Hanabi Hibachi & Sushi — Restaurant in Columbia

An unforgettable experience, for all the wrong reasons... I honestly felt bad for our chef to the point I didn't want to say anything, but by the end it was all too much. Anyone checking this place out before going deserves to know about our experience.

Our chef's performance: Spilled rice in 2 people's drinks and didn't acknowledge it Knocked over a 3rd person's drink, that they'd already begun drinking, onto the stovetop and just scraped it away and kept cooking Didn't use the eggs he had on his cart for the fried rice Left the rice on the stove so long it was burnt... you'd get random bits of hard rice as you were chewing it. Severely overcooked everyone's chicken and ("medium") steak. I am not picky at all, in fact I'm known for eating anything you put in front of me, but the meats were truly rock hard to the point that I gave up on trying to finish them. He just let it cook for ages. Gave me shrimp that I didn't order, but as I was about to give them to my wife who did order shrimp, he gave her someone else's portion instead. THEN he took some of the shrimp off my wife's plate that she'd already been eating from and put it on someone else's plate... this was probably the most bizarre moment of the night. This still left someone without the shrimp they had ordered, which had to then be cooked separately at the end. Totally left out someone's chicken from their order, and almost did the same with my wife's steak before she reminded him the "extra" steak he was giving out as seconds was actually half of her entree. Although with the condition the steak was in by the time she got it, he'd have been doing her a favor by giving it to someone else. Couldn't even chew it. I personally don't care much for the shows they put on, but I know that many enjoy it. He did none of this usual showmanship, just went straight into cooking without saying much.

The rest of the service wasn't stellar either, we had to repeatedly ask for certain drinks, some of which never came.

At the end, the manager was admittedly apologetic and gave us 25% off the meal, as well as a card for a free appetizer if we come back. Given how ridiculously overpriced this place was, the 25% off felt like a slap in the face. It still cost $70 just for my wife and I after the discount. My wife had a few bites of her meal (if you could even call it that), and I had maybe a quarter of mine. Everyone else at the table left their plates full as well. We did take our leftovers home since we hate wasting food, but ended up just throwing it all out anyway.

Before we left, we saw him cooking at another table. I really do feel for the guy as I know how much it sucks to mess up so badly in front of so many people, especially at work, but he should not have been allowed to continue cooking the same night in my opinion.

Even the sauces were mediocre at best compared to every other hibachi place we've tried... and this is the most expensive one, with less included (soup and salad are extra $$ on top of the already overpriced meals, but they've been included at every hibachi restaurant we've been to prior)!

There was not 1 redeeming quality other than maybe the general atmosphere/decor, but that does not make up for inedible food and poor service.

Really felt like I was being robbed as I was paying for it.

For what it's worth, the other tables that had different chefs seemed to be having a good time, but there's no way we will give this place another chance. The prices could not possibly...

Firstly, Larry (the head chef who is from Japan), is the heart and soul of this restaurant. He balances his passion for excellence with a heart of GOLD. When he teaches the other chefs, they watch enthusiastically and I think he enjoys teaching them about the history and complexity of the dishes (even if some customers never see the intentionality put into the dishes). Further, I know that chefs like James, Matthew, Richie, Maurino and more are putting their souls into the art that comes out on the plates.

Secondly, the food is authentic and fresh. I would not have even said I liked sushi before and now I get it every chance I can get. The prices may be higher than other sushi/hibachi spots, but a) I always know that my meal was prepared fresh just for me, never frozen and cut and prepped the same day or even hour and b) that the ambiance is worth it; sure to bring intrigue and smiles to a date, meeting, or gathering.

Finally, this restaurant has a lot it is trying to balance; from American-ized flavors that everyone loves to niche palettes hunting specialty nigiri. The team at Hanabi, including managers Ashely, Will, Larry, and more have worked diligently (14hrs/day or more) to build Hanabi into the ever-evolving habitat of food, service, and ambiance that it is.

Even as an employee, I love to bring my family and friends here in my off time and I hope you'll bring your family and friends here too. (Edit: now former employee)

P.S. Here's the blueprint to the best experience at Hanabi: Come during happy hour 4p-6p on weekdays and sit in the Flower Room. Try as many rolls as you can and ask as many questions as you can. If the server isn't sure and it's not busy, see if one of the chefs has a second to come and tell you about all the fun details. Come for lunch on Saturday after Market on Main, sit on the patio on the couches. Hang out for a while, but just order from the appetizers and cocktails. Bonus points for getting appetizers from both the hibachi AND the sushi menus. Come with friends or family during prime dinner hour on the weekend in the Fire Room (be sure to make a resi on OpenTable). Focus on the hibachi show and trying new sauces because they will come on the side. Recommend whatever rolls/apps/drinks you enjoyed during your first two visits to your friends and family and don't forget to leave room for a chocolate chip cookie wonton at the end of your meal. Take your leftover hibachi rice and veggies and to-go guchabang sauce, throw the rice and veggies in a pan the next morning with some scrambled eggs. Finally, drizzle the guchabang on a tortilla and roll it all up for a...

The only reason I gave one star is because it was required to review!

BEWARE this place is a scam! WORSE CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER! Their manager, Tyler, “event planner”, Ivy and the rest of their management was impossible to work with!

My daughter made reservations 2 weeks in advance for 22 people for her 21st birthday! She never received email confirmation, so she called 4 times to confirm they had all that was needed. Each time she was told they were all set and the reservations were secured for her. The day of, she called to add one more to the party and all of the sudden they require a $100 fee per table to reserve. This isn’t based off a headcount, just to reserve the table and it doesn’t go towards the meal. They charge a table rental fee to reserve any fire table.

After admitting it was their error in not letting her know and she was not emailed about the fee or provided the correct information they refused to honor their commitment to her and waive the fee. It’s their “POLICY” is their go to statement, be aware, customer service doesn’t exist!

I called back to make management aware and while he did offer to give us a discounted fee, $150 instead of $250, once I told him we were going somewhere else I was just making him aware of how rude his staff was, he said “no, you are rude” and hung up on me. Class act!

Sadly, the management doesn’t care about the future of this establishment! They rather forgo a $1,000+ meal to make sure they stick to their “policy”. A policy that doesn’t exist, as her friend held a 20 person reserved dinner there the week prior and was not charged!

I will say we called Satos afterwards and they fit us in immediately with no charge! Customer Service is key!!

*Updated In response to the owner, this is untrue, we never completed any form! My daughter called the restaurant 4 times to confirm since she did not receive an email and each time was told her reservation was set and no further info was needed. Work on your honesty and customer...