Chai Yo Teppanyaki

Nope! Nope! Nope! Definitely never again…
Food
Lacklustre, underwhelming and expensive
If you order via a la Carte, you’re getting mighty ripped off… Even by opting for their 4 course special for € 18, it’s still not worth it!
Staff
Disingenuous, unfriendly and sloppy, plus with a mandatory service charge they can be cause their taking a tip whether they serve you good or bad… Cheeky! Very cheeky!
Entertainment?
No background music in the dining room so you can blatantly overhear the next tables conversation very easily… But out of nowhere appears this guy with a guitar wanting to sing us a song, like WHAT? Is this happening in a Dublin city restaurant… Perhaps loved by tourists, I dunno but we instantly felt uncomfortable and politely declined his offer

Great atmosphere and service. Rang in the new year and enjoyed every second. Food was great and our chef cooked everything as requested. There was even some love music to sing along to. Did not have the table experience but the grill is a sure bet. Will return.

When I visited I was part of a group of 14. They had to add an extra table but it fit and it was nice. It begins with getting a special apron of the house, bright red. Then we got some drinks and first part of the meal is a lovely miso soup. Our chef was amazing and within no time knew all of our names. Which was pretty hard as most of the names where Dutch names and hard to pronounce. The food itself was good, the show was even better. Our chef did some tricks, invited us to try too. The chef also trew food at us, but all was well cause we were all able to catch it. Most fun I had in a long time while out for dinner. We had the special menu, which was a combination of meat and fish. One person wasnt that into fish, no problem for them to adjust to. At the end we had brought our own cake to eat, which they served. This was really a highlight, would recommend going here with a group but I think a duo would enjoy it too!

My first experience of Teppanyaki and it turns out I chose wisely… which is nice.
We arrived early… first guests in the restaurant, which felt a little odd and awkward; bars and restaurants are the same when it comes to being first, the place always smells a little funny and there is no real atmosphere. It didn’t take long for us to relax into things, the lights dimmed, we took our seats at the bar and were served some truly excellent miso soup.
Orders taken we sit back and start taking in our surrounds, soon the chef arrives and puts on a show that equals anything Junior has ever seen — I won’t spoil it for you but rest assured, it will have you giggling too.
The food, freshly prepared before you was excellent, we had fillet beef, sea bass, duck and chicken from the bar menu, we shared the dishes (suggested by the chef and divvied up accordingly).
When it got to a point where we though it all over (meal cooked and chef taken his leave, we were treated to a couple of staff members taking a close position and singing a song at/​to us — normally I’d call this awkward but actually, it added to the whole experience.
All in all, we had a blast; the food was amazing and for 3 of us, including a bottle of wine and a coke, it came to 110 Euro, more than reasonable I think.
I think this place has ‘Occasion’ written all over it, a birthday or celebration with friends would be perfect. Probably not somewhere just for a couple — but I’m willing to be corrected on that.

Went with a group of about 7 people for a birthday meal. We had to wait awhile for our table but the show was definitely worth the wait. The chef was hilarious and had everyone laughing.
I would definitely recommend this place if you want to try something a little bit different. The food is cooked right in front of you and you get to try out some cooling for yourself. The food itself was nice. The duck was delicious.
The one annoying aspect I found was that the waiters asked if I wanted another beer (which is was way overpriced) every 5 minutes, even when I still have a full glass.
Still had a very fun night. Great for birthdays as they had singers towards the end and they had no problem cutting up our cake for us.

Expensive but delicious Teppanyaki, with highly entertaining and hilarious chefs.

Delicious food. Really generous portions. And live entertainment courtesy of a very entertaining gentlemen singing and playing the guitar

We shared the appetizers platter which was ok consisted of: spring rolls
Prawn cakes
Ribs
Chicken satay
For the mains we had the Thai noodles and the beef Szechuan!
Noodles were edible but that beef was horrible!
Unfortunately I won’t come again for the food!
The upside is they had a guitar player who has a very nice voice. He sang for us. Which kinda made up for the food.

The food and chefs at the teppenyaki tables are really good! The only problem is the variety of dishes, i really enjoyed the freshly cooked food and stunts on the table

One of the most entertaining meals I’ve had. The experience is fantastic and the food is some of the best I’ve had in Dublin. You sit at a u-​shaped table and the chef is in the middle; cooking up some marvellous shit to get your mouth watering, having a great laugh and performing some funny tricks while getting everyone involved. Great place to go with a group.

One of the best nights I’ve ever had in a Dublin restaurant. We had never had teppanyaki before so wasn’t sure what to expect but the whole experience just made our night and we never stopped laughing as well as enjoying the freshly cooked delicious food. Ranier our chef was hilarious. We loved the songs too. Can’t wait to return.

Given the other reviews here and on other sites, I fear that I might have actually stepped through the wrong door and visited a knock-​off Chai Yo, or somehow ended up on an episode of the Twilight Zone or something. I must admit that I didn’t have super high expectations going into this place given the number of styles of cuisine that it claims to cater for, but the experience overall was so much stranger than I could have expected.
To start I picked the vegetable tofu soup and everyone else I was with chose the chicken dumplings. The food arrived quickly enough, but when it arrived I started to get a sinking feeling as I realised where things were going. My soup was miserable — I would have had a better soup had I gone to a nearby Spar and bought a packet of cup soup and sneakily plugged in a kettle in the bathroom. It barely contained a broth, and it was exonerated of the alleged presence of tofu — not a scrap could be seen. The dumplings seemed fine, although very much overstuffed with a chicken-​y paste.
Between starter and main things started to get really weird. A fellow with a guitar appeared and began to sing. In the downstairs area there is very little space and so once he appeared we were almost trapped. To his credit, he could play and he had a decent voice, but after the first song he turned to another table and then began to play another. The same again. Each table got a song. Given that we were last in line for the serenade there was a building sense of tension at our table. In an utterly cowardly move, I excused myself and slipped past before he sang to our table.
After the four songs were over, our mains arrived. I was bitterly disappointed with my yaki soba, which featured a smattering of vegetables that I would charitably describe as scabby. It wasn’t unpleasant to the taste, but it was mediocre to the point of being identical to a noodle dish ordered from a take-​away. Except around € 8 more expensive. Everyone else at the table seemed to share the impression that the food was on par with that of a mediocre delivery from any Chinese restaurant.
The price was perhaps the worst sticking point for me — the food was *expensive*. Even compared to better Asian food restaurants I found the prices to be quite steep. My awful soup was € 4.50, which stung the most. Service charge added by default for all tables to boot.
Despite the fact that I’m slating the place, there were still some upsides and disclaimers to make. I visited with a small party with a reservation in the midst of Christmas party season — perhaps this means that my review isn’t a fair assessment of the place generally. We didn’t get access to the teppanyaki table, which most reviews seem to comment on. The staff were very polite and helpful throughout.

I went to this place for a birthday party. They have a set menu downstairs and upstairs they have the Teppanyaki tables. Food is good, pad thai was fine, not one of the best that I ever tried, however, the duck was delicious. I loved their waiters/​singers, it gives the place a vibrant atmosphere.

I’ve tended to steer away from Asian food so far in Dublin because I fear disappointment, and my first glance at the menu didn’t lift my spirits. It was a random smattering of dishes. Teppanyaki, sushi, pad thai, cantonese stir-​fry… dear god, how many countries’ cuisines are going to be butchered here? But it was a colleague’s birthday, so I sucked up my reservations and went along.
We all ordered off the lunch specials menu, and for € 10, it was very reasonable for the portions size. I had the chicken pad thai, and whilst not the best or most authentic pad thai I’ve had, I must say that I enjoyed it. The rice noodles had a nice spring (not soggy & overcooked), and good balance of salty/​sour/​sweet flavours. Everyone else seemed to really enjoy their dishes as well, and the restaurant was really obliging to cater to any substitutions/​special requests we had.
While the entrance is on ground level, the restaurant seating area itself it underground, so it lacks a bit of ambiance, as there are no windows at all. Perhaps at night, this doesn’t make as much of a difference but on a beautiful afternoon, I felt it a bit of a shame.

A must-​go place in Dublin!
Freshly prepared food just in front of you and a great, funny show. Very friendly staff.
You could expect that while entertaining quite a lot of people at the same time the chef could make some mistakes. No, the meat was just perfect!
The staff is very polite and definitely understands what brilliant Customer Service is.
If your company is searching for nice corporate events — just book it.
We were late cause my friend had to work longer — we were served well anyway. Nobody complained although most of people came on time.
If you want to please your friends — just go for it.
Thanks for the staff for doing great job. Really enjoyed it and want to come back.:-)

Went here for a hen party last night and we all really enjoyed it. First of all the price; € 17.50 for a 4 course meal — bargain! Now how was i going to eat all this food? For starter I had the satayed chicken skewer and for mains Kung Po prawn — holy moly what an extensive set menu, it was so difficult to decide! The starter was lovely and the sate saus was lovely and light. The main course was delish and not overly massive portion which I was happy with. Ingredients used seemed really fresh! For dessert you had a choice of banana fritter or icecream so i went for the icecream and a coffee. The service was fast and efficient… and the best of all… live entertainment going around all the tables singing songs of ur choice! Great place for groups!

Definitely a must-​go place. The Teppanyaki table is really fun. Every member of the staff were very friendly. The food was delicious too! The Chai Special was maybe too much but everything I tried was superb! You can have a four courses meal for 18.50 — what I think was a good price. They have a special musical presentation in the end just to your table and the repertoire is a kinda of funny/​good! I had a good laugh at the Teppanyaki table and I totally recommend this place =)

I had a fantastic night at this restaurant. We had Teppan Yaki at the grill counter.
The staff were extremely friendly, attentive and professional.
The food was superb. The meat is of high quality and extremely tender and delicious.
I would highly recommend this restaurant.
Two thumbs up :-)

My dad took me to this nice little spot for lunch today (it is his favourite place to get lunch), it was great!
The restaurant is really nice, the staff are lovely and the food is top quality! It is also very affordable, wtih a lunch time menu costing € 9.50 for a 2 course meal! But we warned, make sure you are hungry when you go, I ate so much when I was there that I definitely felt the post lunch slump, I was so full! But it was totally worth it!
I must say, I think I will be treating myself to a nice lunch there again in the future! :)

What a great dining experience we had here on Saturday night.
I’d been to Chai Yo numerous times before, but it was years since I had been and it was always downstairs in the regular restaurant part. On this occasion, my brother had reserved four places at one of their Teppanyaki tables. We arrived in and found the other two Teppanyaki tables in full swing, singing or laughing or both. It boded well for us.
When we were joined at our table by a party of six, our orders were taken and the fun began. After we were all decked in these stylish *ahem* aprons, three members of staff came in behind the counter and sang a song aided with a guitar and tambourine. For the life of me I can’t remember what was sung, head like a sieve me.
Next the chef came in and asked us all our names and established why we were here i.e. what celebrations there was. And then he began cooking the starter of sliced potato with veg, which was very nice. Then he made the egg rice, which involved getting participants to join him behind the counter to flip eggs (i.e un-​broken ones) or to stay seated to recieve pieces of cooked egg flipped into our mouths! Then he started to cook the different meats we ordered.
OK, the entertaining show of the Teppanyaki table is all very well and good, but we did come here to eat after all. And my gosh, we were not disapointed. I played safe and chose the chicken (I’m a cautious fish eater). It was delicious, I mean seriously delicious. I also tried some of the other dishes, which were also delicious: scallops, king prawns and seabass. The fried rice was pretty dam good too. Nothing about the food disappointed. I will be ordering a mixed special or a fish dish next time.
Finally when dinner was finished, the band came back and sang happy birthday to a member of the other party that we shared our table with. They then sang two more songs before we left. Another highlight of this dinner was we had great banter with the other party, so much so we all went to the same bar for a drink after we left Chai Yo.
It was a great dining experience and Chai Yo will be at the top of our lists of places to bring people who visit us.