Benihana - Downey, CA

Review summary

1. T

   Ty

   VIP

   Los Angeles

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined today

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

   What experience?? The chef was dry!! No interaction with the table at all! No “tricks”, food bland, we barley got the 2 sauces mid way through the meal. He seemed as if he didn’t want to be there. The server…seemed to be forgetful and just backwards. A waste of time and money! Food portion, especially the chicken (6 pieces to be exact) was not worth the money!!
   

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2. M

   Mireya

   Orange County

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined today

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

   Honestly terrible experience. The food was good but the service was AWFUL. The server was nice but nowhere to be found. The chef had an attitude, and there were NO bussers until we packed up our left overs- So the table was full of empty dishes, cups, dirty napkins etc. the chef didn’t appear at our table until 1 hour & 15 minutes after being seated. Either the server or kitchen forgot an appetizer and we were absolutely starving by the time the chef began cooking. I cannot stress enough how terrible our experience was. Then my husband spoke to the manager (who was a teenager) & the manager never came to check up on us or make sure things were moving smoothly since complain. I will not be returning.
   

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3. c

   carmen

   Los Angeles

   3 reviews

   1.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   We waited over an hour and a half for a cook to come for a table prior to that 10 min for a manager to come to our table to speak to us. Conveniently right after the cook and he was not very helpful. There was a table that arrived 40 minutes after were served prior to us. We let the manager know aside from waiting an hour and a half to have a cook arrive, which doesn’t include another hour for them to cook the food. We noticed the table next to us who arrived 40 minutes after us had the cook arrive about 10 to 15 minutes before us.  The manager, tried to blame it on the waitress that she probably put the order late. We know that’s not true. We advised that we were leaving and at no point did he tried to rectify the situation. We advise we were not ever returning it again, but this is an issue that Benihana has every time we go. This is by far the longest we’ve ever waited but they sit you right away, but they just do not have enough cooks working we did get up and leave.
   

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4. C

   CAROL

   Vancouver

   5 reviews

   1.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   Our reservation for 2 was for 5:00. We were not seated until 5:40. We did not get our food until 6:37. My order was wrong I told the cook I ordered the Hibachi Chateaubriand (filet with mushrooms medium rare). He said no , I ordered the filet . The meat was rare, cold on the inside. I asked him to please cook it more, he did but with attitude. We finally left at 7:22. I did tell the hostess before being seated we had a concert and asked to be seated as soon as possible. We were seated with a party of approximately 15, a party of 3 and the two of us (2 tepanyaki tables). At first we were seated with a party of 3 , they moved us around and we ended up with the big party and the other three had their own table. They left by 6:45 (I asked them what time was their reservation, they told me 5:15. I have gone to many different Benihana location (San Diego, Torrance, Anaheim, Las Vegas and Honolulu) this was the worst experience, the staff is not organized and the food quality is not the usual high standard. I would not return to this location and will not recommend it to my family and friends.
   

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5. e

   evone

   Los Angeles

   5 reviews

   4.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 4 days ago

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

   My overall experience was pretty good. I will say the front desk needs to be more welcoming. They were not approachable and talking about their personal life in front of everyone and not being attentive to the guests. But my waiter, server, and chef were excellent. 
   

   Benihana - Downey, CAResponded 3 days ago

   Thanks for the feedback, Evone! We're thrilled to hear that you had a good experience at Benihana - Downey, CA. We apologize if you felt the need to bring up your concerns about the front desk. We strive to create a welcoming atmosphere for all our guests and we'll definitely take your comments into consideration. As for the service, we're glad to hear that our team was able to meet your expectations. We hope to see you again soon for another excellent dining experience!
   

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6. C

   Carolina

   San Francisco

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on January 12, 2025

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

   Our experience yesterday was not good at all. First of all we waited 20 minutes to be seated at our table then after they seated us it took 1 hour 25 minutes for the cook to come and the food was not good at all, it had no flavor whatsoever and the portions were too small, I don’t mind to pay for something good but for what we paid it yesterday wasn’t worth it.
   

   Benihana - Downey, CAResponded 7 days ago

   Thanks for the feedback, Carolina. We're truly sorry to hear about your recent experience at Benihana - Downey, CA. It's disappointing to know that the wait time and the quality of food did not meet your expectations. We take pride in our food and service, and we're sorry that we fell short this time. We appreciate your feedback and will use it to improve. We hope you will give us another chance to provide the quality experience you deserve. The Management Team
   

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7. J

   Jessica

   Los Angeles

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on January 12, 2025

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

   Good food, it just took a long time for everything. It was busy tho so we weren’t really bothered and understood. Food was delicious!!!!!
   

   Benihana - Downey, CAResponded 7 days ago

   Hi Jessica, Thank you for your wonderful review and high ratings! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed our food and found it to be delicious. We're sorry to hear that the service speed wasn't quite up to par during your visit. We understand how busy you can get, and we appreciate your patience. We hope to see you again soon for an even better dining experience! Best regards, The Management Team
   

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8. N

   Nery

   Los Angeles

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on January 11, 2025

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

   I’ve been going to BENIHANA for more than 10 years. I’ve been to all of them practically in Southern California and also one in Texas when I was visiting, there has been bad experiences, but mostly good, however yesterday was absolutely terrible, we had to sit with a family of 7 with a horrible attitude and bad manners and were extremely rude and outspoken about their dissatisfaction. This family of Mother, daughters and grandchildren had obviously never been n were extremely uncomfortable that we were seated with them. It was just my husband and I mind u, well mannered and quiet people. To top it off it took forever to get our cook n our server was really nice and sweet but they definitely had her waiting on too many tables n unfortunately we were the forgotten table, again she did the best she could, especially with how rude the people at our table were to her. The cook however, I think this was her first time, n she should have had someone next to her still showing her the ropes. She was nice, but unfortunately the amount of money we pay at Benihana requires excellent cooking not a meal that tastes homemade, rushed, a little bit undercooked and forgetting some of the food items that go with our plates (mushrooms n sesame seeds etc. ). Again, I really don’t even blame them, I hold management responsible they need much better training and a better organization especially under pressure and so much demand, or lower their prices, which have sky rocketed. I also mentioned the family we were sitting with to state that next time me and anyone in that situation should feel comfortable enough to ask to be moved, because that absolutely ruined our experience and we definitely did not get our money and waiting time’s worth.
   

   Benihana - Downey, CAResponded 7 days ago

   Thanks for the review, Nery. We're truly sorry to hear about your recent experience at Benihana - Downey, CA. It's clear that we did not meet your expectations, and we deeply regret that you and your husband felt uncomfortable. We take your feedback about the service and seating arrangements very seriously and will ensure that we learn from this to improve our future experiences. We're also committed to maintaining the quality of our food and service. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in the future for a better experience. Best, The Management Team
   

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9. M

   Miriam

   VIP

   San Francisco

   14 reviews

   5.0

   14 reviews

   Dined on January 9, 2025

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

   We had Sara as our cook, she was wonderful !!! Great experience!!! Food was great! Will be back!
   

   Benihana - Downey, CAResponded on January 11, 2025

   Hey Miriam, Thanks a ton for your review! We're thrilled to hear that you had a great experience with us at Benihana - Downey, CA. It's always a pleasure to know that our food and service met your expectations. We're looking forward to your next visit. Thanks again for your kind words!
   

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10. M

    MeShawny

    Los Angeles

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on January 9, 2025

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

    Food was very salty , hard to enjoy. They took over a half and hour to bring us our drinks .
    

    Benihana - Downey, CAResponded on January 10, 2025

    Hey MeShawny, We're really sorry to hear about your experience at Benihana - Downey, CA. It's disappointing to know that our food didn't meet your expectations, and that you had to wait for so long for your drinks. We strive to provide our guests with delicious meals and efficient service, and we're sorry we fell short this time. We appreciate your feedback and will definitely take it into consideration as we continuously work to improve our guest experience. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Best, The Management Team
    

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