I recently went out for another friend's birthday, during which time we went to not one but two different restaurants: Benihana for lunch and The Londoner for dinner. I am pleased to report that a good time was had by all, so I would like to offer up a pair of quick reviews to entice and amaze you.
Without further ado:
Benihana
The Place: Benihana is your typical Asian-inspired restaurant, sparsely decorated with bamboo and paintings of kanji. The real show, however, comes at the table. As with any hibachi restaurant, they seat you around a large flat-top griddle rimmed with a counter for plates and drinks. Once you've placed your order, a chef comes by, cranks up the heat to high, and prepares everything right in front of you. Yes, you get to watch as everything from the fried rice to the steak is cooked before your eyes. They even throw in a few tricks, such as a stack of onion rings made to steam like a volcano. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the concept, but if you've never been it really is a fun experience.
What I ate: Since it was lunch time, I ordered the Lunch Boat served with chicken. It also came with steamed rice (I upgraded to the fried rice, though, 'cause why not?), onion soup, salad, edamame, sashimi, sushi, fruit, tempura shrimp, and a partridge in a pear tree. It sounds like a lot, but it was definitely an appropriately-sized portion for lunch. One of my friends, the birthday girl in question, ordered a bit more ambitiously and let me try her jumbo shrimp and filet mignon. I am pleased to report that all of the food was fresh, delicious, and wonderfully prepared.
My thoughts: As I said before, it really is an experience going to a place like this. The service was excellent, the chef was very entertaining, and the meals were quite tasty. As for my rating? I'm hovering at around a four out of five stars. Don't get me wrong here, I was quite satisfied with my meal. But, while well prepared, the food was not so astoundingly delicious as to merit a perfect score. Still, even a 4/5 is a solid score in my book, and one that I would gladly revisit in the future.
The Londoner
The place: Nothing has really changed since my last review. It's an English-pub-style joint, 'nuff said.
What I ate: This time, they had Magner's hard cider (on tap!), a personal favorite. I eagerly ordered a pint. Of course, the Cheesy Hampton fries were ordered once more, and they were as tasty as they were before. This time around, I ordered the Steak & Ale Pie in a further attempt to eat appropriately-themed food wherever I go. This steak, mushroom and onion concoction, more of beer-infused stew, came topped with puff pastry and served with baked beans and mashed potatoes. The steak was quiet good, although the pastry got soggy really fast. Still, it was quite good, The potatoes were about what you'd expect, but the baked beans were positively wonderful. I think they may have been the best thing I've eaten there yet. Overall though, a much better meal this time around.
My thoughts: Last time, I rated the Londoner at about 3.5/5 stars. I think I'm willing to upgrade that to a 4, but I'm not quite sure to be honest. The food was good, but was it four-star good? Hmm... I may need to go back a third time to really get a handle on this place. For now, I'm going to rate it at 3.75 out of 5 stars, which is weird, I know. But I'm just not totally convinced that it should be bumped all the way up to a full four. But anything over three stars is good food, so don't let me deter you; go check it out for yourself!
Anyway, thanks for reading as always. And as always I look forward to hearing back from anybody who would like to leave feedback!
Go forth and eat well!
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