Our first time eating here, and now we understand the hype. It's just hype, no actual reason for it.Atmosphere:I didn't eat at the actual hibachi, but ate at a table. The decor, and setting is nice, suitable for a date. Wouldn't call it too fancy, but nice.⚠️ Warning ⚠️: If you have any allergies, make sure to specify up front. We ordered our food, appropriate to my wife's allergies. The menu did not state that it came with shrimp, but both plates had shrimp on it. Mild cross contamination can be expected. But this is a major cross-contamination, and we could not eat it. Luckily they took it back and remade without any issue. But they should have noted on the meal that it had shrimp.Overall impression:We called, and did not get an answer. My wife booked a table online, and it was available immediately. When we showed up, the place was near empty. Should have been our cue to leave, but...Hostess will not unfriendly, but wasn't what I would call a good hostess. Set yourself wherever you like, and menus were just set out in a pile. Very casual for somewhere that is supposed to be "nice".Waitress was friendly, but not quite as attentive, as one would expect from a higher-end restaurant. I think the wait staff was a little under staffed.Bland bland bland... There is much better sushi in the area, and much better hibachi food. I did not go to the show, but sat down and at a table. Maybe the show makes it worth it, but that would have to be one impressive show, above any I've seen.Tuna roll: literally only seaweed, plain white rice, and little strips of tuna - the seaweed actually overs powers this tiny little roll. Taste more like eating seaweed and rice than it does an actual tuna roll. Very bland.Spicy tuna roll:Again plain white rice Rice, smallest sliver of cucumber, and what appears to be tuna paste, (maybe ground tuna?), and seaweed- Little spice, and little flavor. Luckily you can taste a hint of the tuna, and a hint of the seaweed, but overall very bland.Tuna hibachi:It's a good cut of tuna, but no added flavor. They threw onion, avocado, fried onion, edamame And what appears to be shredded carrot scraps. Kind of makes the flavor and texture all over the place, and confusing. Does not flow together. Everything is good in and of itself, but on the bland side. Together, I have no idea what they were thinking. Very disappointing.Chicken hibachi:Smells like it should have incredible flavor, but the taste is just weak. Maybe it's because the chicken was overcooked, and dry.Fried rice:rice was good on flavor, but a little dry and hard. Definitely not what I expected from a restaurant with this much hype.Steamed rice:Exactly that, steamed rice. Zero salt, zero flavor.Benihana's plum wine:Excellent, if all their food had this much flavor, I would understand the hype.My restaurant interpretation of the 5? rating system (feel free to use):1? = DUMP…. NEVER AGAIN I DON'T CARE IF IT IS FREE (wish there was a no star option). The food you would feed a prisoner, only if you didn’t like them.2? = Crap, fast food...... Only for If you are in a hurry, tight on $, and/or in a rush. (Think big chain places with $1 menu, not HORRIABLE, and sometimes a decent food comes out).3? = Okay, worth going on a regular, but has room to improve (Think frequent work lunch spot, Rarely less than Okay, usually Good to really good food)4? = Very good, favorite "common" places. Nothing EXCEPTIONAL. (Think casual date, Nicer Chain restaurants usually, occasional surprisingly good Fast food)5? = Reserved for EXTREMELY high quality and/or Exceptional, and Places that surprise me. (Think first date to impress, anniversary, special occasion) GREAT flavor, great food, ambiance, service, etc...I started using this because I don't like seeing standard restaurants with 5?. If I see 5? I expect more than standard. Also adjusted for type of business. Sit down restaurants are skewed and critiqued accordingly in comparison to fast food. My wife kept getting on to me for being too critical.D
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Shallen Rogers
I ordered steak hibachi to go and they basically gave me half a steak and it was the thin cheap steak, I also didn’t get but a small portion of rice and vegetables.I was charged extra for sauces and didn’t even get them and I spent almost $30. It was definitely not worth it!!!
Cotina Juniel
The Teriyaki Chicken was
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Paige McGaughy
food was amazing but it took nearly an hour after being seated with a reservation for a chef to arrive at the table.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Jerry Boone
Great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Glenn Harris
Loved it!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Edward Verser
Food was great!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jacob Henderson
So me and the family decided to try the Benihana in little rock because we have tried one that was amazing in Orlando, terriable choice we seated ourselves and as did everybody that sat at a table, but that's cool I didn't care a whole lot, but what got me is we sat at our table for 20min and the waiter, and waitress in the area didn't ask if we wanted anything at all they just picked out kids menus up they kept dropping and would bolt away but the night was saved by Samu sushi, probably won't try this Benihana
Phil M.
The location was great! The only down side to the visit is having to wait after having a reservation put in and everyone being there on time but having to split up our party. The chefs were creative and fun, but didn't get the cool onion volcano or big fire flames. The birthday singing was awesome for a person in our group. The staff was friendly and worked quickly to reset tables after groups left. It was a good experience.
We came into town not knowing it was a reservation only night at the restaurant, but said they also had lobby seating available. The lady at the front desk was not friendly about the situation, she had an attitude when we asked if there was availability in the lobby. Her mentality was more of “if you WANT to” not, “let me take care of you”. As this weekend was to celebrate my birthday, it did not make off to a good start here in town. We ended up leaving after a scoff and an eye roll from her about waiting.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Madeline E.
Went for lunch. We were seated in the bar area which was fine. We ordered and didn’t have to wait long for food. But when the food came, it was all cold. No mustard and ginger sauce. The waitress never came back after she brought the soup and salad (some other waiter brought the food and said she would be coming with the sauce.) We gave up on trying to get sauce and ate. She came back when were done and asked “Was everything pretty good?” Guess they don’t want it to be good. Just pretty good. $61. Not worth it. Used to be amazing.
The Hostess that was working on March the 2nd was not friendly at all. She never said hello, welcome, or smiled. We had a reservation at 7:00 and still had to wait 30 minutes for a table. Everything else was fine.
Catherine Chapin
The food was amazing! Hot and fresh! Service Lady was also amazing! We had sushi rolls x2, soup, salad, and both an entree! It was very busy at the time we were there, but they had plenty of seating available. Parking was a little tight, but we were able to find parking. They also have free valet parking if you're unable to find a place on your own. Dinner was a little pricey, but we got a ton of food and took home plenty for another meal!We will be back!
Sat at "table 5" where the exhaust fan didn't work. It was MISERABLE smoke, and it was a birthday celebration. We were coughing and fanning. It was a bit disappointing since we had made reservations and they could have sat us at a different table to begin with. Our chef and waiter were amazing and the food was great, but that smoke nearly killed us. My daughter had to go out to the car to retrieve her inhaler it was so bad. I would recommend to a friend, as long as it wasn't at that table. Would highly recommend chef David and waiter Q.
Our first time eating here, and now we understand the hype. It's just hype, no actual reason for it.Atmosphere:I didn't eat at the actual hibachi, but ate at a table. The decor, and setting is nice, suitable for a date. Wouldn't call it too fancy, but nice.⚠️ Warning ⚠️: If you have any allergies, make sure to specify up front. We ordered our food, appropriate to my wife's allergies. The menu did not state that it came with shrimp, but both plates had shrimp on it. Mild cross contamination can be expected. But this is a major cross-contamination, and we could not eat it. Luckily they took it back and remade without any issue. But they should have noted on the meal that it had shrimp.Overall impression:We called, and did not get an answer. My wife booked a table online, and it was available immediately. When we showed up, the place was near empty. Should have been our cue to leave, but...Hostess will not unfriendly, but wasn't what I would call a good hostess. Set yourself wherever you like, and menus were just set out in a pile. Very casual for somewhere that is supposed to be "nice".Waitress was friendly, but not quite as attentive, as one would expect from a higher-end restaurant. I think the wait staff was a little under staffed.Bland bland bland... There is much better sushi in the area, and much better hibachi food. I did not go to the show, but sat down and at a table. Maybe the show makes it worth it, but that would have to be one impressive show, above any I've seen.Tuna roll: literally only seaweed, plain white rice, and little strips of tuna - the seaweed actually overs powers this tiny little roll. Taste more like eating seaweed and rice than it does an actual tuna roll. Very bland.Spicy tuna roll:Again plain white rice Rice, smallest sliver of cucumber, and what appears to be tuna paste, (maybe ground tuna?), and seaweed- Little spice, and little flavor. Luckily you can taste a hint of the tuna, and a hint of the seaweed, but overall very bland.Tuna hibachi:It's a good cut of tuna, but no added flavor. They threw onion, avocado, fried onion, edamame And what appears to be shredded carrot scraps. Kind of makes the flavor and texture all over the place, and confusing. Does not flow together. Everything is good in and of itself, but on the bland side. Together, I have no idea what they were thinking. Very disappointing.Chicken hibachi:Smells like it should have incredible flavor, but the taste is just weak. Maybe it's because the chicken was overcooked, and dry.Fried rice:rice was good on flavor, but a little dry and hard. Definitely not what I expected from a restaurant with this much hype.Steamed rice:Exactly that, steamed rice. Zero salt, zero flavor.Benihana's plum wine:Excellent, if all their food had this much flavor, I would understand the hype.My restaurant interpretation of the 5? rating system (feel free to use):1? = DUMP…. NEVER AGAIN I DON'T CARE IF IT IS FREE (wish there was a no star option). The food you would feed a prisoner, only if you didn’t like them.2? = Crap, fast food...... Only for If you are in a hurry, tight on $, and/or in a rush. (Think big chain places with $1 menu, not HORRIABLE, and sometimes a decent food comes out).3? = Okay, worth going on a regular, but has room to improve (Think frequent work lunch spot, Rarely less than Okay, usually Good to really good food)4? = Very good, favorite "common" places. Nothing EXCEPTIONAL. (Think casual date, Nicer Chain restaurants usually, occasional surprisingly good Fast food)5? = Reserved for EXTREMELY high quality and/or Exceptional, and Places that surprise me. (Think first date to impress, anniversary, special occasion) GREAT flavor, great food, ambiance, service, etc...I started using this because I don't like seeing standard restaurants with 5?. If I see 5? I expect more than standard. Also adjusted for type of business. Sit down restaurants are skewed and critiqued accordingly in comparison to fast food. My wife kept getting on to me for being too critical.D
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
I ordered steak hibachi to go and they basically gave me half a steak and it was the thin cheap steak, I also didn’t get but a small portion of rice and vegetables.I was charged extra for sauces and didn’t even get them and I spent almost $30. It was definitely not worth it!!!
The Teriyaki Chicken was
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
food was amazing but it took nearly an hour after being seated with a reservation for a chef to arrive at the table.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Loved it!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Food was great!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
So me and the family decided to try the Benihana in little rock because we have tried one that was amazing in Orlando, terriable choice we seated ourselves and as did everybody that sat at a table, but that's cool I didn't care a whole lot, but what got me is we sat at our table for 20min and the waiter, and waitress in the area didn't ask if we wanted anything at all they just picked out kids menus up they kept dropping and would bolt away but the night was saved by Samu sushi, probably won't try this Benihana
The location was great! The only down side to the visit is having to wait after having a reservation put in and everyone being there on time but having to split up our party. The chefs were creative and fun, but didn't get the cool onion volcano or big fire flames. The birthday singing was awesome for a person in our group. The staff was friendly and worked quickly to reset tables after groups left. It was a good experience.
Great hibachi and wonderful entertainment.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
We came into town not knowing it was a reservation only night at the restaurant, but said they also had lobby seating available. The lady at the front desk was not friendly about the situation, she had an attitude when we asked if there was availability in the lobby. Her mentality was more of “if you WANT to” not, “let me take care of you”. As this weekend was to celebrate my birthday, it did not make off to a good start here in town. We ended up leaving after a scoff and an eye roll from her about waiting.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Went for lunch. We were seated in the bar area which was fine. We ordered and didn’t have to wait long for food. But when the food came, it was all cold. No mustard and ginger sauce. The waitress never came back after she brought the soup and salad (some other waiter brought the food and said she would be coming with the sauce.) We gave up on trying to get sauce and ate. She came back when were done and asked “Was everything pretty good?” Guess they don’t want it to be good. Just pretty good. $61. Not worth it. Used to be amazing.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Hibachi Chicken, Benihana Onion Soup, Benihana Salad, Hibachi Steak
The Hostess that was working on March the 2nd was not friendly at all. She never said hello, welcome, or smiled. We had a reservation at 7:00 and still had to wait 30 minutes for a table. Everything else was fine.
The food was amazing! Hot and fresh! Service Lady was also amazing! We had sushi rolls x2, soup, salad, and both an entree! It was very busy at the time we were there, but they had plenty of seating available. Parking was a little tight, but we were able to find parking. They also have free valet parking if you're unable to find a place on your own. Dinner was a little pricey, but we got a ton of food and took home plenty for another meal!We will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Benihana Onion Soup, Benihana Salad, Soup, Hibachi Steak
Sat at "table 5" where the exhaust fan didn't work. It was MISERABLE smoke, and it was a birthday celebration. We were coughing and fanning. It was a bit disappointing since we had made reservations and they could have sat us at a different table to begin with. Our chef and waiter were amazing and the food was great, but that smoke nearly killed us. My daughter had to go out to the car to retrieve her inhaler it was so bad. I would recommend to a friend, as long as it wasn't at that table. Would highly recommend chef David and waiter Q.