Ted R.
Yelp
If you have been to Benihana in the last 15 years, you know the drill: the food is the same, the "show" is the same, the experience will be very, very familiar.
This review is specifically for the Maple Grove location. My previous version was in June 2021, and had I rated that total experience it would have been rated 2 stars. However, this visit (January 2022) was much improved.
If you read the other reviews, interestingly it's almost never the food or cooking show, or even the price, that leads to a bad review. It's bad service, which mostly means very, very, very long waits in getting seated, and getting served. So rather than review the food (which was excellent), or chef performance (which was excellent from Chef Sim), I will focus on some tips that will keep you from taking your Samori sword and plunging it into your stomach. (Not a good look for anyone.)
Pro Tip #1: Benihana is not inexpensive and there is probably no way to spend less than $100 a couple, although you certainly can spend WAY more with drinks ($14 for my wife's "Baby Blue Ocean") or appetizers, or other extras. However, you can save $30 by joining their Birthday Club which gives you a coupon that you can use for Monday through Thursday evening (with purchase of another entrée). That's a significant discount and we use it twice a year (once for each of our birthdays). You have to join the club in advance of your visit, have a hard copy of the coupon (not on your phone), and frequently show a photo ID. As a bonus, the birthday person also gets a free ice cream or sherbet. The coupon is good to the end of the month.
Pro Tip #2: The biggest Yelp complaint for Benihana is the wait. The secret is to make an early reservation; the later your reservation, the longer you are going to wait -- especially on a Friday or Saturday night (don't even think about coming without a reservation). Our reservation was at 5 pm. We got seated at 5 pm, but our order wasn't taken until 5:30, and we were actually served at 6 pm. That's a win compared to the wait by people with reservations at 7 or 8 pm. If you have kids, that wait is going to seem longer than the ice age. I guarantee you won't have enough Cheerios and Fruit Snacks to satisfy a toddler who is up late and tired,
Pro Tip #3: Plan on ordering the Chicken Fried Rice (as opposed to plain rice). It's an extra $6.10 per serving, but worth it.
Pro Tip #4: If you like hot tea, order a pot of it. It comes with the dinner, but no one asks for it. They will give you an entire pot of it if you ask (they would rather not refill your cup, so it's a win-win).
Pro Tip #5: You can ask for an extra salad or soup, if you don't like one or the other.
Pro Tip#6: They now include a 20% Service Charge, on the entire order, including the $30 coupon. So don't feel the need to add even more tip on top of that, unless you really want to. My bill for the food, including the discount for the $30 coupon was $53 for two people. However, the total bill that I paid was $75.18, including service charge and tax. It would have been over $100 without the coupon.
Ted's Pet Peeve: I like to eat most of my food together, as opposed to when the chef puts it on your plate, item by item. However, once the actual protein is served, the waitperson will ask "who wants a box" literally 5 to 10 minutes later. So, we sat down at 5 pm, ordered at 5:30, got our soup and salad at 6 pm, and got the Habatchi chicken at 6:30. Boxes were offered at 6:35 pm. Seriously. This is pretty typical for Benihana.