To celebrate my mother's bachelor's degree, she had made one simple request that had taken me back a moment; to visit the hibachi steakhouse known as Darumas located across the city from me. While I may not be the largest die-hard Daruma connoisseur in my neighborhood, my husband has never turned down the fresh and unique spin that a hibachi grill has to offer, and I could never turn down the opportunity to pair tender, succulent steak with grilled lobster from heaven. Needless to say, we were all excited to drop way more many than we needed for an above-par experience and amazing food.
When entering Darumas, you are warmly greeted by an almost pub-style banter surrounded by beautiful Japanese-centric accents such as beautifully paneled decorative windowed walls and a floorplan that elegantly displays the amazing staff and entertainment Daruma has to offer. Darumas does have the option of carryout and non-hibachi seating, but you would be a horrible fool to skip out on the experience to be had.
During the pandemic, you are seated at the grill with only your family, instead of typical communal style eating. While it was wonderful to know that we were safe and could peacefully expect a level of decency normally known at our home-table (especially nice since I am more of a reserved person anyways), not having complete strangers to share the experience with and laugh with as we were hosed with Sake and expected to catch flying veggies was sorely missed.
I have to say, Daruma's absolutely outdid itself with it's staff. I was a little late to my reservation, the last in our party, but the staff up front was already expecting us and pointed me to my table immediately, with minimal explanation. Then, the wait-staff were very patient in dealing with our chaotic family and provided us a couple extra minutes despite already being late and having to figure out from a picky 4 year old what they would and would not eat. Once our Hibachi chef began his stuff, the wait-staff were quick to fill any drinks even CLOSE to emptying (a feat in regards to my mom and I, since we have deserts for throats) while not taking away from anything happening in front of us. Any requests were quickly accommodated, and we absolutely did not go without. The service was remise of the levels I'd receive from 300 dollar tabs at fancier joints.
Unfortunately, our service was not perfect. While I had not come to know what a hibachi grill was until I was nearing adult-hood, I had very fond memories of valentines days and important events spent at a hibachi grill. I was very aware what level of humor and neat grill tricks I was expecting to get into. Instead, our experience felt half-assed, and left us a little bored. While he did go through many of the common routines including bad puns and yelling, iconics such as Sake impressive workmanship was almost completely forgotten. This was definitely strange to me since I had been at Darumas only a few years ago and had so much Sake squirted 6 feet into my mouse that I couldn't touch my entree! Overall, it felt like my chef was overworked, anxious or new, and we all had mixed feelings regarding the entertainment. No one, however, could confidently state that his performance was great.
I had the Daruma Deluxe with my husband. First brought out to us was some amazing and flavourful Miso Soup, and it's warm and flavor packed bites reminded us that the cold had absolutely no place in this restaurant. The soup had plenty of small bits to provide depth to the broth, and was balanced to make you crave the remainder of the meal. After we had bare iceberg salads (who makes iceberg salads anymore?!) with a vinaigrette that tasted like old socks and moldy fruits that left much to be desired.
My husband and I's entree was fried rice and egg noodles served as a bed to a combo platter of filet mignon, lobster tail, scallops and shrimp, and oh my GOD was it heaven on earth!
Honestly, I was a little concerned when the chef managed to lightly burn a small portion of the rice. While it did add a beautiful extra texture to the meal, I was baffled of how someone could possibly burn fried rice as a hibachi grill. Then, he cooked our large quantities of meats. Honestly, this is where the performance fell flat, and we felt like we were just watching a line cook unaware he was being evaluated. I have to say, our meats were cooked perfectly, with the right amount of give and seasonings that paid perfect homage to the meat's natural flavors. My brother and I's steaks were slightly over done (medium well as opposed to medium) but it was still amazing.
As a side note, do not over-do the Yum-Yum. I LOVE the sauce, but any more than the initial saucer they provide may seem a good idea, but honestly isn't.
The chef left without another word. I was disappointed that my son's first Hibachi experience wasn't as amazing as mine, but overall, the atmosphere, meal and staff-service provided was beyond the hefty price I paid. read more