my California roll had a gross sauce on it that tasted like miracle whip as well as the crab filling in it

Bonzai Abilene June 18. 5:37 pm. Party of 2. I think it was Father's Day. We were able to get a seat at the hibachi right away. We ordered the Cowboy roll for an appetizer. As well as the hibachi steak and hibachi filet. The chef was kinda inexperienced. And it showed. He fudged up his showmanship and overcooked his proteins. Because this is such an expensive meal. I'm giving it . It was yummy. But I expected more . In my humble opinion: 3 stars. read more

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MAN Bonzai Is Good, as Good as Shoe Leather And I'ma Dog Give Me That Shoe Damnit. Bonzai's Staff Is Really Good Actually, -The Hibachi Chefs All Vary In Skills But Overall Charismatic Cool Guys -All Da Servers Be Cool Bombaclats Tcha Know Maon (I Hope You Read That In a Jamaican Accent) (I'm not Jamaican) -Sushi Chef's #HardCarry #GotTheTeamOnTheirBack #WinnersClub #Kissable #Skilled -The Other People I Acknowledge Over People Work At Bonzai I'm Sure Their Around And I Appreciate That. Bonzai's Great I Love To Eat There If Your Thinking Of Going There Then Don't Their Food Sucks Ass But They Make You Feel Like Family. (Just Kidding The Foods Good) read more

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My review was previously taken down for flavored language. There should be no such remaining instances. It's important to me people know what they're signing up for when they eat here, and it may be an uncomfortable hour long conversation. I don't generally leave reviews because I'm not the sort of person who cares about these things, but my experience was so bizarre i had to mention it here. To note. We've been to this restaurant multiple times, but every time before -- we sat at a table, and prior to this the only other issue we had was a portion size being unusually off, lacking food. The reason we stopped going for a few months was because someone had mentioned poor health reports, which initially scared us off. After some months, though, we decided that we'd revisit it; so my party of 2 (me included) and i sat down the 14th, valentines day 2026; in the waiting area after we asked to be seated at a table. after about 15 minutes of waiting, an older asian woman moved to seat us -- who again, we've had no issues with in the past -- and said there were two seats open at the grill. She was in a rush, rapidly speaking, and we just decided to go with her because we'd never experienced a long wait here at the tables before, so we did not think we'd encounter any today at the grill. We waited at our grill for 25~ minutes until our "chef" arrived. I can't remember his name, nor the name of our waitress; but I do remember he was 39, because he told me this; alongside his birth date, graduating year, what he was doing when 9/11 happened, how long it'd been since he last smoked, that the restaurant does not or had not given him breaks that (8 hour) work day, and his medical history (kidney stones). I feel for the guy, especially if he's been working 8 hours no break -- but the moment he approached the grill, he had an odor that made me and my party exchange a look. Not just sweat, like, fresh feet coming out of sneakers and rot. It's important to note that our grill was full, with two younger children sitting across from me; a girl who looked about 10, a boy whose birthday it was and looked to be about 8, beside me was another pre-teen boy, and an 8-month old beside him; followed by three other adults which exclude my party. He initially started very charismatic, making 6/7 jokes to the pre-teen at the table, and then started to escalate his behavior. While I don't personally enjoy the grill because of the entertainment aspect, i understand other people do and have no issue with how long it took for him to start as long as i get fed. At some point after he finally started cooking, which was about 5 minutes into cracking jokes while idle, he bent over his cart and made a pained gesture, which warranted him to bring up his kidney stones. Sometime during this rant, he mentioned that kidney stones were more painful than pregnancy, which the woman with the infant-child at the table seemed uncomfortable with. He went on to tell us about how in school, he'd been taught to celebrate remembrance, which i finally contributed to the conversation by saying that i'd been taught remembrance day in school. engaging with him was a mistake, because he engaged with me for the rest of the time spent cooking our food. he would repeatedly come back across the grill, unevenly focusing on the others, to mention how his doctor had scheduled him for a procedure for his kidney stones, but it fell through, and he hopefully has another date coming up. I empathized and expressed sympathy, but got on my phone in hopes he would stop. The other member of my party is very short fused, and after almost 20 minutes of nonstop talking, i asked him to leave the grill. at this point, our food was second-place so the chef could use his hands to gesture while he spoke. This level of oversharing is so unprofessional that I'm genuinely surprised the waitress didn't step in. In retrospect I wish I'd pulled the hostess aside, but as I doubt I'll be returning again; this is the alternative. There is still a lot I feel I'm leaving out now, because he spoke for so long, about so many things. the food he served us was abysmal. my party ended up with something semi-edible, although the rice was flavorless and bland, however i ended up with parts of my rice on my plate, hard; still white. The rest of the food took about 35-40 minutes to cook. When I say this man did not stop talking for a 15 second period in 1 of those 40 minutes, it's not hyperbole. In the end, I boxed up our fresh un-fried rice and we took it home to eat. (after making our own rice, lol) This place has some amazing wait staff, and we've never had issues of this magnitude before. It sucks for the waitresses because a negative experience with a chef is enough to eviscerate your tips, and I hope that no one has to deal with a repeat of this. read more

People either love it or hate it here... I come here for their California roll! Unlike your average California roll, it consists of avocado, imitation crab, no cucumber, topped with their version of yum yum sauce, which is a sweeter white sauce. Portion sizes are decent here! The Hibachi chefs are always entertaining and friendly. You'll definitely laugh a good bit! Nikky, I believe is his name, is so sweet and seems like he genuinely enjoys his job! His service was 5 stars! The only reason my review isn't higher is because it always feels a bit dirty in this restaurant and most of their food is normally average at best. It's Abilene, Texas so we really have to lower our standards here when it comes to Japanese steakhouses yet I still try to give an accurate review! read more

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I have eaten the filet mignon, well done, double rice, no shrimp(allergic), no veggies dozens of times by this point. If I eat at the grill, it's perfect every time. If I eat at a table, it is always a VERY horrible experience. Tonight, first served with vegetables. The vegetables I hate so much, I would rather vomit than see them. Their solution, bring me more rice and do nothing about the vegetables. Can't do it. Told them and they took the food back and brought it back with rare meat. I mean so rare it was like bubble gum. I show the waitress and she takes it back and brings back a different plate with meat that literally has red juices coming out because it's so rare. She takes it back. It comes back with two small pieces well done and the rest like bubble gum. I gave up at this point. If you're going to eat here, only eat at the grill. The waitress was nice about it all. read more

Service only good thing about my meal. Romantic roll anything but. Fell apart all over my plate Did NOT represent description on menu. . Hard to read menu because lighting is so dim. Always smell like stale grease. I'm not going back. read more

Absolutely delicious food if you can get past the outdated restaurant. Floors are dirty & tables wobble. Good people, good service and most importantly good food! read more

This place is dirty!!! very nasty!!!! We as in my family and I which there was 13 of us that came that day ate and it made us all super sick!!! I and the rest of my family will never go back to this place!! read more

The service is really good here as soon as me and my friend got here we where seated and the waiters are so nice I love coming here always good read more

Bonzai Japanese Steakhouse - The onion soup when you first get here is bussin - Japanese Near Me - Abilene, Texas

Used to be my favorite place when I lived in the area. Seems to have gone downhill over the past years. Our to go order was cold and you could tell the sushi was made by someone who didn't know what they were doing. We asked for medium rare steak and it was more than well done. Definitely our last time eating there. read more

I'm unsure as to what happened to Bonzai however the quality has suffered tremendously. I ordered the California Roll which is the simplest form of sushi one can order and I actually had to send it back. They drizzled on top of the sushi roll what tasted like pure mayonnaise. Which was awful. I informed the server that the sushi did not taste well and asked for another roll with spicy mayo. However she did not seem to understand what I was requesting so I informed her not to worry about the sushi at all. The complimentary salad was drowned in so much salad dressing that you could barely taste the lettuce. However, since it was complimentary, I just pushed it over to the side. For my main course, I ordered the Hibachi Shrimp with fried rice and vegetables and unfortunately I did not enjoy the dish. The food did not have any flavor what so ever and I had to use salt on the vegetables and drown the rice in ginger sauce. In conclusion, I was not pleased with my food, or service. The only reason why I gave it two stars is because I have previously visited before in the past and had good experiences. Once again I'm unsure if they are under new management but the lead staff definitely needs to do some more development in order to improve food quality and service. read more

Bonzai Japanese Steakhouse - Japanese Near Me - Abilene, Texas

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I always love going here. Their snowcrab heaven roll is my favorite. Staff is always friendly and efficient.

The best sushi bar! They also have an awesome full bar and grill. The sushi rolls are a great size and filling. My husband and I tend to share an entree and get our own sushi. So filling and delicious! read more

I honestly can't believe there are such low reviews, here. We had a wonderful server who warned us they were short-staffed, just like every restaurant after covid. Our food was amazing! We left happy & full & more than pleased with our experience. I don't mind paying good money for good food & that's what we got so I'm happy! read more

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If there was a way to do negative stars they would get it overcooked steak mushy veggies fried rice had no flavor. The soup was made with onion powder and salt. Salad is mediocre. Waitress came by once but our tip was automatically added at 22% do not recommend this business at all overpriced and tip was not appropriate for the service read more

When Bonsai first opened, my sister and I came 2-3 times a month to try a new roll with a roll that we favored (blackened dragon). They were awesome in the beginning. Then they started going downhill being chinchi (cheap) with what they put in their rolls, specifically the blackened dragon which is one that is always my go to. I didn't leave but I did start complaining. I'd guess others did too because they started doing better. Now they're slacking again. This last time, mom got her usual, Volcano Roll and I got My First Love Roll and we shared a Blackened Dragon Roll which didn't taste right. These were mostly just rice. Very bare on what is usually in the center. The Volcano Roll keeps shrinking in size yet the price has gone up. I'm not paying good money for mainly rice. I have been a dedicated customer all these years. Though, now, I will say that this has gotten old. I'm walking away. It's sad when a long time customer has had enough to leave. read more

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The food and seevice is much improved over the years. The place is clean and the food is perfect.

This is a very.... rustic establishment. When we got to the table there was a pile of wet trash that appeared to be swept in front of the table so we had to wait to be seated for that to be cleaned. It was at least 4 minutes before any came to the table and took drink orders. My son says he had a better experience at the hibachi table. None of the food came out particularly hot, we got warm to room temp items. Miso Soup - no one at the table liked it Onion Soup - loved Teriyaki chicken - salty and very small portions of veggies Teriyaki shrimp - salty and very small portions of veggies read more

Bonzai Japanese Steakhouse - Japanese Near Me - Abilene, Texas

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Had not been back in years as it was dirty on the inside last time we went. But we figured surely it's gotten better. It did seem a little cleaner the floors where not slippery from grease this time. I thought the food was okay but after getting home I got sick and was up all night. Checked in with my step daughter who joined us for dinner and she was up all night sick also. We will not be back. read more

Came here for my birthday and was completely ignored the entire time because they sat us with another birthday. We even told them it was my birthday and they brought out one piece of cheesecake for the other person. When my significant other said something they asked if I wanted some and I just said no. The service was awful, couldn't wait to get out of there. Definitely don't recommend coming here for a special occasion. read more

FIRE FOOD STG! and it was literally 10/10. BONZAI B. i got the hibachi but couldn't get a grill as we were starving and couldn't wait.

Took my wife for her birthday along with my daughter. The show was lacking and nothing close to Benihana's or other similar restaurants I have visited. Cooks were not professional, overcooked the food, but tried hard. Food was a C minus...at best. Ambiance was not as hoped for. My wife was disappointed on her birthday and won't return again. Way overpriced for what you get. read more

The food was just not good. If u want some authentic tasting Japanese food, little ninja is the place to go. Even simple things like salad dressing and tempura sauce were soooo off. Ginger dressing was horseradish and tempura dipping sauce tasted str8 sour. Not good at all, sorry. read more

John Cortes was the best hibachi cook we've ever had. If you come to this establishment, request him. He has the best show and food in the joint. I can't say enough good words about this young man. He gave you his meat and dumped all of the juices from his grill. Best. Chef. Ever. read more

I gave this place another try and found confirmation in how I feel. Bonzai is an all around mediocre spot. I feel like they are able to skate by because they have little competition in the area and the Teppan Grill is usually pretty good regardless, given the nature of how the food is prepared fresh and made to order; however, the sushi and service beyond that, definitely brings the overall experience down a few notches. Elaborating on what I meant by service and sushi. For one, I can't really expect too much from a sushi spot in west Texas but both times that I've tried the sashimi, it has been cut super thin and poorly presented. The service issue comes from the cleanliness of the place, or lack thereof and the lack of professionalism from the staff. If you're sitting at the bar, be prepared to have the peanut gallery of staff on their breaks, sitting behind you next to the bathrooms. That really threw me off and really think that the staff should have a designated breakroom, but that's just me. Just to reiterate, I haven't had a horrible experience and I haven't had a great experience. Bonzai will more than likely suit your needs, just don't expect to much. Thats fair right? Oh, and the alcohol situation is pretty dang good, so if it gets too bad - Sake bombs may do the trick :) Tabemashou!! MLA read more

Bonzai Japanese Steakhouse - Full bar area with a nice selection of all sorts of liquor. - Japanese Near Me - Abilene, Texas

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Sushi was "okay" which is the only reason it deserves one star. The food at the grill was beyond disappointing. I don't care that the "show" was pitiful, I do care that the shrimp was super salty and over cooked, the vegetables were way undercooked, and they and my filet lacked flavor. So disappointing. read more

Our party of 8 was greeted with a smile & come on in, we were seated right away at a grill. Drink orders were taken, and appetizers. They then brought out this amazing onion soup, so good! The calamari was absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly! On to the show, our chief was hilarious, and man, could he cook! The fried rice was flavorful, and the steak, chicken, shrimp, and scallops were perfectly cooked. Everything was a wonderful experience. Yes, the building is old, and yes, it could have used a bit more cleaning, but the food was wonderful! read more

Man, this place has gone way down hill. 4 adults and 2 kids. Server was very sweet, but the chef and the food were terrible. The chef didn't talk to us at all. My wife's chicken was SUPER salty. Rice was cold and lacking flavor. We ordered a filet, and it didn't look a good color and tasted sour. Waitress was sweet and gave us a discount, but the be mindful that the gratuity was already included. The chef was very impersonal and untrained. Please save your money and go somewhere else. read more

If you're looking for decent sushi, skip it. We made the mistake of getting a Spider Roll and Snow White Roll. Even Little Ninja (fast casual) makes better sushi, this was bad. Sour, off taste. No little soy sauce plates and one piece of ginger provided per plate of rolls. Unheard of, never see a sushi place do that. Gotta give a little sauce plate with ginger and for soy sauce, if you serve sushi. It isn't cheap either $13/roll. Mostly rice. Skip it... read more

I kind of hate to leave this review, but since it was for a birthday lunch just have to. The good? WOW was our Spider Roll delicious! I normally pick nigiri or just straight up plain red snapper, but my b-day girl wanted to try something different and it was lovely. The tempura crab was to die for. Hard to eat, but we soldiered on. Drinks (a glass of white wine for me, just a typical house chard, plus a Wedding Cake martini for my daughter) were good. Ordering a house chard is a gamble and I lucked out. Her martini was VERY tasty. Unfortunately, praise kind of ends there. Our service was good, but serving fried rice (we didn't sit at the hibachi table) that tasted really weird, AWFUL grilled veggies (they were soggy and just terribly flavored and impossible to explain) with some great scallops and shrimp made for a sad meal. Even our soup was sad. Sad, sad birthday folks. If it'd all come together as well as the drinks and sushi and proteins had it'd have been awesome. read more

Food was alright but didn't Taste the same as the last time. What made it gross was they served me water and the the lemon had some type of mold looking on it. read more

Bonzai Japanese Steakhouse - Looks moldy..... - Japanese Near Me - Abilene, Texas

Got a tower... rice didn't seem fresh, had WAY too much sauce and too little caviar, fish was cut into strips rather than either cubes or traditional style sashimi, and it also had cucumber and tempura bits in it. Very different way to make a tower and a higher price and smaller portion that most sushi places I've ordered a comparable item. read more

Stopped in here for lunch today, while in town. Was pretty good! The staff was super nice. Our cook was still learning but entertaining. Prices are spot on. Definitely not leaving hungry. read more

The staff is wonderful, but i'm guessing the "owner"? The head guy i guess is beyond rude. I've overheard him talking bad on his employees on more than one occasion and they don't deserve that for how hard he works them. read more

OVERPRICED!!!!! But the food is really good. The food is so fresh when they cook in front of you, but it takes so LONG! Makes for a rushed lunch hour. Guess I'll try the table service next time. read more

We have always loved this restaurant however the past few times we have been it has been horrible. The food has no flavor. Tonight I asked for water 3 times, never received. My martini tasted like straight olive juice. I ordered the sashimi sampler with no eel, my only no like, the "sampler" came with ONLY salmon and tuna sashimi. Do not order this! My thoughts are where is the squid, the octopus, the white fish, anything but only Salmon and tuna. Mgrs response was.. well it's chef choice of 6 pieces.. a sampler to me means a variety... they brought are no flavor to go order our before our appetizer. We will NOT be back anytime all. read more

The hibachi chicken and shrimp always our favorite, due to covid we have been doing take out ,Still delicious and fresh. Love this place.

The food here is very good, and the show at the grill is great. But the service during the evening on a weekend is sloooooooow. We have been sitting at this hot grill for an hour, and still waiting for a cook. There is the choice to sit at a regular table and the service should be quicker. Other than the slow service that takes up your whole evening out, this has not been a bad place. read more

Bonzai Japanese Steakhouse - Japanese Near Me - Abilene, Texas

My daughter turned me into a fan. I've lived in Japan twice and have had some awesome sushi and teppanyaki who thought that in the middle of Texas you could find such good Japanese food? Let me assure you that Bonzai's is very good. Bonzai's is two restraurants in one - part of the area has tables and there is a "Benihana" style seating around the grill upon which your food is cooked. Most Japanese restaurants don't serve terrific sushi and cooked to order food, but Bonzai does! The sushi is surprisingly fresh and there is a wide variety. My office often would order takeout -- it was that good. The "cooked in front of you show" is entertaining and fun for kids and adults. The accompanying miso (soup) is authentic and so too is the salad dressing. I've always enjoyed the steak and shrimp while my family has raved about the chicken and the scallops. If there is anything not to like, we never found it! read more