Benihana - San Diego, CA

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

Review summary

1. A

   Ana

   San Diego1 review

   1.0

   Dined today

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

   Our table wasn’t ready for almost 1 hour. Got the text at 8:54 and our reservation was at 8! This is not ok specially for people celebrating a special occasion with their family with small kids. Can’t review the food since we have to go home hungry!
   

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2. T

   Teri VIP

   San Diego55 reviews

   3.0

   Dined today

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

   I ordered a scallop dinner there weren’t very many scallops at all. $45 for a few scallops the chicken fried rice should be included years ago $30 same portion. Unfortunately, the chef put chunks of steak on my plate by mistake instead of giving me a clean plate I had to put the steak on the correct plate next to me my scallops didn’t taste great because of the juice from the steak I don’t eat steak. Such slow waitress 1/2 hr before I got my tea never checked for refills I had to chase her down. They NEED more staff!!
   

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3. S

   Stevie

   San Francisco2 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   Jesse O. was funny and got us entertained. Food and drinks were great and glad it was next to WorldMark. Benihana has always been great!
   

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4. R

   Rin

   Unspecified1 review

   5.0

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   Great place to eat with family and friends. Staff was great and customer service was great. I had my birthday there and the vibe was very energetic and enjoyable.
   

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5. L

   Liam

   San Diego5 reviews

   1.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   Unacceptable Dining Experience, disappointment with the experience. I had anticipated a memorable and celebratory evening; regrettably, the visit was marred by an alarming series of service failures and unprofessional conduct that left my guests and me deeply dissatisfied and disrespected. We were seated at a shared table consisting of three distinct parties: two celebrating birthdays and one attending a formal dinner. The overall atmosphere was tense from the outset, as one of the other parties was visibly frustrated due to what appeared to be substandard service. Despite this, we remained hopeful our celebration would proceed smoothly. However, the dining experience quickly deteriorated. Following the hibachi presentation—which felt rushed and mechanical—we were prematurely presented with the check, despite not having finished our meals. This created an overwhelming sense that we were being hurried out, diminishing the celebratory nature of the evening. The situation escalated when a member of the other party, who had been denied dessert and addressed in a manner that can only be described as patronizing, reacted by throwing her chocolate ice cream onto the hibachi grill. This resulted in an overpowering and offensive smell of burnt sugar and milk that permeated the dining area. Despite this clear disruption, no immediate effort was made by the staff or management to clean the grill or restore order. In an attempt to salvage the remainder of the evening, I stepped away to enjoy a beverage I had purchased in the waiting area. To my astonishment, a member of the management staff approached me in an aggressive manner, informed me I could not consume my drink there, and demanded that I leave the premises. When I attempted to inquire further, she refused to provide her name and proceeded to call law enforcement to escort us out of the establishment.This action was not only excessive and humiliating but demonstrated a shocking lack of professionalism, discretion.
   

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6. P

   Patty VIP

   Las Vegas7 reviews

   2.0

   Dined 4 days ago

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

   We waited almost one hour after our reservation time to be seated. Once we were seated there was a lot of sitting and waiting periods. Feel they were understaffed but a manager should have been stepping in and moving things along, especially knowing people were waiting so long for their tables. Wait staff was trying but again, probably understaffed. Manager should have apologized to everyone and offered some kind of comp, nothing. Hadn’t been there in years and won’t be going back anytime soon.
   

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7. c

   caitlin

   San Diego2 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 4 days ago

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

   We were skipped multiple times even though I had a reservation. 40 min after my reservation I went up to the counter and the ladies face was a “oh crap” Look. After that it was good
   

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8. V

   Vanessa

   New Orleans1 review

   1.0

   Dined 5 days ago

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

   Terrible service, they took us to our table 30 minutes late and once seated we waited for another 30 minutes just to ask for something to drink, we kept asking to get a waiter and no one ever came, after being there for 1 hour without anyone attending our table we decided to leave, we even talked to the manager to let him know that it was very unpleasant having a reservation and still had to wait for a long time, but he didn’t really helped
   

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9. M

   Mike

   San Francisco1 review

   2.0

   Dined 5 days ago

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

   We have eaten here on several occasions and it was always a good or great experience. However this time was different because we had a 7:30 reservation on a Saturday night. They did not seat us until 9:00. When we arrived at 7:25 the hostess informed us it would be a moment. We expected 5-10 minutes like a normal restaurant. After 15 minutes we checked back in and the hostess informed us that the prior guests were not leaving as anticipated. Okay, that sounded reasonable it should just be a few more minutes. At 8:05 Benihana sent us a text stating, "Your table is ready. Check in now at Benihana." We checked in at 8:06 and the hostess told us to stand by the "wines " and someone would seat us shortly. Okay ,probably 5-10 mimutes max. Right? Wrong!! We stood there until 8:45 while checking back with the hostess on several occasions. Finally, a very angry hostess led us to our table at 9:00. Total disrespect with no menus. This hostess was one of the most mean spirited people I have met in my life. That is saying a lot as I've had to serve some very angry people in my 29 year career in the airline industry. Do not eat here on a Saturday night unless you are willing to endure a 1+30 wait; and that is with a reservation. It seems a reservation means nothing here. The unreasonable wait and the total lack of respect ruined our family experience on this night.
   

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10. S

    Sandra

    Exclusive1 review

    4.0

    Dined 5 days ago

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

    We went to Benihana for my son's birthday. It was a very busy night and I think we somehow fell through the cracks. After we were seated, it took 35 minutes for a server to come to the table. Fortunately the server knew we had been waiting and brought our drinks quickly. The chef (Trevor) was worth waiting for. He was funny, lively and a great chef. Our food was excellent. We had seafood, steak and chicken, all good choices. It's a bit pricey (about $50 a plate) but nice for a special occasion.
    

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