Benihana - Cupertino, CA

Review summary

1. C

   Charles

   San Francisco11 reviews

   1.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 1

   I recently had an extremely disappointing experience at Benihana in Cupertino. I had an 8:15 PM reservation but wasn’t seated until 9:31 PM—nearly 80 minutes late. What made the situation worse was the unprofessional behavior of the managers that night. Despite being significantly behind on seating tables, they failed to close off reservations. A group of eight with a 9:00 PM reservation, as well as another group of 6 with an 8:40 PM reservation, were seated before me. When I asked the manager about the delay, she simply blamed it on the size of the party, claiming that an eight-person group warranted immediate seating over others waiting—a rationale that made little sense given the circumstances. What’s bad is that my group and another of 4 with 8 PM reservations were both waiting. The issues didn’t stop there. Martha, the manager in an all-black suit, publicly berated a young employee in front of a lobby full of upset diners when someone inquired about the wait time. Another manager in a light gray suit was equally unprofessional—shaking her head, yelling at staff, and speaking in Spanish about the situation without any regard for the guests who were left waiting. After finally being seated, we had to wait an additional 40 minutes before the cook even came to the table. Meanwhile, a family with two young girls next to us eventually left as it was well past 10 PM and the children were too tired. One would expect at least a complimentary gesture—such as a soda or a fried rice upgrade—to acknowledge the poor service, but nothing was offered, not even a sincere apology. When I asked why they were still taking reservations through OpenTable and in person under such circumstances, the response was dismissive, suggesting I shouldn’t worry about their business. Overall, the experience was utterly unacceptable. 8:25 reservation and left at 11;20. We didn’t finish the food as we were now rushed to eat with the staff literally walking past us saying by to other staff
   

   Benihana - Cupertino, CAResponded today

   Thanks for the feedback, Charles. We're deeply sorry for your recent experience at Benihana - Cupertino. We understand how frustrating it can be to wait, especially when you have a reservation. We take your comments about the unprofessional behavior of our staff very seriously and will address this with our team. We also understand your concerns about the delay and the unprofessional behavior of our managers. We're working on improving these issues. We hope you'll give us another chance to provide the excellent service we're known for. Best, The Management Team
   

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2. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco16 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Went with elementary age kids and they had a blast. They are generally picky and wary of unfamiliar food, but they tried several new things. Maybe because it was part of a fun new experience. Like most restaurants of this variety that you find in the US, this is not a gourmet meal or particularly authentic Japanese food. It feels a little akin to having a meal at a theme park restaurant. But the kids loved it and ate well, 5 stars from one and 4.75 from the other, so I would rate it highly as a family restaurant. Our chef Heli and server Roger did a great job.
   

   Benihana - Cupertino, CAResponded today

   Thanks for the review! We're thrilled to hear that you and your kids had a great time at Benihana - Cupertino, CA. We appreciate your feedback and know that your family's positive experience with us made your visit that much better. We're glad you found our food enjoyable and the kids enjoyed trying new things. We strive to provide a unique and fun dining experience and your feedback lets us know we're on the right track. We look forward to welcoming you back soon. Thanks again!
   

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3. EZ

   EricaZ

   San Francisco2 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Salvador made amazing food, and Casee provided excellent service.
   

   Benihana - Cupertino, CAResponded today

   Thanks for the feedback, Erica! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the food and service at Benihana - Cupertino, CA. It's always our goal to provide our guests with excellent meals and service. Your kind words mean a lot to us. We hope to see you again soon!
   

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4. SN

   SNelson VIP

   San Francisco66 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   The reservation system is the absolute worst. It doesn’t matter that you have a reservation, you still have to wait an hour to be seated. It would be great otherwise.
   

   Benihana - Cupertino, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Hey Nelson, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed our food and service at Benihana - Cupertino, CA. We understand that waiting for a table can be frustrating and we're sorry for the inconvenience you experienced. We're always looking for ways to improve our guest experience and your feedback is invaluable to us. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again soon. Best, The Management Team
   

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5. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Tahoe1 review

   1.0

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Not sure if it’s normal or if it was an off night but people with reservations were waiting an hour to be seated. Our server was MIA. Everything felt chaotic. Sad experience considering most people are going there to celebrate some event only to be met with a sub par experience. If you have low expectations you’ll be fine.
   

   Benihana - Cupertino, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Dear Guest! We're truly sorry to hear about your recent experience at Benihana - Cupertino, CA. It's our goal to provide an enjoyable dining experience for all our guests, and it's clear we fell short during your visit. We apologize for the long wait you experienced and the inconvenience caused by the service. We also regret that our food did not meet your expectations. We're constantly working on improving our services and your feedback is invaluable in this process. We hope you'll give us another chance to make it right in the future. Best regards, The Management Team
   

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6. N

   Nancy

   San Francisco1 review

   1.0

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Can’t rate the food because we didn’t get to eat. Or even seated. Despite a reservation at 5:15, and a conversation with the hostess about why we weren’t being seated, 40 minutes passed and we rushed away in order to get food before we needed to be elsewhere. Although we were called about 10 minutes later and apologized to, the problem solely rests with Benihana, as they require reservations, they check with you the day before, and sometimes the day of, to confirm the reservation, so they have a very good count of the number of customers and the timing.
   

   Benihana - Cupertino, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Hi Nancy, We're truly sorry to hear about your recent experience at Benihana - Cupertino, CA. We understand that waiting without being seated can be frustrating, especially when you have a reservation. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by our delay in seating you despite having a reservation. We're taking your feedback seriously and will address this issue with our team to prevent similar issues in the future. We hope you'll give us another chance to serve you better. Best, The Management Team
   

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7. OT

   OpenTable Diner VIP

   San Francisco1 review

   4.0

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   Fun, but very crowded. We went at 445 and it was still full. When we left there was a line outside. Kids loved it
   

   Benihana - Cupertino, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Dear Guest! Thanks for visiting us at Benihana - Cupertino, CA. We're thrilled to hear that you and your kids enjoyed your experience with us! We understand that the restaurant was a bit crowded during your visit and we apologize if the wait to leave was longer than expected. We're glad to know that you still had a great time and we appreciate your feedback. We hope to see you again soon!
   

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8. B

   Blau

   San Francisco3 reviews

   1.0

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Showed up 10 minutes early for my 8:30 PM reservation, thinking I’d be smart and beat the rush. It’s now 10 PM, and I’ve just been graced with a bowl of lukewarm mushroom soup. At this point, I could’ve flown to Japan, foraged the mushrooms myself, and still eaten faster. The food? Overhyped and underwhelming. You’d think after a 90-minute wait, the flavors would blow my mind. Spoiler: they didn’t. It’s just basic hibachi at a premium price, but somehow with none of the finesse or consistency. The atmosphere is pure chaos — noisy, crowded, and not in the fun lively kind of way. More like “trapped in a mall food court during a fire drill.” Add in some sluggish service that moves like molasses in January, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for regret. Benihana: come for the show, stay because you literally have no other choice until the chef finally shows up. Never again.
   

   Benihana - Cupertino, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Thanks for the review, Blau. We're genuinely sorry to hear that your experience at Benihana - Cupertino, CA didn't meet your expectations. We understand your disappointment with the food and service timing. We strive to provide an enjoyable dining experience for all our guests and it seems we fell short this time. Your feedback is valuable to us and we'll certainly take it into consideration as we continuously work on improving our guests' experiences. We hope you'll give us another chance in the future to show you the kind of experience we're known for. Sincerely, The Management Team
   

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9. R

   Rashi

   San Francisco1 review

   5.0

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Our chef David and server Monalisa were awesome! We had the best service and food at benihana !
   

   Benihana - Cupertino, CAResponded 1 day ago

   Thanks for visiting us, Rashi! We're thrilled to hear that you had an awesome experience at Benihana - Cupertino, CA. It's fantastic to know that our team made your visit enjoyable and that you enjoyed our food and service. We strive to provide the best for our guests and your feedback is a testament to that. We look forward to serving you again soon!
   

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10. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco1 review

    3.0

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2

    Waited 30-45 minutes for table with reservation. Waitress was not happy and made no effort to connect with us. It was impossible to hear
    

    Benihana - Cupertino, CAResponded 1 day ago

    Dear Guest! Thanks for visiting us at Benihana - Cupertino, CA. We're sorry to hear about your experience with the wait time and service. We strive to provide excellent service to all our guests and it seems we fell short during your visit. We appreciate your feedback and will use it to improve. We hope you'll give us another chance to provide you with a better dining experience in the future. Best regards, The Management Team
    

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