Hibachi Teppanyaki Barrie — Restaurant in Barrie

My husband and I have lived in Barrie for a long time, and we were so excited to see a new hibachi restaurant opening. There aren’t many unique date-night options in Barrie, so when we noticed the renovations happening, we couldn’t wait to try it out. We finally booked a reservation for October 24th — though the online reservation system doesn’t actually work, so we had to call instead. No big deal, we were just excited to go.

We were seated with another group of three and another couple, and at first, the energy was good — everyone seemed excited for the Teppanyaki show and dinner. Unfortunately, that excitement quickly faded. The staff seemed very disorganized and flustered. Our server was running around trying to manage multiple tables, and several appetizer orders got mixed up and served to the wrong people. We ended up passing plates around ourselves just to fix it.

When our chef arrived, we were hoping for that fun, engaging hibachi experience — the kind with fire shows, jokes, and interaction that make Teppanyaki special. Sadly, there was none of that. Our chef seemed completely unenthusiastic and quiet. While other tables had big flames, laughter, and energy, our table got a small onion volcano flame and then… nothing. No real “show,” no excitement — just some quick cooking and banging of utensils.

To make matters worse, the chef mixed up several of our table’s orders. People were being served dishes they didn’t order, and it really seemed like everyone ended up with smaller portions than they should have. The couple sitting directly across from us was visibly frustrated because their order kept getting messed up — and honestly, we all felt a bit underserved.

As for the food: it was okay. We ordered the shrimp, steak, chicken, and scallops. The scallops and shrimp were good, the steak was fine, but the chicken seemed a bit undercooked. The fried rice, which you have to pay extra for, was unfortunately crunchy and undercooked — a big disappointment considering it’s a staple part of a hibachi meal. The soup was tasty, but the salad was just iceberg lettuce soaked in soy sauce — honestly, I’d skip it altogether. We also never received any sauces like they advertise, which was disappointing.

Overall, the food wasn’t bad, but for a bill of over $150, I expected a lot more — especially from a place marketing itself around an experience. There was no real Teppanyaki show, no atmosphere, and the service felt scattered and rushed. We were really rooting for this place to be great, but unfortunately, it was a big letdown. I wouldn’t go back, and I wouldn’t recommend it unless major improvements are made and we’re invited back with...

We visited the new Hibachi restaurant in Barrie on Tuesday, with a group of nine to celebrate Mama Hannah’s special birthday. Unfortunately, the experience fell flat from the start.

It took our waitress 28 minutes just to bring beverages, and at that point we were told they had run out of all draft beers on the menu. We decided to order a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine to share among five adults, and were met with, “Are you sure? That seems like a lot of wine.” Not exactly the kind of service you expect when celebrating a birthday.

I mentioned several times that it was a birthday dinner for Mama Hannah, but there was no “Happy Birthday,” no crown, no special dessert, and no acknowledgment at all. She also forgot our miso soup starters, which showed up halfway through the main meal.

The food itself was quite good, but the hibachi show was weak and felt rushed — as though the chef couldn’t wait to leave the grill.

We ordered upgraded fried rice for the entire table, but when the meat was finished, it became clear no rice had been made. Several servers scrambled to bring out plain sticky rice instead. To top it off, we were still charged for the fried rice upgrade until it took the waitress and manager about 10 minutes to fix the bill.

The beer that the the men ordered never came.

General comments. The menu is complicated and no one explained how it worked. The tables are facing into the wall with people walking behind you, which is awkward. They should be facing into the restaurant to watch the show and the people. Generally, it felt rushed and cattled through.

I had high hopes for a new and fun dining experience in Barrie, but sadly, this restaurant seems far from ready to deliver the kind of service and management a place like this requires. Great food can’t make up for poor organization and inattentive service.

Overall:...

Depending on who your host is, you can get a good teppanyaki show. Our cook was very engaging with our table but the cook at table beside us couldn't focus on the show and was more concerned with what was going on elsewhere and did not engage their guests. Reasonably priced for the portions, the food is piping hot, and freshly prepared (it's Canadian style Japanese). All the protiens required additional seasoning (chef's kiss). Order the add-ons if you really want a better and longer show (even though the eggs were burned in our vegetable fried rice) otherwise there are a few utensil flips, clangs, and bangs with a small onion volcano. The server was very slow to the point other tables, after us, had ordered and were drinking well before we even ordered. We upgraded the soup and it never came until our food was being plated. Everyone else at the table had already eaten their steamed rice soup and salad. We had the add on for the birthday and most of our tabled had paid and left before we had the celebration. We appreciate the establiment is new and there may be a few staffing issues, but the cooking/seating area was not entirely cleaned or sanitized before we were seated (we arrived to an almost empty place at 5pm for dinner).

Better than the usual "roadhouse" grind of conglomerate fast food...