Benihana

Feature, Japanese — By DiegoM on April 12, 2010 at 1:56 am

Benihana is a small chain from the US and has recently entered the Argentine market. They are best known for their teppanyaki style meals, where they cook your meal in front of you on a hibachi grill. More than just cooking the food, they turn the process into show.

The Buenos Aires location is located at the Alto Palermo shopping center, right in the middle between TGI Fridays and Starbucks, a fitting spot for yet another American chain. The atmosphere is nice, with low red lighting and a trendy, modern look to it, typical in North America but still fairly new in Buenos Aires. There are also tables outside, although the atmosphere there is nothing special.

What intrigued me to enter Benihana was their happy hour menu on Saturday afternoons until 8PM. Cocktails are two for one, and they have a great menu of appetizers that are surprisingly low priced. We ordered vegetable tempura ($8), ceviche ($19) and chicken wings. All three were good, although I was especially impressed by the ceviche, which was made with very fresh fish. They also have a great selection of unique cocktails. For example, we had a margarita made with berries, and a

Service was quick, although there weren´t many people so anything else would have been unacceptable. The overall experience was very positive, I´d like to go back at some point to try the teppanyaki. Nevertheless, it is important to note that dinner prices are significantly higher than lunch prices, and my guess is overpriced for what you receive. Unless you want to go for teppanyaki, try this place out for a snack on a night Saturday afternoon.

Bottom Line: Great spot for drinks and appys during the day.