My two girls and I were invited to Benihana, a Japanese restaurant in London who are trying to promote themselves as a family friendly – child friendly – restaurant.
The event itself had two elements – one of entertaining us, and another to show us what a visit to Benihana with children would be like. I’m going to focus on what you can expect when you visit Benihana with your children.
(Although I should mention the Beni-Girls, dancers from Japan touring the Benihani Restaurants in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the chain. They were lovely, entertaining the kids with hip-hop dancing and putting on a show including sharp utensils and butchers knives as inspired by the Teppan chefs. You can find out more about their London appearances (this weekend) here.)
Everything about Benihana screams quality. From the modern, yet still traditional décor on the way down into the basement restaurant, to the proper foil balloons kids get on the way out the door, Benihana is a Japanese Steakhouse with a difference.
Unlike many London restaurants, there are wide open spaces where you can wait comfortably in the bar area for your company to arrive. There’s also a big screen in the waiting area announcing occasions, “Happy Birthday James”, “Happy anniversary Mr & Mrs Smith” and so on, perfect for personalising your evening.
When you’re ready for your meal, you’ll go through to one of the square tables, but instead of a centrepiece there’s a Teppan pan – a huge flat frying griddle – with a chef waiting to cook your food.
The history of Benihana is based on showmanship. When Rocky Aoki started the first restaurant in the USA in 1964, he knew that Americans liked a show, and he decided that the road to success was in fact by entertaining diners. As such,each table has its own private chef, and amidst smoke and flame (s)he will prepare your meal in front of your eyes. Adults and children alike, this side of the ocean too, mesmerised.
The chef chops, chucks, lights, throws and entertains as he cooks your meal, and waiting staff are super alert, observant and ready to serve. While its a really quick way to prepare individual dinners for a party of people, its not just a meal, its entertainment too. The chef juggles sharp knives and spatulas, flips a shrimp tail into his hat, arranges onion rings into fire-shooting volcanoes and juggles with flashing lights. Mesmerising.
The children’s menu folds into a chefs hat which they can put on, branded with Benihana and sure to inspire a photo or ten, and if they take them off, they can play the maze game and soduku printed inside while they wait. Benihana may be a steak house, but it isn’t a fast food experience, and its different to any steakhouse I’ve ever been to. Its also not cheap dining, but I don’t suppose its any differently priced than say dinner and a cabaret would be, with the difference that it is actually something that keeps even little kids engrossed for a while.
Something that is worth specific mention is their selection of cocktails and mocktails. There are a few on the kids menu – mocktails, that is – and they are decently sized and the ones we had were delicious. Strawberry Kiss is the bomb, should you ever find yourself wondering which to order. Delicious.
My only observation for improvement would be that they didn’t seem to have the facility for cooking for allergies. So if you’re a pescatarian, your food is cooked with the meat, if you’re allergic to shellfish, you cant eat anything until the hotplate gets cleaned again. I know that’s not their problem as such, but it is a little limiting for people who have to be careful about what they eat.
Our overall experience of Benihana was fantastic. It may be very different, going in on a Friday night to going in at opening (5:30) on a Wednesday afternoon, but with kids you’re probably likely to be leaving as the crowds arrive, and your experience should be similar to what ours was.
From a practical point of view, there is a family/wheelchair toilet with a changing table. There were people with pushchairs, but I don’t remember seeing a ramp down – I may have missed it, but there were pushchairs down stairs.
My four and two year old had a fabulous time, I got to eat delicious food cooked by someone not me, and may have sampled a cocktail or two, and had the opportunity to chat to grown up people in a relaxed environment. What’s not to love about that!
*I am aware that I failed miserably to take any photos of the actual food. This is as much a surprise to me as it is to anyone who has ever had a meal with me. Feel free to search twitter or Instagram for #benigirlsbash however, and you’ll see everyone else’s pictures there!
**We were given a free meal and demonstration at Benihana in exchange for an honest review.