I am a Benihana lover. I'm a Southern California native, and am accustomed to the locations in Ontario, CA and Santa Ana, CA. These two locations are stand alone restaurants, that are extremely themed both inside and out. Moving to Reno, NV, I was disappointed to learn that the closest Benihana was 130 miles away in Citrus Heights (Sacramento), CA. Tonight, we finally took the plunge and took the drive. I had trouble finding it because it is NOT your typical Benihana. This location has been labeled the ""Benihana Grill."" This location occupies the corner unit of a strip malll, and very closely resembles a Chinese fast food restaurant. Now, with that said, the menu is the same. You can order all of your Benihana favorites at this location. The geographic location could have something to do with this, but the overall quality of employee there is poor. Our cook was some middle-aged Asian fellow, initially pretending to have a heavy Asian accent and using a fake name. Five minutes into dinner service, he has dropped the facade and spent the remainder of the service chit-chatting with our table mates about fishing, beer, and dirt bikes. This caused him to ignore the food and burn the rice. Not to mention we didn't get the usually show. Everything else was up to par. Our moods gradually improved as the quality of the other courses improved.
Overall, this location is OK. It's kind of like a movie that is loosely based on a book. Those who have read the book will typically not enjoy the movie. If you've been to any other Benihana location, you will most probably not enjoy this one.
Pros: Not much...
Cons: Almost everything!
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