Review: Benihana

I always see Benihana when going up the escalator from the parking lot in the Avenues and had wanted to try them out for the longest time, but I don't know, I just lost interest. 

Anyway, years later, I finally decided to try out the restaurant and you know what?  Though it didn't make it to my absolute favourites, I did still enjoy the visit.  I loved the dining room setup, how each table has its own attached grill, not always a good idea when you're dining with toddlers mind you, but I found it quite unique and loved how some of our dishes were cooked live in front of us.  Our chef made sure that the kids were entertained throughout and he made the shrimp sing "I like to move it, move it" while cooking.  The kids thought he was a riot and my 2 year old was laughing hysterically.

The menu on their website seems to be outdated and a few of the items we had ordered aren't on it.  The prices aren't right either with all dishes currently around 0.500 KD to 3.00 KD more.

For starters, we ordered the Scallops (2.750 KD) which was okay, but I'll be skipping it next time and two plates of the Rock Shrimp (3.750 KD).  Think P.F. Chang's Dynamite Shrimp.  You can't go wrong with this dish and it's a definite crowd pleaser.  If its on the menu, I'm ordering it! 

We also ordered the Yakitori (2.750 KD) and the Shrimp Rice (1.750 KD) for the kids, hence the lack of a photo.  I did have a taste of the shrimp rice and it was amazing!  Definitely one to order next time. 

Along with that, we had to try out the sushi and chose the Shrimp Crunchy Roll (1.900 KD) and the Volcano Roll (3.900 KD).  When it comes to sushi, I normally gravitate towards the ones that contain the words crispy or tempura in the description and skip anything that is remotely slimy or mushy, no thanks.  I stay clear of eel too.  Not at all fussy right?  Ha!  Eel just takes me back to my creek swimming days when I mistook one for a snake.  Anyway, both the rolls were delicious and disappeared almost instantly.    

We also went with the Benihana Trio (18.000 KD) which is fillet mignon, chicken and shrimp and is listed under their House Specialties.  Its an all inclusive dinner that also contains a Japanese onion soup, a small salad, hibachi shrimp and vegetables, steamed rice, Japanese tea and ice cream.  The cool thing about these dishes are that its cooked in front of you on the grill and then served on your plate as each item is ready.  I was so engrossed with the whole thing that I forgot to take photos of the food!

I loved the live cooking and it was an experience, but if I'm being honest, I was a little underwhelmed with the Benihana Trio.  The steak was a little tough and overcooked.  Each component did taste good, however I don't feel it lived up to its expensive price tag.  I think I actually would've been happier ordering some fried rice or maybe some of that amazing shrimp rice and a few more "crispy" sushi rolls instead. 

Including drinks, our total bill came up to 66.300 KD for a party of 4 adults and 4 kids.  Overall, a fun experience and the staff were also friendly and very enthusiastic, which is always a plus.  Definitely a unique place to take friends/family when they visit.