BENIHANA'S, CHELSEA

Pascal and I went to Benihana's a few years ago and loved it however always found it a bit expensive. However as it had been a while, we decided to go there on Saturday night for our weekly date night.

Benihana's is a Japanese steakhouse and sushi restaurant which opened in 1964 and has outposts all over the world. What makes Benihana's special is that every table has its own private chef.  Each table seats 8 people so be warned you will be sitting with strangers - Pascal completely forgot that part as he hates communal tables!! Thank goodness due to the way the tables are shaped, you don't feel on top of the other diners.

The menu has many different options. If you are a piglet like Pascal and I, you will probably want to order some sushi or sashimi or nigiri for starter - we obviously chose this option. However you do not really need to, because when you order your main course it automatically comes with soup, salad, an appetiser, rice, vegetables and your chosen main.

We started off by sharing a yakitori chicken (Pascal's favourite), spider maki rolls (my favourite) and California maki rolls.

The rolls were really good - there are meant to be six in the top picture but I was so busy eating I forgot to take a photo! The chicken was flavoursome and very tender. As I said we didn't actually need to order these as we had other starters as well.

Firstly a Japanese onion soup which tasted better than it looked - especially the little fried onions at the bottom.

Then we had prawns with onions and courgettes. The chef expertly cooked these in front of us and showed little tricks such as flicking the prawn tails into the air and catching them in his hat or making a volcano out of the onions. Very impressive and amusing to watch!

Then we had a salad - I am not sure what the dressing is but it tasted quite nice.

We chose the hibachi rice which is egg fried rice with vegetables and slightly sticky. This was, without a doubt the best rice I have ever had. I was eating with chop sticks but wishing I had a shovel as I couldn't get it in my mouth quick enough!!

Pascal and I both chose the tuna with pickled ginger and teriyaki sauce. I was tempted by the black cod and the Chateaubriand but I knew the chef would cook the tuna perfectly rare and I wasn't disappointed. It was incredible.

This was served with hibachi vegetables.

By this point I was so full but extremely satisfied with my meal. Unfortunately there was no room for pudding which was a shame as I had my eye on the tempura ice cream….whatever that is!

Overall I think Benihana's is a great place for a fun night out - the way the chefs cook is really entertaining and the restaurant has a fun, buzzy atmosphere. I am really keen to bring Arabella there as I am sure she will love it. It is expensive though and while the food is good, it isn't a patch on Kurobuta, but I think you come here mainly for the experience and thanks to the fantastic chefs, you won't leave disappointed.

Benihana Chelsea

77 Kings Road
London
SW3 4NX
Tel: 020 7376 7799