We had a 7pm reservation about a month in advance for our 80 year old grandma's birthday - for 8 people in total, with some who flew in from out of town. When we arrived a few minutes before 7pm, the teenage hostess told us they were "just now seating the 6pm people." I saw crowds lurking outside, and there were people inside still seated, waiting for a chef. When we asked why they double-booked, the teenage hostess said "Oh it's corporate." We decided to head over to the nearby Karl Strauss and were seated promptly right away on the nice patio. Benihana did not call us till 75 minutes later. No one is gonna make an 80 year old wait 75 minutes to celebrate their birthday. We're glad we didn't wait around and were almost done with our meal by the time they called us. I can understand if it was the first month they opened, i.e., they are working out the kinks with staffing. But they need to figure out the double-booking issue. It isn't good to allow people to book reservations and then tell them "Hey we are still seating people that were here an hour before and no we don't know when you will get a table due to limited seating." If you have a special celebration with a crowd of 5-8 or more people, please don't even bother making a reservation. Go somewhere else where they honor your time. read more

I walked in and the girl was very cold and rude . She said there was a 40 min wait I said okay that's fine . I have a baby with me I need a high chair . She then said she could only give me a high top seating cus the low top was only for handicap people so she couldn't accomadate me with the baby, I then just decided to leave . read more

I don't believe I'm going back. I e been there twice and the meat ( beef) is so unflavored.

1/31/2026: To date, though I filed a complaint and requested contact via the website provided in the reply by the restaurant , I have not yet received a response from Benihana. Beyond disappointing. --- 12/10/2025: We gave this location a try, but the teppanyaki experience was awful. The chef obviously did not know how to prepare the food. On top of that, there was no show. He only performed an "egg roll". I brought in two new guests that were expecting what they saw advertized on TV. The upgraded steaks (filet mignon and Châteaubriand) were all severely overcooked to beyond well-done, even those ordered medium rare. The filet mignon was brought out in three small medallions, all became overcooked within minutes, but he ignored prompts to remove it and continued to let it dry up on the grill. The lobster tails were served blackened to a crisp and rubbery. The fried rice was not fried at all. It was left in a heap to steam. The chef almost forgot to add the garlic butter, if it wasn't pointed out. The chef did not heed the cooking preferences at all. We paid over 600$ for dinner that night, for overcooked food, false advertising, and steamed "fried" rice. The cheaper vegetables (onions, zucchini, and mushrooms) were cooked fine and the drinks were good. Emma was very attentive to our table, but the chef ruined our food and experience. I did not want to raise hell in front of our guests and further ruin the evening. I called customer service the next day and left a message. I have yet to get a return call, as requested. Unless this is corrected by Benihana somehow, we won't return again. We gave them another chance by patronizing another location beside San Diego. Costly mistake on our part. The restaurant was slow. Emma was a great hostess. Poor experience. Lee C. Business Employee Thank you for your feedback, Mary Allison. We're sorry to hear about your experience and appreciate your detailed comments. Please contact us dire... Read more read more

This review is for people who have never been to a Benihanas before and for informational purposes only. For those that have been to Benihanas or another hibachi experience, you know the drill. I am writing this review because the family next to us got up and left after their meal was served to them. The husband had stated everything was wrong with it and questioning why he's paying $70 for his sloppy-looking plate. So I want to give people a heads up on what to expect. Benihana (and any hibachi show experience) is not a fancy restaurant. It's a potentially fun experience in which you will eat average food and pay a premium for it due to the chefs show. You can expect the food should taste good, but not anything beyond great. read more

The quality of the food here is good however the price is kind of steep when you can get the same thing at Shogun down the street for a lot less. read more

We were very disappointed with our recent visit to Benihana. After being promptly seated, we had about an hr wait from the time our food was order to the time the chef came out, only to find that our table wasn't heated and not working. We then had to move to another table, which delayed us even further. By this point, my son was so hungry we had to ask for just white rice and soy sauce to hold him over. While our waitress and chef were both very kind and accommodating, the manager on duty was not. When we had mentioned how long everything had taken, instead of receiving understanding, we were met with attitude by her. Not to mention, the manger even said she would make sure to take care of us, but she did nothing for us, she didnt even visit the table once afterwards. Note, it was not even busy at the time. This left a very negative impression, especially after such a frustrating experience. read more

I booked a table for two. They quickly took us to our seats and took our order. We waited an hour for our food to arrive, which was really bad service! While we were eating, I realized there were no mushrooms in my dish. When we asked the waiter about it, he said they had run out of mushrooms. We didn't mind that, but it would have been better if they had told us at the start. That's what good customer service is all about. I had great service at Benihana in San Diego, but after this experience in Temecula, I won't be coming back! The service here was terrible, and I can't recommend it. I'm very disappointed. read more

My family and I usually come here for our birthdays and we're always satisfied. The last few times we came our wait time was super long and the food was mediocre. Tonight was definitely the last time any of us will be coming here for our birthday dinners. The food was not worth the price, everything was overcooked. It seems like they raised their prices again and are cutting costs in the restaurant. Even charged us $4 for adding spicy teriyaki sauce to our chicken. Save your money and spend it elsewhere. You can get a much better meal at a steak house or anywhere in Old town. read more

Number one teach your ignorant uneducated staff that work in a very high-end restaurant how to answer a freaking phone call they should not be answering the phone yeah hello!! Oh I mean Benihana Temecula. Me can you tell me what time happy hour is ? No I don't know. Can you check and see what time happy hour is ? No cause I don't know?! Let me just get a manager! for the prices that you guys are charging for food at least you could do is have the decency to train your stupid staff how to answer a freaking phone call in a place where two meals cost over $100.00 Seriously what a joke! read more

Not impressed, and I really wanted to be. I wouldn't go back unless I had to. The only thing that made it remotely enjoyable was our chef, Levi. The portions or quality for the food did not justify the price. 3 stars = 1 for good cleanliness and 2 for Levi. I wanted to add that we had a reservation at 500. We were contacted at 445 that it was ready but we weren't there yet. We arrived a little before 5 and were told we'd get seated when the entire party was present so imagine my surprise when we had to wait 15 more minutes for our table when they arrived at 500 I expected to see a full restaurant but no - maybe 1/4 tables were seated. read more

Jonathan was our chef and did a great job. Was friendly and enthusiastic. The food and service were good.

Birthday dinner- 3/25/25 Chef was absolutely horrible. I asked twice for the sauces so I could eat with my rice and shrimp. I finally had to ask the server to bring me some. My colossal shrimp was cut into half and given to another patron at the table because the chef did not bring enough appetizer shrimp out. His timing on cooking was bad. He kept acting like he was "gangster" telling bad jokes. This chef needs to go back to school and concentrate on Cooking! "Get it G?" Vegetables not cooked very well. Left onions to sit on grill after my plate had already been collected. Twice within the last month was bad. Only went this time for my 30 dollar birthday certificate. Save yourself the trip and go to other Benihana's or if in Temecula go to Showgun. Very disappointed. I should have learned from my 1st trip. Manager needs to step up and make things right. PS- a very loud place. read more

Benihana - Temecula - Oh look- Chicken, Shrimp, Rice but where is my Sauce? Junk!!! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

This place when it first opened quickly became the crown jewel of teppan in the area. Today, it has lost all of its appeal due to mismanagement locally and at corporate. Last night we waited over an hour and 15 minutes past our reservation to finally get seated. They then crammed us into a table with 4 plates for 5 people. The manager couldn't keep his word on seating us when he said. He claimed that corporate has now gone to the overbook method like airlines. The poor hostesses kept getting bombarded. The manager literally let my handicap son have a melt down for not seating us. My wife left in tears and management did zero to attempt to make it right. Your just a number here. They blame corporate. There is no accountability. They have lost a customer. Back to ShoGun we go! read more

Been here twice now and both times were great. We had a reservation both times so we were sat quickly. The cooks all have their own style and quirks. We did prefer one of the cooks over the other so the taste of food does vary on who you get. I've had the lobster, filet mignon, colossal shrimp, chicken, and scallops. They were all great. They offer five and six course meals so there is something for everyone. read more

Great Benihana location! Been to many in southern CA and this by far was the best of them. The restaurant was bright, clean, and modernized. The food was cooked well. The wait staff and chef was at the top of their game. Our waitress was attentive and friendly. We got at least 4 drink refills without even asking. I don't eat dairy and the chef was overly accommodating and cheerful to help ensure my request. This may become my new go to for Benihana locations. read more

This is the second or third time we've been and have had an issue here. It warrants a review. We make a reservation for 7am. Don't get seated for 20 minutes. We order the food and it starts to come out. But it's just not the same. Soup is bland. Salad dressing is ok. We wait forever for the cook to come out. And everything just took so long to get cooked. It seemed like everything was cooked individually and took forever. The sauces seemed watered down and bland. Rice was bland. Vegetables all cooked separately. I would like to eat all the vegetables at once not all zucchini then all onions then all mushrooms. Scallops were overcooked. Chicken was the last to come out and was so dry we could barely swallow it. Server maybe checked on the table once. Just not worth $175 for two people for the food to taste bland and take an hour and a half. Didn't even get the desert we were just ready to go. The service is just not there with the cost. Place was half empty. We will not be coming back. No more chances given. Would recommend shogun. We have always had a consistent experience there. read more

For the price the food quality is not it. You can tell they have started to skimp on the seasonings of all of the food served. The garlic butter they use on the food looked different it was also runny? I don't know the food just didn't look good and didn't taste good either. The "mustard" dipping sauce was super oily and runny. The chef cooking our food left the chicken on the grill way to long that it was dry and over cooked. This is the second time I have visited and have been disappointed in the food, which is sad because when they first opened the food was actually good. Oh and I forgot to add I had made a reservation for 2 at 7 pm we didn't get taken to a table until about 7:20 it then took them until 8 pm to actually start cooking our food and we didn't get done eating until 9. I also had to eat everything separately because it took the cook so long to cook all of them food. If I would have waiting for my over cooked chicken to be done and off the grill before I ate the rest of my food would have been cold. read more

I'd say it's a 3.5 tbh. Gian (hibachi chef) and Hannah (server) deserve the full 5 stars. They were wonderful. We'd ask for something and we'd receive it with a smile. They were both super personable. I'd even ask for them again specifically. My only real complaints, are portion size and price. But that's Benihana's MO everywhere. You can go to another teppanyaki place and receive much more for significantly less, even with equivalent cuts/types of meat. We eat at a lot of "smaller" or local teppanyaki places and usually and feel much more satisfied with what we get vs what we paid. Benihana comes across as a tad greedy as a business, not specific to this location at all. As far as this location goes, I've been to the actual worst and the best. It lands pretty middle but has better service. It's Benihana as you expect. All around good time but do be prepared to pull out a second mortgage for a date. We paid $216.95 with a 20% tip included in that (tip your servers yall!!) We got filet mignon and chicken, w/ chicken fried rice, filet mignon and jumbo shrimp, with chicken fried rice, gyoza, and split a glass of champagne. Other places that's about $100 less than we paid. read more

Benihana used to be one of our go-to restaurants whenever we were in San Diego or Carlsbad, so we were excited to try the new Temecula location -- but unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment. We expected higher prices, but what we didn't expect was poor service and food that didn't meet the standard. The biggest issue was the happy hour policy. We ordered drinks at the bar during happy hour, then were seated at our table. When I went back to the bar to order another drink, I was told we no longer qualified for happy hour pricing just because we had been seated -- which makes no sense, especially considering we were already spending hundreds for our party of four. To top it off, the bar staff and our server were both rude. The only saving grace was the chef -- he was entertaining and gave a great performance. But beyond that, the experience was frustrating and definitely not worth the price. Really disappointed. I don't think we'll be back. If you want a better hibachi experience in the area, I'd recommend trying Shogun instead. read more

Absolute ruin Hibachi grill birthday! Took my grandson to this place - they knew about his bday and no acknowledgment of it . Prepare to pay $75 for a plate because oh yea they charge an extra $9 to have fried rice ( white rice comes with it but $9 extra to get fried rice!!!! Oh yeah they did mentioned grilled veggies with your dinner !! ITS ONLY ZUCCHINI!!!! That's it!! To top it off the chef threw butter onto my $130 shirt!! Said " my bad bro" .. WTF!! Overall family of 5 and 1 didn't even get a Tepiyan dinner plate $402! 1000% better off at Banzai or Shogun trust me Food was not even good or tasty Portions are so small AND OF COURSE THEY REPLY WITH THIS BS " BENIHANA LISTENS REPLY " - Don't go to this place!! read more

Benihana - Temecula - This is the shirt they ruined with buttter - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

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This post is for Destination smokehouse in Murrieta Ca. Not Benihana in Temecula. My apologies for the mix up. This is a great bbq place to really enjoy Great food! Awesome menu good flavors good staff and and relaxing setting I hope they open more locations I'd recommend them anytime! read more

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First time to this location. Had 5pm reservation on Sunday. Nice location and good use of red. We were about 15min early to the reservation and they took about 10 min to seat us. Staff were friendly. -1 star for the tight seating. Paying $60 a plate squeezed in 9 people to a table so they can get their bang for a buck. -1 for service...VERY slow to get drinks, hardly came back to check on us. Waitress was nice but not attentive. Didn't receive kids drinks until almost the entree. -1 for entertainment. Charles is a nice guy but very quiet and not the hype all the other tables were getting. We paid $300 before tip to be squeezed in like sardines, wait 20min for drinks, and minimal entertainment. Also some of the chicken had blood red all over it. Quite unappetizing. Such a cash cow business. Also you only get a spoonful of ice cream for the $60 a plate. They charge an extra $8.50 for 3 shrimp in the fried rice. read more

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Sat at the bar and enjoyed Happy Hour. Bartenders were very friendly, service was great! read more

We came for my dad's birthday because he loves hibachi and was super excited. We came on a Saturday and had a reservation at 7:30PM--we got seated an hour later. The hostess was very rude and not very helpful, they need to be trained better. Tired and hungry we debated on going somewhere else but we decided to stick around. The chef on the other side of us kept accidentally throwing food on my family (I get it, it's a show but cmon) which was pretty annoying. After 45 minutes waiting for our chef he finally shows up, he had a great attitude and was fun but we were just so tired and hungry. We didn't leave until 11PM. I don't recommend coming on a weekend, you'll be wasting your time even if you make a reservation. read more

Hadn't been here in years and well I'll never go back. How is it 9 dollars to get fried rice??? Most places come with it. One slice of zucchini, tiny portion of onions, onion soup came out late, bagged lettuce, 2 dollars to get teriyaki sauce which is normally part of the entree price, steak super tough! I only went because I had a birthday offer. Other wise it would have been 60 for a New York and fried rice. I can go to a nice steakhouse and get a filet for 60. Don't waste your money. The quality of awful and it's way overpriced. read more

The hosts at this place is completely garbage and extremely rude. We had a reservation at 5pm and we were all there complete in attendance and ready. We had to wait almost 30 min when we saw countless of other people getting seated ahead of us. I went to go ask what's up and this host dude gave me this stupid look like he was confused or something when we were in the waiting area right in front of him. Like why are you confused when you're asked what's up? He def needs more training. I didn't get his name but I do remember the confused look on his face. read more

I have visited plenty of Benihanas locations bc I enjoy the food, but this location seemed like a playground on Saturday night. Too many unsupervised kids between 5pm -6pm in the bar area and the parents don't seem to control them. The bar and the waiting area are the same. Couldn't enjoy my drink at the bar...I'm so happy the bartenders were telling the parents that their kids cannot be sitting at the bar !!! Our cook and server were great as was our food. The next time I visit this location I'll make sure I come after 8pm to avoid the family crowds. read more

Food was great! The service was even better! Nikki is an excellent server and very sweet. read more

Had a wonderful time at Benihana! Maggie went above and beyond with her service and made us feel so welcomed. Chef Ian was entertaining, and such a joy to watch cook. Great food and an even better experience! read more

Benihana - Temecula - Birthday ice cream - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

The food was good but when we were at our table our chef acknowledged my fathers birthday but didn't serve him food. Otherwise they need to work on their time when we were waiting had a reservation and everything and still took an hour read more

I had never been to a Benihana before, and my sister wanted to try it for her birthday which also happened to land on my daughter's graduation. There were 9 of us total. We had a reservation for 6:00. One of our party members was stuck in traffic and running behind. They wouldn't seat us with 8 of the 9 for about 10 minutes, even though there were plenty of open hibachi tables. We thought it was kind of dumb but we were fine with it, understanding it was policy and we were running late. But then a manager came up to the front for some other reason and noticed us all sitting/standing there, crowding the weirdly shaped entrance waiting for our last party member. He told the hostess to go ahead and get us seated. Once sat, our last member arrived about 4 minutes later. From there it took about another 20-25 minutes to get drinks. Another 20 minutes to order food, and another 10 minutes for our chef to arrive. He was nice, had some jokes. I don't know what I was expecting food wise but jfc, it was not this. Dried out, overcooked food with terrible flavor for WILDLY EXORBITANT prices. Not a single person was impressed by their meal. My poor sister felt sooo bad for choosing this place after seeing the bill, which was north of $600. Lesson learned the hard way. read more

Tonight was very disappointing ....and this isn't the first time ...at the Temecula location. With a reservation we waited between 50-60 minutes to be seated. Menu items, ie tofu and the traditional green tea dessert were not available..two of the reasons we went. The chef (Ian) was mediocre. To top things off, I had a birthday gift certificate which was not approved because unbeknownst to me the certificate was not valid on Sundays . Not a fan read more

Service is HORRIBLE! I kept trying to flag down the Hispanic guy with super curly hair to ask something & he COMPLETELY IGNORED ME & yes he knew I was trying to get his attention! read more

We made a reservation for 630 on New Years Day. It was crazy busy as to be expected. We were a little late being seated (due to the amount of people) but everyone was nice and communicative about the wait which helped us to know we weren't forgotten about. Once we were seated, the serving staff was awesome. They were training a new person so things were slow, but again, it was Jan 1 and we expected it, so no worries on our end. Our chef's name was Ian. He's been at Benihana for about a year. He was funny with his dad jokes, very personable and even entertained my 14 month old that was with us. He was very sweet in warning us prior to the "onion volcano" as it would cause some fire that would possibly scare my daughter. It was so tasty, not complains at all. We had a blast. The manager (I didn't get her name), gave us a discount for our troubles with the long wait times, which we didn't expect, but was very sweet of her. Thank you to Ian and the staff that worked with us to ensure our night was amazing. We love Benihana and we are looking forward to visiting again soon. read more

Benihana - Temecula - My daughter enjoying the show. Ian did great at entertaining her so she was included. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

Incredible experience every time my family and I go all around: food, service and ambiance. This is a special occasion place for my family and I and Kelly has been our chef the past 3 times that we have gone and we absolutely love her. Not only does she have an incredible personality her food is amazing and always delicious and every time we have gone. Our server was Megan this time and she was amazing as well. We were there for my birthday and they made my family and i's experience the best ever! Thank you guys for helping me have a great celebration!! Definitely recommend this location read more

Dined here last night with one of my Best Friends. I just wanted something to drink and some decent sushi with eel sauce. We sat away from the group areas at a Table so we could hear each other talk. She only had her Go-To Drink ~ Water with Lemon. 〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰 She drove so I had a Tasty Mohito that hit the spot. 〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰 We started with some really Delicious Appetizers Tempura Shrimp * Tasty with Tempura Sauce 〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰 I had their Yellowtail Roll ~ as well as their Spicy Las Vegas Roll sans cream cheese with jalapeño. The spice of the sliced Jalapeño tasted just right and Tasty We both split the Lobster Roll. 〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰 Service was great, our server Nabil was very attentive when we needed him. read more

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They were way overbooked when we went. We had a 6:30 reservation and didn't get into nearly 8 o'clock. Our cook was not nearly as good as cooks we have had in the past. My châteaubriand was overcooked. It was a disappointing experience. We will not be returning. read more

This place is a joke. Call me impatient, sure. BUT at this restaurant reservations mean nothing. So expect to wait and then be ignored when asked how much longer. We had dinner reservations for 5:30pm on a Sunday for my daughter's birthday. At 5:15 I received a text from Benihana saying my table was ready. I was expecting to be seated right away when we walked in at 5:30. They told us to wait a bit. Okay, no biggie. The lobby was the most crowded with tons of large groups and people lined down the hallway. 5:45 my kiddo is getting tired so I asked. A young teen said, not sure we have two other reservations ahead of you. Okay 5:55, asked again. "Not sure we have 1 other reservation ahead of you". Now we're getting annoyed. At 6:10pm we walked over to Karl Strauss and got seated right away and had the best meal as a family. Service was excellent. Our server and host told us they always hear that people wait an hour even with reservations. Benihana you are a joke. Get some staff and hire new hosts. Not kids with attitudes. Never will try this spot again. Probably make the drive to Carlsbad if I'm desperate. read more

The chief Daniel was great and the food was delicious. They should provide better portions on the meat in the fried rice going forward.