By: Serena Yiu
Upon arrival at Benihana’s (47 W 56th St., New York, NY 10019), my party and I were greeted with a smile. We were seated soon after and the waitress came around to take our order. Our drinks came very quickly, and about 10 minutes passed when our chef came by to start cooking our food. His name was Kan, and he was silent throughout his “show”. We noticed that at other tables, the chefs were conversating with the patrons and cracking jokes. Kan made the “steaming volcano” out of raw onions, so that was interesting if you haven’t seen it before. He ended his presentation by flipping the shrimp tail shells into this chef’s hat and telling us to enjoy our meal.
Overall, it was a good dining experience because I always find it very appealing when food is prepared in front of you (so you know how it’s being made and what ingredients are used). The food was cooked and flavored well. One thing Benihana’s could’ve improved on was the chef’s presentation. Involving the customers and being more talkative could have made the dining experience more enjoyable.
I had the Shrimp Hibachi as entree and Strawberry Daiquiri for alcoholic beverage.
Price range is $$ ($30 and under) 
Serena Yiu is a Contributor