Tepanyaki Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Clearfield

We had an incredibly disappointing experience at Tepanyaki this weekend, one that has made me question if I’ll ever return.

We were celebrating my older brother and nephew’s birthdays and had a large group. We called ahead to confirm seating arrangements, and the hostess assured us that 18 people would fit comfortably between two grill stations. Unfortunately, that was far from the reality when we arrived.

The hostesses instructed us to sit according to our party’s checks, which we complied with, but the seating was extremely tight. My husband didn’t have a spot at our table, so he offered to sit directly across from us at the other grill where the rest of our group was. Additionally, my brother had no chair at all. When he politely asked for one so he could sit across from his kids, the hostess flat-out refused, insisting he sit with his party—even though there was no room. I had to squeeze into an already crowded space with two kids and a high chair just to create a spot for him, yet the staff continued to push back.

The tension only escalated. The hostesses seemed visibly upset that my husband was sitting across from us instead of cramming into our already full table. Their attitude, along with the waitstaff’s, became outright hostile. The discomfort was palpable, turning what was supposed to be a fun celebration into an incredibly awkward and frustrating experience.

Eventually, I excused myself to speak privately with the manager. The hostesses immediately became defensive, repeatedly questioning why I wanted to speak with him. When I finally did, he reiterated their seating policy—which I had never disputed. I explained that we had done everything asked of us, but the setup simply didn’t work. Once he understood, he sincerely apologized, acknowledging that the hostesses were mostly high school students who saw everything in black and white. He was clearly embarrassed about how the situation had been handled, especially when I described my brother being left without a chair.

What frustrated me most was that I had called ahead to confirm accommodations. When I asked to speak with a manager at that time, I was told he was too busy, but the hostess reassured me that seating would be fine. Yet, when we arrived, we were treated like we were the problem.

The discomfort from the staff never eased, even when my brother finally said, “Forget it, I’ll just pay for everyone.” The moment the staff processed the check, they disappeared, leaving us feeling unwelcome and dismissed.

This was, without a doubt, the worst dining experience I have ever had. What did I learn? Tepanyaki does not handle large groups well, and they make no effort to problem-solve. Instead, they’ll make you feel like an inconvenience and treat you as such. I will not be returning, and I would strongly caution anyone against bringing a large party here unless you’re prepared for a frustrating and...

The food is good, not great but the show is suppose to be the big empaphis here. Unfortunately every time we go less and less is done. I understand there not being any new 'tricks' but this time it was down to the couple of fire tricks (flash flame & onion vocano) and that was it. Our cook and server seemed to keep forgetting our half of the table were there as well. It started when we asked for a carseat sling and the hostess anoyedly turned a high chair upside down for us. If I had put the carseat in it and left it there, with the slightest bump my 6 month olds face would have been smashed into the tables corner (I checked, without him in the carseat, as I expected it to tip over). Next our waitress was annoyed we did not have our orders ready, sense the other half knew what they wanted without looking at the menu. I had not even sat down yet and she was trying to get an order from us. The cook only interacted with the other half of the table, but seemed disengaged anyway. When serving up the food he gave the other half generous amounts and then had to skimp on the 4 of us, to the point that my daughter (the last person) only got some onions from the veggies. The waitress also tried to get our food boxed up only a few minutes after the cook left. There were at least 2 empty islands, so I know they didn't need the table ASAP. We were there for my sons 3rd birthday, as it turns out it was someone on the other halfs birthday as well. They brought out three expected scoop of ice cream for the other, but ignored my 3 yr old. After the others had left and we were waiting another 10 minutes our waitress shows back up and we ask again about it being his birthday and were told she will bring it out when she boxes the food up. After a few more minutes she brings the check and boxes, and does bring him his ice cream and sing happy birthday. She seemed perfectly fine with us once we gave her our card and were getting our things ready to go. As we were waiting for the check to be brought back one of the other employees tells us there is glass on the ground over there, gesturing to where my son was sitting on the floor.

There were plenty of other children in there so i don't think they have a prejudice against kids. Though they sure acted like...

Our experience justifies a warning to other diñers Seating & Host Stand

We phoned ahead for priority seating (the restaurant’s alternative to reservations) and were told to expect a 30–45-minute wait. When we arrived, that window came and went—yet parties of the same size (4) who walked in after us were seated first. Each time I asked for an update, I was told those guests had been “waiting in the parking lot.” Oddly enough, when we finally left, the car parked beside us—belonging to one of those parties—pulled out at the same time we left. In total, our wait exceeded an hour.

Food Quality & Safety

Once seated, things went downhill fast:

The chef emptied an entire bowl of butter and nearly a full shaker of salt onto the grill—enough to make everyone at our table (and the other party we’d just met) visibly cringe.

Rice arrived undercooked and crunchy; egg shells were also made it into the egg of the fried rice which we all saw

Utensils and raw ingredients were cross-contaminated on the cooking surface.

The chef repeatedly joked—while waving knives—that we should “stay very still, these are very sharp knives,” which felt more menacing than funny.

Value

Dinner for four cost over $200 including tip and undisclosed charges, but the experience or basic combination plates did not reflect that price point. Given the food-safety issues, poor crowd management, and unsettling tableside “show,” it’s clear why this establishment is not BBB-accredited and doesn't respond to Google reviews.

Bottom Line

If you’re considering this restaurant for a special night out, rethink your plans. Until they retrain their front-of-house staff on honest wait estimates, enforce basic food-safety standards, and replace shock humor with genuine hospitality, I simply can’t recommend it.

If they didn't have the location they do and the decor set up like a professional place, they would seriously fail. Believe me, it's...