Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen — Restaurant in Greensboro

Greensboro is home to several hibachi restaurants that serve largely interchangeable meat/veggie/rice plates for under $10. Little Ari's has them too, but this casual offshoot of the more upscale Arigato's Japanese Steak and Seafood House offers more than a few novel touches as well. It's an ambitious attempt to bridge the gap between hole-in-the-wall hibachi joints and full-on Japanese restaurants albeit not an entirely successful one.

Outside and in, Little Ari's is deceptively spacious. The large lot offers plenty of parking, and the clean, modern interior plenty of seating. Little Ari's operates on counter service: place your order at the register, receive a pager, and pick up when it buzzes. There were plenty of orange-shirted staff on hand at the time of our visit, and they seemed accommodating and concerned with diner satisfaction, a definite plus.

Little Ari's menu both encompasses and transcends hibachi norms. The requisite hibachi bowls are accounted for, featuring your choice of chicken, shrimp, salmon, steak, tofu, or different combinations thereof as well as a few katsu (breaded) options. You can then choose between steamed or fried rice and pick from among four different sauces. While edamame and gyoza are expected finds, Little Ari also boasts ramen (chicken, soy, or tonkotsu/pork), onigiri (rice balls), and beef curry, options that help distinguish it from other establishments of this type.

For our first visit, my wife and I opted for a chicken katsu hibachi, a pork tonkatsu ramen, and an onigiri (tuna mayo and shrimp katsu) apiece. We didn't have too long to wait before our pager started buzzing though not everything was ready all at once. The food had both hits and misses. On the plus side, the katsu chicken was cooked well - it held its breading without being dried out - and there was plenty of it. The ramen was a generous portion as well, and the broth, though understated (next time, I'll opt for spicy), had the right flavor profile. Both onigiri were satisfying too. Though billed as rice balls, they are more akin to hot sushi pockets, seaweed-wrapped envelopes of tastiness that proved the highlights of the meal. On the other hand, the hibachi vegetables, listed as zucchini and onions, contained far more of the latter than the former, the ramen was a bit light on meat, and the katsu's tonkatsu sauce lacked the expected hints of sweetness.

Little Ari's pricing is similarly a mixed bag. $10 for a heaping bowl of ramen is a good deal even if it isn't up to Tampopo's standards. Hibachi entrees range from $8.50 to the teens for a regular/full portion depending on the proteins, and while it isn't a meager portion, it is also priced slightly higher than what hibachi places usually charge. Two sauces are free with a hibachi purchase while any additional are $1.25 each for a small cup thereof. I understand the need to cut down on wastefulness, but this comes across as unduly stingy.

Ultimately, Little Ari represents both the best and the worst of the two worlds it inhabits. It offers more customization and more options than the typical hibachi joint and lets patrons get their ramen fix in a convenient fast casual environment, but it is also a bit pricier than said hibachi joints without matching the quality of a Tampopo or a Don. Friendly service and the presence of onigiri, however, make it worth at...

The food was good. I ordered the hibachi steak and chicken combo with fried rice and zucchini and onions with white sauce and got one of the nikku mahn buns with an unsweetened tea to drink.

Here are my thoughts. Price- The hibachi was priced competitive with almost any other place. I think the quality of the nikku mahn made didn't match the price point, and was about a dollar more than what it should have been.

The steak was very good, tender, and done perfectly. It was rare, but not blue rare. It was at the very fine line of fat render without crossing into medium rare territory. It was also cut on the grill and was not pre chopped. The chicken was also done nicely. It was not over cooked and was tender and juicy. Overall the meat was seasoned nicely and not over powered.

The fried rice was weak. I was expecting more than just soy sauce and corn as the ingredients. I did not pick up any hint of onion, nor egg. There was just something missing from the Japanese culinary canon. Yes Japanese style fried rice differs from Chinese style, but there was a lot lacking. The flavor was kind of flat, but it wasn't dry so that is a plus. Hibachi fried rice can tend to be dry, but this was not. Had a quality of steamed, but had the flavor of soy sauce. The steamed rice would have been a better option.

The nikku mahn was good, but was not made fresh at the restaurant. It did have a nice size, but I am sure it was frozen and then steamed. Had a very similar flavor profile to Trader Joe's pork bao bun. So I would steer clear, and pick up a pack from Trader Joe's.

The tea was nice, and refreshing on a 100° day.

Atmosphere was ok for what is really a fast casual place. The location is nice though. The bathrooms are clean and big positive because the toilet is in it's own room. It's really nice to find a place that allows for you not to be spied on.

The service was good. The counter staff and the one cook could not answer about the tofu option. I think it should be mandatory for the cooks to have at least a passing knowledge of the food that they serve. Especially because it really is a limited menu. Same for the counter staff. They were very friendly though and at least they were honest.

Overall it was a good option for someone...

I am giving 3 stars because 3 out of the 4 visits have been 5-star experiences but the last deserves a 0-star rating. The past 3 visits we had good customer service, good food and good value for the money. We visited the restaurant Sunday, 06/23/2019 at approxmiately 7pm. We ordered our usual, the hibachi tofu and vegetables. The cashier rang us up and we waited for our order. When the buzzer buzzed the management at that time informed me that they did not have tofu. They asked if edamame was okay instead. I said that edamame was okay but we came for the tofu dish in particular and would have left and gone elsewhere if we knew they were out. I requested that I receive one meal for free for the inconvenience. It was at this time that the manager got defensive and said that they could not do it and that I should not be asking for a partial refund because she is giving me edamame for free and that is something that is usually an extra charge. I explained it was an inconvenience and that it's not an extra item because they're adding it instead of the tofu. I insisted that I get one dish for free but the manager refused and said all they could do was give me a total refund. I said that: you would rather miss out on some money with the partial refund? She said that's the way it would have to be done and said that we would still have to pay for our drinks. I said that was ridiculous and insisted on a total refund. I was eventually given a total refund. All of this could have been handled without the attitude, defensiveness and nasty demeanor the manager presented. I was the one inconvenienced! The manager needs to get their act together and know what they have and don't have. All of this would have been prevented if I knew there was no tofu. That was the reason we visited. It's a good dish and we would have returned next time when tofu was available if I knew before ordering and you would still have a repeat customer. That won't be the case now unless I get some kind of reconciliation. Thank you. (After reply from owner) Hello, thank you for your reply. That was not an upgrade, but rather a replacement. It would have been considered an upgrade if you...