Benihana - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Review summary

1. M

   Michael

   Orlando

   3 reviews

   2.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   The service was horrible. The chef was working at the table next to us, when he was finished he came over to our table that was an hour plus later. They made multiple mistakes on the order it was a joke.
   

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2. R

   Ryan

   Fort Lauderdale

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 1

   Unfortunately there were many concerns. First the restaurant was filthy, food and trash all over the dining room, and the rest rooms were worse. Our bill had many errors, and food was prepared incorrectly for what was ordered. Haven’t been in a few years, and won’t be back. They need better sanitation standards.
   

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3. G

   Gareth

   Manchester

   12 reviews

   4.0

   12 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   We booked but had to wait 30 minutes-it was chaotic. We then sat down which was fine but the chef wanted to move as the grill wasn’t clean so we got up again. Food was great. Payment machines then not working so move chaos and the staff seemed overwhelmed. Pointless valet parking arrangement in place
   

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4. P

   Pam

   VIP

   Atlanta Metro

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Our reservation was at 6:30 we were seated at 7:05pm with no acknowledgment they were late. Had a large party that had taken over the restaurant and they were standing and moving table to table. The restaurant lost control of this group it was loud and not appropriate for this group to be up walking around and loud. Our meal was delayed due to all of this. Finally our chef appeared and he was friendly but crazy he laughed hysterically at everything and paid no attention to detail most of us got the wrong food or he added additional food without care. We asked for yum yum sauce and he made us serve ourselves by handing over the bucket. The smoke from the table was not going up properly into the vent and people complained at the other end and he laughed and blew the smoke towards them. Really not funny! Probably one of the worst experiences we have ever had at a restaurant. Do not think there was a GM on duty as the restaurant was literally out of control! This was on Friday December 27th.
   

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5. C

   Charles

   Fort Lauderdale

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Our reservation was for 7:30pm. Didn’t get seated until 9pm. It was quite obvious that they were under staffed since the manager was waiting tables and the armed security guard was serving drinks. Other people with reservations left. The restaurant should not have taken reservations and should have told us from the beginning that it would take hours to get a cook (got there 7:20 - left 10:30). The meat was dry and the portions were very small. This turned out to be a very expensive bad experience and I won’t be back to Benihana again (definitely not that location).
   

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6. D

   Donna

   VIP

   Atlanta Metro

   5 reviews

   1.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Absolute worst dining experience … open table reservation for 6:30 pm- was seated 45 mins later and did not receive 1st course until 8pm. Soft drink not delivered till second course after second request. Got up from table to seek server for water refill - could not find them. Asked another server for water - said he would find server. Never received water. Bought and paid for Emperor’s Feast but never received included green tea or ice cream for dessert. No toilet paper in women’s rest room. Very poorly managed restaurant. Water view is lovely, noise level is very high and hibachi food was good when finally received.
   

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7. P

   Patrick

   Dallas

   3 reviews

   2.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Didn’t get seated until and hour after our reservation. Seemed understaffed. Drinks took a long time. Had to order twice because server lost our order. Never asked if we want more drinks. Food and chef were good. Super loud in the crowded restaurant. Had to get our own boxes to pack our food to go. Kids meals were supposed to have ice cream but server just disappeared and never offered it. Probably saw her a total of 3-4 times. Counting when she asked us for our orders a second time.
   

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8. Y

   YVON

   Orlando

   6 reviews

   4.0

   6 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   Even with a reservation made for 6 o’clock our party of four had to wait 45 minutes to be seated, which we found quite annoying, the entry and the surrounding area of reception was full of people just like if no one had made reservation and we could notice much frustration amongst all of them. Furthermore, the two receptionist looked somewhat lost in this kind of chaos. They were not smiling. They were like I would say frozen in front of this situation. And once we got seated, we had to wait another 45 minutes before the service began. I have to say, however, that at this very moment, the experience began to be much nicer. We welcomed the chef with applause and I must say it was very nice competent and professional. He made us laugh, and the food were cooked according to our choice selection. One final common on the premises, which would need a little more love and would have to be refresh. The restaurant is located in a very good spot nearby the canal and would certainly benefit if revamped, and if there were more lights to clearly show the sign of Benihana, which we could not even see a dark.
   

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9. Y

   Yenta

   Fort Lauderdale

   2 reviews

   3.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 3

   Everything was fine until we were seated. The only problem was the seats were too close making it impossible to be comfortable. I like the fact that we were sitting close enough to see the water.
   

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10. W

    Wendy

    Fort Lauderdale

    4 reviews

    2.0

    4 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 1

    The dining experience at Benihana's in Fort Lauderdale was horrible. My Wagyu ribeye steak was delicious, but we will never go back. So noisy, so loud, it was impossible to carry on a conversation. People screaming in laughter, workers banging and clangin knives. There was a lot of smoke, not only from the fires they lit but also from the cooking of the food. In my case, the smoke from the grill was voluminous and it blew directly into me, burning my eyes, forcing me to breathe it into my lungs, making an oily film over my glasses, getting into my freshly washed hair. Horrible! I was not able to wear my glasses while driving because they were so smudged by the oily film and when I got home, I had to shower to get the smell and smoke off of my body and out of my hair. I also had to wash every bit of clothing I was wearing to get the stench off. Never going back!
    

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