Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse — Restaurant in Knoxville

It feels sacrilegious to write a less than stellar review for what was, at one time, one of my favorite 'nicer' restaurants in Knoxville, but... here we are. My fiance and I visited Saturday night for his birthday dinner. It was a full hour before closing and on a night when the restaurant doesn't even open until 5pm. I mention these 2 things because I'm aware of the strain 'late comers' can put on a restaurant full of employees who've been through it all day and just want to get home. This wasn't one of those times. To begin, we've seen the show many times and it's enjoyable, but we were there for the food so we opted to sit at a table. As we were walking in, someone from the staff came flying through the door and nearly ran us over (I say staff because she was dressed in black, holding an apron in her hands). I anticipated some type of quick 'oops' or 'excuse me' or even a 'uh oh' face as she proceeded out the second set of doors but she never slowed down or gave any acknowledgement that she nearly ran over 2 customers. That was a shame and bad manners, but.. cool. Things happen and we let it go. Then, we waited at the empty host stand until who I assume was a manager noticed us and told us it was open seating in the front.. again without much warmth or welcome, but... Once again, cool... He was clearly having to cover for someone else in the moment. No big deal. After we sat down, decided what we wanted and placed our order, we assumed all the 'bad', thoughtless behavior was behind us. We were wrong... Lol. We ordered gyoza and the Jalapeño Roll to start and both dishes, as they came out, showed even further examples of a lack of care in this location. Our gyoza was served on a few scraps of lettuce in a plastic serving basket...sauce sloshing everywhere. The type you may see cloth wrapped bread served in... And they were definitely burnt. At this point, we're really getting the feeling this restaurant must not be doing so well. Repeated examples of carelessness and thoughtlessness. To their credit, the gyoza was still edible, so we didn't feel the need to send anything back or trouble any of the staff to make corrections. We just noted it as something else that was off about the place. I mentioned we got the Jalapeño Roll and it, too, tasted just fine.. good even...but lol.. the theme of 'no one here gives a s* about making this a positive experience for their guests' continued when I noticed that the wasabi and pickled ginger were crusted over and dry on the plate - clearly the sushi plates are preloaded with those ingredients to save the chefs time, which I don't mind, but come ON! You have to at least kinda freshen it up a bit if it looks like it's been sitting out for 4 days straight! You should not serve people food items that don't look fresh. Again, though... We're considering the time now that it's nearing when they'll close and we know the less than appealing 'look' of the items doesn't mean much beyond showing that continuing lack of care, so... We kept it moving. Our soup, salad, and entrees were fine, seemed fresh (which was pleasantly surprising given how many crazy oversights we'd already seen), and they tasted great. My last 'hurrumph' came as I was asking the waiter for shrimp sauce to go. I made the mistake of including the question to my fiance so he'd get a chance to ask for some as well, but once the waiter's attention shifted to him, my original beginning of a request was forgotten, so I decided to just make use of the leftover sauce still on our table. However, the bussers came through hurriedly and stacked our plates together as soon as we'd put our leftovers into boxes, so my container of shrimp sauce got mushed together by the empty sauce containers on the table before I had a chance to add the sauce to my food. This was not the ending to the unpleasant experience I was hoping for, but it was certainly the ending I expected. Our next visit will be to a different location in hopes that the staff there still have a little pride in their work, but I gotta tell you... I'm not...

A Stellar Hibachi Experience at Wasabi Restaurant!

From the moment we stepped into Wasabi Restaurant, we knew we were in for a delightful dining experience. The ambiance of the restaurant was both inviting and comfortable, setting the stage for a memorable evening. Our party of four was pleasantly surprised to find ourselves surrounded by three other families, all sharing the camaraderie and excitement that only a hibachi grill can provide. This sense of community only enhanced the already vibrant atmosphere.

The hibachi chef was nothing short of a maestro, orchestrating our meal with flair and precision. We learned that he was expertly trained in the art of hibachi by his father, which added a touch of tradition and depth to our dining experience. His skills were evident in every flip of the spatula and every sizzle on the grill, and his engaging personality kept us entertained throughout the evening.

For our meal, we indulged in a sumptuous spread that included succulent salmon, tender chicken, a vibrant array of stir-fry vegetables, and perfectly seasoned fried rice. The ingredients were fresh, and each dish was cooked to perfection right before our eyes on the hibachi grill. The chef's expertise shone through in every bite, with flavors that were both bold and harmonious.

The interactive experience of watching our meal being prepared added a unique touch that went beyond the typical dining experience. It's not every day that you get to witness the creation of your dinner from start to finish, and Wasabi Restaurant executed this performance flawlessly.

Service throughout the evening was attentive and friendly, ensuring that our drinks were refilled promptly and our needs were met with a smile. The staff made sure that our experience was comfortable and enjoyable, which was the cherry on top of an already fantastic night.

In summary, Wasabi Restaurant provided us with an exceptional dining experience that we will be talking about for a long time to come. The combination of a skilled hibachi chef, delicious food, and a warm atmosphere made our dinner not just a meal, but a celebration of culinary artistry. We highly recommend Wasabi Restaurant to anyone looking for a five-star hibachi experience. We'll definitely be...

I've been a patron of this restaurant for 20 years back to the days when it was called East garden... But that restaurant seems like eons ago compared to what I experienced this evening. My kids wanted to enjoy some hibachi with a fun chef etc but after winning an exhausting period of time I saw the menu at the table and realized they jacked up the prices so it's ridiculously overpriced here. You're basically paying for hibachi in the almost $30 a plate range. It was a hot mess in the middle of the restaurant where all the food was being... I felt very uncomfortable and cramped It was an awkward experience and way too busy and loud. Super obnoxious here. The person who did our food was nice but you could tell that it was a tiring game for him. Like showing a dog's trick for the 450,000 time, his stuff was short and over without much excitement. It was pretty lame actually. I'm sure they're cranking it out so much that another time for some people eating some hibachi is no big deal. I remember back in the day when you'd go to this place for a special occasion and have fun but now it seems like we're all just trying to recapture that experience from 20 years ago. I'd save yourself a lot of money and go down the other direction of Turkey Creek and Go visit little Bangkok off of Campbell station road. There are lots of other places to eat for the money and this is a very competitive town. I was super surprised to see how many people wanted to eat that. But I'm not impressed anymore. Probably make this the last experience at this one... Thanks for the memories but no thanks... (Culver's has really good hot fast food and it would be a lot cheaper, Plus you could get some ice cream out...