Benihana - San Francisco, CA

Review summary

1. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco9 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   Wonderful experience from beginning to end! We absolutely love coming to Benihana for all of our family celebrations. The servers were attentive and friendly. The chef was entertaining and customer-oriented. And of course the food was delicious as always! Thank you, Benihana, for yet another memorable experience! 😀
   

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2. G

   Genesis

   Sacramento1 review

   1.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   I drove from Yuba city, CA it’s about at 2hr drive to visit Benihana in San Francisco for my birthday. My reservation was at 8:15 for 10 people. And I was told the restaurant was backed up that it should take about an hour longer to be seated. After an hour wait we went to check in a second time and they told the wait was going to be more than an hour wait. We waited until almost 10pm and we didn’t get seated. The host admitted that she lied to us just to keep us there in case someone else cancelled and they could have more customers. To take up the open spots. My family of ten were very disappointed especially with the long trip to celebrate my birthday. I tried to stay positive but it was frustrating that we were there until this location almost closed and we never got seated.
   

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3. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco2 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   Have always had a great an experience at Benihanas and have eaten at this location for the last 40 years but last night was different. We had to wait 1:45 min past our reservation time to be seated at our table and another 20 minutes before the server came to the table to take our order. Not sure if it was a one off night but seemed to be a lot of mismanagement going on. Food quality is always good and our chef was amazing.
   

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4. C

   Chalsie

   San Diego1 review

   1.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   We had a reservation for 9 people at 7:30. We arrived at 7:15 and we were not sat until almost 9:00. Then we had to wait another hour for the chef to come to the table. The place was packed, the noise was insanely loud, the management never bothered to try to make anything right, and the whole experience was a big disappointment. We went for my daughters first trip to hibachi, and not getting to eat until 10pm when we had a 7:30 reservation was insane and not okay. Our chef, Freddy, was great. Other than that everything was terrible.
   

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5. OT

   OpenTable Diner VIP

   San Francisco1 review

   2.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   We made a reservation for 6:30 and weren’t seated until 7:15pm. The host said they would text us when our table was ready and they didn’t. The food was over cooked and extremely greasy. We were charged extra for fried rice which wasn’t communicated to us upon ordering. Very underwhelmed by this experience.
   

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6. OT

   OpenTable Diner VIP

   San Francisco10 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   The A5 was good. Service was good. Drinks were watered down and pricey. My partner thinks the most annoying thing was the noise. I thought the most irritating thing was my RSVP was at 6:15 and waited over 1.5 hr to be seated and cook didnt come to the table until 8. Tipped 20% for the service but didn’t think the dinner was worth $270. Rather buy the stuff and make my own hibachi dinner at home.
   

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7. R

   Rebecca VIP

   San Francisco5 reviews

   2.0

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   Ridiculously expensive and so loud you can’t hear anyone at your table or the “chef” mumbling the usual catchphrases. Our waitress was overwhelmed and the birthday photo was out of focus. $17 for a drink. Food all over the floor. But the pace was packed, so it’s still popular.
   

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8. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco1 review

   1.0

   Dined 6 days ago

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

   I was extremely disappointed with the operation of this restaurant. We had a 6 pm reservation and didn’t get seated till 6:35 then we didn’t start receiving our meals till 7:30. I had to get up from our birthday celebration to let the manager Efron know what was happening. We came there to celebrate a birthday and instead we left right after our meal with no ice cream and birthday celebration because everyone was extremely tired and disappointed and it was very late by the time the server gave us our check.
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 5 days ago

   Dear Guest, We're truly sorry to hear about your experience, especially on such an important occasion. Celebrations should be stress-free and enjoyable, and we regret that we didn’t meet your expectations. We sincerely appreciate your feedback and will be addressing these concerns with our team to ensure better organization and attentiveness in the future. We hope to have the chance to provide you with the celebration experience you deserve in the future.
   

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9. M

   Mia VIP

   San Francisco16 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 7 days ago

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

   Be prepared to wait for an hour even if you have a reservation
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 6 days ago

   Dear Mia, We’re truly sorry for the long wait despite your 6:45 reservation. Waiting an hour to be seated is unacceptable, and we deeply regret the frustration it caused. Reservations are meant to ensure a smooth experience, and we apologize for not honoring yours properly. Your feedback is important, and we’ll address this issue with our team to prevent it from happening again. Thank you for sharing your experience, and we hope you’ll consider giving us another chance in the future.
   

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10. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco1 review

    3.0

    Dined on March 16, 2025

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

    I had a reservation for 8:00 pm and that was disregarded; they were like it’s gonna be a 45 minute wait. They have bad table management. Once I finally got seated, it took them another 30 mins to start cooking. Finally they cook everything and we took it to go because we were tired. Total 3 hours. Also don’t sit near the walls, it is very noisy. Food was spectacular so that made up for it.
    

    Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 7 days ago

    Dear Guest, We truly apologize for the frustrating experience you had. Waiting three hours despite having an 8:00 pm reservation is unacceptable, and we regret the poor table management and delayed cooking start. We understand how exhausting this must have been, and we appreciate your patience. Your feedback about noise near the walls is also noted, and we’ll work on improving that. While we’re glad to hear you enjoyed the food, we know the overall experience didn’t meet expectations. Thank you for sharing, and we hope you’ll give us another chance to provide a smoother, more enjoyable experience.
    

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