Ginza Hibachi Japanese Steakhouse

I popped in here on a whim today (just wanted to try something new), plus I was feeling a bit nostalgic… I had not parked in this portion of the parking lot since the demise of Rainbow Records (sniff). Walking through the front door, hungry, whilst all sorts of flashbacks to my high school years clawed at my brain. Good times.
Anyway, I was promptly seated by the friendly staff and then placed my order. Against my better judgment I ordered the sushi/​sashimi lunch (I say that because I just ate at Bluefin last week, so my sushi-​standards were high, and also because I sorta got the impression that sushi is not what they really «do» here). But a craving is a craving, so I went with it. Average miso soup was given along with it… it was just ok.
I was somewhat crestfallen to see the entrée had a whopping three kinds of fish on it… tuna (2 sashimi, one nigiri), salmon (same), one piece of yellowtail nigiri, and a california roll. For the price it was a good amount, but variety was sorely lacking, and the fish itself was merely average. Not BAD, mind you, but rather bland and lacking in all the areas that make sushi so addictive. I left feeling unsatisfied, which is rare for a sushi-​centric meal.
That aside, the service was friendly and the décor was quite nice. I’d like to come here again, and either try the hibachi or some of the other dishes they have to offer. I will update my review when that happens. Its hard to do all things well so maybe sushi just isn’t their bag (no problem since Bluefin is barely 5 minutes up the road).
And I still miss Rainbow Records. :(

My sweetie and I went to Ginza in the last month or so and greatly enjoyed our meal. She had a stir fried noodle dish (Udon) which was very tasty and rather unusual in that you typically mostly find Udon in soup dishes.
I had a lovely Phở that they had on special, which was very fresh with perhaps the best broth I have had in a noodle dish outside of Tokyo.
Most impressive, however, in contrast to the other reviewer’s experience, was the sushi. They didn’t have salmon and avocado on the menu but the chef was happy to make it up for us. It’s my sweetie’s favorite roll she felt it was the best she’d had, including the much more expensive version at Raw in Philly (which also has amazing sushi). We liked it enough that we ordered a second one.
Also, it was a slow night so the new owner came over and chatted with us for a while. She’s a really neat person and clearly in love with food. We had a great discussion on noodle broths :)
We did not try the Hibachi, may do so next time.
Overall a fantastic find in its price range and better food than many much more expensive restaurants.

Ginza has change hands so many times. Our last time potion was smaller. Not like it use to be. I question the hostess, about the cook I am use too. First she tells me Oriental Pearl was confusing with others Oriental Pearl. First that is a lie, state of Pa will not issue different eatery with the same name for tax purpose.
I have to say, I don’t think I will go back.
Service is not up to par as it use to be. Think I will switch to King Buffet? At least I can see what we are getting. Not the BS. beside it is Chinese people that has a Japanese restaurant.
Hope the next owner will do better?

So this restaurant used to be Oriental Pearl, but possibly changed names along with the owner? Anyways, I felt like Hibachi and was delighted to see that I could find one within a mile of my house!
So here’s the good: I had the chicken and steak combo and let’s be honest, when have I ever had bad hibachi? So needless to say, it was pretty good. They served onion soup instead of the miso as an appetizer (I prefer miso) and also a side salad with their ginger or sesame dressing — whatever they usually serve at Japanese restaurants — love it. The hibachi chef was awesome — a sense of humor is always a good thing. Waitress was OK the first time, but when I went last night, waitress and possibly the manager were very friendly and attentive… altho that may have been due to the fact that we were the only ppl in there on a Sunday night at 7pm.
And now the bad: So I decided to try a typical sushi roll last night with my hibachi entrée, I had a Philadelphia roll. And boy am I glad I only got one roll. The salmon was really fishy and very chewy… normally it melts in my mouth, but not last night, it was awful. If I had ordered a sushi meal, that would have ruined my tastebuds for sushi completely. So either they had a bad batch of fish last night or it just normally sucks. Regardless, the bad sushi experience has probably deterred me from ever getting it there again when there are better places to go. Another thing that bothered me was that I decided to just get steak my second time there instead of the combo… so wouldn’t you assume that your portion of steak would be double the size if you aren’t getting a combo dish? I felt like they skimped on the steak as well as the vegetables. Ok, so maybe they served me a healthier portion, but I am a leftover kind of gal.
The unique: So we went there for my bf’s b-​day last night and at the end of dinner, they turned off the lights at our table, turned on the disco light they had in the center of the floor and blasted cd or something of people singing happy birthday… LOL. So we didn’t get a personal performance from the staff, but it was pretty amusing nonetheless. And they gave him this asian «lucky knot» as a b-​day gift. Heh.