Sadly, I have to downgrade my rating. I went for a belated BDay dinner with my BFF. Here are my reasons for the change in rating: Birthday Certificate : If you belong to their Chef's Table email club, they send you a certificate for your birthday for $30.00 off of any entree. BUT it has to be with any paid entree. They have changed this. It use to be just a free birthday gift, no other purchase necessary. AND you must PRINT out the certificate. I don't understand why, in this technical day and age we live in. Everyone else, including MICHAELS Crafts, allows you to pull up your coupon on your smart phone and they just scan it or copy the bar code number. Food Quantity : They have REALLY cut back! Last year I remember leaving there stuffed WITH leftovers to take home. This visit, they barely give you any zuccini and shrimp appetizers (which comes with the meal). AND if you want the fried rice, it's an extra cost. The white rice was dry. The meal itself, I ordered Calamari, Scallops and Shrimp combo. I think there were two shrimp? It was very tasty and delicious but the quantity of the food has decreased dramatically. The salad itself, greens and everything were fresh but once again, the dressing! OMG the onion flavor is so strong it lingers the next day, even after brushing and mouth wash! Service: The host is lack luster. It is very noisy in there and he needs to have some enthusiasm and speak up. Our chef was entertaining and good, server was sweet. I hate feeling rushed though and they def push the pace of the meal and want you to get out right after, you can feel the vibe. I will go back to redeem my Birthday Cert next year but wont go back and pay full price for that quantity of food, not worth it. read more

I'd have to say i adore Benihana. I'm here as much as possible. The food itself isn't really worth $30-$40 bucks a person, but you get a whole dinner and show. It's DEFINITELY not worth it if you get a bad chef and they don't interact with you and joke around. But i've had fairly good luck when it comes to having good chefs time and time again. There are so many appetizers i'm usually full by the time i actually get my main order, which is fine with me. I love it even more the next day. Really fun place to get drunk at and a good place to come for a birthday ( if you're only coming with 8 people). They take a polaroid picture of the group and frame it and give you an awesome cup. hahah. I always have a good time when i come here. read more

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My cousin and I had dinner here last night. It was her first time and she loved it! This place is always packed so be prepared to wait a bit before getting seated, but because it was just us two, we didnt wait for long at all. If you're coming with a big group, reserve. And dont bother looking for parking, valet. Spend a little more, stress a little less ;) (No one has time for stress over parking when youre starving! Lol) Now, the food. I had the Ocean Treasure (because I love seafood, very pricey by the way) but it was heaven! The hibachi fried rice was seasoned to perfection kudos to our funny, very entertaining chef. And the food was cooked perfectly. The drinks. They're good, pricey, but they were not strong. Not strong enough for me anyway. Maybe thats my problem -___- lol The service. The service at the bar is good, maybe a little bit more personality would make it 'really good' ;) Our waiter is very helpful, he's cool and he's very knowledgeable with the menu. He explained every dish that we asked about and of course he would recommend the Ocean Treasure because its expensive lol (I see what you did there....) The only thing I didnt like, its so crowded in there so everytime a chef would pass by with their cart, we had to get up and move out of the way. All in all, Benihana is always an experience and Im glad my cousin loved it. read more

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Benihana is always a fun place to go. The tables are like dinner and a show at the same time. The chefs are usually fun and friendly, the service as well. The bar area was busy tonight so my friend just waited to order drinks at the table. The food is ok... I wouldn't be running back for it though. read more

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I wouldn't say they have the best food because I wholeheartedly don't believe that. There are some items on their menu that are done well but nothing that is worth what they charge. If you go for happy hour or sit in the lounge prices are more reasonable but most people come for the show. Food I highly recommend the Hibachi Fried Rice. I would literally go there just for that if I could, it's addicting. They use a garlic butter with sesame seed which gives it a ton of flavor. My only suggestion would be that you get chicken ($3.25) verses beef ($5.25) because they charge $2 more when it fact the meat is almost unnoticeable. Most meals are served with a soup and/or salad. The salad is refreshing and has a vinegar based dressing that complimented the shredded carrots and cabbage. The onion soup is also pleasant; it's light and topped with onion strings. For drinks we got a Tangerine Margarita for $9 which is pretty reasonable since it was a specialty drink at a fancy shmancy restaurant. The margarita was good but only had a HINT of tangerine. For starters we got Calamari Tempura for $8 which would've been fair if they didn't give us potatoes, carrots, and green beans to fill out the plate. The tempura was light and crispy and served with a sauce similar to the dressing that came with the salad. Lastly, we got the Benihana Trio for $37 which came with Filet Mignon, Chicken Breast, and Colossal Shrimp. I normally get my Filet Mignon medium done because it tends to come out juicier. The Filet Mignon came out nice but lacked flavor. Whereas, the chicken breast was rough but still bland, typical at Benihana's in my opinion. The shrimp was okay but nothing mouth watering. Service All around service was pretty good. I have two complaints about services. First being that when we were in the middle of ordering happy hour drinks at the bar when a waiter asked to take us to our seat. We were then told that we could order our drinks at the table expect when we got there they told us that the price wouldn't be honored since we were already seated at our table which doesn't honor happy hour prices, sneaky sneaky Mr. Benihana. I mean literally seconds determined $10 off of our drinks . . . ridiculous. Second being, that the valet service is horrendous. When I'm full and want to enjoy my food coma I certainly don't want to be waiting in a long line for someone to get my car. I appreciate that this service is somewhat free, minus the tip you feel obligated to leave, but I can get my car quicker myself. Overall It's not about the food it about the experience. Great place to take a date or a tourist. Tip Sign up for the Chef's table and get a $30 gift certificate to use during your birthday month Happy hour is only available at the sushi bar or the lounge until 7:30pm read more

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The wait even with a Reservations was shitty. We had to wait forever. Then Once we finally got seated we had to wait again forever for the cook to come and cook our food. Our reservation was at 7pm and we didn't getting Our Food til well after 9:30pm. The food was good and the chef did a good job cooking our food Though. My advise if you plan on going here make sure you have a lot of time on hand. read more

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

Our server Ben was great! We were celebrating a birthday and he made sure our group was taken care of. He had such an upbeat attitude and provided the best service. Our chef Joel was also great! He also provided us with amazing service and great food! The experience was overall 10/10. Thank you Joel and Ben for a wonderful evening. read more

Benihanas is always a favorite of ours but tonight our chef Jonathan, was outstanding! You can tell he enjoys his job and adds his own twist to the usual chef routine. Mimi, our waitress, was great with making sure that our needs were met. Thank you Jonathan for great food and wonderful entertainment! read more

Very disappointed tonight. Came in and was seated to a dirty table. Had to ask to be wiped down before we actually sat down. We brought our 3 kids for a fun early dinner. Came around 4:30 to beat the rush however our server was rushing us to order the whole time. I ordered a lychee martini. She brought it out and said do you care about the lychee with an attitude. Salad and soup came and as the server was giving out forks I asked for the normal place settings since there wasn't any and she looked at me like I was stupid and handed me a fork and I said place settings with napkins for my family she rolled her eyes and said oh. I also asked her for a little bday song since it was my husbands and my daughters bday so my kids could experience that and the server was like oh then brought MELTED ice cream. Bill came and they had one of those hand held things for the bill and she asked me what do you want to tip me 18 or 20 percent. I wouldn't have tipped at all to be honest. She was lucky I did. Service was horrible and it was such a shame. read more

This is for my last review for the person from benihana contacted which they stated the feedback is important to them. Apparently you dont understand from other reviews posted 1-3 months ago which they also stated the place is dirty. Looks like you dont take action where i just came in and saw all that which i mentioned from the last review i posted. Then by keeping the restaurant clean and telling your staff. read more

Placed and order and they didn't have anything ready. They told me a call In order would take 1 hour and 15 minutes then I get a call 40 Minutes later saying my food was ready. What I don't like about it is that it was my second time coming and I had the same bad experience. They are never prepared for the amount of patrons they have in their establishment. Being that the one on lacienga is closed I have no other options. I hope Management gets it together. read more

I always enjoy coming to this location. The quality of the food and the customer service is always on point. Our server Ally was super kind, and always made sure that everything was okay. Our Chef Sergio was really skilled at both cooking and keeping us entertained. I will definitely be returning soon, for my birthday probably ha Ps sorry for not positing a picture of my food, it was so delicious I forgot ha. read more

So I remember Benihana so much better years ago. The chefs were a little more interactive and talkative with the table. They did more tricks before than they did now. This time when we went the fired rice wasn't as good as it was years ago, the rice was a bit hard and did not have enough soy sauce or salt.....everything else was okay....i got the hibachi chicken and it comes with onion soup, salad, mushrooms, zucchini, onions and a tea. We were celebrating a birthday that day. if you sign up for the chef' table on their website you get a $30 gift card for your birthday that you can use Monday- Thursday (with a paying guest). you get an ice-cream and picture with your group as part of this deal also. Its always best to make reservation because if not, you may not be able to get seated or will have to wait some time. You can always sit at the bar but you don't get the whole "cooking in front of you experience" on the hibachi grill. The tables are communal...if your group is small, you can sit with up to 5-6 other people at the table. The parking is valet parking at dinner time at least and it is $5 cash. there is some parking on the street which is free after a certain time but its never guaranteed. read more

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This location of Benihanas is just okay.. Nothing special here, came on a Thursday night because the girls and I were having a craving and benihanas was a must. Called in to make a reservation and...there were no reservations available, I've heard this before so I just decided to go and the wait was about 45 minutes. I sat in the lounge area and we had a round of drinks (I had water of course because I don't drink alcohol) and my friends had sushi while we patiently waited for our table. The service at the lounge was pretty good the bartender was very attentive and kept checking on us to make sure we were okay. Once our table was ready we were called and seated and ready to eat. Now my issue with benihanas is not the food, because the food is always good, but It is the whole process it takes to get to the main course. Do Not come here hungry, because you WILL wait. I ordered the chefs special which came with fillet mignon, chicken, rice, soup, salad, hot tea, and ALL the fixings. Our meal was delish although I couldn't finish it all...but it will make a good lunch the next day!! read more

Benihana - Encino - December 2013 chefs special (rice a underneath the cup) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Encino, California

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We have been going to this Benihana for years went there today for my sons birthday we had Chef John he was very funny really attentive make sure we had our food the way we ordered it thank you Chef John for a wonderful night we will definitely be back read more

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

I made reservations for a party of 7 for a birthday celebration; family came in from out of town and we all arrived for our 5:45 reservation on time. After over an hour of waiting to be seated, we were told they had no way of knowing when we'd be seated. We ended up going to the Italian restaurant next door rather than continue to wait more than an hour after our reserved time. read more

So good. As anticipated. Little bit of a wait... but worth it. After all its LA/Valley. Glad to wait 15-30 mins for great food and service. John cooked everything to perfection and Nali made sure we had everything we needed. Both extremely professional and welcoming. Feel sorry for everyone else who did not get our amazing staff. Thank u John & Nali, made my saturday night. read more

I went here not knowing what to expect- It was very entertaining and my table was LIT. We have crazy people and they were fun. We have the 5 course meal came to around $90 dollars not including drinks. Food is buffet food still entertaining i would go again Went with the old lady read more

Yes I like coming here. I enjoy the tasty food and the lame food tricks the cheif likes to do. Sure it can get pricey but I don't eat here all the time. Anyways I say check it out. If you are not happy with this place then you can punch me in the face. read more

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

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I brought my wife to eat here yesterday made a reservation at 6:30 waited quite a bit but the food & experience was priceless really enjoyed everything had steak & shrimp our chef jessie was amazing not to mention our server yanele was very courteous took good care of us delivering Excellent service. I acknowledge outstanding work ethic like this because as a business owner myself I would love for my employees to do the same. Definitely Recommend!!!!! read more

We had a reservation for 5:30pm we were being seated at 6:10pm and we waited for the chef to arrive at 6:35pm. They downgraded a lot of things and lower the quality quality of the food!!! very disappointing... read more

this is one of my fav places to eat is so delicious especially last Thursday the chef who Cooked our food made it even better I believe his name was Jessie ! Such a nice person and I can't forget about our server yaneli wow she was so sweet and attended us so fast I can't wait to go again and this time take my family with me (chicken fried rice is so bomb ) I definitely recommend to get that read more

Talk about a great birthday dinner! Go online, register, and get a free $30 gift certificate for your birthday! Excludes alcoholic beverages. They take your photo, give it to you and they give you free dessert (ice cream). How much better can you get?! It was also the first time I had been there and the experience was great! The service was good, they were all very nice. I would suggest to making reservations if you plan on getting there anytime after 6. I had the beef carpacio, the beef meal, comes with soup, salad, shrimp, and hot tea. Honestly, the $30 went far and I had left overs. Come hungry! Also the place comes up fast, so be careful to park in the right parking lot, its free valet. read more

Don't bother making a reservation, they don't honor them. Even after stating they let a walk in ahead of us, we still had to wait. We came here for my sons birthday because he was interested, but the hosting staff and front of house manager has very little control of the waitlist, and don't know how to handle reservations properly. Once seated, the server was very nice and attentive. The teppan chef was funny and did a great job. The food was good, but the extra burden of carrying a table side cook adds a lot to the cost of what would be half the price anywhere else. The ambiance is pretty much non-existent. The space is small, crowded, and loud. The stations are very packed in, and the place was built for capacity, not for a nice relaxing meal. Would we go back? Maybe. But they have a very big problem managing their seatings, and managing any expectations. This has become a teppan factory. read more

Horrible. Please get new management !!!!!!!!! They always screw the orders up. The ground is filthy when you walk in. When u call to pick up a order they always leave you on hold for 10 mins. The chicken taste like rubber, I've had to bring rice back multiple times Bc it was cooked poorly. How do you mess up mediocre food?! GET NEW MANAGEMENT AND STAFF!!!!!!!! read more

This place is amazing, tho the food is good but the service by the waiter called Ben was amazing! I'll go there again the service here was great cuz of Ben! For any one planning a dinner here, I Recommend Ben to be ur waiter.. read more

Went there with a friend. Her and I sat at a table with people around, sure seemed crowded. There were other tables that were open.. The waitress didn't get our order correct. Then the girls next to us, received the wrong order. So my friend and her switched orders..... then she didn't give soup, she gave salad. I admit it was busy, but..... food good, cook great.... Maybe because it's getting more busy, but if u have a table open, they at least can spread us out. AND, talk about no distance! And this was during the day, can u imagine at night. read more

I always get "FREE BDAY" dinner things from them. Problem is... it's hard rustling up enough friends to go with. Anywho I finally came here last year for a friends going away thing. Was really looking forward to it but got a Mexican chef, and since this is a Japanese restuarant known for their Japanese food aerobatics. I was a bit disappointed. The food flipping wasn't as splendid as I'd like either. Anywho the food was pretty good, but not amazing... and it was pretty pricey. Their drinks however were amazing. Big tasteful alcoholic gems. read more

The fact that this jernt continues to pack 'em in is never less than astonishing. In the early 70s it was exotic and different and I enjoyed going there once or twice a year. I hadn't been in probably twenty-five years, but I was taken there a year ago. Nothing's really changed except the prices and the amount of food. The prices are now completely outrageous, and if the chef is playing favorites (which he was the night I was there), and you're not one of them, you're going to end up with less food. I was still very hungry after the meal and I stopped at McDonald's and got an excellent Filet o' Fish. read more

3 words... twin lobster tails! That is all. I'm not a big fan of their soup but their salad is good. Hibachi chicken is really good too. And umeshu (plum wine) I recommend on the rocks, but it may be a bit too sweet for some but it's one sweet alcoholic drink, I drink :) Benihana emails you $30 gift certificates for your birthday. I believe you now sign up online. Not all the chefs are the same I've noticed... some are more enthusiastic than others. Keep an eye on that. Make sure you RSVP or prepare to wait during the weekends, I believe you will not be seated until your whole party is there, for obvious reasons. read more

The host that I met (Paris) was super friendly and very helpful I would definitely try to go again I heard from a friend that I should come here. However I tried requesting for a certain chef but hr was not there and I ended up with a chef named Jessie I 100% would not recommend anyone eat if he is your chef. At first he started to pick up his pants and it looked like he was Scratching his bottom then when he was putting lemon on the food he rubbed it on his shirt first which I can only imagine how dirty his shirt is. the sushi was really good, my server Ali was super polite. I would definitely try to come again but I think the chef needs to get retrained not to mention he was rude. read more

Great place. Hope they update their air conditioning to take the smoke out. So far the best Benihana branch in the town.

Look, let's lay all our cards on the table. We're gonna talk about Benihana, and I don't want any misconceptions about where I'm coming from. My name is Adam, I'm from Texas, and I am addicted to butter. It started at a young age. I would make boxed macaroni and cheese, and use most of the family's butter to "lubricate the noodles." My cookies could destroy lives, and my grilled cheese sandwiches were weaponized. For most of my life, I struggled to find a restaurant that utilized butter the way I had always wanted. That all changed when I walked into the crowded lobby of Benihana. Now this is our first rodeo; We have been to Benihana many times before. It is a staple for my in-laws. But today was special. Today, our server was a young man from Minnesota named John. For those of you who are uninitiated, the meal starts with onion soup. That should be a throwaway dish, yet it transcends the very nature of its ingredients. Despite the heat of our summer nights in the valley, the soup stated sufficiently. Next came a salad of tossed greens and vegetables, doused in a gentle splatter of ginger dressing. It was very tasty, but let's be honest, you didn't come here for the salad. John arrived and set to work preparing our meals. First came the incredible, infamous fried rice. Here is where the butter began, in a hearty fashion. John collect spoonfuls of the garlic concoction, not with the wild abandon of an amateur, but with the measured hand of a professional. Next came shrimp, properly butterflied and shopped before receiving their own butter bath. Then chicken, then steak, then lobster, then scallops. Onions set ablaze and treated like both volcanoes and choo-choo trains. The food at Benihana is always delicious, but tonight it was transcendent. The perfect ratio of char too soft, supple meets. And the butter! Oh, the butter! The meal, for me, ended with a rainbow sherbet. This is not to dismiss their outstanding ice cream selection, but the rainbow sherbet is exquisite. In closing, the Benihana in Encino, California stands out amongst the franchise. Ask for John, and let him know that noisy, overly inquisitive table sent you. read more

I've been wanting to try this place since I moved here in 2015 so I was excited to see it on DoorDash. Sadly, and I say this with ZERO exaggeration, this was THE WORSE hibachi I've ever had in my entire life....and I've had ALOT. The rice was so salty I could barely eat it so there was no need for the extra sauces I PAID for. The scallops with damn near microscopic, hard and freezing cold. The rest of the food (rice and veggies) were warm but the scallops were straight-from-the-fridge-last-night-COLD. The food was disgusting!! After I managed to get this mess down my chute, I'm still hungry and for HOW MUCH MONEY?? read more

I go to Benihanas all the time and this is one of my favorite teppanyaki places. I've gone to other places similar to this and honestly I just don't care for it. The only bad thing I could possibly say about this place is you do have to wait a while before you can get your food but IT'S WORTH THE WAIT read more

Love this place for birthdays or just a treat for myself. I always get the seafood Diablo.

Chef John thank you for making a great a meal! The restaurant was overcrowded/booked but our server and chef made up for it. read more

Soooo over rated!! The show is entertaining, but the food is NOT good. Don't be fooled by the pictures--it all looks good, but it isn't. Beef and chicken does not taste marinated at all. I asked to have the beef cooked medium and got well done. Both meats were dry. I think the only thing they use to give any sort of flavor is the garlic mayo. They cooked everything with that (and sometimes soy sauce)...even on my side order of yakisoba (which was also too salty). Shrimp was awful as well...the only apparent flavor was the hint of garlic mayo they used to cook it in. The best part was the shrimp tempura roll which we ordered because the other food wasn't good. But, for the total price we paid, we definitely could have had better sushi elsewhere. As for servers, hard to get a hold of anyone to help you out. It took awhile before we got to order the shrimp tempura roll. I think waiting around is a norm for this place...waited to get seated (since a guy in a DIFFERENT party was paying for his drinks at the bar we all have to wait for him...wtf?), waited for the table to be full, waited to order, waited on waitress, and waited quite some time before first signs of our cook coming. Matcha green tea in the end was good, but I guess they can't change that much. Lol. This is far from any type of real Japanese food. read more

Really a 4.5* Such a popular birthday venue for kids! On the birthday circuit last night and a good time was had by all. Food was consistently good. Same thing, year in and out, but that's a good thing. Grilled meat, seafood and veggies with soup, salad and dessert. Fried rice. Always enough food to cover at least two meals so plenty to take home. Service friendly. Chef theater was good and knife skills were decent so we didn't have to duck flying knives. A little originality was thrown in - which is a must. Phew - can't see the exact same show for the 20th time. Not inexpensive (about $50/person) but LOTS OF FOOD. Birthday photo, candles and silly song. Thanks, BH. read more

It was great to come back it had been a few years .. Always a great place to celebrate any occasion.. our wait was minimal for the large group of 10 in our party. We had excellent service by our waiter Jacob and John our exceptional chef.. cooked a tasty meal and kept us entertained .. thank you my family and I will continue to dine with Benihana read more