Kabuki Restaurant (Downtown) — Restaurant in Knoxville

We had a mixed experience here. We hadn't been before, and my husband and I only came here when our reservations down the street fell through.

The hostess almost didn't understand me asking about Vegan/vegetarian options. She assured me they had tofu. Fine. We were seated, but our waitress had difficulty understanding my questions about animal products in the foods. She shared a sauce that I tasted which had mayo in it, not realising mayo has eggs.

My husband was not wanting any rice, and so I was seeking to sub steamed rice for the fried (which has eggs), with his on the side, so I could eat it. He wanted a side order of noodles instead, which she couldn't understand.

We ordered off of the hibachi menu, but it didn't state that all meats were going to be cooked and served chopped. He ordered some kind of steak that is apparently, normally, a medallion, wrapped in a piece of bacon, and was shocked when he was served chopped Wagyu, with under-cooked vegetables, finding only three pieces of mushroom, four strips of squash, and almost raw carrot slices.

My food was fine (tempura tofu, with veg), but I ended up noticing in the menu, there were green 'V's next to apparently vegetarian dishes, but not by what I had ordered. Did my dish have oyster sauce or fish sauce, and she just didn't understand I wouldn't want that?

Also, one had that green letter, but specifically said it had "eel sauce" in its description.

The manager understands dietary needs and concerns, so speak with him. He ended up discounting my husband's dish 25% (not mine, nor his appetiser, nor our drinks), but my husband was very unhappy with what he got, even at a discount.

Their prices are extravagant, for below-average Chinese food (yes, Chinese, not Japanese, despite the name, and that they have sushi there; their entire staff is Chinese). If you have low expectations and don't mind over-paying because you're already in Market Square, and don't feel like driving around more, then this place is for you.

Otherwise, you can go to Osaka, just a mile south of town, which has a Hibachi grill, and is an all you care to eat buffet. It's not great either, but it will save you...

Ate an early-ish dinner here with my son & prospective UT student. Got a tuna & salmon poke bowl that we both thought should have a little more quantity (at least the rice portion) for $17 but he said it was good. We're both familiar with really good fresh food so I take his word for it. I got 2 Philadelphia sushi rolls that unfortunately weren't at all delicious. After the food was served I had to ask for ginger (I've never ever had sushi served without ginger & wasabi) and because our server never came back after the food drop, I just sat there not eating. After 8-10 minutes I finally just got up and searched for her or anyone and got the ginger. Salmon in my roll was chewy, nothing fresh tasting, ginger as basic as possible. NO care put into sushi presentation at all which is SO EASY TO DO. The real issue was the service. Just terrible as in nonexistent service (like totaling 90 seconds for our whole visit) and there was only 1 other table in the building other than us. Environment had the potential to be cool but it's definitely aging interiors (very ripped booths look old and like they are never wiped down, old fringe curtains that are unfortunately white and look pretty old & dingy or just victims of being light colored and impossible to clean properly). There is definitely potential especially in ambience and food if they cared to make it special..similar to the extremely sparse service. Maybe it used to be special and that owner/manager is gone. Maybe it was just a bad day for my server. Seemed to me most of the staff was just sitting in booths/tables on the opposite side of the restaurant waiting to get busy (which sucks if you're there waiting for service)..Who knows. 1 poke bowl w 2nd meat option, 2 Philadelphia rolls, 1 tea, & 1 $5 cocktail, $44 before tip, not terrible but I wish we had left thinking "man what a cool place w great food" like so many Asian inspired, sushi, Thai, Japanese places leave us..impressed and wanting to return...

I visited this restaurant on my wedding day, and the experience was deeply disappointing. When we arrived, I was barely greeted at the entrance. It was very obvious that it was our wedding day, given our attire and my bouquet, yet there was no kind acknowledgment or friendly comment. I understand it’s not mandatory, but in most restaurants a host would notice and at least say something warm.

We were seated in a booth. The furniture was visibly worn, with peeling surfaces. Our server that day was a man; in all our previous visits we had been attended by women, and we had never had a bad experience until this one. He brought our drinks and appetizers, and the first thing I noticed was that the sauce for my shrimp tempura had spilled all over the plate. The takoyaki had no flavor at all.

When our main dishes arrived—sushi and fried shrimp with fries—two people had ordered the same dish, yet they were served on completely different types of plates. Honestly, it seemed like the restaurant needs to invest in proper dishware, because the mismatched and worn-out plates made the food presentation look careless. The sushi itself was fine, but the presentation was very poor.

As we were finishing, the server rudely rushed us to pay and leave, even though the restaurant only had two occupied tables at the time. As a Latino family, we could not help but feel that part of his behavior was because he simply did not like that we were there. That made the whole experience even more uncomfortable.

To make matters worse, the bathrooms were dirty, and despite the dim lighting, it was obvious.

Overall, the experience was mediocre at best, and I regret choosing this place for such an important occasion. The restaurant has gone downhill, and it’s clear that it needs urgent attention...