Shogun Japanese Steak & Sushi Bar

There’s a reason why this place only has two and a half stars. I rated two stars because the food was decently good. I say only decent because the steak dinner (not the filet or a steak combo) was at most a strip and a half; we’ve always seen at least two unless you get the combo. It would be worth the 2 hour wait for Kani just for the value alone. Now, the chef did do a good job with the meal. He was fast, it was well seasoned, and he was fun.
What truly kills this experience for me is the TOTAL LACK OF SERVICE! We honestly had no idea who our server was as three visited the table to deliver drinks and the soup/​salad. When we were first sat, the waitress took our drink order, then left. Another couple was seated, and she returned to take their drink order, empty handed. She took their drink order, and then left again. Another couple was seated, and the process was repeated. She finally brought our drinks, and we ordered dinner. We ordered two salads instead of soup, and the soup came out relatively quickly, but then we had to wait for both salads… and wait, and wait, and wait… even the other couples were making comments. Once the sale came out, we never saw a waitress… except for when we had to flag her from across the room to signal we needed a water refill; sorry I didn’t get a fancy drink you were expecting a bigger tip from, I guess.
The waitress still didn’t come back to the table until after the dinner was well over and we all helped ourselves to the to-​go boxes that were in the bookshelf next to the table. The waitress also struggled with the cash I used to pay the check with… took longer than necessary to bring my change back; we thought she may have assumed the change was her tip. Needless to say, we will NOT be back.

One star simply due to the atrocious 1 hour wait my family had to endure waiting on food. Had it not been my son’s birthday, and this is what he had requested we would have walked out. The food is good… but not worth a one hour wait.

Had gone a week earlier with my wife and Daughter who was vacationing with us, Went back one week later with my wife for their Wednesday Dinner Special which the flyer states Buy 2 Adult Hibachi Dinner w/​two soft drinks — get 3^rd Hibachi Dinner FREE (One per party /​Table — Dine In only. When I tell the waitress that I’d like the 3^rd Free Hibachi dinner boxed, she said they could not do that. I feel this ad is Deceptive Advertising on Sho Guns part. Just wanted to give you folks out there the Deceptive Scoop ! The Show and food was and portions where good, we both had the Steak & Shrimp with Fried Rice. And I substituted a Sapporo Beer for a required soft drink purchase.

Wish I could give this place a zero. I planned a surprise lunch for my mother here Sunday. I called two weeks ago to make the reservation for 25 people. When we arrived, the restaurant was fairly empty. I asked if we could go ahead and be seated prior to my mom’s arrival, but the hostess stated the entire party needed to be there first. I explained that the purpose was to surprise my mom and that I’d prefer we were all seated. Finally she agreed to seat us but then discovered there wasn’t enough room to accomodate all of us. When my mom showed up, she was surprised but disappointed that we had to leave because they weren’t able to open another table. The hostess explained to me that they didn’t have enough cooks. I called the Shogun in Duluth and they were more than willing to accommodate all of us in a private area with three tables. Don’t waste your time going to the Buford location.

The 2-​star rating is based on the taste and quality of the food. I don’t think negative rants do anyone justice, so I’ll offer some constructive criticism at the end as well.
We had a large group of about 22 people and were accommodated very nicely. The hostess was very understanding when about half of the group showed up 45 minutes after our reservation. The customer service was exceptional for such a large group. The only negative aspect was waiting to get our checks at the end of the meal when some people had to leave.
I personally tasted the following:
* Hibachi Chicken & Vegetables
* Chicken Fried Rice
The portions were very generous (too generous?). But the taste was very bland. Nothing was exceptional to my palate, I wasn’t even able to eat more than a few bites. But I did not get a chance to taste the sushi, which seems to get the best ratings here on Unilocal,I wish I would have read some of these other reviews BEFORE ordering. Regardless, I really did like the staff so I feel bad leaving a low-​rating. I hope they read these reviews and improve their offerings.
My advice to the management would be to shorten the menu to offer only the best that Japanese cuisine has to offer. Only leaving the dishes they excel at cooking. I was overwhelmed by the amount of selections so just played it safe. I would much more prefer less portions, a more affordable price point and tastier food.
A lot of restaurants fail to offer a great customer experience when catering to large groups. Shogun clearly has no issue with large parties, which I would probably say is a more difficult task to pull off than tweaking the menu. So with a little help, they can give an overall awesome experience in service and food quality!

Horrible! The food isn’t great. We went at lunch time on Mother’s Day and they were charging dinner prices! Anyone who eats here knows lunch prices are half. I asked and they said «we are doing it because it’s Mother’s Day.» That’s bull! You shouldn’t change just to make more money, especially when lunch is still $ 80!

I’m basing my review off of the quality of food. I ordered filet mignon for my hibachi meal (about $ 22) the quality was VERY poor. The meat tasted very chewy…
The shrimp tempura appetizer was only THREE Shrimp! The rest was tempura vegetables.
The ranch on the salad tasted like hidden valley ranch…
I’d rather pay a few more dollars to get better quality ingredients at Kani House up the street.
I will say that the service from the waitress «Judy» was superb! A+++ for her.

Such a disappointing place. This is the third time I’ve been here and each is as disappointing but I just forget. This time I ordered off the regular menu for hibachi (not for the show). The fried rice has a really weird taste. The filet mignon was over cooked even though we asked for medium. The shrimp was also slightly over cooked. The tables were really sticky. And the meal came out to $ 35 for the 2 of us for lunch. Would have had a better meal going to the Mall of Georgia food court.

Wow. The way we were greeted was the furthest thing from what you’d expect from a place dedicated to customer service. Judy — the hostess — was rude and less than helpful. They didn’t have our reservation on the books and put us on the waiting list along with literally 30 other people. We then came to sit at the bar to get a drink and waited 10 minutes while the bartender took her sweet time. Can’t comment on the food or table service yet but that’s because we’re still waiting…

We waited over an hour for our chef to make it to put table and the food was not that great basic stuff. The chef had no personality and didn’t get the special orders correct either. Skip this place!!!

I seriously would give this place no stars! Absolutely the slowest and worse service ever! Was told only a 15 – 20 minute wait. We ended up waiting an hour. Bar service was nonexistent. Finally got sat at a table and after 20 minutes we never had a server. I asked someone and they said she is coming. 10 minutes later still no server. Just left after awaiting an hour and a half.

Ordered Philadelphia roll & Alaska roll. Both good. Fried rice is ok — a little overdone/​soft. Ordered the chicken habachi dinner, ginger salad was soggy and way over-​gingery (not like other habachi restaurants) and the food is incredibly bland. At one point I couldn’t tell the difference between my «teriyaki» chicken and my steak! Service was slow, too. Won’t be going back.

Completely understaffed for NYE, had a 730 reservation and was finally seated at 755. 50 minutes later and just got our salads. Going to Flowery Branch next time.

We have been coming here for over 5 years and it is one of our favorite places to eat. The lunch boxes are my favorite. It is alot of food at a decent price. The volcano roll is the best!!! The owner is very personable and always greets us when we come in. The prices are the only issue I have. However, it is the nature of the style of food. Japanese places are always higher. Prefer over Kani House right up the street!

Went here the other night for a friend’s birthday dinner. We had a very large party so we had an entire room to ourselves (two hibachi grills). I’ve been to a couple places where they do hibachi in front of you and this place was just okay.
The service was good, no one’s order got messed up and since we were a party of 12+ that was impressive. The chef on the side of the table I sat on seemed like he was new. He kept for getting things and having to run and get them, like oils or spatulas. He also dropped things pretty frequently, not food or anything like that, but several utensils. He also made a lot of corny jokes, which I’m a big fan of, but he was very soft spoken so it was often hard to hear him over the grill.
The soup and salad were very good, and the shrimp everyone was served with their meal was delicious! The fried rice was different than other fried rice, but it was good. I had the chicken hibachi with veggies, it was just okay. A little under seasoned all around.
The portion was HUGE though, there was plenty for me to take home and have for dinner the next night.
They brought us all sherbet and the birthday girl cake at the end, and sang a birthday song with us. The staff was very very nice, we had a good time with them, and no one was ever waiting on a refill.
Overall, for the price, I’m not sure I’d go back, and if I did I’d probably try something else. But it was a fun place for a birthday!

The sushi is very good and fresh. I recommend the Playboy Roll at lunchtime on week days. Dinner, the sauces and sides get smaller, so I can only recommend the restaurant when the lunch chefs are there.
The service is loose. Just not very good. Young girls made up like dolls who could care less. They always brought me my check before I was done eating/​drinking. The only saving grace is the roe is fresh, the sushi is prepared wonderfully, and the sushi chefs appear to care about their quality.
Eat there before 6pm, try BOGO night, and pack your patience for service!

I absolutely love the sushi!
My husband and I come here almost 3 times a month. The customer service is horrible tho. Sometimes we don’t get everything we order or have to wait a long time. I really want this place to succeeded! Just wished they would get the wait staff in check.

Nice place. Decent service. Food is small portions (barely enough to eat, not enough for left over, and expensive).
I wanted to try the place. I am glad I did. I think Kani house (very close) is a much better value.

Amazing! I can’t even explain how much I am impressed with Shogun everytime I go. I am from New York and I decided not to go Japanese restaraunts down here @ atl because I could not find a decent one, but WALAA I found Shogun and it is my favorite ever since then. I overly impressed with everything about this place: the sushi (the playboy rolls is a MUST TRY), well-​cooked hibachi food, and THE best yum yum sauce and ginger dressing in town. The staffs are sooooo friendly, always enthusiastic towards us. The place is very neat, reminding me of a cozy Japanese dining room. I always don’t forget to bang the gong at the end to tell them I had a great time :)

This place is exactly what fellow Unilocalers have said it is: a three star restaurant. Nothing is impressively bad or impressively good. It was a little disappointing because the atmosphere of the place (crowded, loud, etc.) foreboded something more extravagant.
As soon as we got there, we were seated. The waitress rushed to take our drink orders. (I’m always reminded of early morning Starbucks in New York when I come to Hibachi restaurants. is that just me?) Then, the regular ordering began: «What kind of soup and salad? How would you like your steak cooked? Fried rice?» Blah blah blah. Then soup and salad to ease as we await our chef to start the show.
I ordered shrimp and chicken with fried rice and ginger salad with miso soup. Ginger dressing was disappointing. soup was okay. Chicken was salty but I can’t expect to eat a low-​sodium meal at a hibachi restaurant. Shrimp was the most disappointing: very fishy because it was undercooked. All in all, I was hungry (as I usually am) so I cleaned my plate pretty good.
I don’t know if I will return to this place, because there are too many hibachi restaurants in the area and this place was not memorable.