Kasai Scottsdale - Japanese Steakhouse — Restaurant in Phoenix

I used to really love this restaurant until my recent experience this past Saturday. I reserved a private dining room for my partner's birthday for privacy, to add some decorations and serve cheesecake at the end of the meal. The room was booked for 15 people, but only 10 guests arrived, which seemed to irritate the waitstaff for some reason. One waiter persistently asked if the other five guests were coming, and although I explained that they hadn't responded, he kept urging me to contact them. Even though I understood their policy required at least 14 people for the reservation, his persistence made it feel as if he doubted our ability to afford the room. I will say ahead of time that he turned out to be very nice.

Eventually, he stopped asking, and we proceeded with the dinner. The teppanyaki chefs came out to cook in front of us, and I tipped our chef, sensing his disappointment that our table was not full.

As the meal progressed, we reached the point where we were ready for to-go boxes and the cheesecake. The waiters brought the cheesecake with plates and utensils. I offered our waiter a slice because he seemed particularly interested, and he noticeably warmed up afterward, becoming much friendlier. However, the pleasant atmosphere quickly dissipated when it felt like we were being rushed out in a passive-aggressive manner. An older gentleman came in, inquired about our experience, and lingered awkwardly. My mom asked if he knew our friend, to which he replied that it was probably the other manager. I found his behavior odd and asked if there was an issue with meeting the required payment, but he assured me that everything was fine.

Shortly after, another staff member entered with new cups and started cleaning up around us without any communication. While they were tidying up, I had my partner open her presents, only to witness another older gentleman packing the cheesecake into to-go containers with his HANDS. I had to calm my mom, who was understandably upset, to keep the celebration positive. His handling of the cheesecake was both rude and unhygienic, grabbing the crust with his hands without saying a word to us. It was extremely unprofessional and unsettling.

After this unpleasant experience, we packed up my partners presents and balloons to leave. The waitstaff bid us goodbye, but we received no acknowledgment from the managers or hosts who had intermittently appeared throughout the evening.

I am from North Scottsdale and have celebrated big occasions at this restaurant at least twice a year, but I have never felt so disrespected, especially considering the significant amount we spent. Whether due to racism or sheer negligence, I am...

I usually never leave bad reviews but I feel that this restaurant could benefit from some feedback.

We dined here for the first time for valentines weekend. My girlfriend likes teppanyaki style so we decided to change it up from the usual chain offering. We arrived early and were “greeted” by the two hostesses with frowns as if we were disturbing a private moment. No smiles, barely a hello and a strange prolonged silence when we told them we had a reservation. Our table wasn’t ready so we were told we’d have to wait with all the warmth of dry ice. There was no invitation to have a drink at the bar or anything so we went back outside because the vibe was so unwelcoming. We waited on a bench by the door and watched group after group enter and be greeted in the same icy manner. The only time the hostesses smiled is when their co-workers gathered around to chat. First impressions make a big difference and having your front of house act like they’re miserable or resentful of the clientele is not a good start. People are choosing to patronize this place and way overpaying for their meals, the least they can do is have a happy face greeting them. We actually discussed going to Hush public house next door since we knew they have awesome food and professional staff.

When we were seated the experience improved. Our server was very friendly and attentive. The drinks were tasty and the crab Rangoon app was delicious (definitely the stand out dish of our whole meal). The teppanyaki was pretty standard, nothing remarkable and not as good as their more well known competitors. The soup was very underwhelming, the Lobster was good but the steak was extremely under-seasoned.

Based on the crab Rangoon, I suspect that the non-teppanyaki menu is the way to go. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone ultimately. $240 bucks for a mediocre meal and I can think of 50 other places where that kind of money would get you an outstanding culinary experience. We left smelling of scorched oil and a resolve to never come back.

Had the front of house been friendlier I wouldn’t have bothered leaving a...

Ate here for a birthday party at one of the hibachi tables, it took awhile for the soups/salads and drinks to come out. The waitress wasn't very communicative with us as a whole and doesnt ask if we are separate parties or on one ticket (foreshadowing) but it is what it is. So we our orders for food in and enjoy the appetizers and wait for the cook to come out. Frist flag was that they didnt use steamed rice, it was already brown with veggies mixed in and when asked if it was steamed or brown rice the cook said yeah its steamed rice. Finished the "fried riced" scooped out the bits that fell into the recessed area they typically gets scrapped into the trash (2nd flag). Started making the main protein then. I ordered the scallops and fillets, my daughter got fillet and salmon.. scallops were burnt but somehow raw in the middle, same with the salmon, the steaks were cooked as ordered, everything was under seasoned, some of the chicken looked undercooked from what my seat mate showed me. The veggies didn't taste good, they were covered in a sauce that was too salty and somehow burnt. . My daughter also had a salad bowl being carried by a server fall and pelt her with dressing and cover her show and leg....The best part of the meal was the pineapple dole at the end and my pepsi, that one hit good. When it came time to pay, they server didn't split the check, by groups, she instead said she can split the payments, so that screwed over one couple as they shared a meal and one drink, and ehen asked the server reiterated that she can only split cost and not do individual checks.... Very odd ... I won't go to this place again and instead will stick with Osaka, as they have a wider variety of protiens to select from and way better prices and better tasting food, and they make fried rice with steamed rice...