We finally stopped in to see what all the hype was about surrounding the $15.99 lunch menu, and I'm happy to report that the hype was justified. We made reservations ahead of time, so there was no wait, which is always a great way to start a meal. We ended up upgrading to the steak option, which only increased the price slightly and was well worth it. Lunch kicked off with a delicious bowl of onion soup, and before we knew it, our entrees were arriving at the table. The service was impressively quick without making us feel rushed. One minute we were enjoying our drinks, and the next our lunch platters were nestled right between them. The food came out hot, fresh, and well-seasoned. Every bite delivered exactly what I was hoping for. Between the flavorful meal, attentive waiter, and the cleanliness of the restaurant, this visit checked all the boxes. If you've been curious about the lunch menu, consider this your sign to give it a try. For the quality, portion size, and overall experience, it was a great choice and one I'd happily make again. read more

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Alright, y'all know me! The good, bad, and meh. Let's set the scene: a 16 year old birthday with the family (8 people total). The good: our server was so sweet and helpful! The food was super good! Like everything was really good! It was fairly clean & the menu had decent options. The ambiance was ok, nothing great, nothing bad, just average. Not upscale, it felt casual. One of our guests was allergic to shellfish and they did a mostly decent job of remembering that. The bad: the manager was rude. I asked for our server because we were missing a bunch of items. He was insistent we talk to him, then said well I don't know what you ordered so I don't know if you're missing stuff. Well duh! That's why I asked for the server, SIR. & Absolutely no discount for forgetting menu items is wild. We ordered the 5/6 course meals (8 people total) and they almost forgot our green tea (pass on that by the way), every person's steamed rice was forgotten (the server did offer but it was after the meal.... So just plain rice? No thanks), and I had to remind them of the ice cream. It just felt like such an oversight on the menu. 3/5-6 courses forgotten is wild. The prices. This is way too expensive for what you get. At home hibachi shows are better and the same price. The meh: the show! My gosh y'all this is hibachi, Give me a show! The chef was kind of just mean trying to be funny and the majority of the show was "this isn't butter, it's ice cream" like ok. We get it, you renamed everything. Throw some shrimp, please. Which he didn't, boo. The drinks. $9.50 for a virgin strawberry daiquiri that tasted like straight lime is wild. The dragon fruit margarita was salt somehow? Way too expensive and not great. The water. Omg. Get me some refills, please! There's 8 of us, one bottle goes quickkkkk and they fill it up in wine glasses like 1/8 of the way full. That's a whole 2 sips, y'all. My daughter semi-enjoyed it but I think she just didn't want us to be disappointed. We probably wouldn't come back. Good food, decent service, but the price for what you get is a hard pass. 2 adults and 1 kid with a 20% tip was over $200. Oh and 3 hours. Don't be in a hurry. read more

Party of 3 for birthday celebration. Bill was $290 plus tip. Food was "okay". Stay away from the Wagu Beef unless you're familiar with the amount of fat, "marble" in it. The Truffle sauce was nothing but butter with some truffle flavor in it. Basically a flavored grease ball. Drinks average about $17 each. The chefs look like they came of the street, long hair and not secured so there's a good chance of hair falling in the food. Chefs used to wear uniforms that told the story of pride, Habachai Chef expertise and showmanship . Clanking your food spatula on the grill is nothing but annoying and definitely not a show. In short, for the money it was not worth the entire event. Benihana's The Woodlands has lost its touch your money is better spent elsewhere. read more

For many years now for our Birthday's, my younger daughter and I celebrate them at Benihana with their generous $30 Birthday certificate. This year among many we had a really great evening. Food was good, new waitress named Kate was very sweet and accommodating, our Ukraine chef Jacob had a fantastic and humerus personality and put on a great show. The restaurant was not overly crowded and we had the table to ourselves. We look forward to this every year. read more

Benihana - The Woodlands - Another great Birthday celebration at Benihana! - Sushi Bars Near Me - The Woodlands, Texas

I came back here for a family member's birthday. 2 years later and I'm still unimpressed. Several people at our table were left without water and drinks for 10 minutes. I ordered a drink and after 15 minutes I reminded the waitress and she said she had just put the order in. After that my niece went without a drink for 30 minutes. The waitress brought out ice cream for my nephew's birthday. When she found out we had a cake, she left with the ice cream and never brought it back. My Grey Goose martinis were 18.75 which was excessive for the size. We had 10 people at our party. Several of us have been in the restaurant industry and typically tip over 20%. They put a 19% gratuity on our tab which was not deserved in the least. I said last time this would be my last trip. The rest of my family now feels the same after this evening. read more

Food is always good when cooked on a flat top. Service was mediocre this visit and she could've done a lot better but we weren't complaining. She seemed ready to go. Always a good atmosphere especially if your chef is super funny and entertaining. It helps that everyone around you is also having a great time. The Woodlands location is my go to. I have tried their newest Conroe location and the service there was not up to par but I guess it's a different area with different clientele. Recommend getting a specialty combo always so that you can chicken, beef and seafood. The mustard sauce is a favorite in my family and they make all their sauces in house btw! read more

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Food was just ok, but the experience was definitely fun. We had Chef Nate, and he was super nice! He had lots of original jokes, and was very friendly overall. Please get him his name tag back though, it's been six months. read more

Manny was the ultimate showman! After dozens of visits to Benihana's across the country, Manny had some tricks and jokes that were new to me and were hilarious! Food, ambiance, and service was on point. Another great Benihana experience! read more

Amazing staff and fun experience. We came in after a concert and even though it was late they were so nice and accommodating. We had a great meal, fun servers and will def. come back! read more

Overpriced, and the servers are subpar at best. Our chef Nate was absolutely amazing though, one of the best Hibachi chefs i've seen and my family has been going to benihana for decades now! Truly restored some faith in this location for us after some disappointing visits in the past. read more

Benihana - The Woodlands - the aftermath - Sushi Bars Near Me - The Woodlands, Texas

Our night was a bit of a disaster. Our server was inexperienced and snippy, the food took more than 2 hours total and the manager appeared to be flustered and annoyed that he even had to speak to me. I made a reservation and arrived a few minutes before my time. I was sat immediately. The server came to the table when all parties had been sat and explained for about 5 mins about the new steak and butter accompaniments. She took my drink order and brought it to the table a few minutes later. All good so far. Immediately following the soup and salad drop off our server disappeared for no less than 45 minutes... I had to grab the manager while he was running by so I could get another drink. I had explained that my server had been gone for a while and he must have said something about it to her because after he dropped off the drinks and she finally came back to check on us she was very short and snippy. After the chef finished it took another 20 minutes for her to check on the table again. I had to ask for the ice cream that was included as part of the meal I had and when it finally came there could not have been more than half an ounce placed on the teaspoon in the bowl. I grabbed the manager so i could ask about the ice cream and he appeared to be annoyed that I was even speaking to him, for example wouldn't even look in my direction while he was talking to me. Almost like he was just waiting for me to accept his lackluster explanation. His answer was that it is a 3oz portion of ice cream and my server was an 18 year old girl who didnt know any better. I told him that I had maybe half an ounce and if he would look at the bowl he could see what I was trying to show him. Setting aside the mildly patronizing answer of "she's an 18 year old girl." This was not an unreasonable customer complaining about a teenage server. My whole meal was a series of misses by the whole team including the manager. The service recovery left such a bad impression that I felt compelled to write this. read more

Benihana - The Woodlands - Green tea ice cream - Sushi Bars Near Me - The Woodlands, Texas

Benihana Happy Hour Review - Hidden Gem for the Foodies on a Budget! Okay listen! Benihana might be known for the hibachi flames and onion volcanoes, but baby, let me put you on to their Happy Hour real quick. I popped in not for the theatrics, but for some cheap eats,and whew, did it deliver! I'm talkin': $9 Wagyu Burger & Fries - YES, you read that right. WAGYU. And not no skimpy, dry burger either, this thing was juicy, flavorful, perfectly cooked, and came with seasoned fries that actually held their own. Garlic Wings - Flavor bomb. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and that garlic sauce? Not to be played with. Shrimp Tempura - Light, crispy, and not greasy at all. A good balance to the heavier items and the dipping sauce was on point. All three of those came out to just $29 total, and for the quality? That's a steal. Everything tasted fresh, well-seasoned, and honestly better than I expected for Happy Hour eats. I'll be real, I'm not a huge fan of hibachi, so I wasn't there for the table shows. I just wanted good food for a good price, and Benihana's Happy Hour definitely hit the mark. If you're looking for a low-key, quality food moment without breaking the bank? Slide through. Trust me. Rating: 9/10 - Will absolutely be back. read more

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Great cheff Gunther the best Great service just the way I like my steak medium rare will be back again read more

Benihana - The Woodlands - Deluxe meal - Sushi Bars Near Me - The Woodlands, Texas

Very nice and clean restaurant located in a nice area . When we arrived we only had about a 5-10 minute wait just enough time to order a drink from the full service bar . Bartender was very nice and gave us drink recommendations which were delicious. Our food orders were taken promptly and our cook was very entertaining. All our food was very tasty including our appetizers. Would recommend this place for a family meal or to hang out with friends. read more

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we love beni's. i took my kiddo ever year for her birthday for a very long time. we continued the tradition last night. i really wish it was prettier on the inside, but i get it when you're trying to serve as many people as possible, you kinda have to sacrifice something. still. yuck. we had a super patient and knowledgeable server named london. since it had been a few years since we have been back to benihana, so when i remembered a delicious little hack after he had already brought the drinks to the table i felt bad asking him to do it over. i had ordered a glass of hibiscus tea, bonus kiddo asked for tea and sugar. but WAIT! if you're a fan of arnold palmers, try half regular tea and half hibiscus tea. the hibiscus tea is slightly sweet, but super refreshing. anyway! london was very accommodating with all of our last minute switch ups and moreso when i hated the photo we had taken. without hesitation he offered to retake the picture. i had already felt i was being a difficult patron throughout our meal, i know how busy the staff is and how important it is to keep the flow of the service, but london never missed a beat. the kids loved chef gunther's jokes and tricks. the food was just as scrumptious as we remembered. although the steak could have had a bit more seasoning. maybe next time we'll request to have it cooked in the garlic butter versus just the oil. he went above and beyond making sure we had the correct portions. i also noticed a manager scanning the dining room frequently, making eye contact, to ensure everything was copacetic. love to see an attentive manager. we'll be back! pros; diligent staff food quality cons; ambiance read more

The food was ok but not worth the premium price, the chef and presentation was weak and u professional. When we gave the place a bad review for forgetting my food and my sons food during the 6 course meal I was told we would be compensated and they never mailed the coupons. Screw this place go somewhere else with your money. read more

I understand it's Christmas Day however we have been coming to this location for 10 straight years and this year was horrible. Reservations for 10 at 6:30 showed up at 6 and was told 40 minutes. At 8:30 we finally get seated. Waiter took almost and hour to bring drinks and take the order. At 9 pm we get a cook and after making each persons food individually I sit here typing this review at 10:50!!!!! Still have not received our bill or deserts. Never again!!! read more

Went for my friends birthday, and we got a variety of foods including shrimp chicken steak rice noodles and it was delicious. Some of our guest were late so we did start late but we had a great time! read more

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The chef is a magician. How the hell did he get 3 eggs when I only saw one. I think he's a wizard. Or went to hogwarts with Harry Potter. Either way he made my kids laugh and smile. Worth every penny. read more

Damn the Benihana dynasty is run down nowadays. The foyer feels like it's still 1997, the furnishings are slightly faded due to sun and/or wear. The whole place reminds me of a dimly lit Ryan's or Golden Corral The dining room chairs all need to be tossed. Period. Every last one is faded from thousands upon thousands of hands rubbing and asses sitting in them. They all have the rickety stability of those old aluminum and plastic tube lawn/beach chairs from the 80s. It took me switching out 3 chairs before I felt an uneasy confidence that a leg would not break on me while seated. Big boys and girls have no chance with these tired chairs. Carpet appears to be at least steam cleaned over the years a few times, however there's still the faint ghostly putrid smell of restaurant carpet (think old fast food restaurant with carpet...yea you know that smell) The service was alright considering our server had our six top, an eight top and a party of twenty. Being stretched so thin she actually did a decent job. She did fall short on mastery of the menu, she stated she's been there for a couple of years and had zero knowledge of many of the entrees. The food was good, but waaaaay over priced considering my seat and damn near every other seat had rips and holes. I shouldn't be paying $50 plus for châteaubriand in a dining room with fixtures that look like they were salvaged off the curb. read more

Benihana - The Woodlands - Seen more butts than ashtrays - Sushi Bars Near Me - The Woodlands, Texas

Manny is the best Hibachi Chef! He is so funny and the food is delish ! The vibe is great read more

Houston, we have a problem. Hair in the soup. Yes, a hair in the soup. No warm apology, and no comps for the disgusting hair in the soup. Maybe the waiter should wear a beard/hair guard? He does have a beard... 5:30 reservation, seated 5:55. Very busy at this time and it appeared that there was chaos amongst the restaurant crew. Maybe short staffed? Food was very good, but I've had better at other Benihana's. Rice was not on point. Everything cooked perfectly, chef was amazing and entertaining. Cocktails and beer took a long time to arrive. The waiter advised us that the manager was helping tend bar. What?! Decor was standard Benihana and it was a nice and clean restaurant. Would I go here again? Nope. Why bother when it's super pricey and they don't seem to focus on customer service? And a hair in the soup! read more

Benihana - The Woodlands - Sushi Bars Near Me - The Woodlands, Texas

The cook was fantastic; however, the manager's behavior was unacceptable. He was rude, condescending, and made no effort to assist the waiter when there was a misunderstanding. As a guest of the birthday celebration, I tried to bring the issue to his attention, but he refused to acknowledge it. Whenever we raised concerns, his responses were dismissive and unprofessional. read more

I normally enjoy Benihana, but my recent visit was disappointing. The manager, Eric, added an undisclosed automatic gratuity to the bill without mentioning it at any point during the meal. The charge wasn't explained, wasn't listed clearly, and it felt like it was meant to go unnoticed. I don't mind tipping -- I always take care of good service -- but transparency matters. Automatically adding a gratuity without informing the customer is unprofessional and misleading. I hope management addresses this so other guests don't have the same experience. read more

made a reservation in advance, but when I arrived, my reservation was not honored. The staff didn't offer any real solution and I was left waiting while walk-ins were being seated. This was frustrating and very unprofessional. The whole point of making a reservation is to guarantee a spot, and unfortunately this business did not follow through. I won't be returning and would not recommend it to anyone who values their time read more

There is something about Benihana. A spirit of joy and celebration around a communal teppanyaki grill where you watch your food being cooked while being entertained. The concept is plain food using fresh and "can't go wrong" yet tasty ingredients. Although great restaurants come and go, it's the memories created over many years that would make me consider Benihana a classic tradition. The service is great and the consistency is there year after year. Pleased with our experience this evening. Thank you Benihana! Ambience was good. read more

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Great time celebrating Adam's birthday and John Vic farewell party on July 4th Thank you Steven and Jacob for cooking ou lunch and the corney dad jokes. Fun time with family! read more

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Our first food stop in Houston for a birthday. Celebration, and it was ok. The staff really worked hard to make sure our dinner was a success despite a few minor inconveniences. Our chef was funny and possibly new at his task(?), another table was getting a SHOW! While we got a show... The food was decent but the upcharge on rice was a trip to me... the offered sauces weren't to my liking but someone asked for yum yum sauce, and that saved the day for me. Overall nice experience. read more

It had been almost 10 yrs since my family and I had come back to eat at the restaurant in downtown Houston. Since we were in the area (Woodlands) decided to try this location. Best decision ever! Fell in love again with Benihaha. Awesome chef and location! Very friendly, great environment, got seated very quickly and matcha ice cream was delicious!! read more

Unfortunately the service at this location has gone down in our 20+ years they're understaffed. Have extensive wait times with no communication from leadership. The poor chefs are rushing their tables to meet the demands of the front of house seating, thus not giving guests their experience they expect. Today we experienced an 1 hour wait, asked the manager for an update and he said 15 more minutes, after being told "I just got here so I don't know what to tell you except it'll be 15 mins" I asked how we could Close out our 7 person table with sodas and he said "I'll take care of it" You'd think the way businesses are struggling managers would want to accommodate patrons on a Saturday afternoon before 3p. I'm not convinced the dinner service time would be any different. Zero stars would be the best. The man taking the orders was polite and helpful, unfortunately he couldn't do anything about the service we received after him. read more

DO NOT ATTEND THIS RESTAURANT!! Went to have a nice fun meal with my friends for her birthday. Our waiter ( did not catch his name but he was white long blond hair earrings etc.) was extremely disrespectful to my male friend called him fat and very passive aggressive when speaking to him. We got our meal cooked in front of us by a WONDERFUL MAN named Gabriel but when Gabriel plated our food and cleaned up his station our waiter walked over and disrespectfully was forcing us to box up our food and leave the restaurant. Mind you WE JUST GOT OUT FOOD! My male friend proceeded to ask for his yumm yumm sauce and our waiter called him fat for wanting two sauces. By the time we were done we asked to speak to the manager because we had awful service and wanted him to be aware of the disrespectful and condescending behavior that was provided by his employee. To my surprise the manager brushed us off didn't even apologize for how my friends were treated making up excuses as to why he would say or do something to the nature of his actions. We sat there for another 30 minutes after the manager left with no service and no one to stop by our table. Our waiter finally shows back up and is clapping and mocking us for " tattle telling " on him. I am dumbfounded that a restaurant who should specialize in making my time enjoyable and performative would let a high paying customer be fat shamed and condoned for asking for a sauce out of all of the things then mocked when we report an issue. I will not be returning and I hope that you read and partake at your own risk. read more

The worst $173 I have spent in a lonnggg time. I get it....birthdays and special occasions. But man this was awful. First, $173 for two entries, "upgrade to fried rice", two glasses of wine. So for that you would expect good service and good food? The food was puny and dreadful. Half the steak was tossed due to grissel. Waiter-no where to be found. So politely got up and asked the manager to help clear dishes as we were eating food around dirty dishes. He comes over and says "is this it?" Incredulous we would ask for decent service. Listen I'm sure no one will read this and and all the suckers will keep going there getting dreadful service and paying up charges for literally everything. But again this was the worst experience ever for the price point confounded by a manager who could care zero less if we were happy. Too busy attending to 11 birthday celebrations where clients are getting overcharged. What a scam. There is zero chance I will ever eat at Benihana ever again. Wake up patrons! read more

Jayredd was amazing we requested him for the second time. Our server Ike was sweet and awesome very informative. Thank you guys this is our favorite hibachi place to go to because of the great service. read more

We went here for lunch. The food was decent and the show was okay, but really not worth the price. The chef was very nice and interacted a bit with the kids and the server was also attentive and polite. The atmosphere is nice. Lots of tables and most of them were empty on a Thursday afternoon. Even though most of the tables were empty, we still got seated with other people. I understand this for smaller parties, but we are a family of 5 and easily took up the whole table. It took a long time to get our food and when we let them know we had a shellfish allergy, it seemed like it took even longer. We were at a shared table even though they were very slow and one of the other patrons with us ordered shellfish. They were careful to make our food first so there was no cross-contamination, but it took even longer for the other patrons to get their food too. The portion sizes are tiny for the price. I ordered the chicken and strip steak and received maybe 3 ounces of each. There were barely any vegetables and when we ordered some extra, they charged an astronomical charge for them. To pay over $100 for a family of 5 to walk away hungry was really hard. I wanted to enjoy eating here but it just fell short of expectations for the price. I don't mind paying for a good experience and good food, but I would not come here again. read more

Me and my family came here to celebrate last month or so . and it seemed like the whole staff was sick every one was coughing sounding congested , food was okay but just seeing that made me think is it even clean ...and were eating here but everyone is sick? Didn't feel safe to eat and the fact the managers were allowing STAFF to be at a food place in those conditions just says a lot about the company , they need to be sent home until healthy healed and being a Health Administrator this is a health violation , guys in the future please take precautions and send staff home when sick at this point I Definitely will not be coming back here again. The reason I'm posting this review is because I still think of it and I'm bothered read more

The reason I give 3 stars because our chef was amazing and deserves 5 stars. Manny was great. BUT our waitress was so rude. She seemed mad at the world! She got my order wrong, talked to our table so rudely. Had an attitude the whole time yet it was a slow lunch crowd so she wasn't busy. Just didn't want to be there, I guess. I wanted to give them 1 star. Because we got 1star service BUT Manny was amazing. read more

Benihana - The Woodlands - Manny was amazing - Sushi Bars Near Me - The Woodlands, Texas

Benihana Woodlands was a wonderful experience. I took my granny for her 85th birthday and Chef Kool made sure she had a great time! The food was very tasty, he had his own version of happy birthday to sing to her (which made her feel special), the drinks were nice (rose sangria and rising sun lemon drop), and our party was spaced out to cater to a private dining experience. I would recommend Benihana to anyone who enjoys live entertainment with dining! Chef Kool sealed the deal for a good time! read more

Benihana - The Woodlands - Sushi Bars Near Me - The Woodlands, Texas

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Chef Gunther was very kind and made our wait worth while. Our waitress was on her first night, I don't remember her name, however, I had compassion for her and it was a bit frustrating because someone should have been with her throughout the night. Hopefully, if she's still there, she is doing fine, because I will be back for my free birthday meal. read more

Chef Gunther was awesome great presentation!!! Thank you for the lovely experience we will definitely be back.

Chef Gunther was great! We felt like it was a VIP experience as we came at a slower time and had the table all to ourselves! Gunther was very personable and did a great job with all the food we ordered - seafood, steak, etc! Definitely recommend for a great experience! read more