I’m the first to admit that I’m not a fan of dining in restaurants where there are a lot of young children around, but having a little kid at the hibachi table at Arigato makes the dining experience a little more entertaining.  The chefs play up to the kids and really seem to get into the show more when there’s a wide eyed child watching their every move.

We like Arigato more than Kobe when we’re in the mood for hibachi dining.  They started us off with soup and salad.

Pretty standard for one of these restaurants.  Loren ordered the chicken, steak, and shrimp and I got the steak, shrimp and scallops.  Rice and veggies come with it and I spend so much time eating the rice and veggies that by the time the rest of the meal comes I’m usually quite full.

Our chef was entertaining, the food was cooked well, and overall the meal was enjoyable.  I think I’d like it better if they limited the tables to 8 people rather than 10 because it did feel a little crowded.  Loren had to send back his iced tea and ended up not drinking the soda he got either because the fountain mix wasn’t quite right.  Overall service was pretty good though.  Total bill was $65.

Arigato
26508 US 19 N
Clearwater, FL
727-799-0202

Ocean Blue Sushi just opened up on McMullen Booth in the same space where several other restaurants have come and gone recently.  At first we were surprised to see another sushi place in the same plaza as Keiko (one of our favorites), only to discover that both restaurants are owned by Charlie.  We overhead a conversation where his son said if had any issues, he’d just walk next door and ask his dad. 

The decor and atmosphere are very different between the two restaurants.  Ocean Blue is a big space with a large bar, plus they also have outdoor seating.  It seems to be catering to a younger, late night crowd.  There are a lot of items on the menu and we settled on 5 rolls and some salmon.  Loren also started off with a salad.

All of the sushi was tasty.  We got a Mexican Roll, Ex-Wife Roll, Haha Special Roll, Rainbow Roll, and a Super Crunchy Roll.   Now, I love the super crunchy roll at Keiko and hoped for the same love here, but unfortunately, this one was spicy.  Loren liked the one here more, since it did have some spice to it, but I’ll be heading back to Keiko for my super crunchy fix from now on. 

Loren commented that some of the rolls were rather loose.  They weren’t as tightly wrapped as they should have been and some of the ingredients kept trying to escape.  Overall, though, this is a great addition to our sushi choices close to home.  Total bill was $58.

Ocean Blue Sushi Bar & Japanese Restaurant
2475 McMullen Booth Road
Clearwater, FL
727-953-9828

We decided to try the teppanyaki style dining at Yuki Japanese Steak House tonight.  We ate sushi there the last time and we probably should have done the same tonight.

They weren’t very busy, so we had the table to ourselves.   Usually I love the soup served at Japanese steakhouses, but this one had miso in it, so I didn’t care for it.

The ginger dressing on the salad was also kind of weak.

Our chef didn’t seem to have been on the job for very  long.  He went through the motions, but really didn’t have much in the way of skill or showmanship.  He also doused the food in way too much soy sauce.  The filet I had was horribly salty.  And then to top it off, the goody-goody sauce (the one that’s mayonnaise based), was more like ranch dressing than what I’ve had at other places.

Overall, it just wasn’t impressive.  Even with a $25 coupon, the bill ended up being $70 for the three of us.  I’d go back for the sushi, but definitely not for the teppanyaki.

Yuki Japanese Steakhouse
13505 Icot Blvd
Clearwater, FL
727-532-9559

We’ve eaten at so many loud restaurants lately, that it’s so refreshing to actually sit down to a nice quiet dinner.  We headed over to Kado Japanese Steakhouse in Tampa for dinner with our $25 Restaurant.com coupon in hand.

The restaurant was nearly empty.  There was just one table of 4 people when we came in.  Kado is so much less commercialized than the other Japanese steakhouses in town.  It’s like a small family owned restaurant.  As far as we could tell, the waitstaff seemed like generations of the same family.

I have to say though, it did seem a little awkward to be the only two people at one of the Habachi tables.   The chef went through all the motions, but I’m sure it was a bit underwhelming for him too to not have a big tableful of guests to show off to.

They start you off with a light, tasty broth.

It had a nice mellow flavor and was served piping hot.  You can even see the steam.  Next up the salad.

The ginger dressing was really good.  Since we needed to spend $50 for our coupon, we ordered some egg rolls.

They were a lot bigger than I thought they’d be.  Good crunch, tasty filling.  I already knew at this point that I wasn’t going to be able to finish my dinner.

Loren ordered the filet and shrimp and I got the Sumo which is filet, shrimp and scallops.  And of course, lots of goody-goody sauce. 

The veggies, rice, and shrimp were cooked perfectly, the steak and scallops very tender.  It’s so nice to have a meal where everything is just incredibly well executed.  Believe it or not, we still hadn’t hit $50, so we just had to order dessert.

I saw cheesecake on the menu, but when it came out, we were both surprised to realize it was deep fried cheesecake.  Wow!  I’ve never had cheesecake like this before.  It was slightly frozen in the center, but otherwise had a nice, crispy tempura shell all around it, plus drizzled in chocolate sauce.  It was an incredible ending to a very delicious meal. 

After the coupon and with the tip added in, the total dinner was $44.  It was probably one of the best meals we’ve had in a long time for a very reasonable price.  Plus I have leftovers for tomorrow.

Kado Japanese Steakhouse
6821 W. Hillsborough Ave, Ste 9
Tampa, FL