Steakhouses are a staple of the American dining experience—and excellent choices are abundant. But Japanese steakhouses, especially hibachi-style ones, are an even more entertaining way to dine.
If you haven't experienced the high-energy cooking style, which is best enjoyed with at least a few friends, you're missing out on chefs with amazing skills preparing your meal right in front of you on a large flat griddle called a teppan. Often trained in intricate knife skills and showmanship, these pros perform a variety of tricks, such as juggling utensils, creating flaming onion volcanoes, and tossing shrimp into diners' mouths. This theatrical element turns a meal into an interactive event, making hibachi dining popular for celebrations and group gatherings.
Some smaller hibachi steakhouses offer a more intimate experience, with a small grill or griddle at the center of the table for diners to cook their meals themselves. The menu at Hibachi Steakhouse typically includes a variety of meats, particularly high-quality steak, along with chicken, shrimp, and other proteins, accompanied by vegetables, fried rice, and noodles, all cooked fresh on the grill.Some of these restaurants also offer a sushi menu, and it's fun to snack on a few maki rolls while your dinner sizzles in front of you.
When putting this list together, we looked for a combination of a communal seating arrangement, with diners gathered around the grill, high-quality, flavorful food, and engaging performances by the chefs that create a unique and memorable dining experience. These are the best Japanese steakhouses in America.
1. Benihana
Prior to the 1960s, Japanese food was almost unheard of in most American households. That all changed in 1964 when Yunosuke "Rocky" Aoki opened America's first Japanese teppanyaki restaurant on West 56th Street in New York City. Named after his parents' Tokyo coffee shop, Benihana opened in 1964, featuring an authentic Japanese farmhouse interior and food prepared on steel teppanyaki grills right in front of customers. That location is still open today, along with over 90 other restaurants, and they all feature talented chefs showing off knife skills and flipping food into the mouths of hungry patrons.
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2. Gyu Kaku
With over 600 locations in Japan, and across the U.S. in California, Washington, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Georgia, Texas, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Maryland, Florida, and more, Gyu Katu has been serving Japanese-style grilled barbeque to patrons in the U.S. since 2001. At this chain, you'll find grills at each booth, and the restaurant encourages groups to come in and share premium cooked meats over their flaming smokeless grill, while sipping on Japanese sake, shochu, and cold beer. Many of the steaks are dry-aged for 21 days, and their best-sellers are the Harami Skirt Steak in Miso Marinade and Prime Kalbi Short Rib in Tare Sweet Soy Marinade.
3. Nobu
Celebrities are frequently spotted dining at the many Nobu restaurants across the United States, but you don't have to be an A-lister to hit this chain, which is known for excellent sushi and miso-glazed cod. However, the location in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace ups the game as the only location in the U.S. to have Teppan tables, and diners can book an exclusive experience with the restaurant. The restaurant offers a regularly changing Teppanyaki tasting menu, which sees every course cooked right in front of diners, and every bite is served with Nobu's signature sauces.
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4. Sakura Japanese Steak, Seafood and Sushi
This Japanese steakhouse chain was founded in Fredericksburg, Va., in 1988 and has since grown to 19 locations in the Northeast. Sakura's locations offer a sushi bar and a full teppan menu (the menu varies by location). New York strip, ribeye, and filet mignon are all popular entree choices, as are combos such as shrimp and filet. Each order comes with an appetizer, such as onion soup, and fried or white rice.
5. Morimoto
Since his debut on the original version of Iron Chef, celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto has been building a restaurant empire. First came his flagship Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia, then additional outposts, and the Momosan ramen shops. However, if you want the Iron Chef's take on teppanyaki, you'll have to head to the chain's location at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There, at the grill top tables for 12, you'll find a sophisticated, modern take on this style of dining that focuses less on over-the-top showmanship and more on high-quality ingredients and presentation.
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6. Niku X
For a truly sublime experience, the Michelin-starred Niku X is worth the trip to Los Angeles. You'll find yakiniku-style dishes cooked over state-of-the-art robatayaki grills, using contemporary techniques that take the menu to the next level. The restaurant offers a bone-in tomahawk steak feast with uni butter, tomahawk fried rice, and indulgent bites like Wagyu tartare and oxtail potstickers.
7. Flame
With three locations in New York City, Flame is where New Yorkers go for hibachi and fresh-from-the-sea sushi. The restaurant was featured on the popular show The Chew a few years ago, with a visit from Iron Chef winner Micheal Symon. Open for lunch and dinner, Flame offers hibachi lunch and sushi lunch specials. For dinner, feast on New York strip, 35-day-aged ribeye, and seafood specialties like lobster tail and Scottish salmon.
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8. Tanaka of Tokyo
If you're taking a trip to Hawaii, Japanese food should be on the menu, and Tanaka of Tokyo has three locations for all your cravings. With near perfect ratings on Yelp, the restaurants serve steak and seafood skillfully prepared with a lot of flair and fun by chefs on a tabletop grill. The restaurant does all the work for you, offering a set menu with a choice of entrees, such as Tanaka sirloin, ribeye, chicken and steak and lobster with sirloin. All entrees come with salad, grilled shrimp, vegetables, rice and miso soup.
9. Wasabi Steak and Sushi
This mini-chain has four popular locations in Ohio, all serving sushi and hibachi-style meals from grills at the table. The move at Wasabi is the Imperial Dinner menu, which offers surf and turf with filet mignon and lobster tail, a 14-ounce shogun steak, and more. Each main comes with soup, grilled shrimp and vegetables, noodles,and rice.
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10. Futago
After opening in 2015, Futago became one of NYC's premier yakiniku (barbecue) destinations. The lively restaurant features grills at each table, where diners can cook traditional cuts like prime skirt steak, tenderloin, Berkshire pork sausage and more to their liking, or try the Futago Experience, which is a half pound of market price A5 Wagyu or a pound of USDA prime manga niku for $120.
11. Fire and Ice
Billed as an "interactive grill and bar," this mini-chain, with locations in California and Massachusetts, uses a hibachi-style grill and techniques in a non-traditional way. Guests fill a bowl with proteins and veggies from an ever-changing buffet and then bring them to their table. At the center, a chef uses the round grill to cook each patron's picks with the sauce of their choice. Fire and Ice is far from traditional, but it's a lot of fun, and everyone in your group can eat exactly what they want for dinner.
