Hokkaido Teppanyaki Restaurant — Restaurant in London

It's taken me a long time to decide whether to write this review. Mainly because it's so conflicting. First I'll start by saying the food is amazing. The experience of having it all in front of you is different and ideal for a special occasion. Second, the lovely waitress was welcoming and friendly throughout. However... This was a birthday dinner for my husband who is vegan and I called the restaurant prior to ensure that it's suitable and I was assured his food would be cooked first and separately. After the first course, we were watching the chef do his thing and he used the same cooking utensils for both the meats and non-vegan food. I called the waitress over and she explained in their language to the chef who replaced the utensils but evidently still continued to wipe both utensils with the same tea cloth which had all the meat juices. By now my husband had stop eating and the dishes were building up around him. Myself and my daughter continued to eat. Then there was the careless crossing over of ingredients on the cooking surface and furthermore the "vegan" rice was bought out from the kitchen with two raw eggs touching the top. When you are a strict vegan this is off-putting. There are two main reasons I decided to leave this review. 1, my husband is vegan through choice BUT if anyone has an allergy they would need to be warned that the chef is incapable of changing habits and this could be dangerous. And 2, a chef was seen coming out of the toilet without washing his hands and walking straight back into the kitchen. For these two reasons I think it is necessary. I will go back to saying though, my daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed the food and as for my husband...well he enjoyed his McDonald's drive-thru...

I am absolutely surprised at the amount of positive reviews this eatery has… I am not sure whether others haven’t been to teppanyakis so they can’t compare or they just have lower standards.

It’s difficult to find a teppanyaki that offers good value for money, it’s either on the top end or it doesn’t exist. I came to Hokkaido to see whether they delivered on that promise and I couldn’t be more disappointed.

To keep it simple, I don’t think it’s good value for money at £39 for the menu 1. I also ordered a tayoyaki and didn’t have bonito flakes and felt like it was made from frozen instead of homemade! Balls were also very small.

I have not taken pictures of the 5 courses (more like mini nibbles) but this one gives you an idea of the size of the courses. I remember 2 onion layers, a zucchini and one asparagus, two thin beef slices, probably 50-100 gr of steak, 50-100 gr of chicken, some fried rice and broccoli.

The steak and chicken were overly salty with soy sauce, the fried rice lacked flavor and the chef seemed to think that it was funny throwing fried egg into the guests mouths? Besides all the wasted egg doing this circus activity of shooting into peoples mouths as if this was a basketball court was not compensated to those who didn’t want to do it! I had to share the remaining portion with all others.

But the worst of it is that you pay almost £50 and you walk away feeling hungry? I had to stop by the nearest grocery store to buy a salmon donburi for £5 to feel full.

The Chinese lady (the chefs and most staff are) wasn’t exactly very the most welcoming host.

I will definitely not come back and I urge you not to come unless you want to...

Our second visit to Hokkaido confirmed its status as an exceptional Japanese restaurant. Initially, we enjoyed an à la carte meal from one of the standard tables, offering a fantastic view of the chef's cooking station. Every dish we selected was incredibly delicious, and the service was faultless.

So impressed, we decided to return just a few days later for the chef's table experience. It was a quiet, early Tuesday night, creating an intimate setting. I chose the meat set menu, while my husband went for the blackened cod – we happily shared, finding each and every dish to be divine and utterly mouth-watering. Seriously, it's impossible to recommend just one; they were all truly mind-blowing! A standout detail is that the chef meticulously prepares all his own sauces. The delightful owner, incredibly knowledgeable, took the time to explain each dish, its ingredients, and its preparation, adding another layer to our appreciation. The chef's skill was captivating, turning our meal into a true culinary performance – a night at the theatre in itself. The warm sake was the perfect accompaniment. Having spent time in Japan, I can confidently say this is the finest Japanese food I have...