday morning. Place was packed and there was nowhere to sit. Staff trying to herd people through.
Stated to set an understanding of the vibe. If you don’t like pressure or a little stress ordering, go somewhere with table service.
We had Paczkis and Croissants. The apricot and jalapeno+everything were stunningly good both as concepts and as end results.
Well worth the experience of trying to find a warm place to eat them.
… moreAndy & Lauren Petersen
The cutest little spot in Evanston ❤️ We ordered our wedding cake through Bennison’s, and they were wonderful to work with. I wanted a small, vintage cake for my husband and I to cut at our reception, and not only did the cake we picked up match my vision- it was also so, so delicious (we did a white cake with cherry jam). Thank you, Bennison’s!
… moreJason Franzke
Stopped by Bennison’s after seeing their very prominent and classic neon sign on the corner. The bakery really has an impressive selection of breads, cakes, cookies, and pastries available for purchase. I ended up getting a 6-pack of cheddar scallion biscuits (which were super delicious warmed up) and some Italian cookies. Everything was truly great and I will definitely be back again!
… moreDr. Ratna Chaudhary
A little over hyped. And it proved them right. The Monaco croissant sandwich was good. But the Cannoli, ooh full of sugar sans taste. Disappointed.
… moreT S
Gave it a lower score only because of the prices. I really want to support local businesses, happened to be in Evanston for an appointment so I stopped in. (Been here before). The prices are very, very high. (Guess I should expect that when there are no prices shown on the baked goods in the cases). The espresso was not very good (to my palate). The bakery is delicious, but at these prices I may choose somewhere else in the future and be very careful with my selections.
… moreVidhee Mittal
Bought an almond croissant and the flavor was yum. Service was awesome too..employees were very helpful with answering questions about items in display. Prices were reasonable for all items.
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