Benihana was voted as the best Japanese restaurant/sushi bar six years running by the readers of the Orange County Register. Diners share a communal dining experience with friends, family and even strangers at Benihana in Newport Beach, Calif. The restaurant is organized where as many as 10 guests can be seated to watch their own personal chef perform a meal right before their eyes. The food is not just cooked; it s choreographed on the teppan-yaki grill. The Newport Beach location is one of the nearly 70 Benihana restaurants in the United States. Benihana was established in New York in 1964.