Last week restaurant chain Benihana celebrated it’s 50th year of persistent existence in the only way it knew how – with fire, sake and people shouting greetings at you in Japanese.
We were invited down to take a look, having heard many things about the crazy, theatrical style of Teppanyaki cooking that they’re known for, whilst also getting a gentle introduction to the often surreal Japanese sense of humour.
Asides from meeting a bunch of incredibly friendly people with incredibly strong Japanese accents, learning a bit about the chain and watching 3 confused looking white people inflict mortal damage on a barrel of sake, we got to try some of the food and hear about what they’re doing over the next few months.
There are 5 offers/opportunities…
Unlike many restaurant chain promotions pitched at Tasting Britain, these are actually quite good and worth a few column inches. So here’s the details below:
1. Two Restaurant Offers: £5 ‘Beni-Platter Lunch’ & £50 ‘8-Course Meal for 2’
(+ all diners who order these dishes are entered into a prize draw to win 5 x £100 vouchers each month) [Ed: I am taking my Mum here]
2. Loyalty Card Lottery worth £50,000
You sign up for a pre-loaded loyalty card in which you can win a minimum of £10 and a maximum of £500 to spend on food at Benihana. I won £50 – the entirety of which wll probably go on steak.
3. £30 Women’s Only 9 Course Menu: the ‘Keiko Menu’
It’s a ladies-only 9-course menu with for £30 per person including a cocktail and wine (FYI Keiko was wife to Rocky Aoki, Benihana’s founder, before he passed away)
4. ‘Global Star Chef’ Competition – win $5,000
Submit some of your Teppan (grill) tricks by video and you could win 5 grand.
5. Launch of The Sake Ceremony
They’ve now launched the traditional celebratory ceremony of smashing an 18 litre Sake barrel, which is available in restaurant and at private events. If you can drink all 18 litres yourself, you get the whole meal free (OK, not really – don’t get any ideas)
Want to find out more about these offers? Check out Benihana’s Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/BenihanaUK
Want to take advantage of these offers? Head over to Benihana’s site here:
And here is a picture of exec chef Toshio Suzuki, on a catwalk, modelling food.
I don’t know what to say.
