Kabuto Japanese House of Steaks

We have always had fun when we went to this restaurant the staff is great and the cooks know how to put on a good show

Decent lunch. Sushi not so much. Although the waitress was very attentive. So that’s a plus. If you’re looking for good sushi this is not the place. Will not return. This happened on March 23

Excellent! This place has awesome sushi. I also took the sushi making class, and the instructor was very good. I would go back here in the future. The hibachi that I ate at the other Kobuto location was the best hibachi that I’ve had in town. I highly recommend Kobuto for Sushi and the hibachi dinners.

Pretty much my favorite place to grab lunch! Affordable and sooooooo delicious every time!

I had dinner here with one of my girlfriends for Treat yoself 2015, and as usual it was a pretty good time. While the staff is sometimes hit or miss on how welcoming and approachable they seem, the drinks are always good and the hibachi is delicious.

Amy and I had lunch at Kubota Japanese Steakhouse and were pleased with our experience. We have been there several times. but yesterday we ordered the steak and shrimp express lunch… During the expess lunch they bring the same hibachi meal without the show. Don’t get me wrong I have seen the show multiple times and I still get giddy when they light the volcano on fire. We just don’t always have the time to enjoy it. We really enjoy the taste of Hibachi. Salad was good. I’m not a big fan of Miso soup but its as good as I have had it anywhere else. The med rare steak and shrimp were cooked perfectly. The shrimp even had beautiful grill marks. I should have taken a picture… The waitress was very attentive. the only negative I could say was they didn’t bring the yum yum sauce out right after serving the plate. I guess I’m used to that. So I asked for… Overall they had great food and were very quick for lunch…

Had a small group. We all ordered hibachi and it was… okay. The salad and soup were not what I expected from the typical Japanese steakhouses I’ve been to in the past. On the other hand, the sushi and the service was amazing! I recommend ordering the shashimi and sushi.

Food was on point for hibachi and the chefs were very entertaining. They really cater to the kids to make dinner and event. My 6 year old especially enjoyed the «vegetable island with lava» show. Miso soup was one of the better ones I’ve had and steak/​fried rice/​vegetables hibachi were great. My daughter gave it «two thumbs up» so we will definitely return.

We went there today for lunch and really enjoyed the food. My daughter ordered a couple of sushi rolls and they were very fresh. I ordered from the hibachi, shrimp chicken and scallops. All were cooked perfect. The ginger dressing was the best I’ve had in forever. They also have shrimp sauce which is a must have for me. The service was great. Of note, we did not sit at the hibachi grill but opted instead for a table at the sushi bar. Prior to going I read the mixed reviews and we were skeptical but I found no reason not to give them 5 stars.

We went for sushi and got a few appetizers. The service was amazing but the food is not very good at all. Perhaps the hibachi is better but I’d stay clear of the appetizers and sushi.

Great food. Great atmosphere. Love the chefs there. We bought a livingsocial coupon for our group and they honored all of our coupons. They also helped celebrate my sisters engagement. Dynamite staff. Keep up the great work.

I went here with my company for a celebratory dinner. We were so large a group that it tok two hibachi tables to seat us.
The other side of the room started first, with their chef clankin out some noise and getting some laughs. But the real show began with our chef. He made noise, he made jokes, he made a fantabulous volcano, he created shapes. Awesome. The chef cooked our meats to absolute perfection. My steak was medium rare, my lobster was popping my mouth, and the chicken was seasoned so perfectly, people’s eyes were rollin to the back of their heads.
They seemed to be a little short-​staffed, but the waitress did the best she could. We all ended up taking our leftovers home because here was just no way we could finish them. I haven’t been back here since my last disappointing visit, but I just might have to come back again. I just hope I get that same chef cause he was fun!
The only things I would recommend– get more staff! The host should be more well-​mannered (he looked the owner.), and lower the price just a tad bit. It seemed pretty empty in there!

My wife and I came here on Valentine’s Day few years ago and had an interesting night. My wife posted on here a while back and the manager commented stating that she must be mistaken about her account that night. Her post was later deleted by Unilocal.So, I would like to add my 2 cents out our experience. If it gets taken down, I will just post it to numerous other review sites,
We had a reservation and arrived early to have a few drinks in the bar. We arrived to find a packed lobby where we could barely move because of a large party that showed up after their reservation time. Once again, understandable on Valentines Day. Even though they were late, the large party was seated instead of being turned away. This pushed everyone’s’ reservation time back, which at first we were fine with the adjustment.
We kept asking every 30 minutes how much longer we had and kept getting different answers that all were completely wrong/​made-​up. After sitting in the bar, with multiple parties in the same situation, for almost 2 hours we were finally seated (and not very excited). My wife spoke to the manager and he gave us a $ 20 gift card. This was awesome but he told us not to use it on tonight’s meal. We thought he was an idiot for suggesting this and later we used the gift card to pay a portion of our bill. Once seated, we still had to wait at least 20 – 30 min to get our appetizers. Did I mention we had our toddler with us because we could not find a babysitter… bad choices were made by both parties that night.
The only reason I am giving 2 stars is because the chef was awesome, food was great and he understood we had been waiting forever. As a result, the chef bought us rounds of Sake and we all made fun of the manager together.
Normally, we would have gone back but the manager responded to our Unilocal review and pretty much called my wife a liar. We will not be back and I am sure the manager will respond here again saying we are lying. You know… because people love making up stories about horrible experiences for no reason.
Anyways… 2 Stars and Kabuto’s is dead to us.

I’m a California girl, but I have family who lives in Virgina so I go out there at least once a year. and everytime I go out there I always pay a visit to this amazing restaurant. I’m shocked to see low reviews on it because I LOVE this place omg their steak and white rice mmmm writing this is making me crave it so bad ! UGH wish I was in VA right now lol

Food 3
Service 3
Ambiance 4
I’ve always felt that Kabuto is better than most Teppanyaki restaurants in RVA. However the food was off tonight and service was slow.

I really enjoy the food, but I’m beginning to rethink if I will continue to go. I know a lot of people go for a special meal or celebration, but I really want to go just to eat and not have to be in a «show» recently they started this thing where the chef makes everyone catch egg in their mouth and its not optional. They throw the egg even if you say no. Something really rubs me the wrong way about that. I’ve been 3 times in the last couple of months and its happened every time. I wish there was a way for you to say I’m not interested in having the chef «perform» I really enjoy just watching them cook and talking to them and not feeling like they have to flip and spin and make everything a show. Now I know a lot of people want that, but I wish there was a way to request a «non» performance table.
I know you can sit in the front part of the restaurant, but I do like watching my food get cooked, I just don’t like all the forced interaction. I guess I have to decide if I can continue to stomach the forced show. I really can’t stand the egg toss. I feel like the restaurant is making fun of the guests. But others seem to enjoy it, I just wish they would ask and not make everyone do it.
They also recently started charging an extra $ 1 if you want all white meat chicken. That is new and really I wish they would raise the price a dollar then have to tell me it costs extra now to get the chicken dish the way it has been done for years.
Tonight I had a groupon and every other place I use a groupon at, the server will just take the number from my phone. The server said she had to take my phone and scan the barcode. I was very uncomfortable w that… She took it and disappeared for awhile and was out of site. My phone has a ton of sensitive data on it and while I gave it to her, I regretted the decision and I won’t do that again.
I really debated on giving them 2 stars, but the quality of the food is good… Not sure if I will be back for the eggs toss though…

I haven’t been to Kabuto’s in a very long time, and I have to say that I was very impressed! From beginning to end, everything was great. Their staff, our service, and the food was wonderful.
I went pretty late with some friends, and I was worried that our service would suffer bc of the late hour. I’m happy to say that it did not! It was about 30 – 45 min to closing when we arrived. We asked if this would be a problem, and our server was adamant that it would not be.
Once seated, we were given some pretty tasty soup. It wasn’t as good as Yamato’s, but it was much better than Kanpai’s. Then we got the salads. I have to say that the dressing wasn’t exactly my favorite though. I’ve had better dressings at Japanese steakhouses, but the lettuce was very fresh.
The show, was awesome! He had us laughing the whole time. Our chef was beyond hilarious, and he really seemed to enjoy his job. I never once felt that he was rushing through «our show», just so he could get off for the night. Which he could have easily done, since we were definitely his last table. He cooked everything perfectly for us as well. The food was very well seasoned, and absolutely delicious.
When I left, I was completely satisfied, and asking myself why it took me so long to come back here! I will definitely be back in the near future :-)

Some good and some bad here. I’ve been to quite a few hibachi restaurants, and this is near the bottom of the heap.
My wife and I went to Kabuto for our anniversary and regretted it pretty quickly. We began by…
…
waiting about twenty minutes before getting any serious attention past our drink orders. We ordered an appetizer of fried calamari which was quite good. The tempura batter was light and crispy, and didn’t get in the way of the generously plump chunks of squid. A cool ginger sauce was drizzled over the calamari. This was a great starter, but, unfortunately, it was also the high point of the meal.
We had quite a wait before our chef arrived. A large dinner party occupied a back room and, seemingly, most of the time of the staff. I ordered the filet mignon and lobster tail; my wife had the chicken and shrimp. Both were disappointing, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Our chef seemed to be recently trained. He obviously had some skills, but he was pretty sloppy. When frying both the rice and the vegetables, he spread them all over the grill and much of the surrounding table. He was very entertaining, and we were there late at night, so perhaps he was just tired and careless.
My wife’s shrimp were terribly overcooked. They were closer in texture to toy shrimp than actual shrimp. The chicken was flavorless, but at least cooked properly. Well, no, it was slightly overcooked, but not so bad as the shrimp, at least.
My lobster was a bit overcooked as well, but again, not like the shrimp. My filet mignon, on the other hand, was served to another diner at our table and I was given a forgettable piece of beef. They were willing to get another steak for me, but after waiting so long to eat already, I just took what I had and took a discount on the bill instead.
The décor is pretty traditional fare for a Japanese restaurant. The lighting is a bit low, but not too low for eating. One amusing, and (hopefully) unintentional bit of décor was the set of pictographs over the men’s and women’s bathrooms. The image of the man was normal. The image of the woman had only one leg, as if she were riding a pogo stick. This has nothing at all to do with the review, but if you’re there, you should check it out for a quick laugh.
Bottom line: it’s not great, and it’s not worth what you’ll pay for it. If you want a hibachi steakhouse, go to a different one.

You know where I will not be recommending anyone to? Kabuto on Midlothian Turnpike. The owner has no respect for his customers, and doesn’t care when you take a moment to talk to him.
My fiancé and I went there today for lunch, and it was a very disappointing experience. The server knows absolutely nothing about her own menu. First I asked if the ice tea was freshly brewed, and she said yes. As an ice tea drinker I can tell you, it was not fresh brewed, it was Gold Peak, and it was disgusting. Do not tell your customers that you freshly brew your ice tea when you do not, we are in the south, and can tell the difference!
My next complaint– We went in there for lunch; and by now, shouldn’t restaurants know that people get an hour lunch break? We sat there for 15 minutes, and finally we asked the server to have the cook come over and start cooking. The cook was great; very entertaining, and the food was good. We did ask him for the spicy mustard, and he let us know that they were out of it. Alright, so anyone who knows my fiancé can tell you, there is no way we would have gone in there and ordered if we knew they were out of spicy mustard. How can any restaurant run out of condiments? Sounds like poor management to me.
Finally, when we got our check, my fiancé paid without looking at the bill. When we got the change, I noticed that we were charged for a lunch portion $ 17.95 for a chicken and shrimp combo. I then had to leave to get back to work, but my fiancé spoke to the owner and he said there was nothing he could do, that was the price and the server should have told us that. Why is it $ 13.95 for a steak and shrimp combo, but $ 17.95 for chicken and shrimp? Isn’t steak more expensive? When my fiancé asked the owner why it was so much, he said that he should have gotten the chicken entrée for $ 11.95 and added a side of shrimp for $ 4.95 then it would have been cheaper and would have gotten more food. Again, isn’t this something the server should have told us?
This place has very poor customer service. Yes, the food is good, but do you really want to eat at a restaurant where the owner doesn’t care about customer service? I don’t. Skip this place and go somewhere else.

I had been to the West End Kabuto before, but since I had a Groupon it was time to try this location.
This Kabuto has the arch/​gate outside near the entrance, as well as a fun passageway upon entering the front doors before you enter another set of double doors to the actual restaurant (kind of like a limbo ;D). The interior is very clean and bright with lots of traditional decorations. I particularly enjoyed reading all of the newspaper clippings and old advertisements on the restroom walls (they are all quite old since they featured pre-​World War II forms of kanji).
The teppanyaki tables themselves are HUGE and seat up to ten people instead of the eight I typically see. There is also no waste disposal hole, so all the waste must be removed by the chef and discarded as he cooks during the meal.
Portions are very generous, and the food is excellent. The entertainment value is also high, with the «standard» showings and a few personal variations that vary from chef to chef.
At this particular Kabuto, I think every meal came with fried rice (instead of giving diners the option of steamed rice versus fried rice for an additional cost). This is too bad, because I actually prefer steamed rice! In truly traditional Chinese and Japanese cuisine, fried rice has more ingredients in it and is meant as a dish on its own, NOT to be eaten with other things like steamed white rice is. But, I know that the target audience is foreigners, especially in a place like Richmond.
I always enjoy a good teppanyaki meal! =)