Benihana - San Diego, CA

Review summary

1. C

   Chrislee

   San Diego

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Our chef, Paul, was fantastic! Funny and added different tricks. My daughters loved it!
   

   Is this helpful?

2. R

   Ruk

   Hawaii

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   It was horrible! We had a reservation for 7:30 pm and we didn’t get seated till 8:20pm! My party of 9 were very hungry , tired and felt like faint! It was a Sunday evening it was super packed and we thought about leaving but it was my son’s birthday and he in the military . It’s was the most stressful and horrible experience we had to ever had! Never ever coming there again ! It was a lack of communication and not being in order !
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded today

   Hello Ruk, We're truly sorry to hear about your experience at Benihana - San Diego, CA. We strive to provide a relaxed and enjoyable dining experience for all our guests, and it's clear we fell short during your visit. We understand how important special occasions are, and we apologize for the delay in seating. We also acknowledge that our communication about your reservation was lacking. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we work to improve. We hope you'll give us another chance to make things right. Best, The Management Team
   

   Is this helpful?

3. J

   Joelle

   VIP

   San Diego

   13 reviews

   3.0

   13 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 2

   Things have changed a lot over the years; I was used to a more “nice restaurant” but the ambience has become more of a Chili’s kind of vibe. Tile everywhere, LOUD, and everything was kind of greasy; we kept slipping on the floors. The hostess desk was totally overrun when we arrived with tons of people, absolutely packed, many sitting on the floors, shoes off, like it was the airport. We were told they overbook OpenTable so even though we arrived on time, and all our party was there, we still waited another 30 minutes. The hostesses did their best, given how many people were in that host stand area. The servers were great and very friendly. Our chef was personable and the food was good. But the screaming children and yelling people made it feel like Dave & Busters and less like the moderately upscale restaurant I remember, deserving of $65 a plate.
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded today

   Thanks for the feedback, Joelle! We're glad to hear that you enjoyed our service and food at Benihana - San Diego, CA. We understand that certain aspects of the restaurant have changed over the years. We apologize if the ambience and the floor condition didn't meet your expectations. We'll definitely take your comments into account as we strive to improve our guests' experiences. We're glad you had a positive experience with our staff and chef. We hope to welcome you back soon for a more relaxed dining experience.
   

   Is this helpful?

4. C

   Chris

   VIP

   Orange County

   65 reviews

   2.0

   65 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   45 minute wait despite a reservation. staff coldly blamed the holiday weekend, a new one for us. fried rice was greasy and over seasoned. one kid was sick in the night from the experience. i've had good experiences at Benihana elsewhere. this one did not work out in any way.
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded today

   Thanks for the review, Chris. We're sorry to hear about your experience at Benihana - San Diego, CA. We understand that waiting despite a reservation is frustrating and we apologize for any discomfort caused. We're sorry to hear about the food you received as well - our fried rice should be spotless and flavorful. We're also sorry to hear about the incident with your child. We take all feedback seriously and will use this as an opportunity to improve. We hope you'll give us another chance to show you the quality and service that Benihana - San Diego, CA is known for.
   

   Is this helpful?

5. M

   Mabel

   VIP

   San Diego

   6 reviews

   5.0

   6 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Santiago and Eric were q wonderful team! I wish people wouldn’t be allowed to FaceTime or have their phones on speaker as this disrupts others enjoyment but I wouldn’t say it’s your fault. Great experience overall!👍🏼👍🏼
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded today

   Hello Mabel, Thank you for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear that you had a great experience at Benihana - San Diego, CA. We're glad that you enjoyed your time with us, even though you had to share your phone while dining with us. We understand how important it is for our guests to have a peaceful dining experience and we appreciate your understanding. We look forward to welcoming you back soon! Best, The Management Team
   

   Is this helpful?

6. J

   Jeff

   San Diego

   19 reviews

   4.0

   19 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   I gave more overall stars because our server and chef were awesome along with the waitress at the bar. Our main issue was our reservation was for 6:15 which we arrived at 6:05 we were told there was a 30 min wait. 30 minutes would have been fine but we were t seated until 7:30. Very disappointing for a restaurant who requires everyone to arrive on time and for everyone in your group to be there but sit you over an hour late.
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded today

   Hi Jeff, We're really glad to hear that you enjoyed the food and service at Benihana - San Diego, CA. We're also happy to know that our team made your experience enjoyable. However, we're sorry to hear about your wait time. We understand how important it is to arrive on time and we apologize for the inconvenience caused. We'll definitely take your feedback into consideration to improve our reservation process and timing. We hope to see you again soon for a better experience. Best, The Management Team
   

   Is this helpful?

7. A

   Allison

   San Diego

   7 reviews

   4.0

   7 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   I know this is a very popular spot for birthdays. But we were there for 3 HOURS because we didn’t get our first course (soup) until over 90 minutes after our reservation time.
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Thanks for visiting us, Allison! We're sorry to hear about the delay you experienced, especially on such a special occasion. We understand how frustrating it can be to wait for your meal, especially when you're excited for your birthday. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed the food and service, and we hope that the wait was worth it in the end. We look forward to serving you again soon.
   

   Is this helpful?

8. A

   Angi

   VIP

   San Diego

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Benihana used to be one of my favorite places to go. Pricier menu, but the food was (and still is) delicious and the show and service made it worth the price. I can’t say that anymore. The service is HORRIBLE. The show is not as good as it used to be. We’ve been twice in the last six months. The first time was the first time since before COVID. It took 40 minutes to be seated, and we had a reservation. After being seated, things were fine, but the chef we had was not entertaining. He just cooked our food. This time, we waited 30 minutes to be seated, again with a reservation. Once seated, a server (not ours, as ours was on break), took our drink order. Drinks took 15 minutes to arrive and were brought by the same server. That server took our dinner orders. We then waited 45 minutes for the soup and salad. The chef arrived at our table 1 h 45 minutes after we arrived. Food was great, as always, but the chef was not entertaining. Chefs at other tables were better with the show. All together we were there for THREE HOURS from 5-8pm. Much worse than last time, where we gave a pass because we were told two people called out sick. Seems to me this is simply their current standard for doing business. We will never go back.
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Hello Angi, We're truly sorry to hear about your recent experience at Benihana - San Diego, CA. We strive to provide an exceptional dining experience, and we regret that we fell short during your visits. We apologize for the long wait times and the dissatisfaction with our service. We appreciate your feedback regarding our chef's performance and will work on improving it. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed the food, but we understand that overall, it did not meet your expectations. We hope you'll give us another chance to serve you better in the future. Best Regards, Benihana - San Diego, CA Management Team
   

   Is this helpful?

9. F

   Faisal

   San Diego

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Pretty poor experience. We were sat nearly 30 minutes after our reservation, had to wait about 45 minutes for our food to start being prepared. Chef was distracted with another party and over cooked/overseasoned a plate as well as forgot the scallops. We decided against having them make them later and closed out. Still over 200 dollars for a really sub par experience.
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Thanks for the review, Faisal. We're sorry to hear about your experience at Benihana - San Diego, CA. We understand that waiting for your table and having your food prepared when you expected is frustrating, and we apologize for any inconvenience it caused. We also regret the overcooked and forgotten dishes, which is not up to our usual standards. We appreciate your feedback as it helps us improve. We hope you'll give us another chance to show you the true Benihana experience. The Management Team
   

   Is this helpful?

10. C

    Carm

    San Diego

    7 reviews

    1.0

    7 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1

    They sat us an 1.5 hours late, the service was horrible, it was so loud and noisy, the food was terrible. This was the worst experience ever at a restaurant we will not be back ever!! It was worse than a fast food restaurant for the money we paid, we would have been better off going to a fast food it would have been cheaper. I am going to spread the word about “do not go there” to everyone I know I just can’t believe how bad it was and we wasted all that money. Food portions were small and the price increased. They used to give you a variety of vegetables last night we only got zucchini. The whole place was horrible our group does not have one good thing to say just do not go back!!
    

    Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 1 day ago

    Thanks for the feedback, Carm. We're deeply sorry to hear about your experience at Benihana - San Diego, CA. It's disheartening to know that we didn't meet your expectations, and we apologize for the noise, service, and food quality you experienced. We strive to provide a pleasant dining experience for all our guests and it's clear we fell short during your visit. We appreciate your honesty and will take it into consideration as we continually work to improve. We hope you'll reconsider and give us another chance to make it right in the future.
    

    Is this helpful?