Benihana is one of our fam fave places to celebrate birthdays, purely for its casual, fun vibe, entertaining atmosphere, and good food. For my dad's birthday this year, he asked for an early fam bam dinner, so my sis and I made it happen! We signed him up for the "Friends with Benefits" loyalty program so we could capitalize on the $50 dine-in birthday reward..SCORE! The caveat was that we had to dine/redeem before 4:30 pm Friday-Sunday, hence our early 4 pm Sunday dinner rezo. In the end, it was worth it cuz we finished dinner early enough to all go enjoy a sunset walk along the Corona del Mar beach/coast afterward. With our party of 7, it was also nice to have a grill table all to ourselves vs. having to share with an odd couple or a smaller fam of 3. I shared the filet mignon 5-course Hibachi entree with my daughter, as it's plenty of food. The 5-course meal comes with the simple yet yummy Benihana onion soup, Benihana salad, Hibachi shrimp appetizer, and Hibachi veggies (zucchini & onions). We always upgrade to the fried rice cuz it's BOMB! Even though we've seen & experienced the show many times, it's always a treat as each cook has their own personality & style. We still enjoy it every time. Ramon cooked our filet mignon perfectly medium-rare. It was beyond tender and sooo yums with their dipping sauce. The food wasn't overly salted, like it could be sometimes, which we appreciated. I also like their virgin piña colada--it's refreshing & tropical, and a nice complement to the meal. Shout out to our server for hooking us all up with ice cream to end the night! All in all, service was great, food was good, and everyone had a blast! Birthday dinner = SUCCESS..RxFoodie recommend!!! read more

See all

First time at a Benihana and it will by my LAST TIME. First, they sit you at a grill, ( it was only 3 of us so we sat in different chairs) then unknowingly they add another family to our table, so we were like what the??. We had to re arrange our seats, not cool. Second, we order our drinks....shortly after put in our order for our food. It took them 20 minutes AFTER we ordered for a chef to come to our table and even start so he can prep our food. 3rd, they cook everything separately, starting with the rice.. that takes a little, so while they do that they cook your veggies, splash salt all over.. once veggies are done they add to your plate.. then they ask how were the veggies .. then they cook more sides add more Salt, add that to your plate and ask you how those things tasted.. basically you they expect you to eat the sides before they get to the meat of your order, like wtf.. yeah let me eat my veggies and rice then all I'll have left at the end is my meats? Everything was overly seasoned and overly salted... as I write this review my stomach feels like crap due to how much salt they put in your food. 4th, the chef... he cared more about what our favorite sports teams were, what we did for a living, whether we were married or not than he did for the food he was cooking for us, Which was atrocious. Like I said overly salted, overly seasoned, and served all over the place. 5th, they messed up our order so they had to discount my tab due to not paying attention because he cared more about conversation than he did prepping our food so we eat out food with all items on the plate at the same time. In conclusion, If im going to pay around $250 before tip for 3 guests. It BETTER be GOOD, timely, and prepared to perfection. Benihana was none of those. I will never go again, DO NOT come here unless you like your food overly salted, served all over the place, seated with other families and grilled with questions by the chef and their corny jokes. read more

I'd never been to Benihana. I'm 56 years old. We went last night. It was absolutely wonderful. I heard so many people talk about how it was all about the chef and the show. They said the food was so so. They are wrong. The chef. The show. The food. The service. It was all fantastic. I cannot recommend it enough. 7 of us had a delightful time for my mother's birthday. We all loved it. So go. And see if you can get Fernando as your chef. He was truly outstanding and all our food was perfect. read more

I came tonight with a group of nine for a birthday dinner and received exceptional service from Tiffany. She was attentive, ensuring to refill our glasses when empty. It was my first time eating the yakisoba noodles with steak, and I was impressed. The meal was complemented with onion soup, salad, hibachi shrimp appetizer, vegetables, steamed rice, and green tea, all of which were of excellent. It was so much food! read more

See all

Came here around 4:30 we asked the host what is the difference at the lounge or a teppan table her response was food will be the same without the show so went for the lounge. We order our food right away food didn't come out till 5:15-5-20 horrible service. Food was dry AF. We will not be coming back. read more

This place is a no go. I should have turned around when the hostess was being rude. She basically directed me to the bar based off of how I was dressed. We decided to eat at the bar because she told us it was same thing as upstairs but without the show. I ordered the filet entree medium. Took 20 mins to bring out a salad. 40 mins to bring out my well done filet kids portion and another 10 mins to get my chicken fried rice. To make things worse it was so hot they had swamp coolers. Bad food and poor service. read more

I have been visiting Benihana regularly since the mid-1980s. Unfortunately, my most recent experience fell far below the standard I have come to expect. I was deeply disappointed and do not plan to return. A few initial observations: The restaurant has a new manager, which I initially thought was a step in the right direction. The prices remain reasonable. The property, particularly the bathrooms, desperately needs an upgrade. A fresher, cleaner appearance might help attract more guests. The food quality, well, the little we actually ate, has declined. Here was our experience: The mushroom soup and salad arrived first. The soup was great, but the salad dressing was not what it used to be. Still, this alone would not have prompted a complaint. Our chef appeared to be new and understandably nervous, which was perfectly fine. What concerned us was that he looked visibly unclean. His uniform was not just a little dirty (like most of their chefs), it was very dirty, and it looked liked he hadn't showered in a couple of days. The most serious concern was the condition of his hands and fingernails. His fingernails appeared dirty, some were black underneath, and there were two or three visible growths on his hands. I cannot say what they were, but their appearance was concerning. At a restaurant where a major part of the experience involves watching the chef prepare food directly in front of you, basic hygiene and presentation must be carefully monitored. Before a chef approaches a customer's table, someone should ensure that the chef's hands are washed, the fingernails are clean, and hopefully there aren't any weird growths happening. Needless to say, we got up and left. I do not believe we will return. There are other similar restaurants where things are normal. read more

Started off with happy hour at the bar which has an amazing menu and delicious drinks for an excellent price. Will definitely check out the food some other time. Been celebrating my bday at Benihana for ages and it was nice to be back doing so again this year. The parking at this location has gotten terrible though and is $10 valet unless you can find one of the few spots available for self-park. That part was a bit of a turnoff although the valet explained why they are having to hoard spots for valet because apparently a neighboring business by the airport is just dropping off all their cars in the Benihana lot. I got the Seafood Diablo (shrimp, scallops and squid) and my friend got the NY Steak. It was perfect for sharing to create our own little surf and turf. Chefs are still pulling their usual tricks which was great. Hibachi fried rice still tastes good but I feel like they are overdoing the garlic butter which makes the rice soggy. Capped off the evening with my bday ice cream which was a nice touch. read more

See all

We had a 7 PM reservation on a Sunday, but when we arrived, we were told to expect a 30-minute wait. Some people in the lobby had already been waiting 45 minutes. We weren't seated until around 7:30. Since our kids were starving by that point, we ordered quickly -- but then didn't see our chef until 8:30 PM. The chef himself was underwhelming. He mumbled through the whole thing so it was hard to follow what he was saying, and he skipped nearly all the usual tricks and flair you expect at a hibachi place -- it felt like he was just going through the motions. The food quality has also noticeably declined, our dishes came out over-salted and slightly overcooked. For 2 adults and 2 kids, with no alcohol ordered, our bill with tip came to over $240. Given the long waits, lackluster show, and mediocre food, it just wasn't worth it. Hoping this was an off night, but based on this visit, I can't recommend it right now. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

I love Benihana, how can't you? But cmon this is a ridiculously small $7 side of zucchini. I snapped a picture without eating any. Also ordered side of mushrooms and there was probably 7 total mushrooms. Be more generous! read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

I've been here so many times but had to write a new review because we had the most fun ever with Chef Jordan! He had great handiwork with all the tricks and he was entertaining with nonstop jokes and singing. Somehow he was able to keep everyone entertained and still cook an amazing meal. The scallops and shrimp were nice and tender and the steak were the right temperature. Our server tonight wasn't very talkative but she was very efficient and came to refill our tea and water without us asking. When we asked for anything, she would bring it immediately. read more

See all

Do not come here to eat! We had a reservation for 7:00pm and did not get seated until 8:15! They kept reassuring us it was next clearly wasn't. People with dogs in strollers were here and def not a dress up occasion restaurant anymore. Flip flops and board shorts with ripped t shirts was the norm. If you want to pay a lot of money for Chilis come here! Do not recommend read more

9/13/26 Came for an early dinner with my sister, my fiance, and 3 nephews and my toddler son- we expected a great dinner (I come here maybe 1-2x a year?) and a good show. The past few years, the chefs have just put on fair-good shows, so we were IMMEDIATELY blown away by Pierce. He is hilarious and witty (he immediately had one-liners for everything and everyone, and we laughed the entire night), generous and thoughtful, and he sings like an angel. If you like Michael Jackson or Bruno Mars, get ready for the best show. He's on beat, and he cooks like a Michelin chef. Butter and garlic? Yes, please. I will NEVER forget tonight's experience, thanks to Pierce and the staff at Benihana Newport Beach. Even though the place was crazy busy (-0.5 stars for implementing $10 valet... They took away so many free spots! But even the valet tonight was sweet and worked hard! They had to deal with my Tesla without a key! Whoops... Thanks, sir!), the service was smooth and flowed really well. I got the 6-course "samurai treat" (filet mignon and colossal shrimp) and it was incredible. I can't wait for my leftovers tomorrow! Thank you, Pierce and staff! See you hopefully sooner than later! read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Let the fun begin. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

See all

Benihana is usually a reliable go-to for me, I visit this location pretty often, at least once a month, but this time, the visit started off on the wrong foot. I originally came in for the 45-minute power lunch, but was told there would be a 10-15 minute wait just to be seated.....this kinda defeated the purpose of a "quick" lunch. On top of that, I asked and learned that I wasn't able to use my $25 birthday reward toward the power lunch, which was disappointing and almost made me leave. I ended up staying and ordered one of the lunch boat specials in the lounge instead, and thankfully the experience improved from there. Within minutes of ordering, my soup and salad came out, and the full meal followed shortly after. The lunch boat presentation was nice and included a good variety: salmon as the main protein, half a California roll (4 pieces), 2 tempura shrimp with dipping sauce, assorted tempura veggies (onion ring, sweet potato, asparagus), 4 pieces of sashimi, edamame, rice, and even a peeled orange on the side . That said, the portion of salmon was surprisingly small--definitely not the highlight if you're coming in expecting a filling protein. The rest of the food was solid, but nothing particularly standout. Overall, the meal itself was decent and service was efficient, but between the initial confusion around the power lunch and reward restrictions, it didn't quite live up to expectations this time. read more

See all

Tyler the tall server and Chef UNC took care of business; so kudos to them. They're the main reason I didn't score Benihana Lower on the yelp grading score. So yo, listen. Let's keep it a BUCK. The chicken fried rice is single handedly keeping this business afloat. It's just an all right restaurant across the board. I do insist it used to be slightly better and higher quality like 15-20 years ago but whatever, that's not really too important, just a side note. The doodle and the pregnant side chick seemed to enjoy the main courses though. 乾杯 P.S. God bless the ANACRIME DUCKS. Won series last night. read more

See all

Came here with my daughters as their mom was out of town and she's not a fan of teppan. She has a phobia of a chef throwing a shrimp at her she says (although didn't actually happen). We got seated relatively quickly, got our drink orders in and was introduced to our chef who was a really nice quiet spoken and talented guy. He knew all the classic tricks like the beating heart rice and train steaming onion tower and a couple others i haven't seen before including a really flammable trick. All in all the food is still really good. The restaurant was really clean and the people were all very nice. They still have that old Benihana vibe that I didn't realize I missed. It was great to show my daughters as they seemed in awe of the show and great food experience! I'll surely be back to experience this again with them! A+ Benihana...I hope you're around for many more years to come!!! read more

We came in my family and I and PATRICK was our waiter. He was so kind, patient, personable and amazing. His personality was great. His main goal was to make sure we had a good experience. We love you Patrick!!! And Hezekiul fried rice, vegetables and meat were the BEST!!! read more

Horrible experience start to finish... Let's start with our arrival. They have a parking lot large enough to house all their guest. However, they chose to be greedy and block more than half of their parking lot off for valet parking. With no option to park on the street in that neighborhood it's pretty much forced valet parking. Now to our table. We had a Spanish speaking couple at our table and the cook was talking to them and ignoring the rest of the table most of the time. When it came to separate our portions he gave that couple larger portions than ours. Cutting into our meals. To top off the skimpy servings the food was over cooked and under seasoned. It was a very disappointing experience to say the least. If you charge top dollar prices you should give a top tier experience. Spent over a $140's for what's in the pic, one sushi roll, and extra fried rice. Unbelievable! read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - My $69 trio minus the fried rice & half a squash. Super skimpy and over cooked. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

This is our favorite Benihana location so we came here to celebrate my husband's birthday. Our chef, Adagio, was amazing! The best chef experience we've had at any locations. He was so personable and entertaining. However, our server, Emily, wasn't that great. First of all, she wasn't very attentive. There were several times when we had to ask other staff to call her to our table. We had to request utensils, food we ordered, and finally the celebratory picture. When we asked her about it, she said "Oh, it's by request." Luckily, we know about the picture but if it's your first time, how do you know to request it? She seemed annoyed that we even asked. She just didn't have a nice attitude. It's the first time we've experienced this at this location. Usually, the service is exceptional. Maybe Emily was having a bad day but it sucks we got her the day we were celebrating my husband's birthday. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Blue Hawaiian - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

The quality of food not as expected, the service lack of timing, overcharged on our bill, didn't received our credit back, unit to charge malfunction and need to be replaced after already charged on the previous one. Discussed with the manager and didn't resolved our situation, will not come back again. read more

First of all, more than half of the parking lot is Valet parking at a cost of $10. There is no available parking on the street due to "no parking anywhere" signs. Why should I have to pay $10 to park at a restaurant that is already overpriced. Valet parking used to be free. They were understaffed. It took an hour from the time we sat down to have a chef come to our table. We had a 545pm reservation and we didn't leave until 8pm. They said they had a large party and over 500 guests that night. Well if you knew this already why not prepare accordingly? Portion sizes have gotten smaller. Instead of getting a whole long piece of zucchini cut up they give you 3/4 of it. The onion soup is not filled up in the bowl as much. The salad is just bag o' salad mix. And if I'm paying $58 for chicken and filet mignon at least give me a whole breast of chicken not split in half between two customers. Even the chefs are not into the experience anymore. Our chef couldn't even make a heart with the fried rice. He did not perform tricks with the shrimp tails (apparently they now prep them without the tails before bringing them to the table). Just wants to push the food out as quick as possible. Just not a great experience overall and it has slowly declined every year for the past 3 years since it has merged with "friends with benefits" restaurant group. Which in itself is such a bad name when trying to find their app in the App Store (tinder, and other dating apps appear instead of thier app) I remember back in the late 80's and early 90's when this was the place to be and the atmosphere was amazing. Just not that way anymore and if you don't come with a $50 or $30 rewards you are going to pay too much. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Searching for loyalty app called Friends with benefits - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

See all

Visited Benihana's in Newport Beach on a Monday for dinner. We made reservations for 7PM but truthfully we didn't need to because it was a walk-in. Our servers and chef were amazing. For drinks, we ordered a Mojito and a Long Island. My Mojito was delicious and made well. My Husband's Long Island drink was okay but could've used a lil' more kick. As for our meals, we ordered the "Rocky's Choice" and we added the chicken fried rice. The chicken fried rice is an extra charge. Rocky's Choice comes with steak and chicken and includes shrimp as an appetizer. It also includes soup and salad and let's not forget the dessert at the end, which is a choice of ice cream. Usually the flavors are green tea, rainbow sherbet, or I believe, vanilla. We always enjoy visiting Benihana's for either a casual dinner or a fun celebration and would highly recommend this location for either. read more

See all

Had a reservation at 6:30PM on a Saturday evening. Got there and got seated maybe within 15 minutes. It took a while to get our orders in. The manager I'm assuming came to say hi, a server who wasn't our server came to say hi, and then eventually our server came. She was very sweet, took our order, and went on. I get it, it's a Saturday evening and they're busy... but we didn't really get any food served or anything until about 7:45PM.... so to get there at a reservation and not eat for about an hour and 15 minutes was kind of a long time, especially with a 1.5 year old. We were lucky the family sitting next to us were so sweet as my kid was getting antsy and hungry, which rightfully so, as were we. Vincent, our chef, came out and he was super sweet. Very funny, impressionable, and just over all an awesome guy. 5/5 for him! Everything came out delicious none the less, just wished the service was a little faster and that it didn't take that long to at least take our orders. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Ordered through DoorDash Got a family meal for 2 people Came with salad Chicken fried rice Shrimp and steak Zucchini and onions Sauces for each of us Utensils and napkins They even wrote a nice note on the bag for us The food quality was amazing and very tasty we would order again from this location! read more

We used to come here a lot when our kids were younger because they loved the show. But after last night I think we all decided that we don't want to come anymore. They just can't manage their reservation at all! We had a 5:45 reservation and didn't get seated until 6:30 and the chef didn't come to our table until 7! The people at the check-in stand apologized that a couple of tables were late ... But that's ridiculous. A 5:45 reservation is probably only the second dinner seating. Are they saying every single one of their first seatings were 45 minutes late? I'd understand more if we had a 8:30 or 9pm reservation ... I can understand 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there, you end up a bit late by the end of the night. But we were at the beginning! Then, the food was not great either. I think the chefs spend so much effort on the show and trying to be entertaining that they don't pay attention to the food. I watched the chef cooking my steak -- salting one side heavily, flipping it over, salting it heavily again. And then 2-3 minutes later, doing it all over again. The steak was completely inedible. It was SO salty! The only good part was that I said it was salty and the chef immediately made another one -- this time pretty well. So kudos there, which is why I added one star. We're probably not coming back read more

See all

Came here for lunch and sat down infront of the grill. My chair felt like it was on the verge of breaking. The prices were ridiculous right off the bat on the menu. We ordered 5 course Chicken, hibachi steak, and side of hibachi shrimp. No alcohol only water. They asked us if we wanted fried rice and we said yes. They put chicken on the grill and both me and my bf we wondering why they put his entree on first.. well, turns out this place decided to charge us for chicken fried rice and charge us $8/ea additionally!!! Talk about trying to be sleek with upsells. Won't ever be back to any Benihana and this has been my 4th. read more

After a previous disappointing experience, I decided to give Benihana Newport Beach one more chance--and I'm glad I did. My family and I recently visited for a late Power Lunch (served until 5 PM) to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. The food was delicious, the chef was entertaining as always, and our server provided excellent customer service throughout the meal. What truly changed my opinion, however, was the professionalism and genuine care shown by the two managers, Josh and Diego. During their visit to our table, they took the time to check on our experience and ask how everything was going. I brought up the situation that had led me to leave a previous one-star review, and instead of being defensive, they listened attentively and sincerely apologized for the experience I had with another manager. They didn't make excuses. They simply acknowledged my concerns, treated me with respect, and showed that they genuinely cared about customer satisfaction. Sometimes that's all it takes to rebuild trust and remind customers why they've supported a business in the first place. I've eaten at this Newport Beach location many times over the years with my wife, my mom, friends, and family for birthdays, celebrations, and casual lunches. This visit reminded me why we kept coming back. The food was great, the service was excellent, and the management team demonstrated what true hospitality looks like. Thank you, Josh and Diego, for turning a negative experience into a positive one. Because of your professionalism and customer-first approach, I'm updating my review from 1 star to 5 stars. read more

See all

Sometimes we want Benihana food without the show so we ate in the bar and it was excellent. Nolan took such good care of us, I hope he's our server next time we visit. I had the Poke Salad which was sooooo good! read more

There is a 45 minute guarantee or "lunch is on us." However, my experience lasted over 1.5 hour and I still paid the entire amount. They also forgot our fried rice. After a few reminders, they brought it out at the end when we already finished all of our food. Birthdays will not be acknowledged during a power lunch, even though they asked during the reservation. I reached out to customer service and no response. Power lunch is a great deal, but you do get what you pay for. $16 for shrimp, chicken or tofu and $20 for filet mignon or NY strip. Comes with either soup or salad, vegetable fried rice, vegetables, and sauces. read more

See all

Save yourself and do not eat here. Order is never correct. Chicken is so dry it cut the roof of my mouth. Steak is bland and overcooked. Rice wasn't thoroughly cooked. The place is drab and in dire need of rehab. Place is full of kids and children's bday parties. It reminds me of Chuck-E-Cheeze without the adorable fun furry band and arcade. Staff are friendly but every order was wrong. Go to a real place. Absolutely terrible. read more

Emily was AMAZING!! She was our server at Benihana and truly deserves a raise She was super friendly, attentive, funny, and somehow managed to keep track of everything while we were busy inhaling fried rice. She made the whole experience so much more fun and took such great care of us. 10/10 service -- if you get Emily, you're in good hands! read more

I have to say, the sushi here was extremely disappointing. My wife and I decided to check out their happy hour, and unfortunately, it did not live up to expectations at all. We started with the Garlic Edamame, which tasted good, but the portion was surprisingly small. We then ordered the Spicy Salmon Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll from the happy hour menu, and honestly, the size was almost laughable. Both rolls were tiny and lacked substance. Next, we tried the Salmon Avocado Roll, which was also very small and underwhelming for the price. We also ordered the Chili Ponzu Yellowtail Roll for $24, and it barely had any fish on it. The roll itself was tiny, and for that price point, it felt like a complete rip-off. The hot sake was listed as "happy hour" pricing at $9, but that is pretty much standard pricing at most sushi restaurants, so there was really no deal there either. At that point, I was already frustrated because I'm usually never disappointed when going out for sushi. We ended up ordering a couple of cheeseburgers with fries instead. They were okay, but even those were skimpy on the onions and jalapeños, so I wouldn't recommend them either. What made the experience worse was the service and overall atmosphere. We intentionally sat at the sushi bar because we wanted to interact with the sushi chefs, which is usually part of the experience. Instead, we were required to order everything through the server, while the chefs barely acknowledged us at all. Our server also spent a lot of time standing around the register talking with other staff members. This was around 4 PM, so the restaurant was not busy. I don't mind spending good money on quality food and service, but this experience completely missed the mark. If you're looking for a good sushi experience, I would honestly not recommend wasting your time or money at this Benihana location. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

I've been coming to this Benihana for almost 30 years, and I sincerely hope the owner or general manager reads this because they should know how a longtime customer was treated. I ordered scallops believing I was ordering a side. What arrived was a small white plate with only eight tiny scallops on it. I honestly didn't even know I was being charged $26 until afterward. The plate I received consisted of eight extremely small scallops. I have ordered scallops here many times over the years, and I have never received anything resembling this portion. When I questioned it and asked for a partial refund, the manager refused. I told her I was disappointed with how the situation was being handled, asked for her name, and said I planned to leave a review. She looked at me and simply walked away. Then, after I said I was going to write a review, she came back and suddenly told me that the cooks had made the wrong portion and offered me another six scallops. That explanation made absolutely no sense to me. If I had been given the wrong portion, then why was my concern dismissed in the first place? And as the manager, blaming the cooks instead of simply acknowledging and correcting the mistake was incredibly unprofessional. The cooks weren't the ones standing in front of a customer refusing to address the concern the manager was. Mistakes happen, and I understand that. What I don't understand is why it took me saying I was going to leave a review before she acknowledged that the portion was wrong. After almost 30 years of coming to this location, this was incredibly disappointing. This isn't simply about scallops or $26 dollars. It's about how a legitimate concern from a longtime customer was handled. I hope the owner takes a serious look at how management is responding when customers respectfully question them. I finally told my son that we are not coming back here. Anymore. read more

Came here a couple weeks back to do a joint birthday celebration. It was our first time back to Benihana's in probably about 15 years. We had a bit of nostalgia about the place and decided to give it a go with the kids. I guess the best way to describe the overall experience is mediocre. We were seated promptly which was fine. Things started off kind of rocky though as our server wasn't particularly friendly, and seemed downright annoyed when it took us some time to get the kids settled and to figure out what we all wanted to order. That harried beginning set the tone for the meal and makes it hard to come back from. Our chef Vincent was pleasant though and did a great job of cooking and doing the little things to make our meal enjoyable. It wasn't a great place to have a conversation though, as with the set up and how loud it is in there, it's hard to talk to the people at the other end of the table. At the end of the day we walked away having a decent meal at an inflated price point. Given our overall experience though, I'm pretty sure this will probably be our last visit in our lifetimes. For the price there's just so many other better options. Oh well, it's been fun Benihana's! read more

The crunchy rolls here are amazing. The teppanyaki is always fun, but I've gotten a taste for the ambiance of the front lounge. The service from the servers in the lounge is a bit more personal, like one server, Luke, is always on point, making sure you have everything you need and your experience is just as great as if you were getting the full restaurant service. read more

Not a bad experience at all the chef was funny and the food was good, nothing to amazing you come here more for the ambiance than the food honestly. Tried some of their wagyu today and the Australian cut was good. read more

I am so disappointed that I have to redo this review. Especially considering I praised this place years ago. While I appreciate the manager still coming out to greet, the food was lackluster. I ordered colossal shrimp and they needed to be cooked longer, yuck. Whoever the bust boy was, needs to take a few classes in table etiquette. Why are you grabbing plates that people are actively eating out of? We had to tell him multiple times that we weren't finished. My family ordered a filet and a steak and they were both bland. The shrimp crunch roll was warm and had an unusual taste. The ginger dressing on the salad was old and had a spoiled taste. Other than our friendly waitress and the friendly manager, this by far is one of the worst Benihana experiences I've ever had. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Speciality menu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

We had such a wonderful experience at Benihana and always love coming here for special occasions. Felipe was an outstanding server -- attentive, friendly, and made sure everything throughout the evening was perfect. Our chef was phenomenal as well and made the dinner both entertaining and delicious from start to finish. Benihana continues to be one of our favorite restaurants, and it has become one of our favorite places to celebrate birthdays. The entire team made the night feel special, and we truly appreciate the amazing service and atmosphere. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Bad night to celebrate a birthday. I booked Benihana to celebrate my wifes birthday and left the restaurant wishing we made other plans. Upon arrival last Saturday night, my wife and I immediately noticed an air of hostility in the lobby and soon learned why. It seemed there were parties that were made to wait an hour later than their reservations due to lingering groups that wouldn't depart once their meals were over. Considering the fact that we were in Newport Beach, the lack of self awareness & consideration did not surprise me. The restaurant manager was clearly having a rough night. Much to our surprise, we were seated at exactly our reservation time of 7pm so I began to think things were going to go well for us. As we sat at our table, with two other birthday parties, we were promptly greeted by a waiter who, despite being incredibly difficult to understand (think Bill Murray diner skit on SNL in '78) took our drink orders and identified the celebratory parties. Our chef arrived and greeted us nicely but the concerns returned as he was a twenty-something young man of Caucasian descent, sporting a goatee and haircut that you would expect to see at a Grateful Dead show, not Benihana. The soup & salad arrived without a hitch and soon the meat arrived while he confirmed our preferences. I immediately noticed the Hibachi Steak meat as being super thin and mostly white?! A little marbling is expected but this was garbage! We both added teriyaki to our orders for a savory crisp but since he splashed the teriyaki on the steak just before serving, all we got was meat that barely qualified as "steak" that was covered in uncovered sauce. I took two bites and stopped. My wife took one and stopped. Just awful. To finish the meal, my wife was given a cup of whip cream (think a Puppachino at Starbucks) to celebrate her birthday. ‍ Also, the shrimp appetizer was improperly prepared as it was not cleaned correctly so that didn't get either. The drinks were good but my first Old Fashioned was short-poured and the Mai Tai was served in a regular glass rather than the Buddha mug they typically use and sell as a keepsake. Badly done. The chef did ONE TRICK (onion volcano) all night, there was no show that Benihana is known for but it still cost me $240, which I paid rather than ruin anyone else's dinner by making a scene. I hate leaving this kind of review because the waiter & chef seemed nice. It all just proves that eating these days just isn't worth it. The 2 Stars was because the staff were kind of the food deserved 1 Star for the soup & salad. read more

A lady from Benihana dropped off a Japanese food kit for us at Sydnee's Pet Grooming - Newport Beach today and it was super fresh, well-packaged, and delicious. You can really tell they care about both their customer service and the food they make. It's awesome to see a local spot doing this. You definitely gained new supporters and customers today! Thank you. read more

Benihana - Newport Beach - Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California