Ardis was our cook and he was truly amazing.. he came with many tricks and our food was delicious read more

Benihana - HIBACHI CHICKEN RICE - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Ardis was the best chef ever!!! recommend dining with him if you can. very fun experience

After a disappointing experience at a different Benihana in another state, I almost passed on this location. But since I was looking for a fun place to celebrate my birthday, I decided to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did. We arrived around noon and were seated within a few minutes. Our waitress was attentive, and the food was very good. Our waitress even took our photo and printed it as a birthday keepsake. The chef was entertaining, and did an excellent job preparing a gluten free meal for my friend. Overall, it was a fun experience and a great way to celebrate my birthday. read more

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Benihana, an American experience of teppanyaki. Came through for a reservation for a party of 11. Appreciate the accommodation, yet the engagement from the chef to the audience was lackluster. The food was solid. Filet mignon, steak, and shrimp. All classic entrees. But I did miss the shrimp tail toss trick and the cracking of the egg to make a chicken silhouette, etc. I was bummed that some of the experience was weaker than that of former years. read more

We had a reservation for 6 for a birthday on a Tuesday evening. We were sat quickly after the whole party arrived but then were left at the table without a waiter for about 25 minutes. Eventually two waitresses arrived (one was training the other I think). We got orders in with them but then sat for another 20 or so minutes before any drinks or the chef arrived. The chef was great and food was large hibachi portions so no issues there. Our birthday person also got a free hat and icecream and birthday song in 2 different languages which was fun! Three of the others ordered the meal with icecream included and ended up having to track down the waitress to ask for it after it was never brought out to the table. There were also a few upcharges on the check that were not explained in the ordering process - even when a table member asked if the change was an upcharge and was told no (to be fair, i think this was due to the waitress being in training which I understand may be a bit chaotic!). Overall, we had fun and got the hibachi experience we came for, but were left a bit underwhelmed with the other service aspects (some of which seemed to be due to understaffing which seemed to be being worked on at least!) read more

I wanted to share some feedback from my recent visit on 7/4 around 5:30pm. Our bartender was friendly, attentive, and provided excellent service, which I truly appreciated. However, I noticed what appeared to be significant skin pustules on his hands while he was preparing and serving drinks. As someone with a 20+ year healthcare background, I was concerned about the potential for open skin lesions to come into contact with items handled for customers. I recognize I cannot know his medical condition, but I would encourage the restaurant to ensure that any employee with open or draining skin lesions follows appropriate food safety practices, including covering the affected areas and wearing gloves when required. I share this feedback out of concern for customer safety and in the hope that it will be addressed appropriately while also respecting the employee's privacy and dignity. Thank you, read more

We opted to sit in the bar area and order hibachi. Next time, I'd choose the full experience in the dining room because it took forever for us to get our food. The food was good, but also seemed like a smaller serving than when they cook in front of you. I always have leftovers after hibachi and I was able to eat everything on the plate. read more

Benihana - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Our server was very pleasant and accommodating. I ordered the Surfside turf and the yellow card drink and a Stella Artois, and it was really really good. The bathrooms were clean parking. You will have to figure out their street parking, but also you can use SpotHero to park in the water tower. Otherwise it's a good time. read more

Benihana - Surfside - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I went here last night with one of my girlfriends as she had never been and with the "friends with benefits" rewards they gave me $50 credit to use during my birthday month. We had a 7:30 reservation and they sat us right away. I ordered the ocean treasure which had lobster, scallops and colossal shrimp which was excellent. My friend ordered Land N Sea. What I love about Benihana is that they cook right in front of you and the entrees include 6 courses with 2 yummy sauces that are a gingery sauce and a "yum yum" sauce which tasted like a mustardy mayo. The first course was onion soup that had mushrooms in it, then the house salad with a really tasty gingery dressing, grilled zucchini and onion, rice which I upgraded to the chicken friend rice because that is the best. After that you got a bit of shrimp and for dessert ice cream or sherbet and also a green tea if you wish. The hibachi chef was nice and cooked well but what made our experience 5 stars great was our server Brian. He let us know he was in training but he did wonderful! He was attentive and very friendly. The ambience was lively but you could still have a conversation. I recommend checking out this Benihana it was a great experience and I will definitely be back! read more

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Here's a polished review you can post: I made an online reservation for 8:15 PM and arrived on time, yet I still had to wait an entire hour just to be seated. At that point, it really makes you wonder what the purpose of making a reservation is. Unfortunately, the delays didn't stop there. After finally being seated, we waited another 45 minutes before the chef even began preparing the food. During that time, all we had were drinks, soup, and salad. Another issue was the ventilation inside the restaurant. With the cooking happening directly in front of guests, the dining area became extremely hot and uncomfortable. Better airflow and ventilation would make the experience much more enjoyable for customers. Overall, the food may have been fine, but the long wait times and uncomfortable environment took away from the experience. I hope management improves the reservation process, service timing, and ventilation for future guests. read more

My colleague and I came here after a long week of work, on the last night of our business trip. It was close to where we were staying and we were too tired to look up anything else. Everyone likes hibachi, what could go wrong? We entered and were told there'd be a short wait for the hibachi so we assumed the place was packed, but once we were taken to the back, we learned this wasn't the case. They were just waiting for more hibachi customers to fill up our table, which makes sense, but I wish they were more transparent with this from the beginning. Getting the grill set up and the cook also took a long time even though our table was seated and ready. The servers took our orders and took awhile to come back with salad and miso soup. We watched the other tables from across the room get their hibachi show. Finally our starters and drinks came and the chef began the performance. He was quite low energy which also affected the energy of our group to an extent (compared to the other two tables next to us). Overall it was OK. We weren't there for the hibachi show as much as other groups maybe were (tourists, kids, those celebrating something). We just wanted to fill our stomachs and be on our way. In the middle of our meal, we saw another group of two get led to a hibachi station and their show started right away without the same wait we had. We also witnessed an accident where a server dropped a bunch of glasses and glass shattered all over the floor. The server and other workers didn't seem concerned or in a rush to clean it up. They just walked away, which seemed concerning to us. read more

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I called ahead to make sure the location did the power lunch. I sat on the grill side and they told me the rice would be brought out from the back because it takes too long to cook. The manager was extremely rude to me and the chef, Aiden, also said something along the lines of "you're not happy because it's not the way you wanted it," as if my expectations at a hibachi restaurant are "bratty." If I was okay with my food coming from the back I could've sat somewhere else in the restaurant or even door dashed. The food does not taste the same when it is not cooked on the grill. I was also the only one at the table which made it even more frustrating that they did not cook the rice. I get keeping lunch to under 45 minutes but the service was piss poor at best. My server was Joselyn and when it came time for me to pay she left the machine at the table with the receipt on top. There were 4 people in the restaurant, and that is not how you treat a customer who is already having a bad experience. I can see why this place only has 3.7 stars on open table. The soup wasn't hot and the rice was not good at all. I had to use a lot of soy sauce to make it taste edible. read more

Benihana - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I rarely leave negative reviews, but this experience was honestly disappointing. We arrived very hungry and ended up spending nearly two hours (9-11 PM) in the restaurant, largely due to extremely slow service. Water refills were an ongoing issue -- we had to ask repeatedly -- and despite asking, I never received the lemon I wanted for my water. The portion sizes were very small, especially considering how expensive the meals were ($40). The salad was sad and tasted way too much of ginger, following this Both my brother and I ordered the chicken teriyaki, and unfortunately it was extremely dry. To make things worse, the rice came out well after the rest of the food, which made the meal even more frustrating. I'd also like to add that the ambiance was okay but we ended up reeking of smoke due to the long wait and cook time. To their credit, the owner did acknowledge the issue and offered a small discount, but it wasn't nearly enough to make up for the overall experience or the amount of time we spent there. Only reason it's gettin one stay if the chef did like 2 cool tricks I've never seen. If you're considering teppanyaki, I'd strongly recommend going somewhere else. read more

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Came here for date night with my love and to take advantage of my birthday reward. Made a reservation online which clearly indicated we did not want to be seated for tepanaki. Despite this, upon arrival, we were told it would be a 20-minute wait for any seating (lounge or outside which were completely vacant of any guests at all as was over half the restaurant). GARY refused to seat us anywhere else and remained concrete that no other seating existed. We had to chuck it up and sit with strangers for our meal despite our desire for intimate conversation. Even our amazing server, Melody, attempted to get us moved since she was supposed to work the lounge but was shut down. Gary was rude and ridiculous but we did enjoy the service by Sergio, our chef, and our server Melody. They did an amazing job. read more

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I had a reservation at Benihana for 6:30 PM, but after waiting over 30 minutes, our table still wasn't available. What disappointed me the most was the attitude of the staff and host there was no apology, no communication, and they acted like they didn't care at all. The restaurant was clearly poorly managed, and the customer service was extremely disappointing. Bad service, bad attitude, and a frustrating experience overall. Definitely not worth the wait, and sadly it completely ruined my evening. I won't be coming back and watse my times read more

Benihana - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've been to this establishment a few times. I stopped in to have a quick bite.... chicken fried rice and an afternoon cocktail. Food was very tasty. Customer service was great and accommodating. I would've gave this a four star, but seeing that the drink cost more than the food was completely ridiculous. I would've expected it to be reversed the food to be more than the cocktail. I simply had one shot of Tito's vodka with a couple of limes in it for $17 I could've brought a bottle almost for that price never again will I go and support any of their alcoholic beverages?....Smh read more

Benihana - A ridiculous receipt - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Took my 12 year old for some beloved hibachi steak and yum yum sauce. Chef Ardis gave us a great show at our table of two. Gave us some giggles and enjoyed our food. read more

They clearly overbooked Bf and I had a reservation for 2 for 03/07 8PM. We didn't get seated til well after 9PM We got the 5 course choice. I never got soup or salad Had to walk to the front desk to ask to get comped for that 1 star for the front desk check in crew 1 star for the chef. They seemed understaffed The staff are all nice More of a corporate problem Won't go out my way to come here read more

I've only been once in my life when I was a teenager, but I remember it was really great. I've been to other hibachi places, but Benihana has always had a special place in my heart. My son had never been and he was hungry so we made our way over. When we walked in there was a bit of a 15 minute wait but we ended up only waiting about seven or eight minutes and we were seated. I ordered the Benihana punch in a collectible mug, which came in a fish glass. Our waiter was very kind, courteous, efficient and accurate with our orders. Our chef was funny and entertaining, and even got a smile out of my ornery teenager. The food was great as usual however, looking back I do wish I would've gotten what my kid ordered, which was the ribeye steak. It was absolutely fantastic. My food was good too, but the ribeye was really really good. Would definitely go back anytime. It was a bit crowded because it was the FIFA World Cup on a Saturday night so they were loud and robust with patrons, but of course it was clean and lively as well. read more

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Lacking - Speed of service, more careful attentive staff, staff that washes their hands, better comps when they spill their drinks all over our items. On the plus side - The feel of the restaurant was sublime when we walked in. Full story - We had a reservation for 7:45. We were seated officially at 7:50 with a full party of 11. They cramped us into one table that typically seats 8. We are foodies, so this wasn't looking like a good start. I ordered a colada, and a friend ordered a mojito around 8:20. We got a nice surprise when our drinks were spilled onto our items on the floor near the table since there was no room. Three of us had "alcohol" drenched things. Drinks remade and passed out around 8:40, we realized there was no taste of alcohol, cool, but I was only drinking one of them after that. To make up for spilling drinks on my friends and my stuff (electronics included in our bags) they gave two 20.00 vouchers. One for the person on my right and one for the person on my left. I didn't get one. No drinks were worth writing home about. Our meals were to come with green tea, but I had to ask for it, or they wouldn't have given it to me. They also never refilled any teas, but made sure to refill every one else's waters, cokes, etc. so there was an odd vibe. The cook came out and was as expected. He did cook two steak orders incorrectly, but did fix the issue immediately when it was addressed. He made us feel better about the quality of the service. I was disappointed with the portions and the veggies were mainly onion and a few zucchini. Maybe 3 pieces of thinly sliced zucchini to 30 or so onion slices sautéed for each guest. The mushrooms were only included with steak orders, so given I ordered their specialty seafood order, I was left wanting. The chef I directly tipped 20%, the rest of the staff, forget it. This location was not worth the visit for what we endured. It wasn't even that good, and our bill came to 900.00 for what I could get at home. Go elsewhere. read more

Benihana - SEAFOOD LOVERS, COLOSSAL SHRIMP, HIBACHI STEAK - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Ardis was our chef and he did AMAZING!!!! Kept us engaged while cooking some TASTY food! He's fun and I'll ask for him everytime. The wait for the food was longer than I'd like but the food was amazing and made up for it. Seemed to be over booked and understaffed but other than that I had a good experience. THANK YOU!! read more

Benihana - Steak with fried rice. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Oh man, it's crazy to see so many bummer reviews for this place. A dinner at Benihana will almost never be quick or economical, but we still have folks in our family that dig the whole preparation spectacle, so we still find ourselves visiting once or twice a year. We seem to have never arrived when they are super busy or understaffed, so never endured an insane wait for a reserved spot. Maybe I've just been lucky in that regard. Food is pricey for what it is, but it's nice that it's fresh off the grill, a step above standard asian carryout. Drinks tend to be quite sugary. They have added some "upscale" choices to their menu like american wagyu beef. I paid an extra $6 for truffle butter to go with my steak, it was pretty good. They will sing to your table if you let them know that someone is celebrating something. Go ahead and visit a few times a year just to make the kids happy. Just don't set expectations too high, and you'll be perfectly content at the end of your meal. read more

I recently visited a friend in Chicago. I was born & raised in Chicago but now live elsewhere. Surprisingly this was my first time dining at Benihana on Michigan Ave. My friend recommended it. We had a wonderful experience. The atmosphere was lively. The restaurant was busy but not chaotic. Everyone around us was enjoying themselves. Lots of groups celebrating birthdays. FUN Times! We were seated with a family celebrating their young son's birthday. He was mesmerized by the chef. The staff was attentive. The food was very tasty and cooked to perfection. Our chef was entertaining and engaging. We enjoyed our meal without feeling rushed. I highly recommend Benihana and look forward to returning in the future. read more

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I was there for a 5:30 reservation, the waitress took for ever to come see us, appetizers were cold and the food was in very small portions, it came with steam rice that we did not get when I asked about it she said it "could" come with steam rice. When we saw the portions we told the cook and the waitress that we would order more food and she said that we couldn't it had to come from the back, as we were leaving they brought out like 6 plates of rice! The manager ignored us when we called him to our table so we had to walk to him and he said you can "take the rice" and then he said he would take care of our charges, he did not as the only credits we got was for the appetizers we did not receive and the rice that they brought out at the end. We got an experience but it was a horrible one. read more

Benihana - Managers card and receipt - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

-Ardis is amazing thank you so much for everything food was on point and customer service skills as well great j

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience at this Benihana location. Sailor, Erick, and Abby were all instrumental in making our visit exceptional. Their attentiveness, friendliness, and genuine hospitality elevated our evening. The food was absolutely amazing, and the service made us feel welcomed and cared for from start to finish. We frequent the Benihana locations back home and are huge fans of the restaurant, and this visit only reinforced why we keep coming back. Thank you to the team for creating such a memorable experience--we can't wait to return! read more

First time here, 10/10 for Ardis!!! Loved himmm, he is amazing and very charismatic. Amazing food he cooked and amazing vibe he provided

Brian the server really made everything wonderful. He was attentive, adaptive, and was constantly doing "little things" that added up. Food and experience as always was fun and delicious. Great family atmosphere! read more

There prices have skyrocketed. Fried rice for $7.50 per person! Dinner and drinks for 4 people is over $3000! Used to love to go there. They have outpaced themselves. read more

Family had an early dinner here last night at 5pm. It was already getting extremely busy when we arrived, but we were seated close to our reservation time. The hostesses were efficient and cordial. Our waitress same = efficient and cordial. Our chef Jean Pierre was wonderful, funny, entertaining, friendly, and did a great job preparing our meals. By the time we left the place was jam packed and the hostesses had not lost their pep! We got cheery thanks for coming and happy holidays called to us as we left. All in all a very very nice start to the evening!!!! read more

Ardis is the best chef! Tons of fun. Crazy how he does all of that! Food was also outstanding.

Went here for lunch with a friend visiting from south America who had never had teppanyaki before. Our server Leila was fast and friendly and even made custom "kids" chopsticks for my son. Our chef Juan put on a great show that even captivated my 3 year old. My scallops were cooked perfectly and were very tender. My only complaint is the front entrance seemed to be roped off we had to walk around several barriers to get to the door despite them being open. read more

The good, bad, and ugly... Good: Decent happy hour menu Bad: Im not sure why this Benihana tasted different from the others but it definitely wasn't as good. Ugly: We literally waited over 30 minutes for a drink. We ordered a Mai tai right before happy hour ended at 6. At 6:30 we cancelled the order after being told repeatedly that the bar was backed up. For the record, it was a weeknight and there wasn't even that many tables. read more

My family and I visited Benihana on Michigan Avenue to celebrate two graduates in our family. We had a reservation and were seated around 7:30 p.m. When we arrived, there appeared to be an issue between another customer and staff. We did not hear the full situation, but we were seated away from it and expected to enjoy our evening. Unfortunately, our experience was very disappointing. We ordered drinks and appetizers shortly after being seated. The restaurant was not crowded, and a party of nine that arrived after us was seated, served, and eating before we ever received our meals. As the night went on, we received little to no communication about the delay. By 9:40 p.m., more than two hours after being seated, we still had not been served our food. Some members of our party had only ordered water and were still waiting. We finally decided to leave after nearly two and a half hours with no meals. The most frustrating part was the lack of communication. Delays happen, and we would have understood if someone had simply explained what was going on. We also had my grandmother with us, and the long wait was becoming difficult for her. During our visit, our waitress was coughing while taking our order. We politely expressed concern because we had elderly family members present and asked if she might consider wearing a mask if the coughing continued. She explained it was due to the dry air and talking all day, but no mask was worn. When we informed staff that we were leaving because of the excessive wait, the response was disappointing. We ended up paying nearly $400 despite never receiving our meals, along with $41 for parking. We spoke with Lance in hopes of getting some answers, but instead of listening to our concerns, he talked over us, accused us of calling him names and using profanity during the conversation. Our family remained calm and respectful throughout the evening. We were simply trying to understand why we had waited so long without any updates. What makes this especially disappointing is that we have visited this location before and had positive experiences. We chose Benihana for a special family celebration and left feeling frustrated and unheard. I understand that delays can happen, but communication, professionalism, and respect for customers should not. I hope management takes this feedback seriously and works to improve the experience for future guests. read more

This place is terrible - good location but the food quality just isn't there - we had reordered shrimp tempura to start before the table started up and they were soggy and mushy, and then the food at the grill started and the best part of the meal was the fried rice. The meats were chewy and overcooked and there was honestly nothing redeeming about the experience. I would never go again. read more

We had reservations for 630pm got seated at 640pm which was great, sat at table for over a hour before the chef showed up (745pm) took our order then disappeared. Finally started cooking at 820pm and after all of this got my order wrong!! Never again will we come here read more

Oh 0 my God the last time I came here was for my son's birthday and the food was OK. Fast forward to tonight. We went there and everything was like trash. They have a promotion going on right now for a burritos if you buy one burrito you get one burrito free and although this is a Japanese place, they're serving steak burritos, chicken burritos, and shrimp burritos with the signature Benihana's rice so I ordered me and my son one of each and got home and they put no meat in there just plain white rice with soy sauce. It was so disgusting and cold and hard that I am in disbelief that they even packaged up something like this to sell to anyone. I'll take some pictures for y'all to review, but please take my word for it. Don't go in Benihana's and buy no burritos. None of the new things that they're advertising because it's made with trash. See pictures below. read more

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Have been to this Benihana once before and had an amazing experience but was very disappointed this time. Although our server was great, our chef was not at all. The dinner took about 2 hours and some of our food was severely undercooked (shrimp) and other parts very overcooked (chicken). Initially my fiancé had gotten the Benihana trio however the chef forgot and after she brought it out (after already cleaning the table top), it was dry. A big part of going to Benihana is the entertainment and there just wasn't any. When we brought this up to the server, she had sent it back to the managers and we hoped to at least get comped for the undercooked shrimp and forgotten chicken but instead they took 6$ off a 211$ bill which was essentially nothing. My fiancé and I are not people to ever bring up issues like this as we both work in food service but when you're paying over 200 for a meal for two people, it is kind of outrageous. read more

This restaurant had the worst costumer service I've ever had the misfortune of experiencing. At first, the wait was about 30 minute, and when my family and I were finally brought to our table, it took another 20 minutes for us to even receive service. we were sat with two other couples and one of the couples left and never came back, almost as if they have gotten terrible service before today. We saw our waitress 2 times the entire night- when she took our drink orders and when she brought us our drinks. We ordered our entrees and another employee brought them out to us. mind you, it had been about an hour and our chef still hadn't arrived. When he finally did arrive he played with his stupid utensils for a little bit, made dumb jokes, and when he saw that we weren't in the mood, he took his things and left us alone again. Never cooked our food. we even waited a little longer and eventually decided to leave. We then noticed that other people from other tables were leaving as well, with frowns on their faces. Even the other couple with us left shortly after we did. Nobody at our table ate hibachi. the food was good, but nothing worth the horrible experience that had, on my birthday at that! They where also made aware that it was my birthday. My mom complained as we were leaving and the manager didn't even offer to comp the food. still took 95 dollars from us after getting two entrees and some soups. The manager was not apologetic at all whatsoever and I'm completely with the other people who walked out and didn't pay. Someone needs to call Gordon Ramsey to that place because the service was everything but exceptional. Would give 0 stars if I could. hopefully it's not long until the go out of business so nobody else's time can be wasted. Do better. Pathetic. read more

Went to dinner at Benihana with friends on a weekend evening and had an Awesome Experience! Parking: since restaurant is downtown, suggested parking is street parking OR parking garage. I used a parking App and pre paid parking at a nearby garage (Water Tower Place Parking Facility). Upon arrival, the hostess takes a picture of your dining party. If you in a small party, you may be seated at same table with other small parties. We ordered: Appetizer: Edemame Drinks: Lemonade Entree: Trio of Beef, Chicken and Shrimp Dessert: Green Tea Ice Cream Chef Sergio and Hostess Valentina were excellent! Valentina anticipated the needs of the customer, was friendly and welcoming. Chef Sergio was charming, skilled with presentation and funny. I look forward to returing for my upcoming birthday. Cheers!~ read more

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