Yamato Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Wesley Chapel

Went there tonight as a party of 6 for a friend's birthday. Upon checking in, I said, "Yeah we want to sit where they fry stuff right on the table!" I was quickly told it would be an hour long wait for a spot at the sacred alter. The young woman (who I might add was not Japanese) smiled widely as she told me that, as if it were really good news. I said, "God damn!" We were offered a table in what she called the "other" section and were eventually seated at a booth with a young African American family on one side of us and what was quite obviously a lesbian couple (or maybe just two lesbian friends) on the other side of us. Our very bubbly server promptly arrived to greet us and hand out menus, and she was not Japanese either. She did have dark hair though. As we ordered, we asked about the birthday person discount they offered but were told no birthday offers were available unless you were sitting at a frying pan table in the other room. We went ahead and ordered and ended up with way more food than any normal person could ever eat. There was a fork and a weird spoon wrapped in a red cloth given to each of us. After I ate, and ate, and ate, I started to feel suicidal. My hands became really clammy, and my face started to sweat, so I headed toward the bathroom in hopes of rinsing my face off and drinking some water straight from the sink. To my delight, the path to the men's room was straight through the room with the frying pan tables and I got a glimpse into what goes down in there. The first thing I noticed was a man of Japanese persuasion wearing a Samuri outfit and a big chef's hat. He was spinning around on his tippy toes and swinging a Samuri sword behind his back. There was another alleged Japanese man in front of him wearing a Ninja outfit and balancing a big raw onion on top of his head. In one swift blink of an eye, the Samuri guy sliced the onion in half and then Karate chopped it sideways sending it flying off of the Ninja's head and onto one of the frying pan tables. The Ninja guy did a back flip, pulling two Ninja swords out of their holsters in mid flip. When he landed on his feet, he started spinning those swords above his head like helicopter blades, then lunged forward and started chopping the onion to bits at lightning speed. His arms, hands, and swords were all a blur, and the onion was completely diced into uniformly sized pieces in a matter of about 6 seconds. It was nuts! At that point a Geisha girl was dancing around the lucky diners. She was fanning her face with one of those fancy painted hand-fans those people use and balancing three bell peppers on top of her bun. The Samuri guy tippy toe danced around her waving that sword all over the place really fast, before slashing right-to-left through the bell peppers, then hitting left-to-right against them with the flat side of the blade, sending them flying onto the frying pan table where the Ninja went to work on them like a sewing machine. Right then, three Asian men dressed as Shogun warriors came out, each of them juggling three finely sharpened butcher knives as they headed toward the frying pan table. Three Geisha girls danced over and met them at the frying pan table, each of them very elegantly placing their respective protein down on the frying pan table. Chicken, Beef, and Pork. As the proteins began to sizzle, the Shogun warriors began to chop with speed and accuracy not often seen by man. The very diverse crowd of hungry patrons shrieked and cheered loudly at what they were witnessing. It was a very touching scene to say the least. I saw African Americans, Latinos, Arabs, Rednecks, LGBTQ alumni, and skinny cross-eyed rich white girls, standing together as one. It was beautiful, and it gives me hope that we as a country, are not as divided as I have been led to believe these...

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5-Star Review 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 An Unforgettable Experience with Hibachi Chef Sam!

If you’re looking for not just a meal but a full-on experience, then you absolutely need to request Chef Sam at your next hibachi dinner. We had the pleasure of being seated at his grill, and from the moment he introduced himself, we knew we were in for something special.

Let me start by saying—Chef Sam is not just a chef, he’s a performer, a comedian, and a showman all rolled into one. He has a natural charisma that instantly lights up the room, effortlessly connecting with adults and kids alike. Whether it was his hilarious jokes, quick comebacks, or his incredibly sharp knife skills, he had everyone at the table smiling, laughing, and completely engaged from beginning to end.

He didn’t just cook the food—he danced with it. The classic egg toss? Nailed it. The onion volcano? Breathtaking. He even threw in some unique tricks I hadn’t seen before, like the spinning spatula flip and a rice heart with a beating effect done with the spatula edge—super impressive! You could tell he’s mastered his craft and truly enjoys making every meal feel like a celebration.

And let’s not forget the food itself—delicious across the board. The fried rice was perfectly seasoned, the steak was tender and cooked exactly how we asked, the shrimp had that perfect hibachi char, and the vegetables were crispy and flavorful. You could taste the quality, and the portions were more than generous.

But what truly set this night apart was Chef Sam’s energy. He made everyone at our table feel special, personalizing the experience with little jokes and light-hearted banter. It felt like a private show mixed with a five-star meal. Even the folks at other tables were sneaking glances and laughing at our side of the room—he was that good.

If you’re coming here for a birthday, anniversary, family dinner, or just a fun night out—you want Chef Sam at your grill. He took what would have been a great night and elevated it to something we’ll talk about for a long time.

Hibachi nights will never be the same again. Chef Sam, you’re a legend....

Our entire table ordered extra rice and no veggies for the hibachi. Ironically our whole table also had the exact same order, except my husband and I asked for extra onions. We have a video of the cook as he’s making our food. There was onions for EVERYONE! We were charged $8 for ONIONS!!! And, we were told we were the only ones who had them when a couple next to us explained they too had the onions. We were told we were being charged for 2 extra sides of vegetables and basically paid for the whole table. The server was rude about it, and the manager/owner was even worse! We were so excited to try this resturant. We are new to the area and saw them on a news special on ABC and wanted to support. Terrible that they’d act this way, even with the couple next to us saying they too had the onions. The manager said he would look at the video LATER but was still charging us LOL SMH. We literally had a little more onions than the other FIVE people at the table. And again, have our own video showing what he was cooking and there’s no way that was just for my husband and I or worth almost $10. More over the rice was burned and the steak was dry. But it was the demeanor and argumentative manner of the manager, whom with proof from us, was not willing to do the right thing! We know times are hard, especially post Milton, but this was not the way to go about recouping costs and we truly felt taken advantage of and like they were trying to get over on us. My husband was getting so upset I said let’s just agree to pay it because it was ruining the nice night we wanted to have out for the first time since the hurricanes. But their services was incredibly shocking and unbelievable, and how we were treated shows all they care about is the money, and not you as a customer. Not my kind of dining experience. We will NOT be returning! Just horrible and a day later just still so disappointed by this staff and...