Benihana - San Diego, CA

Benihana - San Diego, CA reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Review summary

1. T

   Tyree

   Tahoe1 review

   1.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   Horrible experience. Had a reservation for 930 pm but didn’t get sat until 11pm then was told another hour for my chef to arrive. What’s the point of a reservation? never going here again
   

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2. E

   Erin

   San Diego1 review

   2.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   We had a reservation for 6:30 pm with a 5 year old. The idea was to eat early with a kid. We sat there for over an hour before they sat us down. The waitress and chef was great but there was so much downtime between sitting down to our drinks to the chef coming. When we were done it was past the 5 year olds bedtime and left at nearly 10 pm. What the point of having a reservation if we have to wait that long
   

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3. Z

   Zuzanna

   San Diego1 review

   1.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   our reservation was for 6:30 PM. We stood in the lobby until 7:30 PM. We were taken to the table at that point but at 8:40 PM we were still staring at an empty table and had not even ordered our food. We were finally provided with food and by the time we ate and left the restaurant it was almost 10 PM. Not really what we had in mind. There are about 10 different ways. This place could be managed differently unfortunately it is just poorly run. The chef was great, but it was not enough to fix th e experience.
   

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4. E

   Erin

   Denver1 review

   1.0

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   We had a reservation for 7:30. We didn’t get seated until all most 8:30. Once seated we waited until 9:30 for a chef to finally come to our table. The whole time we waited our server came by maybe 3 times. She apologized for the wait once but didn’t again as time went on. We never saw a manager or anyone higher up to apologize for the inconvience. Never got asked if we wanted any appetizers while we waited or anything. It’s insane to wait 2 hours from your reservation time to have to food begin to be prepared! We finally started eating around 10 pm.
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Hello Erin, We're truly sorry for the wait you experienced during your visit. We understand how frustrating that can be and we apologize for the inconvenience. We assure you that we make every effort to provide prompt service to our guests. Your feedback is invaluable to us and we will use it to improve our service. We hope you'll give us another chance to provide the experience you deserve. Best regards, Benihana - San Diego, CA The Management Team
   

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5. J

   John

   San Diego4 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   I always love Benihana. I am not a big fan of a lot of noise but that is going to happen at any crowded restaurant. Benihana is always a great experience and meal
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Hi John, Thank you for your wonderful review and for rating us highly! We're thrilled to hear that you always enjoy your experiences at Benihana - San Diego, CA. We understand that noise can sometimes be a bit much, and we appreciate your understanding and patience. We strive to provide a great dining experience for all our guests and your feedback helps us do just that. We're looking forward to your next visit. Best Regards, The Management Team
   

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6. M

   Michele

   Chicago4 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   Splurging on Wagyu beef was supposed to be a real treat. Of the two meals we ordered, one steak was literally half a huge chunk of fat with zero meat. Not marbled, totally solid fat. Unacceptable for $69!
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Hi Michele, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience at Benihana - San Diego, CA. We're sorry to hear that your meal didn't meet your expectations. We take pride in our Wagyu beef and we're disappointed to hear that it didn't hit the mark for you. We appreciate your feedback and will certainly look into this matter. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again and provide a better dining experience. Best, The Management Team
   

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7. M

   Mike VIP

   San Diego22 reviews

   1.0

   Dined 4 days ago

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

   This is the second time in 3 months where I had a reservation and had to walk away because they could not seat us. A party of 2. This Benihana’s had a reservation issue where they are over booked. I noticed that Open table allows you to reserve a time slot when in fact this is no seating available due to the over booking. The staff is over worked and you can feel their frustration with the customers and management. Let’s just say I will not be coming here any time soon.
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Thanks for the review, Mike. We're truly sorry to hear about your recent experiences at our Benihana's - San Diego, CA. It's clear that we fell short in meeting your expectations and for that, we sincerely apologize. We understand your frustration regarding the reservation issue and we're sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused. We strive to provide excellent service and it's clear we missed the mark during your visits. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again in the future and provide a better experience.
   

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8. C

   Carmen

   San Diego2 reviews

   4.0

   Dined 5 days ago

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

   Nice experience, it’s usually great but this time the food was overcooked. Scallops and other seafood got very hard, chicken fried rice had a tone of black burnt pieces. I enjoyed the company I was with but was not happy with the food this time.
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Hi Carmen, Thank you for your feedback and for dining with us. We're glad you enjoyed the service, but we're sincerely sorry to hear about your experience with the food. We pride ourselves on delivering the best possible dining experience and it seems we fell short this time. We appreciate your input and will share your comments with our culinary team. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again and provide you with the quality food you deserve. Best regards, The Management Team at Benihana - San Diego, CA
   

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9. M

   Matthew VIP

   San Diego34 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 6 days ago

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

   Arrived on-time but had to wait 30 minutes before we were seated. Then had a 1 hour wait for the chef. The restaurant was completely hammered and yet they were still taking reservations for the same night and walk-ins. Didn’t even get an apology, just a “to let you know, it’s going to be an hour” after we had already been seated.
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 5 days ago

   Thanks for the feedback, Matthew. We're sorry to hear about your experience at Benihana - San Diego, CA. It's disappointing to know that you had to wait despite arriving on time and being seated promptly. We understand how frustrating that can be and we apologize for any inconvenience caused. We also acknowledge that our service did not meet your expectations and we're sorry for any inconvenience caused. We're taking your comments seriously and will work on improving our service. We hope you'll give us another chance to provide a better dining experience in the future. Best regards, The Management Team
   

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10. J

    Javier VIP

    San Diego15 reviews

    1.0

    Dined 6 days ago

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

    Unfortunately we had a terrible experience. I went to celebrate my birthday but we waited over an hour and our chef still hadn’t come to the table. We ultimately decided to leave and didn’t get to eat dinner.
    

    Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 1 day ago

    Thanks for the feedback, Javier. We're sorry to hear about your experience at our restaurant. It's always our goal to provide a memorable dining experience for our guests, especially on their special days. We apologize for the delay you experienced and the disappointment that resulted. We're taking your feedback seriously and will use it to improve our service. We hope you'll give us another chance to make it right.
    

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