"Went to happy hour again a past weekend, and it wasn't as great as my August 1 visit. The sushi was still palatable, but the portions were smaller and there were changes to how the sushi was prepared (i.e. the eel previously had sweet eel sauce dressed over it and in this visit, it was completely dry). These changes and smaller portions just did not lend to the same experience we had before with them, thus a tad bit disappointed. Still enjoyed dinner and service was decent, but just was not the same.
( August 1, 2015 )
My husband and I really wanted to give Kobe Hibachi Steakhouse & Sushi another go (especially since it was heavily influenced on our “less than stellar” service), so we tried their Happy Hour specials – and we were not disappointed!
Happy Hour at Kobe is Monday – Saturday, 9:30pm-1:00am. It consisted of $1 Sushi pieces (each), discounted Sushi rolls and Appetizers, as well as some dessert options. The full menu – Hibachi, meals, Sushi & Sashimi Dinners – are still available and can be ordered from.
We came in around 10:30pm, and there were at least 5 parties in the restaurant, but we were served promptly and were very fortunate to have such a nice, friendly, and accommodating young lady as our waitress. We ordered almost 20 pcs of Sushi (White Tuna, Eel, Squid, Yellowtail, Salmon Roe, Octopus, Mackerel, and Red Tuna) and a Banana Boat for dessert. The sushi were a smidgen smaller than what I expected, but that’s such a minor complaint against the $1 apiece cost, especially since 2 in Japanese restaurants are easily $5-7. The quality of the fish was a little better than the average sushi restaurant in Oklahoma City/Edmond area, but not the most spectacular I had in this city. Also, the temperature ranged from cold to lukewarm (luckily not warm or hot), so consistency in being cold would make the fish taste a lot better. In case you were wondering, we tried so many pieces of sushi because again 1) it’s extremely affordable and 2) we wanted to see what were the best.
Here’s the list from highest to lowest quality from what we tried:
White Tuna, Eel, Squid, Yellowtail, Salmon Roe, Octopus, Mackerel, Red Tuna, and then the Banana Boat.
These pieces of sushi were generally what you would ‘expect’ when you order them ala carte, but I will say that their cut of white tuna was absolutely melt-in-your-mouth worthy and the eel – instead of having a little squirt of eel sauce – tasted soft, tender, and marinated in that sweet sauce; it was definitely coated and easily one of our favorite eel sushi. The fried bananas in the dessert should have been crispy, but while they were hot, they were very soggy; we weren’t very impressed.
Still, with EVERYTHING, the Happy Hour really makes it worth it to go to Kobe. I hope they keep these specials going, because – while I do enjoy very high quality sushi – it’s just not always feasible to eat out and have sushi due to high costs. If they keep these specials going though, I’m sure they’ll have us as future patrons. While it’s only one other experience, I’m happy that we gave Kobe another shot. It was well worth it in our opinion, especially since sushi can cost a lot and the other menu items at Kobe can break a bank for sure!
( July 22, 2015 )
Summary: Gorgeous Interior, Friendly Host, Wide Array of Menu Choices (for Hibachi and Sushi (Cooked or Raw) Lovers), Our service was less than stellar (primary reason for the lower rating), Food was great!
In a random drive through Edmond, we spotted that Kobe Sushi & Hibachi Steak House was having a Grand Opening and were very excited to try it out asap! In fact, we returned to try them out that same evening!
I have to say... The restaurant is absolutely gorgeous. The interior and dining areas have a modern yet serene and elegant atmosphere and environment that we love. The neon water wall upon first entering the restaurant, and the neon wall against the bar and sushi bar are pretty as well. The hostess was a young lady, who was incredibly helpful and energetic about her job, who seated us at a Hibachi table since we wanted to see their Hibachi presentation and have some of their food.
The menu looks like the general Japanese/Hibachi menu (appetizers, sushi/sashimi dinners, and Hibachi choices, etc.), but they had a little bit more options to choose from. We decided to order one Hibachi Salmon dinner and I ordered the Sashimi Dinner (comes with 18 pcs. and a bowl of sushi rice to eat it with). We also ordered the Aged Fried Tofu appetizer.
Here's where it becomes...odd. Our server was a young man who seemed very nice and friendly. He took our orders fine. But the 'oddities' began when we ordered the Fried Tofu and stressed that Sashimi Dinner will be my dinner and that we would like it served close to the end of the Hibachi presentation. He assured us this would be the case...but brought it before the Hibachi presentation even began.
He then brought out cooked rice with the Sashimi Dinner (instead of sushi rice, as printed on the menu), and when we brought this up, he said that "The Menu does say it comes with sushi rice, but it is wrong. It does come with cooked rice" with such certainty... This may be a little bias, but I absolutely love Japanese restaurants and have ordered Sushi/Sashimi dinners frequently, and all always have sushi rice paired with it. Also, hot cooked rice against cold Sashimi is not a pleasant combination at all - I can't imagine Kobe promoting this (plus, the menu stated explicitly that it was sushi rice). We asked if he could exchange it with sushi rice, and he begrudgingly took the cooked rice, and shortly returned with sushi rice. He then smiled at us, and before we said thank you, he immediately stated flatly, "Sushi rice does not come with that dinner. My manager said that I need to charge you $2 extra, but I'll ignore it for now." then left.
It didn't help that throughout the dinner service, he blatantly attended other parties with higher priority and would not ask us the same basic questions like "How is the food?" It was strange... Our whole experience with him was uncomfortable and awkward... I felt 'guilty' and 'blamed' a bit - which I don't usually feel unless bombarded.
So in the end, it really was kind of sad. I really wanted to give this place a try and enjoy it in all its grandeur. The Aged Fried Tofu was pretty good. The Sashimi looked absolutely fresh, and glistened as beautiful cuts of fish, albeit the sashimi was a little warm (though it was served on a bowl of ice, so that eventually helped with the temperature of the fish). The Hibachi Salmon dinner came with 2 decent slabs of salmon, fried rice, and vegetables; this dinner was really good and we liked the presentation.
Overall, the food was decent and the restaurant is just gorgeous. But with our less than stellar service and with the prices being so high, we will have to think twice about coming back. Perhaps we'll try their Happy Hour in the future though!"
