Hibachi Japanese Restaurant in Painesville, Ohio

On 28 March 2009, a group of us decided to go to the Hibachi Japanese Steakhouse on Mentor Avenue on the border of Painesville and Mentor. It started off poorly, as we had reservations and some of our party were late, which forced the rest to stay in the waiting area until everyone was there. Then, once we were seated, one of the party noticed that there was a plate that had something on it. “No problem,” we thought. “There’s another plate here.” Lo and behold, it was dirty, too. We all know the dishwasher heats up to a high enough temperature to kill whatever bacteria there might be, but that does not make it possible to eat off a plate that has fused on food, if you know what I mean and I am sure you do. That, though, was the end of anything that could be considered wrong.

First, let me explain that everyone sits around a grill that is used as cooking and stage show for the assembled guests. The server takes a group order and then comes back to check on drinks. Within about fifteen minutes or so the chef comes out with a cart or tray holding everything that was ordered in a raw state, except for the rice, which was pre-cooked. Then the show is on….

The grill has already been turned on by the server, which really is a misnomer in the she was only there prior to the actual cooking because our chef cooked and directly served as each item became complete. It is honestly very difficult to explain what all went on, but, suffice it to say, there was plenty. Oh, and a note of extreme caution, I decided to wear my hair down that day, not intelligent. One of the first things chef wild-man did was to flame up a stack of onion rings so that it looked like a volcano. The fireball was so intense that I felt as though my hair was about to go up in flames. In fact, I even expected Bill, our resident bald guy, to walk away with a singed scalp. (Sorry Bill I had to use you for effect, you know you love it, though.)

Anyway, He threw a bunch of veggies on the grill then all of the meats, which ranged from Filet Mignon through sea scallops, chicken, shrimp, and Mako shark. Each one was done in its own time, and timed to perfection. I have had scallops many a time, and even cooked them myself, and they were NEVER this melt in my mouth wonderful. I wasn’t impressed with the flavor or texture of the shark (that was the first time I had tried it), but it was done perfectly. The chicken, which is a perennial problem with me, was dry but that is chicken breast. The steaks were all done exactly as asked and the veggies were very good, too. During the cooking our chef flipped two shrimp at the guys in the group to see if they could catch them, I caught both while others were not so lucky. We started with a very simple beefy broth onion soup with fresh small pieces of mushroom, which we even got our, “I don’t want to try anything” companion to try, albeit without the onions or mushrooms. Although simple it was quite tasty.

It cost us all about $200.00 and they do add an 18% “gratuity,” which has always bothered me, as they probably would have gotten more with out the addition. For the price, the food and the show were definitely worth it and we would all like to go back again.