Benihana - Newport Beach, CA

Review summary

1. B

   Bradford

   VIP

   Orange County

   13 reviews

   2.0

   13 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   Had dinner reservations at 7:30pm for a party of 5. We were told upon arrival that they were 45 minutes behind. We finally got seated at 8:45 then waited for the chef and didn’t get the main meal until just around 9:45pm. At no time did anyone apologize for the delay. Food was fine.
   

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2. m

   mike

   Denver

   5 reviews

   3.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   The food and our cook Bibi made the difference in our visit last night to Benihanas. It started pretty rough as we had to wait an hour for our 6:30 reservation. We were able to find room in the bar to wait after 30 minutes . Unfortunately the server working in the bar never got around to asking us if we wanted a drink which was disappointing. Once we were finally seated our cook Bibi was terrific. All in all a good meal in spite of the long wait and terrible bar waiter.
   

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3. M

   Matt

   Orange County

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   Day after Christmas seemed to be short-staffed. We had a 6pm reservation. All members in the party arrived by 6:07. We didn't get seated until 6:45. Soup and salad were served, but then the main course was delayed about 45 minutes (didn't get the main course starting to cook until 7:30pm). Didn't really see our waitress throughout the meal since they seemed to be short-stafffed.
   

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4. m

   monique

   Los Angeles

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   We understand we were there right at opening and most staff had not shown up yet so we are trying to be understanding. We didn’t get seated until almost 20 mins later despite having a reservation and did not get our order taken until 30-40 mins later. Food was delicious as always but if you open at 11 make sure staff is ready and there for clients.
   

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5. C

   Chase

   Orange County

   3 reviews

   2.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   We continue to visit already knowing to expect to have to wait longer due to the location not having enough chef's, but on Christmas Day with a reservation we still waited over an hour to be seated. We were told "We're behind schedule at least an hour" when we arrived, and they were true to that.
   

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6. A

   Andy

   Orange County

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Benihana in Newport Beach was chaotic and severely lacking on Christmas Day. They did not honor our Open Table reservation. We were informed that our reservation would be cancelled due to overcrowding and the wait times would exceed over two hours. The crowd management was non-existent and the staff were overwhelmed and unprepared. We will not return to this restaurant again.
   

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7. D

   Daphne

   Orange County

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   It was a wonderful evening. Service was excellent for how busy they were! It’s just too bad we had to wait an hr for an already booked reservation but we do understand.
   

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8. J

   Jen

   Orange County

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   A long held reservation for Christmas night: my sister-in-law and niece visiting from Minneapolis. Benihana is their Christmas dinner tradition and we wanted to make it ours. They were running over an hour behind and with no place for my 76-year old mother to sit while we potentially waited, we left and went to a nearby Brazilian steakhouse. Benihana called 71 minutes AFTER our 6pm reservation…ironically as we paying the check at the other restaurant. I can be understanding…to a point. The reservation we had meant nothing. The restaurant business is tough, and what would have turned this around for us would have been a proactive call at 5pm, asking if we could push our reservation to 7 or 7:30. To keep tradition, that would have gotten a yes from us.
   

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9. D

   Debbie

   Orange County

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   We had 5:45pm reservations. We checked in a few minutes early and they told us they were running 1.5 hrs behind! Needless to say we left and did not have our Christmas dinner there. Horribly managed by the front of the house and completely unacceptable! The hostess was matter of fact and showed zero remorse.
   

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10. S

    Sarah

    VIP

    Orange County

    282 reviews

    1.0

    282 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1

    We arrived for our 5:30 reservation on time and were told we had an hour and half wait! Totally unacceptable!!! This is the fault of their messed up dining policy. They book tables for every hour!!! I will not be back.
    

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