Zean C.

There's still a long wait even with a reservation. The re we're 2 hostesses and both rude. The other one was extremely rude. They both looked like they hated their jobs and didn't want to be there. The crowd was also from far away San Fernando valley . Not your local neighborhood crowd. 3 stars for the Chef and the server. Both were nice at least. Food wise - quality has gone down big time. Will not go back anymore. That's it for me.

Brejane C.

When you arrive to the restaurant parking lot, they have mandatory valet unless you decide to park on the street. The valet is $8 so if you do not want to pay, then you will need to find parking. I made a reservation for my husband & myself we arrived early so we waited a little bit before we were seated. Once we were seated, it took about 10 to 15 minutes before our waitress finally came to the table. We were seated with a family of three at our table. The waitress that we had was really sweet as she took our orders and provided us with our drinks. When she came back with our drinks, she did advise the table that she has another table that she will be waiting on, but someone else would be coming with our soups and salad. The chef who came out to cook our entrées was good at what he did. My husband got the filet mignon five course entrée which included the soup and salad and the shrimp appetizer and I got the lobster tail shrimp and scallops. The food was all right. They could've used a little bit more seasoning and I think the chef needs a little bit more knife skills. There was a point where I thought he was literally going to stab himself in the side because he could not find the place to put his knife back on his hip. However, the soup and salad never came. We did mention to the shop that we were still waiting on our soups and salads, and he kind of looked around to see who he could get to bring them to us, but then he just continued to cook the food. When our original waitress came back, we relayed the message to her that we never got our salad. The family that was sitting with us, had also ordered appetizers in addition to their meals, and they kept mentioning it to the chef that they were still waiting on that as well. By the time they finally brought my husband's rice for his main entrée he had already eaten through majority of it. Needless to say the other waitress that was supposed to back up, our original waitress never showed up. We did speak with the manager, and the manager didn't even seem phased by it at all and he didn't even apologize all he said was let me see what I could do and took $30 off the bill. The restaurant had a lot of people working there, so I'm not sure where the disconnect was and we made sure to let our original waitress know that it had nothing to do with her. Unfortunately, whoever was supposed to back her up they never showed up and it was on them, and hopefully she speaks with them and hopefully management. It just seems like there was a huge disconnect amongst the weight staff and management at this restaurant, and unfortunately, we will not be returning.

Jasmine M.

Great food! I really appreciate the difference here from the one in San Francisco. They do some things the same and some different. I like the steak sauce better in LA although I don't know what makes it different. Maybe it's more spicy? Our chef, Juan, was on the money with the food. Absolutely delicious! We had great company too! The vibe tonight was amazing. So much energy so that everyone had a blast. Only thing I didn't like was that the prices when we got the bill differed from the menu. Not sure why that was and we didn't bother asking for an explanation. Our server Oliver was very efficient and had a super smile while serving. Good mannerisms. I've got a picture of the menu before we ate and noticed the bill didn't match. We ordered edamame, hot sake, & Hibachi Steak dinner. Parking is valet or you can park on street.

Chessa D.

Benihana offers great deals, and I enjoyed celebrating the Fourth of July 2026 there. The Double Cheeseburger, fries, and apple crumble were delicious, especially paired with a Michelob Ultra beer. The young woman who checked me in was friendly and welcoming (unfortunately forgot her name). Justin provided excellent service and deserves special recognition and a pay raise. The environment was spacious, clean, and relaxing. Thank you, and God bless.

Jessica V.

Well, despite having a business employee respond to practically every review on here, management clearly has not taken action on any issues presented. It's been a year since my last visit and there are STILL issues with wait times despite having a reservation. It's almost like the owner does not care. We were a party of three and waited an hour. 30 minutes in, we received a text saying our table was ready; however, it took another 30 minutes to "clean" the table even though we could see that it was ready. The quality has significantly gone downhill. Smaller portion sizes and massive amounts of garlic butter to mask the taste of everything. Even the green tea ice cream was only a small single scoop and tasted like a different brand. The waitress did not stop by any time during dinner to see if we wanted more drinks - that's lost revenue on their end as I would've ordered another cocktail. The bathrooms need more frequent cleaning, especially since parents let their children go by themselves. I noticed a used toilet paper on the ground from a kid who went #2 - yuck! Unfortunately, this will be our last time dining at this location after many years of birthday celebrations here.

Joe-Anne M.

Benihana in Encino was a really fun and enjoyable dining experience overall. The food was excellent--fresh, flavorful, and cooked perfectly right in front of us. You can't beat the whole teppanyaki show, and everything we ordered tasted great from start to finish. The service was also on point. The staff was attentive, friendly, and made sure we had everything we needed, which made the experience even better. The only downside was the parking. You do have to pay, which feels a bit ridiculous considering it's a large lot and you could essentially park your own car if given the opportunity. It kind of feels like just another way to squeeze a little extra money out of customers. That said, the great food and solid service definitely made it worth the visit. I'd still recommend Benihana Encino if you're looking for a fun meal and a good time!

Aimee C.

Sad to have to rate Benihana so low... but my recent visits here have been subpar. Service is usually just ok but we usually are left without refills on drinks unless we flag down our waiter. During a recent visit, I was drinking iced tea and my glass cup shattered as I went to sip it. I brought this up to our waitress and she just took the cup from me and replaced it with a new one, no apologies offered or concern, to be quite frank, she seemed annoyed. We brought this up to the manager as well given that the cup could have cut me or someone else and he seemed uninterested. I also ordered a Tuna Steak entree which is typically one of my favorite dishes, however, the tuna tasted like it was not fresh at all. I understand things like this can happen but at the price point, I fear Benihana is dropping in quality. I did want to give a shoutout to our chef Hunter, I must say, he is probably the best Benihana chef I've had and was extremely attentive, interactive & kind. If I choose to visit again, I'd only trust him as our server. At the end of the day, it's Benihana, so you are bound to have some delicious bites of food, but it's sad to see some of the quality being sacrificed.

Frank D.

I'll say this, since this my first time at a Benihana's, it was an Event! One must be prepared for a LOT of energy and people. This location had its fun challenges, like not finding the parking lot driveway for the first time as one may drive by it if not familiar with its location. Parking was valeted in a narrow driveway toward the back. Be prepared to pay $8 for parking after your meal, with no validation. Which I found interesting. Upon entering the restaurant, there were elbow-to-elbow patrons throughout the establishment at 6 pm on a Monday. Wow ! Keep in mind .. if you plan on getting the Teppan Grill Experience, reservations are HIGHLY recommended. The experience, if you've never been to a Teppan grill restaurant .. is a one chef dinner show as he cooks your food on a scorching hot grill right in front of you performing culinary antics of the onion volcano, spatula egg twirls, food-to-patron shrimp tosses, and hat catches using eggs, just to name a few. Prepare yourself for loud clanking spatulas and fork work and flashing lights while food is tossed around just a couple feet in front of you. Once you purchase a course dinner, it is served continuously until the end of the show. The menu is vast and the usual "show" dinners are 5 to 6 courses. We were seated at a full 8 patron grill, while seating is open and usually depends on how big or small they assemble all the parties. Meals consist of the usual basics like Chicken, Shrimp, Lobster, different quality cuts of steak, rice, salad, soup, etc. The food quality here is of an immensely high calibre. The freshness, tenderness, seasoning, and temperature of the food is spot-on ! I have patronized many other Teppan grill restaurants, but pale in comparison. Benihanas is the benchmark of all the Teppan Grill restaurants / experiences and IS the Platinum Standard. Everyone is there to have a great time and witness a memorable culinary wonder! It is also widely popular for birthdays, as well. This would have been a much longer review if I would have described every meal, but when you try it, its reputation speaks for itself. Enjoy and Kanpai !

Tamara D.

Benihana had been off my radar for at least two decades. I have very fond memories of the whole experience - and it IS an experience - especially being entertained by the teppanyaki chefs. This visit was for a friend's birthday, so expectations were high. There were 14 of us, which meant two tables. At ours, about half ordered the Land & Sea (filet mignon and scallops), and that turned out to be the right move. The filet was tender, the scallops were cooked well, and overall, the food delivered. So why 4 stars? We had 7:00 PM reservations but weren't seated until 7:30. I understand they were trying to coordinate two tables for a larger group, but that feels like something that should have been sorted out earlier in the day. The location itself is older, and it showed a bit - especially with the smoke. Our neighboring table seemed particularly smoky, which drifted over at times. Our server was excellent. She was attentive throughout the meal and even helped cut and plate the birthday cake someone had brought, which was a thoughtful touch. Our chef started off engaging and fun, leaning into the classic teppanyaki performance we all remember. But about halfway through, the show element tapered off, and it became more about simply preparing the food. I'm not sure if that's the norm now or just the style of that particular chef. All in all, it was a fun night, and everyone had a great time. Was it exactly as magical as I remembered? Not quite. Maybe Benihana has changed. Or maybe I have. Either way, it was still a solid, celebratory evening.

Amy P.

The food has always been amazing,my chef and server Oliver did wonderful with their services and serving's. The major turned off was the greedy valet guy who took his time to hustle way too aggressively that turned to be harrassing over $8 self parking?? Also the restroom was horrible without soaps solution and toilet papers considering only 2 bathrooms for the whole restaurant that packed with all the smoky cooking foods. I hope the managers are taking notes!

Melissa L.

Benihana is usually the go-to spot to celebrate, but my most recent experience was just down-right awful, specifically due to poor and unprofessional service. Our server was largely absent throughout the night and it took around 30 minutes after we were seated to get some water, our drinks, and our food orders taken. Even then, the cocktails that we had ordered looked like they had been sitting at the bar for a while. It took an even longer time for our salad and soup to be brought out; the chef had already started cooking by the time the appetizers arrived. Benihana can get busy sometimes and delays are understandable in those times, but it was a slower night than I've usually seen at this location which made the service even more disappointing. On top of that all, our server had a negative attitude that made our party feel unwelcome. The biggest issue of the night was the end of the meal when it came time to close our bills. We had our checks split in 3, and with each transaction she claimed that the payment machine was not working correctly and it would not allow us to enter our own custom tip amount. According to her, she had been running into that glitch all day. As she held onto the machine, she asked if we wanted to leave 18%, 20%, or 22%. My friends were unfortunately scammed into leaving at least 18%, thinking that they had no other choice or option to close out their checks. When I requested that she try a different machine or just process the total by itself, she responded with "No tip?" and processed the check with no problem... I typically tip appropriately as I respect the work that servers do and I highly appreciate their efforts in taking care of us throughout the night, but between the delays in our food and drinks, lack of attentiveness throughout the night, and the server's deceptiveness at the end of the night, the whole experience was very disappointing and unpleasant. If it were not for our chef, Hunter, I would've given them negative stars. He definitely made up for some of the uncomfortableness we experienced throughout the night, and his cooking was the best food I've ever had at Benihana. He was extremely kind and funny, and you can tell that he genuinely cares about making sure the food is the best quality. If I ever return to Benihana Encino again, it will be for Hunter.

Mark H.

Excellent food! Superb Service! Fun Ambiance! Highly recommend taking in your family here!

Alisha H.

**Absolutely terrible experience -- first time, huge disappointment (for a birthday no less).** My friends and I went to this restaurant for the very first time today to celebrate my friend's birthday. We were genuinely excited--so excited, in fact, that we drove an hour and a half just to try something new. We made a reservation, told the host it was our first time, and even specifically asked to sit in the hibachi/cook area because we wanted to experience the show in front of us (and we wanted the birthday girl to have the best view). The host agreed and sat us in the middle seats for "perfect viewing." At first, the server had an attitude the entire time, but we tried to ignore it because we were still looking forward to the experience. That's when things got worse. We all ordered the same thing because the lunch package showed a variety of food, and we wanted a little of everything. The cook was actually friendly, and he was the only genuinely good part of the experience. But we immediately noticed he wasn't cooking our food. He was focused on the couple next to us--meanwhile, we were still sitting there waiting, confused and wondering why we hadn't gotten anything yet. Eventually, the cook tells us what we ordered comes from the back kitchen and he doesn't make any of our food. To be clear: **that is exactly why we asked to sit there.** We told the host it was our first time and asked for hibachi. We told the server too. We were excited to watch the chef and have the birthday experience. And somehow none of them communicated that our order would not be cooked at the hibachi table. No one warned us we were choosing something that came from a completely separate part of the restaurant. Why would we be seated in front of a chef who isn't cooking our food, and why would nobody think to tell us that before we ordered? We were awkwardly stuck waiting through everyone else's meal. The couple next to us ate first, and we were just sitting there the whole time like we were invisible. When our food finally arrived, we were already so frustrated that we didn't even want to enjoy it. At that point, we didn't even want our drinks anymore. The experience felt ruined--our appetite was gone. We left extremely disappointed, and honestly upset that we drove all that way and still ended up feeling like we barely ate. And the food wasn't what we expected either. Our rice was just plain white rice, while the couple next to us had the better fried rice, this is exactly what we assumed we ordered based on the lunch package and what we were watching in front of us. We barely ate, got everything packed up to go, and couldn't even finish our drinks. It felt like we wasted food, time, and money. What makes it even more insulting is the lack of communication. Three staff members knew it was our first time. None of them took even a moment to explain how the menu works or clarify that hibachi seating wouldn't apply to our order. Because if we known we would've ordered something completely different!! Then at the end, the server acted like it was no big deal and basically said, "Oh yeah, it's on the menu," like we were stupid for misunderstanding. But if it was that important, they could've explained it--especially since they knew it was our first visit and we were specifically requesting the hibachi experience. So yes--we paid the tab, left, and we were all extremely upset. We drove to another place afterward just to get fast food because we still didn't end up actually eating what we came for. I've never written a bad review about anything before, but today was honestly one of the most disappointing restaurant experiences we've ever had. If you want an actual hibachi show, just be careful--**because apparently the "hibachi seating" experience doesn't mean your food will be cooked in front of you.** And nobody bothered to tell us until after we already waited through the whole table experience. We later on google the menu and nowhere is it stated that the items we selected would be cooked somewhere else.