Every few years it is fun to come here. Their lunch specials can't be beat during the week or if you sign up for the club, they send out a birthday certificate, for kids as well. My kids always enjoy the show and I'm obsessed with their salad dressing as well as the sesame chicken entrée. Perfectly with their fried rice and a drink this is a fun and kitschy meal that we always enjoy. read more

We had an awesome lady chef! I have never seen a lady chef before at Benihana so I thought this facility was really open to giving equal rights opportunity to both genders! She was very professional, funny and patient... We had reservations at 3:15pm and we were seated around 3:25pm. The waitress came to take our orders and we decided to share the Land N Sea which comes with the filet mignon & the scallops. I believe the chefs might be a bit short staffed too. I only saw about 4 chefs so please be patient. The salads and soup came out around 3:45pm-4pm. So if you are feeling hungry I would recommend ordering an appetizer because it does take a while for the chefs to prepare and cook. The chef came around 4:15pm & he or she will clean the stove first so we were waiting patiently for the stove to be cleaned and then the oil to be heated. Our chef started cooking around 4:30pm and we were waiting patiently for the zucchini, onions and fried rice to be cooked. We finally got to eat the zucchini & onions around 4:45pm. Then the filet mignon and scallops came out around 5pm... We were not that hungry so we were able to wait patiently for everything to be cooked otherwise we would have probably ordered some tempura or sushi rolls while waiting. The scallops were a bit over cooked but, I did enjoy the flavor of the food very much... We finished our course with some green tea ice cream which was very thick and creamy... I think I will be back to celebrate a birthday for a certain somebody because they do sing and dance for your bday as well... I'm so happy this place opened in Temecula! We have another nice restaurant to enjoy!! Cheers!! Do expect to be there for about 2 hours or more because it does take quite a bit of work and time for the chef to cook and prepare everything for you. read more

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I went to Benihana for my birthday, and it was one of the most disappointing dining experiences I've ever had -- especially for the price. Our chef was clearly inexperienced, and while I understand that everyone has to learn, basic elements of the meal were completely missing. There was no egg in the fried rice, no sesame seeds on the chicken, and the zucchini was undercooked to the point of being raw. The mushrooms had no garlic butter and were dry from sitting untouched on the grill. For a restaurant known for its flavor and showmanship, this was unacceptable. We had a 7:30 reservation and didn't leave until almost 10 PM. I expected a longer dinner -- it's Benihana, after all -- but the excessive delays and lack of quality made the experience drag on in the worst way. I spoke with the manager, who offered a free return meal, but that doesn't make up for the fact that I spent my one birthday dinner of the year here -- and paid over $120 for food that was poorly prepared and lacked the basics I could've done better at home. I've always thought of Benihana as a fun and reliable place to celebrate something special. After this experience, I won't be back. read more

We had a great experience at this location. We got sat at the grill right away. The chef David came by quickly and was entertaining. Our server Megan was bubbly and attentive. Would definitely come back again! read more

It's beautiful inside & has tons of tables & room for a big group. Their waitlist was crazy on the day we dined here. 2 hrs. But it was during the week they first opened. Let me start off with I love Benihana. I cannot get enough of their mustard sauce. But this location left us a bad experience that my husband never wants to go back. It was really our cook that was inexperienced. He was obviously new at this & he was cooking our meats one by one & was extremely slow. It left our fried rice & veggies cold. The fried rice was under-seasoned & not buttery enough like Benihana's fried rice normally is. I do want to go back & hopefully the cook is more experienced now, or we get a different cook. I just have to get my husband on board to trying again. lol read more

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Always a fun time going to Benihana. Usually I treat my girlfriend here for date nights. On Valentine's day, we tried their wagyu menu, as we never had A5 wagyu. ITS SO YUMMY!! The only reason I'm leaving 4 stars is due to the hour waits we had the last few visits, even though we had reservations. Other than that, this place is amazing and no complaints! read more

Benihana - Temecula - WAGYU - A5 JAPANESE TOKYO BROIL (5OZ) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

I've had Benihana many times, including on a cruise ship, but this location is exceptional. Josh the manager's customer care is the best one could ever expect. I've had a terrible day dealing with people at other restaurants recently and this was a refreshing change of pace. I ordered to pick up and it was smooth, but my kids love the dine in cooking show so we will be doing that for sure. PS- they have love for the vets so ask for a military discount. Thank you Hosh for making my day. My wife is thrilled which means I am thrilled. read more

Kelly the chef was amazing Perfect wagyu steak that came with an amazing cooking skills read more

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I'm currently in this restaurant receiving some of the worst service I have ever experienced. Will update on the food once we receive it. We had a 6 o'clock reservation and it is currently 7:15. 9 p.m. and we are just now leaving. This was a total let down aside from the food. The restaurant is dirty, loud and slow. The young man, Daniel, who cooked for our table was great. He is the only reason I am leaving 2 stars. read more

My husband and I went to dinner yesterday. We sat in the lounge area. The waitress was nice she took our order and showed us the different cuts of meat with the special butter for the meat. She said it was an extra cost but didn't say how much. Well we each chose a more flavorful butter she recommended. Not worth the 12 dollars and the fried rice did not taste good at all it tasted more like steamed rice with soy sauce and later to find out it was 9 dollars extra not worth it. The dinner comes with veggies more like a lot onions and a couple of pieces of zucchini. At the end it comes with hot tea we had to ask for it. The waitress said if you don't ask for it they don't serve it. They did do a good steak and lobster but not worth the 171.00 for two. read more

I never like letting negative reviews stand alone and always try to give establishments the benefit of the doubt and at least a second chance. So I decided to give this Benihana 8 more chances just to make absolutely sure this re-review would be accurate *wink wink*. Okay, not gonna lie, I haven't visited a Benihana I didn't love. My initial experience wasn't up to par mainly because this location went through an extended period of growing pains brought on by a lack of experienced chefs coupled with a rather large influx of new customers due to the grand opening. Now that the chefs and wait staff are finding their stride and the hype has died down a bit, the service and food have improved dramatically. Of the 9 times I've visited, I had a different chef everytime and a different waitress 7 of 9 times. Although not every visit was perfect, I had an excellent or near perfect visit 6 out of the 9 visits, with the last three visits clocking in at the five stars level. In all, I feel like it did take this location a little long to get things working smoothly but I'm not going to complain...better late than never! I'm just glad to have another Benihana in the area. read more

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They never seem to fail with their inconsistent wait times. I had a 5:30pm reservation today for my son's 8th birthday. We arrived at 5:15pm. We had a total of 4 kids in our party, including a 1 year old which can be tough waiting for our table. We stuck around til about 6:30pm before we left. Terrible time management and this starts for the top. Management needs to get a hold of this. It's unacceptable not to stick to their reservation times. If we would have stayed to eat, we probably wouldn't have left til 9:30pm. That's a 4 hour window for dinner with 4 kids. Very disappointing experience. read more

We made reservations for 8 o'clock and waited at the bar for 45 minutes, but due to the lack of service, we chose to leave and find a better option. read more

We had a reservation for 9 last night. Yazlin (If I remember correctly) was our server. She was very nice, informative and always made sure we were taken care of. Our cook was Martin, we had a lot of fun with him. The food was delicious and He really knew how to entertain our group, especially great in entertaining the kids in the group. In total for a group of 7 adults and 2 children our bill was about 395$. We tipped our server and our cook separately. We also had an order of 5 drinks at the bar before being seated and that was 100$ (drinks were delicious we loved the ocean blue and the prickly pear). Definitely a fun place to be. Portions are very small for the price, but you are truly paying for the ambiance. read more

Benihana - Temecula - Benihana complimentary photo - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

GREAT food, GREAT time. Ask for IAN as ur cook!!! Specially if you want good jokes lol we had such a great time and experience with him. He's amazing. 10 out of 10. read more

Good food....... Great service....... Fun time for kids & adults..... Make reservations.

I had read and heard about other guests and the slow service they received. Probably because it's only been a couple of months since this location opened. We came on a Friday night and the restaurant wasn't at full capacity. Which makes sense if training is still ongoing. I've never had a female Benihana chef before until now and I was pleasantly surprised. We could tell that she was new but I enjoy seeing either staff in training or their beginning moments. Her performance wasn't perfect but it was appreciated. It's expected when you're fairly new. Everyone has to start somewhere. She did take her time in cooking the food and trimming the shrimp. Overall, the food was satisfactory and in appropriate portions. The decor and placement of tables was spacious enough. The service is slow right now but give it a couple of more months until they have a more established routine. I would definitely come back again. read more

Benihana - Temecula - Benihana bar area - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

My review is long overdue. We made reservations Father's Day weekend. They took us in right at our scheduled time. My first time at this location, it was nice and spacious. Chef Jonathan was very entertaining and made my 4 year old who was scared of the "fire" comfortable. Food was on point and chicken fried rice was delish (tends to be a hit or miss). Clarissa was our server and she was extremely attentive. I feel she checked in on us more than the usual (at other locations). Overall they've gained usual customers. read more

Meagan and Kelly were the best food and service was amazing. My steak shrimp and fried rice was cooked to perfection. Definitely recommend coming here and we definitely will be back soon. It was my wife's birthday and they sang to her and she received a free dessert. read more

My family and I came to this specific location because of the new location (Temecula). My wife and I have both been to a Benihana restaurant prior to attending this location (San Diego and Ontario), so we aren't new to the restaurant itself. I had read some of the Yelp reviews prior to coming to this one. I observed the reviews to be on the low side, but we decided to try it out anyway. Our reservation was at 2015 hrs (815pm) on a Tuesday night. We immediately noticed that there were people sitting at the hibachi tables, while almost half the tables did not have chef's with them. Our chef finally arrived to our table at 925pm, which is unacceptable. Our Chef "Chase" was great. He apologized several times on being extended and he mentioned that the restaurant did not have enough chef's. Chef was great and we had no issues with him at all. The issue was the wait time of receiving a chef because of the staffing issue. The food was good. I wish the portions of the meats were a little bit bigger. The ambiance was good, with dim lighting and a clean interior. The staff as a whole was great. I am giving three stars only because of the long wait for the chef and the shortages on chef's in which I believe could cause some issues in the future. Fix the shortages of chef's and the restaurant will be fine. read more

Benihana - Temecula - Shrimp Tempura roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

Yes! One of my favorite restaurant chains to dine at has opened in beautiful Temecula *Hits Easy access from the I-15 freeway Parking is plentiful Ambiance Friendly staff *Please have understanding during any "Grand Opening" phase. Take this time to share with management about ANY concerns you experienced while dining. The employees will get it right. If your entrée didn't taste like that other Benihana you frequent, remember ... every hand that does the seasoning is different. Example: How about that fried rice you upgraded to?? ... yeah, the scrambled egg was cooked too long (burnt) which affected the delicate flavor that you're used to. At some point, share with a manager. They need to know to make it right. However, never right to make a scene in public. I'll be back, I'm sure it'll be an improvement from my recent visit. Why 5 stars??? Because Benihana rocks! Also, don't forget to join their e-club. -Take care read more

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So happy to finally have our own Benihana, the Carlsbad location was not it anymore. Came in for lunch, wanted a regular table but told me we could only do the chefs table which was disappointing cause we had a reservation and wanted a quick lunch. Other than that everything was great! Food and service was amazing. Really hope the location is here for the long haul. read more

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THE ESSENCE OF DELICIOUSNESS Umami means "the essence of deliciousness" in Japanese (Ajinomoto.com). Just think about seaweed and shiitake mushroom flavors that: * Taste spreads across the tongue. * Lasts longer than other basic tastes. * Provides a mouthwatering sensation. (Ajinomoto.com - Umami's 3 distinct properties). Umami was very understated and my dishes lacked deliciousness. BINIHANA - Temecula must significantly improve its Umami game. Here's why. STIR-FRIED CHICKEN RICE * Diced chicken lacked flavor beyond basic pepper. * Veggies were sparse and tasteless. * Rice was cooked and flavorless as well. * Eggs were chopped too fine or not used. TERIYAKI WINGS * Wings were a bit tough. * Glaze was bland. * No seasonings penetrated the wing meat. It was painful paying $35 for the two dishes ordered. And, I don't like paying big brand prices, for too little flavor satisfaction. ARNOLD SCHWARTZENNEGAR RATING I Won't be back! read more

Benihana - Temecula - $35 order - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

A+ Clarissa and Levi made a great team and made our dinner experience awesome Thank you we will be back read more

If I could give this place 0 stars oh you know I would...me and my family are currently still waiting for our food to be cooked as I'm writing this review. It's been an hour so far. It's over priced, the soup is wayyy too salty. The waitress is a very kind women and she is very attentive and doing her best to accommodate us during this very very very long wait for our food. Wait they just came. We arrived at 5:30 and got our food at 7:18 but it was very delicious and our cooks were pretty nice and funny. I think we were just hangry but the wait for the food is outrageous and overpriced. read more

We had a luncheon and it took 1 hour for the cerver to come and help. Its was not dull at all, they had just open . It took another hour for our food to be done. Will not recommend this place at all. read more

Kelly was awesome! We had a birthday party here with a full table of friends and family and she was fantastic! read more

This place is a joke and it's so called concerned responses are fake. I hope this place goes out of business. I placed a review back on Jan 27th because they absolutely ruined our daughters 18th birthday and I received a generic response just like everyone else on here has received. I wonder if they ever actually answer, I'm betting not. How absurd is it that their website is benihanalistens.com when they obviously don't listen at all because just a few days ago there are more bad experience reviews. To benihana temecula.... It's funny how you tell me to reach out to you and act like you're really concerned about your customers yet I reached out to you twice and haven't received a response from you at all even after filling out all you're questions on your websites "contact us" page. I knew I should've just disputed some of charges with my bank because you don't care at all about customer satisfaction you just like to respond to make it appear that you do so others reading the reviews have a false sense of you being concerned to save face. read more

Very disappointed with the food. Celebrated a graduation here and invited our guests to dinner with us. Regretting I had not opted for Shogun to be honest. The chef may have been new. Very little interaction with our table. She tried her best I'm sure to cook, season and try the food tricks, but it was very low quality of entertainment. We didn't even get the onion volcano!? The fried rice which is usually my favorite part, was the biggest disappointment for me. Then, to top it off, the shrimp, steaks and filet mignon (requested medium) and remaining food selections also tasted bland. Not the same quality as I'd had in past experiences at the OC Benihana. read more

Benihana - Temecula - 6/2024 very bland and unseasoned over priced meal - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

Went for valentines very disorganized my reservation was for 6pm got there 5:45 don't mind waiting but realized that they were sitting guest that reservation were for later than mine when asked they just said that we were coming up. Finally sat at 7 pm. Our cook not so good having way to munch conversation instead of cooking food got cold paid $70 for 5 pcs of chicken 10 pcs of steak and couple shrimp. Other people eating with us were sharing food and the cook was given them food like if they had their own plates . Over all didn't really enjoy not sure if I will go back. Our waiter forgot mine and my wife's drink when I told him he just looked at me and walked away. Restaurant was clean but still. read more

Ask for Ian!! He is worth the wait. It did take a long long long wait even with a reservation. Ian takes his time making sure our food is made the way we want. He has different techniques to make sure the food taste delicious. Plus his dad jokes are the best. Megan our server is also awesome as well. read more

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Would be 0 if I could, I normally love Benihana, but there's something seriously wrong at this location. We made reservations and it still took the at least 30 minutes to seat us. Another 29 minutes to ask for drink orders- still no chef in sight. When we got the hot tea, it was cold. Not sure what the issues were, but the table next to us seemed to have an issue with spoiled food and sent a bunch back. Manager no where to be found. We left after an hour. read more

A great addition to the Temecula area! This place is great for smaller groups who wanna enjoy a little show while they eat. The hibachi table seats 8 people. I would recommend making a reservation. They have plenty in their menu - dessert, sushi, alcohol, entrees, sides. The entrees part of the menu is a (5) course meal with (2) appetizers + the entree + dessert. I highly recommend upgrading your steam rice to their fried rice. Levi was a GREAT chef. His jokes were funny and his personality made dinner much more enjoyable. read more

Benihana - Temecula - SPICY HIBACHI SHRIMP - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

Where to even begin! First of all please stop serving that brown salad why is there never fresh green salad ? It always looks and tastes 2 days old. Second it's definitely not like it use to be where you get a little show the chef didn't even know what he was doing my steak was cooked all wrong it was also a cheap cut of meat nothing but fat the vibe was off food was a 4/10 would never return. read more

As always Benihana is delicious that's no question at all. Food is always on point. The place is beautiful and well ventilated. Service is good from the hostess to the waitress and chef. Entertainment and six course meals are always the best. In Mother's Day and I'm assuming any other holiday they're open they struggle with the reservations and staying on time. People with reservations from 7-7:30 were still waiting their tables at 8:30-9pm. read more

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We had Charles as our chef, and he was really attentive, nice, and very funny. The food was really delicious!

Worst experience at a restaurant had our reservation at 8:45pm but wasn't seated until 9:30pm our server didn't take good care of us kept mixing up the items on the bill and mixed up payment and was very slow and she insisted that we had to pay before we got our dessert too the chef(Gabriel) was ok but everything over all took so long we left the restaurant at 00:05 everything was disappointing wanted to talk to the manager but it was significantly late and he was busy to talk to another customer that sat at our table. read more

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

My husband and I went on a Friday afternoon to catch their Happy Hour and found out that because it was Valentine's Day the next day (Saturday), they cancelled their Happy Hour for the Friday before. When we asked the Manager about it, they stated because it was a holiday weekend. Last time I checked, Valentine's Day was only one day. We stated we came for the Happy Hour and they had no problem letting us walk out. Between drinks and food, even with Happy Hour, we still would have spent over a $100. The Management is greedy and took tips out of their servers pockets! read more

Best mocktail Mojito I have ever had. Hannah did a good job ! She was so attentive and made my birthday feel very special. read more

Benihana - Temecula - Yummy Mocktail Mojito - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

My daughter and I had a date together for lunch and I must say I keep coming back due to the service and environment. Jazzy the bartender made it extra special for my daughter and I today. Very attentive and constantly checking on us often. Went above and beyond to assure we were taken care of and made cute decorations for St. Paddy's day on our drinks. Highly recommended! read more

Benihana - Temecula - My little date today - Sushi Bars Near Me - Temecula, California