Benihana - San Diego, CA

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

Review summary

1. K

   Kisha

   San Diego1 review

   1.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   DONT EVER GO TO BENIHANA IN MISSION VALLEY THEY HAVE POOR CUSTOMERS SERVICE WE ARRIVED AT 7:45 FOR RESERVATION AT 8:00 WAS SEATED AT 8:45 AND NEVER ATE CAUSE AT 9:45 WE GOT UP AND LEFT!!! FOUND A BUG (termite) ON OUR PLATE, THE GRILL WAS STILL DIRTY WITH RICE ON IT FROM THE PRIOR GUEST🤬ALL BAD THEY WOULD GIVE THE MANAGERS NAME, NO CARD TO THE CORPORATE OFFICES AND SHE CALLED THEIR SECURITY GUARD ON ME AND HE CALLED THE POLICE ON ME😡🤯🥵
   

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2. M

   Marcela

   San Diego1 review

   3.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   We made a reservation for 7:30pm and weren’t seated until 8:20pm. The sweet waitress took our order but the chef didn’t come to our table to begin grilling until 8:45. Finished eating after 10pm. Spent so much time just waiting and waiting.
   

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3. B

   Bibiana

   San Diego1 review

   4.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   It over 1.5hrs after being seated to be served. Our server was great but it took forever to get a server
   

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4. Y

   Yoko

   San Diego3 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   We had reservations at 7:30 and didn’t get seated until 8:30. Service was slow, we wanted to order an appetizer and we told the server that but she never came back to take our order.
   

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5. A

   Arina

   San Diego1 review

   1.0

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   The waitress was rude and had an attitude. She wasn’t attentive at all and left us for 45 mins without refilling water and drinks or picked up dirty plates. Their fried rice wasn’t worth the money. They didn’t cook the white rice long enough and there were some rice that didn’t cook all the way. The fried rice came out bad because the rice didn’t cook long enough. We always come here to celebrate birthday, graduation and etc but after tonight. We will never be back here again.
   

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6. L

   Liz

   San Diego1 review

   1.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   We made a reservation through OpenTable for 14 people, trusting that the restaurant could accommodate our group. However, upon arrival, we were informed that they could only seat up to 10 per table. The host suggested splitting into two tables, which we reluctantly agreed to. Unfortunately, this resulted in half of our party starting dinner while the other half was still waiting for drinks—completely unacceptable. To make matters worse, instead of having two cooks prepare food for both tables simultaneously, they had the same cook handle both, significantly delaying the second table’s meal. On top of that, they rushed the first table to pay so they could seat other customers, while the second table hadn't even received their drinks yet. Adding to the frustration, they had run out of multiple ice cream flavors and smoothies, making the experience even worse. This was an incredibly disappointing visit, and we will never return.
   

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7. B

   Ben VIP

   Orange County22 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   We didn’t realize we had reserved “BAR SEATING” until we arrived and by that time it was not possible to sit at the hibachi table. Pricing for food with no show should be adjusted.
   

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8. D

   Donna

   San Diego5 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   Always go every year for my son’s birthday and we had to ask them to sing happy birthday and ask for the customary picture. The staff was short handed so it took awhile for our waitress to come back. She was very good when she was available. The food is always good. Prices have gone up and the serving size gone down. We were told that we wouldn’t get a chef for an hour after our reservation time. Disappointing!
   

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9. j

   jessica

   San Diego2 reviews

   2.0

   Dined 4 days ago

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

   Made reservations for a birthday dinner at 7:30 pm. We were not seated until 8:30 pm. Then we waited for 1 hour for our cook to be ready, apparently several cooks called out and there was 3 tables before us. Not very hygienic, I decided not to order food bc I witnessed how they clean the plancha in between guests...I only ordered a few appetizers. Appetizers were mediocre considering the price. First and last time I eat here. That's just my experience, maybe yours will be better.
   

   Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 3 days ago

   Thanks for sharing your experience, Jessica. We're sorry to hear about the delays and your concerns with cleanliness. We appreciate your feedback and will use it to improve our service. We hope you'll reconsider and give us another chance in the future.
   

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10. E

    Eric

    San Diego2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

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

    I think we all know the drill with Benihana by now. The strength of the experience comes from the chef assuming you are seated at the communal tables. Anyway, we had one of the better experiences this time around. Our chef was Chris M. He was very interactive and even had a few tricks I hadn't seen before. Plus the food was great.
    

    Benihana - San Diego, CAResponded 3 days ago

    Thanks for the review, Eric! We're happy to hear that you had a great experience with Chef Chris M. at Benihana - San Diego, CA. It's wonderful to know that his interaction and unique tricks added to your enjoyment. We look forward to welcoming you back for another memorable visit!
    

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