Not bad sushi. I asked for a shrimp tempura appetizer and I was given a roll of some kind along with my Kamakazi roll. Lighting is a little annoying, I'll have to strain my eyes when I go back outside into the light. Do NOT drink the water, tastes like they scooped it out of a swimming pool, the bites of sushi were very inconsistent due to the uneven cuts of the roll, some bites normal, others I could barely fit into my mouth. I'm from California and am rather picky about my sushi, I honestly am gonna have to say that the price overall isn't really worth it. read more

Kabuto - Good food, weird lighting. - Japanese Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Reservation was for 7:30. Got seated at 8:15. They said they were CLEANING OUR TABLE at 7:40. I am so hungry and the food is not where close to ready yet. So hungry. read more

Served us cold food and refused a discount. WON'T BE BACK. The server was great, the managers suck. read more

Most hibachi places are the same for me, ok food, decent show and Kabuto was really no different. We celebrated a birthday with a large party of 14 and were seated about 20 minutes after our reservation time. The restaurant was extremely busy and it felt like people were sitting on top of each other. The ventilation system didn't seem to be working as well as it could have and all of the initial fires to start the grill seemed almost dangerous by how high the flames shot. The food was good and all of our orders were made correctly. I will say this is definitely not a place I would order a cocktail as this bartender seemed to not be able to make even the most classic of cocktails (sex on the beach and Bloody Mary). If you do go to celebrate your birthday be worried that they actually charge you to sing to the person in your party ($2, but with a $30 per entrée price and 14 people at the table I would think they could've comped it). If you're looking for ambiance, go to Soho, but for a family meal, this was decent. read more

Very disappointed in this place. Food was decent but not worth the cost. My 4 y/o only wanted rice but they made us pay for the meal anyway. $11 for essentially a cup of rice. We won't likely return. read more

It was a such a fun place, the food was tasty and super fresh and I love that, but they use a lot of butter yaw! Wasn't a fan of that! And the alcohol tasted VERY watered down !!! Other than that great experience. Pretty decent restaurant, looked a tad bit dated but clean from what I saw very kid friendly. Very fun if you go on a date or with a group. read more

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Worst experience ever. Filthy, bathrooms sticky, food suspect. Waited over an hour for suspect clear broth and strange ginger dressing salad. After dinner immediate gastrointestinal response. 0 stars actually. Health department needs to visit. I will contact tomorrow read more

The food is good and the portions are large . The seating is a little cramped and the carpet is dirty!! Needs a refresh decor and replace the sticky carpet. read more

Everything about this place was HORRIBLE. Our food had no taste. They do not season their food. We told our waiter we did not want the food & we will pay for our alcoholic beverages. He cursed us out so bad. We asked for the manager & he was worse! He called my friend the "B" word because she told him about our waiters behavior. We also complained to the lady working the front register on our way out the door. She told us that she agreed that the manager & waiver were rude. She apologized for our bad experience. NEVER AGAIN WILL WE EAT FROM THIS PLACE! read more

Great food, great service, friendly staff, restrooms are clean and the food is always delicious.

Love the hibachi. Their chefs are good entertainers and the food is pretty tasty as well.

Met up with friend and her brother for pre-holiday dinner, her brother lives on the West side and she was in town from upstate NY. You will fight traffic to get here as they're right off Colerain, I was on Colerain bumper to bumper for 30 minutes on a Monday night. We had reservations, but still had to wait about 20 minutes for table, once we were seated, took about 15 minutes for drink orders and then another 15 to take our orders. I told the server I had a food allergy, several times, seafood & he reminded the chef as well as my friend also had to remind as he tried to serve me shrimp & cook my food with the utensils which touched the seafood. Decor is dated, bathroom wasn't clean, not worth the trip to the west side. read more

Came here to celebrate a birthday and it was very dirty. There was food and rust on sides of the hibachi cooktop before they even took our drink orders, the cook's bottles looked dirty and everything overall walking through the restaurant had a film that made the whole place look very unclean. My husband ordered sushi instead of hibachi but it wasn't very good. When he asked them to take it back they refused saying the fish was very fresh and they could give him sauce. They give a lot of food, but for $17 I would expect it to taste better and not be so dirty. read more

Waitress was rude. Chef acted upset when he messed up two orders.... Had to ask several times for refills or sauce.

I live like 5 minutes away and never gave this place a chance for some reason, my boyfriends a fan so we decided to for lunch on a Sunday. We arrived and were seated right away, it was a bit busy but not too crazy, we sat at the hibachi grill so we had to wait quiet a while for more people to arrive. Meanwhile the they take your order and bring you soup and salad I guess so you can patiently wait. The service is good they keep up with drinks and ask if your doing fine, near the end you do feel sort of rushed because they bring you the check as soon as the hichachi show is over. In regards of the food, the soup is good it gets cold in a second but it's tasty, the salad is not bad too much dressing in my opinion I guess I could of asked for it to be on the side. I ordered the sashimi and it was DELICIOUS can't complaint about because it was way better than expected, the portions were more than fair for the price, so I would highly recommend that. On the other hands, my bf ordered the shrimp and chicken hibachi and I'm definitely not a fan but he loved it along with the yum yum sauce. The hibachi show I guess is cool if you like your food cooked in front of you, the chef does some cool ticks while so is interesting to watch. I would suggest the lunch sashimi, I will probably come back to try their sushi. read more

My first time experiencing this Mad house on 4/1/23, it was a horrifying mess, as I walked in there's a crowed lobby of waiting customers, waiting to be seated as well as my family waiting, you can't be seated until your whole party arrives ok you have many places that does this except have a place for people to be. you have folks rubbing neck to neck here uncomfortable, and the front line staff have not a clue maybe because this is just how they are use to serving people. also this is the most unclean place to eat when I think about how hard I work to be able to afford a luxury like going out to eat or being invite out to eat I wouldn't ever have this place in mind its every reason why if your use to eating out in nice place a reason to walk in and walk right back out every reason, if your use to fine dining go the other way this is not the spot. Yes I stayed I started to leave until someone in the party ask me not to because the Birthday person hadn't arrived yet, we than were crammed into a spot around a grill where everyone was just crammed together and against the walls you couldn't move let alone breath, they food was I have to say prepared very nicely by a wonderful chef, I really can't tell you how good or bad the food was because I had my food packaged up for to go, just couldn't stay any longer please please always read reviews before you accept an invitation for dining out when you have never experience a place yourself because some will tell you this is the best place since slice bread and it maybe to them, I guess it just all depends on where you have been. read more

Kabuto - Japanese Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Gross. This review update: On the last visit, a Saturday, it was strange. It's gone slightly down over the past year, at lest IMHO. I do put this on management, but this last visit was strange so I have to speak up. First, walk in and three employees behind the counter. None acknowledged us, and it took more than 5 minutes for one to say "we'll be with you in a moment." And at least one of them certainly had not cleaned up from a party the night before. Gross. Not a way to appear at work in a dining establishment. On the TV was a reality homicide show. In a restaurant!! In the lobby!! Weird choice, but onward: Should I mention the dried food stuck on the wall of the booth first? It was salmon roe... Or the day-old sushi rolls? Ooh, they were both bad...and no excuse for either. Rolls had very obviously been prepared WAAAY earlier; cold, congealed tempura shrimp in one, both congealed to the shape of Saran wrap (shapes included!). And COLD. And it took a LOONG time to even get that! The seaweed salad was also a bit off... I think this place relies on the Hibatchi lunch crowd, and is OK with the status quo, and is just raking in cash from those with no basis of comparison. Or those, like me, who *used* to come here just because of a location. read more

Service was HORRID on saturday night. WAY too many customers. I have been here 2 times recently but last night there was NO social distancing. The establishment was being greedy and did not limit capacity. It was a packed house! Very uncomfortable, had to wait over 2 hours when was told 45 minute wait for table. Servers were overworked, and they forgot our whole table of salads until food came out. Waitress Ebby I believe, who works front door is extremely rude. She will out and out ignore you if you ask too many times how much longer before we can be seated. I am reporting to board of health. This place not safe during pandemic. read more

Kabuto - Not an open seat in the place! - Japanese Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

I love this place some friends and I sat at the grill for a birthday party, it was fun!! The individual portions were amazing and just the right size. We got some sushi for later and even that was delicious!!! You must try this place if you like seafood. read more

Horrible experience. Rushed service. Food just thrown on plate. No hospitality. Won't be back.

i've come here a couple times recently to visit my aunt. the restaurant itself looks a little dingy but the food is ok. i like the eel roll the most--also my cousin's favorite!! the rest of the food is good, but nothing too memorable. the service is fine, we could have gotten a couple more checks on our drinks but overall it was okay. my aunt has a favorite server there that she loves, so service could just be hit or miss. read more

Kabuto - Japanese Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

The food was definitely delicious however we were told a 25 to 35 minute wait. We weren't seated until an hour later and then another hour for someone to come and cook for the table. Had we been told upfront the wait we would've left. We had two children with us under 5. Not fun. read more

Very unprofessional when asking how long it would take for us to be seated. They acted like they didn't know English when asking a questions then proceeded to make fun of us in English after. read more

Best Feature: Food, service, and ambiance! Worst Feature: I literally can't list even ONE. This was, simply put, the best Japanese restaurant experience of my life thus far. I'm a huge fan of sushi and different kinds of food, so when my boyfriend and I decided to stop in here for lunch on a rainy Saturday, I had already been to several different restaurants and set the bar pretty darn high. However, this restaurant totally blew the other restaurants I've been to out of the water. I'll still visit my other favorites, but this earned a special place in this Cincinnatians heart. On first entry, the decor is fabulous - you truly feel like you've walked into a different world. They did a great job with the background music, the interior decor, and the overall aesthetic appeal of the place. We were led back down a hallway lit with bright red Chinese lanterns and given the choice - did we want to sit at a hibachi table and watch our food prepared or sit in a booth? We opted for booth, and I was astonished how, even though the booths were close together, they were still roomy and I was not disturbed by other tables. We had several bigger groups around us, yet the entire meal was not spent yelling to the other person across from me. I ordered a hibachi meal and a spicy tuna roll, and I almost wept with joy at the fantastic size of the sushi. I've been to many locations and some places are more sparse with the actual fish - you feel like you're gnawing on a rice ball with a little morsel of fish tucked inside. This restaurant was serious about their sushi - you had much more fish than you did rice, and getting the chance to savor the amazing flavor and texture of the sushi was a delightful experience. My hibachi meal had plenty of chicken and veggies; I also had a good portion of fried rice. It came with two sauces, and I was able to take some of it home for later (I totally overstuffed myself with their delicious food). My boyfriend ordered a Mexican roll, which was absolutely the biggest sushi roll I swear I've seen to date. They definitely gave you what I would normally want my sushi portions to be, and since this is a more expensive location, it's nice to get a good amount for the money you're investing in the experience. Our service was flawless - our waitress was always there to refill drinks or inquire how we were doing. She was chipper and served everything in a timely manner - we had enough time to savor our appetizers before the meal was brought out. Everything was timed to perfection - I couldn't have asked for more! I will definitely be returning here. I've decided this restaurant will most likely be the chosen location for my birthday celebration come this winter; they've given me absolutely no reason to complain and I've already spread the word amongst family and friends. If you have never tried any Japanese dish before, this would definitely be a great place to start. If you are looking for a good restaurant to take friends or loved ones, do not miss out on this gem. It was worth the longer trip we took to enjoy what is definitely an unforgettable meal. read more

They are now opened in a new location where the Jalapenos was and before that Don Pablos. We went on the second day they were open so I may update this. The result of our dining experience wasn't much different from when they were at their old location, so maybe I won't have a better review later. A majority of the space is hibachi tables, which it appears many prefer. I personal would rather have real Japanese food, thank you very much. (Yes I am cocking an attitude about it) The high ceilings leftover from Don Pablos make the sound carry considerably. The normal seating area is a small corridor of 2 seat booths on one side and 4 seat booths on the other with the hibachi area over the wall. All you can hear is the clanking of plastic bowls and metal spatulas on the hibachi grills. We ordered Agedashi tofu which was just tempura tofu unlike other versions I've had. We also got three sushis: veggie roll, asparagus roll and cucumber roll. All of which were the smallest versions we've ever had and the most expensive too. They used to have various soups such as Udon and they used to have Teriyaki tofu, but both of those are gone. (I even asked about them) Basically, they are now another Benihana. This may please some people, but I like real Japanese food, so I HATE it. It's a bad deal if you get sushi and other than hibachi you have nothing to choose from. Downgrade. They had 2 critical health inspection violations. (I took the link down because it no longer worked) read more

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We recently had dinner at Kabuto at their new location, which used to be Jalapeno's, across from Northgate Mall, in the same area where Borders is. Having been to that building when it was a Mexican restaurant, it was nice to see how Kabuto modified the decor to add a Japanese flair. The main area of the restaurant consists of hibachi tables, where the chef prepares the food in front of you. We opted for a booth outside of that area. I noticed that they have some TVs showing ESPN or Fox Sports, which was nice. I was interested in trying out their sushi, but our family also wanted to check out what else they had. I opted to have the sushi appetizer, which was $9. For that price I got several piece of California roll, and a nice piece each of tuna, salmon, and yellow tail. It all was very tasty. My wife and daughter got the adult and children-sized chicken hibachi plate. Both dinners give you some soup, and with the adult dinner you also get a salad. We decided to only drink water, especially given the prices on the menu, which were more steep than we had been used to. I did notice that their lunch menu prices were considerably lower, so we may opt in the future to only go during lunch. read more

I've been eating at Kabuto since it was the little hole-in-the-wall establishment in a renovated fast food joint. Since then, it's moved adjacent to Northgate Mall giving it the prime real estate this restaurant has earned. I come here for the sushi, so I can't speak for the hibachi. My favorite is the Spicy Crunch Roll, which includes crab meat and cream cheese topped with shredded crab, spicy mayo, and tempura crunch. I haven't found anything like it elsewhere, so it's a Kabuto specialty! The ingredients are all very fresh and come in bountiful portions. For appetizers, the Steak Tataki is another favorite: thinly sliced rare beef in a house sauce. Kabuto is one of the few places I trust with rare meat; this app is delicious! Friendly service, great atmosphere, and a long-time presence in Colerain, Kabuto is *the* place for sushi on the West Side. Price per person: $15.00 - $20.00 read more

I've been driving by this restaurant for years. I kept telling myself I'd talk someone, anyone, into going with me. Finally, I found someone--my father. We decided to forego the hibachi and stick with sushi since he's only had (bad) sushi once. I even taught my adventurous father how to use chopsticks at the table. It was delightfully strange to be the expert for once. Anyway, to start we both had miso soup. It was the best miso soup I've had. For the main course I had the Kamikaze roll and he had the Rainbow roll. We split a spicy tuna roll. To drink we had hot green tea. Overall, I was impressed. I don't expect decent sushi inland. It's not the chef's fault if the seafood is old. However, this wasn't the case. Everything was fresh and not fishy/seafood cannery-smelling. My eel was cooked perfectly since it wasn't rubbery and had a good smokey flavor. The spicy tuna wasn't very spicy, but the tuna was excellent. The report of the Rainbow roll was positive in that the plate was clean and no soy sauce was used. The restaurant is romantically lit. The booths are spacious and comfortable. I have to say, though, that the fun ruckus from the hibachi grill overshadows any conversation. There were numerous birthdays the evening we went, so the drumming and singing flooded the entire restaurant. So, first daters beware! read more

Moving from San Francisco where there are alot of different restaurants to try, I was all excited coming to Kabuto. Cheddars was good. Longhorn has an excellent 2-fer meals, so why not try the neighboring restaurant. Well, Fridays here are pretty packed. It goes everywhere I guess. But we were hungry so we tried to get a table that was not in the "grill" area. It was a little noisy - i guess because you're not seeing the action! I ordered sushi and hubby ordered steak. My sushi was awful - the rice was so sticky - it was over powering and seems like they used a different kind of rice! Took them awhile to deliver my additional wasabi too! While hubby's steak was not so good - chewy and the fried rice was half done! And it was almost mixed in together when served. The overall cleanliness of the place is nothing to get excited about. There were table napkins on the floors and twice the waitress passed by it, and didn't bother to pick it up. Although their staff are friendly! Will I go back to this place again? I say NO! read more

I've tried many habachi restaurants in the past and this one passed my inspection as well. We had a great waiter and they were very catering in substituting what I wanted (i.e. cream cheese instead of avocado). Food was fairly priced and would definitely come back again. read more

Kabuto - My Shrimp Tempura sushi roll with cream cheese....yum! - Japanese Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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Went here for lunch. I had steak and chicken. It was $13 and worthy hat price and more. Be sure to add hibachi style noodles for an extra $1 to each entree ordered. From the bar I had the Kabuto special. It was very good. On the salad I had the house dressing which is ginger based, It was good. read more

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I've been to many a hibachi restaurant, and while I don't strictly consider them (or anything with teriyaki flavor) to be "Japanese," this place was pretty good. I attended here for a friend's birthday with a group and we had a great time. The food was good, though service was slow at times. For a Thursday night I think they were busier than expected both by them and my random judgement. I started out waiting for my group at the bar and had a nice chat with the bartender. I like to see what my bartenders like, and she recommended a gin & tonic with a premium brand of gin which I don't remember. I gave it a shot, and might again in the future. Once the entire group arrived we were ushered into the hibachi area with people from a couple other groups. The hibachi seating section is very open with plenty of grills, but some standard booths/tables were passed off to the side on the way in as well. I can see hope the noise would be loud for people in that area though as the "walls" for that section were fairly open. Once seated we took some time deciding our menu selections, ordered drinks and more. The side salad with my hibachi meal was to have a ginger sauce on it, but it tasted more than a bit of peanut which was surprising. Luckily I'm not allergic. And luckily the friend next to me who is allergic to peanuts didn't get that sauce. I ordered the Hibachi Combination Dinner with Filet Mignon and Scallops. The show as the chef was cooking was okay. I've never been partial to the shows, but it's good entertainment now and then. This guy had pretty lackluster aim with broccoli though. I asked for the steam medium-rare and that's what I got. It had a lightly warm center, but clearly was still pink in the middle, not far from what I think is perfect for me. The scallops were cooked a bit long for my tastes. While still tender, I was hoping to avoid "burning" around the edges. I also ordered some hot sake which turned out to be enjoyable (as always.) That's my $0.02 for this place. I would go again with a group, but there are better restaurants to eat individually or with a date. read more

So we headed here after hearing that Benihana had a two and a half hour wait. We took the 15 minute drive and were seated right away! Teppanyaki style cooking at it's best PLUS this place doesn't charge for all of the extras that some of the other name brand places charge for(yum yum sauce, fried rice) read more

Who needs any other hibachi grill when Kabuto is near? I recently checked this place out because I was sick of leftovers from the holidays. Apparently others were as well because the place was packed! I must say the hostess needed a little improvement on managing the crowd. No names were taken so we were basically keeping track of who was next to be seated. The food was filling and very tasty. The chef was friendly, entertaining, and executed our orders with perfection. They do offer a birthday celebration deal, which looked pretty fun at the table next to us. It didn't take away from me enjoying my experience so that was a plus. They offer a great lunch special as well! I'll be back! read more

Kabuto - Japanese Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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I have been going to Kabuto Japanese Steakhouse since they were at their old location on Colerain (present day Stone Creek). The hibachi grill here is fantastic. The servers are nice and the chefs all are very personable. You get what you pay for here. The only reason I choose not to give it 5 stars is because I believe the sushi is about average. Nothing about the rolls made them stand out. However, based on customer service, the atmosphere and overall cleanliness of the restaurant, I give it a delicious 4 out of 5 stars. read more

Recently moved from its previous location, Kabuto subscribes to the Japanese steakhouse credo of funny hibachi chefs, Japanese coca-cola, flipping food into people's mouths, and lots of fire. Throw in a squirt bottle in the shape of a boy with his pants down filled with sesame oil and it's a party at every table. I would recommend going for lunch because the prices then were actually really reasonable, although I know that dinner prices are usually exponentially higher at these types of places, even though it's the same amount of food that comes at lunchtime. Our hibachi chef was personable and smiley the whole time and we even got the requisite onion volcano. Two birthdays were celebrated while we were there, one at our table, and that was really fun. The waitstaff was great, the food was great, and my wife and I are already planning a return trip. read more

Great place to go and have a great time . Our chef was amazing and very funny . The food was super good and watching the chef cook it was a nice bonus . I would recommend couples for this Restaurant. read more

When we got there, they didn't have the reservation we placed yesterday and we had to wait for a table. Not too big of a deal but then the ginger dressing tasted odd. There was little to no seasoning on the food. As soon as I got home 30 minutes later, I got sick. Another member of my party also got sick. Waitress and chef were both very kind but the food had little to no taste and made us sick. I have been to the restaurant before and thought it was very good but I haven't been back in a couple of years. We spent $200 on food for my dad's birthday and it made us sick. read more

Great place to grab sushi in my neighborhood great atmosphere, friendly staff, yummy sushi!

Fun birthday dinner with extended family. Fit 10 of us together no problem at the grill. Chef was loads of fun and kept all ages engaged. Food was good from fish, shrimp, steak to chicken. Plenty of rice and veggies. read more