Our boy is now 5! We had a birthday party last weekend and then to celebrate the day itself we took him out to dinner. We thought he would enjoy a restaurant where they cook in front of you on a teppanyaki table but we weren't thrilled with the idea of struggling all through dinner to keep our girl from climbing onto the hot cooking surface. So we got a sitter (three actually, but that's another story) for our girl and drove to Waikiki.
If you've never been to this type of restaurant, the seating is different than most. It's more like sitting at a bar, but instead of a bar the cooking surface is in front of you. If your group isn't big enough to fill the seats around the table, other patrons are seated with you. A waitress (dressed in a kimono) came and took our drink and meal orders and then there was a little wait while they prepped our meal in the back. Before long though, the chef came out with the ingredients for our meal and cooked it in front of us.
Our chef wasn't as animated of a showman as some are, but he flipped his spatulas around, juggled his salt and pepper shakers and built a volcano out of onions. Our boy definitely liked that and it always makes it into the story when he tells people about our evening.
When we made our reservation we had told them we would be there to celebrate a birthday and at the end of our meal they brought out some sorbet with a candle. No song or dance, but free dessert! And then we headed home, happy and full and smelling very much like the restaurant.
Do it yourself:
• If you're not on Oahu you might still be in luck. Kobe Japanese Steakhouse is a national chain and there might be one in your area!
• On Oahu, the restaurant is at 1841 Ala Moana Blvd. on the edge of Waikiki (on the town/airport side of Hilton Hawaiian Village).
• There is no parking lot at Kobe Steakhouse. You can pay $5 plus gratuity for valet parking or park elsewhere and walk. There's free parking by the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor and if the free parking is full, the hourly parking is very reasonable.
• I forgot to do this, but check the tourist magazines for coupons and/or ask about military and kama'aina discounts. They asked us if we had a coupon (we didn't) and their website says they have military and kama'aina discounts (but I didn't see that 'til just now). :( Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes!
• Other restaurants to try for the same type of experience are Benihana and Tanaka of Tokyo. It's been awhile since I've been to either of those so I can't give an up-to-date comparison, but my memory of them is that they were very comparable to Kobe Steakhouse. Although I know at least one of them (maybe both) included tofu in their meals and Kobe Steakhouse doesn't, so depending on where you stand on tofu that might affect your choice. :)
1 Comment:
Happy Birthday to your son! We love the Japanese steakhouse except our kids get frightened by the loud whoosh sound it makes when the cook first fires up the grill.
PS: Interesting fact about snow in Hawaii. I'll have to share that with my kids. There has to be at least one place in the world that doesn't have snow, right? :)
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