1/5 Seth B. 3 years ago on Google
Visited
Benihana
on
79th
in
Miami
on
Monday,
December
21
at
4:40
pm.
This
will
become
important
in
a
moment.
Wanted
to
share
a
first
time
Benihana
experience
with
my
wife
and
young
son.
Arrived
early,
on
a
slow
day
and
the
place
was
mostly
empty.
Was
told
there
would
be
a
thirty-five
minute
wait
and
so
we
settled
into
the
bar
area
and
bought
drinks
and
appetizers.
Now
the
good:
Michelle
was
wonderful.
*****
Five
stars.
Personable
and
attentive.
She
took
a
little
time
with
us,
and
gave
us
a
proper
menu
as
the
QC
version
was
less
than
complete.
The
sushi
on
the
appetizer
was
as
clean,
fresh,
and
flavorful
as
I
have
ever
had.
The
soft
shell
crab
appetizer
was
a
little
over
cooked
but
not
to
the
detriment
of
the
crab.
We
finished
our
appetizers
and
drinks,
settled
up
and
were
shown
to
our
table.
Now
for
the
not
so
good:
Our
table
had
a
maskless
couple
on
the
left
and
a
maskless
couple
on
the
right,
neither
party
was
known
to
us,
we
were
wedged
elbow
to
elbow
in
the
middle.
I
did
not
expect
people
to
wear
their
masks
during
dinner
the
proximity
was
troublesome.
The
concept
of
communal
dining
is
not
foreign
to
me
as
I
worked
for
the
company
for
a
number
of
years,
however,
with
CDC
guidelines,
surging
Covid
numbers
in
Florida,
on
a
slow
Monday
afternoon,
and
with
1-2-3-4-FIVE
empty
hibatchi
tables,
management
did
not
have
to
wait
to
fill
the
table.
A
table
of
our
own
is
untenable,
practically,
but
two
parties
at
either
end
of
the
table
would
have
been
acceptable
on
any
level.
The
option
that
management
provided,
through
the
front
desk
person,
was
for
our
party
of
three
who
had
been
there
for
more
than
an
hour,
go
back
onto
the
list
and
wait
for
another
table
to
be
seated
-
with
several
other
waiting
parties
with
reservations,
this
was
unacceptable.
Management's
decision
to
hold
and
pack
tables
on
a
slow
holiday
week
Monday
is
short
sighted
and
dangerous.
We
left.
I
have
known
Benihana
for
decades,
I
knew
Rocky
Aoki
personally,
and
the
lounge
lizzard
dated
ring
a
ding
ding
decor
of
the
old
structure
needed
a
well
deserved
face-lift.
But
a
weak
logo
is
an
even
weaker
brand,
and
the
corporate
culture,
heritage,
and
spirit
that
once
existed
and
permeated
through
its
employees
is
soulless,
dead,
and
gone.
Where
once
a
trip
to
Benihana
was
a
special
occasion,
is
now
a
trip
to
a
nameless,
faceless
hibachi-style
restaurant
anywhere
USA.
My
apologies
to
anywhere
USA.
