Benihana

This establishment is pretty posh.  This Benihana's is without a doubt my favorite hibachi restaurant in the state of New Jersey.  Located on top of a hill gives it a secluded feel.  The view inside of the restaurant is very nice.  Inside and out!  What's great about this hibachi place is that the host does not wait to fill a table before a server is sent over.  Some places make 2 people who walked in first wait 10 minutes until a party of 5 shows up and is seated immediately because they have to complete a table.  This establishment understands customer service and nobody waits if they don't have to.  Service was top notch and relatively fast.  Food is always excellent!  This is a must visit hibachi restaurant in NJ.

I love Benihana.  I have since the 70's.  The Short Hills Benihana is conveniently located off the highway and right near my house.  My family goes often and we enjoy the spectacle as well as the food.  The seafood with hot sauce and noodles is great and really hot.  Sushi bar and drinks are also fun here.  I sometimes stop here after work for a quick drink.  We celebrate the kid's birthdays here every year.  Service is always excellent.  I could eat here every day and never get bored.  Is it haute cuisine?  No.  Is it really good all the time?  Hell yeah.

Came here for dinner one night simply for hibachi and boy was I unimpressed. Being that this place is erected on a hill with a grand entrance, I thought maybe it would be a little upscale than usually. FAIL. I walked in and saw three female hostesses at the front desk, chitchatting away. The three of them did not even look our way as we approached the desk until the female who sharing her story was done. WOW.

After telling her that we were a party for two she was able to sit us immediately. Okay, fine. So we were sat together with a few other couples waiting for our server to approach us. She took our drink orders and food orders and came back in minutes with drinks, soup and salad. Before you know it, the chef was at the table ready to whisk us away with his magical hibachi tricks.

Food was just okay. By the looks of how the chicken came out, it looked like the temperature setting of the cooking top was a little too high. Our food was okay. The shrimp was great, the chicken was subpar and the steaks were satisfactory. Our fried rice however was a little garlic-y.

I was surprised at how we got green tea after our meals. That was something I never experience. It wasnt necessary, but nice.

After all was said and done, we left again passing the hostess table and again, they were in their own little world. One of us had to say "have a good night" first!