Benihana - Santa Monica, CA

3.9 (4234)

$30 and under

Japanese

1447 4th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Make a reservation

Benihana - Santa Monica, CA

3.9

$30 and under

Japanese

Santa Monica

Make a reservation

2 people

May 29, 2026

7:00 PM

Booked 70 times today

About this restaurant

Good for special occasions
Good for groups
Healthy

Welcome to Benihana, a dining experience unlike any other! Our guests are seated at communal tables in groups, where your personal chef will perform the ancient art of Teppanyaki. Watch as we slice and dice, preparing a meal that will dazzle your eyes as well taste buds, whether you choose mouth-watering steak, tender chicken or succulent seafood. You can also enjoy sushi prepared by a talented sushi chef and indulge in a specialty cocktail.

To make your experience even more rewarding, don’t miss out on our new loyalty program, Friends With Benefits! Instantly unlock member status and get a free appetizer reward to enjoy during your next dining visit. Register today by visiting our website or ask your server for more details.

Dining areas

Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Japanese
Hours of operation
Mon–Thu, Sun 11:00 am–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 11:00 am–11:00 pm
Phone number
(213) 261-8685
Website
https://www.benihana.com/
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Smart Casual
Catering
Spice up your next gathering with Benihana catering! Our perfectly portioned hibachi entrees, sides, and sushi platters are guaranteed to wow your guests. Place your order at least 3 hours in advance and indulge in a full flavor experience. https://www.benihana.com/catering/
Delivery & takeout
Order direct

Location
1447 4th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Neighborhood
Santa Monica
Cross street
Between Broadway and 4th St
Parking details
Street Parking
Additional
Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Delivery, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking, Vegan, Wine

Concierge
AI Beta

Our AI assistant, Concierge, is here to answer your questions about this restaurant.

What 4,234 people are saying

Benihana - Santa Monica, CA reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

3.9

3.9 based on recent ratings

4.1Food
3.8Service
3.8Ambience
3.7Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

Westside
Kid-friendly
Westside
Most Booked 1000-Point Tables

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews

Benihana in Santa Monica offers a lively dining experience featuring talented chefs like Andre and Joey, who deliver "excellent service" and "great food." While some guests have faced delays and service issues, standout staff members like Farouk and Erica ensure memorable visits. The hibachi show and delicious dishes, including the "wagyu tokyo broil," make it a favorite for celebrations.

4,234 Reviews

OT
OpenTable Diner
Atlanta1 review
1.0
Dined 6 days ago
1. Overall 1
2. Food 1
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 1
Food quality overall is poor. Not the chef he cooked it to perfection. Appetizer shrimp are regular or same size as entree. Yum yum sauce has new ingredients, not good at all. Just as a frequent flyer ver disappointed
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M
Michael
San Diego1 review
3.0
Dined on May 17, 2026
1. Overall 3
2. Food 5
3. Service 2
4. Ambience 3
Everything was excellent I would say except having to wait an hour for a chef at the table
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K
Kaylin
Los Angeles5 reviews
5.0
Dined on May 16, 2026
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Aidan, who was our server, and Andre, who was our chef, both provided excellent service and made my half-birthday celebration very memorable!
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J
Jackie
San Diego7 reviews
4.0
Dined on May 16, 2026
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 3
Our chef was awesome. Super nice and the food was delicious. The portions seem smaller though and the prices higher which was a bummer. Service was decent but could have been better.
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R
Ryan Gold
Los Angeles1 review
1.0
Dined on May 15, 2026
1. Overall 1
2. Food 4
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 3
I had a downright unacceptable experience. All 4 people at our table had their orders significantly messed up in some way. The server was absent and unapologetic. It was such a lousy experience that I didn't even feel like complaining to the manager because there's no way I'd come back to this location short of it being free. Full experience: I had a party of 2. We were seated right on time with another couple. The hostesses were prompt and friendly. The server came by after a few minutes and took our drink and food orders. There was a bit of a delay but we were there at 5pm at the start of dinner so I didn’t think much of the delay. All 4 of us at the table ordered full Teppan meals (consisting of 6 courses: salad, soup, veggies, rice, meat, dessert). He returned with drinks and left. The Teppan chef arrived about 10 minutes later and began cooking. We were served our fried rice, meat, and veggies by the Teppan chef. The Teppan chef was great. No issues there. We finished the food that we were served wondering if our server would come back with the rest of our order (salad, soup, dessert). After the Teppan chef left, our server returned with the bill. We asked him about where the rest of our order was. He asked if we wanted that food to-go. No apology, no explanation, not even a mild indication that he'd taken our orders and then just ghosted us (he remembered to charge us extra for fried rice). We took the rest of our order to-go left. The other couple were also visibly agitated and asked the server why they didn’t get what they ordered. Ultimately they decided just to pay and leave early. We saw other tables getting salads and soups (from other servers)w and were generally able to get a hold of their server when needed but not us. I'm sure I could've gotten the server reprimanded...maybe that would've been the "right" thing to do so the next table didn't get this same lousy service but we were there for my wife's birthday so I wasn't in the mood to argue.
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A
Alvin
Los Angeles1 review
2.0
Dined on May 11, 2026
1. Overall 2
2. Food 1
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 2
It's been a hot minute since I've dined here - back when the prices are not laughably exorbitant and the quality of food was decent to good at best. The prices here have skyrocketed while the quality of food has regressed to something I wouldn't feed to my worst enemy if I'm in Iran right now. The garlic butter which was/is their staple when it's added to their chicken fried rice now taste like something you buy at Ralphs...oh sorry the garlic butter at Ralphs is heaps better. No flavor at all and that thing was decadently added by the hibachi chef. The mushroom soup should be called fried onion soup since there were 2-3 pieces of mushrooms on it and a whole lot of fried onions. The steaks, salmon and shrimp mains we got all tasted of salt, salt and a pinch of pepper. Just put some MSG at it to at least enhance the flavor profile...even those with long covid will complain about the one dimensional flavor profile of the food. Hey at least the tuna tartare we got was dry as a dollar general flushable wipe. There was no taste at all - might as well 86 it if the people who prepared it don't know how to do it. The server and the chef gave good service but I can get that in a holiday inn too and those are cheaper than what I got here. If you are going to charge high hundreds for food - put some care on the quality of what you are offering! Even Marlon Brando wouldn't use that garlic butter if you put it in stick form for that scene in Last Tango in Paris since that slop you gave us is far more offensive than that scene.
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K
Keisha
Los Angeles1 review
5.0
Dined on May 10, 2026
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Our host Jameela was very gracious and thorough. She got us to the table quickly and came back twice to check on us. Nikos was our server and he was very attentive, polite overall a pleasure. Our cook, I believe his name was Javier was very Benihana-ish , quick and on point
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E
Ellie Gold
Detroit1 review
1.0
Dined on May 10, 2026
1. Overall 1
2. Food 3
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 1
Our reservation was at 7:45 and we didn’t get seated until 8:45. It took the chef 40 minutes to come to our table to cook the food. Horrible experience. Don’t go there.
1 person found this helpful
M
Mike
Los Angeles1 review
1.0
Dined on May 10, 2026
1. Overall 1
2. Food 1
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 1
Had the worst experience the staff was rude had reservations and still took forever to sit us
1 person found this helpful
R
Richard
Los Angeles2 reviews
3.0
Dined on May 9, 2026
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 4
I don’t like having to write anything negative about one of my favorite establishments. I’ve been at Benihana‘s easily 75 times in my life. Every one of my kids birthdays to just a fun night out with friends. I don’t like how they set up the weekend menu. The server felt very new and did not know how to answer questions for my vegan friend who always has pretty much the same thing in the tofu dish. The service was not terrible, but just lackluster. We asked for water three times still never got it. Finally, and this was probably the biggest disappointment, the quality of the steak was by far the worst I’ve had in all my visits. This is not a goodbye because I love the restaurant, but they need to really consider going back to some of the older patterns of the establishment in quality and service. Otherwise it’s just not worth the money that they’re charging.
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Dining areas

Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Japanese
Hours of operation
Mon–Thu, Sun 11:00 am–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 11:00 am–11:00 pm
Phone number
(213) 261-8685
Website
https://www.benihana.com/
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Smart Casual
Catering
Spice up your next gathering with Benihana catering! Our perfectly portioned hibachi entrees, sides, and sushi platters are guaranteed to wow your guests. Place your order at least 3 hours in advance and indulge in a full flavor experience. https://www.benihana.com/catering/
Delivery & takeout
Order direct

Location
1447 4th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Neighborhood
Santa Monica
Cross street
Between Broadway and 4th St
Parking details
Street Parking
Additional
Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Delivery, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking, Vegan, Wine

Make a reservation

Benihana - Santa Monica, CA

3.9

$30 and under

Japanese

Santa Monica

Make a reservation

2 people

May 29, 2026

7:00 PM

Booked 70 times today