Benihana

Made a reservation for 2 at 6:30pm on a Monday. We were seated literally about 3 minutes after we got into the restaurant. Our chef put on a good show but it was not like the other times I have been here. He had a dull, bored look on his face 80% of the time and looked like he didn’t really enjoy what he was doing. Other than that the food was pretty good and the service from our waitress was great.

have been to this location many many times but never have we had such slow service we did tonight! I don’t understand because that were seated before us and after us (different tables) were all helped, served and billed fast and out the door they went.

The only reason this place is getting 2 stars is because the food never disappoints but the service gets 0 stars!!! Today’s service was the worst! Messed up my order, and even took 45 minutes for my drinks! That’s ridiculous! You guys need to step up the service here.

Soooo. completely slipped my mind to write a review about this place. Went with a group of friends for valentines day lunch and i really enjoyed the whole experience. The place itself isnt in a very fancy location but i rated it high because the experience of seeing the chef cook the food right in front was great. Its def a place i would take someone for the experience. Food was nice warm but lacked spice which is kinda important for me. Excluding that bit, i would def recommend it.

It is highly recommended that you make a reservation for this place. I’ve been here before and knew that, but for some reason thought I’d chance it. After all, they have a good sushi bar and we could have had drinks and sushi while we waited as we have before. To our shock they were able to seat us immediately! They were busy and there were several parties waiting, but since the tables seat 8 we were able to squeeze in with a party of 6.
Our server was Jennifer. She is extremely sweet and very good at her job. Once we were all sat at the table she was there within seconds… not minutes. She asked about celebrations at the table, two of us were celebrating birthdays, myself and one person from the other party. Side note: be sure to sign up for their birthday club. I’ve been on it for years and never miss out on my $ 30 birthday coupon. She got our drink orders and back very quickly with our drinks and got our orders. The rest of the time she was like a ninja! We were drinking iced tea and never had to ask for a refill. Of course I never saw her refill them either (that’s where the ninja part comes in). Every time our glasses got down to less than half full they would magically refill! We never even saw her fill them.
On to the food… this is where the 4 stars comes in. The soup was a bit salty for my taste and the salad had a bit too much dressing. Other than that everything was very tasty!
Our cook was Kapena. I have never been more impressed with a cook at a teppan restaurant! I had worked in restaurants for over 20 years, so the first impressive thing I picked up on was that he asked each of us at the table if we wanted either of the sauces they serve with their meals. The reason I am impressed is because the first thing that came to mind was, «Wow! He doesn’t want to bother people with something they don’t want». The second thought was that he was saving his restaurant some food cost by not having to waste something people aren’t going to eat. He continued to do this for everything he cooked, including asking everyone if they were ok with each ingredient he was using starting with the chicken fried rice. He asked each of us that ordered it if we were ok with the salt & pepper seasoning on the chicken, the butter, etc… All I kept thinking with every question he asked was, «This guy is incredible!» I can’t help but wonder if some of the reason behind it was that he was being very conscientious of potential food allergies in addition to not wanting to put something on someones plate that they don’t like and aren’t going to eat. In addition to all of that he was very friendly and engaging in conversation.
This was by far the best experience I have had at this location! I highly recommend trying to get this combo of service, Jennifer and Kapena, when you go. They are both the best!

There’s nothing special about the food at benihana, but you come here for the experience. It’s entertaining to watch the chef’s cook. The steak and seafood are alright, but today I ordered the tuna steak and was not a huge fan. The tuna itself is fine, but the vinegrette that came with it was terrible and didnt match the flavor of the tuna. They’re better off pairing it with a simple ponzu. The strong vinegar flavor ruined the meal. Service was good as usual so I can’t complain about that.

Love the food the environment. Staff is friendly and they know there menu. I enjoy ordering take out.

This location may look small, but inside its actually a fairly good size. Back in 2009, I lived in the apartments right next to this Benihana… so this was where I had it for the first time.
I recently came back again for my wife’s birthday and we were able to get a last minute reservation with no problem.
During busy nights, the parking lot can easily get full and parking on the street nearby isn’t really an option either… so you may need to über of you live close!

Hubby and the kids took me here for my birthday and I enjoyed it. Service was great EXCEPT when we checked in. Our reservation was 5:45pm but we were early to beat the traffic. Came in no «hi» or any greetings. Told one of the girl our reservation is at 5:45pm and she asked «is all your party here?» Told her yes and that’s it! No other respond. The whole time she was stuck to the screen checking for our name I guess. While gathering menus, her demeanors were very nonchalant. At the table we were greeted with our server. Then the chef came out and did his thing. Food was great and perfect evening. First time to this location and I’m sure if we’ll be back.
They also email you $ 30 off with a purchase of an entrée at the chef’s table for your birthday if you sign up for it on their website. Sign the kids up and they a free mug when they order from the kids menu.

Great time celebrating my father in laws 90^th birthday.
Our server was Jemal who took extra care with my in laws. Was very very patient and understanding. Also our chef Martin did an excellent job. Everyone said the food was very tasty! Thanks for the great time !

What is a waitress to do?
When she thinks her customer is walking out on the bill.
I tipped the chef first since his service ended first. I had 2 giftcards but misplaced one in the car. Coincidentally the same time I needed to go to the car to get the giftcards my daughters needed to go to the restroom. I went the wrong way because I’m really not familiar with this location (I usually go to the Torrance location). Anyhow, the waiter asked politely if we were passing on desert. I explained to her they were going to the restroom and that I would be back because I needed to go to the car. When I returned her, the manager, and some other crew were clearly waiting for me to return. Long story short I get why she was suspicious. She apologized and I was ok but had to share the story. Despite the misunderstanding the service was great. *slightly raises eyebrows due to discomfort

Free birthday meal #4
Sign up for The Chef’s Table email to get a $ 30 gift certificate for your birthday month. It was time to use mine yee!
I love everything about Benihana. I only get a chance to come here a couple times a year.
1. Customer service = server always on there game. So helpful and attentive! Comedian cook Benny made this a fun food show with his quirky jokes and throwing food everywhere.
2. Food: soup, salad, seafood Diablo, fried zucchini/​onions, and vanilla ice cream. And of course, chicken fried rice is always sooo good!
At the end, they sang happy birthday, and got a complimentary ice cream with a keepsake photo. I’m so full and happy. Thanks Benihana; till we meet again ;)

I have been going to this particular Benihana location for the past few years. Service has always been with a huge smile and extremely friendly. I love celebrating my birthdays here or other friends’ birthdays here. The staff would sing to the birthday guest and snap a picture of your entire group and print it out for you too! You can also download the photo online with the special code on the photo. The food, on the other hand is amazing! I typically order a teppan dinner that includes a small side salad, onion soup, shrimp appetizer with caramelized onions, griddled zucchini and mushrooms. My favorite is the hibachi chicken, hibachi steak, or the surf and turf. But no matter what teppan dinner I order, you gotta order yourself chicken fried rice! It is one of my favorite chicken fried rice dishes ever! There are nights I dream about it and think about it. It is that good!
I have loved the chefs that work at this particular Benihana location. They are always so entertaining to showing off new tricks and using their personality to make their guests smile and laugh. The chefs cook your meal the way you want it to and watching them cook it, is the best part! You see how it’s made but done in such an entertaining way! And at the end, you get ice cream for dessert! I highly recommend this location but do make sure you have a reservation. They are always busy 7 days a week.

Best Chicken Fried Rice!
You probably already know that if you’ve been to Benihana. If not, then you’re missing out ^_​^. Cooked fresh in front of you with lots of garlic butter. The chef added extra garlic butter for me because it was my birthday.
Went to this location to celebrate my birthday with El Hubby and Mommy Cakes. We went on a Sunday and we were seated right away. They don’t take reservations, so it might be a long wait if they are busy.
Their food is served Teppanyaki style, which means cooking food on a large, hot steel grill attached to the center of the dining table. People can watch the chef make their food. It’s very entertaining! Our chef was funny and had a great sense of humor and made sure my we were pleased with the food.
They have chicken, steak and seafood in the menu. Every entrée comes with soup, salad, rice or fried rice and grilled onions and zucchini and a small ice cream for dessert. I had the FILET MINON with button mushrooms. It was cooked to my liking and I asked for extra garlic butter. So tender. So good. El Hubby had the COLOSSAL SHRIMP and my om had the AHI TUNA. Both were good too. The Ahi tuna came with a ponzu sauce, chopped avocado and fried onion on top.
Service was great. Our service was nice and attentive. They sang birthday song to me and took our photo. They wrote Happy 21^st Birthday on our pic. Sooo funny!
I’d definitely come back!

Dining at Benihana for my birthday has become an annual tradition, and it seems like it’s the same for many other people as you can hear the staff singing happy birthday at nearly every table throughout the night. Sign up for their e-​mails and you’ll get a $ 30 gift certificate for your birthday. Make sure you also make an appointment before you come because the wait times can be extremely long even on weekdays.
My favorite thing at Benihana is their chicken fried rice. Make sure to definitely upgrade your rice to the fried rice, it’ll definitely be worth it. Their hibachi chicken, my usual, is great as well. This time I ordered their filet mignon and I didn’t really expect much, but it was so delicious, tender, and it melted it my mouth. All their entrees come with salad, onion soup, shrimp, onions, and squash as an appetizer so you get plenty of food for your money. Our whole table got free ice cream as well to celebrate all the birthdays (there was 3 birthdays at our table).
Overall, friendly/​entertaining service and great food. They also give you a free photo if you’re celebrating a special occasion. Will definitely be back for the next birthday in my family! haha

If you ever end up at Benihana Anaheim and get Elias as your server and Noël as your chef, you’ll experience a great 5 star Benihana experience. While the long wait can be frustrating and reflect on this location’s 3 star average, this winning chef and server combo did all Benihanas justice. Noël was our chef and put on quite a show. Behind the back tricks, juggling rice, and comedy galore, he went above and beyond. Although he might have stumbled here and there on his performance, what mattered is that he was not afraid to do crazy tricks that other chefs would not attempt to try. Elias our server, was the most attentive I’ve seen a server could be at Benihana and was very accommodating, made sure drinks were filled at all times, and visited us often to make sure we were taken cared of.
As mentioned before, the wait at this location averages about an hour. To make it more frustrating, our party of 8 was told after having made a reservation and calling in, to just walk in and wait an hour, only to find out when we got there that we still had to wait 2 hours. The guy up front was also a bit rude. Luckily the service when we finally sat down was excellent.
If you have an hour to spare for the wait and get lucky with a chef like Noël, this experience is a must!

I’ve been coming to Benihana since I was a teen. Though, I’ve seen the same tricks over and over and do feel the menu need’s an upgrade or maybe a dish or two that changes each month… I still have lot’s of fun here with family and friends.
Without a doubt the deluxe treat is my go to for entrée’s. Good ol’ filet mignon with a lobster tail. Although this visit, the lobster wasn’t as flavorful as it usually is but nothing to completely bash. Besides the food, I love sitting with and talking to new people assuming my group isn’t occupying the entire grill. There’s also a different Chef cooking each time I visit so even though the tricks are the same, you get a different personality with his or her on jokes and humor.
I have lot’s a good memories here and believe Benihana is a good place for a meal on any occasion.
Dinner 11/​29/​2015

It taste better when it’s free. Join the Chef’s Table Birthday club to get your free dinner voucher for $ 30.00.
With so many different restaurants to choose from I only dine at Benihanas during my Birth month. I do enjoy Teppan and a good show but thru the years I’ve learned that dining at Benihanas can be a hit or miss.
The Newport Beach location I prefer over Anaheim since it has been more consistant with the quality of the food. When I do dine here I get the Oceans treasure which includes shrimp, scallops and Lobster tail plus an upgrade to fried rice. I have tried other combinations such as Land and Sea or Filet Mignon and Chicken.
Some shows have been really great while other shows could use improvement. However, the quality of the freshness is there and in regards to taste, I’ve enjoyed most of my dining experiences.
It can get pricey as most entrees are priced starting at $ 18+ for dinner. It’s always well worth it with a certificate or during lunch hours.
Overall, just with a little bit of improvement, Benihanas can be as good as they used to be.

I love Benihana, but the location I frequent is the one in LA, and apparently it is closed, so my BF and I decided to check out this location to celebrate his birthday since we are often in Anahiem, because we have Disneyland annual passes. Driving up to this restaurant, I liked that it included a big, free, self-​parking lot, which is awesome since I’m used the valet only parking lot at the LA location, so free here is awesome! We also noticed how this location looks a lot bigger, and I liked the exterior of the restaurant.
We got to the restaurant about 45 mins early so they recommended that we go to the bar for a HH drink (M-​F, from 4 – 7), and they gave us a pager. The small sake for HH was only $ 3, and they had an NBA game on, which made the 45 mins go by quickly. *TIP: Make reservations online. This is cool, since the LA location requires that you call to make a reservation.
Service was good, the servers came by frequently to refill our drinks and ask if we need anything. Our chef was entertaining, and the food was delicious, but the BF and I felt that the LA location had slightly better tasting food. We also noticed that my BF’s piece of chicken was about half the size of the chicken portion that I and another customer received, which we was kinda odd, since I know Benihana does a good job of portioning their servings. Also, the chicken was a bit dry. I definitely recommend the colossal shrimp, and also upgrade to the fried rice. I did like that location gives ice cream or sorbet after your meal, which the LA location does not do.

It’s hard not to love their food, but their service can be a hit or miss at times.
I’m pretty sure tons of people have mentioned this, but don’t forget to sign up for their Chef’s Table newsletter online. They give you a $ 30 certificate to use during the month of your birthday. You can use the voucher during dinner time, Monday through Thursday, as long as someone else is ordering a meal as well. Keep in mind it does take 2 to 3 days for the system to send out your email voucher, so sign up ahead of time.
I always book reservations through Open Table. Even though you book a reservation, you will most likely still have to wait for your table to be ready. The great thing is they have a bar right behind the check in area, so it’s a great way to grab a drink or a quick bite. Their white sake sangria is amazing!
Give yourself enough time to fully enjoy the experience, don’t go to the restaurant rushed. I’ve been here a couple of times and it’s always over an hour and a half, or more, experience.
Food: If you want the 4 or 5 course meals, expect about $ 23 to $ 45 per person plus tax and of course gratuity. I’ve never had an issue with their food, it’s always delicious. Order a lemonade, they’re amazing especially the passion fruit lemonade and they’re refillable!
Service: I’ve never had an issue with the chefs. On two occasions, I did get annoyed with service. It seems like some of them did not want to be there at all and their energy just ruins your dinner.
Other than a hit or miss service, everything else is great. Go with an empty stomach or else you’ll get full the minute you get to the actual entrée.