Kabuki Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi — Restaurant in Fernandina Beach

A Disappointing Experience Despite a Great Cook – Visit with Caution During Busy Times

I recently dined at Kabuki Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi on Amelia Island, and unfortunately, the experience left much to be desired. While there were a few high points, the overall visit was overshadowed by long waits, poor service, and a key element of the meal that was far below standard.

To begin, we waited an hour and five minutes just to be seated, which was already frustrating. Once we were finally at our table, we then had to wait another 40 minutes before the cook came to prepare our meal. I understand that restaurants can get busy, especially during peak times, but this extended delay without any communication or apology from the hostess was disappointing.

Our cook was the bright spot of the evening—entertaining, engaging, and funny. He seasoned the food well and cooked the meats to perfection. Unfortunately, the star of any hibachi experience—the fried rice—was a major letdown. Quite honestly, it was the worst fried rice I've had at any Japanese restaurant, and I’ve visited dozens over the years. The rice was undercooked, hard, and unpleasant, as if it had been rushed due to a shortage or time constraints. It lacked the usual texture and flavor that typically defines a good hibachi meal.

Service-wise, the hostess left a poor impression. She seemed more focused on collecting payments and chatting with the waiters than welcoming guests or keeping anyone informed about wait times. When we arrived, her tone and body language made it seem as though she’d have preferred we left rather than wait. There was no real apology or effort to manage expectations, and that lack of care contributed to the overall disappointment. Our waiter did apologize as did our cook which was appreciated, but the hostess needs to appreciate all customers and not select ones.

In the end, we spent a considerable amount of money on what turned out to be a subpar experience. While the meats were good and the cook did his best, a hibachi meal falls flat when the fried rice is bad—it’s supposed to be the centerpiece of the meal, and here it was anything but.

I cannot recommend Kabuki based on this experience, especially if the restaurant is busy. If you’re considering a visit, I strongly suggest trying on a slower day—hopefully then the kitchen and front-of-house staff will be more attentive and the food quality will meet...

Dined in with my family of 3 on a Friday night. We are trying to find a clean hibachi spot, and this was not it. The floor and the base of each cooktop is disgusting. We tried to look past it, since the cooktop itself appeared clean. We did have to wait for a chef, because they didn't have enough chefs to keep up with tables. The server and the chef were friendly. However, the "show" was lackluster, especially when you have a child at the table. The vegetables were undercooked and almost raw. The chef had just put our meat on our plates and the server was there asking if we wanted boxes. I had to ask for time to eat my food. Eventually I determined we needed 1 box, and requested yum yum sauce to go. I never got the yum yum sauce. The server shows up with our check and it was more than it should have been by a substantial amount. I brought it to the servers attention and he returns with a lady explaining that she undercharged us so she added on an additional amount. In reality we were overcharged from the start and she tacked on even more money. I asked for a menu, pen, and paper to show they were off on our numbers. She then snatched my check and fixed her mistake but had an attitude with me the entire time. Needless to say, between the dirty interior, lackluster food and entertainment, and being charged incorrectly we will not be returning and will...

First let’s start with the good things: The waiter was very accommodating to my mother-in-law and her celiac, and informed her there was gluten in the soup (and offered a gluten-free alternative). The filet mignon teppanyaki was actually quite tasty!

The reason I’m giving it 1 star is the sushi. I’ve never seen a place so audacious as to serve fake salmon nigiri. I don’t know what it was but it was some other fish (whitefish?) dyed to look vaguely like salmon. I really wish I’d eaten at the sushi bar because I would have had foresight into the food atrocities that were about to be committed. I inspected the sushi bar after the meal and I did see some salmon there (although it still had skin on it?? Never seen that… sketchy) but it was 100% not what I was served. Speaking of food atrocities, the sushi rolls were the worst two I’ve ever eaten (and I’ve eaten A LOT of sushi, even cheap sushi) and one of the rolls was almost inedible. Chewy fish, bad ingredients — it made me feel ill just thinking about it the rest of the meal.

I’m honestly offended. The rest of the food (outside of the highlights, at the top of the review) was maybe 2-3 stars, still very underwhelming and not worth half the money, but not a disaster. With the sushi included, I’m straight up calling this place a...