Woman Sits Down For Lunch At Benihana. Then She Realizes The Food Is More Expensive At Her Seat Specifically: ‘Only Those Tables Get That Price’

A TikToker who says Benihana has been one of her favorite restaurants all her life says she recently had a sour experience that may have changed her view of it.

In a video that got over 12,000 views, creator Loren (@agemslife) says she booked a table so she could take advantage of an enticing lunch deal.

But when she arrived, she says she was met with rules that were not clearly stated during booking.

What Went Wrong At The Benihana?

Loren says she has been part of Benihana’s Chef’s Table program for nearly 30 years.

“We have been going [expletive] forever,” she says.

According to Loren, Benihana has long been her family’s go-to restaurant for celebrations.

Benihana had a three-course meal deal starting at $15.95. Loren says that was about as much as she could afford.

“I was like, let’s just do it,” she says. “I wanna have one happy memory, one nice meal out with you before we go through some really difficult stuff.”

Loren says she called ahead and asked whether the Anaheim location was participating in the deal. According to her, she was told yes and that she did not need to book ahead.

But because she says Benihana had “done me wrong before,” she still booked through the email link for the special. She says she booked a table for two on Wednesday at 1:30 pm specifically for that deal.

When she and her fiancé arrived, Loren says they were seated with a party of four and another family of three. Then they were given the regular lunch menus.

“This starts from $23 to $30,” she says.

Loren says she asked for the $15.95 menu because that was the offer she had booked.

According to Loren, the server told her the party of 16 that arrived before them had “beat” them to it.

“She’s like, ‘Yeah, we only have, like, two tables set aside for that pricing,’” Loren says.

The server allegedly told them they could either wait for the party of 16 to finish eating or pay the regular lunch prices at the table where they had been seated.

“Because if you’re at these tables, you don’t get that price,” Loren recalls the server saying. “Only those tables get that price.”

She Pushed Back

Loren says she pushed back because she had booked ahead for the deal.

“But I booked ahead for that price, so why wouldn’t you guys tell me ahead of time?” she says.

According to Loren, the other people seated with them had also booked for the same deal through the same email link.

“We all confirm we clicked the same email link to book for that same deal,” she says.

Loren says they asked if they could skip the show and just get the food. But according to her, they were told no.

The family of three reportedly left. The family of four stayed because they were celebrating their daughter. Loren and her fiancé also stayed, but she says the experience was ruined.

“I didn’t even have a nice lunch cause I was so stressed about how much more it cost me,” Loren says.

Instead of $15.95 per person, she says the meal went up to about $30 per person.

“So you doubled my [expletive] budget on the spot?” she says.

She Says The Manager Never Came Over

Loren says she was especially frustrated that the manager did not come to the table to explain the situation.

“She just kept sending the server,” Loren says.

By the end, Loren says the tab came to $84 before tip. She says the server was nice, and because Loren used to be a server herself, she did not want to stiff her. But she was already stressed because she had planned to spend around $60 to $70 total.

Then, according to Loren, the server brought up how many people had been coming in for the special.

“She’s like, ‘Oh my gosh. So many people have come in for the special. I don’t blame them. $15.95 for a three-course meal is such a good deal,’” Loren says.

That made things worse.

“Yes, I know it’s a good deal,” Loren says. “That’s the whole [expletive] reason I was here.”

On the way out, Loren says she asked the Anaheim location whether it was really true that only two tables were available for the Power Lunch price.

According to Loren, she was told yes.

“If that’s the situation, then don’t offer it to everyone,” she says. “It needs to be in your [expletive] emails.”

Loren says customers should be told before they book that they could be pushed out of the deal if someone else gets seated at the designated tables first.

“If you’re gonna have limited seating for that, then don’t offer it to [expletive] everyone,” she says.

How Did Benihana Respond?

In an update video, Loren says Benihana’s TikTok account reached out to her.

She included a screenshot of the message, which read, “I wanted to reach out to let you know your video didn’t go unnoticed. We’re so sorry to hear about your recent experience, Loren. If you’re open to it, could you please share your full name, email address, and phone number so I can pass this along to the appropriate team for further review and follow-up?”

Since that message, Loren says she has not received any more updates.

Does The Restaurant State The Rule Anywhere?

Benihana’s site says its three-course Power Lunch starts at $15.95 and is available Monday through Thursday from 11 am to 5 pm and Friday from 11 am to 3 pm.

The company describes it as a full hibachi meal served in 45 minutes or less, “or your lunch is on us.”

The site also says guests must notify the host upon check-in that they are there for the 45-Minute Power Lunch “to be seated at a designated teppan table.”

So, yes, Benihana does state that the deal involves designated tables.

However, if a guest books a table specifically for that offer at that time, it is fair to expect that there would not be multiple bookings for the same limited offer with no clear warning before sitting down.

The Mary Sue has reached out to Benihana via email for comment and more information.

Commenters Told Her To Escalate It

In the comments, some viewers said they were not surprised by the experience.

“Genuinely I have never had a good experience at Benihana, it literally always is like ‘oh, cool, you made a reservation! Now wait 1.5 hours past your reservation time in a room that smells like smoke for food you could get that would taste better as takeout from a local restaurant,’” one commenter wrote.

Another viewer told Loren to go higher up.

“I’d file a complaint with the state for false advertisement, that needs to be told to you ahead of time in the terms and conditions on the website on the email,” they wrote.

@agemslife Am I wilding out for nothing or should they have honored the price they advertised?! @Benihana #benihanaanaheim #falseadvertising #3coursepromo #dobetter #honoryourdeals ♬ original sound – Loren

The Mary Sue has reached out to Loren via TikTok messages.

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