Benihana - Cincinnati, OH

Review summary

1. A

   Alexis

   Cincinnati

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined today

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

   Our reservation was for 7pm, we weren’t sat for well over an hour despite despite checking and informing them three times of our update party size. We also had to ask multiple times for dishes that were part of our order. I was so disappointed but thankfully had good company and still had a great time, even if everything was SEVERELY delayed
   

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2. KW

   KristenW

   Cincinnati

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined today

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

   We made reservations for the lounge. We were told by hostess to go on into the lounge . All the tables were taken by people waiting for a Hibachi table . We ended up leaving after about 10 minutes . A little disappointed that we were able to make a reservation and there not be a table available. Why can I book a table in lounge if tables are saved for that purpose and instead used as a waiting room ?
   

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3. M

   MS STEPHANIE

   Grand Rapids

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   The ventilation over our table was insufficient so all the smoke from the grill was blowing directly into our faces. The grill was far too hot so the chef overcooked (burned) our food because it was cooking too fast on the outside but not the middle. It definitely could have been better.
   

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4. J

   Jennifer

   Cincinnati

   6 reviews

   4.0

   6 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   The food is so delicious. I do feel like it is expensive but ok to splurge on food occasionally.
   

   Benihana - Cincinnati, OHResponded today

   Hey Jennifer, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed our food and found it to be delicious. We understand that some people find our prices to be a bit high, but we're glad to know that you find it worth it for the quality we provide. We appreciate your feedback and look forward to serving you again soon. Best regards, The Management Team at Benihana - Cincinnati, OH
   

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5. R

   Rose

   Cincinnati

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   The chef was absolutely amazing. And the food was so delicious. It was a fun experience and I can't wait to do it again.
   

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6. J

   Joshua

   Cincinnati

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   Made reservations for 9 didn’t eat until 11:30 very long wait not impressed at all.
   

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7. N

   Nia

   Cleveland

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   I am writing to formally express my extreme disappointment and concern regarding my experience at your Benihana Cincinnati restaurant on February 14th, 2025. What started as a frustrating delay turned into a serious health risk due to negligence in handling food allergies, followed by poor service, misleading promotional offers, and blatant disregard from management. First, despite having a 9:00 PM reservation, my party was not seated until 10:00 PM. While waiting, we were left in an uncomfortably cold lobby, which was especially difficult for me as someone with anemia. Once seated, service remained abysmal—it was 10:37 PM before we even received our drinks, soup, or salad. When the soup finally arrived, it was excessively greasy and unappetizing. However, the most alarming issue was the complete disregard for my severe shellfish allergy. I explicitly informed the chef about my allergy, yet he proceeded to cook shrimp first on the shared grill. When I asked if my chicken would be prepared separately in the back, he said no and attempted to “clean” the utensils with just water before using them to cook my food. This is blatant cross-contamination and could have resulted in a life-threatening allergic reaction. It is shocking and unacceptable that a well-known restaurant chain like Benihana does not properly train its staff on food allergy protocols. To make matters worse, when I finally received my meal, the portion size was unreasonably small for a $40 entrée. Additionally, my party was given $10 promotional cards that were valid immediately, yet when we attempted to use them, we were told we could not. This is misleading and unacceptable. When we asked to speak with a manager to voice our concerns, she initially came over only to hand us the promotional cards. However, when we later requested to speak with her about our experience, she looked directly at us and walked away without addressing our concerns.
   

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8. H

   Harry

   Indiana

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   Made reservations weeks in advance for our daughter’s 17th birthday. Reservation was for a party of 7 so we anticipated a slight delay. Arrived 30 minutes early to check in. Well that didn’t help at all. Spoke to the hostess informing her we were checking in and got an amazing response of we are only seating reservations of 2 we didn’t take any for a party of 7. She then proved herself wrong by finding our name on the list. We patiently waiting 45 minutes past our reservation time just watching people come in and get seated. I spoke with the manager about how much longer and surprisingly we were seated in about 10 minutes. Then the fun began. We sat for an additional 40 minutes waiting to be seen by a server of any sort. We’ve now been at the restaurant for over and an hour and a half it is now after 10pm and obviously we aren’t even on there radar to provide any service too. We got the worst service I ever experienced in my life from them, as we walked out of the restaurant I was asked if we had any issue so I explained to the hostess and another associate just to be informed that they overbooked the restaurant by almost double the normal volume of customers. I would not recommend this location to anyone period.
   

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9. K

   Kaleb

   Cincinnati

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   Just don’t go on any holiday. Went on valentines and had a reservation for 7:45 and I didn’t eat anything until 9:30 and started eating my entree at 10. Very good food, decent service but just knew that it was slammed so couldn’t really do to much.
   

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10. R

    Robert

    Cincinnati

    1 review

    2.0

    1 review

    Dined 1 day ago

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

    The food was very good. All very fresh and expertly prepared. But, Not seated until 45 minutes after the time of our reservation (on Valentine’s Day). Food preparation did not start for another hour. Chef was very good but our server was not very attentive to our table because of an apparent under-staffing situation. Overall spent 2 and a half hours in the restaurant.
    

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