Benihana

We ate at the open seating tables. The food was ok. Nothing special. Sushi again was just ok. Happy hour drink specials were good. Did find it odd that when our waitress carded our table she then took off with our IDs and then came back, without the drinks, five minutes later with them. I thought maybe she needed to scan them, however one was a passport and un-​scannable. Was not a terrible experience but def not a Benihana I would recommend.

A 5 Star night Jan. 28^th for my birthday (belated) ! All the variables were just as we hoped for: a great table in excellent location overlooking the intracoastal, great and favored Chef, thank you Chef Tony who prepare our food perfectly while performing in his entertaining style„ an efficient & pleasant server, a lovely couple also celebrating a birthday and regular customers as we are, and happy hour Sake. The management does tries hard to please everyone on the busy, fast-​paced nights and holidays and it was a really wonderful night. Thank you, Benihana, for the «Chefs Table» birthday certificate. See you again soon !

Where do I even start. The one word to describe our experience at this particular location was just horrible.
When we arrived, we had a reservation for 9. Our whole party was there (it was just 3 of us) yet we did not sit till 9:45. When we got seated it took the waitress 20 minutes to come get our drink order. Finally when she came she took our drink order. It took 15 minutes to get the drinks. To the point that I continuously saw her walking around and disregarding our table that I had to GET UP and ask for water. When she came back with our drinks she disappeared for 10 minutes then finally at 10:45 she took our appetizer/​dinner order. Our appetizers didn’t arrive until the chief was cooking the food. Our soups and salads didn’t arrive till the chief was there are well which at that point we already had our friends rice and could not enjoy the soup and salad that came at the SAME TIME. We didn’t get refills. I had to physically get up to get the refills every time we needed one. The guy next to us ordered an alcoholic beverage when he sat down and it finally came when the chief was done making the food. The waitress was reminded about 7 times.
The managers were terrible. They just stood around watching all this. When I finally said something their response was «we are really busy». That answer would have been acceptable at chilis. But not at a place you are spending a lot of money for nothing out of this world. Overall this location was horrible. DO NOT GO TO THIS LOCATION. I now see why we were able to get a reservation made for the same night. Simply put a horrible horrible experience.

First time here on Sunday for a birthday. I usually eat hibachi in West Palm but I heard great things about Benihana so I decided to try it and it was a good experience. The food was tasty, I had shrimp and steak hibachi. They give you a good amount of food so I had leftovers. Restaurant was clean and I love that it was right beside the water even though I didn’t get to sit next to it. The scenery was enjoyable. Staff was great, our waiter is Carlos, he’s very attentive. Chef was Jason, very personable and interacted with the whole table. All in all, a good experience, I’d come back.

Food was amazing! Loved our chef, however our server was always missing and left the table without any bowls or utensils, our salads came after our food was cooked.

The food here was delicious! It was a good time and very tasty. I ordered a vegetarian plate and they acted like they had never heard of it – they need to get with it and offer a vegetarian option on their menu. I had to suggest to them to give me double portion of hibachi vegetables as my dinner, which they thought was a great idea but why is the patron making suggestions? Very common sense solution to me which should have been offered on the menu. Still very enjoyable!

I’ve been eating at this location for 20+ years and the overall atmosphere and service has really gone downhill from when I first started coming. The dress code is basically non existent and the best way to describe the crowd that dines here would be similar to «People of Walmart». We started off at the bar where we noticed a massive amount of flies. As we looked up, we saw each suspended lamp COVERED with fruit flies– at least 30 – 40 on each light. We mentioned this to the bartender who was extremely dismissive of the situation, blaming the restaurant’s intracoastal location as the reason for so many. It literally looked like they had covered the lamp cords with fly tape. As grossed out as we were we decided to continue on with the dinner which didn’t even come close to satisfying us. We had a newly hired chef cooking for us who you could tell was still a little nervous about cooking in front of everyone (totally understandable and forgivable). What made matters worse was the obnoxious 8 year old asking our Haitian chef how he could cook our meal when he wasn’t Chinese even though we’re at a Japanese restaurant, all the while his father sat there and egged him on. The relevance of that comment is to show how the standards for Benihanas has dropped significantly. At one point, it was considered a fine dining experience. The quality of service has dropped so low that it attracts people who in essence ruin a fine dining experience. The service was incredibly slow. We waited 45 minutes at our hibachi table. They forgot to serve us salad and we had to hunt our waiter down each time a drink needed to be ordered. It is safe to say after our long tenure of dining at Benihana, this experience has culminated our desire to ever return.
EDIT: Both my fiancé and I became ill few hours after food consumption. Spoke with manager Chan this morning who was very dismissive of my complaint by barking «nobody else got sick» and proceeded to hang up. Do not go here. Low class staff and managers.

We come here every year for my sons birthday. This is the 8^th year. He always looks forward to it. This year we got JJ as our chef. He really didn’t acknowledge our presence. The table across from us was being entertained. We were not! Food was consistent but over all disappointed

2 stars for the food. Food and chef were good. Waitress disappeared when the chef got there and never came back until we had to ask 3 different people to try to find her while we sat with empty drinks. This location also doesn’t have the yum yum sauce, which makes the meal. The people at our table ordered extra veggies, but I’m pretty sure they just gave half of ours to them. When I have been I remember getting 2 slices of zucchini and we only got 1 while the ones who ordered extra got at least 4. Went on my birthday for my birthday and saw other tables sang to etc but nothing was done for me at our table. Waitress and chef both knew it was the day of my birthday. Pretty disappointing for a $ 100 meal.

4 stars ONLY because of the food. Not even because of the chef. Not at all because of service. This place is always a hit or miss when you go. I got a miss. Reservations at 8pm and didn’t sit down until 9pm we had our drinks (adorable souvenir cups that you get to take home) but after we drank we realized at 10 our cook still wasn’t there. Around 1030 he came along and gave us no show at all. Just cooked. If it wasn’t for the pleasant people we were sitting next to the whole night would’ve been a absolutely waste. For how pricey this place can be, they really should stick to what they know and give the people the show they came for. This place is very unique and I would hate to see it fall apart bc of lack of care from the service. But this location specifically has a fantastic view of the lake and complementary valet (which at the mid of being served our food, the valet returned our keys bc they were going home) since we were stuck their so late on a Monday night. I would’ve never thought a 8pm reservation of be walking out Around 12:30 as one of the last people there! We didn’t even have dessert that came with our meal bc we were so desperate to just leave!

Bush league service at this one. Relative reservation meaning your reservation is meaningless here. These people are clowns.

Took 20 minutes to be seated, another 30 for them to take our drink order and then another 30 for them to get the chef here. The food was good, but service is absolutely horrible.

After a decade of having dined at this location, I returned with boyfriend in tow, so that he (who is from a rural area in Minnesota) could enjoy a nice hibachi experience. I reserved through the Open Table app. without a glitch! As soon as we arrived, we were pleasantly escorted to our table where they seated us with a really nice family visiting from Atlanta. Our server was friendly and very accommodating. We chose our drinks, appetizers and four course meal. Even while we waited for our cook to arrive to our table, we were having a good time watching the other cooks around us. Within a half hour, our cook (Carlos) arrived at our table and began the show! This young man is a hoot!!! The Filet Mignon was tender, my wild caught Salmon was fresh, and the portions were generous. What a wonderful meal… what a wonderful cook… what a wonderful time we all had! They sang happy birthday and brought ice cream… He was happy and satisfied with his meal and the whole experience; so we look forward to coming back soon! If there is anything they can improve on is to open up the outside area. They could very well fence it off and add some seating so that guests can enjoy the view of the intracoastal waterway.

I was highly disappointed with this Benihana location. As a hibachi lover this place was the WORST! When we arrived on a Thursday evening around 6:30pm, it was extremely crowded, but no worries we decided to wait. Because it was my seven years old nephews first time eating hibachi & his birthday!
It took us over an hour to get seated and we left the restaurant after the (way) restaurant closed. So I compared this experience to my others (and other hibachi chains). I believe the reasons for the extreme wait times was the order of operations and poor training of the chefs. Our hibachi chef, was not well trained. He was cooked this completely separate. We got our rice first and everything else separate. Our veggies (mushrooms & onions) were given to us last. We received our shrimp appetizers after the fried chicken rice then the zucchini. This Benihana didn’t have serve the YUMMY YUMMY (white) sauce! Really? When we inquired, they said they don’t to this at the «tourist» location. Overall the food was good, but I would NEVER suggest or recommend anyone going to this location EVER in life!
At any rate, I hope the franchise owner and manager can forge some type of consistency with the location to improve the service and overall experience.

We have been to the Ft. Lauderdale Benihana several times and overall they provide an enjoyable meal as well as interactive fun time. We had Tony as our chief (we had him before and will ask for him in the future) who just gets you going with his engaging self. And if it your Birthday you are in for a special treat, one which you’ll be smiling and laughing too. The shrimp dinner was delicious, and my lady steak dinner was cooked just the way she like it. Our table mates were engaging and enjoyable yet respectful. Overall it was great time for us, and we will return.

We had a table reserved for my party of 7 at 930. I am just leaving Benihana now at 12 15am. We had our whole party in the place by 940 but for some reason they couldn’t sit us. What’s the point of letting them take reservations if we won’t get seated.
When we sit down we sat over an hour and we had to go to the manager to say hey we’ve kind of been here for a while. While as my friend was like we should get something free, the manger went «well don’t order anything and you can leave». That’s a little excessive, especially since we did order with our waitress.
We then had our food after the excessive amount of time we waited but the cook was a very great person. At the end The manger gave a 20 dollar certificate to one of the people of the 7. Does that sound reasonable?
We will never come back to this location and neither will any of my friends.

Invited for a small birthday dinner.
Pull-​up to valet. Very quick and courteous.
I read that this location was remodeled, but still old-​school design. Situated right on the Intercoastal with a view… the carpet looks old… the setup doesn’t flow at all… bar area up the stairs to the right as you enter… but a little gloomy. Dark carpet… low ceiling… not to be overly critical… but HELLO!!! You are on multi million dollar real estate… right on the waterway… and the bar is facing… well… nothing…other than walls and the parking lot? Really???
If this place was recently remodeled like the Unilocalers say it was… I would ask the designer for a refund. Imagine a bar area with a view to the Intercoastal and patio seating… lively. Ok… now imagine the opposite… and that’s what Benihana is… sadly.
When the table was ready… we sat with our group of 6 and another couple… I honestly felt bad for them. Here they are… a young couple probably on a date… and here we come… a group of 6 with kids and iPads… (Have you seen ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’…lol well, not really)
At the end… the seating of multi-​groups together may sound fun… but as controlled as we tried to keep our group… specially the kids… this couple could not have desired «us» at their table… although they smiled and everyone was very friendly… and honestly, it was also stressful for us to have another couple just sitting there with our group. Anyway…
Overall…the food is good. The chef and «entertainment-​aspect» have gone down over the years. The chefs seem bored of doing the little onion tower and shrimp in the pocket tricks… just no energy…(like a college grad reciting the ABC’s).
Funny…right across the waterway… sits another restaurant named Kaluz. Same type of real estate just on the other side of the intercoastal. (Different cuisine). When you walk into Kaluz and see what Benihana could have done with the interior design… you realize why there are only an average of 3 stars by Unilocalers.
It seems old. The food is good. The energy is gone… and the bar… which is usually a huge money maker for restaurants should have a view… maybe some outdoor seating on the waterway… something.
So here are my 3 stars too… would be 2… but the food is good.

The worst Benihana I’ve been to. From beginning to end everything was bad. I’m rating it two stars because the food was good and that’s IT. Other than that everything was awful. Rude hostesses, inattentive server, worst dirty martini I’ve ever had and food orders throughout our table were wrong multiple times. When we left and went to get our car from valet we overheard the valets bashing the customers that came out before us. Incredibly unprofessional, this place needs some serious help. Boooooo!

This Benihana location has been a Lauderdale by the Sea landmark for decades (1983 to be exact), it recently underwent a much needed renovation, the restaurant now looks modern, very sleek and sophisticated.
I love Hibachi, but the last few times I have dined at the Hibachi table the chefs did a lackluster performance, there was no enthusiasm, the routines were completely stiff, lacking personality and following the same choreographed routine they’ve had for decades, like
— the onion flaming volcano
— the rice heart shaped beating heart
— the «egg roll» (rolling the egg on the table before cracking it)
— and off course the flying shrimp caught on the top of the chef’s hat
Benihana can be entertaining if its your first time, however I would think Benihana wants their customers to come back, which begs the question, why don’t they update their routine and change it every once in a while?!
As far as the food, it’s consistently good. I love their delicate onion soup, the salad with ginger dressing, the fried rice is one of the best ever, the veggies are delicious and the meat is always cooked to perfection, everything comes together just right with the accompanying Mustard and Ginger dipping sauces.
One of my biggest issues apart from the stale, overdone Hibachi performance routine is the crowd, everyone comes here to celebrate, especially birthdays in large groups, so unless you have a large group of your own you will be sat with someone else’s group, there is usually a lot of kids too, and to top it off drinks take a while to be delivered from the bar since the tables don’t have a dedicated server since the Hibachi Chef cooks and serves the food, the server only makes an appearance every once in a while and it takes a long time to get drinks from the bar. For this reason we normally eat at the bar, you can order from the full menu including Hibachi which they will cook at the kitchen in the back, but also be warn even at the bar the bartenders at this location are slow and not very motivated since they tend mostly to the drink orders coming in from the table, instead of manning the bar. Also, it’s Valet only which is annoying if they are super busy which tends to be most of the time, including weekdays.
Food 4.0
Ambiance 2.5 (BUSY, large parties, kids)
Table Service 2.0 (Unenthusiastic chefs, old routine, slow bar orders)
Bar service 2.5 (Bartenders are slow and not very attentive)

I never expected to have a 5 star experience at Benihana, however everything was done perfectly from the server to the chef (Carlos) that they easily earned two thumbs up from me.
I was using my $ 30 birthday gift certificate so decided to come by on a Monday night with a coworker. We arrived at 5 pm when they opened and they were already getting busy. At 7 pm they were packed. i had made reservations through Unilocal and I was glad I did because as soon as we sat almost every table filled up.
We had hibachi however you can also sit a smaller table and just each sushi if you prefer. I had the chateaubriand and my friend had a combo (can’t remember the name but it was steak and some pretty huge shrimp). The meals started with soup, ginger salad and ended with ice cream or sherbet. The whole experience lasted 2 hours but the thing about hibachi is you are pretty much constantly getting food on your plate so you aren’t hungry. And of course the entertaining chef really makes the meal enjoyable.
My only small gripe is I think the only parking option is (complimentary) valet which was a bit busy as we were leaving.