Benihana - San Francisco, CA

Review summary

1. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco13 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   Food was tasty, chefs were entertaining. Very loud ambience.
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Dear Guest! Thanks for visiting us at Benihana - San Francisco, CA. We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the tasty food and found our chefs entertaining. We do apologize if the noise level was a bit too much for your liking. We appreciate your feedback and will strive to make your next visit even more enjoyable. Looking forward to serving you again.
   

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2. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Austin2 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   Benihana's was great- food excellent, service efficient, even for a REALLY busy Sun evening; but by far, the best thing about the meal, was Mario! Give that man a raise!
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded today

   Thanks for the review! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the food and service at Benihana - San Francisco, CA. We always strive to provide an efficient and exceptional dining experience for our customers. Your kind words about our team are greatly appreciated. We're always looking for ways to improve, so we'll definitely take your suggestion about a raise for our Mario into consideration. Looking forward to serving you again soon!
   

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3. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco9 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   Wonderful experience from beginning to end! We absolutely love coming to Benihana for all of our family celebrations. The servers were attentive and friendly. The chef was entertaining and customer-oriented. And of course the food was delicious as always! Thank you, Benihana, for yet another memorable experience! 😀
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Dear Guest! Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear that you and your family had a great time celebrating at Benihana - San Francisco, CA. It's fantastic to know that our team's efforts to provide attentive service and delicious food were appreciated. We're also glad that our team's friendly demeanor added to your celebration. We look forward to making more memorable experiences for you and your family. Thanks again!
   

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4. G

   Genesis

   Sacramento1 review

   1.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   I drove from Yuba city, CA it’s about at 2hr drive to visit Benihana in San Francisco for my birthday. My reservation was at 8:15 for 10 people. And I was told the restaurant was backed up that it should take about an hour longer to be seated. After an hour wait we went to check in a second time and they told the wait was going to be more than an hour wait. We waited until almost 10pm and we didn’t get seated. The host admitted that she lied to us just to keep us there in case someone else cancelled and they could have more customers. To take up the open spots. My family of ten were very disappointed especially with the long trip to celebrate my birthday. I tried to stay positive but it was frustrating that we were there until this location almost closed and we never got seated.
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 2 days ago

   Hey Genesis, We're really sorry to hear about your experience at Benihana - San Francisco, CA. We understand how frustrating it can be to wait, especially when you have a special occasion like your birthday. We apologize for the long wait and the inconvenience it caused. We're glad to hear that you found our host's honesty helpful, as it's one of the things we pride ourselves on. We're also sorry to hear that you felt disappointed with the overall experience. We'll certainly take your feedback into account as we strive to improve. We hope you'll give us another chance to make your next visit a more enjoyable one. Best, The Management Team at Benihana - San Francisco, CA
   

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5. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco2 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   Have always had a great an experience at Benihanas and have eaten at this location for the last 40 years but last night was different. We had to wait 1:45 min past our reservation time to be seated at our table and another 20 minutes before the server came to the table to take our order. Not sure if it was a one off night but seemed to be a lot of mismanagement going on. Food quality is always good and our chef was amazing.
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 2 days ago

   Dear Guest! Thank you for your continued support and for being a loyal Benihana's customer over the past 40 years. We're sorry to hear that your recent experience was not up to the usual standards. We understand that waiting for a long time to be seated and for the service to be up and running can be frustrating, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed the food and found your chef to be amazing. We appreciate your feedback and will use it to improve our service. We hope to serve you again soon, and provide a better experience. Best, The Management Team
   

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6. C

   Chalsie

   San Diego1 review

   1.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   We had a reservation for 9 people at 7:30. We arrived at 7:15 and we were not sat until almost 9:00. Then we had to wait another hour for the chef to come to the table. The place was packed, the noise was insanely loud, the management never bothered to try to make anything right, and the whole experience was a big disappointment. We went for my daughters first trip to hibachi, and not getting to eat until 10pm when we had a 7:30 reservation was insane and not okay. Our chef, Freddy, was great. Other than that everything was terrible.
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 2 days ago

   Thanks for visiting us, Chalsie. We're sorry to hear about your experience at Benihana - San Francisco, CA. It's disappointing to hear about the long wait you experienced despite having a reservation, and we apologize for the noise level. We're glad that you enjoyed your daughter's experience and found our chef to be great. We take your feedback seriously and will use it to improve our service and dining experience. We hope you'll give us another chance to make it up to you.
   

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7. OT

   OpenTable Diner VIP

   San Francisco1 review

   2.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   We made a reservation for 6:30 and weren’t seated until 7:15pm. The host said they would text us when our table was ready and they didn’t. The food was over cooked and extremely greasy. We were charged extra for fried rice which wasn’t communicated to us upon ordering. Very underwhelmed by this experience.
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 2 days ago

   Dear Guest! We're truly sorry to hear about your experience at Benihana - San Francisco, CA. It's clear from your feedback that we fell short of your expectations, especially regarding the wait time and the quality of our food. We also apologize for not communicating your extra charge for fried rice. We strive to provide our guests with an exceptional dining experience and it's clear we missed the mark during your visit. We appreciate your feedback and will use it to improve our service. We hope you'll give us another chance to make it right. Best regards, The Management Team
   

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8. OT

   OpenTable Diner VIP

   San Francisco10 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   The A5 was good. Service was good. Drinks were watered down and pricey. My partner thinks the most annoying thing was the noise. I thought the most irritating thing was my RSVP was at 6:15 and waited over 1.5 hr to be seated and cook didnt come to the table until 8. Tipped 20% for the service but didn’t think the dinner was worth $270. Rather buy the stuff and make my own hibachi dinner at home.
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 2 days ago

   Dear Guest, thank you for taking the time to share your experience at Benihana - San Francisco, CA. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed the A5 and our service. However, we're sorry to hear that our drinks and service did not meet your expectations. We appreciate your feedback on the noise levels and the wait time for seating and cooking. We strive to provide a better experience for our guests and your comments will definitely help us improve. We hope you'll give us another chance to impress you in the future.
   

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9. R

   Rebecca VIP

   San Francisco5 reviews

   2.0

   Dined 4 days ago

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

   Ridiculously expensive and so loud you can’t hear anyone at your table or the “chef” mumbling the usual catchphrases. Our waitress was overwhelmed and the birthday photo was out of focus. $17 for a drink. Food all over the floor. But the pace was packed, so it’s still popular.
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 2 days ago

   Thanks for the review, Rebecca. We're sorry to hear that your experience at Benihana - San Francisco, CA didn't meet your expectations. We understand your concerns about the noise level, the service, and the food quality. We strive to provide a comfortable dining environment and top-notch service, so we're sorry if we fell short this time. Your feedback is valuable and will be used to improve our service. We hope you'll give us another chance to serve you better in the future. Best regards, The Management Team
   

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10. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco1 review

    1.0

    Dined on 18 March 2025

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

    I was extremely disappointed with the operation of this restaurant. We had a 6 pm reservation and didn’t get seated till 6:35 then we didn’t start receiving our meals till 7:30. I had to get up from our birthday celebration to let the manager Efron know what was happening. We came there to celebrate a birthday and instead we left right after our meal with no ice cream and birthday celebration because everyone was extremely tired and disappointed and it was very late by the time the server gave us our check.
    

    Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 7 days ago

    Dear Guest, We're truly sorry to hear about your experience, especially on such an important occasion. Celebrations should be stress-free and enjoyable, and we regret that we didn’t meet your expectations. We sincerely appreciate your feedback and will be addressing these concerns with our team to ensure better organization and attentiveness in the future. We hope to have the chance to provide you with the celebration experience you deserve in the future.
    

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