This East Village corner used to be the home of a short-lived taco shop. There were plenty of those businesses in downtown so a hibachi-based menu was a unique concept. Besthibachi is a regional chain with six locations in the LA area. Long tables and countertops were available for seating, however all of the customers who were present at the same time as my visit were doing takeout orders. The menu board was posted on a wall in the front left corner of the room next to the register. I asked the cashier if the place was open on weekends, and he said yes. Well, that was one star deducted from this review because when I showed up at 1:30 pm on a recent Sunday afternoon, the doors were locked, and no one was inside. The supposed hours of operation were from noon to midnight seven days a week. Combination plates and hibachi entrees made up the two menu columns. After reading some of the reviews, I decided to stay away from any seafood ingredient because the value was not there. I chose the New York Steak which was served with vegetables and rice. I asked for the meat to be cooked medium rare and for teriyaki sauce on the side. About 15 minutes later, a takeout container was handed to me inside a plastic bag. There was plenty of rice and veggies, but the amount of meat for the $20 price tag was on the low side. The steak was also overdone as it was closer to medium than medium rare. The quality at Besthibachi was not exactly the best so my rating was three stars minus one for the closure when they should have been open for business. The fact that my revelation surprised the cashier told me that something was disorganized with their scheduling. read more

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Decided to do a stay cation this weekend and at about midnight we had a craving for hibachi. Stoked to find out this place was two blocks from where we were staying. First, this concept is awesome. I wish this was a more Common chain and they had one in north county because i would be all over it! Anyways, I'm not sure if it was a slow evening but at first we thought they might not have been open. All of their TV's were off and the dining room was empty, but the door was open so we went for it! We ordered a combo of NY strip and chicken It was about a 10 minute wait, got our food and walked back to the room to eat. This was delicious. We shared a plate and thank goodness we did because the portioning was great! The fried rice was delish. The NY strip was perfect and the yum yum sauce was great! I couldn't tell if it was the chicken or the veggies but something was a little salty, but overall it was delicious. I will definitely go back! Thanks for the great food! read more

i ordered from uber eats and it's ok. the "chicken side" contains such a small amount of chicken. it's seasoned but there's no teriyaki sauce on it. the fried rice is tasty, it only comes with tiny pieces of egg in it, no onion nor carrot. see photos. the sauces are really small and don't come full. read more

Besthibachi - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

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Love this spot always fast, friendly and fresh food with good portions. Always come here if I want hibachi and usually order the steak with fried rice. Also love that they're open late night. It's convenient for me since I like to stay up late weekends. read more

I didn't even know how popular BeniHibachi was until my friend had it on her list for food trucks to try in LA. So when I walked past this, I had to try. I had pretty high expectations because of the prices and the hype. I waited 20 min for my chicken and filet mignon combo with the fried rice upgrade even though the place was empty when I went. The food was good. Chicken and filet mignon were both tender and juicy but I don't know if it's worth the $40 price for the chicken and filet mignon and the fast food vibe. I felt like there could've been more meat. I felt like you might as well go to Benihana and get the cooking show for that price. Would I go back? Probably but maybe for the chicken plate which is more reasonable price wise. read more

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The food itself is really good. The service is okay if you can get em off their cell phone. What gets me is the prices. They don't match up with what you're getting. They are through the roof. The dinner entree with NY Strip is 75% fried rice (which is an up charge), 15% veggies and 10% steak. Still, I can live with that. And it's good. Really good. Then comes the side of lobster tail.... sixteen bucks for like 6 very small pieces of lobster. Get out of here with this nonsense. I've included a picture for refrence. Besides the price, whenever I go in here, it seems like they are closing up shop. The outside furniture is ALWAYS stacked in the corner so no one can sit outside. The 14 TVs they have are never on. There isn't any music playing. There are ZERO decorations. It's like walking into a prison cell. Lastly, the time it takes to make verse how busy they are is wild. Came in to order ToGo food. Quoted 20 minutes. Came back at 25 minutes (I'm still the only person in there), they needed an extra 10 minutes on top of that. So 35 minutes for a steak entree with fried rice and a side of lobster. Tax and tip brought it to about $55. Everything was good. But not worth $55 nor the 35 minute wait with no one in the restaurant. It's literally the least inviting place I have ever ordered food from. If money and time aren't an issue, you will love this place. The food really is good. read more

Besthibachi - A very sad and overpriced side of lobster. - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

Mostly rice and VERY SMALL amount of meat in either dish. The food flavor was very plain but not bad. Also i requested yum yum sauce that people we saying was so delicious and we got ZERO. So obviously they didnt read the order. when my meal cost over $60 the least they could do would be provide the sauce for the dry rice and meat. read more

Besthibachi - Chicken and Shrimp Combo - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

THE WORST SERVICE OF MY LIFE !!!!!!! The cashier had the worst service of my life. My order was stolen by someone else and it took 45 minutes for that order to be replaced as she was on the phone and not being assertive. read more

Quick bite to eat fast service, friendly staff Flavor was definitely worth the money spent for two. ($72) Would recommend if you're in the area. read more

Whenever this place was open it was so good, everytime I pass by it seems like it's closed did they turn into just ordering online ?

I work across the street so I tried it for first time today. Ordered the lunch special Steak, chicken, and shrimp $20 Was told 10-15 minutes it took 10 minutes Food was not bad, but not great, it was over salted which can happen when the sauce or marinade contains a lot of sodium and then seasoning added on the grill so it's too salty My advice cut back the salt about 25-50% and add some ginger and scallions and cracked pepper. You can easily add more salt read more

The first time I ate there a few months ago the fried rice was delicious. I'm not even a big fan of fried rice but it so good I had to go back. This time fried rice seemed a little drier and had less flavor. Did not live up to what it was last time. That's not a big deal though, Im rating low because I accidentally ordered a side of shrimp, instead of shrimp fried rice. It's my fault for not paying more attention, but in my defense the picture next to the item is a fried rice plate with shrimp and veggies... so that's what I thought I was ordering. It was $12.00, the same price as the other fried rice which again is why I thought I was ordering fried rice. So I'll ask the audience, does the picture below look like 12.00 worth of food to you? read more

Besthibachi - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

Came here after a night in gas lamp! & Boy did the lobster and steak hit! Not only was it delicious but the lady up front gave us excellent recommendations on what to order! Coming back for sure read more

Dirty as hell inside go look at the hood above the grill & behind the stoves they cook on and see all the old oil & grease / bad quality ingredients,l / takes forever to cook, 1 chef usually for all food / they don't answer phone & horribly correlated with Food ETA's via online ordering , rather stick to Benihana on Camino Del Rio - Never again going to eat here read more

My daughter and I were really looking forward to trying this new place out and supporting local restaurants. We were sorely disappointed with the service, menu options, and importantly taste. We chose the NY steak combo, chicken combo and side of mixed vegetables. The taste fell far from what Japanese food should taste like. The steak was cut into very small cubes and over cooked. The chicken was the same but was very bland. Overall it seemed like the only ingredients used was oil, soy sauce, and lots of pepper. We were perplexed at how something so bland could taste so peppery. Though I'd love to see this business succeed, we will not be back for a second try. Sorry. read more

TLDR: Amazing food, bland ambiance. I was genuinely surprised that San Diego had a storefront for hibachi, I've only seen food trucks advertised around. The server that took my order was very insightful when I had asked for recommendations and provided me with everything I needed to know! There was a sign on the restroom that stated "OUT OF SERVICE! DON'T ASK!" however seemed to be for customers only. The ambiance is just bland - a mediocre sound system, pastel red walls with granite tables, but a sneeze guard where you can see them prepare orders. Upon arriving, I was greeted to a particularly empty restaurant, the order station has a visual menu, but several T.V's, which I assume also have digital menus, were off. There is so much potential to stream live sports! Since I cannot have seafood, I ordered the Filet Mignon and Chicken Combination Plate with a side of diablo and garlic butter sauce. I was asked how I wanted the Filet cooked - I requested Medium Well and could taste the tenderness of the meat, everything was freshly prepared and delicious! When mixed with the garlic butter AND diablo sauce, each bite was a medley of pleasant umami flavors. Pleasantly surprised and excited for what's to come of this place! read more

Never see anyone there. I was craving some chicken and steak. Got food poisoning instead. Seems like nobody wants to work there. So service is not good. Ambience is a combination of cold shoulders with annoyance for interrupting their doom scrolling... read more

Great food, worth an only 10 ish minute wait. I recommend the chicken or streak. A little empty because seems like most people do takeout because the lighting in the restaurant is harsh read more

Ripped me off for $50 Fire your cashier. She didn't give me my food despite being charged for $50 on my card for a single fucking meal. This place is a scam!!!!! read more

Showed up slightly before 3pm for their lunch special which ends at 3pm, and hostess would not allow us to to take advantage of it. Nearly doubled the price. Told our order would take 20 minutes, so we waited. Ended up taking 45 minutes. $80 for 2 plastic containers of 90% rice. Shrimp/filet on one was way too small. Chicken and filet on the other. Shrimp quantity was 6 and they were small. No flavor on anything. Even the yum-yum sauce was bland. This should have been half the price at the most. Will not return. read more

DO NOT get the shrimp, $10 for 7 pieces of shrimp. Over priced and took too damn long to come out anyways smh read more

Besthibachi - Shrimp side order - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

Food was extremely overpriced and it did not taste good either. Steak was over cooked, chicken was dry and no flavor to the fried rice.

Fire... first time I had hibachi was in LA ... I went to 3 different ones in LA. There was only 1 I liked out there... can't remember the name but I tried this 1 to see if I found a good spot and I was so pleasantly surprised. I got lobster chicken and steak filet. My man ordered shrimp New York steak and lobster we both enjoyed however My steak was tender. Definitely will be back! read more

This is our second time here to eat. We love it. I totally recommend. It's walking distance to downtown and Petco Park. Customer service is super nice read more

Besthibachi - Best Japanese food - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

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Not sure why they say this place is closed. I went here today and was open as an empty fridge on the late night. The food was amazing and will be going here again. read more

Besthibachi - Shrimp w/ rice and veggies - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

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Food was fairly good but the overall experience was an odd mixture of poor and weird. The place was extremely empty when I ordered but interestingly enough, I had not received my NY steak plate after 25 minute. It quickly came to my attention that the chef's were making food for all of their own children who were hanging out in the establishment rather than making my food. There was also a gentleman hanging out in the kitchen who was blatantly taking food off the flat top and eating it a bowl. I'm fairly certain that's a food code violation. It took about 35 minutes for my food to be ready. The steak and veggies were cooked well but the fried rice was a little undercooked. I definitely want this establishment to be successful, so I am hoping that the odd experience was just a mishap. read more

Let's start off by saying you should hire workers who want to work.. greet your ONLY guests that are inside ordering your over priced food. I didn't think 2 trio meals at what looked like a fast food spot would Come out to be $115... I could've gone to shogun or Benihana's for that price. Also if I'm spending $65 bucks a plate you shouldn't say "oh the yum yum sauce is extra" only reason I'm leaving 2 stars is because the food wasn't horrible. My steak was over cooked and the lobster was cold and chewy but the shrimp was good and fried rice was flavorful. Won't go back but good luck read more

Love this place !!! Food always smacking !! They cool people too, just text in ya order and pick it up

THE BEST HIBACHI SPOT IN SD, love their service and the cooks!! They cook to perfection and it's so good every single time. Literally crave them every other week. read more

Besthibachi - Salmon & filet mignon with filet mignon and shrimp. - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

Honestly, It says they close at 12 am on instagram, on google maps, and on their website. We showed up right now at 11 and they told us they were closed. Was excited to try it and drove 25 minutes for it. read more

One of the worst teriyaki I've ever tasted, absolutely no flavor what so ever, I don't recommend this place at all I truly don't know how a restaurant like this survive since the food is really bad. Don't try this restaurant read more

This is the longest I've ever waited for food at a place that wasn't a sit down restaurant. We ordered a salmon and shrimp combo meal and have been waiting 30 minutes. They aren't even busy, there were a couple people in front of us and maybe 1 person picked up a to-go order. Don't come here if you are hungry... read more

I would not order from this place. The girl in the front obviously doesn't care. I ordered food and waited 30 min for it to get made while 4 people ordered after me. Absolute trash service. read more

Zero customer service, food is edible but overpriced. Don't order through grub hub, because they don't read your order when they make your food (simple things like chicken fried rice instead of white rice, or add sauce for .50), they're just going to give you whatever they want because you aren't there in person to do anything about it. $75 for two meals and they had charged us for all these extras and didn't actually include them in our meal. They wouldn't do anything to fix it either. Go someplace else. read more

We were craving hibachi and remembered walking by this place. I ordered 2 filet and shrimp plates (door dashed them)- and it was DELICIOUS. The filet was tender and cooked perfectly, and the vegetables were crunchy. We got 2 garlic butter and 2 Diablo sauces which were SO good in the rice. This will be our new go to spot for hibachi delivery! Highly recommend!! read more

Agree that you might as well go to an actual hibachi place for the show/food for the same price. Got the steak shrimp and lobster. Quick way to rip off drunk hungry people. Each protein was over cooked, although the fried rice was very tasty. Definitely not worth the price, but the hours are definitely convenient after the bar. Better business model would probably be protein bowls for cheaper, like rice and chicken or rice and steak at a more affordable rate read more

Decided to stop in for dinner while working late. Zero customer service, in fact the place was empty (go figure). The guy that took my order acted like he didn't even want to be there much less listen to what i was saying, in fact he didn't. I wanted two teriyakis which would've been a dollar. I didn't receive that which would've been simple. The food is overpriced, I've eaten better at the Sarku Japan in plaza Bonita mall. And it looks like they counted how many small cuts of chicken and shrimp they only placed on top of the rice. Will not be returning again. Piss poor. read more

Besthibachi - The carefully counted toppings of meat. - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

Ordered the Filet Mignon entree, substituting chicken fried rice for the white rice. The meat, fried rice, and vegetables were all good. The meat was tender and cooked to desired doneness (medium rare). The vegetables were cooked through, without being overdone; the kept their structure. There was enough food for two of us to share. Tried the garlic butter and ginger sauce. Both were good, but neither was a must-have. The food was great and the service was good. I ordered takeout at the counter and the food was ready pretty quickly. Unfortunately, we found two hairs in our food. I'm confident they're not ours, and I'm confident they're hair. We found the first one in with the meat when serving from the take out container into two bowls. We shrugged it off and started eating anyways. We found the second later, mixed in with the rice. read more

Best hibachi anywhere around here that's for sure. I usually get the chicken, shrimp and fillet mignon combo and it's good every time.

Service is okay, that is why 1 star the rest ls horrible! Salty experience food! Wait time is too bad!