Benihana Chelsea — Restaurant in London

Our family are still in shock at the most appaling display of customer service I have ever experienced and Benihana is quite frankly a pitiful excuse for a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant. We will not be visiting this establishment again and would deter anyone else from spending their hard earned cash here. The birthday girl in our party, and organiser of the evening was in tears due to the inadequacy of the staff and the appalling woman, Janka, who has the audacity to call herself the manager, who could not even apologise for the events that took place.

On arrival we were greeted by an unwelcoming waitress. She was extremely defensive and blunt and would not initially accommodate a simple request to seat 2 large parties together. After about 10 minutes of back and forth, she reluctantly gave us a table together and at this point, I'm still not sure what the problem was with this request. The situation worsened as she spent the first hour of our evening basically arguing at the dinner table, in front of our entire family, about the use of an online voucher we wanted to redeem before finally pulling my mother away and discussing it away from everyone. This waitress was utterly inadequate in finding a resolution, had no professionalism and just seemed to want to argue. The situation was escalated to the manager Janka who was beyond useless, with zero customer service training or conflict resolution and a complete disgregard of customer satisfaction. Her words at one point were "this is not my problem". She had no intentions of finding any solution to the train wreck of an evening and had the mannerisms of a moody teenager. No apology was given by Janka at any point during the evening and her position should be re evaluated.

We had the chicken and prawn combo priced at £40 pp which was bland, dry beyond belief and as if it were prepared for a child trying solid food for the first time. The pawns were over cooked and shrivelled and the chicken was drier than the desert. The chef cooking food for the other half of our party forgot any seasoning, salt or sauce on the already dry chicken, leaving them with effectively, plain grilled chicken and boiled rice. I believe prisoners are fed better than this and they get fed for free. The reviews from people saying the food is delicious are completely delusional.

The evening was a shambles. A fun night for a family birthday was completely ruined by this establishment and it's staff. Our waitress Ivy was amazing and the only person who had the decency to apologise despite not even being part of the problem. Janka was completely inappropriate in placing the blame on the customer and her sheer inabilty to resolve the issue left us in disbelief. A deer caught in...

I'm going I be so real and honest right now. I spent £164 at this place and didn't even get my full meal.

So, I took my mother here on Wednesday night (01/02/2023) for a dinner out. I had such high hopes for the place, I have never experienced this kind of dining before so I really thought it would have been amazing.

The chef and staff were so friendly honestly can not complain about the customer service too much.

Here's the problem tho :/

Despite our chef being very friendly and talkative, he was extremely friendly to the other party that were sat at our table. They spoke to eachother in their ethnic language, so my mother and I didn't really know what they were saying.

They didn't do this throughout the meal, but it was done enough to be uncomfortable. On top of that, my mother and I were the only ones to order seafood.

My mom ordered the seafood palace, which was priced at £64 I think. She received 1 lobster tail, 3 prawns, 3 scallops, a fish and some rice.

The party across from us ordered beef steak dishes, so why were they each given prawns?

My mother is adamant she was meant to get some of those prawns but ended up not getting enough. I dunno if she is right but the amount she got doesn't seem worth the £64 to be honest, I'm sure she was meant to get more food.

Now, the food. So bland. No flavour. I didn't finish my meal and neither did my mom. Everything tasted like oil and heat. There wasn't anything flavourful.

I don't think I saw the chef add any seasoning. Not even a pinch of salt. They might not do that, but I think they should to give it some flavour. Because damn it was bad, and I like everything.

Lastly, toilets were a tip, so messy and none were flushed.

Okay enough negatives let's say what's good about this place.

The restaurant is honestly so pretty and the staff - despite the problem I had with our chef - are really friendly and pay attention.

We let them know my mother had a dairy allergy and they made sure to prevent contamination of the food, or give her sauces that were bad. I really liked that, I felt looked after.

I also really enjoyed the tricks and jokes the chef did, it was quite the experience, really good entertainment and I had some laughs here and there :)

Overall, this place was not worth the price and will definitely not...

Celebrating my brother's birthday at Benihana was an unforgettable experience filled with delightful surprises and delectable treats. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted with warmth and a personalized touch as the servers were already aware of the special occasion, adding a celebratory sign to our table.

The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the interactive chef, who skillfully entertained us with impressive knife tricks and culinary artistry right at our teppanyaki table. The showmanship added an exciting element to our dining experience, making it not just a meal but also an entertaining spectacle.

The Benihana onion soup was a standout dish for me, boasting rich flavors and comforting warmth. The Passion Dragon drink, with its tropical blend of flavors, was a delightful accompaniment to the meal, and I found myself savoring every sip.

The only hiccup we encountered was at the beginning when we were provided with just one menu for a table of six. However, this was quickly resolved after bringing it to the staff's attention, and they promptly supplied us with more menus. It was a minor inconvenience that didn't overshadow the overall positive experience.

The ambiance at Benihana was vibrant, with a pleasant atmosphere that encouraged us to relax and enjoy the company of our loved ones. The attentive and friendly staff ensured that our needs were met throughout the evening, adding to the overall enjoyment of the celebration.

In summary, Benihana proved to be an excellent choice for my brother's birthday celebration. The combination of entertaining teppanyaki experience, delicious dishes like the Benihana onion soup, and refreshing drinks like the Passion Dragon made it a memorable evening. While the initial menu hiccup was a slight drawback, the exceptional service and flavorsome cuisine more than made up for it. I would gladly return to Benihana for another special occasion or simply to indulge in their delightful...