Benihana

Came here for my wife’s Bday as she got a bday email for a meal in them. Forgot to read the fine print. They only accept it if PRINTED out. I’m sorry but in today’s world of mobile everything, group on and Unilocal,how do you use such an antiquated way of honoring your coupons and specials. Also really wish I would have read the reviews before coming here. Oh well, had a drink at the bar and left.

Well done! My wife and I brought my four year old son here for his birthday and we are glad that we did! The Staff made my son feel like he was the most special person in the world… his face when they sang ‘Happy Birthday’ — priceless. Thank you all for making a special day, such a memorable one.
The food was great… childs meal came out quickly (thank you)…also the kitchen was willing to let my son make a modification to his FAVORITE calamri.
Only drawback… our table was full. Therefore there wasn’t too much ‘wiggle room’- it may make sense to give a wee bit more room for families, so that we can enjoy much more. Regardless, the tight space was not enough of a negative to keep me from giving 4-​stars. We will come back– just the wife and I. :) Cheers, Benihana.

Really a shame, this place has gone downhill since I lived in Milwaukee years ago. I was back this past weekend with some friends for a card tournament and we decided to end the night with some Hibachi fun. Sadly didn’t turn out that way.
Upon entering, our name was taken and we were told there would be a wait so we could go to the bar or a nearby table until ours upstairs was ready. I asked how long they expected or where we were on the list since we had to drive back to Madison afterwards. They couldn’t tell me even a rough estimate which should have been a warning flag.
At the bar, the bartender who seemed unmotivated and in a poor mood was arguing with a woman who was on her cell phone. The woman was being incredibly rude, it sounded like she had complaints about her service and a dish, but she was talking on the phone while the bartender was trying to work it out with her and she wasn’t being very receptive. We sat for 10 minutes watching this transpire before even being greeted. Finally after 20 minutes I got up to check on our wait. I explained to them we were from out of town and had to leave after dinner, not in a pushy way at all but just so I could get some kind of inkling as to when we were going to eat. After they called upstairs and one of the employees from up there came down, they told me I could wait by the bar for more information. I explained we had already been doing that. Finally they said it would be just a few minutes.
After a few minutes we did get seated. Waited another 10 minutes for service, and our server was very awkward when she finally did arrive. Ultimately the chef came and was polite and the land and sea that several of us had was great (Filet Mignon, Scallops, + all the sides). He didn’t do much in the way of tricks, in the past at this franchise and other Hibachi’s there’s been fire and exciting knife throws, he just went through the motions and served us food.
At the end the server came by to give us our deserts, then rushed us into the bill process and ended up giving the wrong bill order to one of my friends. She corrected this and was not making any sense when talking to us at the table about it. Granted, it was exceptionally noisy in there, and while I like fun, lively atmospheres at Hibachi, it was hard to hold a conversation. We finally settled up and left.
I wouldn’t recommend them unless you are just overly in need of the food, as it was the one saving grace of our recent experience

So bummed & disappointed in our dinner! My sister nor I have ever been to a Benihana and honestly not sure we will ever again. We came in and the place looked like it hasn’t been remodeled since 1990. The hostess was nice & the sushi chef who brought us our sushi was nice. But our waitress, she couldn’t get our order right. She brought our shrimp tempura to a different table after we had been there 15 minutes and the other table barely 5. The sushi chef brought us our sushi. We asked the waitress about our shrimp tempura and she yelled across the dinner area, «Oh I brought it to the other table! Oh well we will make a new one.» Our sushi was at the best mediocre. Maybe it’s because I love sushi and have had a variety. The menu has very basic sushi, thought they would have specialty sushi with it being Benihana. I ordered the crunchy shrimp roll and it was okay. I also ordered the rainbow roll and only had one piece. It was dry and couldn’t finish it. My sister ordered the Alaskan roll and spider roll and only had a few pieces of each.
We were so disappointed. We have both only heard good things about Benihana. But now we both feel nauseous and not sure we will go to a Benihana again. Sorry.

The salmon was horrible and the sides are not the best. The restaurant is too small cuz they get so much service (I don’t really know why). I don’t recommend this plans if you are looking for good sushi. Nice location tho.

I loved this place. The food was fantastic. And the staff was friendly. We sat at a normal table and we had the chef that was preparing our meals also bring them out for us. I commend this locations for their hardworking, dedicated staff.
We started our meal with a nigiri roll and a philly roll and then ordered the filet mignon with a side of chicken fried rice for my entrée. And of course it was to die for!

I went there on a date and had a great time. I may not be a connoisseur when it comes to high quality hibachi restaurants, but having a 5 course meal (clear soup, salad, mixed vegetables, shrimp and rice, and a main entrée) and getting to watch a very talented professional chef work his magic for about $ 30 for a hibachi dinner seems like a great deal to me.

Not the consistency you expect from a chain restaurant. Service was poor from the hostess and waitress. This by far was the worst experience /​food, I have had at Benihana’s as this place is usually rock solid.

I am so torn as what to rate. When I got inside the décor is less than nice. Carpet is dirty, decode badly needs to be update and the setup is weird. I was asked to wait for a hibachi table to open and wait at the bar. After 10 mins I had to ask for a bar tender to get me a drink. He brought me a drink menu then left again. I had to hunt him down twice.
The tables are on the second floor which was a little nicer. And I was happy to see I wasn’t the only one in the restaurant. The staff upstairs was friendly be the customers were all so rude and demanding. They wanted everything but not pay. It is the first time I have actually felt bad for them. The quality of customers was all bad that it made me not want to go back because of them. I think there decent prices make for attracting the wrong caliber of customer. I will not be going back. But not due to the food or service. Simply because of the customers it attracts and quality of the setup.

Our party of 14 guests arrived promptly at 7 pm for our reservation to the downtown Milwaukee Benhiana. We were ushered to the bar immediately in an obvious attempt to force drinks on us before our meal. There is really not enough room for 14 people at their bar so we awkwardly waited around for 20 minutes before our table was ready.
Whoever the hostess was that evening appeared to by in some sort of physical or mental anguish, or at least her face displayed such feelings. Truly a woman with a foul disposition. She insisted that a 15 minute wait was standard at Benihana and gave no explanation for our wait for the table. When I make a reservation at 7 pm I want to be seated by 7:05 pm. Seriously.
The meal was typical for any Benihana restaurant with the same meat, rice and veggies with sauces. Probably a «B» grade meal. The drinks were good, but along with the meal were highly overpriced. This location certainly doesn’t warrant such high prices with out of date furnishings and average service from the staff.
Although hibachi style grills seem like fun, the entertainment value decreases after your first visit. For this price you could go to any steakhouse in downtown Milwaukee and have a much better experience.

I went with a friend for her birthday. Interestingly, I noticed many of the diners that night had a birthday.
The dining experience isn’t as exciting as other hibachi restaurants. The cook wasn’t entertaining. He was very quiet and he didn’t even try to catch our attention.
On the other hand, the food was good. I liked the flavor of the garlic rice. The chicken hibachi was nice and tender. However, the meal doesn’t stand out as amazing.
This place is decent if you come with a coupon, but remember to print the coupon. They won’t honor the deal if it’s on your phone. This happened to my friend. The nice thing is they still have her a free birthday dessert. It’s not a restaurant that I will frequent any time soon.

Went there with a group for dinner and the chef was very skilled. The food was great and the chef kept us very entertained with a variety of toss he used as well as doing the volcano.
It was my first experience at a place like this and it was enjoyable. Only reason for 4 star rating was that we waited for some time before they sat us and got our food going even though it was not very busy.

Old building, terrible décor, food was good but I have definitely had better. The ginger sauce made my friend live in the bathroom all night, however.

If I could give 0 stars I would. Had to ask multiple times for food or drinks. Wrong food was brought. Waitress was rude when we asked for drinks multiple times and we could see her just standing around talking with other employees. You’d think a restaurant in downtown Milwaukee would be better but they’ll never be getting another dime of my money.

Didn’t get to the food… we left after 5 mins…
I don’t know why I assumed this would be decent just. Because it’s good in NYC.
We called to check if we needed reservations for last minute dinner. They had us make reservations for 9pm… it was 8:48pm. Weird but Cool, we do valet. Come in to 2 hostesses who tell us it will be a 15 min wait while they sit a large party, we should wait at the bar…
The room was like half the size I thought it would be and was empty! No one was sitting down. It was just the large party occupying the bar area. So why did we need reservations?!
There’s only 2 grills and a bunch of smaller tables — this layout sucks!
We sit at the bar and after a while some guy comes out and starts talking to a lady from the large party. We aren’t acknowledged & I hear the lady say they’ve been waiting for 20 mins. Mind u some of them have drinks… no one has even said hi to us…
My husband right away goes on Unilocal & we’re like WTF time to go. Ugh… guess we got spoiled with all the other awesome non-​chain restaurants.

The hostesses were incredibly rude and treated us like we were a big inconvenience. Our server was great and the chef was fun, but the food was nothing more than mediocre. Hoped for more!

I am not sure what the hpye is, I have had better… The service was ok! Definitely overpriced. The food from the «wok» restaurant across the street was definitely better and cheaper.

in 2013 we went here for my birthday and it was nearly empty. We shared a grill with only 4 other people. Chef was mediocre, but nice, and they took our picture and gave me birthday ice cream. We had no coupon, and it was expensive.
In 2014 we went online and signed up for the birthday coupon. We made a reservation and it was PACKED. When we got there, we were 10 minutes early for our reservation, but they didn’t seat us until 35 minutes after our reservation time — 45 minute wait time is too much! The hostess did not provide us with an update, and when the table that we were sharing with other people was ready she neglected to come get us. I had to ask, «Are we in that party as well?» as she was heading up the stairs.
When we got to the grill there was a giant party immediately to our left and also in front of us. It consumed 2 – 3 grills. They were being so loud it ruined our entire dining experience, really. We couldn’t hear ourselves talk to enjoy the dinner. It was also freezing and we were sitting next to the window.
We had two servers that were nice enough, but we were often thirsty and had to ask a number of times for items. At the end, the 1^st server forgot to take the birthday coupon off, even though I had given it to him, but the 2^nd server brought the ice cream. The 2^nd server also took our picture, which the 1^st server blew off. It’s part of the birthday thing — something kinda hoakey that we do, I guess.
Your dining experience will be at the mercy of the other people at your table (it really sets the tone) and the enthusiasm of your chef (has the ability to continue or change the tone).
Our visit was a really confusing experience and the environment made it so unpleasant that I honestly don’t even remember what we ate. It’s really unfortunate because hibachi restaurants can be so fun, but we most likely will not be going back after this.

Had reservations for 8pm, didn’t get seated until 8:40pm. Then waited another 40min for our cook. Looks like they only had 4 cooks and 4 servers for the dozen plus or so full hibachi tables. The place seems very disorganized compared to other Benihanas I’ve been to (Anahiem, Las Vegas). I would have to say this is the worst one I’ve been to.
The food was really good and up to the normal Benihana standard I’m used to but the service was extremely slow. It’s not like they forgot things, it’s more that it was so slow I was looking on open table for other places. The building could stand to be remodeled and updated too.
I think they need to close this location remodel both the building and the management /​service. The Benihana franchise should be ashamed of this location for its service. The food is good though and the cook was funny and great.

Descriptive phrase: dated, but tasty, hibachi-​grill.
The Benihana in Westown, on the river and across from Pere Marquette Park, is a restaurant of highs and lows.
Katie K. and I came solely because they give out a $ 30 gift card for your birthday when you sign up for their email list. That’s the best birthday freebie you’re going to find around.
The location is fantastic, right on the River Walk. But there’s something about Westown, that no place seems to utilize their spots as well as they should. Benihana doesn’t draw you in from the outside, and it was hard to tell where the front door was.
When we walked in we were greeted immediately and asked if we were having sushi or hibachi. Apparently the first floor is sushi-​only (it was empty). We said hibachi and she kind of just walked away. As we stood there, she looked back and said «Well, go upstairs.» Kind of rude.
The upstairs is a large area with hibachi grills stationed every 10 feet or so. There were more people up there. We were seated at a grill with a family of 5, two of whom were also celebrating birthdays. The entire restaurant is just too dated. I felt like I was transported back to the 80s. A face lift would do this place wonders.
Our servers from here on out were fantastic. I had a glass of Hakutsuru Excellent saki ($ 7). True to its name, it was excellent. Most meals come with a soup (mushroom that night, tasty) and a salad (I’m never crazy about Asian salads). It was a while until our hibachi master came out. He was pretty funny, and very entertaining. Our meal also came with a shrimp appetizer, grilled up. These tasted extremely fresh and succulent.
We ordered the Filet Mignon ($ 25.50) and Hibachi Scallops ($ 25) to split each, and I changed my white rice to chicken-​fried for another $ 3.50. Worth it in my opinion. My filet was perfectly grilled up, and the scallops were good as well. They even grilled an extra when one dropped off the grill.
The birthday people all got free ice cream as well.
Overall, our food was absolutely delicious, and the portions were generous. Benihana knows how to do the eats portion, and the show, but they need to work on appearances and upfront-​service. If you can accept these couple issues, and the ~$ 36 per person (though you get your money’s worth), Benihana is a worthwhile food stop. That being said, it’s no destination in Milwaukee.