Have you ever been to Benihana? Or any Hibachi place? I love these places: they are fun and when the food is also good, this is even better. This was our first time at Benihana: we talked about going there for years but never did until the Holidays where we thought that it would be a good dining experience after seeing a show on Broadway. As we arrived, we checked in for our reservation, but they told us that we had to wait a little. The reason was that they needed all the people sitting at the counter surrounding the hot grill to be present. Yes, unless you are a party of 8 people, you will have to share a table. It could be awkward depending on who you are sitting with, but you do not have to talk to them!

The fun part there is the little show that the Chef is performing and that you can see on the video below. The part with the onion and the volcano is always a crowd pleaser.

Food wise, you find classic Japanese items: tempura, gyoza, sashimi or rolls, in case you are not down for Hibachi, but I guess that someone in your party will have to get it otherwise they will probably sit you at a standard table so other people can benefit from the cooking by the Chef. So we both got the hibachi: tofu for Jodi (it was the only vegetarian option available and I should mention that they cook it on the same griddle) and the Hibachi Supreme for me: an 8.5 oz Chateaubriand (center piece of tenderloin) served with a grilled lobster. Whatever you will get with your oder will come gradually, as the Chef cooks it and not at all at once. For instance, on my side, after eating a soup that was not vegetarian (and they had no vegetarian soup for Jodi), I got the grilled vegetables, then the chicken fried rice, then shrimp, then lobster and finally the meat.

Everything was delicious and perfectly cooked, the meat literally melting in my mouth. But the one thing that impressed me the most was their fried rice that was superb! This is not your classic fried rice and it might be because of the amount of butter in it…I am drooling just thinking about it. The best was that I tried some of it that had extra egg in it, a request from a family sitting at our table.

Dessert was not an option as I was full after such a feast, but I am not sure there was anything special that I absolutely needed to try.

For a fun evening, Benihana is a great option. But if you go, get that fried rice with extra egg in it: you will not regret it!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Merci!

Benihana - 47 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

Benihana in NYC, NY

I Just Want To Eat!