osaka sushi hibachi steakhouse

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.
thechefsprayed 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.

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 thecheflit 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.

thechefdidn'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 thechefplaced 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!

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. ourchefwas 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.

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! thechefwas 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.

entertaining!. went there for my 21st b-day and had a blast! we sat at the hibachi grill and ourchefwas 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.

when you want exotic when in duluth. i've been eating at osaka, monthly, since they've opened. i really enjoy their sushi, and i have eaten sushi in some great restaurants acorss the country. i prefer sitting at the sushi bar for fast service and to chat with thechefand see what fun things he recommends. i've always had great quality here.

when we go to the hibachi side (usually with friends/family for a special event), we always have fun and get good food. we only get the filet mignon or shrimp, because it's not much more expensive and is guaranteed a delicious and tender cut of steak. i love how they squirt saki into your mouth across the grill -- i especially love it when you get uptight looking women and grandpa's to loosen up and play along. they come in with a frown and leave laughing and smiling.

i prefer the ambience of osaka over the other sushi places. it's more intimate and less noisey. also like that it is more convenient to get to and park.

we've always had great service here. i must follow up and say that we usually only go on sunday or weekday nights. we just know we will get better tables & service at any restaurant.

depends on the day. i have been to osaka 3 times. the first withmy husband- great food, great experience. second time was just me and my 4 year old. it was awesome for him. we were theonly ones at the table and got a personalcheffor dinner :)
*third time was a different story. a group from work went and had a reservation well in advance. they made 2 people from our group sit alone at another table because they would not pull up more chairs. in addition, the other two were made to wait for their table to fill before their order was take... they left.
what was the point of them taking a reservation for our group if they could and would not accommodate us?
i recommend this to a couple or small group. not for a party or larger group.
overall poor customer service.

bad. i have eaten at many "hibachi" places and this is the worst by far ... the fried rice was disgusting....and plain.. just rice eggs and oil.. and by oil i mean lots of it....the noodles were plain chinese egg noodles...and the veggies were obviously old and wiltly...same for the salad ....soup? ..... all i could taste was the clorine in the tap water they used to make it....the tofu in my soup was brown obviously rotten.... server said its supposed to be this color when its in soup.....i call b.s. thechefwas obviously an amature but what goodchefwould want to come to duluth so i dont blame them for that....my advice go to panda express its much better than osakas "japanese food" and yes i know panda express is chinese food.