Samurai

Fabulous! Big rolls, more than you bargained for. Have been here 4 times and will keep coming back.

Samurai Japanese Steakhouse is located in the Desoto Junction Shopping Center and has been around for awhile now. I have loved their lunch menu for as long as I can remember. I used to order sushi to-​go every weekend however, over the months, chefs and employees have changed from time to time. You would think that does not matter but it really does if you value your food the way I do; since everyone cooks and serves differently.
I always order the Longboat Key roll but after my most recent visit, I lost my taste for it. There was too much sauce on my roll which literally sucked the taste out of the roll. I could barely even eat the rice because it had already been sogged up from the sauce.
Maybe when the next group of chefs and employees come in within the next year or so, I shall give it another try.

I decided to try samurai today while on my lunch break at work and I was not disappointed! I’ve been to many hibichi places in the past and this is the only decent one I’ve been to in the Bradenton/​Sarasota area. I will have to go back to try some sushi!

Samurai, is.mediocre. The place is very dark, the hostess placed dirty/​nasty menu onto my plate, back area smelled and no trash can at the door of ladies room. After washing my hands I grabbed a hand towel to dry and then another to open door I was surprised to find out that a can was not at the door to toss it. Then I return to the table to see a menu laying on the dinner plate that I’m suppose to eat off. Menus are touched by so many guests and the first thing guests touch before washing hands. The food was okay but everything else made me want to go but my date wanted to stay.
I’m a world traveler and one thing I noticed about the small town of Bradenton is that it’s HARD to find decent, clean, and authentic food.
At every Japanese restaurant I’ve ever eaten at the hibachi is typically a show, not here. The cook actually told the table next to us that he was coming. The only show our chef put on was the onion volcano. SUCKS

This is a great place to bring a group of friends and to have a good time! The chef we had was really hilarious and made our day! On top of it all the food was really good and for a really great price.

Really love their Longboat Key roll. Their sushi is so good! I also love their yaki udon noodles.

Where to start. I usually have zero complaints about this place. But this time it was horrendous! The waitress wouldn’t refill water, had to ask 3 times, sushi was sitting, just looking at me while I wAs hungry, asked if i could get it myself two different times! ordered all you can eat, in which I only had one plate consisting of 1 roll and a few singles. My brother had a couple of different plates. Which he ate all of. On my second though it had a roll that was suppose to be tuna with blah blah avocado or whatever they stuff in it. It had spicy mayo (which I enjoy) after one bite my mouth was on fire, it was so spicy! On top of that it said «tuna» this was more like tuna fish! It was a pink mushy filling… not appetizing! But the worst part and I mean worst was when I asked what it was to the host (server still nowhere to be found) the sushi chef chimed in his condescending response you order that! That not spicy! You have to pay $ 1 every piece you not eat! I said I have no problem paying if I over order and can’t finish but o wanted more I just cannot eat this… He yelled at me like I was an idiot white American and how dare I complain… Then proceeds to bad mouth me in Japanese I could not believe he spoke to me like that in front of all those people I wanted to stab him with his ginsu knife! he then said before you say too spicy now you say it mushy. You lie…

delicious and good portions

We had dinner there in mid December. The food was excellent, the staff was great and as others have mentioned the portions were very large. We visit a different restaurant every Saturday night with our neighbors and this was definitely the best place we’ve ever been. Can’t wait to go there again!

Great sushi at a decent price. They also have a reasonably priced lunch special. My husband and I come here all the time and we always leave satisfied. The sushi is fresh and tasty. We’ve had the hibachi food and it is decent as well. It is a little salty but you can expect that from hibachi food that’s usually cooked in soy sauce. The waitstaff is friendly and welcoming. The area isn’t the greatest but if you can overlook that give this place a try. I recommend it.

I was invited to have lunch here and let me tell you… I’m happy I was invited! This is a small yet clean restuarant. What really cool about this Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse is that you have the option I sit at a table or the «grill». We chose the grill… during lunch hours.
I was delighted when Miso soup & salad w/​ginger dressing came out immediately because I was famished. By the time I inhaled them both the «entertainer» aka chef had arrived. This guy was inappropriate at times but hilarious nonetheless.
I order the hibachi shrimp lunch special. It was amazing & very satisfying. I ate all the fried rice, all the veggies, & all my shrimp and EVERYTHING was scrumptious.
This place was great for a quick bite to eat at a reasonable price!

Absolutely fantastic! Food is amazing, customer service is great, and the habachi chefs are so entertaining. My husband and I go here all the time, and we plan on returning soon! A great value, so much food for sich a good price. You can’t go wrong with this place!

We enjoy eating at Samurai, as long as there is a groupon running, which there almost always is. Otherwise the food would be overpriced. I like the shrimp and steak hibachi combo. The hibachi chefs aren’t great so if you are looking for entertainment you will be disappointed. My only real warning is to make sure you ask the chef to keep the salmon far away from your food if you are unfortunate enough to end up at a table where someone orders it. Salmon makes everything else that comes off the grill taste fishy… gross.

Came to this place with a Groupon and was very glad that we found this place on vacation. The four of us ate very well. The food was very fresh and tasty. Both of my sons had sushi and udon noodles they both liked it. My wife and I had sushi, udon noodles, very large portion of seaweed salad, stir fry steak and seafood combo. All in all we will be back here in the future because of the quality and customer service. Thank you for a great meal!!!

I still highly suggest this place for huge, filling lunch. 2 rolls, soup, salad all for $ 9 with tax. Roll was super fresh and had large pieces of fish in them.

I love Sushi, and this place exceeds my level of expectations. The fish is fresh, delicious and ample.
The lunch specials are especially tasty and a good deal with a great number of options available including a 5-​pc Sushi Lunch, plus Sushi roll, Miso Soup and a salad for under ten bucks. Or you can choose from a variety of roll specials where you get two rolls plus soup and salad, again for under ten bucks.
There are about 10 – 12 seats at the classy Sushi bar, a bunch of tables if you prefer and about a half-​dozen Teppan tables if you like your lunch cooked with panache, flair and noise.
I have to resist the temptation to dine here too much, so I try to limit myself to once a week, which I always look forward to.

This place was delicious!
Got a groupon for hibachi. We had 4 people go and got 4 different dishes.
1. Filet
2. Chicken and Salmon
3. Chicken and Steak
4. Chicken and Tuna
The fried rice was amazing. The veggies were great. The amount you get is wortht he money. And the food is overall very very delicious
The waiter was attentive and polite. Highly recommended!

Had lunch here yesterday. The service was excellent.
I ordered the fake crab slaw and a beef roll ‘appetizer’ that I asked to be served ‘as my entrée’, and they expanded it (for the same price) by adding white rice and roasted vegetables. The veggies were great, didn’t want/​touch the rice. The beef rolls were covered in a way too-​sweet bbq-​style sauce. The beef was extremely stringy, like flank steak, that had been well-​cooked but was still tough and, well, stringy.
The slaw was spicy but had way too much mayo, and it was super-​sweet. My lunch friend asked for ‘yummy sauce’, which turned out to be the same dressing as on my slaw, minus the spice, and I didn’t think it was yummy at all. Whoever runs this place is convinced people like lots of sugar in their food. It reminded me of a Thai restaurant I went to in Sarasota, so much sugar, it made you flinch and say, ‘Ew’. Even the green onion/​scallion stems stuffed inside the beef rolls had sugar in them, probably from being steeped in the sauce.
I’m sure I’ll go back and try their teppanyaki items and sushi. Tthey have one maki roll that supposedly is wrapped in cucumber.
Meanwhile, I found the over-​sweetness of the food I had here unpleasant. It was too heavy-​handed. the sugar train stopped for me at this place with the entrees I had.

There are two sides to the restaurant; The Hibachi Bars and a smaller section with booths.
We opted for the Hibachi Bar. The bars fit eight people and depending on how busy they are, they are going to fill them. So if your party is less than eight (we had four) you’ll have strangers seated next to you.
The Chef/​Cook was entertaining and humorous and immediately garners your attention with an eyebrow searing ball of fire on the cooktop. After a few utensil flips, he proceeded to cook up the entrees. Everything was excellent and very large portions.
The staff was pleasant and very accommodating and the price is moderate… we all had the Hibachi orders (approx.: 20.00) included salad and soup.
Other reviewers mentioned it’s not in the nicest neighborhood (Desoto Mall area).but worth the trip.
LOOK for deals in Groupons or Living Social as they often offer specials here.

Their website menu is fairly accurate. We come here for lunch and the service is fast and very nice, especially important for someone in a lunch hour time crunch. The atmosphere is decent and a step up from any of the other dining options in the area. A great place to try to relax.
The sushi is actually pretty good, and a good value for the price. There are lunch sushi roll specials that come with soup or salad, and the options are extensive. The Longboat Key Roll was really good, but it is still not as addictive as the K-​Roll from Sam Oh Jung. However, the price is about $ 4 cheaper.
I only order sushi or a Bento box here, even though the Teppanyaki lunches are decent and the side sauces are some of the best that I have tasted in the area. I do not recommend the Salt and Pepper Calamari appetizer, it was not very crispy, and they give you mayo sauce for dipping.
They do have a full liquor bar and their specialty drink menu looks really yummy. But, I cannot indulge on my lunch break.