Benihana
| Address: | 2074 Vallco Pkwy, Cupertino, CA 95014, USA |
| Phone: | +1 408-253-1221 |
| Site: | benihana.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–11PM 12–11PM 12–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 9
A
A Private User
Atmosphere. Its nice. The open atmosphere is different, maybe even friendlier, from our home Benihana in Dallas, where its a lot of small rooms. Service Our service was standard Benihana, we didnt have to wait long when we wanted something. The servers will of course ask if you are done, but you have every right to take as long as you want. We never feel rushed, but maybe thats just me. The chef was competent, despite the fussy couple at the table, most of us managed to get our food hot, how we wanted it, and reasonably quick. Apparently there is some fire law in California that makes them unable to render the "volcano" trick in its fullest manifestation. Come see how they do it in Dallas, its cool. The server only spoke Chinese and I could not ask if they had toro, the ultra-yummy belly fat of the bluefin tuna - he understood tuna, so I just ordered off the menu. Food The sushi was ok. Not bad, but not great - just a bit dry at times. This is almost the only time I get to eat sushi because my wife doesnt like it, so I order it, but there is much better elsewhere. Scallops: good job on those. Crusty on the outside but not too buttery. Maybe just a jag overdone. Steaks Mine: rare, done first. I didnt get a chance to ask him to save mine until my wifes was done (very well done). No complaints on the meat quality, but its not exactly kobe. Accessories (shrimp, vegetables, fried rice) - all done standard Benihana style, not bad. Onions could have use some more caramelization, zuccini were right on, fried rice was yummy as always, but go to your local hole-in-the-wall for truly transcendant fried right - the curse of chains is lack of transcendance, albethem fairly consistent.
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Andrew Manson
Food good service awful. Ive reviewed this specific restaurant before and used to give it great reviews. The last FOUR trips there its been absolutely horrible service wise. Food is always good. But both the wait staff and the chefs weve had have ALL been mediocre a best. Tonight we had chef Salvador and he was barely communicative, got our orders wrong, and did the absolute bare minimum "show" possible. This seems to be the trend at this Benihana. The chef on the previous visit was the only female xhef Ive ever seen. I was super excited to finally see a female chef. Sadly she was horrible at the show as well. Dropped the knives 3 times. Skipped parts of it and seemed uneasy all around. Im starting to give up on Benihanas. Yes the food is good but you dont go to Benihanas just for the food. The show and service are a big part of the experience. And I. That regard its falling down BIG TIME. IF I GO BACK, and have a positive experience Ill update this review. If anyone from Benihanas happens to read this review by all means reach out to me if youd like to learn more about my experience there as of late.
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Chris Conner
i went to benihana for my birthday because i got a coupon for $30 off since it was my b-day (sign up online). i never went before but i always heard it was expensive since you are pretty much paying for them to cook in front of you. but the food was terrible. i could cook better when i was 12. the sauces are just alright... the fried rice is horrible (maybe because i like chinese style better). my girlfriend paid 13 bucks or so for sauteed veggies and chicken and a bowl of rice. i got a noodle dish that was decent, but not worth 20 bucks. they just dump soy sauce, salt and pepper on everything and then dash on some sesame seeds and called it done, resulting in bland food. all the shrimp and seafood was WAY overcooked to the point of it being chewy and rubbery. dont even waist your time on the sushi. safeway sushi is much better and that is not saying much.
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Kevin C
Went there for my birthday on a Tuesday. It was extremely crowded even on a Tuesday. I have been to other Benihanas but this one is the worst. They ran out of crayons and drawing kits for kids, and they ran out of those red hats for kids to wear. One of the waitresses said shes not even sure if they ever carried those, so theyre probably lying about "running out" of items. It was extremely busy. The workers all seemed very stressed. Our cook seemed really new and nervous and spilled stuff left and right, and couldnt perform the simple shrimp in the hat even after 10 tries. Did I say the workers all seemed very stressed? Going from one station to another, singing and cooking, in a factory-worker-like fashion. Will definitely not be going back to this particular Benihana.
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Rich Skenandore
Called to simple see if any seats were available and placed on hold, OK normal. But after holding for 9:50 second no one returned. My wife sitting next to me and gets picked up and ask for seating " oh Im sorry were all booked" Im still OK holding. Wife mentions to person on phone my husband us still on hold. Soo min later they pick up, tell them Ive been on hold for almost 10 min, sorry sir were very busy. OK, but you have the phone right in front of you blinking...... Well, benihana has lost a customer for life........Ill never return no matter the response to this, if any. There are many other deserving restaurant deserving and more appreciative of the customers.
CA
Catherine Bui
The food is not good at all. The steak was alright... the yakisoba was terrible. The frozen Costco yakisoba is so much better. The lemon chicken was dry and plain. Boiled chicken tastes a lot better than the chicken they whipped up. The fried rice was very plain. Honestly, the food only tastes decent and not horrible because they put a ton of sauce and salt onto it. Id rather go to In n out or even mcdonalds or panda express. The only reason why Im giving this place 2 stars because It was pretty interesting watching the chef cook in front of me and because it looks fancy inside.
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Benjamin Laus
Ive been here several times. The food is great, but the phone number is useless. Ive tried many times to make a reservation and it never works because no one picks up. The last time I called I continued to keep calling to see if someone would pick up and they ended up disconnecting the line. If you dont want my reservation then I dont want your food. You should fire whoever is running the phone as I see it is not the first time youve had this issue. Also, if you dare write a generic response on my review Benihana, youll also be getting 1 star on Yelp to show my appreciation.
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Andrew Joice
Good food and the quality of the "show" depends on your chef, some are better than others, and some adjust what they do based on the tables enthusiasm of what they are doing. Unfortunately the location is a bit of a downer....The mall it is located in is completely closed/shut down with the exception of Benihana, The Ice Center, and a Movie theater. So dont let its location get you down as the food inside is still tasty and with a little cooking showmanship/performance by the chef you will leave happy.
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Bruce DeWald
We had a 7:30 reservation and arrived shortly after, but did not get seated until 8:05-8:10, which did not make a great first impression. But, after that everything went perfectly. Our server Vanessa and chef Jason were both excellent. Vanessa was so quick to refill drinks that I didnt even see her do it several times and was never left with a glass more than half empty. Jason was entertaining and all of the food came out great! Will most likely be returning.
