My family and I are all Celiacs and we’re excited that Benihanas was on the list but let me warn you!! This place IS NOT GLUTEN FRIENDLY. They have GF soy sauce and will prepare GF foods separately, while they remember it. But mid way through the chef started messing up and gave us the not GF fried rice and a few other staples. We had to watch him like a hawk and kept reminding him or asking him if that sauce was GF. It was not relaxing and at the end of it all my mother and I pretty much immediately felt awful. Bloating and gas, among other things, not a fun way to end the night.
We order delivery from this location about once a week. I always get their gf chicken fried rice and haven’t been glutened, the gf sashimi, rolls and miso are okay but not great (too much seasoning ironically on the rolls, and the sashimi is thin and tiny, the miso is very bland and tastes like grocery store kind from powder). The fried rice doesn’t disappoint and at $6.70/ea for a big portion I sometimes buy extras and put them in the fridge for lunches.
Update 1/2019: Unfortunately though my first visit was good, tonight was extremely disappointing. Our waitress Samantha was lovely and brought out soup without breaded onions, salad with no dressing, and was super friendly and understanding. However chef Manny was a complete idiot with gluten allergy handling. I asked if he could cook my food first and he said he’d do it last... questionable, but I was optimistic. He started off ok, cooking the fried rice for everyone and taking mine out in a separate bowl before adding the soy sauce. He served everyone else, then wiped down the grill and utensils... just with a wet towel. He dumped out my rice and cooked it on the unclean grill then gave to me. At this point I knew I couldn’t eat the food without getting sick so went to the hostess and asked for a separate meal from the back kitchen. She apologized and said she’d let management know. I returned to the table where Manny had given me shrimp cooked right next to wheat noodles using the same utensils, without cleaning the grill at all. He proceeded to do the same for veggies & scallops, using the same utensils as for noodles and regular soy sauce. At that point my partner and I were laughing about how clueless he was, but knowing I’d get separate food soon I just held my breath. He went to the kitchen to grab something and I guess must have been told about the issue as he proceeded to discard my steak. My safely cooked food took nearly 30min to come out from the back kitchen and was delicious, but unfortunately Manny’s lack of training reflects very poorly on this location in their training on allergen handling. Hostess and management seemed to know that gluten free food needed to be cooked first, but obviously that standard was not enforced with actual cooking staff. If you have a gluten allergy or celiac, I’d recommend either paying attention very closely to grill cooking, or eating in the dining room to order food directly from the kitchen. Disappointing.
I've previously done gluten free at Benihana in Miami Beach after some work with their manager but this experience was so incredibly simple! I have celiac and always love finding places I can still enjoy food. I put in our reservation that I needed a gluten free meal and confirmed with the hostess how it would work. She said they take care of letting everyone know - chef, waiter, manager - and they will handle it and either can cook my food before everyone else or on a separate grill. Our chef used gluten free soy sauce and regular butter for my bf & I and he was so nice and funny about it, and already knew about cross contamination, using different utensils, and everything I would do at home. My bf (not gluten free) had my soup since the onions are breaded and I had salad with oil & vinegar. Delicious all around and we're so happy to be able to continue eating here for birthdays and special occasions. Gluten free at Benihana IS possible!! Huge shoutout to chef Indito - he was AMAZING and so interactive during the dinner - & server Segi.
Always a great spot, if you come with a large group they will give you a gluten free table. Soup is not GF but for salad they will bring you different dressing. They can make all the meats and fish GF and fried rice GF kids love it. If at a table with other parties have them make your food in the back
I was a little nervous coming here with my group of friends. When we sat down, I told our waitress I was celiac and she provided me with a GF menu. There were many options on the menu to my surprise. The rest of the table ordered gluten full orders but our chef took extra care of my food. He made all my food first before making/ touching any of the gluten full orders. Great food, experience, and I did not get sick.
Was nervous to try hibachi since being dx’d CD. Benihana did not disappoint. I know everyone’s level of comfort is different, so I’ll share the good, bad and questionable so you can decide for yourself. For me, this is a place I’ll come back, felt safe and did not get sick.
(1) made my meal with GF soy sauce—clearly labeled. In fact entire table got GF soy sauce and didn’t know. Ha. But maybe that was just our experience.
(2) can’t have the standard salad or the soup. The ginger dressing is my FAVE pre-CD. So I was sad. But the one they brought me was bare and I simply dressed it with olive oil and rice vinegar. It was very yum. Burned prob bring my own GF ginger dressing next time.
(3) sauces (other than GF soy) prob not GF. But didn’t ask. Certainly no teriyaki sauce. But the mustard and ginger dip sauces. They still gave them to me. But I didn’t use them because I didn’t know and didn’t ask.
(4) cooktop. It is what it is. If you’re concerned about prior cooks with gluten and no way to “sanitize”—then this place prob not for you. I thought about it and took the risk. Did not get sick. But know that’s not the only way to tell.
(5) other customer ordered noodles. It was cooked to the side and sis not touch my food. My chicken was prepared first. But the veggies were prepared later. So I saw the cook utensil toss the noodles then move to the veg. Again, calculated risk I took. You may not want to do that.
(6) cooked with everyone else’s. Did not give me an option to “cook in the back” but did not press for it.
(7) no garlic butter in the hibachi rice. 😭 I’m sure they mixed it with non-GF soy before it was prepared. But my rice was YUM.
I would definitely return. But you have to decide if you’re ok with it for yourself.
I have eaten here before but this was the 1st time since being GF. There is a Gluten Sensitive/Vegan/Vegetarian/Keto menu you can view online. I called the day before and told them I need to eat GF. The person noted it on my reservation and said to let the server know when you arrive. The server was aware I needed to eat GF and answered my questions. The chef cooks your food in front of you and I was happy to see how careful he was. My pre-cooked food was on a separate platter and he cooked my food 1st on one side of the grill then everyone else. He used GF soy sauce. The food was delicious and I had a great experience!
Food is ok; the free pre-meal salads were still icy. Chef came out to ask if we actually had celiac or were folks who just said that but actually don’t like gluten or something. Promised to be dutiful about cleaning beforehand and keeping things separate but didn’t seem confident that everything would be celiac safe.