The place was disappointing. Coming from California, we had high expectations of Benihana. We were served the appetizer after the main meal. The fried rice was dry and not up to standard. The atmosphere was good as usual.
Golde4u NYC7
I just call in for a large fried rice pick up order. Get the rice, cook your meat at home.
Daniel Kuhn
They’ll ask you how you want your steak prepared to pretend they’re fancy, but turn your medium requests into a well done hockey puck.
Clanesha Munford
ordered the wagyu steak and rice to go… what are these portion sizes???
Rosalind Hayden
I usually only post reviews when I have something positive to say, but this was the worst hibachi experience I’ve ever had, and really sucked the joy out of our Father’s Day celebration. We had a reservation, but arrived to a jam packed waiting room, and had to wait 45 minutes to be seated, with my elderly, disabled mother having no where to sit. The hostesses said the computer system completely overbooked them, and they could do nothing about the wait. Several people just gave up and left. Everyone was asking what the issue was.
Finally, we get seated, and were packed so tight at the table you had to consciously stagger yourself not to be hitting the person next to you. It took quite a while for the chef to arrive. I suspect this is because they have the tables back to back, and the other chef hadn’t finished yet. Some tables did have both chefs working at the same time, and they were basically butt to butt, which I can’t imagine is safe.
Our chef finally arrives, and he was very inexperienced, and knew minimal English. He was super sweet, and you could tell he was trying very hard. The blame of placing him in a customer facing role falls on management. He was just not ready. I felt terrible for him. However, part of what you are paying the high prices for is the experience, and we had an awkward, clunky one. Minimal conversation, no jokes, not the fun experience you expect. He dropped a plastic lid on the grill, and had to spend a lot of time cleaning the melted plastic off the grill. It took a while for the plastic smell to dissipate. He tried to do the tricks, but struggled with them. At one point he tried to converse with us because he needed to cook my son’s food separately due to dairy intolerance, but he spoke entirely in Spanish. I think he just switched unconsciously as he was stressed. It really confused most of my family. He offered fried rice or white rice, but did not mention we’d be charged an extra $8 per person! The food was ok, but nothing impressive. Certainly not worth the $320 we had to pay for a family of 5. My mom’s 1 cocktail was $18, and it was normal size.
We were there for 3 unpleasant hours before we could pay and get out of there. Terrible experience. Avoid.
Jaslyn Ctnda
Honestly Love the food here its amazing and so delicious. Hate how unprepared this restaurant is, always full and backing up reservations minutes or an hour later.
Natasha
Went here for my daughter 16th birthday and i most say the experience was amazing and the atmosphere and people preparing our food was out of this world. Food was fantastic and i would definitely recommend. My first experience at this place was amazing.
Jack
Excellent birthday experience for all ages. Celebrated father's 76th birthday and our 9 year old was highly entertained with the chef's tricks.
Melissa
I love Benihanas!!! The prices have definitely gone up but that's not stopping me. The service was wonderful - everyone was very helpful and attentive. Thank you!
Noisy, drinks take a long time to arrive, but overall good entertainment. Food was ok, not amazing as I was hoping it would be. I guess more spicing/seasoning it better, not only entertaining, would make a huge difference in flavor.
Patricia
The food was dry and overcooked, and the vegetables were burnt. Including the tip, we spent over $500 for a party of 5 on food that was not good. My family and I have been dining at Benihana for over 25 years, proving that we are loyal customers; however, the food was unacceptable during this visit.
Kim
Benihana Bethesda is a joke. Staff standing around bored. The walls and ceiling is greasy and need a fresh coat of paint. The chef did one trick and burned some onions. I could have went to any hibachi but chose to celebrate here and Benihana just not the same. I was seated next to a family that was rude and loud. However staff did sing happy birthday and gave ice cream. The price for an outdated decor must only pay the rent here. Nothing is authentic not even the chefs. You are only paying rent
Rebecca
Even though we had a reservation, we had to wait 20 minutes for our table. Service was friendly and efficient. Food was well prepared.
Shawn Bakis
Definitely not the Benihana I grew to love over the years. The entertainment was limited to turning the table light on/off a few times, the chef clearly did not know the basics of cooking touching raw chicken and then the other cooked items, and good luck communicating with the waitress or chef if you don’t know Spanish. Communicating food allergies was about impossible, my $40 steak was requested to be medium, was as well done as possible, and telling them we had a birthday was pointless. To spend $300 on 4 people for this level of service was very disappointing. You can pay 1/2 that price and go to a Fujihana for much better service and entertainment.
Superb service
The place was disappointing. Coming from California, we had high expectations of Benihana. We were served the appetizer after the main meal. The fried rice was dry and not up to standard. The atmosphere was good as usual.
I just call in for a large fried rice pick up order. Get the rice, cook your meat at home.
They’ll ask you how you want your steak prepared to pretend they’re fancy, but turn your medium requests into a well done hockey puck.
ordered the wagyu steak and rice to go… what are these portion sizes???
I usually only post reviews when I have something positive to say, but this was the worst hibachi experience I’ve ever had, and really sucked the joy out of our Father’s Day celebration. We had a reservation, but arrived to a jam packed waiting room, and had to wait 45 minutes to be seated, with my elderly, disabled mother having no where to sit. The hostesses said the computer system completely overbooked them, and they could do nothing about the wait. Several people just gave up and left. Everyone was asking what the issue was.
Finally, we get seated, and were packed so tight at the table you had to consciously stagger yourself not to be hitting the person next to you. It took quite a while for the chef to arrive. I suspect this is because they have the tables back to back, and the other chef hadn’t finished yet. Some tables did have both chefs working at the same time, and they were basically butt to butt, which I can’t imagine is safe.
Our chef finally arrives, and he was very inexperienced, and knew minimal English. He was super sweet, and you could tell he was trying very hard. The blame of placing him in a customer facing role falls on management. He was just not ready. I felt terrible for him. However, part of what you are paying the high prices for is the experience, and we had an awkward, clunky one. Minimal conversation, no jokes, not the fun experience you expect. He dropped a plastic lid on the grill, and had to spend a lot of time cleaning the melted plastic off the grill. It took a while for the plastic smell to dissipate. He tried to do the tricks, but struggled with them. At one point he tried to converse with us because he needed to cook my son’s food separately due to dairy intolerance, but he spoke entirely in Spanish. I think he just switched unconsciously as he was stressed. It really confused most of my family. He offered fried rice or white rice, but did not mention we’d be charged an extra $8 per person! The food was ok, but nothing impressive. Certainly not worth the $320 we had to pay for a family of 5. My mom’s 1 cocktail was $18, and it was normal size.
We were there for 3 unpleasant hours before we could pay and get out of there. Terrible experience. Avoid.
Honestly Love the food here its amazing and so delicious. Hate how unprepared this restaurant is, always full and backing up reservations minutes or an hour later.
Went here for my daughter 16th birthday and i most say the experience was amazing and the atmosphere and people preparing our food was out of this world. Food was fantastic and i would definitely recommend. My first experience at this place was amazing.
Excellent birthday experience for all ages. Celebrated father's 76th birthday and our 9 year old was highly entertained with the chef's tricks.
I love Benihanas!!! The prices have definitely gone up but that's not stopping me. The service was wonderful - everyone was very helpful and attentive. Thank you!
Restaurantji Recommends
Noisy, drinks take a long time to arrive, but overall good entertainment. Food was ok, not amazing as I was hoping it would be. I guess more spicing/seasoning it better, not only entertaining, would make a huge difference in flavor.
The food was dry and overcooked, and the vegetables were burnt. Including the tip, we spent over $500 for a party of 5 on food that was not good. My family and I have been dining at Benihana for over 25 years, proving that we are loyal customers; however, the food was unacceptable during this visit.
Benihana Bethesda is a joke. Staff standing around bored. The walls and ceiling is greasy and need a fresh coat of paint. The chef did one trick and burned some onions. I could have went to any hibachi but chose to celebrate here and Benihana just not the same. I was seated next to a family that was rude and loud. However staff did sing happy birthday and gave ice cream. The price for an outdated decor must only pay the rent here. Nothing is authentic not even the chefs. You are only paying rent
Even though we had a reservation, we had to wait 20 minutes for our table. Service was friendly and efficient. Food was well prepared.
Definitely not the Benihana I grew to love over the years. The entertainment was limited to turning the table light on/off a few times, the chef clearly did not know the basics of cooking touching raw chicken and then the other cooked items, and good luck communicating with the waitress or chef if you don’t know Spanish. Communicating food allergies was about impossible, my $40 steak was requested to be medium, was as well done as possible, and telling them we had a birthday was pointless. To spend $300 on 4 people for this level of service was very disappointing. You can pay 1/2 that price and go to a Fujihana for much better service and entertainment.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
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