Kobe Japanese Steakhouse

My boyfriend Chris and I came here for a dinner date. We were sat at a round table with one other couple. They must have been waiting awhile because they seemed very annoyed. They did not have drinks. We waited for about 10 minutes for someone to take our drink order. Nothing happened. But the other couple was delivered some appetizer yet still had no drinks. I should have taken that as a sign to get up and go have dinner somewhere else. But this was the place that Chris picked as it was his turn to choose. Right after there appetizer they got up mad, paid for just that and left.
Then FINALLY someone came and got out drink order. Two of the ladies must have been fighting over our business because we were again asked for drinks and she got upset when we told her someone else had taken them. After our drinks arrived our order was taken, then again we were asked by the other lady for our order and she was even more upset that it was already taken as well.
We waited another 30 minutes for the chef to come out. Maybe they were waiting on the table to fill up before sending a chef out. Which I can understand if we were only waiting 10 minutes but 30 REALLY???
The food was good. Not as good as other Japanese steak places but good.
Soup and salad was okay. Salad was a little watery it seemed like.
The service overall was not good, and for that alone I won’t be back. Especially because I saw the service others were getting and it was just as bad.

My hubby and I were looking for a place to eat as the restaurant we wanted to go to had a 2 hour wait… and instead of driving across town to go Genji’s, we came here instead.
We were seated at a smaller table with another party — I only think there was 8 of us. There was a huge party next to us that was incredibly loud, to the point where one of the servers should have probably asked them to quiet down a bit. we ordered our food, and then the salads and soup came out, which were okay.
The chef came out and started to prepare our food for us. I am the only one in our party who does not order fried rice, so when the chef asked me if I wanted some, I said no. I have a mild food allergy to eggs (when they are not mixed into items like bread, meat, etc) so scrambled eggs in the rice is a no go for me. When I tried to explain this to the chef, he immediately started pointing out all the things that I was eating that had eggs in it, and the fact that I must not really have an allergy if I’m alright eating all those. Hubby saved the day regarding that, but that left me embarrassed. I know my body and what I can and cannot eat, so to have this chef tell me that I’m full of bull was not fun.
The meal turned out okay, but the price is a little high. I don’t think I’ll be coming back any time soon, that’s for sure.

Out of all the Japanese steakhouses this is one of my favorite. The seating is good so you dont feel like you are sitting on top of each other like some of the others ive been too. Food was tasty didnt need to add salt or pepper steak was cooked perfectly. The thing about here its a lil pricey i spent 41.00 for lunch for two other than that a must try.

I have really tried to like this place. Multiple visits at different times. It’s just never a great meal. The soup is more like a lightly flavored hot water. The portions are small and the price is high. As soon as the Chef puts the food on my plate I wish I had gone to Genji.

Great fast service, the food was amazing, the cook was funny. It was a friends birthday so they brought him ice cream and sang for him. The bathroom was nice and clean. Just a wonderful atmosphere all round.

Best food ever! Staff very attentive. The reason I gave three stars was because it took them an hour to cook the food. You get huge portions when buying a combination dinner. One dinner is enough to feed 2 people. Comes with salad, soup, meat you choose, rice, shrimp, and lots of vegetables. About $ 36 for the steak and chicken combination dinner and 1 drink.

Been back here 3 more times since my last updated review of this location. The food was spectacular all 3 times. The service was just as good as the food.

Date night — we came for the sushi bar — not hibachi… so this review only reflects that part of the restaurant.
Drinks were tasty — they could have stood some more liquor. The restaurant was clean with pretty scenery. The bathroom was equipped with above average soap.
We sat and chatted with the sushi chef — Shawn: super cool guy. We ordered a plate of sashimi to share. Everything was so fresh with clean, crisp flavors. We ended up constructing another order of sashimi. Our chef knew his stuff and let us try a few sauces and a couple of other fish slices for free.
Definitely will be back!

Thanks to the terrible experience on ¹¹⁄₂₃ we did take our party of 13 «around the corner» to a competing steak house. Thank you Kobe for making that decision for us, it was great, 5 stars at least.

I loved the sushi bar. Food was awsume this is a great family place to eat to. First time I really enjoyed my sushi

So my first review started as a 4.
My second review went down to a 3.
Now I’m settling at a solid 2.
So I’ve been on hiatus from Kobe and finally returned from about a year and a half break my visits. From walking into the restaurant, you can tell that the owners just really don’t care anymore. The parking lot has fallen into disrepair and they’ve made no effort to take care of the landscaping and weeds.
Upon entering Kobe, we had a few minute wait until a server finally came to seat us. It was right at opening, so take that with a grain of salt.
Our drink and dinner order was taken promptly. The server brought our soup and salad shortly there after. The salad was less than eventful, filled about half way in the bowl and the flavor was a bit lacking.
The salad was as expected. The dressing was creamy and a little tangy. The lettuce was a little wilted, but still edible.
Moving onto dinner.
It looks like they changed their sauce on the shrimp and I just couldn’t finish my appetizer. It was a little gritty and the flavor just wasn’t there. The shrimp itself was tough.
The rice was also as expected. The rice really needs to be paired with some of the veggies or the meat to be ok. It’s not super flavorful and a bit dry. This visit, like most, I had filet. The meat was good, seemed a bit firm but in general had a good flavor. Could have used a tab more soy, but it is what it is.
The veggies were a mix of spot on and over done. Some were perfectly cooked, great flavor, nice and crisp, then others were crazy soggy and over cooked. I don’t get it.
In the past I’ve included comments on sushi. They do have a full sushi bar and really I’ve stopped ordering the sushi and haven’t dared to start back up. They changed their rice or something a few years back and made it completely inedible and disgusting. No sushi on this visit.
Since we were in early, we were the only people in the restaurant when we were walking out and noticed that the vehicle parked closest to the door belonged to either the owner or an employee. We were kinda bummed when we arrived that all of the close spots were taken, when we left we realized why. We figured that the spot was taken by the owner since it was a porsche SUV, it makes more sense that way. Even if it were for an employee, it really shows you how much they care for their customers.
The facility now is just dirty. You can see that just by looking up at the vents on the wall, they look like they haven’t been cleaned or touched in years. It’s disgusting.
So to wrap up, would I recommend? Eh, not anymore. The dinner and food in general is ok, but I’m not sure I would come back again. Sadly I’ll have to say «this is not the hibachi you were looking for.»

So good! Best ginger salad and mushroom onion soup!

Another expensive place. Décor is romantic. Not like most japanese steak houses, the chefs here are of various races. This gives off a different «swag», if you will, per table! I’m sure the result is the same in all of the dishes they prepare. DELICIOUS!

I have been craving some Japanese steakhouse type food lately and finally made a couple of trips to some places. Neither of which truly satisfied my craving as neither was really that good. Both places were fine and had pretty much the same offering in regard to food. Which, really all Japanese Steakhouse type restaurants have the same thing. But, neither measured up to the place I am used to back home.
The Kobe staff were nice enough but not as engaging as the people I met at Genji. I did not have the soup, but heard from the people across from me that it was very salty. Their yum-​yum sauce was okay, a bit different in flavor, though I cannot put my finger on what was «different» about it. I’m not planning on visiting here again either.
What was different about this place than others I have been to is that this place offered a rather extensive sushi menu. If you like sushi (I do not) then this might be a place for you.

Wilted salad lettuce drowned in dressing, green tea watered down to the point of being hot water more than hot tea.
For the (lunch) price, you get a lot of food compared to other spots in town, but overall — there is so much better to be had in Columbus.

Based solely on their happy hour — I rate this restaurant a three
because it was just a bit too expensive for happy hour — it’s obvious
that I’m not the only one who thinks this because the place was
completely empty. Went on a Tuesday, the bartender was very friendly
and attentive, drink specials were mediocre (different special each
night), they have a sushi menu advertised as half price, however, if
they are really charging $ 10 for a California type role (salmon/​avocado,
and shrimp/​avocado) I would be surprised (so half off it was $ 5). I will give them this though — the sushi was delicious and made from high quality ingredients. Just not what I’m looking for in a happy hour.

My local friend took me here for lunch, and I probably won’t come back if I’m ever back in Columbus. I didn’t know what to expect, but it turns out that this is similar to a Benihana’s where I’m from — cute with a bit of cheesy, nothing too unagreeable.
I should have known that things weren’t looking good when upon walking in, I was greeted by a sign suggesting to look at their Chinese or Thai menus! What?! This Japanese steak house also has sushi, Chinese and Thai food! I guess that’ll save trips to other restaurants.
The filet mignon and lobster combo tasted fine. I didn’t realize how much butter they actually put on everything until our cook added large mounds to each item on the grill. Our cook wasn’t very showy (he didn’t even make an onion volcano), only half committed to clanging his spatula everywhere. I don’t blame him though, we weren’t a very attentive audience, preferring to talk than watch. Stay away from the sushi! It was my mistake for ordering any in the first place, but the fish didn’t taste fresh. All the spicy sauces, mayo, and garnishes weren’t enough to hide the poor quality of the rolls.
The service was actually very good — friendly and prompt. My water and soda were never in danger of being empty and any given time. :-)

I’m going to give this place four stars, because when Denise and I went here, the service and food were good.
One thing I’d like to get off my chest: It’s a hibachi grill — not primarily a sushi bar, so go for the grilled meats. I don’t know how anyone would eat sushi in Columbus anyway — the fish isn’t going to be that fresh, unless you are ordering Lake Erie Walleye Roll, which I have never seen (nor do I want to).
The food was good, we got the Filet Mignon for two, and it was pretty good. Since it’s chopped during cooking, it would be pretty easy to cook the tenderness out of it, but our chef did not let that happen. All the sides and appetizers were good as well. I’ve eaten at a ton of these places, going back to when the Japanese Steakhouse was the only dog in town, and I can tell you the food here left a better and more long lasting impression.
I did like the décor here, but it reminded me of a fusion restaurant, and I didn’t see any margaritas on the menu — then again, I didn’t really look.
Overall, I’d eat here again, if I was looking for a grilled meat fix. I wouldn’t come for sushi or any of the non-​grill entrees.

A friend brought me here trying to impress me. (I’m not impressed by the same things most ppl are impressed by) Way over priced. Way pretentious. Food was mediocre for the price. 0 atmosphere. I’ll pass. Unimpressed. One thing was funny though, some kid was almost blown out of his seat by the fireball the chef lit up! I had to laugh: D
Don’t waste your money here. Please.

Bottom line — it’s a bit of a crapshoot. It all depends on which chef you get and whether they’re good at what they do/​personable.
We went there for Easter Dinner. It was pretty empty.
The food is good, the quality of meats seems to be above average, so that’s nice. The wife got the Tuna, and while it was overcooked, it was still good. I had the filet and chicken combination (filet was also overcooked — we were a little unlucky on the chef roulette that night).
They were very nice in catering to our grandmother, who preferred to order off of the kid’s menu, being 93.
Nice décor, fun experience (when you get the right chef), good food, maybe a little overpriced. You do get a lot of food.
Typically getting fried rice is fun, you get to watch it made on the hibachi.
I’ll go again, but it certainly is a very occasional visit due to the price.