This is not a paid review and I just want to share my experience with others. More information can be found on the official website: www.benihanainternational.com
Before they find me, I’m in the city of London, my home city. And sometimes home can begin to feel boring, especially if you feel like you have tried it all. At least you think you have experienced it all. There are several hidden gems like Benihana. Benihana has several franchises across the world and the one I’m going to be talking about is the Chelsea branch in London.
The restaurant’s focus is the entertaining Japanese grill experience. Make sure to book beforehand because we went for a Monday dinner and even then, the restaurant was fully booked.
At the reception, there is a cloakroom for your bags and coat which you can collect on your way out after the meal. Down the staircase, you will find the waiting area as the dining experience can only begin when the whole group is present. There is a bar and you can order drinks while you wait for your friends. Since we came here to celebrate my brother’s birthday, my mum thought it was important his name was added to the LED screen, she was so excited by this.
We were seated on a table with a teppan hot plate and each grill had eight seats and if you are in a small group there is a possibility you will be sat with others. Now for the menu and this was the hardest part, I wanted to try everything (apart from the meat options as I’m pescatarian). So I easily decided on the seafood palace. They didn’t need to add a special title to this meal because I was immediately sold on the idea of plenty of seafood options. This platter was £62.95 and included some side dishes. I understand it’s a bit pricy, but being in London and for the experience, it was something I had to do.
Well… I’m unreasonable when it comes to food. We began with an onion soup as soon as we sat down which was delicious because I was hungry. You know… emptying my stomach in preparation for this. The platters usually come with the same things, like the prawn appetizer, the salad, the vegetables and the rice. Although it was possible to upgrade the rice for the special hibachi rice, which was fried rice with vegetables and egg. The seafood platter had scallops, lobsters, black cod and salmon. Everything was tasty and melted right in my mouth, I wanted to rewind time just to eat it all again.
And since this was an important occasion, cocktails are a necessity. Admittedly, when ordering cocktails, the name of the drink is what hooks me. Of course I check to see if the main ingredient is rum. From the menu I tried two cocktails: Tokyo Colada and the Pineapple daiquiri which I recommend if you love cocktails as much as I do!
The chef had personally cooked everything in front of us, he was comedic, friendly and the tricks were entertaining. It was like a mini magic show. I wished we had tipped him (the waiter ended up taking the tip in the end). We shared a table with a family who had kids and I could see their happy expressions, it definitely had a children friendly atmosphere and a kid’s menu was available. The struggle was when I had to stop myself from eating straight off the grill as everything was cooked in front of us.
Finally, at the anticipated event, we ordered dessert and I tried my best to give the waiter subtle hints that we wanted a little something special as it was my brother’s birthday.
Moments later, we had a candle on fried dough and icecream and a small group of the staff members came to sing for us with tambourines. The service was really good despite how busy it was.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience. It’s up to anyone how much they are willing to spend, of course the bill came to £300 for four people, and we only ordered three platters, a few cocktails and lots of rice bowls. Personally, my bank account cannot afford this kind of experience every week. (But I’m jealous of the kid who was on our table who seemed to be familiar with the restaurant, maybe in the next life haha.) But it definitely was a fun experience and I’d recommend this to be something to try at least once.
~Love Maria
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