Our party of 7 reservation time was scheduled for 9:30pm, in which we arrived on time. We waited 40 minutes to get seated - time stamp 10:10pm. During our extremely long wait time I asked the host/manager (Ron Magoutas) several times why we had not been seated, in which his response was they were waiting on previous parties to leave from their seating. Via the photos I attached - please see that the restaurant was not nearly packed, and had stations with no customers seated. Waitress came to take order 10 minutes after being seated, and chef arrived 50 minutes after. By that time we were no longer hungry and ready to leave. 9:30 - reservation time, party of 7 arrival 10:10 - seated at station 10:20 - drinks/food ordered 11:00 - chef arrives [also restaurant closing time] Our reservation time was not honored, and we were treated as if we were a walk-in customer.
otaku god
Gary put on a great show and Ty gave great service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lynne Butler
We visit here quite a lot, probably at least twice when we are on holiday as we stay at the Hilton to which the Benihana is attached. Our first visit this trip was fabulous. We had friends join us and they had never eaten at Benihana before. The receptionist did not seem happy but people have off days. Our chef was Gary - he wasn’t as ‘showy’ as others but he was still great, we liked it and he was obviously all about the food. The food was well cooked and delicious. Our second visit wasn’t as good. The receptionist was borderline rude. We shared with another party, which was ok, it’s not unexpected, but we tried to leave a chair between us so we had some space. She told us in no uncertain terms that we were to leave no space. We had 4 uncomfortable people ‘just in case a party of two came in’ After a few minutes it was obvious nobody else was coming so we moved a little. She was miserable, borderline rude and had little in the way of customer skills. No smiles, no pleasantries. I wasn’t far off leaving. Our server was pleasant, we ordered sushi, she forgot to let the kitchen know, it never arrived. Our chef was Eli - he was nice but I’ve never seen as much salt added to food. It was over salted, very over salted. The people next to us had someone with a shellfish allergy. They told the server. The chef forgot. The person’s mum said she was concerned the shrimp was too close to the steak. The chef nearly used the same utensils to turn the meat after the shrimp. He then left the food cooking whilst he went to the kitchen for something. As a result, the hibachi chicken was dry, the shrimp borderline burnt and my scallops overcooked. It was not the best experience we have had. Normally we tip 20% as a minimum, we tipped 20% on the first visit, but couldn’t justify it on the second. If this had been our first ever time, I’m not sure we’d have come back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Annette Brown
poor service had to wait over a hour for service and we had a reservation
Iman
Only that rating because we set a reservation for 8:00 and didn’t eat until 10:30 ish . Our chef was great tho his name was Gary he was very enthusiastic and fun. Making jokes , doing tricks ,etc. he was a really good chef even though we did eat late, he made sure he did our food before any tricks which I appreciate.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Shawana Bellamy
Despite having a long wait time, the chef Gary was amazing! Gary went out of his way to make the experience better. Thank you Gary!
kathleen
We had to wait more than 2 hours to get a chef. We had to stay after the restaurant had closed just to be able to eat. We had reserved a table at 8:15 they started cooking at 10:10.I also believe that it is not good practice to tell people that someone going to help you in 5 mins for 2 hours. Apparently management not properly managing is the client fault. Bring a karen to eat on time.They decided to go as fast as possible because they were already closed. I would only recommend it to my worst ennemy or if you want to dump someone.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Fernando Rosales
If 0 stars was an option. 2 hour long wait and the chef had yet to even arrive at our table. No words.
Jantia Haynes
I made a reservation for 8:15 got there and was told that they were running 20-25 min behind which is understandable okay it's Saturday night its busy etc. So after waiting an additional 25 min the time kept going up more 40 min later they still not ready I went to desk to ask what was the realistic time that I can be seated meanwhile people with bigger parties that came in after me was seated with hardly any wait time before me and my party of 4 people I waited over an hour after I had already made a reservation the people at the desk just kept saying it's one more table in front of me but they was seating a gang people that was walking in after me I ended up leaving because waiting over a hour after a reservation was made and no one could explain to me what the problem was is beyond ridiculous I am truly disappointed in this establishment because I was excited to have my birthday dinner there but ended up leaving instead. Please control your wait time better.
RHONDA GOLEMON
Would give zero if had been an option. Reservation for 8:30pm 11 people with a deposit made. Arrived at 8:15pm not seated till 10pm, drinks came at 10:30 at which time the children were asleep “HUNGRY”. Finally got placed with the waiter assigned to us who was accommodating, after paying overt $500 no compensation at all was offered only free ice cream. Very poor management this year and no offer of courtesy at all. Host staff at front counter were rude, not friendly at all. Benihana will answer this review and say contact them, you had the opportunity to address the issue before we left but you chose to be rude and let your host/hostess make rude hand gestures so don’t give us lip service now.
Made a reservation for 12, they put us at a table for 9. Cooked out citrus allergy child's food after putting lemon on someone else's chicken. There was a solid English language barrier with wait staff, causing a child's meal to be ordered as an adult, a soda missed, and they sushi that came wasn't what was ordered. This was the second time we came. The first was amazing and we made a reservation to go back. We will probably not go back again.
Jennifer Petersen
Came tonight to spend our last night in Orlando for vacation and spending time with our college son. When first arrived we met a awesome young man named Eli and he made our dinner experience the best. Thank for the great service and jokes and all in all excellent service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Carter
This was my first time visiting a Benihana. The food was exceptional, the service was very good, however the only negative thing is how pricy it is, compared to other fine dining In the area. Other than that, we had a great experience! We ordered a few strawberry daiquiris. We also had the hibachi steak, chicken fried rice, zucchini, soup, and salad.
We had a reservation for 8:30 for 10 guests and got there at 8:15. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a Host who was rude with no smile and you could tell that they didn't want to be there. I believe the name was Natalia who was very argumentative and defensive. We were finally sat down at 10pm after talking to the manager on duty Will, who was not helpful or empathetic with us having hungrychildren. We were advised when we got there it would be a moment that turned into waiting over an hour and a half for a table that we had made reservations for and had to provide a credit card up front for a deposit to ensure our punctuality. I was told the reason we couldn't sit was that parties were not getting up fast enough and they were staying to visit at the tables. Our kids fell asleep waiting to get served and didn't eat, and when they went to sit us they put us at the wrong table with wrong headcount, and then we waited 30 mins before we even got our drinks. We arrived at 8:15 and didn't leave until midnight 12AM with over a $500 ticket and the only compensation was a $23 appetizer and couple of ice creams. There is a lack of training for empathy at this location, and just a lack of caring in general with poor hospitality and zero customer service. You could really tell that the GM was not at the location on duty. This place did not want to take any accountability, but rather place the blame on the patrons. Hilton properties may want to reevaluate having this location in their properties.
WORST EXPERIENCE! Had a reservation for 8:15, was told they were running 15 minutes behind. Fair enough. Until our table was actually ready until 9:30. And then, our waitress was quick to take our order but 30 minutes after we ordered, all we had was the soup. Ended up walking out.
Our party of 7 reservation time was scheduled for 9:30pm, in which we arrived on time. We waited 40 minutes to get seated - time stamp 10:10pm. During our extremely long wait time I asked the host/manager (Ron Magoutas) several times why we had not been seated, in which his response was they were waiting on previous parties to leave from their seating. Via the photos I attached - please see that the restaurant was not nearly packed, and had stations with no customers seated. Waitress came to take order 10 minutes after being seated, and chef arrived 50 minutes after. By that time we were no longer hungry and ready to leave. 9:30 - reservation time, party of 7 arrival 10:10 - seated at station 10:20 - drinks/food ordered 11:00 - chef arrives [also restaurant closing time] Our reservation time was not honored, and we were treated as if we were a walk-in customer.
Gary put on a great show and Ty gave great service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We visit here quite a lot, probably at least twice when we are on holiday as we stay at the Hilton to which the Benihana is attached. Our first visit this trip was fabulous. We had friends join us and they had never eaten at Benihana before. The receptionist did not seem happy but people have off days. Our chef was Gary - he wasn’t as ‘showy’ as others but he was still great, we liked it and he was obviously all about the food. The food was well cooked and delicious. Our second visit wasn’t as good. The receptionist was borderline rude. We shared with another party, which was ok, it’s not unexpected, but we tried to leave a chair between us so we had some space. She told us in no uncertain terms that we were to leave no space. We had 4 uncomfortable people ‘just in case a party of two came in’ After a few minutes it was obvious nobody else was coming so we moved a little. She was miserable, borderline rude and had little in the way of customer skills. No smiles, no pleasantries. I wasn’t far off leaving. Our server was pleasant, we ordered sushi, she forgot to let the kitchen know, it never arrived. Our chef was Eli - he was nice but I’ve never seen as much salt added to food. It was over salted, very over salted. The people next to us had someone with a shellfish allergy. They told the server. The chef forgot. The person’s mum said she was concerned the shrimp was too close to the steak. The chef nearly used the same utensils to turn the meat after the shrimp. He then left the food cooking whilst he went to the kitchen for something. As a result, the hibachi chicken was dry, the shrimp borderline burnt and my scallops overcooked. It was not the best experience we have had. Normally we tip 20% as a minimum, we tipped 20% on the first visit, but couldn’t justify it on the second. If this had been our first ever time, I’m not sure we’d have come back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
poor service had to wait over a hour for service and we had a reservation
Only that rating because we set a reservation for 8:00 and didn’t eat until 10:30 ish . Our chef was great tho his name was Gary he was very enthusiastic and fun. Making jokes , doing tricks ,etc. he was a really good chef even though we did eat late, he made sure he did our food before any tricks which I appreciate.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Despite having a long wait time, the chef Gary was amazing! Gary went out of his way to make the experience better. Thank you Gary!
We had to wait more than 2 hours to get a chef. We had to stay after the restaurant had closed just to be able to eat. We had reserved a table at 8:15 they started cooking at 10:10.I also believe that it is not good practice to tell people that someone going to help you in 5 mins for 2 hours. Apparently management not properly managing is the client fault. Bring a karen to eat on time.They decided to go as fast as possible because they were already closed. I would only recommend it to my worst ennemy or if you want to dump someone.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
If 0 stars was an option. 2 hour long wait and the chef had yet to even arrive at our table. No words.
I made a reservation for 8:15 got there and was told that they were running 20-25 min behind which is understandable okay it's Saturday night its busy etc. So after waiting an additional 25 min the time kept going up more 40 min later they still not ready I went to desk to ask what was the realistic time that I can be seated meanwhile people with bigger parties that came in after me was seated with hardly any wait time before me and my party of 4 people I waited over an hour after I had already made a reservation the people at the desk just kept saying it's one more table in front of me but they was seating a gang people that was walking in after me I ended up leaving because waiting over a hour after a reservation was made and no one could explain to me what the problem was is beyond ridiculous I am truly disappointed in this establishment because I was excited to have my birthday dinner there but ended up leaving instead. Please control your wait time better.
Would give zero if had been an option. Reservation for 8:30pm 11 people with a deposit made. Arrived at 8:15pm not seated till 10pm, drinks came at 10:30 at which time the children were asleep “HUNGRY”. Finally got placed with the waiter assigned to us who was accommodating, after paying overt $500 no compensation at all was offered only free ice cream. Very poor management this year and no offer of courtesy at all. Host staff at front counter were rude, not friendly at all. Benihana will answer this review and say contact them, you had the opportunity to address the issue before we left but you chose to be rude and let your host/hostess make rude hand gestures so don’t give us lip service now.
Restaurantji Recommends
Made a reservation for 12, they put us at a table for 9. Cooked out citrus allergy child's food after putting lemon on someone else's chicken. There was a solid English language barrier with wait staff, causing a child's meal to be ordered as an adult, a soda missed, and they sushi that came wasn't what was ordered. This was the second time we came. The first was amazing and we made a reservation to go back. We will probably not go back again.
Came tonight to spend our last night in Orlando for vacation and spending time with our college son. When first arrived we met a awesome young man named Eli and he made our dinner experience the best. Thank for the great service and jokes and all in all excellent service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was my first time visiting a Benihana. The food was exceptional, the service was very good, however the only negative thing is how pricy it is, compared to other fine dining In the area. Other than that, we had a great experience! We ordered a few strawberry daiquiris. We also had the hibachi steak, chicken fried rice, zucchini, soup, and salad.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Benihana Onion Soup, Hibachi Steak, Salad, Soup, Steak
We had a reservation for 8:30 for 10 guests and got there at 8:15. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a Host who was rude with no smile and you could tell that they didn't want to be there. I believe the name was Natalia who was very argumentative and defensive. We were finally sat down at 10pm after talking to the manager on duty Will, who was not helpful or empathetic with us having hungrychildren. We were advised when we got there it would be a moment that turned into waiting over an hour and a half for a table that we had made reservations for and had to provide a credit card up front for a deposit to ensure our punctuality. I was told the reason we couldn't sit was that parties were not getting up fast enough and they were staying to visit at the tables. Our kids fell asleep waiting to get served and didn't eat, and when they went to sit us they put us at the wrong table with wrong headcount, and then we waited 30 mins before we even got our drinks. We arrived at 8:15 and didn't leave until midnight 12AM with over a $500 ticket and the only compensation was a $23 appetizer and couple of ice creams. There is a lack of training for empathy at this location, and just a lack of caring in general with poor hospitality and zero customer service. You could really tell that the GM was not at the location on duty. This place did not want to take any accountability, but rather place the blame on the patrons. Hilton properties may want to reevaluate having this location in their properties.
WORST EXPERIENCE! Had a reservation for 8:15, was told they were running 15 minutes behind. Fair enough. Until our table was actually ready until 9:30. And then, our waitress was quick to take our order but 30 minutes after we ordered, all we had was the soup. Ended up walking out.