Please don't go here!! There are a lot of great places in Cincinnati for a nice dinner and this not one of them. I went for a friends birthday and we had a party of 8. We had a 7:30 reservation and didn't get sat until about 8:20. The food was okay, but the service was beyond awful. It is truly a wonder how this place is still even open, especially since the experience is why you go to Benihana. Believe all the other reviews. Don't go here. read more

I've never been to this restaurant but heard nothing but good things about this place. Today is a friends birthday. We all decided on Benihana because what the heckTyrese Gibson has one in his backyard. So we're like let's see what the big "Hoopla" is about. I must say, their customer service was impeccable from the time we walked in the until we departed. Our server MJ delivered world class customer service! She was patient, courteous and very attentive to our needs. MJ answered any questions without hesitation. Our next experience was the chef. His name was Josh and he was just as great with the tricks he used while cooking and also joking around with us. It just made our first time experience great! MJ brought out desserts and sung happy birthday in Japanese. Unfortunately, there were other patrons that were quite rude to the staff. I noticed how the employees at this restaurant has to deal with a lot. But our first experience was Tony the Tiger "GGRRRREEEEAAATTT!" We'll definitely, return soon read more

We took our son to the Tri-County location for his birthday tonight. We had reservations for 7pm. My son and daughter-in-law arrived early and had a drink in the bar. When my husband and I arrived at 6:45, we told the hostess that our entire party was present and she said to go into the bar and they would call our name when our table was ready. We were in the bar for an hour and 45 minutes and after asking numerous times when our table would be ready, they finally took us back to the hibachi. The service was so slow. It took another 30 minutes to get our soups and salads. The chef finally got to our table at 9:30. He was overworked and not much of a performer. We don't blame him as there were only 2 chefs on hand for the entire restaurant. By the time we finally paid our bill (which was incorrect and needed to be fixed), we left the restaurant over 4 hours after arriving. We thought several times about getting up and leaving, but we were trying to celebrate a meaningful birthday. After this horrible experience, we will never go to this Benihana again. There are so many other delicious restaurants in the Cincinnati area, why would we subject ourselves to something like this again. Save yourselves. Run for the hills if anyone ever asks you to go here for dinner, unless you plan to bring along a sleeping bag for your long, long, long wait. read more

I went with my family. Had reservations and still had to wait an hour to be seated. Once we were seated we waited another 1:45 minutes. Too sum up our experience the food was good but prepared out of order. The Yum Yum sauce was obviously watered down and the manager didn't visit until after the check had been presented. My kids literally fell asleep at the table due to them taking so long. We would've left but we were there to support another individual but I will never go back or eat their over priced food. read more

I came here for the first time to celebrate my friends' birthdays. We were rushed to get our orders in and they ended up being wrong for almost everyone at the table. The chef was excellent and very fun. The server that took over because the original one left was very stressed and frantic. We were happy with our food mostly but the service was pretty bad. It kept us here until 10:30 as they had to fix the checks and correct all the issues. I love hibachi but this was not the best experience I have ever had. I recommend you repeat your complete order with the chef to confirm what you want or you may not get the right entree or order at all. read more

Let me preface this review by saying I usually love Benihanas, and, was looking forward to eating at this one. Especially since I was in the area for world, and the big boss man was picking up the tab. So I sit down at the bar, and proceed to order some yummy teriyaki. Come to find out, you have to be in the main dining room to order that. The bartender was very apologetic and said it was a new policy. Something about not enough chefs? At any rate, this seems like a pretty dumb policy, especially with all the hotels in the vicinity of this restaurant. Most people I know who travel for business travel alone, mostly eat alone, and thus don't go to a table In the dining area to eat. So in the end, Benihanas didn't get my business that night. It's a shame too, I was so looking forward to miso soup and chicken fried rice. read more

I can't leave a good rating because when we walked in they said it was going to be a 30 min wait. With a 4 year old and a 1 year old it was not worth waiting for. We love places like this and hopefully when we go back and try again we get in quick or we have a wait of 15 min or less. read more

This restaurant is so poorly run. Bathrooms were wiped out with towels all over the floor at 5pm. The food was ok but not anything like the past. Portions are small and prices have gone way up. I ordered the filet and scallops and received 4 scallops. Really? Tables and chairs are wore out and in big need of update. Would suggest many of the local teppan grills for half the price. read more

Would probably give them 4 stars but it depends on the Chef you get. Out this evening with family celebrating my daughter's birthday. The birthday coupon you get takes 24 hours to be "live" to print. Really?? Overall great, fun atmosphere to enjoy with a good group of 8 and watch your dinner cook in front of you. read more

Other than to collect your birthday club meal, find another place to get hibachi. Service is consistently slow. On tonight's mid week visit it took 30 plus minutes to receive our checks after dinner. Don't get hung up on the Benihana name. Geisha, Kabuto, Soho, Fuji -all provide better service, competitive prices, and fantastic food. read more

Had to wait a half hour even though we had a reservation. Soup was way to salty and the chef was not to par, only two tricks under his hat. Don't know if I will be back. read more

Went there last night for our anniversary. We are regulars here but the service was very slow. We were seated at our table but it was 45 minutes until our chef appeared. They forgot to put my order on his cart so after he cooked for everyone else. They had to bring my order out for him to cook. Definitely not the level of service we are used to here. read more

Terrible! Not only did they forget one of our orders but condensation was dripping on my friend/her food the entire time!!!

Last night me and my husband when to Benihana. It was bad, food sucked, chef sucked. Service sucked. Place was nasty. Chef didn't know what he was doing messed up on my order and on my husbands order. We was there for 2 and a half hours took 1 1/2 hours for food to be completely done. Was no happy with this trip. Don't think I will be going back nor my husband. We use to eat here all the time. The new people who own the business sucks. The new rules suck, The new chefs suck. My menu was sticky nasty, so was my husbands look like they wasn't cleaned. Some of the dishes had to be taken back due to them being nasty. Not happy with this visit. read more

Went for lunch on my sons with birthday with the family. Its was great as always.

Benihana has been my favorite restaurant since I was a kid, so that may make me a bit biased. I love Benihana but I gave it four stars because I have been there recently and I haven't been satisfied with the service. The food has always been great but the service recently--not so much. I went there about 4 or 5 months ago, and I waited forever at my table before anyone came over to our group. So my boyfriend and I walked out. The next time I went was for my birthday in April. We were told it was an hour wait. We left and came back within forty minutes and they had called our name twenty minutes before we had returned. So we weren't happy about that, but the host said we would be called next after we notified him of our return. We asked why he told us such a long time, and he said its because they had people with reservations that didn't show. I just wish when he saw us walking out the door after we gave him our name, he would have mentioned that our table maybe called sooner than an hour; then we wouldn't have left. But it was more upsetting at the time just because we were so hungry when we arrived. The only other thing I will complain about is the fact that they changed their soup; they removed the fried onions and that was the main ingredient that gave the soup it's awesome flavor and unique texture. I am not happy about that at all. The only ingredients that the soup has now is broth, green onion, and a few thin slivers of mushroom. Disappointing! I just hope that maybe they were out of the fried onions that day or something. The main reason I love Benihana is because of their ginger dressing for the salad and their ginger sauce they serve with the meal. Oh and my favorite chef is Hiro. He's the grand master and has been cooking the goodness there since they opened or close to it. I usually order the same meal: the Benihana Special with a side of shrimp sauté with the chicken fried rice. It's a lot of food and I have left overs every time. But it's worth every penny. Yummy epic deliciousness is Benihana! PS. I answered yes to bringing kids because I have brought my son, but I prefer to not bring children under the age of 7 or 8 unless they have a good palette. My son doesn't like Japanese food. The only thing he'll eat is the steak and chicken. read more

Reservation for 5 at 9 pm on a Monday. Seated by 9:10 but chef didn't appear at table to cook until 10. Soup and salad courses had come out by 945 to keep us from keeling over. Taste and presentation were great. Manager gave 20% off our bill so we were satisfied with the overall experience. read more

I love Benihana my family and I went there today on a Saturday 10 minutes before they opened the doors. We went in they told me there was a 45 minute wait because they have to take reservations first .There were about 20 people that they told this to. So we all left very frustrating. read more

I have never experienced such bad service from a waitress in my life. It was almost as if we were sat down and it was her mission to make us as unhappy as possible! We had a few people in our party that told her they needed forks. She told our group they didn't have forks. Plain as day, "No, we don't have any." And proceeded to make kiddie chop sticks for them!!! When the table next to us had forks alllll around! Their waitress came to us eventually, confused and brought us some. Wow! I'm still blown away by her. She got tipped because we had a party of more than 8 ppl. read more

Worst Restaurant Ever! Have gone here for the past 25 years. Over the last 5 years the business had gotten worse and worse, lack of management, no customer service and the cleanliness is appalling... I had made reservation for myself and my mother, for today "Good Friday" at 1:15 pm. We arrived after a 45 minute drive mind you, and we were greeted by a man who tells me there is no reservation for us, but tells us he can seat us right now. He walked around the corner, came back, and informed us with a straight face, that there was a 2 1/2 to 3 hour wait and he wanted to put us on the list. All of this with no apologizes, looking at me as if I'm bothering him, how dare I want to eat lunch. They allowed us to leave with no apologies, no manager, and lunch... Their building is dilapidated, cleanliness is filthy inside and out, the prices are high, service is awful... I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. If you're hungry for Benihana, may I recommend driving to the Benihana in Columbus or Indianapolis, because... IF YOU EAT HERE YOU WILL REGRET IT!! You've been warned... read more

I don't go to Benihana much anymore for certain reasons, but some friends made reservations for 8 on New Years Eve, so my wife and I decided to go and give it another try. It's been four years or better since I'd returned, and all the reasons I had stayed away, came right to the forefront. We were all there by 7:45. Had a vodka on the rocks and wife had a Mich Ultra while waiting. Bar bill came..... $19.48 for those two drinks. Finally got seated at 8:30. They handed us "holiday menus" with the prices jacked up, and also charged $4 for fried rice which used to always be part of the meal. Steamed rice was "free." Our food was was finally prepared to eat at 10:05, because there was only one cook for an hour in our area of six tables. The food was done so late and the $100 meal bill came out so late that it ruined the rest of our plans for New Years Eve. Not interested in returning because the service is terrible and the price gouging read more

This place has really gone down hill!!! I come here several times per year. Every time gets worse and worse. I came today for my birthday and was SO excited. Something about a Japanese grill that really puts me in the Birthday spirit. Our reservation was for 830. We were promptly seated... and then we waited..... and waited....... and WAITED. Our orders were taken, but we waited for over an hour with no soup or salad. We spoke to the table next to us, they also waited close to 2 hours for their salad and soup. We spoke with several servers. No one apologized or tried to move the process along. At around 940, we just left and came to BJ's (where we were served promptly). Bottom line, I'm very understanding when someone explains the situation. But no one even bothered to explain why things were running behind. I will not be back. Kabuto has better quality food anyway. Birthday dinner ruined ! Thanks Benihana read more

Sat us 30 minutes after our reservation, they spilled water all over me, and it gave me and my boyfriend food poisoning on my birthday. It was definitely not worth the wait or money. Probably my worst dining experience ever. read more

Good food but way understaffed. They told us it would be a 2 hr wait but it ended up being THREE

We've been there many times and the food is usually really good. It seems highly dependent on which chef you get. Went last weekend and got Hiro as our chef. His cooking was the best. However, one of the guests at our table took offense at how much fried rice he got and started spouting profanity at Hiro. I asked the guy to take it down a notch, to which he threatened to kick my ass. I thought it was a joke until he went on and on about it until the police showed up. In hind-sight, it was truly comical considering it was all over some fried rice. I can't blame the restaurant for their guests' behavior but I can say they did absolutely nothing to resolve the situation. The belligerent guest wasn't asked to leave or even change tables. It pretty much ruined the entire evening for me. So instead of losing one customer, they lost the other 6 people sitting at the table. I'm pretty sure none of us will ever go back. Even the people at the next table were uncomfortable. Their food is usually good, although majorly overpriced. But that can't make up for a complete lack of customer service or class. read more

Went to Benihana Cincinnati with my boyfriend and another couple. We had an 830 reservation, we were seated at 930 and served dinner around 1040. The manager was absolutely no help, he saw us trying to flag him down (about the fact that we'd been seated for an hour with no chef) and he purposely ignored our table. I finally chased him down and he just stared at me dumbfounded without offering any type of solution--- he also did not offer comp any aspect of the meal or bar tab for the 2+ hour wait and abominable service. The restaraunt, grills and bathrooms were completely unsanitary. Stained carpet, sticky surfaces in the dining area and urine and toilet paper all over the dilapidated stalls. Our chef, Eugenio, was fantastic and I watched him cook for 3 groups back to back before coming to our table. He was very skilled and entertaining. It was strictly poor management that ruined our dining experience. read more

My family and I went there for the first time in a very long time and we were very disappointed. We waited an hour and a half for a table on a Monday night?? Our chef was terrible. Everything was over salted and buttered. We were very disappointed. We miss our friend Hiro. He made it special. read more

I've been going to this particular Benihana for over 30 years. I never thought I would be so unhappy at one of my favorite restaurants. The last 4 visits in which I had reservations for dinner were a horrible experience. Each time I've gone my party were not seated on time. Now I can understand, 15 minutes but....the least amount of time to get seated was over a half an hour. The latest reservation in November was for over an hour. Each time the hostess tried her best to say they are tending to us as fast as they can. The problem is...almost all the chefs left. They simply do not have enough, and yet, they keep taking reservations as if nothing has happened. The first delay I took it in stride as a fluke. But now there is a pattern and I will never go back for dinner again. The thing is...when you go to Benihana...just because you are seated doesn't mean the chef is at your table and the cooking has begun. The manager has basically given us discounts on our meals and drinks but why not FIX THE PROBLEM? I've written corporate, I've spoken to current management and there is no response except, "hang in there we are hiring more chefs". If you don't have a lot of time I'd say use caution for dinner reservations until they get their act together. Kids are screaming as they and their families have been waiting far too long. The last night there were only 2 waitresses for the entire place. Also only saw 2 chefs and normally there should be at least 5. Please Benihana...get your ACT TOGETHER! I want to come back. read more

Heard a lot of good things about this restaurant. Had reservations for 8 and took over an hour to get seated. Disappointed with the service. Also over price read more

My boyfriend, and I went to Benihana for the first time for my birthday. We arrived at 8:45PM, seated at 9:05, our orders were taken at 9:30, soups and salads came out around 10:05, cook came out at 10:15. Being that it was our first time dinning there, we didn't know the fried rice was cooked with onions and by the time we realized it, it was too late. We let the cook know that my boyfriend is allergic to onions, he then gets upset stating we should've said something before. He then stomps off to get more rice, and returns slamming things. He was so rude that the other diners said something to him. The rice, and chicken was over cooked, and we didn't get out of there till about 10:45, and they closed at 10PM. We will never visit another Benihana again. We would've been better off going to a takeout place. On the plus side, our server was great! read more

I took my daughter to celebrate her birthday and had a coupon for her meal. Apparently the coupon wasn't 'available to use' for another day. The manager embarrassed my daughter in front of the entire table and almost ruined the whole dinner experience. I won't be going back for sure, your food is subpar and your customer service is even worse. read more

I was definitely not impressed. I will not be returning not even if I were offered a free meal. The service is poor on a scale from 1-10 my rating would be a 1 for their pathetic effort. I walked in and the place had a strong odor that smelled like a backed up sewer. When I inquired about the smell I was told the restroom always has that smell which smells up the entire front entrance and lobby as well. This is a major issue....Do you think??? What a way to get your appetite going... I was told I had an one hour and fifteen minute wait it was actually a fourth eight minute wait. Yeah... Once I was seated it took the hostess twenty minutes to come over and greet my party. I was quenched with thirst with a mouth as dry as a cotton ball. I asked for a medium cooked steak and received a well done over cooked steak tough as leather and the shrimp was over cooked and rubbery. The chef was mixing everyone's order up at the table and did no tricks at all with the utensils or food and was not friendly. I would have been better off going to a Chinese self serve buffet. Please save your darn money what a waist. read more

I was so upset when the downtown location closed. WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT WAAAAAAA...however I was quite happy when I heard of the Tri County location. It's out of the way but if you love Benihana as much I do, it's worth it. It may taste a little different from downtown, but it's still fantastic!!! Go! Go! Go! read more

Good service and food as you would expect .. It's always a pleasure to watch the chef prepare the food

Terrible customer service. One hour and fifteen minute wait for an express lunch at the bar. DO NOT GO ON YOUR LUNCH BREAK UNLESS YOU HAVE TWO AND A HALF HOURS. I was treated as if they were doing me a favor. The food was very tasty but the manager was very unprofessional and very rude. Will never patronize this place anymore. read more

Horrible service. We Had reservations for 8 arrived 10 minutes before & tables that came in after us were being seated before us.. We waited over an HOUR and as we were walking out the door they were trying to seat us. This was my first time there, I didn't get to eat, and I will never be back read more

Went to this Benihani for the first time this evening with a reservation at 7:30 pm. After waiting 20 minutes past our reservation time, we were told that they were short staffed this evening and that people with reservation for 7:00 pm were still waiting for their table. Finally was seating at around 8:30 pm. In talking with the others we were sat with, they indicated that they were there in January and had to wait over an hour to get seated then so it doesn't appear this is a one time issue. They indicated that they have been going to this location for about 40 years and the customer service has been going downhill lately. While we waited (which was in the bar area), there was no service what so ever - no one to ask if we wanted any drinks, water anything. Also, there was never any apologizes from management or the staff related to the wait. They really made us feel like we were the ones with the issue of expecting to be seating at a time close to our reservation. Once we were seated, the waitress was nice and the food met our expectations. One strange thing that I had not seen before at a Benihana - there was a security guard in the restaurant the whole time and we noticed him walking out any time people left. When we left, he did the same thing which we then figured out was to make sure we safely got into our cars and left okay. I don't know what has happened in the parking lot before but I assume there must have been some type of safety issues. While we like Benihana, it will take a lot of convincing for us to ever try this location again given the issues listed above. Given the other reviews, I should have expected this. read more

We had a lovely dinner with Eugenio as our chef. I've been to Benihana in Seattle and San Francisco and he was the best chef I've ever had. Extremely skilled and personable. The food as always delicious. Service good. Only complaint is bathrooms needed some attention. read more

Severely outdated and the dinning room has no windows felt like we were eating in someone's basement long waits also they don't seem to seat u unless they can fill the hibachi tables (which is were we sit usually ) food is over priced also for the quality u get read more

The table side cooking was entertaining. Our wait in the "lobby"/bar area was enjoyable and the pre-dinner Mai-Tai was delicious. The dinner itself was okay. We felt rushed and did not fully understand that children were charged extra for answering the waitress's question. When we received our bill, we had additional charges totaling $25. There was an upcharge to the adult dinner for asking for fried rice instead of white rice. That charge was $4.90; we were told about the charge and agreed. When the four children ordered their entrees, they were asked if they wanted white rice, chicken fried rice or noodles. It was our first time at the restaurant and we were rushed to order within minutes of being seated. Three of the children answered yes to fried rice and the fourth child answered noodles. Had we known that each child's meal would then be charged almost five extra dollars (each), we would have declined the option. The server was adequate, but she felt rushed and made us rush our order. Upon entering (and existing) the hosts were at the host's location gossiping and ignoring guests leaving. The women's washroom smelled horrific and the floor was more than unusually sticky. Overall, the restaurant was a fun experience. However I do not believe it is up to the Benihana reputation and we make no immediate plans of returning. read more