Benihana - Carlsbad, CA

Review summary

1. S

   Steve

   San Diego

   5 reviews

   4.0

   5 reviews

   Dined today

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

   Needless to say: VERY EXPENSIVE. Server was good, but had too many tables. Chef was great; kids enjoyed the show. Saturday night, crowded with lots of kids at nearly bl every table. As a result, hard to hear people in our group. A good suggestion was that they should consider sound-dampening dividers in that large room.
   

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2. S

   Scott

   Hawaii

   2 reviews

   2.0

   2 reviews

   Dined today

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

   Never again. We initially had a table of eight for a birthday dinner, and one of our guests could not make it. The main host decided that he wanted to put a couple with our party and overload the table. The hostess looked twice at him asking if he was sure that he wanted to cram the table. And he nodded yes. I asked her if it was typical to put nine people at an eight person table, and she replied that they were backed up and he’s trying to fit in as much as possible. We then arrive at the table, and everybody is sitting with their knees touching on the corners, one guest almost sitting in the pit area and elbows touching when trying to eat. None of us were large people either. We then waiting close to 90 minutes for our chef to come to the table to prepare our food. Then the chef hurriedly prepared our meals and said he had to get to the next table quickly. For a place that charges $75-100 per person for dinner and a drink, you would think that they would try to make you comfortable while sitting and not keep you at a table for 2.5 hours. Very poor experience and not worth it.
   

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3. N

   Nancy

   San Diego

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   Had 730 reservation was seated almost 9 o clock then another 45 minutes before chef came out just terrible if running behind like that they need to contact people
   

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4. E

   Elizabeth

   San Francisco

   16 reviews

   3.0

   16 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   Had a reservation, but weren’t seated for an hour. Once seated, we didn’t get our food for another 2 hours. Our waiter did an awesome job of checking on the table, and keeping us fed and hydrated. We had 2 small kids with us and to wait 3 hours for food was just unacceptable. The chef tried to do his best, but really just rushed the “show”. We were super disappointed with the lack of experience I wanted for my grandkids. By the time the food came, we really just had them box it up and we left. The hostess told us the reservation system wasn’t working and they had been overbooking for 2 weeks.
   

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5. M

   Margaret

   VIP

   Austin

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   It is hard to rate this restaurant because we had a 6:15 reservation but didn’t get seated until 8:30! The rest of the experience was great but I don’t think I will go back because a reservation means nothing there.
   

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6. D

   Donald

   San Francisco

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   Fun experience. Good food. Great staff. Would definitely dine here again
   

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7. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Diego

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   We made a reservation for 730. We arrived 15 minutes early and were told it would be 45 minutes before we would be seated despite having a reservation. We ended up not getting seated until 900 and did not leave the restaurant until almost 1045. This was a birthday celebration and we were extremely upset because this ruined the entire evening. We had planned to be in and out by no later than 915 and instead did not even get home until after 11 PM. Your staff should be calling all of your reservations ahead of time to let them know how far behind you are running so they can make other arrangements at other restaurants before showing up and being stuck there.
   

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8. B

   Brandon

   Los Angeles

   9 reviews

   3.0

   9 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   The wait was ridiculous even with a reservation. New management is for sure not handling this correctly. Manager was very, very overwhelmed and rude. Not a good experience overall unless you have 3 hours.
   

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9. D

   Diane

   VIP

   San Francisco

   6 reviews

   1.0

   6 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   Despite having a reservation, we were seated nearly an hour past our reservation time. Then, once seated no one came to take even our drink order for almost 20 minutes. We were there for over 3 hours. Not once did anyone apologize or offer anything for the ridiculous wait time. In addition, it was absolutely freezing in the restaurant and the bathrooms were disgusting - dirty with no toilet paper or paper towels (and no hand dryers do no way to dry your hands). Very disappointing and our meal for four people with no cocktails was over $300. We will never go back.
   

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10. g

    gloria

    San Diego

    9 reviews

    4.0

    9 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

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

    We have been going to Benihana forever. We love it for Birthdays and special occasions. The food is great and good quality. We did have to wait an hour even though we made reservations. So just make sure you have time.
    

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