Benihana (Winterlicious)

Let me just first clarify that I had very high hopes for this restaurant but unfortunately my hopes were crushed.

1) I heard how great and awesome teppanyaki places are (teppanyaki is when the chef cooks in front of you)
2) It was a $45 prix-fixe dinner menu

Benihana is located in the Fairmont Royal York hotel situated right across from Union Station. After watching Wolf of Wall Street and seeing how it mentions Benihana briefly in the ending, I’ve been wanting to try this place out. It certainly makes me wonder how much Steve Aoki’s grandpa (founder) paid the blockbuster for the shameless marketing.

Appetizer

Complimentary kaiso salad with thousand island dressing

California roll

I forgot our chef’s name but he’s Indonesian not Japanese which I thought was a bit disappointing

Main

Hibachi steak with grilled onions and zucchini

Two sauces: above for vegetables and below for meat

Dessert

Mango mousse cake with lychee ice cream

Japanese mochi ice cream (mango, green tea, red bea)

Food: 5/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 6.5/10 (it was freezing!!!!)

The sushi tastes like any other sushi restaurants and the steak was a bit chewy and dull. The cake was alright but nothing fancy. As a die-hard mochi lover, these mochi tasted awful as they were hard as a rock and nothing like the soft texture of delicious mochi. However the chef was quite humorous and entertaining with his spatula & knife skills.

“At Benihana, it’s not just a meal, it’s an experience.” Surely you are on point about it not being a meal.

Advertisements