Benihana - San Mateo

We came for lunch on a weekday after school. Our server John and our chef Armando made the birthday celebration for our 8 year old EXTRA special. Thank you both for giving the kids a great time!!! Attentive service is rare these days so when we receive it, we are grateful! Thank you again! We will be back soon!

Just tried the new Benihana at Bridgepointe Center in San Mateo for a celebratory work lunch. Our group was 8 so we had our own hibachi grill to ourselves. Love how they converted the old Red Robin restaurant to a Benihana. The interior was red and black with huge stainless steel vents over the grills. The place felt clean, fresh and new. Our server was engaging and attentive and our chef was very diligent in accommodating our food restrictions. Two of us were gluten-free plus I was allergic to seafood. Normally Benihana chefs just keep the meats and seafood separate on the grill but he cooked everything first before the seafood. He even showed us the gluten-free soy sauce bottle. Well-done, chef! Come for lunch; it's much more affordable than dinner and not crowded so you receive excellent service. Lunch Duet is the way to go: you get get a choice of 2 proteins, veggies, soup and rice for just under $30. The portion is just right. Tip: start eating your food once it's plated so it's hot. We were all being polite by waiting for everyone's food to cook, so needless to say some of our food was lukewarm. Otherwise, great fun! Will come again.

Brought my family to have boxing day lunch and this location did not disappoint. We made reservation and got sitted quickly upon arrival, and despite we are only getting the discounted lunch specials, we still got to see our chef showcased his skill while cooking our entree. Also, at the end of our meal, we got treated with a family photo. Would be back again!

Sherash offered impeccable service at our power hour lunchtime, Friday afternoon. The photo you see was a completed service after only 27 minutes from him taking our order. Our chef Brian came from the other Benihana locations (we recognized him from our past trips) and cooked up our food to perfection. I would highly recommend for a lunch break!

Staff is super friendly and food was amazing as always. We got their Wagyu Beef Special and it was the perfect amount of food + super tasty! They never disappoint 🔥 I have been to a few Benihana locations around the Bay Area and have always had such great experience. So glad they opened up a new location in the San Mateo Bridgepoint Shopping Center!

This was my first time in Benihana and i am glad we made the reservations beforehand. This place was jam packed and people were waiting for their turn to be seated. May be because it was a weekend, but still making reservations is highly recommended. Food was great, servers were nice and Chef was great. It was an entertaining experience. Not much vegetarian options on the menu, but as a vegetarian myself, i enjoyed my 5 course meal.

Celebrating a birthday on the evening of December 8 and we had the BEST time. Our server Mouhammad was absolutely fantastic. Attentive and kind, we really felt taken care of. Brian was a fantastic chef too. We loved the show and all the laughs. The host was also fantastic. What a great team! We will be back, thank you!

Same classic show, but this time we tried the fancy wagyu cuts and were genuinely surprised how great they were. Competitive with fancy steak houses and Omakase joints. Quite impressive for such a venerable chain.

Food is very good! I would definitely go here again. Service was outstanding as well.

Classic Benihana experience! I was so glad to have found this location, as I've missed Beni's since we moved from SJ. Having been to Beni's many a time, I knew what to expect. Let's break down what I mean by that: -If you're coming at a "peak time" (ex. 6pm), expect a wait even with a resy. -It will be smoky because of how they are setup, no matter where in the restaurant you are seated. All Teppanyaki places are like this. They do have adequate ventilation. -It will be a long dinner, so if you're bringing young kids, be prepared for that. Based on these expectations, we came prepared with our two young kids. And, we had a blast! My kids loved the "show", ate all the delicious food, and were asking when we can come back (like dang, let our wallets recover...LOL)! The cocktails were good - not too strong, and not too sweet. I find the food here to be consistent, and I always end up with leftovers. I love that they have rainbow sherbet as an ice cream option. My only real complaint is that the service was a bit slow - had to ask for multiple glasses of water since I kept running out and couldn't find our server, plus I had to ask for the check a couple times before it finally came. Otherwise, a stellar Beni's experience and I can't wait to bring the kids back!

Do not come to this location. This location should be shut down. I don't know why it opened. I am a postpartum mother that was taking her daughter outside to a restaurant for the first time. She has breathing issues so we booked a reservation for "bar" area, not interested in the show or smoke. Benihana has open bar seating, so if you're making a reservation on that side, it's to the tables at the bar that don't have a show. We waited for 45 minutes, fed our child in the waiting area, only to get them to try to seat this in the area where the shows are happening, where our daughter cannot breathe. When we specified we booked one on the other side of the house, they're telling us there's no way to make the reservation for the standard seating on the other side of the bar nor did they receive it from resy...the staff was cold, unempathetic, you can tell the manager is likely overworked for how little she cared for our daughter or our problem. We left starving. I am still healing and had nothing to take medication with. I truly regret booking this. Do not eat here. Burlingame is the better location hands down. Shut this one down. Ive never experienced service like this.

My wife and I dined at the new San Mateo location of Benihana. Although I was 'warned' by a neighbor of mine not to go, I decided against his wisdom thinking he may be wrong. Well, turns out he was right! We were seated on a corner table and I don't know what it was, but it seems I was next to the exhaust fan blowing at me all night from underneath the table!!! Not only was it super warm and noisy, my cloths smelled terrible when I got home. The food was so mediocre and service downright awful. The wait time ( after we were seated), the forgetting that my wife ordered fried rice (which they brought to her from the kitchen ) and the ridiculous prices they now charge... cuz they can. ($180 for 2 people , no drinks). I've Been going to Benihana's in Los Angeles since the mid 70s. I realized it's now owned by a big corporation but it is not even close to what it used to be. To be honest and short, it's pure garbage!!! The crazy thing is that it was packed ( Christmas Eve) and mostly young customers who I guess are easily impressed, specially after a few overpriced drinks. Never again!!!

this place recently opened by Bridgepoint Parkway in San Mateo/Foster City. I've been in their location in Burlingame on multiple occasions and have always enjoyed them. this new location however has more parking spaces sharing with other establishments in the plaza but still better than the other location I thought. When we walked in without reservations, we were greeted warmly by the host and the waitlist wasn't bad for just 20-30mins, eventhough it looked super packed on a Saturday night. The place is definitely new, with elegant decor and a much bigger space for accommodation. It is clean and looked highly managed. While we waited for our table to be ready for us, we elected to walk and wait at the bar area where it was elegant and cozy. We was greeted nicely by the bar tender "Parker" who showed us the menu and took our cocktail orders. We sat and chatted comfortably, didn't wait long for our drinks to be served and it was nicelly done. When I heard the host call my name because our hibachi table was ready. I Closed my tab at the bar and followed the host to our table. The table was clean and all ready and prepared for us when we got there. The server was pleasant and attentive. and when our chef came he was friendly. he made sure to double check our orders which was correct and he started his supposedly skilled grilling and cooking. But during it, it was just alright. Nothing so special with the presentation except seeing a mini mouse shaped fried rice. And he eventually forgot a couple of things we ordered and requested like an extra chicken fried rice and making our meat a little bit more cooked. but he resolved it anyhow right there then, and having our server bring our extra chicken fried rice from the kitchen. also noticed that the vegetable portions that was served with the hibachi are much lesser now. So after everything I thought it was just okay, just alright. which is surprising to me, specially for the price we pay for dinning in Benihana, as you all know, It is not cheap. I just felt that Ive had a nicer experience before that made it feel so worth it. maybe I'll try it again in the near future in the hopes that I'll have a better experience again next time!

We typically go to the Burlingame location, but this new San Mateo location is closer and we wanted to try it. We came on Thanksgiving day. Our reservation was at 4pm and we got seated right away. We were in a party of 6. We ordered drinks and food. We got our drinks right away. It was a mix of non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. I took a little while for our chef to come, but we had our soup and salad so were good. The shows were cool as usual. We ordered another round of drinks, but I think they forgot about those drinks because we finished our meal and were still waiting. The manager was making rounds and was asking how it's going. We told him about the drinks and he got them for us right away which was super nice. The new location is super nice and it was super clean. The bathrooms were clean and the parking of course is easy because it's in a shopping area.

I ordered take out and when I went home I found a staple in my chicken fried rice. I have not went back to Benihana in years because I always had a bad experience but today reminded me why I hate this chain, the food is so subpar and now I found a staple which if I didn't catch could've been dangerous! Avoid this place!

I used to love Benihana, but it seems like the show is lackluster and they are always understaffed. Maybe it's the empath in me, but seeing a whole table of people waiting for their teppanyaki chef for an hour, growing increasingly restless and annoyed, is not a good experience. I felt so bad for them. While this location isn't as pretty as the OG Burlingame location, it's new and nice inside. We had the unfortunate seating of being at the end, where all the smoke blew, so my son sadly smelled of hibachi for a while. Overall, I probably won't be back anytime soon. The only reason I go is the fried rice, and I think I can make it at home.

First time coming to this location since it opened. Food: yummy! Service: staff cared about our needs and wants. Ambiance: cool and casual! Looking forward to coming back but not every day because it's pricey !

We've been Benihana fans as long as we can remember. But hadn't been in over 10 years so we stopped by tonight. It's sad how things have digressed. Oddly the cook made the entrees first, and then he cooked the onions, zucchini and shrimp appetizers? None of us have ever had it served that way? The quality of the food was okay, but over all our group of 8 weren't very excited overall. This is a big letdown from how this restaurant use to be, so may bad changes

Super beautiful and clean place, with a very chill.host who sat us quickly and the waiter who took our orders quickly and even snapped a picture of us. Now here's the part about the show/food, probably what everyone's waiting for. If y'all know the football term "Garbage Time", then the Power Lunch is (in a good way) it. They send trainees and junior chefs as opposed to the old too funny to make it fun chefs. This allows them to train to make our food and also for us to eat at a cheaper price. Here's how it works: when you reserve online, select Power Lunch. You have to sit at a teppanyaki table AND you'll only be handed the power lunch menu to look at. We got four power lunch specials, two NY Steaks, one Fillet Mignon, and one Chicken breast for the picky eater. All the beef options cost $19.95, other ones cost $15.95 (Chicken, Shrimp, and Tofu). that's affordable considering it'd be twice as much on the regular menu. Our chef was pretty young and chill (didn't catch his name tho). Now here ate some components matching the regular five or six-course meal: The dish is cooked by the chef (obviously); Power Lunch can ONLY be done at the Teppan tables, 45 minutes or it's free! You get hibachi vegetables You get onion soup The chef does his awesome knife trick "practicing" while waiting for the food to finish cooking The medium-rare chicken joke. Here's some differences tho: The fried rice is premade (not by the chef); no fried rice heartbeat. However, it tastes very warm and fresh and not something taken off the steam tray. Tastes just like if the Teppan chef made it. No chicken fried rice either. None of the extreme tricks that I saw on the business insider review: no egg rolling/hidden egg, no onion volcano, none of that. Most of the tricks and jokes are knife centric. No hibachi shrimp or other fancy appetizer. The steak was cut very nicely and warm, and the vegetables were portioned out evenly. The chef was pretty good at specifications (see the medium rare joke earlier) while actually keeping the steaks medium rare. Taste is average, just salt and pepper... But the grill makes it have that "breath". Was the tradeoff for.the missing half show and two courses? Yeah, especially considering that doesn't impact the quality. Will come back.

New location in San Mateo. They were busy on this Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and yet took our reservation right away, sat us, and got us started immediately. They had a constant flow of customers coming in and waiting in lobby. Plenty of attentive staff on hand if you needed anything.and timely in clearing off empty dishes from the table. Nothing special about the ambiance. Fast pace and a bit noisy, which is to be expected of course. Many birthday celebrations being sung and shrieks of enjoyment from guests intrigued by their chef's tricks. The food was consistent for a Benihana location. Certainly pricey, but a good amount of food. I appreciate the variety of protein options and lots of veggies. I'd come back.

Came for the Power Lunch Deal and it was an excellent deal and experience. They bring out the fried rice to save on cooking time. The hibachi grill was used for the veggies and protein. Nice server named Tony and chef named Adan. Hostess was nice as well. Shrimp, chicken, and steak all cooked well and to our liking. Place is clean and the bathrooms are conveniently located near the entrance. Great weekday lunch deal!

I love to visit Benihana on my "Me Time" days. I tried this location since it's new and looked really cute. I was extremely disappointed with this location. I didn't realize all Benihana locations weren't created equal. It was almost as if this location didn't have the recipes. My shrimp Tempura came out and it had no flavor and wasn't served with the standard sauce but arrived with a ginger sauce (not supposed to be served with this). Then I had the Hibachi Shrimp with chicken fried rice and veggies, the shrimp was almost raw and somehow the rice was burnt. The rice was very crunchy with very very very very dry pieces of chicken in the rice. My soup was okay just could've been hotter, my salad was yummy that was correct. I ordered two cocktails during this time which came out delicious!

I went to this Benihana location this past Wednesday for my sons's 14th birthday and when I tell you I don't plan on going back. It took us about 35 minutes after being seated for our drink and appetizer order to be taken. After taken our drink order it took about another 20 minutes for the waiter to bring our drinks out. When the waiter brought the drinks out, he left them sitting on the tray and went over to the other table that he was waiting. It was taking so long that I thought about getting up and just giving my party their drinks. It took so long for our appetizers to come out that I told the waiter that I wanted to cancel it and he told me he had already put it in and it was impossible to cancel it so I told him just bring it. When my California rolls finally came out he didn't bring any forks. I asked another waiter to bring me a fork and he never came back. I didn't end up getting a fork until they brought out the salad which was right before the shift came out to cook the food. My California rolls were so mushy from sitting there for about 25 minutes. It was like everything came out at once and before we could finish the soup and the salad, the waiter was asking if we were done eating. We haven't even touched it yet because everything came out at one time. I had to tell him, can you please not touch my soup and salad I'm going to get to it. I'm just doing one thing at a time. When the chef finished cooking our food, I realized that my younger son only had steak. He's a super picky eater so he refused to eat the zucchini and onions, but he didn't get any rice or the corn that comes with the kids meal. So I called the manager over and I told him my son didn't receive his rice. He had this puzzled look on his face as if he didn't know the kids meal came with rice. Then I realized that he didn't get his corn so I called him over again and said that the chef never cooked my son's corn. He seemed puzzled again, like as if he didn't know that the meal came with corn and he brought it out from the back. Not to mention our waiter disappeared for about 40 minutes and some of us didn't get our drinks refilled until it was almost time to leave. It was just terrible service for our bill to have been $525. They don't have to ever worry about me coming back. I will go to the one in Burlingame, which I should've did in the first place.

One of the nicest Benihanas I've been too! Open design, nothing to cluster or overly crammed. We had the Wagyu and it was worth it all! Chef was whipping it up! Fried rice here is undefeated! No one can top Benihanas fried rice. Service was attentive. Highly recommend! Satisfying!

Wanted just happy hour, but with 4 of us, sitting in a line at the bar wouldn't do for conversation, so we chose a shared table inside, and had to order off dinner menu. It's fine, nothing spectacularly delicious given the pricing, personally would have been happier at the bar and will do that moving forward if ever I return. The staff-waiter and chef, were very good at their jobs. Uniforms were a bit dingy and dirty, but the service was excellent. If you gave a shellfish allergy, probably not the best place as we could not substitute the shrimp appetizer for anything else-well, maybe extra vegetables (which would have been 2 strips of shaved zucchini). But I'm sure this is a fun place to bring young children.

Amazing experience all around the server and chef were on point. Nailed all the tricks and everything was perfectly cooked. This one is way better than our local Benihana!

Props to Benihana for hooking up my half bday meal and honestly if they didn't id have no idea about the delicious burritos. Who woulda thought Benihanas has burritos and it was so delicious. The staff was really cool too. I really enjoyed myself

Service was great, Alex at the bar funny asf. Great food and ambiance. the workers and staff was nice as well

Absolutely terrible experience. We had a 4:00 PM reservation and still waited 45 minutes just to be seated. What is the point of a reservation if you're still going to be stuck waiting? They were clearly understaffed, and the poor management showed from the moment we walked in. The service was awful. Our waiter was inattentive, slow, and seemed completely uninterested in doing his job. We had to ask multiple times for basic things, and everything took forever. The food was mediocre at best, and the portion sizes were shockingly small -- more like something you'd serve a child, not an adult paying premium prices. For how expensive this place is, the value just isn't there. The hibachi chef added to the disappointment. He was not enthusiastic at all, barely interacted with the table, and rushed through the cooking. The so-called "show" was boring and lifeless, which defeats the entire purpose of coming to a hibachi restaurant in the first place. Overpriced, poorly run, bad service, tiny portions, and an unimpressive, boring show. Benihana has gone downhill badly. We won't be back.

This is my second time experiencing a racist encounter at this location. During my first visit, my food was served cold and I had to send it back multiple times. The Black party seated next to me had the same issues with their meals, but the non-Black party dining with us did not have those problems. It is very unprofessional to treat paying customers this way, especially when we choose to spend our money here when there are plenty of other restaurants to choose from. Based on my repeated experiences with disrespect and discrimination, I do not recommend this Benihana. There are other places you can visit without dealing with racial bias or unfair treatment.

Visited this location on 1/31 for lunch. The staff were very friendly and nice. The food was alright. We spent a little over $300 for 4 people, which felt acceptable since the kids had a good time.

This metal bolt in my food was not alarming enough for any staff to reach out! I have yet to hear back from management

Came in for a work dinner and overall it was just okay. I ordered the beef and shrimp hibachi with a side of fried rice. The flavors were decent, but the texture of the rice felt a little off, kind of mushy and not as expected. Service was fine, nothing special. Not bad, but nothing stood out either. Probably wouldn't go out of my way to come back.

We've been here a few times now and here are some things that have stuck out from our visits Negative: - we purchased the garlic butter and mustard sauce to go for home and they gave us a soup container that was only 1/4 full. - there's always a 30+ minute wait even when we have reservations - our shrimp was undercooked Positive: - clean bathrooms - chefs are actually enthusiastic and trying - they give samples of California rolls and potstickers when busy - they were accommodating when I asked to move our reservation to a earlier time It is a new location that opened a few months ago so I'm sure there are still a few things that need to be worked out.

We've been to this location a couple times and it's been great everytime. Most recently we had Kayla and Abel, and they were fantastic. We will be back.

Came here by myself on Wednesday for lunch. There was literally one other customer. Ordered a power lunch, super fast service. Food was good. Portion is a litttttle small for $20 but its good enough for me. Will definitely come again. Place is nice and clean. Nothing to be picky about. Just to reiterate, this was a Wednesday lunch. Food: 5/5 Atmosphere: 5/5 Service: 5/5

This is by far my favorite Benihana. It's clean and refreshing. I love that the employees go around making sure guests are fine and making sure requests are taken care of on time. A few managers came to our table also checking on us and making sure everything was good. I enjoyed this! I came last Saturday with family, and we had an awesome time. Our hibachi check did an excellent job with his tricks and keeping us entertained specially making my niece and nephew laugh. Our food was perfect! everything was cooked great and seasoned well. He also listened to every request we wanted which was also a huge plus. Overall, the food is always phenomenal, and we just enjoy every aspect of dining here. We'll be back again!

Staff were overwhelmed and not empathetic to long waits despite reservations.... It's a zoo here . Stay away

Do not waste your money here. I paid 23$ for Waygu fried rice, total lie, it was not Waygu (had grizzle) and I had tiny (1 mm each) chopped up pieces, barely 10 of them... complete rip off. Not only were there very few pieces of beef but there was only one tiny piece of egg and no veggies, too much pepper so basically I paid 23$ for 1 cup of rice and tiny bit of soy sauce and some pepper... ROI must be amazing on that, kudos Rocco whatever scammer, I forget your name ...

Well... food is fresh & good - if a bit "Benihana-specific", meaning: it doesn't quite taste the same as any other Japanese Japanese-ish restaurant with similar menu items. Maybe it's the sauces, the way it's prepared - not sure, really. It's Benihana. For the better or the worse. I like it, but... really, it's the price. I cannot believe this restaurant, or the chain can survive longterm at these prices. I used to go a few times a year... but by now, I think it's one time a year. I mean, there are probably quite a few ppl who have made it a tradition, going on a birthday, anniversary, holiday - plus the corporate get-togethers paid by someone else - but I can't believe that there's enough ppl like that, occasions like that, to keep a huge restaurant like this afloat. We paid about $300 (!!!) for two adults and one kid, one main dish for each (land and sea, Hibachi tuna, steak), one extra sushi item, no fancy drinks and no extra dessert, just a good tip. Too much to go more often, sorry! Even my teenage son - otherwise happily ignoring money matters - was hesitant to order - we had to tell him to just order and not look at the prices... Food quality and service make it 4 stars. Better forget about the price.

tl;dr: Better suited for families with young children. Recommend signing up for their free loyalty program or getting gift cards for extra discount! First time at Benihana in about 15 years. This location opened up in the last month. Inside was clean and spacious. Sake was surprisingly cheap: $16 for a carafe We went with the Benihana Trio, Rocky's choice, Yakisoba Noodle and also got an order of fried rice. The main difference between the 5 and 6 course meal is ice cream (vanilla, chocolate, green tea or rainbow sherbert). For 4 adults and 1 child, this was just enough food to feel satiated so don't feel like you need an entree for every person. If I just ordered the food, the price is expensive for the quality. The food didn't necessarily taste bad, but definitely not worth $50+ for a small portion of protein. A nice hack is to sign up for their Chef's Table loyalty program or get gift cards where they often run promotions (e.g. $60 off for a $200 GC). You are paying for the entertainment and from prior reviewers, your experience will dependent on your chef. Personally, I think its geared much better for younger children and I probably wouldn't come back if it was just a group of adults. For birthday celebrations, they give a complimentary ice cream (although this comes with several of the entrees). They also provided a complimentary photo, which was a nice touch.

Worst. Experience. Ever!!! They are obviously not ready to service customers. Our reservation was at 6:30. 2 hours later and still no chef to prepare our dinner. And this was my daughter's 18th birthday!!! Our "chef" had ZERO entertainment factor which is ultimately why you celebrate any occasion at Benihana. The manager's apology won't make up for my daughter's lousy birthday experience. 4 hours later and all we got was disappointment. To top it off our server was extremely rude and acted like she didn't have time for our request for a simple family photo. Absolutely HORRIBLE, The manager offered free prints of the photos they took on their camera that came out just as bad as their service. Save your money. This place wasn't worth my $400.

The place was very clean but a bit smoky. Our reservation was at 6:45 but we didn't get seated maybe until 20 minutes after so hopefully they can have this organized well . There were so many people waiting still even though they had their reservations. There was this husky guy who was saying if we are waiting for our reservations we can grab a drink at the bar a.k.a. Spend more money while you wait lol then someone asked if he was paying and he responded no but since you guys are just waiting, might as well waiting in the bar (kind of rude lol) Me and my husband went and got a drink anyways with our toddler and once our table was called another guy and a gray suit actually offered to hold our drinks for us because we had our hands full, which was actually nice . Small gestures goes a long way. The chef was nice, but I think he can be more entertaining. I was pretty much bored and our son lost interest lol but that's what toddlers do I guess I was hoping that the mini entertainment would have helped . The chef hats coloring sheet was not helpful because there wasn't much of anything to even color lol We got the Wagyu . I got the American ribeye Wagyu and my husband got the A5 broil, which was a lot better. since this is still new, I think there are some minor improvements that can be made .

I think it's the the motto of this restaurant that you got seated 40 minutes after your reservation time. We were told that the tables we are getting are paying the bills. I saw deserts were served 20 minutes past our time. I like some honesty from the server. Finally we got apologies from the managers. Food is nothing to write about. Burned and has only butter taste. Rice was still raw. I hope the new owners will bring some organization and food quality into the restaurant. The area was not clean in between customers.

Extremely slow service. We waited so long for just sushi. We were not looking at a hamachi service. Awful food! Very unimpressive how they handled customers. The salmon "sashimi" was clearly just defrosted salmon. Definitely not sushi grade. They are violating health code.

While most come for the hibachi grill and show, we sat at the bar and had a good experience. The food was just as good, and the service was top-notch. Bartenders were attentive, followed up to make sure everything was great, and were very aware and accommodating of my partner's food allergies -- which we really appreciated. shoutout to Martin and Carlos at the bar -- super friendly and gave great food and drink recs. Definitely worth a visit, especially if you're looking for a more relaxed setting with TVs to catch the game and great vibes all around.

Made a reservation. Couldn't get seated until entire party arrived. Our cook David was funny and nice. Managers walking around and watching like a hawk was very off putting. Micromanaging cooks. Food was very pricey and not that great (personal tatste) new location. We had a problem getting the receipt and when we finally got the receipt after waiting and speaking to multiple people it was the wrong receipt. Calling and speaking to costumer service was a nightmare. The place looked nice smaller not to great . Again personal preference. Personally will not be coming back.

2nd bad customer experience here , ordered a Couple of chicken fried rice for pick up for my 2 year old son, I showed up right when they said it would be ready , and I had to wait almost 30 minutes just to pick up my order that I had already paid for, it was sitting on the counter but apparently only the manager was able to give it to me wich was some short Asian man with glasses . Food was mediocre and rice was cold by the time I got it. They need a better system and or more people working because clearly they have poor management . Once again I would not recommend this location AT ALL. Sakura in San Carlos or Redwood City never disappoints. 0 stars

This is our first time at this new beautiful location and we were so impressed. The service from Tony was excellent- he was so kind, knowledgeable and accommodating to our group. He went above and beyond for us! We enjoyed the delicious food and show by Chef Dixon. He was great! Our birthday girls both felt special and celebrated. We will definitely be back!

Had some folks visiting from India so thought it would be a great experience for them !! The food was great and so was the service, our chef cld have been more friendly . But overall nice and my guests loved it too. The shrimps and the Diablo sauce were a hit too. We celebrated her bday as well

Benihana is always a great time. Their chicken fried rice is the best I've had so far at any Teppanyaki restaurants. This location is new - it feels fresh and clean. It remains a puzzle to me why Bay Area Benihanas average 3 stars on yelp. My favorite part is when they dump dollops of garlic butter on the fried rice. Yum! America! I had Teppan in Taiwan once, and the chef literally steamed the lobster with a lid and added a tiny cube of butter to finish it. It tasted as sad as it looked. I vividly remember what I thought at that moment: "I miss Benihana."

Wow, I would like to try it again in Foster City but it is way way too expensive for me. I can eat 2 dinners for the price they charge. Nice restaurant, nice atmosphere, nice convenient location, but just can't afford it.

Hi, Just had a triple birthday celebration at the San Mateo Benihana. The food was delicious and the service was fantastic. You have to try the Chateaubriand!

I ordered take out. They didn't leave any utensils and they forgot my drinks. Not ordering from here anymore.

Sad experience. Came here for Veterans Day and our drinks were late. Appetizers were late, came during the dinner and even the waiter forgot my son's milk shake. At the end when it came to tip, I was made to feel like I had to tip good. The waiter specified that the tip was for everyone, for the waiter and the chef. Maybe as a Marine my expectations are high but this is also supposed to be a better than average place.

I am writing to express my disappointment following my first order from your location, placed through the DoorDash app. I ordered the Family Meal for Two (Deluxe - Steak and Shrimp) for pickup. While at the restaurant, I kindly requested additional mustard and ginger sauce. I was surprised and disappointed to receive only 1 oz of each sauce per meal, especially as they were served in 2 oz containers and considering the size of the order. When I asked about receiving more, I was told there would be an extra charge by the manager, Esmeralda. I explained that if I were dining in, I could receive sauces freely from the chef, and the amount provided would exceed what I was given for a takeout meal. I left the restaurant feeling very dissatisfied with the service and lack of flexibility. This experience has left me frustrated and incredibly disappointed. I've always associated Benihana with quality food and excellent service, but today's visit did not meet those standards. Regrettably, I will not be ordering from this location again.

Great food. The performance is awesome. The only reason why they lost a star is because we had to wait for everything to start. Overall, great food and awesome ambiance. I love their show.