Two icons in the Great Neck restaurant scene have come together to bring an elevated experience to diners at the Inn at Great Neck with the addition of Benny’s Sushi, melding the traditional fares offered by both.
“To now bring in to partner with Benny and have him here in our establishment with our restaurant and seeing the community coming and supporting, it’s a great feeling,” Nick Horn, general manager of the Inn at Great Neck, said.
The Inn at Great Neck’s restaurant, Marco Polo, is a casual restaurant that has been a staple in the Great Neck dining scene since opening its doors in 2022.
The Marco Polo has always offered an East meets West cuisine, blending traditional Italian and Asian dishes, but now it’s going even further through its new offering of sushi prepared by Great Neck’s renowned Chef Benny.
Chef Benny was previously rolling out sushi at Matsuya in Great Neck. But after closing and relocating to Roslyn earlier this year, he didn’t go along with the restaurant and instead stayed in Great Neck.
Now, the Inn at Great Neck’s Marco Polo features Benny’s Sushi as the two come together under this new partnership.
“He has such a huge following and has such great creativity,” Horn said.
While the sushi menu is its own, it resides at the newly built sushi bar inside Marco Polo.
Yet every diner will be provided with two menus: the traditional one for Marco Polo and for Benny’s Sushi. This permits diners to order off whatever menu they want, even ordering dishes from both at once.
One unique dish is the antipasto sushi roll, which features fresh mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian meats all wrapped up to look like a sushi roll.
These fusion dishes are accompanied by traditional sushi rolls, including an omakase offering. Omakase translates to “I’ll leave it up to you,” and is a diverse offering of various sushi bites selected by the chef based on what is best that day. Sometimes, he’ll even make up a roll based on the customer’s taste.
“It’s probably the freshest sushi I’ve ever had,” Horn said.
Horn said the new partnership has “opened the door” for people who have not dined at Marco Polo and those Marco Polo frequenters who have never tried Benny’s offerings.
He called the partnership a “huge success” as they now look to see how they can further collaborate and expand their menu. Since hitting the table in April, Horn said momentum has been consistent since then.
“It’s been such an amazing experience and feedback from the community,” Horn said. “Benny has a following, so it was insane that first week we opened, or did that soft opening, of how many people were calling and emailing and saying, ‘Oh, my god, we can’t wait to see Benny.’”
Benny’s Sushi is offered Tuesday through Saturday when he rolls them out by hand himself.
