Benihana - Encino
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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.
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.
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.
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.
It was my first time at Benihanas. I went with my husband to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We got there 30 min early which helped because we got seated right at our reservation time. I ordered the Deluxe Treat & my husband got the Hibachi Steak. I also ordered a Haiku Colada (absolutely delicious!). Chef John not only gave us a nice show, but he was quite the jokester as well. He had us cackling between bites of food. The atmosphere was welcoming & all the staff were friendly & attentive. We were lucky to get seated with a 2 other friendly couples. Also we got free dessert because we were celebrating a special occasion. I highly recommend this location and am excited to return.
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.
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!
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.
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 !
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.
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!
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.
4 years ago
3 years ago
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Lee C.
Hi Ixel, thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We're…
2 years ago
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Lee C.
Rocio, we truly apologize for your experience and understand your…
4 years ago
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Lee C.
Thanks for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear we disappointed you.…
2 years ago
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Lee C.
We are sorry to hear about your disappointing experience, N. We…
2 years ago
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Lee C.
Hi Janet, we're really sorry to hear about your experience. We strive…
Orders take out due to COVID-19 and I was disappointed last night. I ordered the 6oz hibachi chicken fried rice and it just didn't seem fresh. It wasn't even hot it was just "warm". My sushi roll was delicious no complaints there but the hibachi chi fried rice gets a 2! read more
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Lee C.
Areial, on behalf of our team here at Benihana, we would like to…
2 years ago
2 years ago
2 years ago
3 years ago
3 years ago
Business owner information
Lee C.
Hi Avi, Thanks for taking the time to bring this to our attention. We…
2 years ago
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Lee C.
Thanks for the fantastic feedback, Joe! We’re thrilled to hear you…
6 years ago
Absolutely terrible! My girlfriend ordered a delivery meal for 2 for my birthday totaling around $85. As I went outside to meet the delivery driver I see a good amount of rice on the ground, only to discover my food left on the ground in a torn bag. Driver then gets out of his car and states that "something must have leaked, you can call the restaurant if you want its up to you." My boxes were soaked, boxes broken, and half my rice is on the ground in front of my apartment. No ability to speak to an actual person when you call the store. We ordered directly from their website. Horrible customer service. We will be taking our business elsewhere in the future and will advise others to do the same! read more
3 years ago
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Lee C.
Hi Rob, thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your perspective…
3 years ago
Business owner information
Lee C.
Caro, on behalf of Benihana, we would like to offer our sincere…
This is an extremely small benihana and they pack the house nightly. It's definitely more fun if you come with your own group of 8 . You can opt out of tables with small kids . If you can't make a party of 8 try to come with an even number you are seated pretty quickly and reservations are required to have less than a 90 min wait. If you are looking for celebrity sightings (celebs who don't require their own dining room) Billy Gardel (Mike & Molly TV show) was dining with his family tonight and Mary Lou Henner dines at the Torrance location . Hunter was our chef and did a great job, he is nice & friendly and his egg slight of hand was incredible there was one egg then there were 2 ! Pretty cool ! I'd love to post the video but verizon had zero service and now all i can upload are photos of our meal . Due to the entertainment value your seafood (especially) tends to be over cooked . Perhaps the steak and chicken should be cooked first as they take much longer to cook than shrimp and lobster . Do not order sushi here, this is my second visit to this benihana and it took our table mate 4 times asking the server where her sushi was. The last time I was here about 2 months ago My sushi finally arrived after the entire table had eaten, and after asking the server more than 4 times & finally asking for the manager . begrudgingly they took it off my check. Overall it's a fun place to eat. The waiter service is very slow & scarce once they take your initial order so don't expect that to be great. The experience is worth is a few times a year with your birthday promotion but I probably wouldn't make it a regular place to dine. It's extremely loud it's was difficult to hear/understand the server . read more
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Lee C.
Bonnie, Thank you for leaving us an in depth review of your…
2 years ago
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Lee C.
Thanks for the fantastic review, SavageCabbage! We're thrilled to…
2 years ago
my sister and brother in law celebrated their wedding anniversary here. definitely a fun dining experience. my nephews loved it. had a lot of fun. enjoyable for kids and family experience. the chefs tricks is amazing to watch. delicious food. server was kind, quick and accommodating. read more
4 years ago
Absolutely love this place! The food is always fresh and the chefs are always friendly! As a regular, the chefs know you by your first name and seem to always remember our special request! Perfect place to visit with a group of friends or on a first date! Ask for Arturo!!! He's the best chef of 'em all! read more
2 years ago
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Lee C.
Hi Trinity, we're really sorry to hear about your experience. Waiting…
2 years ago
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Lee C.
Dear Armine, we are truly sorry to hear about your disappointing…
3 years ago
Tonight I gotta give a shout out to the AMAZING customer service that we got after my reservation wasn't on there system, yet I called last week and made the reservation. I was so bummed to hear that walking in... for my annual bday dinner! We drive all the way from Santa Clarita to Come here .. once a year cause it's my favorite! Just as I thought we were going to be SOL and have to drive home. The amazing hostess (dang it I forgot her name! I'm sorry I suck with names!) but she was a light skinned, beautiful black Queen up there at the hostess desk HANDLING BUSINESS! She worked her magic and came up to me and told me not to worry that she would get us in! I gave her a couple hugs tonight! She made my bday dinner happen! And I'm so grateful to her! I think her name started with an M... she had her hair tied back and she was working tonight around 7:10pm! Thank you girl for making my night!! I know you'll get amazing karma for that one girl!! Seriously... appreciate you so much and I hope your bosses appreciate you too! I work in the customer service industry myself.. and it makes a WORLD of difference when your greeted with a smile and you're taken care of until your happy! She needs a raise! The food was delicious as always! Haha been coming here every bday for the past 21 years! I look forward to this day every year... and she made it possible! I'll see y'all next year! read more
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Lee C.
Thank you so much for choosing Benihana to celebrate such a special…
2 years ago
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Lee C.
Hi AP, thanks for sharing your thoughts. We're glad you enjoyed the…
4 years ago
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Lee C.
Stefson, We take your feedback seriously and we hope to resolve this…
2 years ago
Robert was a very fun and talented Chef. The food he prepared was timely, delicious, and the preparation was extremely entertaining. Mona Lisa was a great server who made sure our table wasn't cluttered and checked in on us regularly. Will definitely return! read more
3 years ago
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Lee C.
Hello Lilit, we are very sorry your experience did not go as…
1 year ago
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Lee C.
Dear Anna, thank you for sharing your feedback. We're sorry to hear…
I'm definitely a fan of Benihana. I've always had great memories here and it's always a fun time. Who doesn't like dinner and a "show"? The food is tasty and the portions are more than generous. I always look forward to my leftovers :) It has become a tradition to come here for my birthday every year and I love it. read more
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Lee C.
Thank you Kathy, for sharing your feedback with us. We are happy to…
3 years ago
2 years ago
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Lee C.
Hi Robbie, I'm really sorry to hear about your experience. This is…
6 years ago
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Lee C.
Fantastic Smitcha! We appreciate you dining with Benihana, thank you…
4 years ago
I made a reservation for my wife and I 3rd year anniversary over the weekend. Overall the experience was awesome & the food was delicious. I highly recommend Rocky's Choice. The only reason I wouldn't give it a 5 star is because we were seated with 2 other parties. Am well aware a chef for only my wife and I might seem like a waste of time for them I just wish I would of known ahead of time to plan accordingly. Other than that awesome place. Will definitely be back. read more
4 years ago
Our chef Jesse was amazing, put on a big show for my birthday and entertained the whole table. He even lit an onion volcano on fire, very fun and enjoyable. I was also able to use my $30 birthday coupon that I got in my email with no problems. Even got a photo of the family in a cute Benihana frame as a keepsake. Perfect place to go for birthdays couldn't have gone better! read more
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Lee C.
Carina, Our goal is to create great guest memories. We are pleased to…
2 years ago
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Lee C.
Thanks for your feedback, Tara! We're glad you enjoyed the food and…
2 years ago
Business owner information
Lee C.
Dear guest, thank you for taking the time to share your experience…
4 years ago
First time back since the pandemic started and omg I remember why I missed this place so much, food was excellent as always and the chef was very polite, prices did go up a bit but we were celebrating a birthday so well worth it, we were able to use the birthday coupon for $30. Service was great too. Hope to go soon again . read more
Business owner information
Lee C.
Alexandra, We are happy you enjoyed the experience! Come back soon!
5 years ago
6 years ago
Business owner information
Lee C.
Michael, we apologize for your experience. If you have not done so…
More info about Benihana - Encino
16226 Ventura Blvd
Encino, CA 91436
Encino
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(818) 788-7121
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https://www.benihana.com/locations/encino-ca/
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For the birthday certificate. It says to use during dinner time only. What is the earliest time for that?
5pm
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Benihana - Encino - sushi - Updated August 2026
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