Near the entrance they have shelves especially for their whimsical collectable porcelain mugs. In the main seating area there are plenty of windows to let in some ambient light. Well it was time to celebrate another birthday! I always look forward to watching the chef cook my meal (and everyone else's at the table) right in front of me. Also it's nice to come earlier in the afternoon to avoid the dinner rush. This visit I ordered the yakisoba trio. I just love the combination of the sauce, noodles and meats. Afterwards I decided on the chocolate ice cream of course. The chef did a wonderful job. Plus the servers were impeccable as usual. read more

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We have been going here for years, it takes alot for me to have a review like this, where to begin. For starters, the waiter was awesome and did a fantastic job. No complaints there. We got moved to three different tables before finding one you could sit at that would not wobble like a drunken sailor on roller skates. And that tabletop was so sticky we could not remove the menu from it without considerable effort; we thought it was glued down (it wasn't). Then apparently there is a section specifically for the really loud tv playing football that made conversation bairly plausible, but this was also the only section with tables that were not the ones where they cooked your food in front of you. That sucked. Now let's talk about the food; this is a place known for Japanese (sic) cuisine. Either the owners have never set foot in Japan or are from Philadelphia and are experts in cheesesteaks. The order was simple: Salad - Well I guess they really like onions because that is what the salad tasted and smelled like, a bowl of onions...I'll pass. Spicy Tuna Roll: Apparently the sushi was not set up yet so the entree was prepared before the roll...now this is already after 12 on a weekend, and the sushi was not ready to be prepared? Really? We capitulated and said, "Bring it out when done"; we will take the entree now. Best described as sadness wrapped in disappointment. Wasabi helped but not enough... Chicken Fried Rice: This is not what they serve; they take a bowl of fried rice and then put a scoop of chicken on top. Everywhere else I have had fried rice (and I have been all over the Pacific Rim and US) it is prepared with the meat mixed throughout the dish. Not here, you get mediocre chicken on top of the bowl and just sent off with a wish and a prayer you, the customer, just won't care. Shrimp: Half of it was blackened; the other half were victims of abuse just the emotional damage, none of the bruising..again if I were Starvin Marvin (south park joke) I would not care but it was one step above cardboard. Now we get to the rest of the place (after the table debacle). The restroom in a word. Apocalyptic. Disgusting is a compliment. It does not need to be cleaned, it needs to be demoed and redone. All of the toilets were gross, and one of them did not even have working lights. And the floors had to be mopped with grease. My feet were sliding while I was just standing still...I made a hasty exit. This is exhausting so to sum it up. Go to any other location than this one. Over the last 10 years that we have been going here, it has been in constant decline; this was the final straw. I will drive the 30 miles to go to the one in Temecula before I would even consider going back to this one, which is in my backyard. read more

I would say that the food tasted good. The service sucks. No utensils and the ambiance is clean. For the price they charge it could have been better. I asked the front lady who handed me my food if there were utensils and she said yes. No sauces either. Wow- they have really gone down on their service. read more

Benihana - Carlsbad - Fried rice trio - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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3.5 stars I use to come here a lot. This was my go to Japanese hibachi place. But, the service and prices have really took a nose dive. It's extremely pricey and if you go later in the day, the wait time is ridiculous. I switched over to Shoguns in San Marcos. Price and service is a lot better. But I've been getting these emails about 45 minutes lunch for $15.95. Soup or salad, hibachi chicken and vegetable fried rice for $15.95. 19.95 for upgrade steak. Ok, I wanted to check it out. They opened at 11:00. I tried calling to see about putting a reservation in. The phone just rang and rang. I called a couple of times. No one picked up. When I walked in with my kids, the hostess didn't greet us with a smile or anything no expression on her face just asked us if we had a reservation. I told her no, I tried calling but no one picked up. She didn't say anything. We got there around 11:20. So the place wasn't even packed. I think that's so off putting having a hostess that's just not welcoming. Our waiter was super nice. Brought our drinks and food out in a timely manner. Our chef was nice and funny. He cooked our food perfectly. And everything was done in 45 minutes. The soup was flavorful and my chicken and vegetables were cooked how I like them. My only complaint about the food was that vegetables fried rice. My kids and I all noticed the difference in the rice. It didn't taste the same. The chef didn't cook the rice in front of us. Our waiter brought our fried rice out from the back. So it was cooked in the back and brought out. Probably to save time to meet lunch in 45 minutes, the promo they have advertised. You can totally taste the difference. The rice was lacking flavor. Something was missing. It tasted weird. Not even adding the ginger sauce could help save it. Overall, I would probably be back for the lunch deal. Now that I know about the rice, I will probably see if they could add more seasonings to it. But a good deal for the food. read more

Benihana - Carlsbad - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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So my girlfriend and I visited the Carlsbad Benihana restaurant on August 18, 2026 for lunch. We received a table for just us, so the attention we received was awesome. There was a quiet ambiance in the dining room and everyone appeared to be enjoying their meal. Our chef whose name was ARNEL was knowledgeable, skillful, entertaining, friendly, and a lot of fun to watch while he prepared a delicious meal for us. We totally enjoyed this experience and look forward to returning real soon! read more

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We stayed at the hotel next door . Easy walk to the restaurant. We sat for a good 15 minutes before our waitress came to our table . She raised her finger up and said sorry I'll be right back ( 5 minutes later) . Yes now are you ready to place your order ? I can go on and on . What topped it off when I finally put my fork down, she was standing by me with the check . By this time we had enough. The food was ok but what bothered me in addition to poor service. The food was delivered all at once, appetizers, salad, main courses, dipping sauces , fried rice . There was no room on the table. All in all we should of gone to town in Carlsbad read more

The ambiance at this Benihanas was amazing. Very upscale and pretty with wine cabinets and a zen decor with a private garden patio. Wet cute and great for our Father's Day celebration for the hubby. The service was kind of absent minded but our chef was amazing. He was busting his bum to make sure we got everything we wanted. Keeping us entertained and checking to make sure the flavors and salt levels on our food was good. Five stars for the chef and the ambiance at the restaurant. 2.5 stars bumped to 3 for our server who was just meh. read more

Benihana - Carlsbad - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Made reservations for 6:45pm on a Sat. (MLK weekend). This place was extremely busy when we arrived and was told it will most likely be a 45-60 min wait. We were prepared to wait after reading all the yelp reviews. A couple with a baby said they had reservations at 6:00p and by 7:00p was still not called so they ended up leaving. There were so many large parties. On a positive note we ended up getting seated within 45min. And the service and food made up for it. Drake our waiter and Eduardo our chef were the best. Loved all the quirky jokes Eduardo had during the presentation. Drake never let our drinks go empty. Food was cooked to perfection and seasoned nicely. I ordered the Slash N Meadow and the rest of my family had the hibachi steak and chicken. I was also celebrating my birthday and redeemed my bday gift certificate that is given when you join the Benihana Friends with Benefits. Per usual Benihana tradition we got our ice cream dessert. Mine had a candle and our waiter sang happy birthday in English and then in Japanese while banging to the beat on a tambourine. He took a family picture and printed out a complimentary photo with the Benihana logo. We all had a great to It was nice to see Managers out on the floor and checking on the diners and also dealing with the upset people having to wait. Tip: to avoid the crowds reserve early or later after 7:30p. And be prepared to dine for over an hour because all the chefs do their best to provide a great "show" during dinner. read more

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That was awesome !! Some old school Benihana Teppan. Met some old friends we haven't seen in a while and had a tremendous meal. Blake provided excellent service and was very attentive throughout the experience. Our chef Irvin stole the show !! The most entertaining ever. His food was perfectly prepared. His experience showed through. Thank you all for a great afternoon !! read more

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Man oh man. I made reservations for 12/31/25 for 2 to go to Happy Hour because i saw a tiktok of the delicious looking appetizers. I asked to be seated in the bar area. I get there right on time and there are at least 5 people in the lobby area. No problem i think, i made reservations. The blonde lady at the front said, "We have you checked in, it'll be a few minutes." Excitement!! 15 minutes pass by and we're still not being seated. There's a man who looks like he's in management helping people get seated and 4 teen looking people just staving around at the desk. I figured i should ask them, but figured they probably wouldn't know. 30 minutes passes by and now people arrive. The lobby area is full, barely anyone is getting seated. The 45 minute mark is near, i ask the blonde lady when am i next. She tells me I'm literally the next reservation. It is now 5:40pm and we are finally getting seated. We were seated at a table and not in the bar area. I asked the host if it was Happy Hour and he said they have one, but not for today because it was a holiday. That was not communicated on the website nor the reservation with a comment. I still sit down because now I'm hungry and i just waited over an hour to eat. I learned that a group of 3 also made reservations for 4:45pm and didn't get seated until we were seated. The host was okay, the server was cool, and the chef was cool. The cool thing i didn't know existed was that they take pictures of you and give you a hard copy. Lastly, the food was good. I'm so disappointed in this establishment because there was little communication about why things were taking forever. I didn't realize that people came here on NYE, especially on a rainy day. If things are just explained, I'd be less annoyed, but having a reservation to wait for over an hour is unacceptable. I'm not sure if I'll be back because i really wanted to experience Happy Hour, but maybe I'll go to a different location. read more

We came for a early dinner and happy hour had just begun as well we tried a few items from the happy hour menu but had to order them at the bar area, I tried the black pepper teriyaki wings and the shrimp crunchy roll and also the salmon avocado roll they were both good but very heavy on rice I ordered the seared ahi entree which was great I really enjoyed that with the fried rice upgrade overall the experience was nice & definitely fun! read more

Benihana - Carlsbad - Inside entrance - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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Went to this location for lunch today. I have eaten dinner at this location and many others and have always enjoyed the food. Today for lunch was an exception. When our food came out it looked as though they had just piled the chicken on top of the existing bowl of fried rice to make it chicken fried rice. That's not how it's supposed to work. To make things worse, the fried rice was dry and tasteless. Nothing like it should be. When I told the server about the issue he said he would speak to his manager. Instead of the manager coming out to talk to me, the server brought the bill and said the manager credited our bill 10.00 for TWO orders of "Chicken Fried Rice". I was so disgusted by this, that I paid and will never go back. If I could give zero stars I would have. read more

We were a walk in tonight. We were offered a seat at the bar and only a couple minutes after I ordered my drink we were seated right away. Our server took additional drink requests right away and a few minutes after orders were completed. Very fast pace. The ait smells delicious and the noise level is an average loud of social happiness and celebration. The place appears clean and well kept. Everything appears to be in its place ready to serve. The food.... Fried Rice- very good. High Gatlic. Loooov3d the butter scoop. So good! Steak- so tenders. Perfectly cooked. By far the best part of my meal Shrimp- jumbo and tasty - so jumbo i had to look twice to make sure it was cooked lol. It was tasty Soup- Steaming Hot ! Mushroom, green onion., and what seems like a beef broth. So good! Salad - lightly flavored not overpowering. Crisp and fresh. Benihana Long Island - Good Taste But higher on the syrup side rather than alcohol. I think this sweet drink may give me heart burn. Allergies!!! My husband has several and from ordering to cooking we felt like he was safe and comfortable to eat. We will definitely return. Our meal was amazing Cameron your a star! read more

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I wasn't expecting a lot but our whole party was super disappointed with our overall experience. Wait times were all super long which is not a huge deal but the service was laughably abysmal. Server was legitimately coked out and kept forgetting our drink orders / taking a remarkable amount of time to bring them to us. We definitely got a new Chef so Im not even mad that they didn't really interact or do any of the classic tricks but he did forget to cook multiple entrees. After all that, paying the very expensive bill felt like we were getting scammed . I don't know what is going on with management here and I don't care if people do drugs on their shifts but when hinders them from doing their job, it needs to be addressed. read more

Great fun, food and atmosphere! Hostess, bartender and teppan chef were all super friendly and attentive! Will be back!

This was another holiday gift card stop! I haven't eaten at Benihana in probably 10 years. I strongly suggest you make a reservation! We did an early dinner at 5 pm and by 6:30 pm the waiting area was packed. I would not eat here if you want to be served and eat in under an hour. You will wait. So get used to it! After the server gets your drinks and soup/salad you might be waiting another 25-30 minutes for your chef to get to your table. I know its kinda corny, but I totally enjoy chef's show and the social aspect. You also get to see what is in your food and in terms of the fried rice (so delicious!!!) there is lots of sodium and butter! While visiting one afternoon, we grabbed a seat at the bar. Service was a bit slow, as there didn't seem to be a dedicated server for that area--leading to that classic Benihana wait. However, the $39 three-course bar special was worth it. Although the meal is prepared in the kitchen rather than at a hibachi table, the food was just as flavorful and served much faster. Big thanks to Nick and Emily for taking such great care of us at the bar. read more

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We went to dinner to celebrate our son's 5th birthday and were absolutely blown away by the staff. Our server, who greeted us and took care of us throughout the entire evening, was absolutely amazing. We unfortunately didn't catch his name, but he was incredibly personable and kind and took those extra few minutes to make our son's birthday celebration feel genuinely special. Our chef, Harlan, was amazing as well. The food was delicious, and he went above and beyond to give our sweet birthday boy a show that he was loving every minute of. He made the entire experience so much fun and truly memorable for him. It is rare these days to receive this level of service from start to finish, and it really stood out to us. We don't live particularly close to this location, but we will absolutely make the trip back specifically because of the experience we had tonight. Thank you for making our son's 5th birthday dinner so special. 10/10 experience! read more

Food was good. Service was okay.. I understand it was busy so that could be the reason it took so long to ask for things. Tables we're sticky but it's from the cleaning solution they use. It was clean but sticky The duck tub drink was super good!! Def loved it. It get lousy but the ambiance was okay. As expected for a restaurant read more

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The service was excellent. We had a great host and very attentive server. We ordered off their happy hour menu. We were excited to try this location as it had been a decade since we visited. Unfortunately the food was a complete let down. The sushi was soggy and the burger is a frozen patty. Their famous fried rice with chicken was absolutely terrible. The Satay Chicken was just a piece flat curry chicken on a stick. The entire happy hour menu was absolutely terrible. And although everything was neat and looked clean the restaurant itself felt it needed a complete disinfectant. The air felt thick and just mildewy I can't explain it; other than it felt dirty. I would not recommend this location. read more

This was an overall wonderful experience from service, pace of our meal, quality,and care taken to prepare our meal. Everything was delicious, so much that I forgot to snap photos of our actual entrées. Uggghhh! We opted for the six course lunch. We both had the filet mignon and they were excellent. We will definitely be back and will share some additional photos next time. meanwhile, here were our appetizers. read more

Benihana - Carlsbad - The soup and salad from our six course lunch. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Had a 12:45pm reservation and arrived on time. We were a party of 4 with 2 kids. We got seated with another family of 4 with 2 kids, which was perfect. The service was friendly but slow going at first. By the time our chef arrived and got going, it was 1:30pm. I don't know if that was because we got the most awesome chef ever-- he was worth the wait. Trevor cracked jokes throughout and entertained even my tweenager. Trevor had some great knife/utensil juggling skills, a wonderful demeanor with the kids, and deftly crafted a unicorn with fried rice. The value for the money wasn't the best for those that don't intake grains/veggies but pretty decent for those that ingest fried rice, vegetables, soup or salad, and the main entree. This location was conveniently located right off of interstate 5 and parking was easy. Bathroom was clean. It was relatively chilly in the restaurant, so consider bringing a jacket. read more

Benihana - Carlsbad - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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I recommend this Benihana location for drinks and dining in the lounge area. We were able to be seated immediately there on a Busy December Friday. If you want teppanyaki/hibachi you might want to make a reservation. We were able to see a few of the hibachi tables and they seemed to have lively hosts and having a great time. Our sushi rolls were great! Our server was excellent! Great drink selection. This location is in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn Express, very convenient for travel. read more

Benihana - Carlsbad - SHRIMP CRUNCHY ROLL - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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The reservation system WAY better than the San Diego one. We were seated so fast& service was great! It was a little loud though cause of the fans. I do prefer the chicken tenders from San Diego though cause they use tempura coating. read more

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I have generally had good experiences at this location in the past, but our recent visit for my daughter's birthday was deeply disappointing and frankly concerning. The primary issue was a severe lack of food hygiene. The chef frequently touched the food with his bare hands and cross-contaminated the meal by using the same turner and fork to handle beef, chicken, and fish. To make matters worse, the scallops were served undercooked. We also noticed green, rancid cooking grease dripping from the light fixture directly above the cooking area. Beyond the cleanliness issues, the service was incredibly slow, stretching our dinner to over two and a half hours. Several items we ordered were missing entirely, including the mushrooms and the teriyaki sauce. Part of the reason we choose Benihana is for the entertainment, but the chef on this night showed a complete lack of energy and showmanship. When we brought these health and service concerns to management, we were only offered a 20% discount. This did not even cover the cost of one person's meal, which felt inadequate given the uncooked food and unsanitary conditions. This was a genuinely gross experience that ruined a special birthday celebration, and I am not sure we will be able to return, which is sad. read more

If I could give it negative stars I would. If you're looking for dinner and intermittent fasting, Benihana Carlsbad has you covered. We had a 7:00 PM reservation to celebrate our son's 11th birthday. We were seated immediately, our order was taken right away... and then we entered the Benihana Waiting Experience™. We received our drinks and soup fairly quickly. After an hour or so, we got our salads. At the 1 hour and 15 minute mark, someone stopped by to reassure us our chef was "coming." Plot twist: he wasn't. We flagged down a host and were told, "You're next." Twenty minutes later, a chef came out... and walked right past our table to cook for someone else. Meanwhile, we could hear multiple chefs in the hallway laughing, talking, and singing while we were still waiting for someone to cook our food. When the manager finally spoke with us, we were told they were "short-staffed." Interesting explanation, considering there seemed to be plenty of people available for karaoke. After 90 minutes without ever receiving our entrée, our youngest daughter fell asleep at the table, our birthday boy was disappointed, and we finally gave up and left. The only thing we actually got? A $29 drink bill. I would avoid this place at all costs. read more

Okay hear me out I know Benihana is known for its teppanyaki but the sushi is amazing! 5/5 stars for me for the food and service! Thank you again Emily for the great service and catering our work event! I can't recommend you guys enough! read more

Gonna keep reducing stars here this until something changes. But we went for another birthday (surprise surprise) and while we had a reservation for our big group, we waited almost an hour to be seated after the time. This was incredibly upsetting and things have definitely not improved when it comes to their seating. They dont check you in unless the whole party is there but that doesn't even matter since you won't get seated till much later. Why keep coming back if it's that bad? Well the food is honestly good and has just become something several friend groups of mine have come to enjoy. I've come to accept that the wait would exist but wish they'd at least just let you leave and notify via text or something? There's literally nothing in this area so you're stuck in the lobby. read more

Possibly one of the worst overpriced meals I have ever had. I get dragged here every few years by someone who wants to celebrate something, with the idea that this must be a special place. We went in and stood at the unattended hostess desk for several minutes without any acknowledgement from employees. Walked over to the bar and stood there with nothing happening. Was close to 10 minutes before an employee asked if we had been helped. Decor is sparse and neither Japanese nor cozy nor convivial. Food is mass produced. I would compare this to what you get on a cruise. It sounds like it's good quality and it's entirely possible that the ingredients are fresh but you would never know when they are drenched in salty over seasoned sauces that mask the taste of the food. As a teppanyaki grill, almost all the food items are packaged as a meal that includes an onion soup that tastes decent but I suspect that it contains a ton of salt. It is followed by a salad that consists of generic lettuce salad mix with a ton of ginger salad dressing dumped on top. It's then followed by a course of rice that can be upgraded to fried rice with eggs, protein and chopped veggies. It's prepared in front of you, loaded up with tons of safflower oil and salt. Next is your protein and veggies which are promoted as wagyu beef or filet mignon or Chatieaux briand de beouf. If you can order something else like shrimp or scallops or lobster or something fancy because you're celebrating, right? Everything has salt and pepper heavily loaded on it on the oily grill. Looking at the cuts of beef, I bet I can get much better quality at Costco. You end up with bland tasting, salty protein that is greasy on your plate. The schtick is exactly the same as it was the last time we came. Sorry party tricks that haven't aged well. My 13 yr old found them amusing because she's never seen them. But I would not call this a performance by any means. Final course is ice cream. Which is very generic stuff that is bought in bulk. I ordered sushi for myself which was ok- nothing to write home about. I did sample each of the courses and felt fine until I tried a flavor add on of grilled mushrooms and the grilled beef fat of the beef. I immediately became bloated and slightly nauseous. When I got home I ended up drinking 4 glasses of water to feel better. I suspect that MSG is heavily used in their food. Price for 5 people before tip was $318.00 Please God don't make me go here again. read more

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Overall, great visit on Mon, 4/21. It was so nice to do the reservations via Open Table. Our reservation was for 6pm. We sat with another family of 4. It was funny at first because the first chef came and as soon as he read the orders, he realized he was in the wrong table. Few mins later, our actual chef came and he was very entertaining. I love his bit of the color of fried rice using soy sauce based on the color of your arms. The food was yummy. I ordered the scallops and it was very tender. This is about the only place I order scallops. My friends ordered a Filet Mignon, Hibachi Chicken and Salmon. We all got fried rice. It felt good that we were there a good decent amount of time. In the past, we would wait forever and we would be there for hours. Thank you for the bday coupon! (Fyi...prices went up). read more

Benihana - Carlsbad - Green Tea ice cream - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carlsbad, California

I used to LOVE this place, but this Benihana has just gotten worse over time. We ate there last night for my father's 75th birthday and here is what went wrong. 1. No air conditioner working. Just imagine 12 stove tops going at 500 degrees with no AC and no air flow. Good times. 2. No iced tea. Apparently they ran out (we had a 6 PM reservation). My first choice was a large Sapporo, but at $18 a pop...I just drank water when iced tea wasn't an option. 3. Everything was over cooked. The fried rice...well, it was fried alright. Chef forgot his rice bowls so the fried rice got extra fried. Med rare for the filet...nope, we got well done. Both the chicken and shrimp were also well over cooked along with the zucchini. What wasn't over cooked? Great question. The onions and mushrooms were nice. At well over $60 a head, I don't think we will be coming back here any time soon which is just an absolute shame. Benihana used to be the absolute best. read more

Chef Irvin was amazing, overall really enjoyed the food and ambience of the restaurant. The service was fast and incredible! Highly recommend! read more

I am so sad. It looks like we waited 4 years to give Benihana another shot after the previous miserable experiences. Surely, now that Covid-19 is in the rear view and all of the issues of 2022 were in the past, things would be better and back to what we expect from Benihana. It's MY birthday and I am craving it! So convinced our friends, 3 families, 10 of us, to hit the Benihana tonight. Well, shit. Started out well, seated right away, soup and salad were delicious. Then our chef arrived, super young kid, very nice and friendly. But from the get-go when he started juggling fork and spatula, he seemed nervous. He dropped them on the floor and said OOPS. 7 of the 10 of us got the $9 upgrade to the chicken fried rice and he set to work on that, but seemed to be having trouble. He tried to do some trick cracking the eggs, but failed. He didn't seem to use enough oil or garlic butter, all of our rice was crunchy and overcooked. His knife skills on the chicken were odd and he struggled to cut it, and normally they mix in the chicken with the rice, but he did not. He filled 7 bowls with the crispy rice, then parcelled out the dry chicken chunks on top. It was edible, but not what it usually is. 7 of the 10 people also had jfilet mignon, kinda boring, but that was what people ordered. It was obvious right away that he was struggling with the multi tasking and timing of everything. ALL of the steaks came out overcooked and like leather, several people barely touched their meat and said it was inedible. The seafood seemed to fare better, but even that was overcooked, underseasoned. He seemed very skittish about using the butter, even though we were all like "butter, butter, butter!!" and rooting for it. The poor kid didn't seem to know any of the usual teppanyaki chef tricks. He was busy telling us how he was going to be opening his own Italian restaurant soon by the La Jolla Cove (name TBD). Again, a super nice kid, but he ruined some perfectly nice looking proteins. We did speak to the manager on the way out and he was kind enough to refund 3 of the steaks off the bill. We still spent a fortune though on food that was not cooked properly. And at Benihana you also pay for the "show" and there was no show. As mentioned, he didn't flip shrimp tails, or make jokes or really have a fun show of any kind. He juggled once, badly, tried something with the eggs that didn't work. He made a heart out of rice and did the beating heart thing, and at the very end he tried (and failed) to do the flaming volcano thing. On the ride home we all discussed how we just felt bad for him. He could tell we weren't digging the food and it just became awkward. Probably try again in another 4 years and see... But I was embarassed to bring people here on my birthday and ask them to spend what they did for what we got. Sad. read more

We came for my daughters birthday , our waiter who cooked our food was unfriendly and no one said happy birthday . This was all she wanted super disappointed read more

Came to review the Trish Trio. Disappointed that there was no pricing on the paper you see here, but I figured... how much could it be? Not expecting $70. Especially for the weak service. Interior was very nice though. read more

Benihana - Carlsbad - Trish trio - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Sophia is terrific! Best server ever. A very busy night and she had time to make us all feel special! They were shorthanded and you would not have known it! We bow down to Sophia! read more

I've been going to Benihana for years, and I've never walked out feeling as disappointed as I did after our recent visit to the Carlsbad location. The moment we sat down, it was obvious something was wrong, the dining room felt like a sauna. Our server casually mentioned that the air conditioning "hasn't really worked since they started working there," which tells me this isn't a temporary issue. It's a long‑term problem they've chosen not to fix. Trying to enjoy a hibachi meal while sitting inches away from a blazing hot grill is already warm enough under normal circumstances. Add a broken AC system and the entire experience becomes flat‑out miserable. You could feel the heat radiating off the table, and instead of enjoying the show or the food, we were focused on how uncomfortable we were. It's hard to justify premium prices when you're sweating through dinner. Speaking of prices, I was stunned when the bill arrived. My wife and I ordered the same types of meals we've always gotten, yet the total was nearly double what we paid the last time we visited this exact location. I understand prices go up, but this felt excessive. Between the unbearable heat and the inflated cost, it honestly felt like we were paying luxury‑restaurant prices for a subpar, uncomfortable experience. I've always enjoyed Benihana, but after this visit, we're going to have to look for a more reasonably priced alternative, preferably one that keeps the dining room cool enough to actually enjoy the meal. read more

My work was offering Benihana as a lunch option so thought "why not?!". It is pretty expensive and didn't know they offered sushi so thought "why not?!" Ordered the CA roll ($14.70 and came out to $19.33 total) and it was was pretty good. Provided a TON of packets and sauces which was generous. Packaged perfectly with the beautiful Benihana bag. I don't know if it is enough to fill you up(wasn't for me) and maybe the CA roll is cheaper in the restaurant or with another delivery service. Honestly, if you want Benihana(why not?!) you should just go to the restaurant. It's all about the experience more than the food. read more

Benihana - Carlsbad - CALIFORNIA ROLL - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carlsbad, California

So it's been a long while since I've been here. The place hasn't gotten better. Pretty expensive and very sub par. Our chef was terrible. So bad it was laughable. Some people in my party were upset about it, I tried to take it with a grain of salt. I wouldn't haven chosen this place if the decision was mine, so I hope to never return. read more

Benihana - Carlsbad - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carlsbad, California

This was probably one of the worst, if not the worst, dining experiences I have ever had. Our family wanted to go celebrate accomplishments and life milestones here, but we deeply regretted it. We made a reservation for 7:00 PM on a Saturday. At 6:48 PM, we got a text message that our table was ready. We were already on our way and excited to get seated upon arrival. However, when we arrived, the hostess told us it would be 10-15 minutes because it was backed up. We checked in after 15 minutes and got a response that they're still backed up. I am not sure what the point of having a reservation system AND telling us our table is ready, if we aren't able to get seated at the time. We were seated at 7:36 PM. When seated, we were missing a plate. The server did not come out until 7:43 PM. We ordered our drinks and got them at 7:53 PM. There was no chilled glass for my father's beer and we had to ask again for the missing plate. We finally got our soup at 8:09 PM. This is 32 minutes later after a 36 minute wait. In addition, the server spilled the hot soup and it almost spilled onto my sister! We got our salad at 8:24 PM. The chef finally comes out at 8:43 PM. A few of us ordered just white rice and it never came out until we had to ask for it. It came out at 9:13 PM. In addition to this, the menu said that we get green tea with our meals. We were never asked if we wanted green tea. Instead, we had to ask at the end if we could get it. This was a horrendous experience and I would never come back. STAY AWAY! Already submitting to www.benihanalistens.com so please don't suggest that. read more

Tim is the best bartender!!! Their happy hour is amazing, and Tim was awesome. He was super friendly and made the most amazing cocktails!