I don't underatand why I madw a reservarion! We had to wait more than an hour WITH A RESERVATION, to be sitted. Every time we askes them for our place in line, they said you're next but they kept letting other parties in. read more

Had dinner last night and the food was amazing along with our lovely server "Heidi". We were a party of 3 and she made our experience at Benihana be amazing! Will definitely be going back in hopes of the same experience as last time. read more

Our server Ben was SO nice and attentive. Always asking how we're doing and asking if we need anything. Great server!! Our chef Tony was great too. Very attentive. read more

Ben S. Is the man! He waited us perfectly and got us everything we needed in an appropriate amount of time. He is focused and exceptional at what he does. Give our guy Ben S. a raise! read more

Was there for dinner on Tuesday night was a great experience want to give a shout out to our server Caroline she was amazing and our cook Marvin his food was wonderful . read more

Disappointing Birthday Experience at Benihana I recently had an incredibly uncomfortable experience at Benihana that I feel compelled to share. My friends and family usually celebrate birthdays at this restaurant multiple times a year, and we also purchase bulk gift cards for the holidays. However, after the incident that occurred on my birthday, I am deeply disappointed and will not be returning. During my birthday dinner on July 1st, the manager approached my table and publicly humiliated me (yelling) over a $10 gift card that had expired just four days prior. Despite our small group spending over $300 on dinner that night, the manager showed no empathy or understanding. Instead, he scolded me in front of the entire table, making it clear that he didn't care about my concerns. In fact he actually said I don't care. It was a disrespectful and condescending approach that left a lasting negative impression. The another issue is you can't even combine the $10 bonus cards. I have accumulated a significant amount, you can only use one card per check. This restriction greatly limits the value and convenience of the bonus cards, leaving me with a collection of unused ones. That have now expired because they have a four-month expiration period which adds unnecessary pressure to redeem the bonus cards quickly. Additionally, I would caution against prebuying gift cards from Benihana and suggest being cautious when using bonus cards. The policy at this establishment is quite restrictive, with a mere four-month window to redeem multiple bonus cards. Such limitations on gift cards are uncommon and only serve to create unnecessary inconvenience for customers. While my past experiences at Benihana had been enjoyable, this recent birthday celebration was marred by the disrespectful treatment from the manager and the subsequent lack of response from corporate. Regrettably, I can no longer recommend purchasing gift cards from this establishment, as the negative experience outweighs any benefits they may offer. To make matters worse, I reached out to the corporate office to explain the situation and express how the manager's behavior had humiliated me. They have no number to speak with someone so I wrote them. Unfortunately, I received no response or acknowledgement of my complaint. This lack of concern from the corporate level further tarnished my perception of Benihana. I hope this feedback reaches management & corporate at Benihana, as addressing these concerns would make a significant difference. Sadly they never responded when I reached out. read more

Benihana - Encino - All the expired unused cards that just get trashed. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Encino, California

Mimi and Osvaldo were amazing !! They made the night great . I have bad allergies and they made sure I had a great time and the food was perfect . Thank you so much we will be back for sure !!! read more

Ambiance: this place is a fun and unique dining experience. I really enjoy watching the chefs cook in front of me. It's fun to come here and celebrate in a group and share food. Food: I recommend their sushi, rice. There's a little bit of a lot to go around which I absolutely love. When we go - we just share a bunch of things. Also I love how they're "In the kitchen, wrist twistin, like a stir fry, whip it" because sometimes it is. I prefer the Santa Monica location over the valley one. Just because there's more to do by the Santa Monica location. This place is still fun and I recommend it. read more

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The service was out standing from waitress to the cook at the table. The place was very busy and it was really kind of close which there was tad more room between everyone. The food was good. read more

Terrible place to go, specifically this location at Encino, Terrible service, Terrible hostess, dirty, and stinks, just go look at the carpets they super dirty and old,the hoods not working at all youget smells of food when you go out, just chefs are good other than that health department should shut this place. I thought at covid time, they been closed they had enough time to remodel but they don't care about their customers is just a money making machine without any customer service, I wish they had at least a welcoming hostess, she almost want to beat my friend because she just nicely asked change our sit ,because is cold smokey . We will never go back their .and don't recommend it either. read more

Gift certificate: I saw somewhere on their FB page that if you sign up, they will send you a $30 gift certificate on the week of your birthday (FYI- I learned that gc's are emailed every Wednesday, but they will send it to you on your birthday if it's before a Wednesday). Don't forget to print it out once you receive it, because they do ask for it! Also, pay attention to the fine print. They only allow you to redeem the gc Monday-Thurs. Wait time: I had anticipated a long wait, but it wasn't too bad since my friend and I were able to get drinks at the bar near the waiting area. I ordered the limited time drink called the Matcha Breeze, which has a harmonious combination of coconut, pineapple, matcha and rum. Mmmm, perfection. We were then called to be seated with a few other parties at the table about 20 mins after our reservation time, which isn't too bad but be prepared to wait. Menu and food: Surprisingly, this is my first time at Benihana's! I've been to a few teppanyaki places, but not specifically BH. So I was overwhelmed by the extensive food selections on the menu, but my friend was able to explain to me how to order. Dinner selections are categorized by what you want, such as if you want just steak, steak and seafood combos, all seafood, etc. Each entree comes with a soup & salad, steamed rice, vegetables, shrimp, and ice cream as dessert. It says it also comes with hot green tea, but I noticed that wasn't offered at all. I ordered the Samarai Treat which is filet mignon with colossal shrimp. My friend got the Ocean Treasure which has lobster tail, shrimp, and scallops with a side of spicy chicken fried rice. We sampled each other's plate, and please be warned that they really overdid it on the spice level for my friend's fried rice. We didn't want to complain, so we just sucked it up! Our chef put on an entertaining show that was fun to watch, and the food was really good! I had to take the rest of my food home to-go. The staff also came out at the end to sing "happy birthday" to me and one other person at the table, took our pictures, and gave us a custom Benihana portrait to take home. How cute is that!? All in all, I would def come back for special occasions as this was a treat! I was surprised to see how crowded the place was on a Thursday night. Yes, the wait time between arrival to being seated and being seated to getting served is noticeable but I didn't mind it as I was doing some people watching as well as being able to catch up with my friend. It seems like a lot of patrons were enjoying themselves. read more

Benihana - Encino - Don't mind the melting wax on top lol - Sushi Bars Near Me - Encino, California

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I was at Benihana tonight with a party of 24 celebrating my brother's Birthday and everything was fantastic . our server Tar was great and our Chef Reggie was amazing. all of our food was fantastic ... I ordered the trio ...the steak melted in my mouth and the chicken and shrimp were delicious too. the soup was also wonderful too. great staff, great night great food . A+ read more

If I could 0 stars I would. Had a reservation for 2 people only, not even a huge party... at 8:30pm, checked in 1 hour early to see if we might get lucky, it was packed so we understood. We sat at the bar in the meantime and the two girls behind the bar didn't even acknowledge us or inquire if we wanted anything. 8:30 rolls around and we are told it's going to be another 30 minutes after not getting seated by 9pm we left without eating. Don't plan on getting seated even with a reservation. read more

We made a reservation for 7:30 and got here. We waited for 20 minutes and asked and the host told us it would be another 45 minutes for the table - didn't have any remorse or further update. The lobby was full with at least 8 tables worth of people. We left and asked if we could get our parking validated since our reservation fell through and the MANAGER refused. Not a good way to treat your guests. read more

Worst experience ever we come to celebrate birthday and the chief was unpleasant and confused all the order plus some of the order one after we complained manger give us discount bu read more

My husband took me here to have dinner on Valentines day. It was so busy but even when being this busy we had the most amazing service. The chefs name was Arturo! Omg this guy was so cool he was funny extremely talented and had the most positive attitude such a happy person he made the atmosphere wonderful! My husband absolutely i enjoyed this dinner experience so much! Muchas Gracias Arturo! We will definitely come back soon! read more

Bam and Joel were the best! The best service I have ever had here. Patrick give them a raise!!! read more

Everything went well our cook Arturo was amazing, he was polite and funny!! We will definitely be back.

Server kept forgetting orders Didn't check in with us Food was meh Server couldn't figure out how to split check Chef was ok Always fun to see them cook food No picture read more

Great Hibachi spot! Stopped by for dinner on New Years Day. Hunter was our chef, he cooked everything as requested and was very entertaining. read more

Delicious food and very great service every time. The experience is unique and the environment is one of a kind.

Made a reservation for 9:30, wasn't seated until 10. Chef wasn't done cooking until after 11:30 at night. Chef put 5 scoops of garlic butter on everything so it all had no taste but butter. Chef Todd missed the egg in his hat twice in a row, never seen that ever and I've been to hibachi hundreds of times. Service was overall awful and the place didn't look nice like other locations. DO NOT go here. The food, the vibe, and the service, was all ATROCIOUS. This is from someone who has been to Benihana and other teppan places a billion times. Waste of money and time. They also raised prices too even though their food got worse! read more

Benihana offers superb service, sizzling dishes, and an unforgettable dining vibe!!! Thank you!

Benihana Encino has sadly declined in quality and atmosphere. You enter the restaurant and the lobby is very dirty and poorly kept. The pleather benches you sit on in the lobby are peeling away and the floor is filthy with the dingy unkept carpet that smells. They take very long to seat you and when you enter the dining area and get to your Teppan table, you are greeted by the dirty,gross, left-over scraps from the previous group all over the Teppan table, the floor, and the chairs that they didn't even bother to clean for your group. The Teppan table has not had a good scrubbing in what seems like ages and is cracking at the front. You look up and see a fully greasy Teppan hood. The food is still ok. The staff is so exhausted and understaffed that they can't even greet you nicely or take the time to see how you're doing. I predict this place closing down if the health inspectors come in and see the chaos, mess, and degraded cooking areas. You expect more from a restaurant if you're paying up to $300 to eat here. I would not like to see this location closed since I have good memories here, but sadly, it looks like it is headed to a sad decline. I don't know if it's management or if the owners are cheap and don't take pride in their restaurant anymore. Sad how some people value money over cleanliness and creating good memories both for your guests and employees. read more

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We have been coming here for years and years but it is unlikely we will return. This experience completely ruined my dad's birthday. Our cook did not know what she was doing, was very messy, would accidently spray food at us while cooking, and at times didnt look like she was even paying attention. She also made everything very salty, putting too much soy sauce and butter on the fried rice, the meat, and vegetables. We told her to make everything else less salty and she literally understood that to mean just put less salt on the food but continued housing everything with even more soy sauce and butter. I also ordered medium rare but got well done meat as well. By the time we got our meat and vegetables, none of us could really eat our meals because it was too salty or overcooked. We complained and the server promised to take items off the bill and then said a manager would come speak to us but then a rude manager came without saying a word and just started billing everyone at the table. When we tried explaining the situation he tried saying that she put no salt on our food and that other people at our table didn't complain (they did complain it was salty and tried asking for a refund too but we're rejected). Eventually the manager agreed to only bill us for soup and salad but when he came back with the bill we got charged even more than before. Eventually, the server had to step in with a different manager (who we did not even see) and charged us much less but we were still charged for more than the soup and salad like the first manager said we'd be charged. The only reason this gets 1 star is because Yelp requires it and also the server was very good to us and understanding unlike the management. It is a shame because we come here for every birthday, graduation, and other celebrations. Benihana, if you read this, you need to change the management at the Ventura location and also do a better job with hiring cooks. Until then we won't be coming back and anyone reading reviews should take this one into note. read more

Ordered take out that was supposed to be ready at 5:00 for pick up. I am still sitting here at 6:06 with no order waiting to go. In the hour that I've been sitting here no one's order has come out of the kitchen besides one. I am now late to the plans I had despite ordering the food with more than enough time. The manager sees all these people waiting for their orders and not one thing has been done or said to offer some sort of apology for the inconvenience. No wonder this place has 3 stars. read more

I have always absolutely loved Benihana!!! We gladly had the pleasure of dining with our server Ali! She was amazing!! Very attentive and knowledgeable. Loved all of her suggestions for food and drinks!! She took very good care of us and will always appreciate that! We will definitely be back soon! Make sure to try the salmon with the noodles ! Ali's suggestion!!! Thank you again Ali great service!! read more

Most definitely not the best first impression , after receiving our appetizers it took about 40 mins for our chef to come out. What was so frustrating was that the table right across from us got sat maybe 10 15 mins after us and some how they got a chef before us. Our table was mind blown we couldn't believe it but we were patience looking for our server. Before we were able to find her a chef came by luckily Hunter saved the day. He was quick with his hands my wife had a gluten allergy and he made sure to accommodate her needs witch was great. The food was delicious and tasteful , I had the steak and my wife and the shrimp. Overall I give this place another chance. read more

The food is bland! Salt & pepper isn't the go to spices. The fried rice has absolutely NO FLAVOR no matter the amount of butter & garlic added!! The chicken tasted awful & the steak wasn't fresh. The waiting time even with a reservation is ridiculous! Also I don't think adding random people to your table is a great idea. The place is super small you can barely get through when you get up. DEFINITELY OVER PRICED for the amount of food you get! read more

Been coming here for years and years (easily 15+) This time I was extremely disappointed with my experience at Benihana, and decided to finally put a review. We arrived on time (15 min early to be exact) for our reservation, but were left waiting for over an hour after our reservation time. What's worse, the managing staff were completely rude and dismissive when we asked about the delay. No apology, no explanation, just a "you'll be seated when we can, we are backed up" finally once seated they decided to put us in the smallest area/table they had. We were all squished and barely had room. The food and chef were good as always, but the service just gets worse and worse here! You guys need to start limiting times on tables and get others seated in a timely manner. It's unprofessional, and rude to make people who have reservations wait anything over 15/20 min in my opinion. Because of the noise and complaining I gave them there while waiting, we did receive a little discount off the bill which was nice to do, but doesn't cut it I'm sorry. read more

I was here last night 5/11/21 and I have to say my hubby and I enjoyed our evening here. The food is delish and I enjoyed my Rainbow Roll, just bummed they ran out of Yellow Tail for the Sashimi, but it's fine because we were stuffed!! In my experience last night, I felt there was Social Distancing where they sat us...they had my us at one end of the table and 3 other people (family) at opposite end and no one in between and it was paperless menu, we used our phones for the QR code, and user menu from there. read more

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Amazing place we come At least 3 times a month staff is amazing food is amazing I would strongly recommend it read more

On 1/22/25, my family and I dined here for my 65th birthday. It was a party of 10 adults and 2 kids. Reservations were at 7:45pm. By 8 all had arrived and we were sitted soon after. It was crowded. However what transpired next was ridiculous! It took about 20 minutes for our drink order to be taken. Then another 20 minutes before getting then. Meanwhile another large party that had been sitted about 10 minutes b4 us were already having their food behind us. Another 20 minutes went by then b4 our food we order was taken. About 15 minutes later we got the soup then salad. After about 30-40 minutes passed, we had to enquire about our food. Mine you about this time the place had emptied considerably! We were then told the chef had to build our cart. What, from IKEA? OK the chef finally came out and the real fun began. After being identified as the birthday girl, I was ALWAYS the last person served and ALWAYS received the ragtag ends of the food! Our fried rice ended up being 3/4 full and my son didn't get his until the end because the chef wanted to do a "trick" with it. This resulted in the rice being served COLD! The chef dropped my shrimp on the table instead of my plate, said sorry and made no love to retrieve it. I picked it up myself! He left my lobster on the grill while he proceeded to do something else so that it was inedible when he finally served it to me! By this time, we were the only guests in the place with most of the lights being turned off! As it was my birthday, I was brought a lit red birthday candle to hold in my hand so the chef and waitress could sing happy Birthday to me! I had to ask about my bd ice cream. I was told yes I could get one but it would take some time to get! Why, because everyone but us were already gone??? My daughter in law was so upset, she asked to speak to the manager. He listened to her with his arms folded across his chest! Finally he grudgingly agreed to take something off of the bill. So let's see, off of a over $300 bill, he subtracted $45. Off a over $100 bill he took $25. He took $20 off another bill and $30 off another. We spent in total over about $600 and received about $100 in accommodations! Ridiculous and insulting! What should have been a glorious celebration of my milestone birthday was ruined by bad service and worse customer service. Going to Benihana on our birthday was a family tradition for many years. Thanks Encino for ruining it! Renee Sanders read more

Wow. This was my first time at Benihana and I, like all of you, grew up hearing the legends. So when my buddy said Beni, wanna 'hana? I said heck yes. Short version: crappy lukewarm food and ho-hum performance. Long version: Getting there and getting sat was easy enough. The vibe was jubilant and festive, crowded for a Thursday evening. The waitress was fun and informative and I mistook her for the chef, my first time and all... oh how Little did I know how sorely mistaken I was. Now, I'll preface all this with saying maybe it's a systemic failure, maybe chef was tired, and in other circumstances this experience would've met the build up. But here's what happened. Chef comes to the table, introduces herself, double checks the orders (filet mignon, med rare), and then gave a not-show. No knife flipping. None of the fun crowd work. She did the egg trick casually, with all the showmanship of a teenage bodega cook working for weed money. Also, she served the rice in the bowl instead of that little mound, and skipped a few levels of the onion tower. She seemed pretty preoccupied with making as much noise as possible with the salt, shaker and knives instead of making my food taste good or doing something interesting. Now, I know I sound like a crotchety boomer but clearly these chefs are trained on a pretty precise script. I'm all for throwing the script out the window but not like this. And yet, I was enjoying myself while by buddy sat crestfallen. I didn't understand till I looked up and saw all the other chefs making their tables laugh, flipping knives, serving neat lil rice mounds, and genuinely having as much fun as you can while working in the food service industry. Wet performance notwithstanding, the food is the real star of the show right? Wrong. The soup was room temp. The filet mignon was more like filet of chuck but that's hard to tell since it was so over cooked. The dip sauce tastes the same as the salad dressing and everything tastes like hibachi zucchini. Plus the shrimp had poop in it. Anyway the highlight of the night was the waitress, Annie who had a pulse. Which is how I also prefer my chef and my steak, neither of which I got. I've worked food service and probably will again; it's a tough thankless job. So is being a performer. I don't envy these chefs jobs but they signed up for it and clearly receive pretty specific training, as evidenced by the tiktokverse. This chef just missed the mark. Hope my buddy is willing to join me if I decide to give this place another shot. Maybe another location next time. read more

Benihana - Encino - Poopy shrimps - Sushi Bars Near Me - Encino, California

Awful service, if you don't honor reservation times why even offer reservations? Also very unclean. Left without eating. Wouldn't go pack if you paid me read more

This use to be good place. We have been coming for years but unfortunately like many things after the pandemic the quality has gone way downhill. Both my son and I got sick after dinner. We will not be returning. Nice staff read more

Went to celebrate a birthday And everyone and everything was great The Mgr jason went above and beyond Definitely recommend and will be coming back read more

Not my first time dining at Benihana, but this is my first time at this location. We celebrated a family birthday here recently and everyone had fabulous time. We brought our own cake and they kept it for us in their fridge, providing forks and plates. Our chef was funny and entertaining! Parking is valet only and cost $5 or you can park at Ralphs shopping lot for free. Entrees run from about $20 to $30 each and can run as high as $40. Most of us ordered filet mignon and chicken combo, while others got benihana trio (steak, chicken and shrimp). Our meals came with a soup and salad, which came promptly and was delicious. It was then followed by tasty fried rice prepared table side and included a beating heart with the wording "I love u" for show. The vegetables and mushrooms were next, equally yummy. All the meats and seafood were cooked exactly how we requested it and very scrumptious. Everything paired well with garlic and mustard sauce. After our main entrée, they brought over the cake, lit birthday candles I provided and sang happy birthday. We even got some ice cream with our cake. The green tea and vanilla were the crowd favorites. Positive experience overall. You really can't go wrong with heavy load of butter and soy sauce which they don't skimp on here, but don't tell that to my cardiologist. read more

Benihana - Encino - Sushi Bars Near Me - Encino, California

Hello, I am writing in regard to my visit to your Encino, CA location on Saturday 9/25/25. My friends and I came in to celebrate a birthday and ended up having the worst dining experience of our lives. Our reservation was for 8:15 to which we arrived promptly. We were told there wouldn't be a table for us for 40 minutes. Upsetting, but we decided to wait because of the celebratory purpose of our visit. We waited at the bar where there were multiple children sitting ON the bar itself? That doesn't seem legal and is also extremely unsanitary. 45 minutes passed and we checked back in with the host to be told that there are still 6 parties ahead of us. At this point it was 9:00 on a Saturday night so we did not have a viable option to leave. We were finally seated 2 hours after our reservation at 10:15 pm. That alone is so beyond unacceptable. When we were seated, we asked about the dinela menu, and no one seemed to know what we were talking about for a good 5 minutes. Our waiter seemed like he was going to cry and the chef was fine but unenthusiastic. Our meal was so unenjoyable, and we were rushed out of the restaurant. Almost as soon as the chef was don't cooking our waiter came out with boxes while it was clear that we were still eating, the ENTIRE staff around us was cleaning up and closing up the restaurant, again, completely unacceptable. Our waiter and one other staff were around to sing happy birthday to our friend, but again, they looked like they were having a terrible time, and by then so was my party. To top it off the polaroid to take a commemorative picture was out of film apparently so we didn't even have that for our celebration. Overall, this was the worst dining experience we've had in years, and absolutely ruined our birthday celebration. read more

We came to celebrate my cousin's birthday and because it's Ramadan, we break our fast with coffee and dates. They have the nerve to charge us a $15 corkage fee, even though they're not opening the bottle or providing any silverware or glasses for them to clean or worry about. That is terrible service and we will never come here again because this is our tradition and religion and they're making us pay for it. read more