Benihana Restaurant Review

My absolute favorite places to eat are the ones with teppanyaki style cuisine. When I heard my family and I were going to Benihana for my sister’s birthday, I was nothing but excited to indulge some delicious food. Unfortunately, this experience in particular was anything but the ordinary dinners I have experienced at this restaurant.

My family went out at an odd time around 3 o'clock. I would think that having an empty restaurant would allow for tons of intimate service and people helping guests settle at their table. We were forced to wait 10 more minutes to fill our table that was community style. When our waiter finally got to us, he was a mumbler, making himself impossible to understand. Before ask-ing if we had decided our meal, he took the time to explain the entire menu while we were hun-grily waiting to order. The soup I ordered came out cold and the salad was drenched in a ginger sauce creating a bitter and irritating on my tounge. By the time the chef came around, we barely had noticed he started cooking because he only whispered his name before preparing the meal. I was used to the infamous show that they are required to do at each meal, but I was completely unaware of the tricks going on because the chef cooked silently. He was so concentrated on on the food that he did not speak unless it was for the main trick, lightning up a onion volcano. As we were handed silverware to pass out in a tray, I looked down and see that there are leftover crumbs next to where our new silverware lay. Slightly disgusted, I reluctantly took the silverware and passed the container down to my other family members. When the time came for me to start eating the fried rice I ordered, the taste was dry and bland needing the sauce I was given to drench rice to give more flavor. The vegetables I received were over spiced and so hot that they almost ruined my palate. It was time for me receive my medium rare salmon I had been waiting all dinner for. When he finally gave it to me, I cut through the fish and it was basically raw. I'm usually not the one to send food back, but I was having the hardest time even trying to eat the slimy salmon. In addition, there was this unidentified orange vegetable underneath the salmon. I struggled to put a knife through the food and when I finally was able to sever a chunk, but it was grainy with little flavor. By the time they came back with a new salmon, I had already been full from all the other courses. I must applaud my server because he was very calm about the situation and brought me back a new perfectly cooked plate of salmon. He did not complain, roll his eyes, or spit in my new food, so I was very pleased. We had also mentioned earlier that it was my sister’s birthday and they forgot to bring out the special ice cream and the people to sing a birthday song. After we finally chased down our server, we forcefully got them to sing “Happy Birthday”, which was very awkward in all honesty because none of the staff were smiling. Seems like a little detail, but it was bothersome and almost depressing.

While we were waiting for our additional desserts we ordered for the rest of the table, I decided to run to the restroom quickly. Walking in, I noticed the trashcan overflowing with paper towels. There are only three stalls in the bathroom; one was broken and another one had particles left over from the previous user. There was also minimal toilet paper in my stall, which, by common sense, should be replaced so there was never a lack of supplies for the guest. The floor was covered with a layer of faint brown. After washing my hands, I still felt dirty leaving that disaster of a bathroom.

When I returned back to my seat, my family was given the check along with our ice cream. Finally, I saw one smile forcefully cracked from our server when he picked up the check and said his rehearsed good-byes . Unlike when we walked into the restaurant, the people hosting smiled and waved good-bye as well.

All in all, I was very disappointed with my overall experience at Benihana. I expected nothing but good service and excellent quality of food, but that was just not the case this time. I don't know if it was the time of day I went, but I would recommend going when they are more busy because I believe that is when they have their best wait staff and more qualified chefs. I probably will hesitate visiting this place again in the future because I do not think I have experi-enced such an awful dinner in my entire life.