Benihana - Temecula, CA

Review summary

1. V

   Vicky

   San Diego

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined today

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

   Service and overall good quality was great. The gyoza was cold. We waited for our cook an hour which seemed too long. He made up for the wait with an excellent dinner show. Wonderful experience overall and we will be returning.
   

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2. s

   shawna

   VIP

   San Diego

   3 reviews

   3.0

   3 reviews

   Dined today

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

   Unfortunately, my husband and I just had an okay time. The food was not up to the normal standards. We paid extra for fillet mignon, but it was overdone, chewy, and fatty. It was disappointing. I’m not sure if we will be back but we have enjoyed our experience in the past.
   

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3. R

   Richard

   San Francisco

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   The cooks really make the experience. Back in the early days, i understood chefs to be trained in Japan- absolute pro in culinary showmanship. Later, i remember tables served by Hispanic gentlemen wearing name tags of Japanese names like "Sato". They had a great sense of showmanship- could cook and entertain. Loved it! Last night... just sad. No showmanship, no talent for working a table, and worst of all- couldn't cook. Forgot soy sauce in the fried rice??? Really? Timing was awful. One dish at a time. Took nearly 2 hours to finish cooking the table. Memories of the artists back in the day, filleting the shrimp appetizer so masterfully- could barely see the filet knife it moved so fast. To take a line from the Simpson's sushi bar episode- our cook with the shrimp seemed to "hack (it) like a blind woodsman" 3 other Teppanyaki places in the Temecula, CA area, ill be heading to one of them next time I'm in town!
   

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4. D

   Don

   San Diego

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   The cook was horrible tonight. He overcooked the food, was too busy talking instead of cooking. Then he passed out a card promoting his side cooking business. Who does that when you’re on the clock at your current job? The waitress was horrible. She was no where to be found when needed. I’m not sure I would go back to this Benihana. I’ll drive further to other ones because this one can’t get it together. We are paying way to much for food to have horrible food and service.
   

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5. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Central Coast

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   We had reservations at 6pm did not get seated until 45 minutes after our reservation. The cook did not start cooking until 7:30.
   

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6. A

   Anna

   VIP

   Los Angeles

   13 reviews

   5.0

   13 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   Go early cuz it gets crowed and not enough chefs for that many people
   

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7. C

   Clara

   San Diego

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   Came for Christmas dinner with a reservation and called in TWICE the day of to confirm our reservation to make sure we didn’t have to encounter long wait times that Benihana is so notorious for. No one warned us for the insane overbooked scene we were about to walk into on either phone calls. We drove a great distance for a Christmas dinner that was simply ruined by you guys. And at that time, all the other restaurants were nearing their closing time, leaving us having to drive back home with two hungry children and no Christmas dinner. Benihana has to do better and avoid overbooking. Over 45 people were in front of us according to the hostess and manager who were BOTH unapologetic and acting like it’s the norm. How disgraceful.
   

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8. A

   Angelina

   San Diego

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   Why have a reservation system if you can’t honor reservations?? I felt so bad for the staff, they said corporate does not allow them to ask people to leave or put a time limit on their table. I understand that’s not typically wanted by any guest but when they’re 1.5 hours behind on all reservations, then service is rushed, the whole experience is just not worth it. Either limit the tables or the reservation time slots. All staff were so nice and worked to be so helpful and make sure nobody was going hungry. Food was just ok. The show felt rushed and quiet. For $50 a person, it’s not worth it. Plus, the cook used the same flavoring on everything so the entire dish tasted the same. Had a small hair on my food so definitely lost my appetite and fell exhausted since we had to eat so late. Giving the overall experience a 3 stars because the crowd was fun and the staff did everything they could to make it work. They worked hard and did their best.
   

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9. M

   Mil

   Los Angeles

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   I booked reservations for 7pm yesterday, which they accepted. When me and my group came in at 7, they told us that it would be a 50 minute wait even though we had reservations. I pushed but the host coldly said “full house. Sorry about that”. I came back after 50 minutes and she told me there’s still 6 tables ahead of me. I asked why they accepted my reservation then only to waste our time and make us wait two hours. They were dismissive. We left to Habachi Buffet which was excellent.
   

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10. A

    Amy

    Los Angeles

    5 reviews

    3.0

    5 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

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

    Wait was horrific even though we had a reservation! Reservation was at 6:15 we didn’t get sat till 715 and I didn’t have a glass of water in front of me until 8 o’clock. We got home at 10:15 and we live nearby so that blows!
    

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