Tanaka Of Tokyo West

This was a great place to eat if you want dining with a twist. Great place to take your whole family for a fun filled dining experience. The hostess, wait staff and most especially the cook was super fun! One of the few places where you dine that the managers go around and help the restaurant staff assuring that all goes well. The food is great tasting. Definitely will go again with the family!

3 stars for the experience… One of the worst meal I had it in long time!!! Service is really bad… And if you never had a bad fried rice … That’s the place to have it!!!

tyvm for the excellent service from the hostess, server, cook & manager john. food was onolious. also well kept restroom (keep up the excellent job).

The first time I went to Tanaka of Tokyo I loved it. We had a great experience with a skilled hibachi guy. It was my favorite restaurant to visit in its price range on the island. But it seemed like ever time we went there our experience was a little bit less awesome. I wish they gave more vegetables with the food. Most of the time the food was good but there was a couple times it was just okay. They experience totally depends on the hibachi grill guy.

As always, never disappointed when coming here!!! Ugh the food is so good. Had to stop by to bring in the new year. I got the steak and shrimp as usual and it still is as good as my last time. I will say that if you plan on getting be steak and shrimp that you try not to eat too fast or too much of those appetizer things they give you. I couldn’t finish my food because I ate too much of that haha but I’m not complaining.
My server was Donovan? I think. He was very attentive. Constantly filled up my water which is nice because the cups here are a little small (I drink a LOT of water)
He also was pretty patient with me when I couldn’t decide what I wanted to order lol I hate getting the same thing but ended up doing it anyways.
You have to get the coffee ice cream BTW so good

Had a fantastic time@ this place. Came hungry, left full. The food is superb, and the «show» was very enjoyable. Jared is a great chef, and had me laughing the whole meal. We shall return.

Repost because it was removed due to double posting. At the request of management, I made the correction to the Ala Moana branch, but was not able to delete the Waikiki branch. My review still stands …
I just don’t get all the rave reviews! We ate there last Sunday and the food and service wasn’t that great! It wasn’t even that busy and we were hardly hardly ever checked on by the waitstaff. Then, our inexperienced chef was really messy while cooking and some of the food was outside of the grill. Sure he was good at making his shots (shrimp inside pockets and hat), but that was it. They can’t even estimate the food correctly and my wife was short of shrimp appetizer that the chef had to come back to make more. And since when does an appetizer come during a meal?!

The person preparing
Food did not like me because I had two cute girls and treated us differently from rest of patrons gave us less food and made bad jokes not coming back. Oh I just figured it out personal friend of worker in restaurant so they gave them part of our order so angry
offering of desert

Loved the food and the customer service ! They also accommodated my 10 month old daughter very well ! Therefore, I had a very great experience here and will definitely be back soon

We love Tanaka of Tokyo. The service is impeccable. We came during restaurant week and opted for the Wagyu & Lobster special for only $ 49.95. When we got there the GM greeted us and thanked us for coming. He gave us a few gifts and also gave us free Fried Rice on the house. Talk about service!
The show is always interactive and fun. We had shrimp, calamari, scallops, and blackened ahi. All of the apps were amazing. I especially loved the calamari & scallops. They tasted so fresh!
IN addition you get a salad, miso soup, shrimp, and vegetables. The wagyu portion was very large. And they also gave us a lot of lobster. Both were cooked to perfection. We also love the mustard and ginger dipping sauce.
There was so much food that we could barely finish it. Finally we got kona coffee and green tea ice cream. What a perfect way to end a very fun and delicious dinner!
This is definitely a great spot to go for a fine meal and greats service!

SERVICE-​My little ones and I were the first to arrive before our dinner party reservation. We were immediately greeted by the staff. The host introduced himself (can’t remember his name) and offered my daughters some goldfish crackers while we waited. He was nice. Our server Andrew, was very helpful with our order and got everyone’s order correct. Tonight’s chef was Aljun. On top of his fancy knife tricks and culinary skills, he was hysterically entertaining! If he’s ever your teppanyaki chef when you’re there, ask him to show you the «butterfly»!
FOOD-​From the kids menu (age 8 & below), both my girls ordered the shrimp with fried rice ($ 13.95) which included juice & a choice of vanilla, chocolate, green tea and some kind of mango scoop of ice cream. We all started off with the shrimp, scallops, and garlic fried rice. Then came a small bowl of salad, miso soup, and some pickled cucumber and radishes. Tonight’s choice was an 8oz ribeye steak ($ 30+). My steak was juicy and tender. But I was too full to finish it all. Some people in my party had the Salmon ($ 28+). They said their salmon was delicious as well. I love green tea ice cream so naturally I opted for this flavor. It was just ok. It was a good thing they served us hot green tea to end our meal.
ATMOSPHERE-​nice, dark and clean. But be prepared for your hair & clothes to smell like food after dinner. I typically don’t care to frequent teppanyaki & yakiniku style restaurants for this main reason. But overall, it was good.

I love this place! This is my 3^rd update and really it’s not much of an update as the service tonight has been just as amazing as my first visit here! I’m not one to remember names very well but the people at Tanaka of Tokyo West make themselves known to you so well. Their constant attention to your needs are wonderful! From the greeting we received from Jenna and John the Managers that welcomed us and made us all feel truly WANTED to be diners at their restaurant. Then the service from Carle who was always there to check on us and tend to any needs we had. which were pretty much nothing as he made sure our drinks were brought out quickly, and glasses always full! Then there was 2^nd Chef Joseph… WOW what a delight to have him entertaining us and preparing our dishes. I had the Shogun which is my favorite. Everything prepared PERFECTLY! The four of us all enjoyed Chef Josephs cheeriness and his personality really helped to make this night super and the meal excellent! Even Michael who cleaned our table off of the dishes before dessert was brought out was so friendly and nice. Seriously, who remembers the name of the bus boy unless he does a great job!!!
I was so happy to spend my birthday here tonight with my family. It’s really a great joy to dine at a restaurant, enjoy it and then go back again and again and STILL have that superior service you enjoyed the first time which brought you back the next time! Tanaka of Tokyo West will always be on the top of my list to celebrate those special moments in life as I know they’ll help to make such a memorable day even more memorable!
Thank you very much Tanaka of Tokyo, John, Jenna, Joseph, Carle and Michael! you made my birthday a SUPER DAY! Hope to see you all soon again!

Loved our experience there!!! It was a bit pricey but completely worth it even though you share the table with strangers if you are in a small group the atmosphere is great will definitely be going there again!

My boyfriend decided to take me here since I haven’t ever tried it. As we entered, it looked pretty busy with about 5 people in the front greeting everyone walking in. I didn’t really understand the system since nobody had asked for our names to be put on the wait list. We waited… and waited until I finally decided to ask if we needed to put our names down or if we just had to wait.
So, we got sat in a decent amount of time after that. After we sat down, the manager came up to us and was very apologetic for the wait and offered us the fried rice upgrade for free. I really didn’t expect that but it shows how much they value their customers!
Okay, so my boyfriend & I both ordered the steak and shrimp dinner… Delicious! The chef and the waitress we had were both awesome. Our chef did his little tricks while cooking which makes the dinner more enjoyable. The dinner complete meal we ordered came with a salad, miso soup, some pickles (?) and dessert!
All in all, I was super satisfied. This place deserves 5 stars for their customer service AND the tasty food.

My most recent visit to this Tanaka of Tokyo (TOT) location wasn’t really planned … I tagged along with my uncle and cousin for dinner around 6 p.m. because they had a gift certificate that was expiring. However, my dining experience here has always been great, so I knew that I was in for a treat.
Even though we were stuck in traffic and showed up 10 minutes late for our reservation, the staff was gracious and accommodating and still gave us a warm welcome. The hospitality here is always very much appreciated, and we were pleasantly greeted by everyone, from the hostess to the server. I would especially like to thank John and Shumpei for their greeting and for making sure we had an exemplary experience!
During every visit to TOT so far, I always got the «Chicken Teriyaki,» but I wanted to change things up this visit and get something different. My uncle, cousin and I all ended up ordering different entrees so we got to sample various dishes. It’s always so fun to dine here – as my cousin calls it, it’s «dinner and a show” – and we were treated to great food and impressive tricks by Chef Aaron. Props to the Tanaka of Tokyo West staff for always making every customer feel welcomed and making the dining experience one to remember. Since I moved back to Hawaii, I definitely look forward to coming here more often.
Here’s what we got:
«Salmon Steak»: My uncle and I both love fish, so he ordered this as his entrée. The salmon was grilled with a light touch of butter. I got to sample part of his meal and I highly recommend it … in fact, I enjoyed it so much that I want to order it for myself next time. The salmon was moist, flavorful and tender, and it was a generous portion as well. My uncle thoroughly enjoyed it and said he was really glad that he tried it.
«Tofu Steak»: Although I’m not vegetarian, I do love tofu, so I was fortunate to try this entrée during my visit. It came with two slabs of grilled tofu, as well as an assortment of teppan-​yaki vegetables (grilled tomatoes, onions and bean sprouts). The dish was simple, but effective in flavor. I enjoyed dipping my tofu in the ginger sauce and it paired nicely with my garlic fried rice. I was too full to eat all the teppan-​yaki vegetables, but my uncle had some of the grilled tomatoes and said they were tasty. It was also gracious of the TOT staff to let me sample the tofu before ordering it as my entrée of choice for the evening. I was glad that I got to try it!
«Tanaka Sirloin»: My cousin always gets this when she dines at TOT, and she said that it was cooked to perfection. She always gets it medium, and she said it was so delicious and flavorful that she didn’t even bother dipping pieces of the steak in the accompanying sauces.
«Ice Cream»: After such a savory meal, all of us were really happy for something sweet to end our TOT experience. My uncle and I both ordered the «Kona Coffee» flavored ice cream, while my cousin opted for vanilla. While the scoops were on the smaller side, it was just enough to leave us feeling satisfied … and I personally like ending my meal with something sweet for dessert, anyway. That was my first time trying the «Kona Coffee» flavor (I usually get chocolate), and I enjoyed the definite hint of coffee in every scoop.
«Garlic Fried Rice»: I mentioned this before, but the garlic fried rice is still one of the highlights of my dining experience at TOT. I always upgrade my steamed rice to this garlic fried rice option because it’s super flavorful and contains some of my favorite elements. I don’t often eat my entire bowl of rice, but when it comes to this garlic fried rice, I eat every single grain of it.
The three of us really enjoyed this particular trip to TOT. Again, a kudos to the friendly and attentive staff for making our visit so memorable. We never had to ask for anything, whether it was extra sauce or more water. Every staff member was always ready to go above and beyond the call of duty when it came to service. This is not only a place I would reserve to dine at to celebrate special occasions, but I would also recommend it to any out-​of-​town guest I have.

This is a great restaurant want showcases the natural taste of each ingredient and it’s very entertaining. If you like very seasoned food this would not be the place you’d enjoy very much.
The service is very professional and friendly. It’s a really great place to bring kids.

SOOOO GOOOOOOOD!!!
Had dinner here for one of my cousin’s birthdays and I’m glad we did. My finace and I always talked about coming here to eat but we never got around to it. We made reservations but had to wait til everyone in our party was present in order to be seated. We requested for Wayne to be our cook since we know him, but unfortunately he was off that day and ended up having one of my other cousin’s friends be our cook instead. He was very entertaining, making beats with his utensils and what not, kept us laughing.
EVERYTHING we had was SOOO good, but I would have to say that the LOBSTER was cooked to PERFECTION! So buttery and juicy, OMG! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. There were a lot of food that was served between our main entrée & even after consuming our main entrée, we were so full, that I felt as if we needed to be wheeled out cause we couldn’t walk! haha.
A tad bit on the expensive side, but SO awesome!

Made a reservation 5 days before Mother’s Day to make sure we got a spot. Good hing we did because the wait would’ve been over an hour.
This was my family’s first time eating at a restaurant like this. It was a great and expensive experience. The average cost per person was about $ 50.
We arrived about 15 minutes before our reservation time to check-​in. They seated us about 5 minutes after our reservation time.
The hosts and waitress were very polite and accommodating. The chef was entertaining and easy going.
Pros: You get to see how your food is being cooked. Your food is freshly cooked straight off the stove.
Cons: seating is a bit cramped, not much space on the table (I felt like I didn’t have enough elbow room). Waiting for the food to be cooked was tough but the chef made it entertaining to watch so it wasn’t too much of a drag.
I think everyone should go here at least once.

We visited Tanaka of Tokyo on several occasions with large parties. We usually go to celebrate something. Teppanyaki is fun when your drunk with a bunch of friends or dining with a bunch of kids. I am sad to say each time it seems to get worse. This past occasion was for my hubby’s birthday on 3÷16÷2015.
We choose TOT because kids we were with love the show the chefs put on. We visited for lunch and Wayne was our chef. Wayne was awesome! He had a terrific personality and cooked us a yummy meal. We ordered chicken, steak, shrimp, scallops, and fried rice to cook on the grill. We also order the blackened ahi which was cooked in the kitchen. The grilled food tasted just as expected. The ahi was spicy but I like spicy so it was perfect.
The rest of the staff were boring robotic workers from entry to exit. Even worse off a large Caucasian man (managerial type-​ish) glared at our table as we interacted with Wayne. At one point I thought he was busted. I felt pretty uneasy. In the end, I sure wish they amp up the customer service training so that the only people with personality are not the Teppanyaki chefs.

Irasshaimase!!!
Itadakimasu!!!
What can I say… Let’s eat baby! What a stupendous meal I had tonight!
I’ve eaten at the various teppenyaki restaurants — Benihana’s, & Restaurant Suntory, but I gotta tell you… Tanaka of Tokyo is by far my favorite teppenyaki restaurant!
And best of all, I think I witnessed the «Michael Jordan» of the teppenyaki chefs tonight, as the kid (Thomas) who prepared our food was on «FIYA»!
Most chefs usually do the same cooking routine, but this kid (Thomas)…man his hand/​eye coordination was unbelievable!!! He did the usually cooking stuff, but he also added a twist in his cooking show, as I witnessed Thomas spin raw eggs on his spatula, then I saw him flip the raw egg in mid air, only to cut the raw egg with his knife to cook on the grill for the fried rice.
I also saw Thomas spin & flip rice bowls full of fried rice on his cooking spatula (without spilling anything)…AMAZING!!! What a show he put on!!!
Anyways, getting to the food… what can I say, the food is very fresh & top quality. I also want to say, the service is top notch & impeccable!
For my dinner tonight, we started off with a few appetizers. We had the following —
1. Poke,
2. Calamari
3. Blackened Ahi.
And for my meal I chose the Steak & Teriyaki Chicken.
Each meal automatically comes with the following items —
Pickled Vegetables
Crisp Tossed Green Salad
Grilled Shrimp Appetizer
Teppanyaki Vegetables
Steamed Rice
Miso Soup
Japanese Green Tea
Ice Cream (you can choose from — Green Tea, Vanilla, Chocolate, Kona Coffee, & Mango Sherbet)
Too much to eat! Food tasted so good, at the end when I was full… I just kept going, as I had to take it to it’s full potential!
Now I’m afraid to step on the scale tonight! Buwahahahaha!
Well, once in a while you just gotta unbuckle your belt & enjoy! :)