Category: Misc.

Best Places to Get Teppanyaki in the Greater Phoenix Area

By michaelgavin
updated 6 months ago

When you are in the mood for Asian food but want to break away from the traditional Chinese restaurant or Sushi bar, there are few options. But one of these few options happens to be a Teppanyaki restaurant—where you can watch as master and very skilled chefs prepare a meal before your very eyes over rising flames. All while demonstrating flare by tossing around the cooking utensils and somehow catching them. Most chefs that prepare these meals have undergone years of training and practicing to be able to perform the moves that they make seemingly easy to do. When you decide to get some Sake and Teppanyaki you are not just deciding to eat a normal meal. You are choosing to be entertained at your table as you watch a flare-filled cooking regiment take place and then you get to eat the proceeds—a well cooked Japanese meal. Follow this guide to the best Teppanyaki joints that Arizona has to offer.

This place is just elegant. They host a very nice location in North Scottsdale that coyly fits in with the uppity district surrounding it. There are not many finer Japanese restaurants that you can choose to dine in the city of Scottsdale. Sapporo has been here for many years and they always have striven to rank amongst the very best, which they do so every year—not to mention the countless positive reviews that they have garnered over the years.

The interior is just as decadent as the exterior and once inside you will find that this restaurant is rather lavish and very large. They have seating for more than 200 patrons and the tables, the interior décor and the atmosphere is very modern Japanese with an old-time flare. The tables have decedent settings that are hand painted and expensive sculptures and art pieces decorate the walls.

What really counts however is the service and the food, which is some of the best you will find in the state. You can choose to sit at a normal table, their massive sushi bar, or at one of their many famous Teppanyaki tables. I prefer the Teppanyaki tables, where amazing chefs will show off their skills as they grill and flip your order, grilling it to perfection.

Rating: While the prices are pretty steep, you get what you pay for here. Five stars for location, ambience, beer and wine selection, fantastic service and of course, some of the best damn Japanese food you will ever eat.

A smaller Japanese restaurant located in central Mesa, Arizona—Ah-so has been grilling up Teppanyaki greatness for several years in the same location. They have ample seating inside, but the place is so popular that there is always a noticeable lag in service, which is a shame. But if you can get over the long lines, the steady wait and the noise, you will eventually find yourself seated at one of their many Teppanyaki tables.

The food is notable, but is not the best Japanese food I have ever dined on. However, their prices are relatively low and the service is good when it is not lagging. The chefs are okay. Some are well trained and it shows and others are obviously still learning their trait. Rating: lousy service, okay food and prices, and sometimes flare lead me to say this place is three stars at best.

This awesome and decently-sized Teppanyaki restaurant located in central Mesa, Arizona and has plenty of great eats and entertaining Teppanyaki chefs for the whole family to enjoy. You can dine at a normal table—which costs less to order food from—or at one of their many Teppanyaki tables, which cost a little more but add to the splendor of the entire experience.

I prefer to eat at the Teppanyaki tables and watch as the artisan chefs swoop in and out with their cooking utensils, knives flying through the air as they juggle them over flaming food that is flaring beneath. You will not find a more entertaining restaurant to dine in the Mesa area.

Although this place can be on the pricier side, depending upon what you order, the experience, the service and the food make it well worth the money spent. Rating: four stars for great food, great Asian beer selection and the overall experience when dining here.

Located in the popular college downtown of Tempe, Arizona, Kobe has only been open for a few years and is already packing a full house on most evenings and always on Friday and Saturdays nights. This is because they are one of the few Japanese Teppanyaki restaurants that also have sushi and the ever so popular Kobe beef steak, which costs a fortune if you have the tastes and the pockets for such.

What separates this place from many others is their distinct restaurant styling and of course their versatile menu. Patrons can sit at normal tables, the sushi bar or at a Teppanyaki table—where they can watch as be amazed as some of the most skilled chefs create their meal over flaming spires while juggling knives and spatulas. Rating: four stars for menu diversity, several seating areas with specific themes, and of course the great food and service.

This is one of the very few real Teppanyaki restaurants in the Phoenix area. They have more than ten Teppanyaki tables that are all hosted by their world class and professionally trained chefs. If you want to truly get a cooking show right before you very eyes then this is the Asian spot you will want to hit up for dinner when in the dusty desert of Phoenix.

The food is bar-none and their seafood is freshly delivered every day. You can choose from a very large menu and order just about anything Japanese—even sushi if you so desire, which is actually pretty darned good here. Of course, why come to eat at a Teppanyaki restaurant if you are not there for the show, which is exactly what you get when you dine here. Rating: four stars for cleanliness, service, beer selection, a large menu and some pretty damn good prices on their food and drinks.

The world famous Benihana restaurant that hails from its homeland in Japan with better than a hundred year history happens to host one of their flagship US restaurants in Scottsdale, Arizona. Luckily for chaps like me, who love this kind of fare, it is not too far from where I live. Benihana is most famous for their chefs and the flare that they demonstrate while cooking, which is unmatched at any other restaurant you will ever dine in.

The place is really large and can easily seat and service up to three hundred patrons at a time. It does tend to get rather noisy in here so I do not recommend this place for a date, unless you are okay with it being a bit loud. But I do recommend this place for the ultimate Asian dining experience, which is exactly what you will get when you come to eat here.

The food is great, the service is wonderful and the interior of the restaurant makes you feel like you have left the desert briefly and have been transported to Japan for dinner. Rating: Five stars for elegance, presentation, performance and flare, drink selection, cleanliness and food. Another thing to note is that their prices are actually rather fair.

The most popular and longest standing Teppanyaki hotspot in South Scottsdale also happens to be a favorite of the 20’s something crowd, which can either make for a fun evening or can serve to ruin the ambience for those out on a date. This restaurant is so popular that you should not even come here unless you have a reservation. Literally there is a line that extends through the door to the back parking lot, and good luck getting parking for that matter, even from the valet.

Once inside and if you mange to actually get a table, you will be treated to some of the best Asian grilling and Teppanyaki flare to be had in the city. Although the place is loud, noisy and the service takes a bit, it is well worth the reward of eating some great Asian grill. Rating: bad service, great food, okay drink selection and a floor that needs to be vacuumed more often makes this popular restaurant barely eek out three stars.