Benihana — Restaurant in Beachwood

The 2 star rating is reflected on (what was suppose to be) the hibachi grill experience. We arrived 8:15 PM in time for our reservation, and was standing by the stairs and was not greeted for check in until 8:24 PM. During this time, there was a large table still waiting to be seated at a hibachi grill... (this will be important later on). I knew at that point it would be awhile until we actually get our food.

I inquired on the wait time considering our reservation and expectation to be seated at a grill within minutes of arriving but the hostess admitted that they were behind (I assume because of the lack of hibachi chefs) and said it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes.

I looked around the restaurant during this time and it looked severely understaffed. 830 PM rolled along and nothing... so I inquired about sitting in the bar area and ditching the hibachi experience, which was 110% okay with us because we were just hungry.

We were sat IMMEDIATELY after opting in for bar seating. There was only 1 female bartender for the entire restaurant and she was also in charge of all guests in the bar seating and surrounding area. We weren't greeted right away, because she was busy making cocktails and drinks, but that gave us time to figure out our entire meal selection before she arrived. When she finally greeted us, we ordered our drinks and food choices immediately.

We ordered a spicy tuna crispy rice appetizer, steak yakisoba noodles made medium, hibachi steak made medium rare with chicken fried rice (extra charge), and an iced tea.

We received the soup and the salad within 5 minutes of placing our order, and the meals were served probably 15 minutes after. Everything came out hot and delicious. Sadly, the appetizer came out 5 minutes after our meals were already on the table. The steak yakisoba noodles were a tad oily, but the vegetables and steak were flavourful and well seasoned. The hibachi steak came out more like a medium than a medium rare but it was still good. The chicken fried rice was incredibly delicious.

No real complaints about the food and service at the bar. I'd actually give it a solid 4/5. Shirley (sorry if the spelling is incorrect) was kind, knowledgable and efficient - considering she was running the bar for the entire restaurant. From the time we sat at the bar area around 8:35 PM, from the food being ordered, served and finished, we paid and left at 9:25 PM. This restaurant is on par with our average date night of $100.

Upon leaving, we passed the hibachi tables in the main dining area and realized the table that was seated for the hibachi experience when we arrived for our reservation (as mentioned above), STILL DIDN'T HAVE FOOD ON THEIR PLATE or have the chef infront of them starting their meals. Needless to say, had my husband and I waited for the hibachi experience, we would've probably would've been there for a good 2.5 hours.

Beware of the wait time for your hibachi experience. If the hibachi show is your reason, then be prepared for the wait, but if you don't mind skipping the show, then opt in for the...

Horrible service. I was very surprised that the service was so bad. My daughter found some coupons and thought it would be great to gather here for her and my sons birthday. It was a birthday outing for immediate family and we brought a cake for a group of six. When we were seated, our server never officially greeted us, welcomed us or told us her name. We even said we are here to celebrate birthdays and never once did she acknowledge the birthdays. We had a cake that another young man took to refrigerate when he initially seated us. Her first words are "before we get started" and proceeded with a long list of disclaimers and things that were not really true to the menu and said it would be extra. A few menu items listed as combination to order according to her were not really combined as written on the menu and an upcharge would occur. The gentleman who prepared our food was the opposite, and provided the experience you come for. The food was good but he was a little slow and by the time he got everything on your plate the rest was cold. He was pleasant though so okay. So now it's time to pay the check and they don't honor the coupons for the birthdays. They say they don't honor them on the weekend. My adult children were upset about it. I calmed them...no big scene. It's Friday night and the disclaimer for that was not noticed on the coupon. Oh well it's okay. I got it. The Horrible thing though is that the server began to treat us really bad, offering service to others at our grouping and bypassing us, as though we did something wrong to question about the coupon. Mind you, the coupon was mentioned when reservation was made. The server also began rolling her eyes, and doing passive aggressive things. My husband said what is going on? Something is not right here. Its expensive and we pay for a good experience! I saw a man thought to be a manager and asked him why she was not serving us and he said well I pulled her from the table. When we asked why his response was due to the misunderstanding about the coupon. Mind you we did not raise our voices, we did not cause a scene. My son got up and politely went to reception area to inquire with the manager on the whole coupon thing but it was tactful Even though we were not happy, it really was not that serious? I just never spent $300+ for horrible service, a terrible experience and okay food. The server was also was very threatening and passive aggressive to us with her glares, eye rolling, unwelcoming personality. Guest should not know if you are having a bad day. I think it was the case. We Will never go back and I will definitely let all my family, friends and colleagues know to never go to this restaurant. Trust me, we are not hard to please so if I say it was...

I have been a loyal Benihana customer for years, visiting some of their busiest locations from New York to Burlington to Dearborn — but I have never experienced anything as unprofessional and disappointing as the Cleveland, OH branch.

My friend and I drove an hour from Mogadore for our 7:30 pm reservation. We arrived on time, only to find three groups ahead of us at the reception and no host at the door for 8 full minutes. When a woman named Charmain finally appeared, I witnessed her tell the group before me they’d have to wait an hour because they were “a little bit behind,” and that the reservation “doesn’t mean we stick to the time — it just means we guarantee you a table when a chef is available.” No apology. That group left.

When it was my turn, Charmain told me the same thing — to wait an hour in the lobby. After exactly an hour, we were finally seated, only to be told by our very polite and friendly servers (the only positive part of the night) that the chef would need another 45 minutes. We ordered edamame and a small sushi roll to hold us over. Even the salads, soup, and drinks took another 15 minutes to arrive.

At 9:45 pm — more than two hours after our reservation — I asked our waitress for the name of the hostess who had lied to me. Only then, moments later, did Charmain finally come over to “apologize” — imagine, it took her over two hours to even bother. She casually explained there were only two chefs in the entire restaurant and pointed at the one who was still cooking rice for another table.

Frustrated, I told her to bring me the check. She looked at me and said, “You’re good,” as if she had decided not to charge me. That was not the point — I insisted on paying because a $28 appetizer bill does not fix a night that was completely ruined.

On top of that, the cleanliness was shocking. The restroom was a disgrace — an outright public health hazard, filthy beyond belief. The restaurant floor was dirty, littered with straws, napkins, and trash after each table left, and no one cleaned it. The plates we were given were stained and looked unwashed.

We left the restaurant at 10:00 pm and got home at 11:00 pm — after leaving our house at 6:30 pm — with nothing but salad, soup, and drinks. They couldn’t even manage to bring the edamame.

Charmain — who I believe is the manager — should learn from the two outstanding servers (the young man and young woman) on how to smile and treat guests with basic respect. It is unacceptable to waste people’s time like this, especially when you know you only have two chefs in the kitchen. This was carelessness on a...