Arigato Japanese Steak & Seafood House

If this town was Orlando, FL I would feel comfortable calling this place a «tourist trap». I’m sorry, but Hibachi Show Down just ain’t cool anymore. And I’d rather not waste my calories on butter-​entrenched fried rice with salt & pepper seasoning. Pack up the circus guys, its time to move to the next town.

Make reservations! Only reason it has 4 stars. Except for that it’s adequate food, nothing terribly special in comparison to other Japanese restaurants. Pricing is so-​so, I guess about what you’d pay elsewhere. Food’s good, service is usually fairly decent. But if you don’t make reservations, you can (not always) wait a while. I’ve waited 15 minutes (5 – 5:30 ish on a weekend evening) and also waited 1.5 hours (approx beginning 6:00 on a weekend night).
You can always look for the cook that looks like Mr. Miagi (spelling?). Seriously.

This place has my favorite food ever, and I’ve been coming here since I was about 6 or so. I love their rice, veggies, and shrimp! I don’t care for their chicken, but the steak is always good.
The service is ok, not always the best, but it’s good enough for me to keep going!
The only thing I can complain about is the speed of food and service — I sometimes feel that as soon as the chef leaves, they want us to leave. I can understand that they need to open the table for the next guests, but I do feel a bit rushed sometimes.

Second favorite local Hibachi place. The portions aren’t as generous as the Tokyo, but the quality of the food is decent and there’s more variety on the menu.
Generally pricey for what you get and you always have to wait for a table. Wait staff could be more attentive.

Service is kinda slow and you do not get a lot food for the price you pay. Kanpai is is just as good and you get a lot more food.

We decided to try Arigato on Saturday night on a limb around 8:30. We had to wait about a half hour to be seated but we didn’t mind, we just had a drink at the bar. I ordered a piña colada, not the best I ever had but it was good and cheap at about $ 9 for two drinks. They will call your name over a loud speaker when the table is ready. It’s difficult to hear, so we had to check back at the hostess stand a couple times. Our server was just OK, she brought our soup before our waters and it took her a very long time to come clear our plates from the soup and salad. At the end, with the to go boxes, she just dumped everything in. I personally didn’t like that. If you want your food separate, you have to box it yourself. Our chef was great. He cracked jokes, tried a few tricks (several times and didn’t land any Lol), and cooked our food well. I ordered the rib eye steak and chicken combination for $ 16.80 and I thought the combination option was a good value. More than plenty of food. I didn’t see the need for extra rice, etc. unless you want another meal out of it the next day. The rib eye was a little fatty so I might try the filet next time.
Aside from the food and service, I think this place could use a good cleaning or a remodel. Also it was super hot, of course, in the room with the cooking. They really need to turn up the air to make it more comfortable for customers.

Updating my review after the pleasant experience we had over the weekend. Took my husband here on Father’s Day seeing as its his favorite restaurant. The server we had was attentive even though it was extremely busy. There were also some excellent Father’s Day meal specials.
My husband and I both ordered the ribeye, shrimp, and crab cake special. My mother-​in-​law ordered the filet mignon and shrimp and our son ordered ribeye (child’s plate). Even though the cook left a few shrimp tales in our food that we had to pick out, and over cooked my steak (was supposed to be medium well and it was cooked well)… the food was really good.
My son doesn’t usually eat very much but he stuffed his face last night. He even used chopsticks to eat his entire meal (very shocked that a 4 year old could use chopsticks). The crab cakes were kinda small but they were decent. The whole meal was very tasty.
Also would like to say thanks to the manager. He noticed we had a 3 month old with us, and wanted to apologize for it being so hot. Told us if we needed any wet towels or anything to keep our baby cool, to let him know. That was very thoughtful. We’ll keep returning.

If you’re looking for a good Japanese food where they cook in front of you, I highly recommend this place. Always friendly service and mouth water food, but if you go on the weekend there’s a slight wait, about 30 – 45 mins wait, you can plan ahead or you can enjoy some alcoholic drinks at the bar while you wait. I love this place!

My go to hibachi place !! I love it when they cook right in front of you and you can tell the chefs work really hard here.
You get a decent amount of food for an affordable price. Benihana would of cost you $ 30 where as here is only cost you $ 20. The food is a little too salty here but the meat is cooked just right. Definitely recommend the flounder, salmon, and steak here.
Would recommend you to come here Sun– Thurs till the end of this May they have a menu that has some really good deals.

I’ve been coming to this place for years and I’ve never left unsatisfied. The food is amazing, the portions are more than plentiful, and the service has always been good.

Best Japanese Food Ever. Management and Staff Are Great. The Food Is Wonderful. I Love It There

I passed this place for years noting how packed the parking lot always was but I never went until tonight, partially due to the Unilocal reviews. My friend went recently and said she thought it was good so we gathered up the crew and gave this place a shot. I really liked this place! It was typical hibachi but what surprised me was that I asked for my steak to be done medium and it was actually done medium, whoa! The shrimp was tasty, the rice was tasty and the dessert was tasty. Everything was good and I wasn’t even drinking! I had the steak and shrimp hibachi so I can’t vouch for anything else but as of now this is a win and I will now become one of those cars frequently seen outside of Arigato.

A middle-​of-​the-​road, adequate hibachi joint. (No sushi to be seen.) Unfortunately, that’s about it. It was okay food, but overall… just kind of lacking. I don’t know what it was specifically, but there just wasn’t anything to «wow» me. It’s surprisingly hard to pin down. It’s all but Americanized in a way that no one in your family will complain really, no matter who you bring. Really, the one’s the more likely to be disappointed would be those who really know quality hibachi and Japanese food. You automatically get fried rice, with no up-​charge. I’m not sure steamed rice is even an option. Yet, it’s still not BAD, it’s just not all that special. The flavor is ordinary and boring on the cooking, yet they had some decent sauces, so in my case I dumped ginger sauce over my food and found it good.
Be warned, it’s NOISY when it’s busy. You can’t have much of a conversation with anyone not sitting close. A lot of hibachi places have a wider layout that spreads tables a bit more, and I think the lower ceilings also keep the sound close. Combine that with some of their more whimsical elements (such as a guy randomly coming through with a drum… which was actually fun) and you have a fairly noisy environment.
It wasn’t overpriced too bad, but your cheapest meal is going to be about $ 15 (without tax and gratuity), yet there are some good deals. I got the rib-​eye and flounder special for $ 18 (a weekday special), and the steak was tender enough. The flounder was the highlight of our meal. My wife had some chicken on hers and said it was pretty dry. Our chef didn’t do much of a show. I saw one other guy doing a bit more, but even then no where near what you normally see at a hibachi place. Maybe for kids?
The most disappointing parts, sadly, were the «Japanese» parts. The fried rice was sadly lacking. It had it’s own twist (no egg like most places with corn in it instead), but it was also just pretty bland before I put the sauce on it. The vegetables too just tasted more like ordinary low-​grade soy sauce than anything. The soup had a LOT of onion, which is okay for me, but not what I was expecting. Otherwise, same as everything… just no special flavor.
So, in conclusion, this place is a pretty bland, yet safe place to bring a group. There’s no special flavor. I’d come again, but it’s not something I’ll crave.

I have been coming to Arigatos before I was even born. Srs. This was my mothers favorite place when she was pregnant with me and I think that may play a factor as to why I like this place so much.
I have never had a bad experience here. Over the years I have gotten to know the owner’s son and the manager and they along with the rest of the staff have treat me and my family very well.
I always get the same dish: appetizer shrimp dinner with a side of scallops. Simple and yummy. My family usually gets the filet migon.
If I had to make a constructive comment I would say that they do need to upgrade their AC system because in the summer months it gets pretty hot inside.

Look at your bill carefully! our waiter went ahead and added a 18% tip for himself when it was just two adults and two kids. And to add to it, he was rude and and threw all of our left overs in one box that barely fit all of it. I personally will go to another Japanese restaurant as the food is nothing special here and not worth the poor customer service!!!

We had dinner here this evening,. I to was once a fan of this restaurant ., they had the one and only hibachi food. the food is still fair but nowhere close to what it was .i agree the price has gone up but the portions have gone down, As long as they stay as busy these comments mean very little. they even use to give a small dessert at the end of your dining, that too is gone.
I hope someone in management will heed these calling to improve .The cook was nice but the showmanship which is part of the meal was pretty sad to my previous
, s not a total loss but it use to be way better.

This was an okay hibachi experience, but not quite 3-​stars okay. The food was fine, but it wasn’t special, and the vegetables tasted almost fishy. I’m used to really yummy hibachi food, and this just didn’t hit that mark. My shrimp was overcooked, the shrimp sauce was probably just mayonnaise, and the ginger dressing on the salad was downright gross (and poured on waaaay too heavily). Our waiter didn’t put on a show at all (which is half the reason I usually love a hibachi restaurant). Portions were highly unequal. Pricing was fine, and we were able to get reservations for an otherwise very busy night, so that was nice. The parking lot was kind of a zoo (but that may be because of the aforementioned busy night). The grill had some dirty spots that our chef didn’t clean off … so one of the people at our table grabbed the towel and did it for him. Our waitress was the opposite of polite, which is always a surprise in the south. They also didn’t seem to have a drink menu, which was weird, because they definitely had alcohol. Ambiance was fine, but needed some sprucing up – it felt like it hadn’t been reevaluated since the 90’s.
In other words, I’m disappointed in Arigato’s and probably won’t be back. That being said, if a friend wants to hit it up for a birthday celebration, I’m not going to duck out or protest their choice of restaurant — I’ll just know what to expect when I go.

With New Year’s Eve fast approaching and without any concrete plans for celebrating it, my sister-​in-​law decided that it would best suit the various desires and limitations of our group to visit Arigato for a pre-​NYE dinner. Luckily, she made a reservation because even at the relatively late hour of 9:00 p.m. the house was packed and the waiting room fully occupied. The meal and the hibachi «show» turned out to be only so-​so, but nevertheless we may have established an annual tradition.
We were seated fairly quickly, though with a few minutes wait despite our reservation. The interior of the restaurant seems a bit dated and oddly laid out. There are, however, several museum-​like displays of Japanese artifacts and clothing which are a nice touch and fun to look at while waiting for your table.
Our hibachi chef arrived looking quite worn out, which we later learned was attributed to his having worked 10 hours straight on his feet cooking over a hot grill. He was very pleasant, however, and his cooking did not suffer from his ebbing energy levels. We wondered whether the fact that he wore a green hat, while most of the other chefs wore red, signified anything. Let me know if you find out!
Among all the individual palates of our group (plus the two other patrons seated with us), all of the available meats were cooked up over the course of the meal. The meal was pretty standard: meat, grilled zucchini and onion, and fried rice. I found my shrimp to be well-​cooked, but the flavor left much to be desired. It basically tasted like soy sauce and bit of chili sauce. The dipping sauces were sub-​par, but tolerable.
The service was good overall, though it was apparent that the staff had put in a long day’s work and were tired and eager to finish up and get on with their NYE plans.
We had a nice time overall, but we are eager to explore other options for the hibachi experience.

First of all, I want to say here that there is a difference between teppanyaki and hibachi. Hibachi cooking is on a standard grill over charcoal and teppanyaki is on a flat metal grill. So Arigato is a teppanyaki restaurant, not hibachi.
Anyway.
Went to Arigato for my BFF’s birthday dinner. Sunday night and the place is packed to the point that we had to park in an overflow lot. 6:00 reservations and we did have to wait a few minutes past that but not enough for me to get agitated and I don’t wait well.
As I said, the place was packed and it did take a little while for us to get our drinks. In fact, we had soup before the drinks. The soup, however, was tasty I thought and a great beginning. The shrimp appetizer came with zucchini/​squash and (mostly) onions. I dislike onions but I didn’t remember to request my food without them. The fried rice was very basic — a little bit of corn and some soy sauce. No eggs or really any other seasoning. Still tasty but, for the price, one would think that they could do a little better than that.
I had the «Norwegian» salmon and it was very good — maybe a little salty but I am salt sensitive so it could have just been me. The reason that I put Norwegian in quotes is because this is a fancy, dressed up way of saying «farm raised.» Not exactly a lie, but the menu may be slightly misleading. Also, the entrée did not come with any vegetables. That kind of surprised me.
However, what the food may have lacked in oomph, our chef more than made up for with a huge personality and a very funny presentation. He didn’t do the tricks that I’ve seen in other teppanyaki restaurants — no flaming stack o’ onions here — but he was great with his little crowd of eight. He asked if I had ordered the salmon and then told me it was «fresh… from Walmart.» He probably says that to all the girls.
The waitress was on top of her game tonight after the slow start and I never once had to ask for a refill for my drink. She was also very polite and said «you’re welcome» every time I said «thank you.» You’d be surprised how many don’t.
All in all, the food, though relatively basic, was still tasty and perfectly cooked. The chef, however, was what got this restaurant four stars instead of three.
Would I go back? Probably. But not right now. I’m stuffed!

I’m sorry some of the reviewers didn’t have a good experience here. My experience was just fine. Our server was one of the «more experienced» ones, as is suggested by the height of their hat. As for the show, I’ve experienced better. Our chef didn’t do any of the fun and ‘whoaaaa’ things like tossing his bowl and catching it in his hat or making little fires inside onion rings, but our meal was good. He made the meat just right and all the flavors melded well. I, personally like the chefs make my food which takes me to fantasy land where I can have a circus in my kitchen, but here I got much less than a circus, more like a roadside rope walker show. However, I had a plum wine here, which was delicious. For people who like sweet wine, you should definitely try this one.