Kabuki Restaurant (Farragut) — Restaurant in Knoxville

Bottom line up front: the atmosphere is what you'd expect in a strip mall, the service is lackluster and unenthusiastic, and the food is average at best. $93 for a 45 minute meal for two that left us with an intangible 'dirty' feeling afterwards.

My wife wanted sushi and I wanted somewhere different so we settled on Kabuki. She was apprehensive because it's in a shopping center but I showed her the positive TripAdvisor reviews (#3 Japanese restaurant in town!) and she relented. We were seated in a booth with fraying fabric and loose springs in front of a peeling table that had not been cleaned from the previous customer - my wife gave me that 'told you so' look but was hungry so we stayed. They are still doing the contactless menu thing so my wife snatched my phone while I stared at the pieces of seaweed stuck to the table and congealed sauces pooled in front of me. After a short while the waitress showed up and took our drink order and only then cleaned the table on request. They were out of my first choice of beer (Asahi) but there were plenty of other options. We ordered soup, gyoza, hibachi steak and shrimp, and two sushi rolls. Soup was great, gyoza was lukewarm, and my wife watched her sushi sit on the counter for about 15 minutes before it was brought to the table. She ended up with the wrong roll but went with it, I ended up not getting the 'salad' that comes with the hibachi but didn't complain either. The steak and shrimp hibachi was the highlight of the night and gets its own star. No dessert menu offered, no offer for drink refills, just a check wordlessly placed on the table halfway through the main course. We were there around 9 pm on a slow Saturday night with a closing time of 10:30. On our way out the hostess just stared at her phone while the rest of the staff stood huddled at the bar - call me crazy but a 'thanks for coming in' or 'have a great night' go a long way as a patron exits a nearly...

My step-dad and I went here for a late lunch (3 pm) and no one was in there, at all. The decor was simplistic and nice, but the music was awful; I felt like we were at a night club and not a sushi restaurant. We were the only customers, so we were a little unnerved and scared that the food might not be that great. The waitress was very quiet. My step-dad is kind of deaf from shooting guns his whole life, so he really had to listen to her to understand what she was saying; I could barely hear her, myself. My step-dad was a little disappointed that the hot tea came in a mug and not a small tea pot with a small glass so he could do it himself (this is how it is served in most places), which unnerved us even more. Then something miraculous happened. My step-dad is allergic to onions, he told her this, and when he ordered the salad she stopped him and told him it had onions in the dressing, so he was able to order something else without being ill or disappointed. Most of the time restaurants pick the onions out, and boy can he tell because he's sick as a dog the rest of the night! He ordered the sweet potato roll, and the phoenix roll, and I ordered the sumo roll. The rolls looked extremely appetizing, a fish was drawn on my plate with eel sauce, and a sun and waves were drawn on my step-dad's plate, so they get creativity points. The ginger was bright pink, and tasted fresh and delicious! I don't think I've had fresher, tastier sushi in all of my years of eating sushi! It was fantastic! If they just change the music, get some tea pots, and have the waiters speak up a bit, this place...

We’ve visited Kabuki Restaurant in Farragut multiple times, and every visit has been consistently excellent. The ambiance immediately transported me back to my trip to Tokyo—elegant, calming, and beautifully themed. It’s a place where you instantly feel welcome and relaxed.

We’ve tried a variety of dishes across several visits, and some favorites have become absolute must-haves every time:

The Edamame with sea salt and a light spicy garlic sauce is simple but so flavorful.

The Shrimp Tempura is perfectly crisp and never greasy.

The Crab Rangoon is creamy, crunchy, and comes with a tasty sweet chili dip.

The Vegetable Tempura—featuring sweet potato, broccoli, zucchini, and mushrooms—is always fresh and well-balanced.

We always come back to the Tokyo Roll, which combines fried shrimp, avocado, cream cheese, and smoked salmon on top. It’s rich, satisfying, and beautifully made.

If you enjoy sashimi and nigiri, this place is a must. The Mackerel Nigiri, Salmon, Squid, and BBQ Eel are all incredibly fresh and expertly prepared. The Nigiri Combo, which comes with a California Roll, is a great way to sample a bit of everything.

But the real star? The Sashimi Combo—absolutely spectacular. Generous portions, perfect cuts, and beautifully presented. It’s easily one of the best we’ve had outside of Japan.

Highly recommended if you're in the Knoxville/Farragut area and looking for authentic, high-quality Japanese cuisine in a refined, inviting setting. We’ll definitely keep...