Benihana - San Francisco, CA

Review summary

1. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco1 review

   1.0

   Dined 1 day ago

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

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

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded today

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

   Is this helpful?

2. M

   Mia VIP

   San Francisco16 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 2 days ago

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

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

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 1 day ago

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

   Is this helpful?

3. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco1 review

   3.0

   Dined 3 days ago

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

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

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 2 days ago

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

   Is this helpful?

4. OT

   OpenTable Diner VIP

   San Francisco1 review

   1.0

   Dined 4 days ago

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

   Waited for 45 minutes after our reservation time and then took an hour and 15 minutes to get the chef to our table. The only thing they did was give us a free appetizer card to use at our next visit. Unacceptable and poor experience.
   

   Is this helpful?

5. C

   Celine

   Phoenix2 reviews

   1.0

   Dined 7 days ago

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

   The restaurant is freezing cold and the server has not a single smile for you. Took a good 10 minutes to get a reserved table when the restaurant was pretty empty. Food did not taste much. Dissapointing expencive dinner.
   

   Is this helpful?

6. G

   Gil VIP

   San Francisco5 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on March 11, 2025

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

   Our server, Anton, was great! He was super attentive and timely. It was the best service ever received at any Benihana location. We were seated at our reservation time. The food portion was generous. The chef was entertaining and cooked the food well yet efficiently.
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded 7 days ago

   Hey Gil, Thanks for the amazing review! We're thrilled to hear that you had the best service at our Benihana - San Francisco, CA location. It's great to know that you enjoyed our generous portions and our chef's entertainment. We strive to provide prompt and attentive service, and we're glad we hit the mark for you. We look forward to your next visit. Best, The Management Team
   

   Is this helpful?

7. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco2 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on March 4, 2025

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

   We had a wonderful time the food was very delicious and everyone was so nice
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded on March 5, 2025

   Dear Guest! Thanks for the feedback! We're thrilled to hear that you had a wonderful time at Benihana - San Francisco, CA and enjoyed our delicious food. We always aim to provide friendly, attentive service and it's great to know we hit the mark during your visit. We appreciate your kind words and look forward to serving you again soon.
   

   Is this helpful?

8. V

   Vikas VIP

   Las Vegas1 review

   1.0

   Dined on March 2, 2025

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

   Wait time 1 hr even though we had reservation No good
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded on March 3, 2025

   Hey Vikas, We're really sorry to hear about your recent experience at Benihana - San Francisco, CA. It's disappointing to know that you had to wait for such a long time, despite having a reservation. We strive to provide efficient service to all our guests, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Your feedback is important to us, and we will definitely take your comments into consideration as we continually work to improve our service. We hope you will give us another chance to serve you better in the future. Best Regards, The Management Team
   

   Is this helpful?

9. F

   Frank

   San Francisco1 review

   4.0

   Dined on March 2, 2025

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

   we waited an hour and a half past our reservation time. The lobby was packed with people and the people working there had no idea how long we would wait. It was ridiculous how long we had to wait after our reservation time. Other people just left because the wait was so long.
   

   Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded on March 4, 2025

   Thanks for the review, Frank. We're sorry to hear about the long wait you experienced. It's not typical of our guests' experience and we apologize for the inconvenience. We also regret any misunderstanding about your reservation time. We value your feedback and will use it to improve our service. We hope to serve you better in the future. Best, Benihana - San Francisco, CA Management Team
   

   Is this helpful?

10. S

    Sandra

    San Francisco8 reviews

    2.0

    Dined on March 2, 2025

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

    We made reservation on Open Table, arrived on time to a CROWDED wait area, then waited- standing for AN HOUR AND A HALF. Had 3 teenagers with us for my daughter’s birthday and I had a broken foot (otherwise we would have left). Host area is a joke. No one is brave enough to face all the frustrated people so they keep disappearing, and when they did appear, gave everyone the same line: “you have one table ahead of you.” They are completely overbooked, corporate restaurant not caring about a quality experience. I think I saw just four hibachi chefs for the whole room (20 tables?) There is a lot of time spent trying to sell you drinks (which we were not there for) by very nice servers, constantly apologizing. Frazzled Manager also politely apologized saying Open Table system overbooks them. Not sure if they take direct reservations? Chef was understated but funny and slow-pace focused - but steak and chicken were sadly overcooked this visit. Shrimp and scallops were great. Very difficult for a chef to balance all that timing, I get it, but was not successful this visit. Salad was way overdressed, soup fine, chicken fried rice was good - not as good as last visit. Seating extremely cramped. My teenagers have liked coming here, so it gets requested for birthdays, but there are too many great, unique (and not chain) restaurants in S.F. at same price, better quality, less crowded, more personalized service, better ambiance, more comfortable…for me to consider coming back here again. Time to put my foot down. Ouch.
    

    Benihana - San Francisco, CAResponded on March 5, 2025

    Thanks for the feedback, Sandra. We're sorry to hear about your experience at Benihana - San Francisco, CA. We apologize for the long wait and crowded seating. We're glad you enjoyed our food, especially the shrimp and scallops. Your feedback about the service and the quality of food is noted and will be shared with our team. We understand your concerns about finding a quality experience at a unique and comfortable restaurant. We value your input and hope to have the chance to serve you better in the future.
    

    Is this helpful?