Came here to celebrate Father's Day with the wife and kids, everyone loved it. To start, I'm so glad they have valet. Without the valet there would be no where to park. The valet attendants were extremely friendly and professional young men, got us in right away at the front door. My kids loved the show from our chef and were entertained from start to finish. Food was amazing, wagyu steak was ridiculously tasty, comparable to any top of the line steak houses in the area. Kids couldn't get enough of the fried rice and have mentioned going back almost everyday since. 10/10 experience from the valet to our chef. I will be back! read more

Came here with my daughters as their mom was out of town and she's not a fan of teppan. She has a phobia of a chef throwing a shrimp at her she says (although didn't actually happen). We got seated relatively quickly, got our drink orders in and was introduced to our chef who was a really nice quiet spoken and talented guy. He knew all the classic tricks like the beating heart rice and train steaming onion tower and a couple others i haven't seen before including a really flammable trick. All in all the food is still really good. The restaurant was really clean and the people were all very nice. They still have that old Benihana vibe that I didn't realize I missed. It was great to show my daughters as they seemed in awe of the show and great food experience! I'll surely be back to experience this again with them! A+ Benihana...I hope you're around for many more years to come!!! read more

Bad night to celebrate a birthday. I booked Benihana to celebrate my wifes birthday and left the restaurant wishing we made other plans. Upon arrival last Saturday night, my wife and I immediately noticed an air of hostility in the lobby and soon learned why. It seemed there were parties that were made to wait an hour later than their reservations due to lingering groups that wouldn't depart once their meals were over. Considering the fact that we were in Newport Beach, the lack of self awareness & consideration did not surprise me. The restaurant manager was clearly having a rough night. Much to our surprise, we were seated at exactly our reservation time of 7pm so I began to think things were going to go well for us. As we sat at our table, with two other birthday parties, we were promptly greeted by a waiter who, despite being incredibly difficult to understand (think Bill Murray diner skit on SNL in '78) took our drink orders and identified the celebratory parties. Our chef arrived and greeted us nicely but the concerns returned as he was a twenty-something young man of Caucasian descent, sporting a goatee and haircut that you would expect to see at a Grateful Dead show, not Benihana. The soup & salad arrived without a hitch and soon the meat arrived while he confirmed our preferences. I immediately noticed the Hibachi Steak meat as being super thin and mostly white?! A little marbling is expected but this was garbage! We both added teriyaki to our orders for a savory crisp but since he splashed the teriyaki on the steak just before serving, all we got was meat that barely qualified as "steak" that was covered in uncovered sauce. I took two bites and stopped. My wife took one and stopped. Just awful. To finish the meal, my wife was given a cup of whip cream (think a Puppachino at Starbucks) to celebrate her birthday. ‍ Also, the shrimp appetizer was improperly prepared as it was not cleaned correctly so that didn't get either. The drinks were good but my first Old Fashioned was short-poured and the Mai Tai was served in a regular glass rather than the Buddha mug they typically use and sell as a keepsake. Badly done. The chef did ONE TRICK (onion volcano) all night, there was no show that Benihana is known for but it still cost me $240, which I paid rather than ruin anyone else's dinner by making a scene. I hate leaving this kind of review because the waiter & chef seemed nice. It all just proves that eating these days just isn't worth it. The 2 Stars was because the staff were kind of the food deserved 1 Star for the soup & salad. read more

First of all, more than half of the parking lot is Valet parking at a cost of $10. There is no available parking on the street due to "no parking anywhere" signs. Why should I have to pay $10 to park at a restaurant that is already overpriced. Valet parking used to be free. They were understaffed. It took an hour from the time we sat down to have a chef come to our table. We had a 545pm reservation and we didn't leave until 8pm. They said they had a large party and over 500 guests that night. Well if you knew this already why not prepare accordingly? Portion sizes have gotten smaller. Instead of getting a whole long piece of zucchini cut up they give you 3/4 of it. The onion soup is not filled up in the bowl as much. The salad is just bag o' salad mix. And if I'm paying $58 for chicken and filet mignon at least give me a whole breast of chicken not split in half between two customers. Even the chefs are not into the experience anymore. Our chef couldn't even make a heart with the fried rice. He did not perform tricks with the shrimp tails (apparently they now prep them without the tails before bringing them to the table). Just wants to push the food out as quick as possible. Just not a great experience overall and it has slowly declined every year for the past 3 years since it has merged with "friends with benefits" restaurant group. Which in itself is such a bad name when trying to find their app in the App Store (tinder, and other dating apps appear instead of thier app) I remember back in the late 80's and early 90's when this was the place to be and the atmosphere was amazing. Just not that way anymore and if you don't come with a $50 or $30 rewards you are going to pay too much. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Searching for loyalty app called Friends with benefits - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

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Horrible experience start to finish... Let's start with our arrival. They have a parking lot large enough to house all their guest. However, they chose to be greedy and block more than half of their parking lot off for valet parking. With no option to park on the street in that neighborhood it's pretty much forced valet parking. Now to our table. We had a Spanish speaking couple at our table and the cook was talking to them and ignoring the rest of the table most of the time. When it came to separate our portions he gave that couple larger portions than ours. Cutting into our meals. To top off the skimpy servings the food was over cooked and under seasoned. It was a very disappointing experience to say the least. If you charge top dollar prices you should give a top tier experience. Spent over a $140's for what's in the pic, one sushi roll, and extra fried rice. Unbelievable! read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - My $69 trio minus the fried rice & half a squash. Super skimpy and over cooked. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

I came tonight with a group of nine for a birthday dinner and received exceptional service from Tiffany. She was attentive, ensuring to refill our glasses when empty. It was my first time eating the yakisoba noodles with steak, and I was impressed. The meal was complemented with onion soup, salad, hibachi shrimp appetizer, vegetables, steamed rice, and green tea, all of which were of excellent. It was so much food! read more

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Save yourself and do not eat here. Order is never correct. Chicken is so dry it cut the roof of my mouth. Steak is bland and overcooked. Rice wasn't thoroughly cooked. The place is drab and in dire need of rehab. Place is full of kids and children's bday parties. It reminds me of Chuck-E-Cheeze without the adorable fun furry band and arcade. Staff are friendly but every order was wrong. Go to a real place. Absolutely terrible. read more

Sometimes we want Benihana food without the show so we ate in the bar and it was excellent. Nolan took such good care of us, I hope he's our server next time we visit. I had the Poke Salad which was sooooo good! read more

I've been here so many times but had to write a new review because we had the most fun ever with Chef Jordan! He had great handiwork with all the tricks and he was entertaining with nonstop jokes and singing. Somehow he was able to keep everyone entertained and still cook an amazing meal. The scallops and shrimp were nice and tender and the steak were the right temperature. Our server tonight wasn't very talkative but she was very efficient and came to refill our tea and water without us asking. When we asked for anything, she would bring it immediately. read more

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Benihana is usually a reliable go-to for me, I visit this location pretty often, at least once a month, but this time, the visit started off on the wrong foot. I originally came in for the 45-minute power lunch, but was told there would be a 10-15 minute wait just to be seated.....this kinda defeated the purpose of a "quick" lunch. On top of that, I asked and learned that I wasn't able to use my $25 birthday reward toward the power lunch, which was disappointing and almost made me leave. I ended up staying and ordered one of the lunch boat specials in the lounge instead, and thankfully the experience improved from there. Within minutes of ordering, my soup and salad came out, and the full meal followed shortly after. The lunch boat presentation was nice and included a good variety: salmon as the main protein, half a California roll (4 pieces), 2 tempura shrimp with dipping sauce, assorted tempura veggies (onion ring, sweet potato, asparagus), 4 pieces of sashimi, edamame, rice, and even a peeled orange on the side . That said, the portion of salmon was surprisingly small--definitely not the highlight if you're coming in expecting a filling protein. The rest of the food was solid, but nothing particularly standout. Overall, the meal itself was decent and service was efficient, but between the initial confusion around the power lunch and reward restrictions, it didn't quite live up to expectations this time. read more

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Tyler the tall server and Chef UNC took care of business; so kudos to them. They're the main reason I didn't score Benihana Lower on the yelp grading score. So yo, listen. Let's keep it a BUCK. The chicken fried rice is single handedly keeping this business afloat. It's just an all right restaurant across the board. I do insist it used to be slightly better and higher quality like 15-20 years ago but whatever, that's not really too important, just a side note. The doodle and the pregnant side chick seemed to enjoy the main courses though. 乾杯 P.S. God bless the ANACRIME DUCKS. Won series last night. read more

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Had a reservation at 6:30PM on a Saturday evening. Got there and got seated maybe within 15 minutes. It took a while to get our orders in. The manager I'm assuming came to say hi, a server who wasn't our server came to say hi, and then eventually our server came. She was very sweet, took our order, and went on. I get it, it's a Saturday evening and they're busy... but we didn't really get any food served or anything until about 7:45PM.... so to get there at a reservation and not eat for about an hour and 15 minutes was kind of a long time, especially with a 1.5 year old. We were lucky the family sitting next to us were so sweet as my kid was getting antsy and hungry, which rightfully so, as were we. Vincent, our chef, came out and he was super sweet. Very funny, impressionable, and just over all an awesome guy. 5/5 for him! Everything came out delicious none the less, just wished the service was a little faster and that it didn't take that long to at least take our orders. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Ordered through DoorDash Got a family meal for 2 people Came with salad Chicken fried rice Shrimp and steak Zucchini and onions Sauces for each of us Utensils and napkins They even wrote a nice note on the bag for us The food quality was amazing and very tasty we would order again from this location! read more

A lady from Benihana dropped off a Japanese food kit for us at Sydnee's Pet Grooming - Newport Beach today and it was super fresh, well-packaged, and delicious. You can really tell they care about both their customer service and the food they make. It's awesome to see a local spot doing this. You definitely gained new supporters and customers today! Thank you. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

After a previous disappointing experience, I decided to give Benihana Newport Beach one more chance--and I'm glad I did. My family and I recently visited for a late Power Lunch (served until 5 PM) to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. The food was delicious, the chef was entertaining as always, and our server provided excellent customer service throughout the meal. What truly changed my opinion, however, was the professionalism and genuine care shown by the two managers, Josh and Diego. During their visit to our table, they took the time to check on our experience and ask how everything was going. I brought up the situation that had led me to leave a previous one-star review, and instead of being defensive, they listened attentively and sincerely apologized for the experience I had with another manager. They didn't make excuses. They simply acknowledged my concerns, treated me with respect, and showed that they genuinely cared about customer satisfaction. Sometimes that's all it takes to rebuild trust and remind customers why they've supported a business in the first place. I've eaten at this Newport Beach location many times over the years with my wife, my mom, friends, and family for birthdays, celebrations, and casual lunches. This visit reminded me why we kept coming back. The food was great, the service was excellent, and the management team demonstrated what true hospitality looks like. Thank you, Josh and Diego, for turning a negative experience into a positive one. Because of your professionalism and customer-first approach, I'm updating my review from 1 star to 5 stars. read more

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Ruby made the night with her personality. Not only was she was most diligent and swift in supplying all of our needs, she was very fun to talk with and made genuine and open conversation from the moment she introduced herself to the end of the night. She made the experience more than memorable. And I can't forget to mention our chef who was hilarious, made great food, and he really felt like one of the boys tonight. They both deserve a raise since tips alone don't do their work justice, and they were amazing people to have for my birthday celebration tonight. P.S for Ruby: mb for drinking my water in front of you and then asking for a refill haha and enjoy that one plan you have tonight. read more

If I can give zero stars, I would. Placed an online order early and was not ready by the "promised time". Had to wait for 30 minutes or more because they ran out of "fried rice". Manager was not helpful at all..Poor customer service..This is one of our fave resto but I guess they are going downhill. Not surprised with the bad reviews. read more

The crunchy rolls here are amazing. The teppanyaki is always fun, but I've gotten a taste for the ambiance of the front lounge. The service from the servers in the lounge is a bit more personal, like one server, Luke, is always on point, making sure you have everything you need and your experience is just as great as if you were getting the full restaurant service. read more

The waitress Sam was so friendly and nice. The power lunch was a good amount of food and super fun and quick. I'm so happy we went and we will definitely be back! read more

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We used to come here a lot when our kids were younger because they loved the show. But after last night I think we all decided that we don't want to come anymore. They just can't manage their reservation at all! We had a 5:45 reservation and didn't get seated until 6:30 and the chef didn't come to our table until 7! The people at the check-in stand apologized that a couple of tables were late ... But that's ridiculous. A 5:45 reservation is probably only the second dinner seating. Are they saying every single one of their first seatings were 45 minutes late? I'd understand more if we had a 8:30 or 9pm reservation ... I can understand 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there, you end up a bit late by the end of the night. But we were at the beginning! Then, the food was not great either. I think the chefs spend so much effort on the show and trying to be entertaining that they don't pay attention to the food. I watched the chef cooking my steak -- salting one side heavily, flipping it over, salting it heavily again. And then 2-3 minutes later, doing it all over again. The steak was completely inedible. It was SO salty! The only good part was that I said it was salty and the chef immediately made another one -- this time pretty well. So kudos there, which is why I added one star. We're probably not coming back read more

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I have always enjoyed my teppanyaki meals here and was intrigued by its $16 Hibachi lunch offer. Sadly the experience was not good for the few dollars one saves. My shrimp meal was tasteless with the shrimps tasted like pinches of salt. The fried rice was nothing to rave over. All in all, a bad experience. read more

Such a disappointing experience for a friend's birthday, their first time. Reported to corporate several times, they said they would get back to me and nothing since December of 2025!! The chef was a young guy and talked the whole time about himself, the food portion was a joke, we thought they were appetizers, large plates with no food.The table behind us had same amount of people and PLENTY of food. I ordered shrimp and he cut it into tiny pieces and shared it with the table!!! Our tab close to $600 ( not all drinks) Never again and poor customer service!! 2 stars is way to generous read more

I have to say, the sushi here was extremely disappointing. My wife and I decided to check out their happy hour, and unfortunately, it did not live up to expectations at all. We started with the Garlic Edamame, which tasted good, but the portion was surprisingly small. We then ordered the Spicy Salmon Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll from the happy hour menu, and honestly, the size was almost laughable. Both rolls were tiny and lacked substance. Next, we tried the Salmon Avocado Roll, which was also very small and underwhelming for the price. We also ordered the Chili Ponzu Yellowtail Roll for $24, and it barely had any fish on it. The roll itself was tiny, and for that price point, it felt like a complete rip-off. The hot sake was listed as "happy hour" pricing at $9, but that is pretty much standard pricing at most sushi restaurants, so there was really no deal there either. At that point, I was already frustrated because I'm usually never disappointed when going out for sushi. We ended up ordering a couple of cheeseburgers with fries instead. They were okay, but even those were skimpy on the onions and jalapeños, so I wouldn't recommend them either. What made the experience worse was the service and overall atmosphere. We intentionally sat at the sushi bar because we wanted to interact with the sushi chefs, which is usually part of the experience. Instead, we were required to order everything through the server, while the chefs barely acknowledged us at all. Our server also spent a lot of time standing around the register talking with other staff members. This was around 4 PM, so the restaurant was not busy. I don't mind spending good money on quality food and service, but this experience completely missed the mark. If you're looking for a good sushi experience, I would honestly not recommend wasting your time or money at this Benihana location. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Always great food, great performance by the chef. Foods always excellent and servers are prompt. Atmosphere is loud but friendly. read more

Reservation was at 8:45 and when we checked in, they said we'd have to wait another 30 minutes so we chose the self seated dining area instead . Staff was all saying 6 7 instead of paying attention to customers who are waiting to order their meals. Trash all over the dining room area which was noticeably ignored by all staff members walking by. We waited 15 minutes for someone to come greet us and take our order but it never happened so we ended up leaving. Health care agency would have an absolute field day and shut this place down in minutes. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Trash that workers continuously walked by throughout our entire visit - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

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Came here a couple weeks back to do a joint birthday celebration. It was our first time back to Benihana's in probably about 15 years. We had a bit of nostalgia about the place and decided to give it a go with the kids. I guess the best way to describe the overall experience is mediocre. We were seated promptly which was fine. Things started off kind of rocky though as our server wasn't particularly friendly, and seemed downright annoyed when it took us some time to get the kids settled and to figure out what we all wanted to order. That harried beginning set the tone for the meal and makes it hard to come back from. Our chef Vincent was pleasant though and did a great job of cooking and doing the little things to make our meal enjoyable. It wasn't a great place to have a conversation though, as with the set up and how loud it is in there, it's hard to talk to the people at the other end of the table. At the end of the day we walked away having a decent meal at an inflated price point. Given our overall experience though, I'm pretty sure this will probably be our last visit in our lifetimes. For the price there's just so many other better options. Oh well, it's been fun Benihana's! read more

There is a 45 minute guarantee or "lunch is on us." However, my experience lasted over 1.5 hour and I still paid the entire amount. They also forgot our fried rice. After a few reminders, they brought it out at the end when we already finished all of our food. Birthdays will not be acknowledged during a power lunch, even though they asked during the reservation. I reached out to customer service and no response. Power lunch is a great deal, but you do get what you pay for. $16 for shrimp, chicken or tofu and $20 for filet mignon or NY strip. Comes with either soup or salad, vegetable fried rice, vegetables, and sauces. read more

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We had such a wonderful experience at Benihana and always love coming here for special occasions. Felipe was an outstanding server -- attentive, friendly, and made sure everything throughout the evening was perfect. Our chef was phenomenal as well and made the dinner both entertaining and delicious from start to finish. Benihana continues to be one of our favorite restaurants, and it has become one of our favorite places to celebrate birthdays. The entire team made the night feel special, and we truly appreciate the amazing service and atmosphere. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

I am so disappointed that I have to redo this review. Especially considering I praised this place years ago. While I appreciate the manager still coming out to greet, the food was lackluster. I ordered colossal shrimp and they needed to be cooked longer, yuck. Whoever the bust boy was, needs to take a few classes in table etiquette. Why are you grabbing plates that people are actively eating out of? We had to tell him multiple times that we weren't finished. My family ordered a filet and a steak and they were both bland. The shrimp crunch roll was warm and had an unusual taste. The ginger dressing on the salad was old and had a spoiled taste. Other than our friendly waitress and the friendly manager, this by far is one of the worst Benihana experiences I've ever had. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Speciality menu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

This is our favorite Benihana location so we came here to celebrate my husband's birthday. Our chef, Adagio, was amazing! The best chef experience we've had at any locations. He was so personable and entertaining. However, our server, Emily, wasn't that great. First of all, she wasn't very attentive. There were several times when we had to ask other staff to call her to our table. We had to request utensils, food we ordered, and finally the celebratory picture. When we asked her about it, she said "Oh, it's by request." Luckily, we know about the picture but if it's your first time, how do you know to request it? She seemed annoyed that we even asked. She just didn't have a nice attitude. It's the first time we've experienced this at this location. Usually, the service is exceptional. Maybe Emily was having a bad day but it sucks we got her the day we were celebrating my husband's birthday. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Blue Hawaiian - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Never again !!!! We had a reservation ,and they informed us there's a 45 min wait !!!! Ruined the night , it was too late to make other reservations at any other restaurants read more

Had an amazing 5 star experience at Benihana for lunch today. My wife and I both had the filet mignon lunch with chicken fried rice and everything was perfectly cooked. Cheers and kudos to Paul our chef who was a rockstar. Our server Stephanie was very sweet and attentive. Would definitely recommend coming during later part of lunch as they are not as crowded. The Manager named Joshua is an absolute gem as always checks on us and is extremely kind and gracious. The whole team deserves raises! We are definitely coming back real soon. Love us some Newport Beach Beni!! read more

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Vincent(chef) and Yeye(server) both amazing and got along with us very well for a party of 8 for a bday!!! Will def come back

There is something very wrong going on here. Clue 1) No spots at self park or valet. Clue 2) 6 pm reservation for 4 people...seated at the table 45 minutes later Clue 3) there are at least 3 managers and they are ALL incompetent Clue 4) the chef burned all the chicken fried rice Clue 5) the kids meals were served last (after all the adults had their food) Clue 6) the couple across from me left after ordering their meals, because the chef took an hour + to come to their table Clue 7) there were actual trash bins being dragged through the dining room mid- meal *our server (Don? Dom?) was the only person trying, and I appreciate his efforts throughout the night read more

We visited on a Friday evening for our son's 10th birthday. Despite the restaurant being packed, we were seated within 10 minutes of our reservation time. The star of the meal was the wagyu beef, it was absolutely excellent and worth the upgrade. The standard filet, by comparison, was a bit tough and unremarkable. The fried rice was delicious as always. The salad and appetizers felt mass-produced and could use some attention. Our chef Tam did a great job making the birthday boy feel special, which meant a lot. That said, the tricks could use a refresh, they're fine for first-timers, but repeat customers know the routine by heart. Some new material would go a long way. read more

We waited over an hour for someone to start cooking. The initial food ordered was not good and we sent it back. The entire restaurant smelled. read more

We had a 5:30 pm weekend reservation and we were sat within 15 minutes. Restaurant was clean with comfortable teppan seating. Two birthdays at our table, special food requests and we were eager for a memorable evening. Chef Vincent has seriously raised the bar on how amazing Benihana can be! All of our food was accurate and succulently delicious. The chef easily interacted with all eight of us (adults and young children) while working his magic. Delightfully original, entertaining and hilarious! Vince made our birthday dinners wildly successful and both families hope to luck into this Chef again. He made coming back a priority for us. read more

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Ruby and Shawn went above and beyond for us! Great vibes all around. We got to try the truffle butter with our steak, which was amazing. Such a great experience from start to finish. Best Benihana visit yet!! read more

Our company ordered lunch from the Newport Beach Benihana, and it was one of the worst takeout experiences we've had. More than 10 items were missing from our order, leaving several of our team members without food during lunch. The most disappointing part wasn't even the missing food. It was how the General Manager handled the situation. She initially insisted that every item had been packed and double checked. During the same conversation, she contradicted herself and admitted that all of our soups had, in fact, been forgotten. Despite that admission, she continued insisting nothing else was missing. I explained that I organize these team lunches regularly and create a checklist for every order. No one touches the food until I verify each item, so I knew exactly what was missing. Instead of listening, she continued arguing with me and repeatedly tried to tell me our order was complete. To make matters worse, we found a bug in one of the strawberry lemonades. When I asked for the missing food to be delivered, since we had already paid for delivery, she refused and only offered pickup or a refund. We chose the refund because our employees were already sitting without their meals. Minutes later, she called me back again, not to resolve the issue, but to argue further and say she now needed to contact DoorDash because she wanted to place the blame on the driver, even though the missing items were due to the restaurant not packing them. Mistakes happen, but arguing with customers, contradicting yourself, refusing to make the situation right, and providing such poor customer service is unacceptable. We order team lunches frequently and unfortunately will not be ordering from this Benihana location again. Finding an insect in a drink was the final straw. read more

Do not get take out from here. Extreme laziness across all aspects from not skinning the shrimp to adding huge chunks of chicken on top or regular fried rice rather than cooking chicken fried rice properly. They left items out of the order. 2 out of 4 of the soups did not have toppings included so it's essentially water. They left a whole pint of ginger sauce out of the order as well as a whole steak and the sides. Just pure laziness, carelessness, and complacency. It takes a lot to get me to write a review over food because I genuinely don't care, however, this is the second time this has happened at this particular restaurant. For $300+ order this is completely embarrassing. Stay away from this restaurant. Whoever is in charge of the takeout clearly needs to go back for some training. Benihana used to be one of my favorite childhood spots so it's quite sad to see such a drop off in quality, especially after giving them 3 chances. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - For the price you would think they could at least clean the shrimp - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

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