Benihana — Restaurant in Dr. Phillips

I recently had an extremely disappointing experience at the Benihana in Orlando, Florida. As someone who has visited many Benihana locations across the United States, I can confidently say that this particular branch was by far the worst one I have ever experienced.

To start off, I had made a reservation for 7:30 pm, but I was not seated until 8:15 pm. The host kept promising that it would only be a 15-minute wait, but unfortunately, we ended up waiting a frustrating 45 minutes before being seated. This kind of delay is simply unacceptable.

Once we were finally seated, our experience with the waitress was absolutely terrible. It took her an incredibly long time to come and take our order. We had to wait and wait, and when she finally did place our order, she brought out the wrong drinks. It was only after further delay that she brought my son's drink, which turned out to be just a simple apple juice.

Our disappointment continued when we were served cold soup without any salad. As you can see in the picture I took, none of the guests had a salad with their meal. It took an unreasonably long time for the waitress to finally bring out the salads, leaving us hungry and frustrated.

To make matters worse, when my mother ordered a daiquiri, it arrived completely melted and spilled out of its glass. This kind of negligence is simply unacceptable for a restaurant of this caliber.

When I finally decided to voice my concerns to the manager, his attitude was appalling. It was clear that he had been informed by the host that I wanted to speak with him, as I saw him frown and roll his eyes before reluctantly approaching our table. He acted as if he had a problem speaking to me, which was highly unprofessional and disrespectful.

I expressed to the manager that the entire table's soup was cold, but instead of taking the initiative to suggest bringing us new soup, I had to specifically ask for hot, fresh soup. Similarly, I had to request a new drink for my mother. The manager showed a lack of willingness to assist and seemed indifferent to our concerns. This level of customer service is simply unacceptable.

It is disheartening to think that the poor treatment we received may have been influenced by the fact that all of the people at our table were black. I had forgotten that Florida has a reputation for being a racist state, and I certainly did not expect such discrimination in the Disney area.

To add to the frustration, even getting the check took an excessively long time. The waitress seemed to constantly disappear, leaving us waiting for an extended period. This kind of unavailability and lack of attention is extremely annoying and unprofessional.

Despite all the disappointments, I must acknowledge that the chef who prepared our food was the only positive aspect of our experience. He was skilled and entertaining, doing his best to salvage the evening. However, overall, the customer service outside of the chef's performance was incredibly poor and left a lasting negative impression.

I hope that Benihana takes these concerns seriously and addresses the issues at this particular location. As a loyal customer who has enjoyed great experiences at other Benihana restaurants, I am deeply disappointed by the service and treatment we received at the Orlando,...

We’ve been coming here for years. Most of the time we walk in but sometimes we have reservations. This time we reserved online for 12:30, we arrived 12:15. However, it was 1:30 and still no food. The host was rude and unprofessional. We are group of 5 and we were sat with another group of 5. The host told 2 people of my party to sit on the side of the wall and behind the chef. We asked to be re-arranged and we spoke with the other party, who were ok with it, but the host screamed “no they’re here celebrating Christmas!!” Like what?? We are also paying customers. The host was purposely giving them a better seat. My kids are beside the wall behind the chef not seeing any of the show. Afterwards, the host said, ok we can move 2 chairs over that he was planning to keep free. Why are you seating 10 on the same table? He then rudely pointed to the 2 chairs in the center and said you can use these ones. So he knows he’s giving us $hit seats. He handed in the menus mumbling unclear things and left. Why the hostility? He should have organized the groups properly, in the first place, so that people can seat comfortably on the table. Additionally, before coming, we called to confirm they have lunch menus and holidays menus. When we checked in, the host said they have lunch menus. Once at the table, we asked for lunch menus and they bring us holiday menus. Nobody knows what’s going on, they have to go and check and now double check. Once the lunch menus came, mine was dirty and disgusting. I honestly was going to leave but the kids were hungry and we were tight on time. After even more wait, it js 1:30 and still no chef. During that time, we saw a little spider drop down from the fan and get cooked on the grill. Then the chef came and cooked the orders, but forgot one of my party member’s dish. So, after everyone started enjoying their lunch, he had to wait for his dish to be made, causing him lose his appetite. Very disappointed. And kids menu are expensive my 12 yo ordered from the adult menu because it the same price. Normally it’s really busy and long waiting but now I know why!! Service is...

Are you looking for new and interesting ways of getting food poisoning?

Traditional food poisoning relies on you eating unprepared food. The new twist on an old favorite that Benihana on I-drive introduces is throwing an egg at you so that it explodes covering not only you but your table and utensils introducing salmonella.

I am understanding that accidents happen but what's unacceptable is how things are handled afterwards. My daughters pants and legs were covered in raw egg and my pants were covered. The table was contaminated as were the napkins and utensils. We were given a dirty rag to clean up Ourselves and we personally cleaned the egg off the table. While I have not posted pictures publicly of us or the table you can see one of some egg and shell on the floor which remained even as we left. The server Will was nowhere to be seen. We told the server no less than 3 times and it was only when we warned the server after our meal to be careful since the napkins still on the table where soaked in raw egg that he said "oh I thought the chef threw cooked egg on you".

That evening those of us that cleaned up the egg or got covered with it were violently ill. I called the restaurant manager to advise them to introduce better measures in such instances he mentioned talking to people to figure out what happened and he would get back to me, although he seemed more concerned they might have to report food poisoning. No call back has been received. I would at minium expect a server to get soap and water to clean up the table, provide new utensils or simply move tables. I would not expect this from any restaurant let alone one at the cost of Benihana. Please do better next time Benihana.

Also be advised the restaurant pressure patrons to post reviews while at the table by scanning a QR code. You will notice many 1 time reviewers and also reviewers from the same family at the same meal. The family that dined with us said no 2x and just walked out the door.

Despite the comments from the restaurant I have reached out as was suggested in the comment and have had...