Samurai Express Japanese Steakhouse — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

Was driving by at 6:00 PM, Sunday evening, 11 April 2021 and noticed a new restaurant. There was only one car in the lot so we pulled in and called to see if they were open and how late they closed. We were told they were open and closed at 7:00 but they didn't want us coming too close to 7:00. We said we were in the parking lot and we were told it was OK to come in.

I ordered the Teppanyaki Shrimp and my wife ordered the Teppanyaki Chicken. We were offered a choice of salad or soup. When I asked what sort of soup it was I was told, "It's like chicken noodle." I was definitely "like" chicken noodle. Without exaggeration, there was no more than a heaping tablespoon of chicken, vegetables and... this shocked me as well... elbow macaroni in the approximately 12 to 16 ounces of soup. We were told the drink machines hadn't been installed yet and were offered complimentary water. After ordering we noticed the cooler with drinks. I have no idea why they weren't offered anything but water. We opted to dine in the dining room.

My wife's chicken was acceptable. All the reviews mention huge portions but the rice and noodles were, by far, the bulk of the meal. We both received about three pieces of broccoli and one piece of onion.

My shrimp would have been rather good had it not been overcooked. The fried rice was tasteless but plentiful.

All this was served in take-out containers and our utensils were plastic. I was thankful for the fact the spoon and fork were separate rather than the more economical spork. There was something odd about the spoon, though. It seemed small and did not work well for eating soup. We drank our soup and ate the solids, sparse as they were, with our forks. I did expect better utensils with a $29.00 meal. If I were to come back, which I won't, I'd bring my own silverware. Plastic forks, knives, and spoons at an establishment that bills itself as a "Japanese Steakhouse" was... unexpected and disappointing.

As we were attempting to finish our meal a panhandler entered the establishment. He looked around and since my wife and I were the only humans visible in the place he came to our table and attempted to solicit money from us. Maybe we're too picky but that was the end for us. We left, never to return. ...

Came across this restaurant by fate, and it did not disappoint! Originally my boyfriend and I wanted to go to Fuji Yama for dinner, but they had over an hour wait, so we quickly jumped to google to find a “like” sort of food. I stumbled on this restaurant and based on the reviews and photos we decided to give it a try. At first we were a little hesitant based on the “express” in the name, but we were so impressed once we entered this establishment. We were promptly greeted as soon as we entered and noticed that we had to order up front, we mentioned to the employee that we had never been here before and she gave us a thorough walk through of what to expect, what came with meals, and even recommended an entree. We ordered the filet entree, and the shrimp entree and proceeded to choose a seat as we decided to dine in. The food came out quickly (but not too quick- we knew it was cooked fresh), we started with the soup and we both loved it! Then we dug into the rice, which we both agreed was better than ANY hibachi style restaurant we had been to before, the noodles and vegetables were equally as good. The meat on the other hand, was out of the world AMAZING. The filet was so tender, and cooked perfectly, the shrimp was cooked perfectly as well. The portion sizes were about the same in our experience at any hibachi style restaurant. Since this was a type of order/ sit down style restaurant we didn’t expect much out of the employees, however we were blown away when they approached us a few times during our meal asking if they could get us anything else, and when we were finished they brought us boxes to go and cleaned up our plates. Every interaction with the employees that night were great, they were so friendly and welcoming. There is no show like there is at a normal hibachi restaurant, but as I have been to those types of places a lot I don’t really feel the need to have a show every time i want this type of food. The price for the food is more than reasonable and is more affordable than the type that offer the shows. We most certainly will be...

Had a taste for Japanese food today, ordered for my friend and myself. My order was for a large shrimp fried rice, a large chicken fried rice, spring rolls side of garlic butter and a crab Rangoon. It came to a total of $30.72, I was looking forward to going home, to a wonderful feast. I took out, our fried rice and the other items, my friend opened her chicken fried rice, and there was small pieces of cut up chicken, on top. I opened my shrimp fried rice, and there was not any shrimp on the top of my rice. I right away, called the restaurant, to let the lady that had waited on me, know that the shrimp wasn't on the top of my rice. She stated that it was on top, I informed her, that I was looking at it, and that there was not any shrimp on top. She told me I could bring it back, when I got there I told her again, that there was no shrimp on top. She went on to say that she checked, it and saw the shrimp. I told her, if you think I ate the shrimp, and would drive all the way back here to get more. That was just outrageous, that I am a ground women. And no way, in the world I would do anything like that. I asked her, if I could talk to the cook, because he would be able to know, if he placed the shrimp on top. And even my friend saw that there was not any shrimp on top. They prepared the shrimp, which were, about 4 small shrimps, cut in pieces. I was so upset, that I told her, that I would not be coming back there, ever. When I got home, I called, back and asked to speak the manager, she stated that she was the manager. This ordeal is really weighting on me, that was my first time even going there. And to experience something like that, is something that I have never, ever experienced in my life, and I will be 69 yes old in July. Just to think, that she thought I was, trying to be dishonest, is so terrible. And if this, is the way you treat your customers, I will advise anyone, to not patronize...