Benihana: What’s Vegetarian Editorial Review

Benihana works better for vegetarians than you’d guess from a restaurant built around grilling meat tableside. The Spicy Tofu Steak is a complete vegan entree, and the hibachi vegetables come as their own course with every meal.

What to order at Benihana

Order the Spicy Tofu Steak, grilled tofu with scallions and cilantro in a spicy house sauce that’s already vegan, and ask for it without garlic butter to keep it that way. Hibachi vegetables, that mix of zucchini, onions, mushrooms, and bean sprouts cooked on the grill, come with every teppanyaki meal, and you can order an extra plate to round out a smaller order. Add edamame, the Benihana Salad with ginger dressing, the seaweed salad, or a vegetable, cucumber, or avocado cucumber roll, all vegan as served. The chef will also cook vegetable fried rice without egg or butter if you ask.

What to watch out for

Benihana cooks most grill items in a garlic butter blend by default, so anything off the teppan needs a no-butter request to actually be vegan. The vegetable fried rice normally comes with egg and butter mixed in unless you say otherwise. Skip the miso soup, since it’s made with fish dashi, and check the vegetable tempura batter, which may contain egg, and the onion soup, since the broth varies by location. Because everything cooks on a shared teppan grill, ask your chef directly if cross-contact with meat is a concern for you.