Japanese Steakhouse

Do not expect traditional or gourmet anything!!! You are in Ohio, not Japan.
Ok with that out of the way, we tried the hibachi. Food was very fresh. Shrimp and calamari were delicious!!! Everything is coated in garlic butter so if this is not okay be sure to tell the host/​hostess beforehand.
Alex, our chef, was fantastic. He was funny, had amazing tricks, and seasoned the food well. We definitely over ate.
Service was good, if a little over-​solicitous. We were asked by 5 different ppl if everything was okay and we were only 2 ppl at a table.
In summation, it’s a good bang for your buck, tasty, spacious, and clean. You will leave satisfied and wondering if the sushi bar side is any good.

I ate here on a whim while visiting Columbus alone. It was fun to talk with others who were at the table and fun to watch the chef. The food was fine.
The waiter was just ok.

We were in town for a fencing tournament, and stayed at the Hampton Inn. My son was hungry, and he likes meat, so when we saw the Japanese Steakhouse right across the street, we knew where we would be having dinner. Then I checked the prices and almost didn’t go, but I figured, hey, we’re only here in Ohio once, why not?
Food and presentation was on par with all these other Benihana copies. The chef did a pretty good job entertaining us with his flips and tricks. I ordered the scallops with sakura sauce — the scallops were cooked well, very juicy and soft, and the sauce — well, it was very rich and creamy, and I could feel my arteries tightening up as I ate. My son got the NY steak, again, not overcooked at all.
Everyone at the table gets a small serving of shrimp, which is nice.
The fire works were fun to watch. I think the onion volcano is a signature move that all the chefs know. At another table, when the flames went up, we heard the customers yell, «Cover your eyebrows!»
All in all, entertaining for what it is. Value is so-​so, food is not bad, not great. Generous portions, to be sure.

The hibachi here is tasty but not among the best I’ve ever had, I had the chicken and scallops with fried rice and I was satisfied. They even have me a glass of plum wine for free. I would have liked to have a larger portion of veggies on the hibachi grill however.

Not bad. The wait was relatively short and the chef offered a fair table show (loved the onion volcano). The food was delectable even though it was a little over seasoned but the sauces were horrible. They could work more on refilling and make the bathrooms more hygienic. And to be totally frank, it was more pricey than I thought a place like that would be.

The cook was my favorite part. He had a great spirit and show.
For value and food– eh. I walked away wondering how I spent so much. They charged extra for refried rice, I got 4 scallops, maybe 10 cooked down shripm and a scoop of rice with the salad and soup and it was 28 for just the food portion not including tip or drink.
I don’t think I will be back. It came up to 50 all in and I am cheap.

Long wait, but worth it
If you plan to come know you are going to wait for a good hour before you are seated if you are lucky. That being said, the food is great and the drinks even better. Their signature mt. fuji drink I could drink all day. The chef does a good performance and the food is tasty. If you have nothing to do while you wait it can be quite annoying, besides that great dining experience.

i’ve been to other hibachi restaurants before. This one came a little below par on the show part. Also we were seated on a table that is made for kneeling or slipping your legs under the table without a back rest so it was a little uncomfortable. So why the 4 stars? The price was decent for the food and the food was very good. For 17 $ including tip I got the shrimp and steak combination with a special sauce, forgot the name, looks like mayo, LOL, and it was very good. The veggies are a bit plain too compared to other restaurants it was only bean sprouts. The price included a drink and dessert, peach ice cream. Overall good value and good food

Last time i was here the food wasnt bad, but for the steep price, i just dont justify 25+ for a meal for one person, unless you got about 3+ shots of Hennessy or some other kind of semi-​pricey liquor.
Last time i was here i spent an easy 100 on a meal for 2, and about 4 drinks a piece between my ex and i.
Simply insane prices!

Japanese Steakhouse is not on my list of all-​time favorites, but is pretty good in a pinch. I always like hibachi places for big groups, and the presentation was nice. My favorite part of Japanese Steakhouse is the pineapple sherbet at the end of the meal, it makes paying $ 20+ for lunch and drinks almost bearable.

I wish I could have given this location ZERO stars. I requested to be moved to another table that had other people at it, not wanting to be alone at a table because I thought that our service and our entertainment would be affected, and I was right. I let the manager know that I was unhappy at the table I was at, and he just laughed it off, saying we were lucky to be alone. The waitress rudely denied to move us to another table that was occupied by more people, and forgot to bring our rice, as well as bringing me the wrong drink twice. The cooking show lasted all of 4 minutes, the food was over-​oiled and he did not do anything entertaining. That was just the beginning of my bad experience, when I asked to talk to the manager to let him know I was unhappy with the service I received, he was EXTREMELY rude. Not only did he talk to me in a condescending tone of voice, after I told him I was here for my boyfriend’s birthday he said that I was «disparaging» my boyfriend’s experience at the restaurant and TOLD ME that my own boyfriend would not want me to ruin his night by bringing this up. Chris, the manager who spoke to me, denied me any compensation or discount for my unhappiness with all facets of service I received, from the food to the service to the management, and about put me in tears when he talked to me so rudely. I will NEVER be back to this location, there are plenty of other newer, cleaner, classier Japanese Steak Houses in Columbus that would never treat a customer how I was treated at this location.

as far as japanese steakhouses go… this is the WORST!
i made reservations for a party of 12 and was a half hour late with most of the people. (my bad but i did call ahead to tell them i would be late).
We waited at the bar for our other guests to arrive, but no one else showed… weird.
turns out… they were already there! sitting and just about to order. we didnt know because the hostess did not tell us. we walked past the rest of our party and went whoops! hey! lets try to get a table! (this is after we had been seated elsewhere)
the manager was a prick. i want to use a different word… but prick will do. he acted like it was the end of the world… when really… why didnt the server put two and two together? oh that big reservation that said theyd be late and the people waiting for the SAME EXACT reservation are already here? really lady?
we got a table together and EVERYONE in the restaurant knew there was some sort of fuss. the «server» lady was the rudest i’ve ever seen someone who works for tips… i literally said in front of her, i think she hates me and she just glared. i wanted to leave but it was a birthday party and who wants to be THAT person?
BUT…the food was okay. seriously, go to any other japanese steakhouse in columbus and i promise you the décor will be better, the food will be better and if you have a confusing situation, the service will be better.
the price is the same as any other place.
think i’m being overly critical? read my other reviews. i’m easy to please. this place SUCKED.

I see this as cheap-​ass Japanese for lunch. I have no expectations in terms of «had better» but if I can get decent Japanese chicken/​fried rice and green tea for lunch? Count me in.
Now — this rating doesn’t mean «best Japanese you can find» but I’ll be damned if I could find someplace in walking distance of my old work that was as cheap and tasty — even if overseasoned.

A group of 9 of us went for lunch here today to celebrate a birthday. One of the women cannot eat the food there for religious reasons (the food is not kosher). She brought in a sandwich and ate with us. As we were leaving, the manager (dressed in her best sweatshirt, leggings and high-​tops) stopped us to tell her that she shouldn’t have brought her food in. My friend explained to her that they aren’t kosher, and the woman proceeded to tell her they could have cooked kosher for her (which they cannot). As we left and were walking to our cars, the woman came outside to argue a bit more with my co-​worker.
Who does this? Seriously, I can assure you my co-​workers and I will never eat there again! It was completely offensive!

The meal overall at this restaurant was very disappointing. If you have every frequented House of Japan and enjoyed it, you’ll love it here.
The sushi was terrible. Ordered just a cali roll in case it sucked, which unfortunately it did. Small chunk of shredded crab meat, small chunk of avocado, and a WHOLE lot of rice! Needless to say, not very appetizing.
The salad was disgusting. It had a chunky ginger dressing, ground pepper, and bacos.
The Veggies were decent, the filet was pretty good, and the bean spouts were actually rather good.
The service was decent, my cup was always refilled as it hit half full. It was rather confusing who the actual waitress was because it seemed as though we had five.
All in all I wouldn’t go back… There’s much better out there.

I was going there for a friend’s birthday celebration. I have a mild gluten intolerance. I called ahead of time to see if they had anything to accommodate me, and they did not. OK, fine, I knew I could make it work if they didn’t put the dressing or soy sauce on anything I ate. Our reservations were for 8:30 and we had a large party (15). We waited were seated at 9:20 and the entire meal was rushed. The service was awful. Drinks were not refilled. My friend complained to me that she couldn’t eat her steak because it was too salty. They dropped the checks at 10:15ish. It was obvious that they were in a rush to get out (they close at 10). It just wasn’t a good experience at all. I’m not the biggest teppanyaki fan, but usually it’s I can get some sushi rolls, have a decent salad and soup and some veggies, but this place was just a waste.

I was overall disappointed with the Teppenyaki that this restaurant puts on.
Yes, I’m normally a fan of the cheesy table shows, eggs and shrimp flying through the air, onion volcanos, and other showman tricks that move in to the teppenyaki experience.
However, this is not a Teppenyaki restaurant, or at least our chef wasn’t, he literally just came out and cooked and served our food on the grill. No show, no tricks, no nothing.
He overseasoned/​sauced everything, and put some wierd thick sauce on the shrimp that was like a combination of mayo and flour, couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but one companion called it «Japanese Gravy». The chicken was good, but overseasoned with too much of whatever sauce was on it. Same goes for the filet/​steak, ruined a perfectly cooked filet by oversaucing it. The sauce used on the chicken and steak was a heavy soy based sauce, that tasted like it had extra salt and maybe mirin (a rice based cooking wine) in it.
The rice was ok, even being steamed, it was dry, I guess that’s so it can absorb the massive amounts of sauce for the diners that choose fried rice.
Best part of the meal was the green tea, which was actually real green tea (cha). Which is also sad because you have to ask specifically for the tea, and refills of it.
Service wasn’t unpleasant, but not really pleasant either. I understand it was the lunch rush, but at least smile and act happy that your restaurant is full.
If you want good Teppenyaki, try Ichiban on Hamilton road, (and if there, try the cream sake), but stay away from this place. I was very underwhelmed, and sad that I chose it for my birthday lunch.

I just got back from another work place trip to celebrate… something I can’t keep up.
In fact, my office went here in early December to celebrate
1. The holidays
2. Someone leaving
3. Someone starting
We always team up and share the $ 20 special which includes chicken, steak, fried rice a drink, salad with ginger dressing, and dessert. So for a little over $ 100 bucks the entire staff gets fed. I love working for a non-​profit.
Everytime I suffer through and practically get insulted when I request steamed rice instead of fried and inquire about the possibility of brown rice. They don’t have it. I also ask for oil instead of the ‘fat casing’ that is placed over everything and always get a delightful dirt look. Sometimes they have low sodium soy sauce.
Fortunately the plum wine comes quick enough before I really start to complain… everytime!
This place is more about having fun with a large group and watching your food being cooked in front of you as you sit around the large grill.
Amongst all the fanfare you usually fail to notice that the food tastes like alpo.

I understand this type of interactive restaurant might be good for families, but in general, I still don’t «get» these places. So, you sit around a communal grill with a handful of strangers, watching a chef cook up some protein in a pile of lard while doing knife and spatula tricks. Some people really dig the concept and find it entertaining. I find it gimmicky and unremarkable– like the food.
I can’t say my food has ever tasted bad here, but I just don’t find Japanese Steakhouses remotely unique. When fI get outvoted and we end up in one, I usually resort to ordering appetizers and sushi rolls.
Being served a fruity drink in a giant Buddha head is always my favorite part of the experiences. We also had a huge laugh when the servers let loose with the most god awful Happy Birthday song for a patron… it was pretty side-​splitting and I almost fell off my seat — but then again, it might have just been all those fancy drinks!