We go to this place at least 2 times a week , the food are good . There are few chefs , 3 are great and the rest are ok . I been in too many Japanese steak house and Banhana are one of the good ones . We always go to the one in Edison . read more

We love the Benihana near our house so when we were in the area we were excited to eat here today for lunch. We got in and were asked if we'd like a private table or hibachi, and decided on hibachi. There was a 10 min wait, even though there was only one other family in the restaurant. After waiting for awhile, we decided to go for a table since it was taking so long. We were informed that there were no tables. So we left. Why ask if we want a table or hibachi if neither, nor a server, is available? Terrible customer service and a waste of half an hour. read more

Went here yesterday around late afternoon with my husband. This place is horrible we don't come here often but when we do service is not the best. The hostess sat us at a table that had 8 adults we felt like there wasn't enough room for all of us. First of all the server didn't seem like he wanted to be there or doesn't know what he is doing. He asked for our drinks and we also ordered an appetizer that we didn't end up getting. They have on the menu that they have brown rice, but they don't so why not change the menu. Just dissatisfied again and never coming back. read more

Uhm, so from all of the hoopla I thought I was going to experience some hotness. Wrong!! I was too upset with that raggedy meal that I had. It barely had any flavor. Yes, the rice was very good. That was the only good thing to be honest, along with my drink. I will not waste my time and money to see someone flip a spatula when my food is mediocre. I can make a better meal and throw some stuff in the air too. read more

You'll soon understand why I gave this place a 3. So many things to say, where do I begin?? Let's start with the hype I first went in here with on behalf of all the rappers & even one of my club promoter friends that rave about this place! Party of 5 of us & the host managed to get us a booth during primetime(Saturday around 8-9). The booth however could've used some reupholstering. Anyway, we order our food & in my head I'm thinking "this must be the top notch s*** that everyone's been talking about" I order a chicken & steak dish I think & the food comes out & let's just say u should've saw my face! As much hype this place gets, the food should've came out on a magic carpet or some s***! The food wasn't bad, but it wasn't the best Japanese I had either. The presentation is what really turned me off though. U know how when u order fast food & it looks nothing like the advertisement? That was my Benihana experience. The waitress & manager were dope & the fact that the food wasn't nasty saved this place & got it a 3. Overall, being that I had better Japanese & had high expectations for this place really left me disappointed. Try Arirang! It's near this area in Parlin & there's one in Mountainside & if you're in NYC, one in Brooklyn & Staten Island respectively. Before u listen to a rapper's recommendation of a restaurant, do your research first lol... read more

HI there, Had a funny experience tonight. My bf and I attempted to have our Valentines Day celebration at the newly opened sushi buffet, Ichy Umi at Menlo Park Mall. To our surprise, we arrived there and its CLOSED! I called mall info and apparently it was never opened last month as planned!! We had a taste for sushi and didnt know where to go, so we decided to cross the street and try Benihanas. We were seated right away in the hibachi style seating, and began to review the menu. We could not find one interesting thing to order. We ordered sodas and we re struggling to find an entree. Besides that, the sushi rolls were standard fare and fairly $$. Anyway. after deciding that I did not want to pay $25 for a dish of a few scallops, we decided to make a run for it. While the waiter was off getting the drinks, we got up and walked out. No one even noticed or seemed to care. We couldnt see spending good $ to leave there hungry. We drove home to SI and hit our FAV sushi place out here, Mitoushi on Richmond Ave. read more

Perfect place if you want to clean out your surplus of pepto. Bait and switch shakedowns from servers also stellar.

Horrible experience. I have been here 3 times now, with the first 2 visits pleasant. Last night, however, has changed my opinion entirely. Day 1 (yesterday) - My friend ordered a sangria and, albeit delicious, in it was floating a small black spec that looked like a bug. The waitress immediately replaced the drink, but the manager claimed it was a piece of mint... Now mint, when muddled, can turn black, BUT... She did not order a mojito. Why would mint be in a sangria anyway? Fine. We move on...... - Our hibachi is prepared, and the same friend finds what looks like a long, tangled up piece of blond hair mixed into her dish. Gross. The manager comes over and proceeds to dissect and inspect it over the hibachi table, while all of us - including 2 other parties - are eating. GROSS TIMES 2. So unprofessional. She walks back to the kitchen and returns to explain that it's a piece of the cloth bag in which the vegetables were delivered. Fine. Glad it's not hair, but no one wants to eat a freaking potato sack. - Finally, my other friend orders vegetable fried rice, and they give it to her with chicken. By this point, we have decided to cut our losses and get outta there. Day 2 (today) - I reheat my leftovers, and with first bite I pull out a really long black hair. Not mine. My hair is blond. - As I text the friends from last night to alert them to the latest gross discovery, I continue inspecting and find a SECOND black hair. [vomit] Dinner cost us between $50 and $60 each. The service was good (waitress and hibachi chef were great), but this of course does not outweigh the negatives listed above. I will not be going back here. read more

My wife and I went to the restaurant for our anniversary with some wish. Because I was asked by the rep that what type of occasion I made reservation for. First of all, none of surprise happens. (It's okay didn't expect anything. so still acceptable) Second of all, their wait-staff do not know how to serve the customer, no greet, no smile, and faking attitude. They do not receive proper training for the service, I assume. At the end of dinner (We basically enjoyed the chef's performance and taste), the wait-staff came to the table and leave the bill without asking "Anything else". However, Ice Cream and hot green tea are part of course, but we do not get it yet. another 2 parties sat next to us (3 left, 2 right) didn't say anything. They just paid their bill and left. But, I was so frustrated about the service we've got and upset. So, I stopped the manager look gentleman and told him that we didn't get ice-cream and hot tea. He said, "ok, I will get them if you still want it". What? We wait for 5min. The wait-staff brings "Ice Cream" but "Green TEA"!!! and didn't apologize her service. We wait another 5min for "Green Tea"..... I am pissed. The manager look guy stops and said, "everything okay?". I said "Huh? do you think so?". I spoke to this guy and he denied for his business card. He doesn't even tell his name. So, ask for GM's and said "oh, it's out now". I am so happy to see such a rudeness and hope they will learn "hospitality" one day. I'll NEVER back to this location. read more

Worst experience ever at Benihana. Edamame was still frozen when served. Tomato in salad was actual rotten and was visibly rotten from outside. They ran out of multiple drinks. Took over 2 hours for our food. If you are in NJ and want Benihana, go to Short Hills. That one is always a 4 or 5. Edison consistently 1 or 2. Why did we eat here, you may ask? Was pouring rain and this one is closer to home. Won't be going back. read more

went for my wifes birthday. The food was decent, service was good, but how do you not have sapporo beer in stock. Then it was time for dessert, you would think this was a japanese(asian) eatery, and everyone knows green tea ice cream is normal. of course they don't have anymore. It was a Friday, but it also wasn't late. It was around 6PM. Issue was brought up to the manager who didn't address the issue and completely side stepped it by giving us the benihana picture and walking away. They need to work on inventory. read more

Great food esp. lunch menu hibachi. Love it. Reasonably priced as well.

This place is not worth a single star, but it would not let me proceed without assigning a star. It was that pathetic of an experience. This place was recommended by one of my colleague's. We went there today to celebrate my father's 65th birthday. We told them when making the reservation itself that we wanted them to get a cake at the end and sing him a song and we were assured that they would make it happen but that was a "lie". We were a party of 8 people. The experience was bad right from the beginning. Despite making a reservation we had to wait for 40 minutes to be seated. Our server, I think her name was "Ashley", was very inattentive and did not deserve any tip for her service but it was added to our bill anyways because of the size of our party. The food is overpriced and the quality horrible. The hibachi performance was way below average. We waited and waited patiently once we were done eating for the celebration. Finally we had to remind our server to get the cake. She was there 5 minutes later with just one server and they just had us sing the song and they sang some silly song and that was it for my dad. I watched the other tables where they had some music with an instrument but my dad had nothing of this. My feelings were extremely hurt and I asked the hostess to speak to the manager. She asked me to wait and did not bother to call the manager. I waited for 2 mins and then left. Very disappointed. I will never be back and do not recommend this place to anyone. The reviews on Yelp are so poor, I should have seen it before I made this reservation. read more

I had very low expectations for this make believe Japanese style restaurant because of previous failures with them over the years. Well, the Edison NJ location redefines poor quality food, overcooking and slow service. First we had to wait until they could cram in as many people at the table as possible. They managed to smash in an extra seat so we had very little room to use any chopsticks. The portion sizes were meager and the Indian and Mexican chefs overcook and overbutter your entrees. Real Japanese would be horrified with this mockery of their cuisine. It was way too expensive and the service sucks. The table was sticky and unclean. An aggravating and waste of time and money. If you want real Asian fare go to one of the numerous restaurants in Ft Lee or NYC......these guys are clueless. read more

By far the worst Benihana experience I've ever had. I explained to the waitress that I had a food allergy and she was dismissive and did not take it seriously, repeatedly bringing me out food that I am allergic to. I have never experienced a restaurant with staff so dismissive of a very serious health concern. I will not be back. read more

The service here has been declining for awhile. My family came in for lunch thinking it would be pretty quick. Wrong. We were there for an hour and a half. We had to ask for our salads because it had already been a half hour. The entire server staff must have called out because it was only management running around. Now I'm a manager myself and I've been there when staff calls out, but not once did the manager apologize for the slow service. Also as a side note from previous experiences, bring cash because your credit card will be compromised. It happened three different times with my card and both of my parents cards. read more

What a disappointment! Yesterday was my birthday and my choice was this old favorite. We haven't been to the Benihana in Edison in a few years and will definitely cross them off our list. We had reservations on a Tuesday night but were still sent to the bar to wait unfortunately the bartender took about 5 minutes to turn up and then seemed shocked we wanted drinks during what the hostess told us was Happy Hour.. We ordered 3 Mai Tais and a Pear Martini, the Mai Tais were pre made (is that even ok with the ABC?) and very weak. I had to ask for fruit, don't all mai tais come with an orange slice and a cherry? Two bartenders had to scramble to see how to make the Pear Martini. We later found out they were out of Sapporo, shouldn't the Japanese restaurant keep Japanese beer in stock? We voiced our dissatisfaction with hostess, even said we'd like to complete a survey, they don't have surveys-why invite negative feedback! If I was that hostess I would have sent a manager over to speak to us once we were seated. Clearly I care more about customer service. The food was fine, but not worth the price. AND NOW THEY CHARGE FOR FRIED RICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's one of the best things they make, it was one of the things I was looking forward too. I'm paying you $28 for small scallops and you can't throw in a little soy sauce, an egg and some veggies?! I wonder if the Short Hills location stinks now too? Next time we want hibachi we'll try Fugiama Mama in Westfield, their sushi is great but we've never tried the hibachi. Ariarang is also a better choice for service and value. A manager wandered the hibachi dining room with a earpiece on but never approached our table to see if we were satisfied.So sad, bye bye Benihana. Your founder should be ashamed. read more

If I could have left no stars, I would have. This was a horrible experience at Benihana Edison. First off, we made a "reservation" and, yes, we were a few minutes late. However, we called to let them know and they said, "no problem, we'll seat you when you get here." But when we got there, we waited 40 minutes to sit down instead. When we arrived at the table, I had to move the dirty chair I was presented with myself and then looked over to see the chair next to me was also covered in sauce. When I alerted the host seating us of this, I received an eye roll. When we finally sat, we were grossed out by a dirty plate for one of us and my plate was old and chipped. Then we waited another 25 minutes for our chef to arrive. We finally got to eat but I had to be careful not to choke since my water glass stayed empty for the majority of my meal. Then comes check time. We hand our server two cards and cash and ask for the cards to be charged a certain amount and the rest in cash. "The way our system is set up, we have to take the cash first..." Ok, fine, do what you have to do and we'll figure out the rest. She comes back and says she's sorry but one of the cards was charged for double the amount. At this point I'm over the whole experience and she knows it. She assures me it's been voided and the money will be back in my account in a day. Again, I'm over it. As I walk out, I let them know this review is going up and how terrible of an experience the entire ordeal has been. Our server chased us on our way to our car to give us my receipt for the mistaken transaction and throws the computer under the bus saying, "our computer does this to people all the time"..... Here's an idea.... FIX IT THEN! What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that? Am I supposed to care? Not my problem. But clearly now it is since you guys have my $100 hostage. WORST RESTAURANT EVER. THANKS AND SEE YOU NEVER. read more

This place is absolute garbage. First of all, my server looked like a creature out of greek mythology and she was painfully slow. She took around 20 minutes to bring out our soup and salad and dropped one of our drinks. If you ever get a server named Fatema, run away. Secondly, the food tasted like they just fished it out of a dumpster but still cost around $40 a person. Never coming here again and I suggest anyone in the Edison area to do the same. read more

Overrated and overpriced. Let me explain. We LOVE this place for lunch its nice to go for sushi and their specials are good too. This is a place for entertainment and sub par food (understood). During our recent visit we went for dinner at a private table where we were not going to be served (entertained) by their chef. We were promptly greeted and seated at a private table. There were few other tables occupied (2 or 3 tables of couples) and only one grill in the main room going. Their seemed to be adequate staff for the night (a Tuesday) and they all seemed to be available. After being seated we looked over the dinner menu and drink menu for a bit, and after a while I began to look around to see what the staff was doing because we had not been asked for drinks or anything since sitting down. I observed the head manager taking orders out and filling in for the wait staff, while the wait staff seemed to have disappeared and when I did see them, there was no sense of urgency to let us know they would be with us or that we were even there. Now this place was EMPTY compared to the amount of people they had and the number of tables available. My wife and I looked at each other and looked around again to confirm what we were seeing. An EMPTY restaurant that was ignoring its customers. It was appalling to see this kind of place at this price ignoring its tables. We waited another 5min (15min total from being seated) to be helped. After this time had passed we got up and walked out of the restaurant, where on our way out the hostess (who had seated us) said "Thanks for coming" without even looking up. I think this last point is a clear indication this restaurant in this location is out of touch and its staff sub-par. What else can you expect from a chain across from a mall, but we had a nice experience at lunch so we thought hey why not dinner here. Mind you we have been to other restaurants of this style with better service at dinner so we knew what we were getting into. Just another chain, with (I'm sure) low profits, a sagging bottom line and sub par staff. read more

This is the best Benihana's by far! I'm a regular customer. I visited there today with my sweetie for lunch and the service was amazing the chef did an awesome job, my server Anna Marie was the best. The manager Michael Siminshe came over and introduced himself which made use feel special. Edison, NJ Benihana is the Best!! read more

We had a very bad experience today.. the service was so slow even the chef that was cooking was looking for the waiter! When I complained to the "manager" she just looked at me and didn't even bother to say I'm sorry or anything!!!!!! Horrible! Only good thing was the food and our chef was funny and engaged the kids throughout! But the rest of the staff sucked, especially that useless manager. read more

I was among the folks lucky enough to attend the "closed" grand opening for this restaurant; Needless to say my family and I have been customers ever since, as it's rare the food is not up to par. However, as of this post - we will alter our plans! The new management should take a course in customer service. I have a strong dislike for mushrooms, and started several months ago substituting carrots instead. I would have gladly paid extra- but was never asked. Today, however, while we were awaiting the chef to come and prepare our meal, the rude manager came to "adamantly" and rudely advise us that they do NOT do this substitution. My husband and I explained that we do this weekly, and it's never been a problem. He then wanted me to name the employees that had allowed it. And the chef came without the carrots. Seriously??? Well, we politely requested the check for the soup, salad and drinks! WHY??? It was quite a scene at the table and around us. Dining out should be enjoyable. Professional management should know better. So, for all my friends and family that we've enjoyed hibachi with over the years, we will have to drive a bit farther to the Short Hills location to get our crave on! I refuse to go to the Edison location as long as the current management is in place. Really - aren't carrots cheaper than mushrooms?? And it's NOT the money, I would have gladly paid extra! read more

I love Benihana, but since I haven't been there in a while I forgot the whole procedure. When our chef came out. He would try to explain stuff, and I didnt understand a word he was saying. He had a crazy hard accent and was making asian jokes so it was kinda hard to understand everything. The food was great in the end so guess thats all it really mattered. read more

Just went there today with two friends and the food was great. Our chef Antonio was great and had so much fun personality. I love how they cook the food in front of you. The food was very tasteful. Great experience, thanks Antonio. read more

Very poor service. Manuel the manager refused to give me extra veggies as I don't eat rice being a diabetic. He wanted to charge me for a full veggie meal instead additionally to my meat meal. No flexibility and lots of excuses why not. Never coming here again. Very poor customer service! read more

Went on Friday, waitress was newer, order was incorrectly provided. Which took a couple of times to remediate which was annoying. Also the hibachi chef cooked everything one by one which took forever to get each piece of food. You shouldn't have to wait 10 minutes between getting rice and having meat all the way at the end. Atmosphere is almost chain-food like, it's just not very inviting beyond the entry, people are running around like mad to serve everyone. It's a quantity over quality experience. My biggest issue with this restaurant is the ala carte menu for hibachi. Seriously it's hibachi, you have to pay EXTRA for fried rice. How dumb is that. You pay $25 for chicken, some veggies, 3 app shrimp, and miso soup but if you want the chef to give you some fried rice, pay an extra $4. I also asked for garlic on my rice and chicken, they just smothered it with garlic butter, it's not the same! What restaurant doesn't have garlic? Just a waste. If you want real Hibachi go to Imperial 46 or Sho-Gun or Arirang, i've had a much better experience. I won't be going back. read more

My husband & I just got back from Benihana Edison,NJ. The past 2 years my brother and his family gave us a gift card for $50for Christmas. When we went to use the first one they told us it was only good for $25 . Even though it was a $50 gift card. What could we do but pay the bill. Last Christmas we got another gift card for $50 , gave it to the waitress to cover part of our bill. She came back and said there was $0 on the card.We told her it had $50 on it. Said she would try card again but she said it came back $0. We told her this was the 2nd time they told us this. Ended up paying the whole bill without the gift card. Another woman came over (not sure if she was the manager) we told her the story said she was sorry & asked if she could keep the card and she would call us. THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO RUN A BUSINESS. YOU SHOULD PUT MONEY ON A GIFT CARD IF YOU ARE CHARGING THE BUYER. YOU SHOULD THING TWICE ABOUT BUYING A GIFT CARD FROM THEM(cards were bought at this location) YOU SHOULD THINK TWICE ABOUT GIVING THEM YOUR BUSINESS WILL NEVER BE BACK. CALLED MY BROTHER TO TELL HIM. HE SAID HE WAS CHARGED $50. HE WAS VERY EMBARRASSED. I TOLD HIM NOT TO GIVE US ANOTHER GIFT CARD FROM BENIHANA EDISON NJ. NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

I have never seen so much racism in my entire life. We are from Guyana and US citizens. We were at Benihana yesterday, Thursday, September 5, 2019 at 730pm. There was a big family near us celebrating a birthday. There waiter was not paying attention to them and ignored them. The waiter was white. They were the only ones not served. Everyone else was served. When the white waiter passed us he was laughing and saying "Send them back". I spoke with the manager and the manager did not care. It got to the point where the staff start cleaning under the table while they were about to eat. The white waiter was laughing at them and everytime the white waiter will pass us he will say "Send them back" . I told the t family to leave. I will never go this location again. I have a daughter and a wife and this is the racism we see. White waiter can get away with anything. Benihana is a famous place so they will not care as long as they are getting the money. Just remember that if the white waiter was racist to them, not serving them, laughing at them, doing microaggressions by calling them brown family, and laughing with the other servers....he will be racist to you as well. So Benihana you will pay a white waiter who says to people send them back but you dont care because you are getting paid. Feel free to laugh while you take our money. read more

my service was great! the waiter, anthony, was very attentive, nice, and you can tell he really cares about his job! i love coming here!

This restaurant has the best hibachi dining atmosphere you would ever want to experience. The ginger and mustard sauces are the best I have ever eaten. There was not one chef I have not enjoyed the meals they made right in front of my eyes. I loved this particular benihana for great service. read more

Pros: Service Cons: Wait time Food: The food is more or less what one would expect of a hibachi grill restaurant: steak, chicken, shrimp, veggies, fried rice, etc.. There are a number of interesting items on the menu which sound quite appetizing (ex. the Mango Shrimp), but when I went there I stuck to my guns and went for the Samurai Treat (fillet mignon and colossal shrimp). The steak was indeed quite tender as should be expected of a fillet mignon and the shrimp was perfectly cooked, so certainly no complaints there. The veggies were savoury and well cooked; I didn't realize that you could make a large chunk of onion taste that good. The fried rice that I ordered was a great accompaniment, cooked with garlic butter, veggies and chicken, it was definitely a good choice. The salad that came with my meal was nothing particularly special, but the homemade ginger dressing that comes with it was something to be raved about. The sushi at Benihana is very well made. Judging by the quality of the preparation, the chefs have quite a lot of experience making traditional sushi (the tuna roll I ordered was really quite good, the fish very fresh tasting). They have a number of interesting sushi items such as the Las Vegas Roll which my more adventurous wife ordered, which is basically a deep fried Philly Roll with a jalapeno on top, and the Sumo Roll, which, as my waiter informed me, is not oven baked as it says on the menu, but blow torched (definitely a must-try next time). Service: The staff was really quite friendly. I actually found it rather cute seeing the clearly non-Japanese staff greeting everyone with little Japanese phrases (a couple of the hosts actually bowed when they said "Arigato" as I was leaving). The host staff did a good job making me feel not too frustrated at the 30 minute wait time that my wife and I were given, which is certainly not easy. Granted, I happened to chance upon Benihana when it was quite busy, so it was somewhat understandable. My waiter was really quite good despite how busy he seemed:0 he always managed to smile and take his time answering my and my wife's questions about the menu, which, admittedly, were not few. The managing staff also did a great job - I could see them darting around, asking customers if they were doing okay, helping the waiters carry their overloaded trays. I can't attest to the quality of the other chefs, but the one I got was excellent. He was quite precise with his show; smiled, laughed and talked to me and the other people at my table; and he cooked the food extremely well (he managed to get my fillet mignon at a nice medium rare whilst managing everyone else's order). The only thing that bothered me was the wait time, which was really quite long. I understand that hibachi is a bit different from a normal restaurant, but I was a little irked when they went over my wait time by a couple of minutes. In all fairness it was busy, so I wasn't that upset. My recommendation: make a reservation or arrive not too hungry. read more

Overpriced food and beverages. Service and quality of food is below average. Will never visit again. Ambience is great though.

One of my favorite restaurants ever! Always go there for special occasions. The price is a bit hefty but for the food and the way they prepare it in front of you makes it worth it! read more

Service is good and fast but the food is mediocre. Won't come back. Btw the water here taste awful....

Great staff. Awesome service. Excellent food. We eaten here several times, and it's always a great experience.

i had a $30 birthday coupon and that is why i dined there. after trying their food and service, i would dine there without a coupon. we were greeted and seated promptly. our waitress, adrian, was extremely polite and informative. our requst for water with lemons and green tea were promptly delivered. i had the teriyaki steak and my daughter spicy seafood with noodles. all came as ordered and were delicious. the waitress, adrian, made the meal very pleasant. good food, good service and reasonable prices and quantity. i will be back. read more

anthony was my server and julio was my cook and they are the best i love them sm good service

Love this place! It's a little pricey. Will try going for lunch next time! Went with a bunch of friends and we got the chicken and shrimp entrees and both were good. read more

The atmosphere is nice. Food is not really to die for but the chef-show or teppanyaki is entertaining.