I visited Benihana on 8/26/25, for my birthday. My reservation was for 6:30 P.M. The hostess was very attentive. I only waited 13 minutes before we were seated. What I really liked about my visit was (Miguel), our funny, respectful and empathetic cook. He made the environment a fun and positive one. Unfortunately, our server was not that great. She forgot to check on us often throughout our meal. My family and I asked for hot sauce at the very beginning when our soup was served, since we like to add hot sauce to everything. I had to ask for hot sauce three more times, to three different people until someone reminded my server that I was waiting on hot sauce. By this time, I had already had my soup and the chicken and steak were already placed on my plate. I had to wait for my server, since hot sauce is an important component of my meal. My server finally brought the hot sauce 20-25 minutes later. After she brought the hot sauce, she dissappeared and only came back because we had asked another server and bass boys for refills on our drinks. They probably told her that we asked for more refills. After that she never checked on us again. We were already done with our meal and I was looking for my server because I wanted to order the banana tempura. I never saw her around. I waited 10 more minutes and finally asked another server to place my banana tempura order. She gracefully did that. My server came back to bring my banana tempura. By then, everyone was ready to go. This is when she remembered that she had not brought our ice cream or sang happy birthday to me and to the other party that shared the table with us. The other party had also placed their to go food in plastic containers and were sitting patiently for her to remember to come back to bring ous the ice cream. My point is that our table was forgotten by our server and she was not checking in with us to see what we needed. Our experience could have been better had she been more attentive.
Dianne
I was surprised that I could obtain a same day reservation, however the experience was a disaster- we waited 30 minutes to be seated, another 40 minutes before anyone came to take our drink order and 30 more minutes before a The soup and salad came. It was clear they were short on servers and chefs. Since this was obviously the case they should have limited the number of reservations. There were a lot of upset patrons.
Kayla
Extremely Disappointed – Unacceptable Service Despite a Reservation I made a reservation for my fiancé's birthday on August 24, 2025, at 5:45 PM. We arrived on time with our entire group, yet we were left waiting over 45 minutes just to be seated — despite having a reservation. This completely defeated the purpose of booking in advance. Once we were finally seated, things only got worse. It took an unreasonably long time for our server to greet us, and over an hour and 15 minutes after our reservation time before we received our first bite of food (soup). That's simply absurd. The hosts at the front were rude, unhelpful, and offered zero communication regarding why our table wasn't ready. I saw multiple managers walking around, and not one of them stopped by to check on guests — even as it was very clear we were all waiting far too long. If a business is short-staffed or behind, it is absolutely the manager's responsibility to communicate that and ensure the guests are still being taken care of. Our server even had to ask me if she had brought the salads — which she hadn't — and by then, the chef was already preparing food on the grill. One of my beverages took over 20 minutes to arrive, and I had to follow up multiple times just to get it. The only bright spot was our chef. He was kind, friendly, made great conversation, and cooked our food well — but unfortunately, he was the only part of this experience that felt enjoyable. The entire visit took nearly three hours, with absolutely no communication from staff about delays. I also saw several other tables around us who had been sitting for over 20 minutes with no water and no service. That's completely unacceptable. I've never had this kind of experience at this location before, but sadly, after this, I'm not sure I'll return — and I absolutely wouldn't recommend it to others. A special occasion was made frustrating and disappointing, and that's something you can't get back.
Jill
I was really impressed with Benihana in Newport Beach. We typically go to the one in Anaheim, but it has become dirty and crowded and the last few times had been an unpleasant experience. We switched to this Benihana‘s and we're beyond pleased. The manager came to each cooking station and thanked Customers for choosing his restaurant. The staff was kind and polite. The restaurant was clean and had a nice ambience. The people at our table interacted and everyone enjoyed a great meal.
Janet
Server was not very attentive, never asked if I wanted a second drink, didn't bring white rice for people not getting fried rice, and did not refill waters until we asked him too.
Nancy
The overall experience was great. The only issue was when we arrived the hostess sat us in the wrong area even though our online reservations were specifically for the 45 min experience. But the server and the chef Arnulfo went above and beyond.
Justin
Horrible experience! There's open racism in their group setting experience that's promoted by the chefs. The food is sub-par. No management. STAY AWAY! :-(((
Richie
We have been to this location several times, tonight as far as food service, slightly disappointed. Upon arrival, we made reservations and arrived an hour early and still seated right away, that was great, very nice hostess help. The waiter was good, friendly. The cook was more about his production then the normal cooking show and good food. As an example, he already prepped all the shrimp with tails removed and cut before coming to the table. Part of the cooking in front of us and watching everything being prepared with a little show. He did bring out tails and flipped 5 in his hat at one time to save time. Very small volcano eruption, then cut it up and done. Nothing else really done to make the meal prep enjoyable. The shrimp could of been cooked more, the steak was cut into huge pieces and seasoning was weak. One other change since last time we were there, they cut off over half the parking lot and made it Valet, being a small lot, they forced you into valet and another $10 spent, this is after we spend $300 for 4 people to eat dinner, greedy!
Mitchell
This place is like a well oiled machine. Everything is perfect. Very well trained staff and chef's. We've been many times and the food is always the same and just as expected. While they do change things from time to time and introduce new offerings, it just helps to keep things fresh. But, we like what we've ordered over the years. The new rewards program is much better as well. That will get us coming back more often given the structure of their offerings. Nice job!
Tim
Got an email about the debut of the “steak frites” and decided to come in and check it out. I was really surprised at how tiny the serving was! It seemed like the steak was supplemented with mushrooms to make it seem more substantial than it was. I admit that everything was tasty and I might have expected too much for $18 but... I was still disappointed. Service was very good and parking was no problem. I'll be back to Benihana but I'll skip the steak frites.
Everything was great but one of the times my wife asked for 2 more drinks we only received one. It was difficult to flag her down again
Mark
Food was fresh and delicious. Servers were on point with everything we ordered. The chef was very entertaining
Sara
Even though we had a reservation, we waited over 25 minutes to be seated. Then we waited 90 minutes for a chef to even show up at our table. We got there at 7pm and didn't leave until 10:30 They sat me against a wall and the air conditioner on the ceiling kept dripping on me It was horrible.
Arianne
Food was undercooked, chef couldn't speak English and was just phoning it in. Won't go back.
DANI
After being seated we waited over 10 min for drinks, then another 10 to place order. We didn't receive the appetizer ordered. When we mentioned it to the server he went and got an order of it, but we had already finished dinner. My daughter and I ordered white rice. I had to ask for it three times. Finally received one order 5/6 of the way through our meal. Got our ice cream ordered wrong too. Didn't refill water or drinks. Wry disappointed in the service.
I visited Benihana on 8/26/25, for my birthday. My reservation was for 6:30 P.M. The hostess was very attentive. I only waited 13 minutes before we were seated. What I really liked about my visit was (Miguel), our funny, respectful and empathetic cook. He made the environment a fun and positive one. Unfortunately, our server was not that great. She forgot to check on us often throughout our meal. My family and I asked for hot sauce at the very beginning when our soup was served, since we like to add hot sauce to everything. I had to ask for hot sauce three more times, to three different people until someone reminded my server that I was waiting on hot sauce. By this time, I had already had my soup and the chicken and steak were already placed on my plate. I had to wait for my server, since hot sauce is an important component of my meal. My server finally brought the hot sauce 20-25 minutes later. After she brought the hot sauce, she dissappeared and only came back because we had asked another server and bass boys for refills on our drinks. They probably told her that we asked for more refills. After that she never checked on us again. We were already done with our meal and I was looking for my server because I wanted to order the banana tempura. I never saw her around. I waited 10 more minutes and finally asked another server to place my banana tempura order. She gracefully did that. My server came back to bring my banana tempura. By then, everyone was ready to go. This is when she remembered that she had not brought our ice cream or sang happy birthday to me and to the other party that shared the table with us. The other party had also placed their to go food in plastic containers and were sitting patiently for her to remember to come back to bring ous the ice cream. My point is that our table was forgotten by our server and she was not checking in with us to see what we needed. Our experience could have been better had she been more attentive.
I was surprised that I could obtain a same day reservation, however the experience was a disaster- we waited 30 minutes to be seated, another 40 minutes before anyone came to take our drink order and 30 more minutes before a The soup and salad came. It was clear they were short on servers and chefs. Since this was obviously the case they should have limited the number of reservations. There were a lot of upset patrons.
Extremely Disappointed – Unacceptable Service Despite a Reservation I made a reservation for my fiancé's birthday on August 24, 2025, at 5:45 PM. We arrived on time with our entire group, yet we were left waiting over 45 minutes just to be seated — despite having a reservation. This completely defeated the purpose of booking in advance. Once we were finally seated, things only got worse. It took an unreasonably long time for our server to greet us, and over an hour and 15 minutes after our reservation time before we received our first bite of food (soup). That's simply absurd. The hosts at the front were rude, unhelpful, and offered zero communication regarding why our table wasn't ready. I saw multiple managers walking around, and not one of them stopped by to check on guests — even as it was very clear we were all waiting far too long. If a business is short-staffed or behind, it is absolutely the manager's responsibility to communicate that and ensure the guests are still being taken care of. Our server even had to ask me if she had brought the salads — which she hadn't — and by then, the chef was already preparing food on the grill. One of my beverages took over 20 minutes to arrive, and I had to follow up multiple times just to get it. The only bright spot was our chef. He was kind, friendly, made great conversation, and cooked our food well — but unfortunately, he was the only part of this experience that felt enjoyable. The entire visit took nearly three hours, with absolutely no communication from staff about delays. I also saw several other tables around us who had been sitting for over 20 minutes with no water and no service. That's completely unacceptable. I've never had this kind of experience at this location before, but sadly, after this, I'm not sure I'll return — and I absolutely wouldn't recommend it to others. A special occasion was made frustrating and disappointing, and that's something you can't get back.
I was really impressed with Benihana in Newport Beach. We typically go to the one in Anaheim, but it has become dirty and crowded and the last few times had been an unpleasant experience. We switched to this Benihana‘s and we're beyond pleased. The manager came to each cooking station and thanked Customers for choosing his restaurant. The staff was kind and polite. The restaurant was clean and had a nice ambience. The people at our table interacted and everyone enjoyed a great meal.
Server was not very attentive, never asked if I wanted a second drink, didn't bring white rice for people not getting fried rice, and did not refill waters until we asked him too.
The overall experience was great. The only issue was when we arrived the hostess sat us in the wrong area even though our online reservations were specifically for the 45 min experience. But the server and the chef Arnulfo went above and beyond.
Horrible experience! There's open racism in their group setting experience that's promoted by the chefs. The food is sub-par. No management. STAY AWAY! :-(((
We have been to this location several times, tonight as far as food service, slightly disappointed. Upon arrival, we made reservations and arrived an hour early and still seated right away, that was great, very nice hostess help. The waiter was good, friendly. The cook was more about his production then the normal cooking show and good food. As an example, he already prepped all the shrimp with tails removed and cut before coming to the table. Part of the cooking in front of us and watching everything being prepared with a little show. He did bring out tails and flipped 5 in his hat at one time to save time. Very small volcano eruption, then cut it up and done. Nothing else really done to make the meal prep enjoyable. The shrimp could of been cooked more, the steak was cut into huge pieces and seasoning was weak. One other change since last time we were there, they cut off over half the parking lot and made it Valet, being a small lot, they forced you into valet and another $10 spent, this is after we spend $300 for 4 people to eat dinner, greedy!
This place is like a well oiled machine. Everything is perfect. Very well trained staff and chef's. We've been many times and the food is always the same and just as expected. While they do change things from time to time and introduce new offerings, it just helps to keep things fresh. But, we like what we've ordered over the years. The new rewards program is much better as well. That will get us coming back more often given the structure of their offerings. Nice job!
Got an email about the debut of the “steak frites” and decided to come in and check it out. I was really surprised at how tiny the serving was! It seemed like the steak was supplemented with mushrooms to make it seem more substantial than it was. I admit that everything was tasty and I might have expected too much for $18 but... I was still disappointed. Service was very good and parking was no problem. I'll be back to Benihana but I'll skip the steak frites.
Restaurantji Recommends
Everything was great but one of the times my wife asked for 2 more drinks we only received one. It was difficult to flag her down again
Food was fresh and delicious. Servers were on point with everything we ordered. The chef was very entertaining
Even though we had a reservation, we waited over 25 minutes to be seated. Then we waited 90 minutes for a chef to even show up at our table. We got there at 7pm and didn't leave until 10:30 They sat me against a wall and the air conditioner on the ceiling kept dripping on me It was horrible.
Food was undercooked, chef couldn't speak English and was just phoning it in. Won't go back.
After being seated we waited over 10 min for drinks, then another 10 to place order. We didn't receive the appetizer ordered. When we mentioned it to the server he went and got an order of it, but we had already finished dinner. My daughter and I ordered white rice. I had to ask for it three times. Finally received one order 5/6 of the way through our meal. Got our ice cream ordered wrong too. Didn't refill water or drinks. Wry disappointed in the service.
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