Kobe Ninja House Japanese Grill

I often have a late lunch at the bar on my day off or come by to enjoy the bustle of Kobe’s excellently decadent happy hours (Tues/​Thurs 4−8PM) with friends. The gyoza is a favorite of mine. I’ll be back soon!

We ate in the dining room. Sushi, tempura and udon. Sushi was fine — comparable to maintenance sushi served at nearby Shinbashi (Ellsworth). Tempura was a little greasy. Service was good — friendly and attentive. The restaurant was tired and worn looking, the ‘leather’ on the chairs was cracked, torn and the cushions were collapsed (not just at our table but everywhere I looked), soy sauce bottles and silverware were dirty, smell of dirty mops wafted from the kitchen, bathrooms were a mess. The high reviews were definitely misleading — we were disappointed.

The food is Fantastic, leaving most of the other restaurants in another league. In this case, the 5 stars are well deserved. The restaurant is very clean and the decorations are pleasant. There is an excitement that comes from the Grilling side. Hot flames and people reacting loudly to the show that the chefs are putting on only add to the atmosphere. Well Done!

Standing out among other restaurants in the area, Kobe deserves all five stars.
As soon as you walk through the doors, you get the feeling that your experience will be a good one. There is an excitement that comes from the Hibache Grill side, with hot flames and people reacting loudly to the show that the chefs are putting on. The restaurant is very clean and the décor is lovely. Staff and service here are outstanding, although you can sometimes tell that the servers are weary of the Birthday celebrations that they do for the patrons. Maybe a bonus in their paycheck for every 15 Birthdays cheerfully executed?
We always sit in the grill part, where you will get your money’s worth. Waiting for your table to fill up with random strangers is just part of the experience. Sometimes the strangers are talkative and excited. Other times, they completely ignore you. It doesn’t matter to me what my tablemates are doing, I’m there to socialize with my husband, family and friends. The food is worth any awkwardness. I don’t recommend sitting at a table with young children (unless you have young children with you), as the flames can be very scary to them and the chef will tone his «performance» way down. Always amazed at the server’s abilities to be attentive to a table of ten. We have never had a rude or forgetful server at Kobe. The chefs are friendly and talented. The one time we sat at the bar, service there was terrific as well.
The food is out-​of-​this-​world, making most of the other restaurants in Bangor look like sad jokes. I am not one to give 5 star reviews unless everything is absolutely perfect. In this case, the 5 stars are well deserved. My husband and I made a pact: Instead of wasting our money on mediocre food anywhere else, we will save it and go to Kobe.

Food was good but portion sizes could be better for the price, always enjoy the entertainment with my meal.

One of the best places I have found to eat in Bangor. Great service, entertainment and food. If you leave without taking food home you forgot your takeout. Great bargain for the money.

I went here for the first time today for lunch. Restaurant was clean, staff friendly and got seated right away. The menu was great, a good variety of land or sea options and shchi for those that like it. Sat at the grill and watched the chef cook the food in front of us, and he made us laugh. Food was fantastic and fresh! Amazing flavor and plenty of dips or sauces for the food, but I didn’t need it. The food had great taste on its own. I highly recommend this place for anyone looking for great food and friendly staff!

Are you looking to dine out and have fun in Bangor area? If yes, you should try this place once at least. Walked in here with good pals, waited for about 15 minutes for a Hibachi grill table. This place is spacious, clean and smartly-​organized (bar area, regular tables area and a hibachi fun area). It has Japanese beautiful writings and decorative bamboo plants on/​in the walls with a great lighting design.
The hibachi chefs are awesome and so much fun! Our chef was a vivacious, hospitable and most friendly Balinese guy. Onion volcano fire, hibachi flame, squirting sake and throwing a piece of shrimp or veggies in people mouths to see if they catch it, are entertaining to any age group, even for a sage wise grumpy dude like me.
Beef sticks appetizer was great. Their hibachi fried rice, veggies and sauces are wonderful! Ordered lobster and medium rare rib-​eye. Rib-​eye was so good, so tender, nicely seasoned and fresh. Lobster, hmmm, when it comes to ”signore aragosta”, the lobsterin-​picky hormone gets sky high. Anyways, it was good. The rockstar of the meal is the yum yum yellow dipping sauce. Anything would taste great with this sauce! You probably need at least 2 of it.
You better come here if you have a birthday going on. Service and staff were amazing here. Thank you, Kobe Ninja, for a great night. If there was 4.5 stars, I would pick that.

Don’t go there to eat! The sushi is hard and not fresh. The steak is small and teased like dead woods. We ordered the dinner box last week. The broccoli was half black and half green. It is certainly not right. The manager told us that it is always like that and not even see sorry to us. When we left he is rude and mean.

Kobe Ninja had some solid Japanese sushi, it’s not your best but it’s probably one of the best in Bangor, Maine.
The restaurant is very big and you get a choice of doing hibachi or having just regular sushi, they seat you accordingly. My party had sushi and it wasn’t bad at all. It wasn’t the freshest but the combination of ingredients to make the special rolls was good. The place is also very clean and has good presentation. Staffs were attentive and the food came in a reasonable time.
If you’re craving for sushi and in the area, Kobe Ninja is the way to go.

I stopped in here on a Saturday night, and the parking lot was packed. Kobe is a very nice restaurant with a beautiful décor. I ordered a Nebeyaki Udon soup for take out, from the friendly hostess at the front. It was ready in no time and I was handed a large paper bag of food.
There were two large panko coated tempura shrimp in one container. The next container had a large amount of tasty dipping sauce for the shrimp. The third container was full of soup broth. The fourth and largest container had udon noodles, seafood, different vegetables and an egg. I ate the shrimp with the sauce, and enjoyed the broth with the noodles, It was all very tasty and filling and I really enjoyed it. There was so much yummy food, and I couldn’t believe how good it was!

ZOMG, I dream about this place when I’m not there! Started by New York restaurateur, Kobe Ninja is seriously fine-​dining family style. The hibachi side (best to make a reservation) is so much fun, all of chefs are great entertainers as well as chefs. I love the steak (medium rare), it is always seasoned to perfection and please pass me extra bowls of the Yum Yum sauce which can best be described by the adjective, «yum.» My personal favorite nights are when the chef sees how long you can drink sake from a squirt bottle followed by the onion volcano. The best part about this meal? Two people can eat for less than $ 50. Not feeling the family style dining experience? Check out the sushi bar next door with great sushi and sashimi options. Thursdays are the big nights as their is a happy hour menu which is seriously a steal (arrive early as everyone else in Bangor will be here, too). This dining side is a bit more intimate (despite the large and open seating area) and also has a bar where you can wait for your table. Service on both sides is exceptional and the food quality can’t be beat. AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING.

Fun atmosphere and the food is good at the hibachi. Very entertaining!

Rarely do I get such great service at a restaurant. My friends and I had Kim waiting on us tonight, and she was very careful to ensure my vegan requirements were met at the hibachi. My rice was cooked without egg, my vegetables were cooked separately, away from the meat and the eggs. She was so vigilant that everyone involved with the food was aware of my dietary restrictions. And I later learned that this was her first night waiting at the hibachi, but she tackled our order with such ease, you’d never know it. Thank you, Kim!
Wonderful service, pleasant wait staff/​chefs, delicious food. Can’t ask for much more.

Good quality — taste and texture were great!
Ordered a variety for the four of us at dinner (no shrimp or crab) and they were very accommodating.

The Tokyo monster was delicious, crunchy tempura and melt in your mouth rice topped with fish. Usually sushi has a disappointing ratio of rice to fish but they got it right here. Fish was fresh and tasty. They used a pink wrap instead of the typical black seaweed which was cool but no taste difference that I knew of. $ 14 is a little pricey for 1 roll of sushi but I was full after. I got it to go and they packed it in a nice container. It’s a little hard to find but it’s on the road to Walmart.

Third time here. Didn’t care for the hibachi experience so the last two times iv ordered from the menu and was very satisfied. The server Natasha is very high energy and genuinely appears to enjoy her job.

I love this place… I would have to say this sushi place is #1 in the Bangor area. Staff was friendly and expeditious with service. The quality had taste of the sushi was fresh and spectacular. Definitely will be back here again!
*I had the seaweed salad, eel sashimi, spicy tuna, and Tokyo monster.

Drinks were small, but tasty. Tempura was excellent as was the mizo.
Now for the sushi. It was good, but uninspired. Presentation, considering $ 100 worth of sushi was minimalistic, which seemed out of character for a place lit up like a street drag racer’s car. The sushi was fresh, so unpleasantness that way. Staff was exceptional. Looking forward to coming back.

This hibachi restaurant was fun, served delicious food, and was speedy. Our chef was attentive, hilarious, and perfectly cooked the ribeye steak (medium rare). Highlights of the meal were the obvious typical hibachi playful interactions: the onion volcano, the smoking onion train, the shrimp toss (4 out of 5 caught in their mouths on the first try!), and the sake stream to the face. For less than $ 50 for 2 people, this meal was a steal. Will definitely make this place a regular haunt.

This is a great sushi bar and the best spot in Bangor for it.
I enjoy the service and have been here several times. I have not had a bad meal here yet.

I was in Bangor for business for a few weeks, and one would not think to grab sushi in Bangor, if one were from Southern California. I was in the mood for seafood, and what with Maine being a «lobster» town and all, I figured I couldn’t go wrong.
And I didn’t! The Tokyo Monster (allegedly the largest roll in Maine) was AWESOME. A bartender also recommended a plum sake that was good. I would definitely recommend sitting at the sushi bar where you can be very close to the chef. I’ve only been 2 – 3 times, and he definitely remembered what I ordered every time… that said a lot especially since I’m not even from town.
Good value, good food, good service.

I was very impressed with this place when we came for lunch with my aunt. Bangor was in sore need of a good sushi and hibachi restaurant and this place definitely fills the gap.
We ordered mainly sushi, as you will see from the pictures. I have to say that every one of our rolls was delicious! They were very well prepared and presented. The fried rice was great too. I feel like fried rice is the watermark of a good hibachi restaurant and this passed the test.
The hibachi section, which I have also eaten at, is great! The chefs seem to be well trained and on the ball. I order my filet medium rare and both times they have cooked it perfectly! I’m a huge fan of hibachi shrimp also and these are as good as anywhere.
The wait staff has always proven to be attentive and efficient. My only complaint was that they gave us someone last time who spoke no English. Customer service is key and you have to ensure that you’re using proper staff to interface with your customers. No order errors. Just frustration! I’ll be back!