We shared a Benihana roll and a Mango Salmon dinner entree. The roll was similar to a California roll, so if you dig CRs, go for it. The salmon was simply cooked on the grill and a pre-prepared mango salsa added afterwards. The chef performed four tricks on the grill, but seemed to be at a loss for enthusiasm. This restaurant is inside a hotel, so walk-ins jumped ahead of our reservation, and we waited 10 minutes to be seated. Fortunately, we had a few birthdays in our party, so the Benihana crew dropped off a couple vanilla ice creams at our table and launched into two variations of Happy Birthday songs.
(3)
Caroline S.
Service is good and price is reasonable, the sushi taste so good and the presentation is pretty.
(5)
Jon P.
First visit to Benihana and we were blown away. Have been to a few hibachi style restaurants and this is hands down the best. Our chef Nam and waiter Kevin were both outstanding. We visit Orlando often and will definitely be back!
(5)
Andres R.
I love Benihanas, but I would never go again to this location. Why? We arrived without reservation, and we were told there was a 15-30 minute wait. We were given a pager and we sat down at the bar. We got distracted at the bar and 1 hour passed by. I went to see what was happening and the hostess told me that she called me and I didn't answer, she was super rude, she didn't apologize and she told me that it was my fault... What's her problem??? They knew we were at the bar, the pager never vibrated and we never heard our names. After 5 minutes they arranged a table for us, but the damaged was already done. I would never go to this Benihana again.
(1)
Beth S.
We came to this restaurant for my birthday and while I typically enjoy hibatchi style cooking, I can say that this Benihana has been overly Disnified since it's within walking distance of Disney World. Our food was over cooked and the cook was kind of blah. He had great skills but didn't really speak much to us. It was just an OK experience foodwise though it's always fun to spend time with my family no matter where we go. :)
(3)
Sean H.
We did not get food poisoning. Amazing for this area of Orlando.
(2)
Pam R.
Nice enough & attentive staff, o.k. food. Expected much more from the experience & cost of this "well-known" place. Flavors were bland. I have had much better fried rice and entertainment from other similar restaurants. We won't be back.
(2)
Laurel M.
I came here with three girl friends for happy hour at the sushi bar. Great prices and fast service. The place was practically deserted. Water glasses stayed full the whole time.
(4)
M B.
I've always wanted to try Benihana's since I'm a big fan of Teppanyaki. I was disappointed by the ambiance, or lack there of. The walls were white and nothing to look at. The lights were way too bright and I felt like I was in a school cafeteria. The drinks were way too sweet so we ended up ordering straight drinks (bonus points for having Tito's). The traditional Teppanyaki sauces were inedible and really destroyed my meal. Way way way too salty, fishy, gingery and watery. I upgraded my steak/chicken meal to chateaubriand. The steak was very good but not having the sauces was unfortunate. The chicken was super dry and flavorless. The chef seemed bored and didn't really put on a show, he also cut the meat too big (should be bite-sized). All in all, the meal was wayyyyy too expensive for what it was and I am disappointed that we wasted our money there.
(1)
Chip H.
Food was great! Show is fun! Forgot how funny Benihana can be! Staff is very helpful and seem happy to be working there. Free parking with validation, don't forget to get your parking ticket validated at desk as you walk out!
(5)
Lori A.
The worst sushi experience I have had- EVER and I have eaten sushi all over the world. I asked simple questions about the type of fish / grade and the manager could not give me an answer. Fish was an "off" colour and had a very strong fishy odor -- and could not be explained by management. Both waitstaff and manager we're friendly, but both had no idea about the quality of fish they were serving. This was terribly frightening given they are serving raw fish! My advice is to stay away and try your luck in Downtown Disney instead!
(1)
Denise D.
What can you really say about Benihana. It's a chain. My food was fine, the service was fine, it was all fine. There was some weirdness with the hostess when I arrived. I made my reservation via Open Table for ONE as I was here for a conference. So anyway I arrive a few minutes early... Me: I have a reservation at 7 for ONE. Her: Is it just you tonight? Me: Yes Her: Is it a special occasion? A birthday... (I now tune her out because, really?!) Me: No OK this was just weird and has nothing to do with the dining experience. But this girl was a straight up space cadet. Do people really celebrate special occasions alone in public? I guess... Anyway the drinks were decent and they are very fast in preparing the food. I am not normally a fan of hibachi, it hurts my soul to see grown men reduced to caricatures. But I was hungry. Benihana was the best place I ate at while staying at the Hilton. The restaurants at Downtown Disney are below average, as least based on my standards.
(3)
Musa S.
Meh
(3)
Arynn I.
I may be spoiled since I love Teppan Edo at Epcot (super fun and entertaining and yummy) But I came here with a friend of mine and wish that there were half stars....this place was 3 1/2 for me! I got steak and fried rice (costs extra). The portion was quite large and between the meat and vegetables very filling but I wish there was more rice, especially since they charge extra for it.... Our chef was good and the meal was fun. I am excited about getting my birthday coupon this month so I can go back!
(4)
Jason H.
I happened to be at Hilton for a business meeting and decided to redeem in my birthday certificate at Benihana. This location looks just like a typical Japanese Hibatchi style restaurant just like Kobe. I started off with some Fiji Artesian water.... They didn't have Voss in stock :\ Then I chowed on onion soup and dined on hibachi lemon chicken which was grilled and finished with fresh lemon. They even added on a few grilled shrimps for me to try out. The waitress seems a little confused when the menu mentioned that I would have soup, salad, entree, rice... but she only brought out the entree and soup thus I had to draw her attention on the other missing items. Just be on the watch what you are ordering. I typically keep the menu hostage so I get what I ordered :-) The food was really good, not the best, not the worse but still really good. The chicken was tender and was cooked properly. To top off my evening, I enjoyed the banana tempura dessert. That was really good :) This location is moderately priced and just another tourist trap by Disney World. If you are in Orlando for a vacation around Disney area then this would be one of the places to check out otherwise I would take a pass and find something better local if you have a car. Otherwise, this is a good place comparing to one of those overpriced Disney restaurants. The decor was just plain boring, nothing special.
(3)
Michael H.
I love this Benihana, and I make sure to come here every time I am in Orlando. If you are looking for some good hibachi food, this restaurant is your place. If you want sushi however, there are better places. I love Benihana, bu their sushi is overpriced, and the quality is so-so. This particular location is great because some of the staff is awesome. I always make sure to ask for a particular waitress because she always makes me and my family feel very welcome. The only reason I gave this place 4 stars is because the cook you get is very russian roulette. Sometimes they are awesome, and sometimes they are horrible. I have had more favorable times that bad times, so give this place a chance!! Get a reservation if you can, because night time can get pretty crowded.
(4)
Stefani H.
Staying in a hotel down the street and wanted to try this Restaurant last month when I was here but ate at the hotel I was staying at instead,Big Mistake! This place was great! Since I was alone ( business trip ) and brought with me a book to read, they made sure I had enough lighting (great customer service). I ordered my meal, Teriyaki tofu (on the menu it is Spicy Tofu but since I didn't feel like spicy they offered teriyaki) with vegetables which came with Miso Soup, Brown Rice & Dessert.. I will definitely be back.
(5)
Patty G.
I don't think Benihanna is one of the better Japanese Steakhouse's out there but they do hold their own. I guess there must be a reason why they're a chain. Our food was delicious. It was my parent's first time at a Japanese restaurant and they loved it. Our chef was kind of dull, he didn't put on a show... which is one of the main reason's you go to a Japanese Steakhouse! He was nice and the food he made was delicious but there was no entertainment factor. And then there's another criticism I'd like to offer... all other Steakhouse's I've been to provide fried rice as part of the meal, here it was extra for fried rice. Overall, the food was great and the service was ok.
(3)
Jamie C.
There's something to be said about someone who visits this restaurant as often as once or twice a month for the past 12 years + (or as often as I visit home, now that I live in California). That being said, I have to rate this as one of my all time favorite restaurants. My craving for the chicken fried rice usually begins hours or days before I call to make a reservation. It's impossible for me not to order it and I usually order 2, just to be sure I have satisfied thy craving. Anything left over is reheated the next day as a nice lunch treat (and I must say, tastes almost as good as eating it hot off the grill). Anyone who knows me understands that I can be bribed to do anything with promises of Benihana fried rice for dinner. Fried rice = highly recommended and worth the extra cost. There's more than meets the eye to just visiting for a fried rice fix. The onion soup, ginger salad, and hibachi chicken are also just as delicious. The steak is excellent and so is the green tea. The best part is watching the chef cook the food in front of you - so any type of entertaining, parties, events are always guaranteed fun for all ages. A nice added bonus at this specific location is the Mickey Mouse shaped rice instead of hearts at other Benihana's. The actual location is in the Hilton at Lake Buena Vista, so parking can be tricky on crowded nights and holidays. Ever since they installed the ticket booth and 3 hour limit, there seems to be more availability. Don't worry, Benihana has you covered with validated free parking. Valet at the hotel is still at the regular tourist price. The restaurant has a nice garden when you enter, but no grand views once inside. This is the only downside to this location (and because I was spoiled with the Benihana on 79th street on Miami Beach and its glorious bay views). The service is also superior. As a regular, the chefs and servers do take the time to greet my family and I, and never fail to provide anything less than top quality attentive service to us. Sometimes they even remember my orders and have my drink ready to go! (Now that's something I had to Yelp about). I love these small details, and they really do make us feel special. Another cool feature is the ability or order food To Go. I've called ahead in the past, and had food ready for pickup within 20 minutes or so. This isn't available at the Beverly Hills Benihana, so I do miss having this as an option. Now that I've written this review, I'm craving some Benihana again! Arigatou gozaimasu!
(5)
Patrick M.
I've been to many hibachi/Japanese steakhouses and this one is definitely my favorite. The service was fantastic. Our chef, Nolan, was the first chef at this type of restaurant that had this much personality and the ability to hold an actual conversation with his audience. It also helped that he cooked to perfection. The food exceeded my expectation.
(5)
David W.
Beware of Haitian cabby that still might be employed with them ... No skills, very awkward... He was our cook?! we always frequent KOBE, & know now if it aint broke.... assumed benihana could be the same or maybe better. should have walked out the second a non-Asian 'hibachi chef' pushed his cart to our group, lesson learned
(1)
Brandi E.
Disappointed. We have been to a few Japanese steakhouses and we were excited to try "the best". Our server was very shy and there was none of the excitement that you'd expect from a Japanese steakhouse (let alone Benihana) food was "ok", and of course extremely expensive. Only redeeming factor was our actual waiter, he made jokes and talked my husband into drinking the blue punch fishbowl thing.
(2)
Cori V.
After a day at Disney it was nice to have a restaurant in the hotel. The food was good. It was a lot better than the over priced mediocre park food. We arrived a little after 9 and they close at 10. The front hostess acted like it was too late to eat. After we told her the "lounge" area was fine and we would pass on the hibatchi and a show, she seated us. The sushi was good. The waitress wasn't apparently familiar with the menu. She didn't bring the correct things we ordered. Then when I asked about the missing items. She stated that they must come with something else on the menu.
(3)
Brittney D.
Let me start off by saying, they don't even deserve one star. I went with a group of six people with a reservation at 8:30pm. We got there like maybe five minutes late, due to the fact that the address they provided on their website does not actually exist. Since we were five minutes late we didn't get seated until 9pm. Which my group was not happy about. Once we did get our seats, my plate that I was to use had food still on it. The waitress took the plate and then never gave me a new plate. So when our chef came he handed me the same dirty plate that the waitress had pulled. On top of that I have a gluten allergy. I was informed that "pretty much every thing is gluten free besides the sauces, so just order what you want". When I ordered my first choice I was told it wasn't gluten free. So once again I had to ask what I could have and what I couldn't have. I was then informed that my food would be cooked in the back and brought out to me. It wasn't. It was cooked on the same flat top with everyone else's fried rice and non-gluten free items. This contamination made me sick and I actually ended up rushing to the bath room so I could do some not-so-welcoming business. On top of my food getting contaminated, there was hair in the soup, we had multiple drinks given to us when we still had full glasses and our chef was a horrible entertainer. We had no show, while everyone around us was having one. He also joked when he used butter on my friend's dish when she had a dairy allergy that he knew and went over both our allergies multiple times. When we told the manager what had happened, she made multiple excuses and wanted to give me a gift card for my next visit. Do you honestly think I would want to come back after getting sick? It took three people to finally get them to comp my meal. THREE! That's just ridiculous. One of which wasn't even in our group of six. It was a horrible experience for my first time going to a hibachi place. I will never go back to any Benihanas ever again. Disney does a better job with allergies and they are corporate America! Get it together people!
(1)
Whitney K.
My sister got food poisoning (she had a filet and crunch roll)- she's been sick all morning. Enough said. Also, they seemed understaffed last night. Some of the other rooms had a chef to each grill, ours had one between the two back to back, which meant we waited about and hour til our chef started (once we were seated), which was fine by me (it's a show after all), but good for other people to know if they're starving when they get there. I had the tuna steak which was great , but because my sister is now throwing up I'm nervous about being in a plane leaving florida later too. Plus we miss our last day at Disney world :( Our chef didn't do anything super stellar trick wise, so I'd give em 3 stars but they are lucky to get 1 with my sister's tummy the way it is.
(1)
Omaira D.
We went as a party of 4, were immediately seated and the hibachi chef was Asian which is nice, feels more authentic that way lol. Service was good, food was good, but I've had better and for less. They charge extra for fried rice, I've never been charged extra...who wants white rice when they do hibachi?? Not me and not anyone in my party so that was "different". If your celebrating anything they take a Polaroid for you and also post them on line so you can get more with complimentary ice cream. It was OK, but again I've had better at the non-chain joints.
(2)
Keith D.
What's better than eating in a restaurant that's in your hotel. Really good sushi. Guys at the sushi bar were masters of their craft... I would recommend.
(5)
Chris N.
Great food and service. We were seated shortly after arrival at 10 person hibachi table. Mixed drinks were delicious and they didn't skimp on the alcohol. Prices were a little higher than usual but I think it was with it. The restaurant is within the 1st floor of the Hilton hotel. You can self park in a private lot at the hotel (through security gate). The sign says $13 parking but its free for restaurant patrons once you're finished eating.
(4)
David J.
Benihana is definitely one of the better restaurants in the area. Excellent food, attentive service and a very nice atmosphere.
(5)
Ping H.
Given that I am quite grateful we had a place to eat on New Year's Eve without a reservation, I am not grateful enough to give this place a good review, because quite frankly, it was the worst hibachi place I've ever eaten at. The miso soup was about the best tasting part of the meal. The ginger dressing was not very good, it was more sour than anything. I ordered the trio (filet, chicken, and shrimp). The portions were small compared to other places. Everyone at the table finished their meals, including myself, who usually would need a to go box after eating half my plate. The shrimp sauce was like no other shrimp sauce I've ever had...it was thin and mustardy...not very good at all. All the meats were very plain, no sauce, no searing from the grill, just PLAIN. Besides the food being less than mediocre, the service was even less than mediocre. Our waiter appeared after at least 10 minutes of us all getting seated. He took our drink and food orders and we got those, then we and other parties at the table repeatedly had to keep asking for him for service. There was a point where we didn't see him for at least 30 minutes! We were all done just waiting for him to come back. The hibachi chef was the least enthusiastic I've ever seen. No special show or tricks. My 3 year old was clearly not impressed lol. The atmosphere was more upscale and of course more pricey, but their food and service definitely did not match it. The only reason I am giving 2 stars is because their strawberry sangria was really good. I would not recommend this place.
(2)
Sam S.
It's Benihana. I'd normally give it four stars, but as a price/value idea in Orlando it gets extra points. So many of the restaurants are super overpriced, a solid, entertaining dining experience bears special mention.
(5)
Nai S.
We were staying at the Hilton so this was an easy to choose restaurant to celebrate my love's birthday. The waitress was very accommodating and friendly. And the chef was also very friendly and funny too. Anyways, I ordered the hibachi steak well done. And that was cook to perfection. It came with steamed rice, vegetables, and shrimp. Yum. Down side was that the portion aren't too big. Enough to fill up a small person like me but anyone with a bigger appetite might need some sushi on the side. And when the waitress found out it was my boyfriend's birthday our whole party got our ice cream of choice from strawberry, vanilla, or sherbet and the birthday boy got a bowl of mixed ice cream with a candle to blow out and a good luck Buddha next to it. Wow, I was impressed. They even took pictures of us and gave us a copy. I love our family picture, check it out at their website :) Awesome experience. Glad to know we got a few Benihanas close to home. - 1 star due to the wait we still had even though we had reservations.
(4)
Sidu C.
The only reason I'm giving this restaurant a star is because the waiter was very friendly to us and my 5-year old niece whom we took to celebrate her birthday. If you are willing to pay overprice food because you enjoy a show with the cooks and the food, this is NOT the place to go. Everything started just fine. The wait was not long at all. They were very amicable and gave us our appetizers quickly. The atmosphere wasn't that bad. We went on a Monday night, so it made the place kind of quiet, but that's what made it quick. We had told our niece and our family from abroad they would put on a show when preparing the food. However, none of that happened. We've been at other Benihana stake houses and for the shows this is the worst. The chef didn't even move the utensils in a special way. We made a couple of comments and all he did was to put the rice on a Mickey Mouse shape, but that's about it. My niece kept asking us when he would throw the egg and the shrimp take to his hat and all the things we've told her. If you'd like to pay the overpriced food without the show, this is the place to go. However, for us the show makes the price worth it. Without the show, we think that eating there would be the same as eating Japanese food from the food court at the mall. Yeah, it is not that special.
(1)
Russ T.
We decided to do this because it was later and we didn't want to leave the hotel. They were very quick to sit us and I was amazed at how quickly we were joined by others considering the hour we got there. The waitress described the specials and took drink orders and was back quickly with the drinks and took our orders. I had a sushi roll and the steak/chicken meal with fried rice. Definitely get the fried rice for extra. The sushi roll was very poor. The rice (sushi is about the rice) was poor and the overall roll fell apart as you tried to eat it. This place is not known for their sushi as far as I am concerned. The meal was normal hibachi and possibly even a little below. The various parts of the meal were so spaceed out (time wise) that you were eating each portion and then waiting for the next. if you want to sharge to the room there are a series of steps that have to be undertaken, so even if you are staying there they have to confirm and you need to supply a far amount of information to them for this. I was not going to do this. The chef was okay but nothing special and the meat was supposed to be filet but it had a large amount of marbling in it. I think it was strip. Ah well.
(3)
J W.
Don't bother. This is now the second Benihana's we have been to and if is wasn't pouring outside the hotel, we wouldn't have gone here, either. Save your money and go to a better Japanese Steak House. The food was overcooked. The cook was not entertaining. And the prices were well over what they should have been. Pass...every time.
(2)
L.Marie D.
SALT. SALT. SALT. SALT. SALT. SALT. That about sums it up. Our cook had no personality and seemed VERY new. The amount of salt was offensive. We had to throw away a lot of the leftovers because they were inedible.Way too expensive for the service and food. Not one of the better hibachi experiences and I've been to Benihana many many times.
(3)
Eileen B.
I know I know, who goes to Benihana for Sushi? But we walked in at 6pm and they have happy hour 1/2 price special on sushi!! That said, that's the only reason to eat sushi there. It wasn't 100% fresh. Taste warm, not cool to cold. I might do the hibachi next time ... or not.
(3)
Tony S.
Truc took great care of our entire family when we were celebrating my wife's Birthday! Great food, and fantastic service with a nice show of the skills! Thank you Benihana for a great evening!! ProTip: They will validate your parking for you at the restaurant.
(5)
Jaime O.
Pricey but delicious!
(4)
D K.
Ah, Benihana, my guilty pleasure. Did the all you can eat sushi; it is worth it if you like rolls, though the selection is limited. Do NOT order the sumo roll! I ate it, but, it's too much, it's designed to make you full and it has too much mayo! The chefs were laughing about how people order it normally and then can't eat anything else (it's the most expensive roll, and it's included in the special). Will consider doing the special again and just order nigiri, which is what I like best.
(4)
Tressi J.
This place is not a good example of good hibachi. But because I had eaten at horrible touristy restaurants for three days, it actually tasted decent to me. The prices were higher than the usual Hibachi joint(hello--it is in the Disney resort) but I was willing to pay! After all was said and done though, the food was somewhat tasteless and salty, and the whole experience left me longing for my beloved Nakato in Atlanta.
(3)
Will E.
Great food. Very friendly staff. Extremly entertaining. Fun-filled evening. Location is perfect if you're staying at the hotel.
(4)
Crazy Bernie S.
This Benihana is on par with all the others. You can always depend on a great meal here. Expensive but worth it. Where else can you drink a flaming cocktail out of a geisha glass while a crazy chef makes the usual flaming onion volcano? ok, at almost any other teppan yaki restaurant. I like every benihana ive ever been to.
(4)
Randi R.
I was staying at the hilton for a conference and ate in the lounge. The food was good, I had a yakisoba, and a glass of wine. Service was prompt, I got seated right away, and this place is relatively affordable for a hotel restaurant. And apparently they do take out, I saw a girl getting takeout sushi there.
(3)
Jacob J.
Here on a business dinner with good work folks. When your not on a budget and have the freedom to just try stuff, it's great. It was my first time at a Benihana. Fun to sit around the Hibachi grill and watch this dude go to town on our food with speed and accuracy. A must do is the sake flight, I'm glad someone suggested it, 3 flavors of good times. The mixed drinks and cocktails, weren't too special. I went for the lobster tail with steak, a teppanyaki specialty. The best part was the lobster, buttery and tasty. The steak was lacking something and they don't keep very many sauces of any kind around for dipping. You need fun people with you and a willing crowd to do shots with. It gets merry! Sadly, cold Chicago weather followed us to Orlando and inside they had many space heaters. Tacky, wondered why they couldn't turn the heat on? No central heating in Orlando? The walk around the restaurant, the decor was dated, an application of fresh paint or wallpaper would liven some areas up, but so long as your entertained at your table you won't notice it much. I was with a big crowd of people and expected a massive bill, truly surprised at the outcome. Not massive at all.
(4)
Heather B.
Enjoyed Benihana as a suggest from friends who live in Orlando. The filet was excellent, though our hibachi chef wasn't very entertaining. I'd still go back :)
(4)
Chris V.
If you're in the Downtown Disney area and are hungry for either sushi or Hibachi-style Japanese dining, then give Benihana a try! The Hibachi menu contains a great variety of delicious combinations (i.e. steak, scallops, shrimp, chicken, and lobster, to name a few). The fried rice is also worth ordering; just remember that it costs extra and that you have to order it. Since it's a Hibachi grill, you also get to meet new people. Our experience here was pretty good overall, and we all left completely full. Recommended.
(4)
Matthew S.
The Food Was Great, the Staff was very friendly and on top of everything. The Only thing is this place needs to be updated...it is drab and dreary inside...looks right out of the 70's. Also, the Mai Tai here is nothing like the Mai Tai's I am used to back in Boston. This place is definitely worth a trip.
(4)
Robert P.
I was desperate and starving. Blah. Edible food but hard to eat when you have had REAL Japanese food.
(2)
Pedro V.
This place is awesome. The service is great and the food is phenomenal. Loved the sumo rolls, steaks, vegetable, rice, etc.... ALL OF IT...... The decor is magnificent as well as the friendliness of everyone. The only thing would be that the price is a bit on the high end, but worth every penny... I just love this place and have gone to quite a few in Florida as well as other states. Just love it and will continue to go there on a regular basis...Not much to be said, just that it was fantastic...Oh by the way, my granddaughter loves it as well....:)
(4)
Darren S.
We were staying at the Hyatt in the Disney World Resort and didn't rent a car. Not having a car at the resort isn't so bad until you realize that all of the restaurants are overpriced. Being that I've never gone to a Benihana prior and having a sushi jones, we broke down and stopped in. The entry and seating area was eerily empty and then we saw that the teppan yaki area was packed. The wait for the dinner and a show portion was crazy and we just wanted a dinner to ourselves, so we sat down in the regular restaurant area. We split a chicken teriyaki bento box, steak teriyaki, rainbow roll, shrimp crunchy roll, and had some fried banana and ice cream for dessert (this dessert wasn't on the menu and we just told them what we wanted - see pic). Everything was fresh and great, especially the steak teriyaki and dessert. This place is worthy of a splurge and is a great alternative to the options at Downtown Disney area.
(4)
Michael C.
Benihana does Hibachi. And it does it very well. The chefs are a bunch of characters doing the usual hibachi tricks (the onion volcano, the mushroom in the hat) but are always crowd pleasers. With two locations a mile or two apart from each other, it can get difficult coordinating a group meet up, although I'd say is the only way to experience Hibachi with a group of people to share round the grilling tables. Otherwise, you get stuck with a bunch of people you don't know. Luckily, I was dining on an expense account, but otherwise expect your bill to be in the hundreds for a small group. It's certainly not an everyday dining experience, but for special occasions, well worth every cent.
(4)
Keith S.
Great family time! Good service. Parking is not the easiest, but the food is worth the walk.
(4)
Harrison M.
Cons: its in a hotel. NO traditional shrimp sauce.17.10$ for hibachi chicken meal. Extra charge (3.25) for fried rice. Chicken was overcooked and bland. No dressing choice for salad. Soup was alright. Cooking process was unorganized and took a decent amount of time. Portion size very small compared to most Japanese restaurants. Pros: good tasting and priced sushi.
(2)
Adrienne B.
I haven't been to a Benihana's in 10 years and this one was in the lobby of the hotel where I was staying. The food was better than I remembered and I ended up eating there every night of my stay. IExpensive yes, but very, very good.
(5)
Cherish S.
Ate here with a party of 9 to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday during a vacation. Everything was good overall! The servers were nice and the drinks were strong! The rainbow roll we ordered as an appetizer was fresh and priced very well. Some of the girls complained about the vegetables being cooked last. The ones who ordered seafood got their lobster tail, shrimp and scallops LONG before the vegetables. Normal or Benihana based on my experiences though...
(4)
A F.
I love this place because of the amount of food you get and how you can customize your hibachi. Hubby doesn't like veggies, so I get both his & my portions of mushrooms & zucchini (YUM!). It's great for a b-day, too, especially if you sign up for the Chef's Table (online discounts), 'cuz you get an up to $30 off discount on your meal. The birthday dessert, song & photo are a definite plus! Now the downsides: Neither one of us likes onion -- so the onion soup and the salad with a HEAVY onion-flavored ginger dressing is a no-go for us. One waitress was nice enough to give us a single miso soup, which was much better. But no help on the salad. Also, the three pieces of hibachi shrimp that come with the Benihana Trio are just not enough! Make it 5 and we're getting there. You can never get enough shrimp!!! If you're in Orlando, I thought the "chefs" at this location were better, but the actual building itself was nicer on I-Drive. It's a standalone that has a real modern design with unfinished floors and ceilings. Really cool! Yes, it is a chain and yes, the tricks are only cool the first time. But in my opinion, the food doesn't disappoint!
(4)
Casey M.
Not as good as I thought it would be, but not bad either.
(4)
James H.
Yea! Great food, entertainment, and wait staff. Very nice.
(4)
Elizabeth L.
Benihana's is great for tourists visiting the ara - lots of entertainment value wide variety of food choics. Prices are a bit high, but to be expected for the quality of food and experience. Food quantity is plenty ample.
(4)
Jeremy M.
Face it! You are going to pay $25+ at any restaurant in the Disney area for anything resembling a sit down dinner, BUT this is one of the best values in the area! For your $25 pp you'll get soup,shrimp, good food, and a show, and may even make some new friends... It also offers top notch entertainment to go along with your almost reasonably priced dinner here. If you have kids I would recommend this as one of your evenings in the disney area, we'll be back!
(4)
Theresa X.
just what I was craving. of course we went for the hibachi dinner but we also wanted to try the spicy tuna roll which I have to say was prob the best I have ever had, yummy, spicy, and fresh. I chose the 'Splash & Meadow' meal which was steak and shrimp and my bf chose the 'Benihana Special' which was steak and cold water lobster tail. all the dinners some w/ Japanese onion and mushroom (delicious), salad, shrimp appetizer, hibachi vegetables, steamed rice, and dessert. I also order chicken fried rice on the side which was sooo good, already craving it! I guess you can't really go wrong with hibachi at any place but I had a great meal here, and the price was reasonable too. all that food, plus, 1 pina colada, 1 beer, and 1 hot tea, for under $100! (not inc. tax and tip). plenty of leftovers :)
(5)
Brandon E.
Maybe the most enjoyable meal this family of 4 has had. Young kids loved it too
(5)
Lou Y.
wow. really? this place was not all that its hyped up to be. first, they don't have cream sauce (negative 1 point there). second, the peach cocktail tasted like my favorite hairspray (negative 2 points). lastly, our waiter, nasty rasty, was nice but do a little to jazz up the show. do celebs really eat here? really?
(2)
ryan b.
It was just what we needed. We are a mom and dad with 3 kids from Boston, on a 5 day trip to the disney parks. Restaurant was conveniently located at the Hilton. We weren't staying there but parking was a breeze. Get your parking stub validated by the hostess. Food was very good. Had salads, edamame, seaweed salad. Wife and kids has steak, chicken, and rice while dad had a nice al a carte sushi dish I hand selected. It was a bit on the expensive side if traveling on personal as opposed to business, but heck its disney. My youngest has serious peanut allergies and the chef and waitstaff were great with us. We'll abolutely go back. Solidly good food and drinks with friendly and entertaining staff. Chef was a good showman for the kids. Good take.
(4)
Erwin S.
Mediocre, overpriced hibachi style restaurant. Not as tacky or showy as some Japanese steak houses. No flaming volcano, though. Soup was just broth with mushrooms and scallions. Salad dressing had a bitter aftertaste. Lettuce was not well drained, too much water in the bowl. Only vegetables included were onions, zucchini, and mushrooms. No carrots or broccoli. Meats and seafoods were cooked nicely. Sushi and sashimi were fresh. Steamed rice and sushi rice were of poor quality, a cardinal sin in a Japanese restaurant.
(2)
Jeff S.
wow. We have a similar restaurant chain back home, but every part of the experience from food quality, portion size and service was top notch. Don't dine here if you are worried about the price, but if you want large portions of very good food you should stop in.
(5)
Kelly A.
Being a fan of Benihana it hurts me writing a 3 star review for them. We were seated and our waitress was so slow. Took forever to take our drink orders and to being them out to us. It seemed every step just took forever. Now the good was delicious and the Cook was awesome. He did some tricks we never saw before and was funny. We visited the location on idrive the week prior and the service was not up to par either. I hope this isn't a new direction for Benihana because we visit too often to have this type of service. This review is more like 3 1/2 stars because the food was very good. So if you have a craving for awesome food and have a couple of hours to spare this is the location for you.
(3)
Rachel C.
I will forever choose here over any other Japanese habachi place!! I come a few times a year but this past week was for MOTHER'S DAY. Clean environment, friendly staff, sometimes a long wait but not this time we got right in. We ordered Rockies Choice and as ALWAYS it was amazing. Our chef's name was MELVIN who by the way did an AWESOME job. We were able to get the table to ourselves which was nice because Melvin really took the time to listen to our orders and prepare our food exactly how we wanted it. Overall, I had had a wonderful time with my family and will be back here again.
(5)
Edward B.
My wife, 2 daughters and I had dinner there tonight. The host(s)/hostess were welcoming and directed us to our table. Excellent service overall from the entire restaurant. Our chef was Chef Jay. He was the most welcoming and amusing chef we've ever encountered. He made our daughters laugh as well as my wife and I. He was very entertaining and we highly recommend Chef Jay when you go and visit. He is an amazing Chef there at Benihana and knows how to keep us laughing and happy!
(5)
Jc A.
Great service , great atmosphere !!!!! We enjoy all the time we celebrate my moms birthday they make it more special !!!!!
Had a great experience here and food was delicious, we ordered off the menu in the bar area and portions were more than I expected and very good.
(4)
DeShante C.
I definitely enjoyed Benihana... The drinks were fantastic... Our chef Hondy was great he needs to practice a little more, but he made it fun... The food was great... I would have like more vegetables in my hibachi... My kids enjoyed the Benihana experience... I would recommend Benihana's for a great meal... Keep in mind you will smell like you cooked the meal when you leave... lol..
(4)
Matt M.
The food was excellent. The staff was very accommodating, friendly and knowledgeable. We were promptly greeted and said our table would be ready shortly and offered to set us at the bar. Next time you are there, order the 1964....plum wine, saki, and kettle one vodka. I had 2!!! We got our table with a few other very nice people. The only drawback was the obnoxiously loud group of people behind us. Somebody didn't teach them manners. Maybe Benihana would consider putting up real walls. The food was amazing just as I expected. Thank you Benihana for the generous $30.00 Birthday Certificate and the taking of our picture and putting it in a frame, We drove all the way from St Petersburg because I wanted Benihana for my birthday. Can't wait to do it again.
(5)
Hillary V.
The reviews for this place had me worried, but I was pleased that my experience was awesome! This restaurant is immaculate. The options for dining are hibachi, tables, or the bar. The welcome crew were all really nice. I had two rolls and tasted my friend's roll. The spider roll was awesome. I have never had one that looked like this (it wrapped in some kind of yellow situation ), but it was glorious. My friend has a Vegas roll. While these rolls looked like nipples, they were awesome! I also tasted their chicken rice from the hibachi grill. So very good. Overall, I was very, very happy and would return.
(5)
Lorena G.
The food and drinks were amazing. The waitress was very attentive and quick. Great experience.
(4)
Kim A.
We stop at the location inside the Hilton on every trip we make to Orlando. Our preference is Banzai hour with Sushi & Drinks in the lounge. This trip we tried the dining room...what a treat! So much fun & the food was delicious!!!
(4)
Barbara S.
I can't believe what just happened in my mouth. Oh, and my eyes! My eyes have seen beauty! Food: I ordered the shrimp lover and eel rolls. I thought I knew what fresh perfect sushi was, but alas, I did not - until today! Seriously...these were orgasmic rolls. For the same price I pay back home, I got two rolls and a cup of miso with SO much more flavor, freshness, and eye appeal. Aside from flavor, what stood out to me most was the shrimp on top of the shrimp lovers roll and the avocado on my eel roll. Avocado wasn't too hard and it also didn't break when I picked it up with my chopsticks. Ideal. Their spicy mayo is different from anyone I've been. It's darker, spicier, and a fantastic added kick for your roll. Customer service: I ordered takeout around 7pm on Thursday May 22nd. I mention this because I want people who work here to know how AWESOME the two ladies and one man at the front counter were. What enthusiasm! One of the girls was so excited to hear about what I ordered - "I've tried it all! I love sushi!" She did a great job getting me excited about my food, and thank goodness - I wasn't disappointed! All 3 employees I encountered were happy, funny, and incredibly likable. We travel to Orlando often. I hope that this type of service lasts forever because now I would love to come here for a special occasion. Timing: Busy day. Was told 20-30 minutes. Buzzer went off in under 15. Misses: No spoons left. Eek! That's something you need to better plan ahead for...especially in a place where most people aren't going home to eat their takeout. I got a spoon from the marketplace across the hall. I would come here again whether or not I was staying in the hotel!!
(5)
Faith D.
I have definitely experienced better. First of all, the staff were very friendly. Each time I entered they greeted me with a welcome in Japanese. And I entered 3 times, to get a menu, to order, and the last one was for the most unfortunate reason. While they have the customer service portion nailed in a great way, the food was disappointing to say the least. I appreciated that as a solo traveler I could order half of rolls. I like variety in flavor. I also ordered a side of veggie fried rice. I had my evening all planned out: grab sushi to go, throw on comfy clothes, and watch the latest episodes of MasterChef. That is a recipe for a great relaxing night for me. I ate a couple pieces of sushi before I noticed it...you can probably guess it...one of the worst things you can get in your food, I got it. Barf! I immediately packed it up and took it back. I also tried the fried rice and it was so heavy in onions. Almost a 1:1 ratio of rice kernel to chopped onion. Just not good. Thankfully, the manager was very nice and returned my meal without question. Great customer service, just bad experience with food and I went to bed hungry and a bit grossed out.
(2)
Cher W.
Love this place! Everytime in town, my place for a great hibachi meal. Service is fast. Food is delicious! Not to mention the Green Tea ice cream for dessert. Sake is always good. Make sure you make reservations if you don't want to wait.
(5)
Matt L.
Great food and staff is on point. They even accommodated us on a to go order. Their sushi is top shelf as well. Highly recommend
(5)
Mi-Nombre E.
Great experience for the kids.. OK, and grownups. The hibachi chicken is so good. It is definitely worth a visit.
(4)
Lori R.
This is the worst Benihana Experience EVER!!! The only reason iI gave it 2 stars was because I had my $30 birthday gift coupon! Let's see...where do I begin???? First, my daughter and I were seated and after perusing the menu and waiting for the waitress to take the table's order we were asked to move to another table ... because the others at the table had already placed their order.... Which they hadn't, seeing they had no drinks and we're still looking at the menu... Hmmm, that was suspect! After being moved, the manager comes over to explain... If you need to explain you know you were wrong...Whatever!!! Now let's talk about the chef... I mean cook, no disrespect but no spunk, no enthusiasm, lack luster skills, one of the reasons many enjoy the Japanese Hibachi is for the experience... There was none! No entertainment at all ... Finally, the food! In my experience Benihana's was the restaurant other Japanese Restaurants tried to duplicate... The soup was great... It was an awesome start, it was followed.by the salad but the dressing was bland and had no body... Which was fine, no need to fill up on lettuce! But as slow as the chef cooked I could have eaten a full meal proceeding his food preparation! He literally cooked one thing at a time which was awful!! I prefer to eat a little of this and a little of that but when he served the rice, I still had to wait another 10 mins for the shrimp appetizer, another ten minutes for my scallops, another ten minutes for the jumbo shrimp and he cooked up chicken and salmon for other patrons and finally finished up my lobster which came out RUBBERY due to sitting on the grill too long! Lastly, the sauces... The shrimp sauce was not YUM, YUM... Instead it was runny and blah, but the ginger sauce was good. Service started off bad and ended up okay as I waited for the check while the other party had theirs... While I was hoping the meal would be comped, it wasn't they just delayed it for the birthday sundae and pic... Good news, this is not typical of my Benihana Experience!
(2)
Cheryl F.
When we came in, 3 people asked us what we wanted to drink so we were a little turned off because they didn't seem to get their ish together. Our server was not warm or nice at all. He never said "you're welcome" when we said "thank you"and had a diva attitude and look. I did enjoy my drink, which was a lychee cocktail and my sushi. The portion is small but I guess that's ok. I tried my friend's fried food and the chicken was a bit dry and no taste. The shrimp was big but not good in flavor. The food came out slow and we thought they forgot a dish until it was about time to pass out from dinner. I don't think imma come back again.
(3)
Francesca L.
Benihana was a blast! We are no strangers to hibachi and Benihana hit the spot! The food was delicious, the alcohol was reasonably priced, the staff was very friendly (our waiter even took our picture and framed it for no reason, and also let me wear a Benihana chef hat which was much more entertaining after a few carafes of saki!). The filet and chicken for 2 with fried rice was amazing, as was the crunchy shrimp roll! We had so much fun. The one thing that I noticed was the strict policies the staff had to follow. When we go to hole in the wall, ma & pa owned hibachi places we usually give a shot of saki (or 2 or 3) to the chef and ask him about his "real" name and where he is from, etc. but at this Disney based Benihana, the chef was not allowed to drink or tell us his personal information. overall 5 stars---so much fun and leftovers for our drunken night at the hotel!
(5)
Jon C.
My boyfriend and I love Japanese Hibachi restaurants and we're always looking for different ones to go to. We had previously been to the Benihana location on International, and thought we would try this one out. I took him here for his birthday and it sucked, majorly. The host was very harsh with other guests making sure all of their party was present. I get that you are wanting everything to run smoothly, but they are still your paying guests and should be treated as such. If she had talked to me like that, I would have walked out then and there. Next, our server had an OBVIOUS fake accent and we couldn't understand anything she was saying. She did not input our order correctly, and the chef was not stocked properly. Even though he double checked with us that we wanted steamed rice, it still took him until he was almost finished cooking the fried rice that he did not have our steamed rice. Instead of offering us the comp upgrade or even offering the extra rice to the other guests sharing our table, he simply put them in the individual bowls and placed them on his cart. SERIOUSLY?! The food was cooked in a VERY odd sequence. In my experience with several different hibachi restaurants, they all have the basic flow: soup, salad, nice/noodles, veggies, shrimp/seafood, chicken/steak. Let me just say that the last item to hit my plate was caramelized onions. BUT the ONLY reason this has 2 stars instead of 1 is the steak. The quality of the steak was awesome. But that was the only good thing. There was no entertainment factor at all. Or chef acted as if he didn't even want to be there. Yes, they did acknowledge the fact we were there for his birthday and there was another couple there celebrating a birthday as well. When the manager can around to see how everything was, he thanked the other couple for celebrating the birthday there and their meal was comp'ed. DA FUQ?! Seriously? If there are more than one celebration at the table, you can NOT fully comp an entire meal and not the other.... WILL NOT be going back. If you are looking for a great Hibachi experience in this area, go to Kobe Japanese Steakhouse (preferably the one on 192)...btw Benihana doesn't allow fire...so there's that as well... Just do yourself a favor and go to Kobe. Better entertainment, better prices, and WAY more food!!!
(2)
Irene H.
I brought my young daughter and son here, while staying at the hotel. I have found such consistency in these restaurants, you know what to expect. Our soup, salad and appetizers were delicious. We all ordered our entrees and I had a happy family beside me. The kids were delighted when they saw the fried rice Mickey Mouse head on the grill. We were all full, no room for dessert. What great dining entertainment for the family.
(5)
Rachel Q.
Nothing compare to a Benihana in southern Florida . The chief was hesitate showing at the hibachi table . we ordered couple sushi rolls for starter but served after started meal .Little disappointed.. Definitely not a good place for kids not fun.
(2)
R David P.
Subpar at best I dined in this restaurant after I was unable to get the reservation made through the horrible website they have for this establishment, so I called the front desk who then transferred me. I made the reservation around 530 p.m. for 7 PM on that same day, Monday. When I arrived at my reservation I didn't know it at the time but a family of four and a couple of high school girls in town for a convention had also arrived around the same time and they would be my table mates. The host stand seemed to be a little bit disorganized and they took a few minutes to get us assembled. As a solo diner I sat on the end with the family across the front and the two girls on the other end. The place was doing a fairly decent business and we were seated in a room towards the back. They have broken the restaurant out into what looked to be rooms of four hibachi's each. Although our room had windows they were a parking lot Vista. Our server arrived relatively quickly and took our drink orders. I ordered a water and a Kirin draft. From that point on the timing of this server and our chef was horrible. The family had ordered an appetizer, it came with our soups, followed quickly by the chef who started with the noodles and rice and then we were served our salads. I didn't get our chef's name unfortunately but if I had I would advise you against getting him as his presentation was lackluster at best. He had every opportunity to shine with two small children at the table but alas it was not meant to be. The food was all excellently prepared however. I ordered from the special menu, steak and scallops. I ended up with shrimp as well because the children decided they didn't want to eat them and the parents did not want them to go to waste. With a 20% tip my meal for myself came out to $50.80. I have been to many different incarnations of Japanese steakhouses before and I must say this by far was the most boring experience I've ever had. The pricing is also a bit steeper than I've seen previously. If you are staying at the Hilton Hotel you're probably better served by finding another restaurant unless you are hell-bent on eating this type of food. You can get more bang for your buck and have a better experience at any of the restaurants in downtown Disney which is within walking distance from your hotel. If you're staying at another hotel and are looking to dine at this type of restaurant I'd look for another alternative before traveling to this location.
(2)
Samantha S.
The food is okay, not the best Japanese hibachi or sushi I had but equivalent to the price. What makes me lost my appetite is all the annoying things happened during my dinner. So when the starter soup comes I find a plastic wrap in the bowl and the lady apologized for it. When the chef plays his trick with the cookwares he accidentally throws away one into my friends plate. The whole place is really loud and that makes me regret for my decision since the second I sit down. Plus we have to share a table with a family and that make me kinda uncomfortable because we get really tired from a long day and do not want to deal with people we don't know. The food is mediocre, if you are used to some high-end steakhouse. But considering the price. It's okay. I would not recommend this to any of my friend because it is not what I expect a vacation dinner to be like.
(1)
Tiffany H.
I love Benihana and I've been to a couple in California, but I was slightly disappointed with the one here just because our chef didn't provide a show. I saw another chef give great performances to the tables next to ours so I was very excited...but when our turn came, our chef did almost nothing. Very sad. As for the food, do not get the salmon tsutsumi-yaki. It's not even cooked in the traditional teppanyaki style and it's basically pre-made and simply warmed on the grill. The salmon was dry and a total waste of money. But if you love seafood, do get the twin lobster tails. It's my default order whenever I go to any Benihana and it never disappoints. I do think the seafood in Florida is not as fresh as in California (as evidenced by the mediocre shrimp we were served as an appetizer), but the lobster tails were still very succulent and sweet. And of course, when that fated question comes, "white rice or fried rice?" your answer should ALWAYS be "fried rice"!!! Benihana makes the best fried rice, hands down (with the exception of my grandma). I know the secret is because they add dollops butter since they're cooking it right in front of you, but I don't care...it tastes so good. I would be happy with just a bowl of it and nothing else. So if you've never been to Benihana before, I recommend trying it out. Just be prepared to spend at least $30 a person (not including alcohol) but know also that you are going to get a lot of food (I should note by California standards...people in Florida are a lot heavier so I'm assuming they eat more). If you're not a big eater, you could easily split one Hibachi item.
(3)
Melissa D.
A truly disappointing experience! Benihana offers a $30 gift certificate during your birthday month (sign up online ahead of time), so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to give them a try. We were seated pretty close to our reservation time, and our orders were taken quickly; however, the "good" seems to end here. Our server was impossible to understand, but it was more than just deciphering her accent; she looked down, never made eye contact, and mumbled. When she verified our orders, everyone just smiled and nodded ,which was clearly a mistake - as things started to come out incorrectly. The other family at our table received the incorrect sushi and a wrong drink order, and when the Hibachi chef came to the table to verify our orders, items were incorrect and he had to go back to the kitchen to swap items out. Our chef did a 'good' job of preparing our food, in the sense that our food was cooked correctly; however, there was no show. No volcano, no fire. The only "trick" was flicking the shrimp tail into his hat. In comparison to the Kobe up the road: *Kobe includes fried rice, at Benihana there is an upcharge *Kobe includes noodles, Benihana does not *Kobe has tricks (fire, etc.), Benihana had very little show element *Kobe has white sauce, Benihana does not. (This was very saddening to our table) *Kobe's salmon is prepared in a Japanese style (I normally have it with teriyaki sauce and topped with crab), Benihana's salmon came with a mango salsa and sweet potatoes, not a very Japanese preparation! As Kobe also has a birthday deal, I would say that there is no advantage for Benihana. Glad that we tried it, but we will not be back.
(2)
Steven G.
Have been to Benihana in a number of cities. Maybe it was just that we lucked out on our chef, but while I always have enjoyed dining at the hibatchi tables at Benihana I found the food at this location especially delicious. This location is also spacious and our chef (Bo) was charming. Highly recommended.
(5)
Ryan N.
Will not be going back to this location. We did the table service as it had a shorter wait. Our server seemed to be high and would disappear for long periods of time without checking on his section of two tables. We had to ask other servers for simple things like water refills, the sauces for the hibachi meal and utensils. Paying the check was like Chinese water torture! The food itself was ok, but not worth the$19/person price tag. Basic chicken and vegetables, bland fried rice and a nasty mustard sauce. If you are in the area, do yourself a favor and skip this location. Try the newer Benihana on I-drive or Kobe. You will have a much better experience and won't have to endure a marathon dinner.
(1)
Gjuana W.
My fiance took me here on our 6th anniversary. I see how everyone can relate it to Kobe's but to me its more upscale than that. Had a menu which consisted of lobster in almost every meal. I thought it was a very nice setting for two, even while seated at a hibachi with other groups (depending on those people of course). Luckily we had a family who were to themselves and had children who were very well mannered and behaved. The server (don't remember his name though) was very kind and helpful when it came to my drink choice. Great taste too because i tried the sake white peach sangria and fell in love!
(4)
Li Z.
It has been a while since I've been to a teppanyaki/hibachi restaurant. I'm in Orlando on my own for a conference and I find that eating downtown Disney would be way too sad for this lass... Benihanas was great because they seated me with other people. I wanted the chef experience! The very first thing that struck me was how much cheaper it was here than in Toronto. I had a glass of muscato (an excellent sweet Chilean wine - I like wines that don't hurt my soul for all you wine snobs judging me right now!), 2 half rolls (spicy tuna and green dragon -weird because it came with eel... Anyway, like many of my fellow reviews have said, the rolls aren't that special), and scallops as a main. It came to $50 including tip... Go to the Royal York in Toronto. If you can get the same for that price, I'd be shocked. So the experience? The servers were decently knowledgeable. Nothing I would say really stood out. The chef was fun. He spent a lot of time trying to convince me to invite him to Canada... That was awkward. Nothing fancy. No fire or crazy handy work but he did create an onion volcano! Hey, I sure as heck can't do that! Absolutely worth a visit if you are staying at the Hilton. Do not go to the coven inn unless you are desperate (breakfast and dinner since nothing else is open) Signing off in Orlando and dreaming of being a princess (sad that the Disney store does not carry princess dresses in my size. Is that sizism?)
(3)
Sean R.
This restaurant is located in the Hilton at Lake Buena Vista at the Disney resorts. It was very convenient to have a decent restaurant at the hotel when compared to the restaurants at Downtown Disney. This restaurant also takes Open Table reservations and I was able to make one right from my phone as I walked to it from my hotel room. The entire menu is good and contains Sushi/Sashimi and Hibachi foods. We started at the bar eating sushi/sashimi and then moved on to the Hibachi room and chicken and steak for two for $49.00. That was a good combo with onion soup and salad. The food was the standard Hibachi style in taste and texture. Nothing extraordinary however it was good enough for dinner after a long and tiring day. It was good enough that I ate there twice primarily because the restaurants at Disney weren't that great either. If you are staying at this Hilton and are in mood for dinner after a long day then this Benihana is the place for you.
(3)
S L.
We had an amazing meal. Our chef noticed that we had two small children so he molded the things he was cooking to look like Mickey Mouse. I recommend the tuna steak hibachi and the sushi was so good. My husband who has lived in Japan even said that the sushi there wasn't as good as what we got. The kids meals were fabulous and very reasonably priced. I would recommend this place to anyone of my friends in the Orlando area, yum!
(5)
Kim L.
Wanted to take my kids to the famous "Benihanna" restaurant and was a little disappointed. Not very much entertainment from Chefs - not too engaging with customers. No white sauce at Benihanna and my kids were disappointed.
(3)
RJ F.
Poorly executed food by "chef" no fried rice with hibachi?? Only white steamed ?? Since when?? No Edamame even though its on the menu. Waitress said" I've been working here 10 years and Edemame was on the menu in the 1st year only." Overall nothing special in this location, whole family was disappointed. I've visited Benihana in multiple NYC locations and was always for the most part satisfied.
(2)
Carla M.
Well... I'll say this. It's the first time I ate at a Benihana's that was less then expected. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because the waitress was a sweet girl. We ordered the Hibachi Chicken... 3 of them @ $19.00 each plus, 2 Hibachi steak and jumbo shrimp meals. Wow.. The chicken was dry and cold.. The only thing good was the onion soup that came with the meal. Actually, I take that back... The Macallan 12 year from the bar was better than the soup! It took forever for the food.. The vegetable tempura we ordered for the app came after our meal and right before our desert. We did eat in the bar area... Does that make for a good excuse for bad food??? Completely disappointed in this brand of restaurant. Why is it every restaurant in Orlando has been a mediocre/terrible meal?
(2)
William I.
Good food. Average service.
(3)
Michael Z.
Nice server, however, all 3 hibachi chicken dishes came out with dry chicken. Our friend asked for steamed vegetables but received fried vegetables. This is NOT the place to go if you are gluten or dairy sensitive. No clear options which creates a gamble. We came here yesterday and had s very nice experience. Today was completely different. That is not acceptable when you are going to such a well known chain.
(1)
Tricia K.
I saw all the bad reviews on Yelp but I saw some 5 star reviews too & figured "how bad can it be?" Hubby felt for sushi & I was craving steak & lobster dipped in the Benihana shrimp (pink) sauce! We arrived & got a table immediately, despite not having a reservation. Red flag number 1! The waitress asked if we wanted extra soups or salads, we told her that my son would try it & we would order another soup if he liked it. She brought my soup & salad but never checked back to see if we wanted to order another soup, which we did because my son liked it! First I tried looking for our waitress who was no where to be found. Next I tried to make eye contact with the hostess, another waitress and the bus boy. I was totally ignored. Finally after quite a while, I started waving my arms in the air trying to get some attention but no one came to ask me what I needed. I was literally sitting in front of the camera waving my hands in the air like a crazy person and no one asked me what I wanted or needed!! Finally, I stopped the waitress at the table next to ours and asked her to send our waitress over. When our waitress came, her comment was, "I have your food!". I politely asked her for another soup. She eventually brought the soup after we received the other food. Hubby loved his Yuzu margarita & his sushi. My steak was over cooked & the lobster was cold. To top it all off, there was no pink sauce!!! Great! Bad service, cold, overlooked food & no pink sauce!! Lovely! The waitress said that she would bring me some spicy mayo. When I didn't get it, I went over to the sushi bar & got some myself. It was nothing like O am used to so I still had no sauce for my food. :( We overheard the table next to ours complaining about their food & the service (they had the same waitress as we did) but the manager never came to our table. When we finished eating, the waitress brought us two dirty take out containers which were dirty. She said it was just water but I pointed out to her that it was colored. She said that she would get us new containers. Thankfully, she brought us new (clean) containers & I quickly packed up my untouched food. She also brought my husband the other drink he ordered in a to go cup. Maybe she was new & overwhelmed but I don't think I have ever had such poor service! Take your money elsewhere. The food & service here is not worth your time or money.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot, Validated Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Touristy Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Alli K.
We shared a Benihana roll and a Mango Salmon dinner entree. The roll was similar to a California roll, so if you dig CRs, go for it. The salmon was simply cooked on the grill and a pre-prepared mango salsa added afterwards. The chef performed four tricks on the grill, but seemed to be at a loss for enthusiasm. This restaurant is inside a hotel, so walk-ins jumped ahead of our reservation, and we waited 10 minutes to be seated. Fortunately, we had a few birthdays in our party, so the Benihana crew dropped off a couple vanilla ice creams at our table and launched into two variations of Happy Birthday songs.
(3)Caroline S.
Service is good and price is reasonable, the sushi taste so good and the presentation is pretty.
(5)Jon P.
First visit to Benihana and we were blown away. Have been to a few hibachi style restaurants and this is hands down the best. Our chef Nam and waiter Kevin were both outstanding. We visit Orlando often and will definitely be back!
(5)Andres R.
I love Benihanas, but I would never go again to this location. Why? We arrived without reservation, and we were told there was a 15-30 minute wait. We were given a pager and we sat down at the bar. We got distracted at the bar and 1 hour passed by. I went to see what was happening and the hostess told me that she called me and I didn't answer, she was super rude, she didn't apologize and she told me that it was my fault... What's her problem??? They knew we were at the bar, the pager never vibrated and we never heard our names. After 5 minutes they arranged a table for us, but the damaged was already done. I would never go to this Benihana again.
(1)Beth S.
We came to this restaurant for my birthday and while I typically enjoy hibatchi style cooking, I can say that this Benihana has been overly Disnified since it's within walking distance of Disney World. Our food was over cooked and the cook was kind of blah. He had great skills but didn't really speak much to us. It was just an OK experience foodwise though it's always fun to spend time with my family no matter where we go. :)
(3)Sean H.
We did not get food poisoning. Amazing for this area of Orlando.
(2)Pam R.
Nice enough & attentive staff, o.k. food. Expected much more from the experience & cost of this "well-known" place. Flavors were bland. I have had much better fried rice and entertainment from other similar restaurants. We won't be back.
(2)Laurel M.
I came here with three girl friends for happy hour at the sushi bar. Great prices and fast service. The place was practically deserted. Water glasses stayed full the whole time.
(4)M B.
I've always wanted to try Benihana's since I'm a big fan of Teppanyaki. I was disappointed by the ambiance, or lack there of. The walls were white and nothing to look at. The lights were way too bright and I felt like I was in a school cafeteria. The drinks were way too sweet so we ended up ordering straight drinks (bonus points for having Tito's). The traditional Teppanyaki sauces were inedible and really destroyed my meal. Way way way too salty, fishy, gingery and watery. I upgraded my steak/chicken meal to chateaubriand. The steak was very good but not having the sauces was unfortunate. The chicken was super dry and flavorless. The chef seemed bored and didn't really put on a show, he also cut the meat too big (should be bite-sized). All in all, the meal was wayyyyy too expensive for what it was and I am disappointed that we wasted our money there.
(1)Chip H.
Food was great! Show is fun! Forgot how funny Benihana can be! Staff is very helpful and seem happy to be working there. Free parking with validation, don't forget to get your parking ticket validated at desk as you walk out!
(5)Lori A.
The worst sushi experience I have had- EVER and I have eaten sushi all over the world. I asked simple questions about the type of fish / grade and the manager could not give me an answer. Fish was an "off" colour and had a very strong fishy odor -- and could not be explained by management. Both waitstaff and manager we're friendly, but both had no idea about the quality of fish they were serving. This was terribly frightening given they are serving raw fish! My advice is to stay away and try your luck in Downtown Disney instead!
(1)Denise D.
What can you really say about Benihana. It's a chain. My food was fine, the service was fine, it was all fine. There was some weirdness with the hostess when I arrived. I made my reservation via Open Table for ONE as I was here for a conference. So anyway I arrive a few minutes early... Me: I have a reservation at 7 for ONE. Her: Is it just you tonight? Me: Yes Her: Is it a special occasion? A birthday... (I now tune her out because, really?!) Me: No OK this was just weird and has nothing to do with the dining experience. But this girl was a straight up space cadet. Do people really celebrate special occasions alone in public? I guess... Anyway the drinks were decent and they are very fast in preparing the food. I am not normally a fan of hibachi, it hurts my soul to see grown men reduced to caricatures. But I was hungry. Benihana was the best place I ate at while staying at the Hilton. The restaurants at Downtown Disney are below average, as least based on my standards.
(3)Musa S.
Meh
(3)Arynn I.
I may be spoiled since I love Teppan Edo at Epcot (super fun and entertaining and yummy) But I came here with a friend of mine and wish that there were half stars....this place was 3 1/2 for me! I got steak and fried rice (costs extra). The portion was quite large and between the meat and vegetables very filling but I wish there was more rice, especially since they charge extra for it.... Our chef was good and the meal was fun. I am excited about getting my birthday coupon this month so I can go back!
(4)Jason H.
I happened to be at Hilton for a business meeting and decided to redeem in my birthday certificate at Benihana. This location looks just like a typical Japanese Hibatchi style restaurant just like Kobe. I started off with some Fiji Artesian water.... They didn't have Voss in stock :\ Then I chowed on onion soup and dined on hibachi lemon chicken which was grilled and finished with fresh lemon. They even added on a few grilled shrimps for me to try out. The waitress seems a little confused when the menu mentioned that I would have soup, salad, entree, rice... but she only brought out the entree and soup thus I had to draw her attention on the other missing items. Just be on the watch what you are ordering. I typically keep the menu hostage so I get what I ordered :-) The food was really good, not the best, not the worse but still really good. The chicken was tender and was cooked properly. To top off my evening, I enjoyed the banana tempura dessert. That was really good :) This location is moderately priced and just another tourist trap by Disney World. If you are in Orlando for a vacation around Disney area then this would be one of the places to check out otherwise I would take a pass and find something better local if you have a car. Otherwise, this is a good place comparing to one of those overpriced Disney restaurants. The decor was just plain boring, nothing special.
(3)Michael H.
I love this Benihana, and I make sure to come here every time I am in Orlando. If you are looking for some good hibachi food, this restaurant is your place. If you want sushi however, there are better places. I love Benihana, bu their sushi is overpriced, and the quality is so-so. This particular location is great because some of the staff is awesome. I always make sure to ask for a particular waitress because she always makes me and my family feel very welcome. The only reason I gave this place 4 stars is because the cook you get is very russian roulette. Sometimes they are awesome, and sometimes they are horrible. I have had more favorable times that bad times, so give this place a chance!! Get a reservation if you can, because night time can get pretty crowded.
(4)Stefani H.
Staying in a hotel down the street and wanted to try this Restaurant last month when I was here but ate at the hotel I was staying at instead,Big Mistake! This place was great! Since I was alone ( business trip ) and brought with me a book to read, they made sure I had enough lighting (great customer service). I ordered my meal, Teriyaki tofu (on the menu it is Spicy Tofu but since I didn't feel like spicy they offered teriyaki) with vegetables which came with Miso Soup, Brown Rice & Dessert.. I will definitely be back.
(5)Patty G.
I don't think Benihanna is one of the better Japanese Steakhouse's out there but they do hold their own. I guess there must be a reason why they're a chain. Our food was delicious. It was my parent's first time at a Japanese restaurant and they loved it. Our chef was kind of dull, he didn't put on a show... which is one of the main reason's you go to a Japanese Steakhouse! He was nice and the food he made was delicious but there was no entertainment factor. And then there's another criticism I'd like to offer... all other Steakhouse's I've been to provide fried rice as part of the meal, here it was extra for fried rice. Overall, the food was great and the service was ok.
(3)Jamie C.
There's something to be said about someone who visits this restaurant as often as once or twice a month for the past 12 years + (or as often as I visit home, now that I live in California). That being said, I have to rate this as one of my all time favorite restaurants. My craving for the chicken fried rice usually begins hours or days before I call to make a reservation. It's impossible for me not to order it and I usually order 2, just to be sure I have satisfied thy craving. Anything left over is reheated the next day as a nice lunch treat (and I must say, tastes almost as good as eating it hot off the grill). Anyone who knows me understands that I can be bribed to do anything with promises of Benihana fried rice for dinner. Fried rice = highly recommended and worth the extra cost. There's more than meets the eye to just visiting for a fried rice fix. The onion soup, ginger salad, and hibachi chicken are also just as delicious. The steak is excellent and so is the green tea. The best part is watching the chef cook the food in front of you - so any type of entertaining, parties, events are always guaranteed fun for all ages. A nice added bonus at this specific location is the Mickey Mouse shaped rice instead of hearts at other Benihana's. The actual location is in the Hilton at Lake Buena Vista, so parking can be tricky on crowded nights and holidays. Ever since they installed the ticket booth and 3 hour limit, there seems to be more availability. Don't worry, Benihana has you covered with validated free parking. Valet at the hotel is still at the regular tourist price. The restaurant has a nice garden when you enter, but no grand views once inside. This is the only downside to this location (and because I was spoiled with the Benihana on 79th street on Miami Beach and its glorious bay views). The service is also superior. As a regular, the chefs and servers do take the time to greet my family and I, and never fail to provide anything less than top quality attentive service to us. Sometimes they even remember my orders and have my drink ready to go! (Now that's something I had to Yelp about). I love these small details, and they really do make us feel special. Another cool feature is the ability or order food To Go. I've called ahead in the past, and had food ready for pickup within 20 minutes or so. This isn't available at the Beverly Hills Benihana, so I do miss having this as an option. Now that I've written this review, I'm craving some Benihana again! Arigatou gozaimasu!
(5)Patrick M.
I've been to many hibachi/Japanese steakhouses and this one is definitely my favorite. The service was fantastic. Our chef, Nolan, was the first chef at this type of restaurant that had this much personality and the ability to hold an actual conversation with his audience. It also helped that he cooked to perfection. The food exceeded my expectation.
(5)David W.
Beware of Haitian cabby that still might be employed with them ... No skills, very awkward... He was our cook?! we always frequent KOBE, & know now if it aint broke.... assumed benihana could be the same or maybe better. should have walked out the second a non-Asian 'hibachi chef' pushed his cart to our group, lesson learned
(1)Brandi E.
Disappointed. We have been to a few Japanese steakhouses and we were excited to try "the best". Our server was very shy and there was none of the excitement that you'd expect from a Japanese steakhouse (let alone Benihana) food was "ok", and of course extremely expensive. Only redeeming factor was our actual waiter, he made jokes and talked my husband into drinking the blue punch fishbowl thing.
(2)Cori V.
After a day at Disney it was nice to have a restaurant in the hotel. The food was good. It was a lot better than the over priced mediocre park food. We arrived a little after 9 and they close at 10. The front hostess acted like it was too late to eat. After we told her the "lounge" area was fine and we would pass on the hibatchi and a show, she seated us. The sushi was good. The waitress wasn't apparently familiar with the menu. She didn't bring the correct things we ordered. Then when I asked about the missing items. She stated that they must come with something else on the menu.
(3)Brittney D.
Let me start off by saying, they don't even deserve one star. I went with a group of six people with a reservation at 8:30pm. We got there like maybe five minutes late, due to the fact that the address they provided on their website does not actually exist. Since we were five minutes late we didn't get seated until 9pm. Which my group was not happy about. Once we did get our seats, my plate that I was to use had food still on it. The waitress took the plate and then never gave me a new plate. So when our chef came he handed me the same dirty plate that the waitress had pulled. On top of that I have a gluten allergy. I was informed that "pretty much every thing is gluten free besides the sauces, so just order what you want". When I ordered my first choice I was told it wasn't gluten free. So once again I had to ask what I could have and what I couldn't have. I was then informed that my food would be cooked in the back and brought out to me. It wasn't. It was cooked on the same flat top with everyone else's fried rice and non-gluten free items. This contamination made me sick and I actually ended up rushing to the bath room so I could do some not-so-welcoming business. On top of my food getting contaminated, there was hair in the soup, we had multiple drinks given to us when we still had full glasses and our chef was a horrible entertainer. We had no show, while everyone around us was having one. He also joked when he used butter on my friend's dish when she had a dairy allergy that he knew and went over both our allergies multiple times. When we told the manager what had happened, she made multiple excuses and wanted to give me a gift card for my next visit. Do you honestly think I would want to come back after getting sick? It took three people to finally get them to comp my meal. THREE! That's just ridiculous. One of which wasn't even in our group of six. It was a horrible experience for my first time going to a hibachi place. I will never go back to any Benihanas ever again. Disney does a better job with allergies and they are corporate America! Get it together people!
(1)Whitney K.
My sister got food poisoning (she had a filet and crunch roll)- she's been sick all morning. Enough said. Also, they seemed understaffed last night. Some of the other rooms had a chef to each grill, ours had one between the two back to back, which meant we waited about and hour til our chef started (once we were seated), which was fine by me (it's a show after all), but good for other people to know if they're starving when they get there. I had the tuna steak which was great , but because my sister is now throwing up I'm nervous about being in a plane leaving florida later too. Plus we miss our last day at Disney world :( Our chef didn't do anything super stellar trick wise, so I'd give em 3 stars but they are lucky to get 1 with my sister's tummy the way it is.
(1)Omaira D.
We went as a party of 4, were immediately seated and the hibachi chef was Asian which is nice, feels more authentic that way lol. Service was good, food was good, but I've had better and for less. They charge extra for fried rice, I've never been charged extra...who wants white rice when they do hibachi?? Not me and not anyone in my party so that was "different". If your celebrating anything they take a Polaroid for you and also post them on line so you can get more with complimentary ice cream. It was OK, but again I've had better at the non-chain joints.
(2)Keith D.
What's better than eating in a restaurant that's in your hotel. Really good sushi. Guys at the sushi bar were masters of their craft... I would recommend.
(5)Chris N.
Great food and service. We were seated shortly after arrival at 10 person hibachi table. Mixed drinks were delicious and they didn't skimp on the alcohol. Prices were a little higher than usual but I think it was with it. The restaurant is within the 1st floor of the Hilton hotel. You can self park in a private lot at the hotel (through security gate). The sign says $13 parking but its free for restaurant patrons once you're finished eating.
(4)David J.
Benihana is definitely one of the better restaurants in the area. Excellent food, attentive service and a very nice atmosphere.
(5)Ping H.
Given that I am quite grateful we had a place to eat on New Year's Eve without a reservation, I am not grateful enough to give this place a good review, because quite frankly, it was the worst hibachi place I've ever eaten at. The miso soup was about the best tasting part of the meal. The ginger dressing was not very good, it was more sour than anything. I ordered the trio (filet, chicken, and shrimp). The portions were small compared to other places. Everyone at the table finished their meals, including myself, who usually would need a to go box after eating half my plate. The shrimp sauce was like no other shrimp sauce I've ever had...it was thin and mustardy...not very good at all. All the meats were very plain, no sauce, no searing from the grill, just PLAIN. Besides the food being less than mediocre, the service was even less than mediocre. Our waiter appeared after at least 10 minutes of us all getting seated. He took our drink and food orders and we got those, then we and other parties at the table repeatedly had to keep asking for him for service. There was a point where we didn't see him for at least 30 minutes! We were all done just waiting for him to come back. The hibachi chef was the least enthusiastic I've ever seen. No special show or tricks. My 3 year old was clearly not impressed lol. The atmosphere was more upscale and of course more pricey, but their food and service definitely did not match it. The only reason I am giving 2 stars is because their strawberry sangria was really good. I would not recommend this place.
(2)Sam S.
It's Benihana. I'd normally give it four stars, but as a price/value idea in Orlando it gets extra points. So many of the restaurants are super overpriced, a solid, entertaining dining experience bears special mention.
(5)Nai S.
We were staying at the Hilton so this was an easy to choose restaurant to celebrate my love's birthday. The waitress was very accommodating and friendly. And the chef was also very friendly and funny too. Anyways, I ordered the hibachi steak well done. And that was cook to perfection. It came with steamed rice, vegetables, and shrimp. Yum. Down side was that the portion aren't too big. Enough to fill up a small person like me but anyone with a bigger appetite might need some sushi on the side. And when the waitress found out it was my boyfriend's birthday our whole party got our ice cream of choice from strawberry, vanilla, or sherbet and the birthday boy got a bowl of mixed ice cream with a candle to blow out and a good luck Buddha next to it. Wow, I was impressed. They even took pictures of us and gave us a copy. I love our family picture, check it out at their website :) Awesome experience. Glad to know we got a few Benihanas close to home. - 1 star due to the wait we still had even though we had reservations.
(4)Sidu C.
The only reason I'm giving this restaurant a star is because the waiter was very friendly to us and my 5-year old niece whom we took to celebrate her birthday. If you are willing to pay overprice food because you enjoy a show with the cooks and the food, this is NOT the place to go. Everything started just fine. The wait was not long at all. They were very amicable and gave us our appetizers quickly. The atmosphere wasn't that bad. We went on a Monday night, so it made the place kind of quiet, but that's what made it quick. We had told our niece and our family from abroad they would put on a show when preparing the food. However, none of that happened. We've been at other Benihana stake houses and for the shows this is the worst. The chef didn't even move the utensils in a special way. We made a couple of comments and all he did was to put the rice on a Mickey Mouse shape, but that's about it. My niece kept asking us when he would throw the egg and the shrimp take to his hat and all the things we've told her. If you'd like to pay the overpriced food without the show, this is the place to go. However, for us the show makes the price worth it. Without the show, we think that eating there would be the same as eating Japanese food from the food court at the mall. Yeah, it is not that special.
(1)Russ T.
We decided to do this because it was later and we didn't want to leave the hotel. They were very quick to sit us and I was amazed at how quickly we were joined by others considering the hour we got there. The waitress described the specials and took drink orders and was back quickly with the drinks and took our orders. I had a sushi roll and the steak/chicken meal with fried rice. Definitely get the fried rice for extra. The sushi roll was very poor. The rice (sushi is about the rice) was poor and the overall roll fell apart as you tried to eat it. This place is not known for their sushi as far as I am concerned. The meal was normal hibachi and possibly even a little below. The various parts of the meal were so spaceed out (time wise) that you were eating each portion and then waiting for the next. if you want to sharge to the room there are a series of steps that have to be undertaken, so even if you are staying there they have to confirm and you need to supply a far amount of information to them for this. I was not going to do this. The chef was okay but nothing special and the meat was supposed to be filet but it had a large amount of marbling in it. I think it was strip. Ah well.
(3)J W.
Don't bother. This is now the second Benihana's we have been to and if is wasn't pouring outside the hotel, we wouldn't have gone here, either. Save your money and go to a better Japanese Steak House. The food was overcooked. The cook was not entertaining. And the prices were well over what they should have been. Pass...every time.
(2)L.Marie D.
SALT. SALT. SALT. SALT. SALT. SALT. That about sums it up. Our cook had no personality and seemed VERY new. The amount of salt was offensive. We had to throw away a lot of the leftovers because they were inedible.Way too expensive for the service and food. Not one of the better hibachi experiences and I've been to Benihana many many times.
(3)Eileen B.
I know I know, who goes to Benihana for Sushi? But we walked in at 6pm and they have happy hour 1/2 price special on sushi!! That said, that's the only reason to eat sushi there. It wasn't 100% fresh. Taste warm, not cool to cold. I might do the hibachi next time ... or not.
(3)Tony S.
Truc took great care of our entire family when we were celebrating my wife's Birthday! Great food, and fantastic service with a nice show of the skills! Thank you Benihana for a great evening!! ProTip: They will validate your parking for you at the restaurant.
(5)Jaime O.
Pricey but delicious!
(4)D K.
Ah, Benihana, my guilty pleasure. Did the all you can eat sushi; it is worth it if you like rolls, though the selection is limited. Do NOT order the sumo roll! I ate it, but, it's too much, it's designed to make you full and it has too much mayo! The chefs were laughing about how people order it normally and then can't eat anything else (it's the most expensive roll, and it's included in the special). Will consider doing the special again and just order nigiri, which is what I like best.
(4)Tressi J.
This place is not a good example of good hibachi. But because I had eaten at horrible touristy restaurants for three days, it actually tasted decent to me. The prices were higher than the usual Hibachi joint(hello--it is in the Disney resort) but I was willing to pay! After all was said and done though, the food was somewhat tasteless and salty, and the whole experience left me longing for my beloved Nakato in Atlanta.
(3)Will E.
Great food. Very friendly staff. Extremly entertaining. Fun-filled evening. Location is perfect if you're staying at the hotel.
(4)Crazy Bernie S.
This Benihana is on par with all the others. You can always depend on a great meal here. Expensive but worth it. Where else can you drink a flaming cocktail out of a geisha glass while a crazy chef makes the usual flaming onion volcano? ok, at almost any other teppan yaki restaurant. I like every benihana ive ever been to.
(4)Randi R.
I was staying at the hilton for a conference and ate in the lounge. The food was good, I had a yakisoba, and a glass of wine. Service was prompt, I got seated right away, and this place is relatively affordable for a hotel restaurant. And apparently they do take out, I saw a girl getting takeout sushi there.
(3)Jacob J.
Here on a business dinner with good work folks. When your not on a budget and have the freedom to just try stuff, it's great. It was my first time at a Benihana. Fun to sit around the Hibachi grill and watch this dude go to town on our food with speed and accuracy. A must do is the sake flight, I'm glad someone suggested it, 3 flavors of good times. The mixed drinks and cocktails, weren't too special. I went for the lobster tail with steak, a teppanyaki specialty. The best part was the lobster, buttery and tasty. The steak was lacking something and they don't keep very many sauces of any kind around for dipping. You need fun people with you and a willing crowd to do shots with. It gets merry! Sadly, cold Chicago weather followed us to Orlando and inside they had many space heaters. Tacky, wondered why they couldn't turn the heat on? No central heating in Orlando? The walk around the restaurant, the decor was dated, an application of fresh paint or wallpaper would liven some areas up, but so long as your entertained at your table you won't notice it much. I was with a big crowd of people and expected a massive bill, truly surprised at the outcome. Not massive at all.
(4)Heather B.
Enjoyed Benihana as a suggest from friends who live in Orlando. The filet was excellent, though our hibachi chef wasn't very entertaining. I'd still go back :)
(4)Chris V.
If you're in the Downtown Disney area and are hungry for either sushi or Hibachi-style Japanese dining, then give Benihana a try! The Hibachi menu contains a great variety of delicious combinations (i.e. steak, scallops, shrimp, chicken, and lobster, to name a few). The fried rice is also worth ordering; just remember that it costs extra and that you have to order it. Since it's a Hibachi grill, you also get to meet new people. Our experience here was pretty good overall, and we all left completely full. Recommended.
(4)Matthew S.
The Food Was Great, the Staff was very friendly and on top of everything. The Only thing is this place needs to be updated...it is drab and dreary inside...looks right out of the 70's. Also, the Mai Tai here is nothing like the Mai Tai's I am used to back in Boston. This place is definitely worth a trip.
(4)Robert P.
I was desperate and starving. Blah. Edible food but hard to eat when you have had REAL Japanese food.
(2)Pedro V.
This place is awesome. The service is great and the food is phenomenal. Loved the sumo rolls, steaks, vegetable, rice, etc.... ALL OF IT...... The decor is magnificent as well as the friendliness of everyone. The only thing would be that the price is a bit on the high end, but worth every penny... I just love this place and have gone to quite a few in Florida as well as other states. Just love it and will continue to go there on a regular basis...Not much to be said, just that it was fantastic...Oh by the way, my granddaughter loves it as well....:)
(4)Darren S.
We were staying at the Hyatt in the Disney World Resort and didn't rent a car. Not having a car at the resort isn't so bad until you realize that all of the restaurants are overpriced. Being that I've never gone to a Benihana prior and having a sushi jones, we broke down and stopped in. The entry and seating area was eerily empty and then we saw that the teppan yaki area was packed. The wait for the dinner and a show portion was crazy and we just wanted a dinner to ourselves, so we sat down in the regular restaurant area. We split a chicken teriyaki bento box, steak teriyaki, rainbow roll, shrimp crunchy roll, and had some fried banana and ice cream for dessert (this dessert wasn't on the menu and we just told them what we wanted - see pic). Everything was fresh and great, especially the steak teriyaki and dessert. This place is worthy of a splurge and is a great alternative to the options at Downtown Disney area.
(4)Michael C.
Benihana does Hibachi. And it does it very well. The chefs are a bunch of characters doing the usual hibachi tricks (the onion volcano, the mushroom in the hat) but are always crowd pleasers. With two locations a mile or two apart from each other, it can get difficult coordinating a group meet up, although I'd say is the only way to experience Hibachi with a group of people to share round the grilling tables. Otherwise, you get stuck with a bunch of people you don't know. Luckily, I was dining on an expense account, but otherwise expect your bill to be in the hundreds for a small group. It's certainly not an everyday dining experience, but for special occasions, well worth every cent.
(4)Keith S.
Great family time! Good service. Parking is not the easiest, but the food is worth the walk.
(4)Harrison M.
Cons: its in a hotel. NO traditional shrimp sauce.17.10$ for hibachi chicken meal. Extra charge (3.25) for fried rice. Chicken was overcooked and bland. No dressing choice for salad. Soup was alright. Cooking process was unorganized and took a decent amount of time. Portion size very small compared to most Japanese restaurants. Pros: good tasting and priced sushi.
(2)Adrienne B.
I haven't been to a Benihana's in 10 years and this one was in the lobby of the hotel where I was staying. The food was better than I remembered and I ended up eating there every night of my stay. IExpensive yes, but very, very good.
(5)Cherish S.
Ate here with a party of 9 to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday during a vacation. Everything was good overall! The servers were nice and the drinks were strong! The rainbow roll we ordered as an appetizer was fresh and priced very well. Some of the girls complained about the vegetables being cooked last. The ones who ordered seafood got their lobster tail, shrimp and scallops LONG before the vegetables. Normal or Benihana based on my experiences though...
(4)A F.
I love this place because of the amount of food you get and how you can customize your hibachi. Hubby doesn't like veggies, so I get both his & my portions of mushrooms & zucchini (YUM!). It's great for a b-day, too, especially if you sign up for the Chef's Table (online discounts), 'cuz you get an up to $30 off discount on your meal. The birthday dessert, song & photo are a definite plus! Now the downsides: Neither one of us likes onion -- so the onion soup and the salad with a HEAVY onion-flavored ginger dressing is a no-go for us. One waitress was nice enough to give us a single miso soup, which was much better. But no help on the salad. Also, the three pieces of hibachi shrimp that come with the Benihana Trio are just not enough! Make it 5 and we're getting there. You can never get enough shrimp!!! If you're in Orlando, I thought the "chefs" at this location were better, but the actual building itself was nicer on I-Drive. It's a standalone that has a real modern design with unfinished floors and ceilings. Really cool! Yes, it is a chain and yes, the tricks are only cool the first time. But in my opinion, the food doesn't disappoint!
(4)Casey M.
Not as good as I thought it would be, but not bad either.
(4)James H.
Yea! Great food, entertainment, and wait staff. Very nice.
(4)Elizabeth L.
Benihana's is great for tourists visiting the ara - lots of entertainment value wide variety of food choics. Prices are a bit high, but to be expected for the quality of food and experience. Food quantity is plenty ample.
(4)Jeremy M.
Face it! You are going to pay $25+ at any restaurant in the Disney area for anything resembling a sit down dinner, BUT this is one of the best values in the area! For your $25 pp you'll get soup,shrimp, good food, and a show, and may even make some new friends... It also offers top notch entertainment to go along with your almost reasonably priced dinner here. If you have kids I would recommend this as one of your evenings in the disney area, we'll be back!
(4)Theresa X.
just what I was craving. of course we went for the hibachi dinner but we also wanted to try the spicy tuna roll which I have to say was prob the best I have ever had, yummy, spicy, and fresh. I chose the 'Splash & Meadow' meal which was steak and shrimp and my bf chose the 'Benihana Special' which was steak and cold water lobster tail. all the dinners some w/ Japanese onion and mushroom (delicious), salad, shrimp appetizer, hibachi vegetables, steamed rice, and dessert. I also order chicken fried rice on the side which was sooo good, already craving it! I guess you can't really go wrong with hibachi at any place but I had a great meal here, and the price was reasonable too. all that food, plus, 1 pina colada, 1 beer, and 1 hot tea, for under $100! (not inc. tax and tip). plenty of leftovers :)
(5)Brandon E.
Maybe the most enjoyable meal this family of 4 has had. Young kids loved it too
(5)Lou Y.
wow. really? this place was not all that its hyped up to be. first, they don't have cream sauce (negative 1 point there). second, the peach cocktail tasted like my favorite hairspray (negative 2 points). lastly, our waiter, nasty rasty, was nice but do a little to jazz up the show. do celebs really eat here? really?
(2)ryan b.
It was just what we needed. We are a mom and dad with 3 kids from Boston, on a 5 day trip to the disney parks. Restaurant was conveniently located at the Hilton. We weren't staying there but parking was a breeze. Get your parking stub validated by the hostess. Food was very good. Had salads, edamame, seaweed salad. Wife and kids has steak, chicken, and rice while dad had a nice al a carte sushi dish I hand selected. It was a bit on the expensive side if traveling on personal as opposed to business, but heck its disney. My youngest has serious peanut allergies and the chef and waitstaff were great with us. We'll abolutely go back. Solidly good food and drinks with friendly and entertaining staff. Chef was a good showman for the kids. Good take.
(4)Erwin S.
Mediocre, overpriced hibachi style restaurant. Not as tacky or showy as some Japanese steak houses. No flaming volcano, though. Soup was just broth with mushrooms and scallions. Salad dressing had a bitter aftertaste. Lettuce was not well drained, too much water in the bowl. Only vegetables included were onions, zucchini, and mushrooms. No carrots or broccoli. Meats and seafoods were cooked nicely. Sushi and sashimi were fresh. Steamed rice and sushi rice were of poor quality, a cardinal sin in a Japanese restaurant.
(2)Jeff S.
wow. We have a similar restaurant chain back home, but every part of the experience from food quality, portion size and service was top notch. Don't dine here if you are worried about the price, but if you want large portions of very good food you should stop in.
(5)Kelly A.
Being a fan of Benihana it hurts me writing a 3 star review for them. We were seated and our waitress was so slow. Took forever to take our drink orders and to being them out to us. It seemed every step just took forever. Now the good was delicious and the Cook was awesome. He did some tricks we never saw before and was funny. We visited the location on idrive the week prior and the service was not up to par either. I hope this isn't a new direction for Benihana because we visit too often to have this type of service. This review is more like 3 1/2 stars because the food was very good. So if you have a craving for awesome food and have a couple of hours to spare this is the location for you.
(3)Rachel C.
I will forever choose here over any other Japanese habachi place!! I come a few times a year but this past week was for MOTHER'S DAY. Clean environment, friendly staff, sometimes a long wait but not this time we got right in. We ordered Rockies Choice and as ALWAYS it was amazing. Our chef's name was MELVIN who by the way did an AWESOME job. We were able to get the table to ourselves which was nice because Melvin really took the time to listen to our orders and prepare our food exactly how we wanted it. Overall, I had had a wonderful time with my family and will be back here again.
(5)Edward B.
My wife, 2 daughters and I had dinner there tonight. The host(s)/hostess were welcoming and directed us to our table. Excellent service overall from the entire restaurant. Our chef was Chef Jay. He was the most welcoming and amusing chef we've ever encountered. He made our daughters laugh as well as my wife and I. He was very entertaining and we highly recommend Chef Jay when you go and visit. He is an amazing Chef there at Benihana and knows how to keep us laughing and happy!
(5)Jc A.
Great service , great atmosphere !!!!! We enjoy all the time we celebrate my moms birthday they make it more special !!!!!
(5)Tina G.
Amazing Habachi. The food was cooked perfectly. The table ordered a variety of entrée options from lobster to chicken and everything was served in such a timely fashion. There were two persons in our party and the service was prompt and efficient. We enjoyed a round of drinks and an appetizer at the bar and then followed up with dinner grill side. Nothing was over cooked and the food was delicious. Great place to visit whether a small party or large. KUDOS FROM BOSTON!
(5)Lisa E.
Had a great experience here and food was delicious, we ordered off the menu in the bar area and portions were more than I expected and very good.
(4)DeShante C.
I definitely enjoyed Benihana... The drinks were fantastic... Our chef Hondy was great he needs to practice a little more, but he made it fun... The food was great... I would have like more vegetables in my hibachi... My kids enjoyed the Benihana experience... I would recommend Benihana's for a great meal... Keep in mind you will smell like you cooked the meal when you leave... lol..
(4)Matt M.
The food was excellent. The staff was very accommodating, friendly and knowledgeable. We were promptly greeted and said our table would be ready shortly and offered to set us at the bar. Next time you are there, order the 1964....plum wine, saki, and kettle one vodka. I had 2!!! We got our table with a few other very nice people. The only drawback was the obnoxiously loud group of people behind us. Somebody didn't teach them manners. Maybe Benihana would consider putting up real walls. The food was amazing just as I expected. Thank you Benihana for the generous $30.00 Birthday Certificate and the taking of our picture and putting it in a frame, We drove all the way from St Petersburg because I wanted Benihana for my birthday. Can't wait to do it again.
(5)Hillary V.
The reviews for this place had me worried, but I was pleased that my experience was awesome! This restaurant is immaculate. The options for dining are hibachi, tables, or the bar. The welcome crew were all really nice. I had two rolls and tasted my friend's roll. The spider roll was awesome. I have never had one that looked like this (it wrapped in some kind of yellow situation ), but it was glorious. My friend has a Vegas roll. While these rolls looked like nipples, they were awesome! I also tasted their chicken rice from the hibachi grill. So very good. Overall, I was very, very happy and would return.
(5)Lorena G.
The food and drinks were amazing. The waitress was very attentive and quick. Great experience.
(4)Kim A.
We stop at the location inside the Hilton on every trip we make to Orlando. Our preference is Banzai hour with Sushi & Drinks in the lounge. This trip we tried the dining room...what a treat! So much fun & the food was delicious!!!
(4)Barbara S.
I can't believe what just happened in my mouth. Oh, and my eyes! My eyes have seen beauty! Food: I ordered the shrimp lover and eel rolls. I thought I knew what fresh perfect sushi was, but alas, I did not - until today! Seriously...these were orgasmic rolls. For the same price I pay back home, I got two rolls and a cup of miso with SO much more flavor, freshness, and eye appeal. Aside from flavor, what stood out to me most was the shrimp on top of the shrimp lovers roll and the avocado on my eel roll. Avocado wasn't too hard and it also didn't break when I picked it up with my chopsticks. Ideal. Their spicy mayo is different from anyone I've been. It's darker, spicier, and a fantastic added kick for your roll. Customer service: I ordered takeout around 7pm on Thursday May 22nd. I mention this because I want people who work here to know how AWESOME the two ladies and one man at the front counter were. What enthusiasm! One of the girls was so excited to hear about what I ordered - "I've tried it all! I love sushi!" She did a great job getting me excited about my food, and thank goodness - I wasn't disappointed! All 3 employees I encountered were happy, funny, and incredibly likable. We travel to Orlando often. I hope that this type of service lasts forever because now I would love to come here for a special occasion. Timing: Busy day. Was told 20-30 minutes. Buzzer went off in under 15. Misses: No spoons left. Eek! That's something you need to better plan ahead for...especially in a place where most people aren't going home to eat their takeout. I got a spoon from the marketplace across the hall. I would come here again whether or not I was staying in the hotel!!
(5)Faith D.
I have definitely experienced better. First of all, the staff were very friendly. Each time I entered they greeted me with a welcome in Japanese. And I entered 3 times, to get a menu, to order, and the last one was for the most unfortunate reason. While they have the customer service portion nailed in a great way, the food was disappointing to say the least. I appreciated that as a solo traveler I could order half of rolls. I like variety in flavor. I also ordered a side of veggie fried rice. I had my evening all planned out: grab sushi to go, throw on comfy clothes, and watch the latest episodes of MasterChef. That is a recipe for a great relaxing night for me. I ate a couple pieces of sushi before I noticed it...you can probably guess it...one of the worst things you can get in your food, I got it. Barf! I immediately packed it up and took it back. I also tried the fried rice and it was so heavy in onions. Almost a 1:1 ratio of rice kernel to chopped onion. Just not good. Thankfully, the manager was very nice and returned my meal without question. Great customer service, just bad experience with food and I went to bed hungry and a bit grossed out.
(2)Cher W.
Love this place! Everytime in town, my place for a great hibachi meal. Service is fast. Food is delicious! Not to mention the Green Tea ice cream for dessert. Sake is always good. Make sure you make reservations if you don't want to wait.
(5)Matt L.
Great food and staff is on point. They even accommodated us on a to go order. Their sushi is top shelf as well. Highly recommend
(5)Mi-Nombre E.
Great experience for the kids.. OK, and grownups. The hibachi chicken is so good. It is definitely worth a visit.
(4)Lori R.
This is the worst Benihana Experience EVER!!! The only reason iI gave it 2 stars was because I had my $30 birthday gift coupon! Let's see...where do I begin???? First, my daughter and I were seated and after perusing the menu and waiting for the waitress to take the table's order we were asked to move to another table ... because the others at the table had already placed their order.... Which they hadn't, seeing they had no drinks and we're still looking at the menu... Hmmm, that was suspect! After being moved, the manager comes over to explain... If you need to explain you know you were wrong...Whatever!!! Now let's talk about the chef... I mean cook, no disrespect but no spunk, no enthusiasm, lack luster skills, one of the reasons many enjoy the Japanese Hibachi is for the experience... There was none! No entertainment at all ... Finally, the food! In my experience Benihana's was the restaurant other Japanese Restaurants tried to duplicate... The soup was great... It was an awesome start, it was followed.by the salad but the dressing was bland and had no body... Which was fine, no need to fill up on lettuce! But as slow as the chef cooked I could have eaten a full meal proceeding his food preparation! He literally cooked one thing at a time which was awful!! I prefer to eat a little of this and a little of that but when he served the rice, I still had to wait another 10 mins for the shrimp appetizer, another ten minutes for my scallops, another ten minutes for the jumbo shrimp and he cooked up chicken and salmon for other patrons and finally finished up my lobster which came out RUBBERY due to sitting on the grill too long! Lastly, the sauces... The shrimp sauce was not YUM, YUM... Instead it was runny and blah, but the ginger sauce was good. Service started off bad and ended up okay as I waited for the check while the other party had theirs... While I was hoping the meal would be comped, it wasn't they just delayed it for the birthday sundae and pic... Good news, this is not typical of my Benihana Experience!
(2)Cheryl F.
When we came in, 3 people asked us what we wanted to drink so we were a little turned off because they didn't seem to get their ish together. Our server was not warm or nice at all. He never said "you're welcome" when we said "thank you"and had a diva attitude and look. I did enjoy my drink, which was a lychee cocktail and my sushi. The portion is small but I guess that's ok. I tried my friend's fried food and the chicken was a bit dry and no taste. The shrimp was big but not good in flavor. The food came out slow and we thought they forgot a dish until it was about time to pass out from dinner. I don't think imma come back again.
(3)Francesca L.
Benihana was a blast! We are no strangers to hibachi and Benihana hit the spot! The food was delicious, the alcohol was reasonably priced, the staff was very friendly (our waiter even took our picture and framed it for no reason, and also let me wear a Benihana chef hat which was much more entertaining after a few carafes of saki!). The filet and chicken for 2 with fried rice was amazing, as was the crunchy shrimp roll! We had so much fun. The one thing that I noticed was the strict policies the staff had to follow. When we go to hole in the wall, ma & pa owned hibachi places we usually give a shot of saki (or 2 or 3) to the chef and ask him about his "real" name and where he is from, etc. but at this Disney based Benihana, the chef was not allowed to drink or tell us his personal information. overall 5 stars---so much fun and leftovers for our drunken night at the hotel!
(5)Jon C.
My boyfriend and I love Japanese Hibachi restaurants and we're always looking for different ones to go to. We had previously been to the Benihana location on International, and thought we would try this one out. I took him here for his birthday and it sucked, majorly. The host was very harsh with other guests making sure all of their party was present. I get that you are wanting everything to run smoothly, but they are still your paying guests and should be treated as such. If she had talked to me like that, I would have walked out then and there. Next, our server had an OBVIOUS fake accent and we couldn't understand anything she was saying. She did not input our order correctly, and the chef was not stocked properly. Even though he double checked with us that we wanted steamed rice, it still took him until he was almost finished cooking the fried rice that he did not have our steamed rice. Instead of offering us the comp upgrade or even offering the extra rice to the other guests sharing our table, he simply put them in the individual bowls and placed them on his cart. SERIOUSLY?! The food was cooked in a VERY odd sequence. In my experience with several different hibachi restaurants, they all have the basic flow: soup, salad, nice/noodles, veggies, shrimp/seafood, chicken/steak. Let me just say that the last item to hit my plate was caramelized onions. BUT the ONLY reason this has 2 stars instead of 1 is the steak. The quality of the steak was awesome. But that was the only good thing. There was no entertainment factor at all. Or chef acted as if he didn't even want to be there. Yes, they did acknowledge the fact we were there for his birthday and there was another couple there celebrating a birthday as well. When the manager can around to see how everything was, he thanked the other couple for celebrating the birthday there and their meal was comp'ed. DA FUQ?! Seriously? If there are more than one celebration at the table, you can NOT fully comp an entire meal and not the other.... WILL NOT be going back. If you are looking for a great Hibachi experience in this area, go to Kobe Japanese Steakhouse (preferably the one on 192)...btw Benihana doesn't allow fire...so there's that as well... Just do yourself a favor and go to Kobe. Better entertainment, better prices, and WAY more food!!!
(2)Irene H.
I brought my young daughter and son here, while staying at the hotel. I have found such consistency in these restaurants, you know what to expect. Our soup, salad and appetizers were delicious. We all ordered our entrees and I had a happy family beside me. The kids were delighted when they saw the fried rice Mickey Mouse head on the grill. We were all full, no room for dessert. What great dining entertainment for the family.
(5)Rachel Q.
Nothing compare to a Benihana in southern Florida . The chief was hesitate showing at the hibachi table . we ordered couple sushi rolls for starter but served after started meal .Little disappointed.. Definitely not a good place for kids not fun.
(2)R David P.
Subpar at best I dined in this restaurant after I was unable to get the reservation made through the horrible website they have for this establishment, so I called the front desk who then transferred me. I made the reservation around 530 p.m. for 7 PM on that same day, Monday. When I arrived at my reservation I didn't know it at the time but a family of four and a couple of high school girls in town for a convention had also arrived around the same time and they would be my table mates. The host stand seemed to be a little bit disorganized and they took a few minutes to get us assembled. As a solo diner I sat on the end with the family across the front and the two girls on the other end. The place was doing a fairly decent business and we were seated in a room towards the back. They have broken the restaurant out into what looked to be rooms of four hibachi's each. Although our room had windows they were a parking lot Vista. Our server arrived relatively quickly and took our drink orders. I ordered a water and a Kirin draft. From that point on the timing of this server and our chef was horrible. The family had ordered an appetizer, it came with our soups, followed quickly by the chef who started with the noodles and rice and then we were served our salads. I didn't get our chef's name unfortunately but if I had I would advise you against getting him as his presentation was lackluster at best. He had every opportunity to shine with two small children at the table but alas it was not meant to be. The food was all excellently prepared however. I ordered from the special menu, steak and scallops. I ended up with shrimp as well because the children decided they didn't want to eat them and the parents did not want them to go to waste. With a 20% tip my meal for myself came out to $50.80. I have been to many different incarnations of Japanese steakhouses before and I must say this by far was the most boring experience I've ever had. The pricing is also a bit steeper than I've seen previously. If you are staying at the Hilton Hotel you're probably better served by finding another restaurant unless you are hell-bent on eating this type of food. You can get more bang for your buck and have a better experience at any of the restaurants in downtown Disney which is within walking distance from your hotel. If you're staying at another hotel and are looking to dine at this type of restaurant I'd look for another alternative before traveling to this location.
(2)Samantha S.
The food is okay, not the best Japanese hibachi or sushi I had but equivalent to the price. What makes me lost my appetite is all the annoying things happened during my dinner. So when the starter soup comes I find a plastic wrap in the bowl and the lady apologized for it. When the chef plays his trick with the cookwares he accidentally throws away one into my friends plate. The whole place is really loud and that makes me regret for my decision since the second I sit down. Plus we have to share a table with a family and that make me kinda uncomfortable because we get really tired from a long day and do not want to deal with people we don't know. The food is mediocre, if you are used to some high-end steakhouse. But considering the price. It's okay. I would not recommend this to any of my friend because it is not what I expect a vacation dinner to be like.
(1)Tiffany H.
I love Benihana and I've been to a couple in California, but I was slightly disappointed with the one here just because our chef didn't provide a show. I saw another chef give great performances to the tables next to ours so I was very excited...but when our turn came, our chef did almost nothing. Very sad. As for the food, do not get the salmon tsutsumi-yaki. It's not even cooked in the traditional teppanyaki style and it's basically pre-made and simply warmed on the grill. The salmon was dry and a total waste of money. But if you love seafood, do get the twin lobster tails. It's my default order whenever I go to any Benihana and it never disappoints. I do think the seafood in Florida is not as fresh as in California (as evidenced by the mediocre shrimp we were served as an appetizer), but the lobster tails were still very succulent and sweet. And of course, when that fated question comes, "white rice or fried rice?" your answer should ALWAYS be "fried rice"!!! Benihana makes the best fried rice, hands down (with the exception of my grandma). I know the secret is because they add dollops butter since they're cooking it right in front of you, but I don't care...it tastes so good. I would be happy with just a bowl of it and nothing else. So if you've never been to Benihana before, I recommend trying it out. Just be prepared to spend at least $30 a person (not including alcohol) but know also that you are going to get a lot of food (I should note by California standards...people in Florida are a lot heavier so I'm assuming they eat more). If you're not a big eater, you could easily split one Hibachi item.
(3)Melissa D.
A truly disappointing experience! Benihana offers a $30 gift certificate during your birthday month (sign up online ahead of time), so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to give them a try. We were seated pretty close to our reservation time, and our orders were taken quickly; however, the "good" seems to end here. Our server was impossible to understand, but it was more than just deciphering her accent; she looked down, never made eye contact, and mumbled. When she verified our orders, everyone just smiled and nodded ,which was clearly a mistake - as things started to come out incorrectly. The other family at our table received the incorrect sushi and a wrong drink order, and when the Hibachi chef came to the table to verify our orders, items were incorrect and he had to go back to the kitchen to swap items out. Our chef did a 'good' job of preparing our food, in the sense that our food was cooked correctly; however, there was no show. No volcano, no fire. The only "trick" was flicking the shrimp tail into his hat. In comparison to the Kobe up the road: *Kobe includes fried rice, at Benihana there is an upcharge *Kobe includes noodles, Benihana does not *Kobe has tricks (fire, etc.), Benihana had very little show element *Kobe has white sauce, Benihana does not. (This was very saddening to our table) *Kobe's salmon is prepared in a Japanese style (I normally have it with teriyaki sauce and topped with crab), Benihana's salmon came with a mango salsa and sweet potatoes, not a very Japanese preparation! As Kobe also has a birthday deal, I would say that there is no advantage for Benihana. Glad that we tried it, but we will not be back.
(2)Steven G.
Have been to Benihana in a number of cities. Maybe it was just that we lucked out on our chef, but while I always have enjoyed dining at the hibatchi tables at Benihana I found the food at this location especially delicious. This location is also spacious and our chef (Bo) was charming. Highly recommended.
(5)Ryan N.
Will not be going back to this location. We did the table service as it had a shorter wait. Our server seemed to be high and would disappear for long periods of time without checking on his section of two tables. We had to ask other servers for simple things like water refills, the sauces for the hibachi meal and utensils. Paying the check was like Chinese water torture! The food itself was ok, but not worth the$19/person price tag. Basic chicken and vegetables, bland fried rice and a nasty mustard sauce. If you are in the area, do yourself a favor and skip this location. Try the newer Benihana on I-drive or Kobe. You will have a much better experience and won't have to endure a marathon dinner.
(1)Gjuana W.
My fiance took me here on our 6th anniversary. I see how everyone can relate it to Kobe's but to me its more upscale than that. Had a menu which consisted of lobster in almost every meal. I thought it was a very nice setting for two, even while seated at a hibachi with other groups (depending on those people of course). Luckily we had a family who were to themselves and had children who were very well mannered and behaved. The server (don't remember his name though) was very kind and helpful when it came to my drink choice. Great taste too because i tried the sake white peach sangria and fell in love!
(4)Li Z.
It has been a while since I've been to a teppanyaki/hibachi restaurant. I'm in Orlando on my own for a conference and I find that eating downtown Disney would be way too sad for this lass... Benihanas was great because they seated me with other people. I wanted the chef experience! The very first thing that struck me was how much cheaper it was here than in Toronto. I had a glass of muscato (an excellent sweet Chilean wine - I like wines that don't hurt my soul for all you wine snobs judging me right now!), 2 half rolls (spicy tuna and green dragon -weird because it came with eel... Anyway, like many of my fellow reviews have said, the rolls aren't that special), and scallops as a main. It came to $50 including tip... Go to the Royal York in Toronto. If you can get the same for that price, I'd be shocked. So the experience? The servers were decently knowledgeable. Nothing I would say really stood out. The chef was fun. He spent a lot of time trying to convince me to invite him to Canada... That was awkward. Nothing fancy. No fire or crazy handy work but he did create an onion volcano! Hey, I sure as heck can't do that! Absolutely worth a visit if you are staying at the Hilton. Do not go to the coven inn unless you are desperate (breakfast and dinner since nothing else is open) Signing off in Orlando and dreaming of being a princess (sad that the Disney store does not carry princess dresses in my size. Is that sizism?)
(3)Sean R.
This restaurant is located in the Hilton at Lake Buena Vista at the Disney resorts. It was very convenient to have a decent restaurant at the hotel when compared to the restaurants at Downtown Disney. This restaurant also takes Open Table reservations and I was able to make one right from my phone as I walked to it from my hotel room. The entire menu is good and contains Sushi/Sashimi and Hibachi foods. We started at the bar eating sushi/sashimi and then moved on to the Hibachi room and chicken and steak for two for $49.00. That was a good combo with onion soup and salad. The food was the standard Hibachi style in taste and texture. Nothing extraordinary however it was good enough for dinner after a long and tiring day. It was good enough that I ate there twice primarily because the restaurants at Disney weren't that great either. If you are staying at this Hilton and are in mood for dinner after a long day then this Benihana is the place for you.
(3)S L.
We had an amazing meal. Our chef noticed that we had two small children so he molded the things he was cooking to look like Mickey Mouse. I recommend the tuna steak hibachi and the sushi was so good. My husband who has lived in Japan even said that the sushi there wasn't as good as what we got. The kids meals were fabulous and very reasonably priced. I would recommend this place to anyone of my friends in the Orlando area, yum!
(5)Kim L.
Wanted to take my kids to the famous "Benihanna" restaurant and was a little disappointed. Not very much entertainment from Chefs - not too engaging with customers. No white sauce at Benihanna and my kids were disappointed.
(3)RJ F.
Poorly executed food by "chef" no fried rice with hibachi?? Only white steamed ?? Since when?? No Edamame even though its on the menu. Waitress said" I've been working here 10 years and Edemame was on the menu in the 1st year only." Overall nothing special in this location, whole family was disappointed. I've visited Benihana in multiple NYC locations and was always for the most part satisfied.
(2)Carla M.
Well... I'll say this. It's the first time I ate at a Benihana's that was less then expected. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because the waitress was a sweet girl. We ordered the Hibachi Chicken... 3 of them @ $19.00 each plus, 2 Hibachi steak and jumbo shrimp meals. Wow.. The chicken was dry and cold.. The only thing good was the onion soup that came with the meal. Actually, I take that back... The Macallan 12 year from the bar was better than the soup! It took forever for the food.. The vegetable tempura we ordered for the app came after our meal and right before our desert. We did eat in the bar area... Does that make for a good excuse for bad food??? Completely disappointed in this brand of restaurant. Why is it every restaurant in Orlando has been a mediocre/terrible meal?
(2)William I.
Good food. Average service.
(3)Michael Z.
Nice server, however, all 3 hibachi chicken dishes came out with dry chicken. Our friend asked for steamed vegetables but received fried vegetables. This is NOT the place to go if you are gluten or dairy sensitive. No clear options which creates a gamble. We came here yesterday and had s very nice experience. Today was completely different. That is not acceptable when you are going to such a well known chain.
(1)Tricia K.
I saw all the bad reviews on Yelp but I saw some 5 star reviews too & figured "how bad can it be?" Hubby felt for sushi & I was craving steak & lobster dipped in the Benihana shrimp (pink) sauce! We arrived & got a table immediately, despite not having a reservation. Red flag number 1! The waitress asked if we wanted extra soups or salads, we told her that my son would try it & we would order another soup if he liked it. She brought my soup & salad but never checked back to see if we wanted to order another soup, which we did because my son liked it! First I tried looking for our waitress who was no where to be found. Next I tried to make eye contact with the hostess, another waitress and the bus boy. I was totally ignored. Finally after quite a while, I started waving my arms in the air trying to get some attention but no one came to ask me what I needed. I was literally sitting in front of the camera waving my hands in the air like a crazy person and no one asked me what I wanted or needed!! Finally, I stopped the waitress at the table next to ours and asked her to send our waitress over. When our waitress came, her comment was, "I have your food!". I politely asked her for another soup. She eventually brought the soup after we received the other food. Hubby loved his Yuzu margarita & his sushi. My steak was over cooked & the lobster was cold. To top it all off, there was no pink sauce!!! Great! Bad service, cold, overlooked food & no pink sauce!! Lovely! The waitress said that she would bring me some spicy mayo. When I didn't get it, I went over to the sushi bar & got some myself. It was nothing like O am used to so I still had no sauce for my food. :( We overheard the table next to ours complaining about their food & the service (they had the same waitress as we did) but the manager never came to our table. When we finished eating, the waitress brought us two dirty take out containers which were dirty. She said it was just water but I pointed out to her that it was colored. She said that she would get us new containers. Thankfully, she brought us new (clean) containers & I quickly packed up my untouched food. She also brought my husband the other drink he ordered in a to go cup. Maybe she was new & overwhelmed but I don't think I have ever had such poor service! Take your money elsewhere. The food & service here is not worth your time or money.
(1)