osaka sushi hibachi steakhouse

mr. mak. food tasted poor service so bad i will not come

not the best hibachi, not the worst. their sushi is very subpar, but the grill portion is very good. i love coming here with friends, or for date nights. the interactive eating experience is one you can easily find elsewhere in larger cities, but for duluth, osaka is a very cute "dinner and a show" type place.

sushi was good. everything else was terrible. i'm on the fence about going back.... we unfortunately decided to go here for a birthday on a saturday evening around 6:00. i only ordered sushi rolls while everyone else in my party ordered the hibachi dinner. my gf sushi was very good. however, the service was terrible. we only had about 3 min to look at the menu before the server came around to take our orders. i ordered a vodka sprite that came completely watered down. the server refilled my boyfriend's half filled glass of sprite with water and didn't come back so he could order a new sprite.
the chef sprayed that faux sake stuff all over my new dress. i was not a huge fan of getting food thrown at me either. we weren't even half way done eating before the server gave us our checks. and, on top of that, i received a huge freezer burned green tea ice cream sundae. it was absolutely disgusting. :-(

i felt that they want you in and want you out. very rushed. if i go back, it will only be for the sushi and i will sit in the bar/restaurant part. i'm pretty bummed out that this experience was so bad because i was very excited to go here.

don't wear anything nice here and stay away from the green tea ice cream. you've been warned.

open late!. a friend and i ran in late one evening looking for some warm sake and great sushi. the sushi side was almost empty so we had no wait in getting down to our food choices. the service was a little off putting at first. most places to eat around town have a warm greeter and friendly waiter that will do their best to chat things up with you. not here. they were very to the point and rushing from one side of the place to the other.
however, we where also rushing to get food with an hour left till closing. the sushi was simple (not slathered in sauces) and refreshing. my doubts about their service turned when our food was done and it was closing time.
we wanted to finish off with a little warm sake before going out into the cold and the server behind the bar had no worries in staying a little late to let us relax a little. everyone was very kind and quietly cleaned up around us as we drank and joked around a little. everyone was smiling and did not rush us at all.
overall, i would definitely go again. the food was great and the space is comfortable. :)

i love the sleek decor of osaka! been here a ton of times for sushi and hibachi! their lunch menu is inexpensive and i love ordering 3 rolls for $11 deal! their sushi options are fabulous and taste fresh and delicious! their teriyaki and tempura are also wonderful! i really enjoy their hibachi and i think the prices are extremely good for the different options available! i have been to a lot of high end hibachi restaurants, and i do tend to think their hibachi chefs lack some entertainment value! i do enjoy their sake shots tho! overall, it's a great place to go for a funky night out!

duluth's idea of japanese fine dining?. dinner at osaka last night was ok. i was the only one in our group of 4 that had ever had japanese of any kind. i was entertaining guests from out of town. friend of mine and her hubby and my hubby. we did the hibachi. they also have a sushi bar and just general dining and you can order anything there, including hibachi or sushi. at the sushi bar you order sushi, hibachi table you order that, etc. that's all pretty normal from my past experiences which have been in minneapolis. fuji ya, ichiban and a couple others but they have been quite a while ago.

the menu was odd to me for what is supposed to be a pretty upscale place. nasty, plastic, multi-page thing like a greasy spoon diner menu, and we were expected to order immediately after being seated. when i am at a fine dining place and dropping a lot of money i do not want to be rushed. i understand about the grill but still.... it's supposed to be an experience.

first the chef lit the oil on the grill on fire and took us all by surprise. it was hot! i swear my eyelashes got singed. i think that is their big flourish or wow factor and what they call entertainment.

the chef didn't use any knives, just big spatulas and threw food around on the flat top grill and got a fair share off the grill and unservable (i think a flat top is tepanyaki) not hibachi, lol. correct me if i am wrong on that.

so no great entertainment with that. i personally thought he was a clown and found him more annoying than anything. he continuously flipped food to people trying to get them to catch it in their mouth and most hit the floor and they also squirt sake into your mouth with a plastic squirt bottle and countdown until you can't take anymore, kind of like a beer bong thing. that did not impress me. a sake glass would be a lot better.

was the sake good? i have no idea. it's been so very long since i have had sake. it tasted to me like a very light white wine with apple cider vinegar.

the other places i have been to, the meal came in courses. small iceberg salad, which i liked because of the dressing. soup came at the same time so it got cold, and it was a clear broth with a mushroom slice or two in it. absolutely flavorless. warm water. then fried rice, noodles, 2 sm/med. shrimp, vegetables and a long time between each of them. they were all tasty. not great but good i guess. i ate because i didn't want them to get cold but i noticed everyone else waited for their main... steak or whatever. by that time everything else was cold.

we each had two dipping sauces. they were both quite thick like salad dressing. one tasted like ranch to both me and my friend and i think it was. the other was the same dressing that was on the salad. orange ginger puree of some kind which i happen to like a lot. i really like fresh ginger. she did not. normally my hubby does not like fresh ginger either, but he liked the salad. go figure! i didn't really know what to dip in them. i suppose the shrimp. they were good to me as they were and were cooked well. not overdone at all.

i think we each got maybe 5 total tiny (julienned) pieces of broccoli and zucchini, neither of which i normally like so i dipped them in the ginger dressing and they were good. just not enough of them.

i ordered steak and lobster. med rare. my friend ordered steak well done, my hubby ordered swordfish and i do not know what my friend's hubby ordered. the guy next to me ordered steak and lobster, also, rare. nice, friendly guy! we had some good laughs! so that was a bright spot.

when the chef placed the meat on the grill i noticed that the steaks were very thin (i like and 1 - 1 1/2" at least) and the swordfish was very pale and gray. maybe that is how it is supposed to look?? i am not an expert on swordfish and my hubby had never had it before. very small lobster tails. 3-4 oz?

so then our steaks and everything came up and he threw that on our plates and again some people missed some food. as normal it's all cut up. in this cased diced. i got 3 or 4 small pieces of lobster. my steak and the guy next to me who ordered rare, we both got mid well+. it tasted very good but was way overdone. hubby said his swordfish was very, very fishy. he loves fish of all kinds. is swordfish supposed to be that strong?

not sure what my friend and her hubby thought of it all. it was new to them and my hubby. it certainly wasn't like other japanese restaurants i have been to, but then this is duluth, lol! actually there is some really good food to be had here. but it was new experience so... even if it wasn't great, it was something new and a new memory we can maybe look back on a laugh about some day.


would i recommend osaka in duluth? i don't know. not to anyone that has been to some really good japanese teppanyaki or hibachis. the food was neither bad nor great. just not worth the price of the "show ticket". there really is no show. maybe if you go and just eat in the regular dining room. there is also 2 other japanese places in duluth. one is pretty good but it's not fine dining and the other i have not tried and to my knowledge they don't do the grilling show. it's more a sushi bar i think and noodles and other dishes.

i can get the same amount of food or even quite a bit more at outback for $12.99 or $15.99. and they know how to cook a great steak there. we should have gone to outback!

very yum yum

new born. i have been to this restaurant about 5-6 times usually have a ok time service usually sucks its like we as customers are troubling them for taking up there time. the last time it was for my birthday. my fiance just had our baby 3 days ago and she had been craving sushi so i when to order some to go sushi i actually ordered a boat of sushi and sashimi i spent $66.00 $61.00 for the food and 5.00 for a tip i usually tip 20% but it was a to go order. i ran to the store came back and the food was ready the host had told me that my food was ready and the manager lady and said the same. she told me that there was soup and salad in the bag while the bag was stapled numberous times thought nothing of it until i got home soy sauce and salad forks, hince soup and salad. if you think your funny you should have done it to someone else and my fiance had not had any sushi for 9 months and loves the meso soup and salad needless to say there in a sushi place that everyone has been talkin about off of haines road here we come. i will never eat here again never!!! try your funny jokes on someone else

good food, though not impressed with the seevice. the charged me tip and when i swiped my card, the voucher's amount was wothout tip, until i went to the bank and realized they had charged! total scam. they get 2 vouchers, one with tip and the other one without. never going back!! the copy of the voucher they gave me was without tip.

great experience & good food. my husband and i ate here for the first time. after reading reviews we were a little hesitant to try it out, however we were up for something new. the atmosphere on the sushi bar side is awesome, we loved the lighting, very cool!! we ate on the hibachi side and enjoyed every minute of it. our chef was quite skilled, it was like art in motion watching him prepare our food. the food was exceptional as well. i would highly recommend this resteraunt. i thought the prices were pretty fair, you are paying for the entertainment too, not just the food. the only thing i could have done without is the multitude of birthday songs played. oh well, they were celebrating too, so not too bad, but it happened often. do not go here for an elegant meal, go here for fun, laughter, and lots of entertainment.

party of 9. my third visit to osaka's in duluth. enjoyed the first two, but this week's trip was a joke. my party of friends and i won't ever return. we were talked down to, treated with disrespect and we all felt like she only wanted our money and we could leave when we were done eating...............and please leave a huge tip. the female
bartender told me she was too busy to pour a glass of wine and to go to my table and order it there from the
server - she was extremely bossy - shouting instructions to our group. at the time i requested another glass, there was no one sitting at the bar and needless to say, i was flabbergasted and shocked that a young person such as herself, would disrespect a customer in such a loud and disgusting manner. when dinner was done, the server took only 1 person's bill & check to the register. the rest of us waited & waited for him to come back and take our checks. finally, we got up and brought our money to the front register. it seemed as though, these young kids don't know what they're doing and perhaps their elders should teach them to respect others, and should have an adult on staff to monitor their behavior. i've lived in duluth for 60 years and never, ever been treated disrespectful in any restaurant, until osaka. myself & my friends will never return to such a place. i don't like having to write this review, because i don't like talking bad about people,
but if you don't spend lots and don't tip big - this isn't the place to go for respectful treatment by staff.

finally got to osaka. ate on the hibachi side. was bummed we were the only ones there, but not for long. what can a say, i ordered the steak and chicken, my boyfriend, the tri-color sashimi. neither of is cared much for the soups or salad. but our spring rolls were great. his sashimi was beautifully presented, and he loved it. (raw fish, not for me) my hibachi wad fabulous! the chef was funny and the saki literally flew into your mouth! my only complaint was that we missed the lunch prices by 20 minutes. seventy dollars for two is pricey, but was a wonderful experience. i will definitely go back.

a personal favorite of mine! yum. beautiful food.

entertaining!. went there for my 21st b-day and had a blast! we sat at the hibachi grill and our chef was great and was very funny. he actually seemed like he was enjoying himself. now it comes to the food... the food was great, a little expensive but worth every penny due to the entertainment. i will be going back whenever the opportunity arises. give it a go and see what you think.

rude manager, entertaining chefs. i went to osaka with several friends for a 21st birthday party. several of my friends were not completely hungry and asked for a few sides instead of a huge meal. the server took our order and a minute later, the manager returned and demanded that at least 7 of us order large, expensive meals or the chefs would not come over. now it was a sunday night and not a crowded night, so if the chefs were not coming over, i'm not sure where else they were going...some of my friends finally agreed to spend more money so the damn manager would leave. i had actually ordered something from the kitchen, that was supposed to have crab meat on it and when it arrived the crab more resembled the imitation crab that you would purchase for $3 at a grocery store, so i have a hard time believing that it was real crab. i don't appreciate the restaurant taking advantage of myself and my friends because we're young. just because we're young doesn't mean we're idiots. the thing that saved me from going insane was how great and entertaining the chefs at the grill actually were. awesome entertainment! i would just recommend not ordering anything from the kitchen at all because you can't see how it's made or what they're using (or not using) in your food...