Inatome Japanese Steak + Sushi — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

A friend wanted some sushi in the Valley Stream area and never been to Inatome Hibachi and Sushi Place. It is off the path and you can easily miss it if you don't know where to find the place. It is low key near an intersection and dimly lit. The outside resembles a little like a Japanese garden to a lesser degree. The also setup small chairs and tables in case you want outdoor seating. Once you enter, you go up a small stairs that hooks left and you can see how large this establishment is. They have quite a few Hibachi tables and the place was at capacity for large families. They also supply these large rigid plastic barriers to separate the groups from each other. They also have regular tables If you only want sushi and not Hibachi. They also have a small sushi bar were you can watch them prepare sushi and dine there as well.

We sat in the rear right of the restaurant where these were the only seats available. We were 2 and 2 who sat across on the far side of the Hibachi table. Plenty of social distancing there. The only table open was then filled with a group of 6 friends. The host who greeted us prior to seating had asked if we had made reservations. I had looked online but did not see a reservation area. He said people call to make them. We tried to joke with the owner whonseems like a quiet person, bit it seemed he did not like my banter and looked mad and walked away. He was nice enough to say thank you, goodnight and stay safe when we finished dining though. I did not take it wrong from the beginning anyway. There was a nice waitress, Hispanic who came to take our order. She was very pleasant. Ordered a Nigori Sake and a lychee martini. The sake was not sweet but perfect for me. The lychee martini was well made. You can tell by the organization of the place, the owner pays attention to details.

We ordered a couple of yellowtail sashimi which were cut perfectly! Also they had Uni (Sea Urchin) from both California and Japan. Again, you see the detail that goes into the prep when they arrived. The Cali Uni was leaning towards the browner side. You can see in the pictures I sent up. The Cali Uni was also slightly more firmer the the Japanese Uni. The Japanese Uni was like butter!! Omg, it was so darn good and flavorful. My friend tried Uni for the 1st time and really enjoyed them. We decided to get mixed Hibachi dinners. I went all seafood, Shrimo, lobster and scallops while my friend went chicken and scallops. We were sharing anyway. They 1st came with the myabi soup, the clear Japanese onion soup. Afterwards, the salad with the ginger dressing. After we finished our appetizers and starters, the Hibachi chef arrived. He was a quiet friendly person. I was slightly disappointed he did not make the traditional onion volcano bit it was ok. He maybe in learning mode. He was fine handling the food and slicing. He did a nice job overall and was made us laugh a few times. He also tried to flip smallnpieces of broccoli to everyone sitting and we gave him a few bucks for his performance. He did do a small drum type play after which was cute. Again, the quality is amazing. The staff is really attentive and nice. Youbwill always have a great meal and time ar Inatome. Make sure to make a reservation if you are considering dining in...

I used to visit Inatome regularly 1990's thru 2005. Back then the place had a cozy, authentic atmosphere. The greeters and waitresses were Japanese and wore traditional Kimono clothes, down to their footwear. There were Japanese chefs who wore different colored hats indicating rank/skill, and the food was so skillfully prepared. The shrimps were deveined like ninja and filet mignon was prepared exquisitely. The chefs were not clowns but were engaging enough to highlight their efforts as they prepared your food. They had a mustard sauce that was delicious and even the salad dressing was tasty and unique. While hibachi places were popping up all over, Inatome stood out among them and was worth the long waits. Fast forward to New Years eve 2020: Looking to go out for a special meal with the family my wife reminded me of our great meals from years gone past at Inatome. Having moved out east in 2005, Inatome was a bit of a trip and fell off our radar for a long time. With that great idea, we headed out and arrived at the familiar place tucked away in Valley Stream. We were greeted by owner Keiji and seated quickly. He explained the past fire disaster from 10 years ago that led to a renovation. The place is nicely decorated and bright, and there is a sushi bar at the entrance. Obviously, there were those physical changes and we wondered if the food would still be as remembered. The hibachi tables are now the downdraft style where there are no overhead vents. The servers were quick and pleasant, bringing drinks and apps and taking our orders. Our chef appeared and began the usual preparations. Along with the non-Japanese waitresses dressed in black with sneakers, the chefs are no longer culturally garbed (apron, jeans and sneakers) and clearly not Japanese. The food to cook seemed to have been pre-prepped extensively in their kitchen so as to minimize the chefs time at the grill and reduced the grilling to a swift routine. We ordered the filet mignon and seafood hibachis along with tempura. They still had a mustard dipping sauce and ginger dressing for the salad, but it did not have any zing to it. Neither did any of the foods. While it was all edible, the flavors were all mediocre and could have been from any hibachi chain. The chef’s moves were flat, and the food had no flair. I'll give it 3 stars for nostalgia's sake and for a decent meal, but it ain't what...

Went for hibachi with my wife for dinner on a day that was real feel 100 degrees. The rock garden and fountain outside was lovely and the interior was lovely too, but it was over 80 degrees (not by the grills). After checking in for our reservation, after a pushy walk-in shoved in front to demand the wait time for hibachi without having a reservation, we were sat 5 min later. This is when everything went to garbage. The temperature was almost unbearable by the grill and there was minimal ventilation. After taking the order The waiter spilled sauces from the appetizers on the grill. When the Chef came to cook he had to first clean the waiters mess, which was very burnt in by that point and took a lot of scrubbing leading to me getting sprayed on the arm with boiling hot water. Thankfully it was only a few large drops so nothing too major, an ice cube or two from my water glass and I was fine. However, no one in the place seamed to care enough to check if I was ok. Before any of this though, the pushy walk-in from earlier table was already getting served despite sitting 15 min after our reservation time. It was at that time the waiter informed us there were no chefs to serve our table and we would have to wait 15+ min. It wound up being 20 min of just sitting. By the time the chef did get to us it was so late (928pm when we had an 8pm reservation and were sat before 815 and ordered by 825) that they were close to closing so our entire meal from then on was rushed. There was no showmanship at all despite it occurring at all the other tables and despite the family we shared the table with requesting it. There was also NO Seasonings used ((salt, peper, and garlic) (it sat forgotten on the cart)) and minimal use of butter and soy leading to very bland flavoring. Finally almost all the food was over cooked or in the case of the egg for the fried rice undercooked, which was an odd concoction with the burnt rice. All and all this was a VERY disappointing experience especially for a meal that cost more than $150 for 2 people; 2 beers and 2 hibachi combos (chicken and filet, and chicken, shrimp...