I've been coming here for 3 decades! It was my absolute favorite restaurant. When I found out they were closing their doors later this week for good, we decided to have one lost hoorah here. We walked in and were very rudely greeted by a lady wearing glasses and a bun. She had no common courtesy, she advised of their wait time and walked away. At no time did she take our names, we stood there for 15 minutes as she stared at us from the bar. A las we decided to leave. Pretty sad when you try to support a business and the workers that are left, and you're provided whith terrible service. if this is how the business was being managed I can see why this location went under. read more

I think it was overpriced for the food that was just okay (got an eel bowl). The place is great for big groups which is why we went here to accompany for our big party. I'm not sure about the hibachi, so I'm basing my rating just on the dish I had. It tasted okay but it was very beautiful. read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Eel bowl - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

This place had a great atmosphere. My man and I came here a lot. This was our go to place. It's sad that their last day open will be Sunday 11/30. The people working there were always nice and had great customer service. The food was always good. read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Friday night, my family walked in and saw it was a bit empty. Already was giving red flags. I've been living in pasadena my whole live and I've never been here. This is a first time we were here. There are two areas: one for the grill where the cook in front of you, and another where it is standard dining. We went for standard dining. To start: Ambiance: 1/10 - Depressing. Bland. Simple. Nothing more. Service: 8/10 -it was okay. Unfortunately forgot the guys name but he did his job as normal. Nothing to complain about him. The hostest at the front was nice as well. Food: 1/10. Atrocious. I've had better japanese food else where and I gave this place a shot and I've never felt so digusted. Chirashi Bowl: 4/10 - the fish ok ish. But one piece was very fishy and another had a weird taste. The salad inside the bowl was unnecessary because it did not go with the Sashimi & Rice. The bowl came with miso soup and a set salad. (Next comment) the rice was good sticky rice. Nice and warm and compliments with the fish. "Miso Soup" : 1/10 - just looking at it we were like what is this?? It's not even miso soup. It's like clear broth with super thing mushrooms and some green onions. We all know what kiso soup is and THIS IS NOT miso soup. Mini Salad: 1/10 - bitter and wilted piece of lettuce. And the dressing is like a citrus sesame? But honestly I don't even know what it is. That didn't bother telling us what dressing it is. It made the salad super watery too. Unpleasant. Scallop Salmon Wrap: 1/10 - came with rice that was dry and hard. Inedible. The Salmon was over cooked and dry. It tasted bland. Veggies Tempura (no photo): 7/10 - it's not the best we've had, but after comparing to everything we've ate, it was so much better. It came with a good amount of tempura. I do noticed there was more squash pieces of tempura compared to having better veggies options like other places have. Ie: this has more variant sweet potatos. Garlic Edamame: 7/10 : Came in a standard size bowl. It was over cook/mushy. Some pieces were good, and other pieces were bad. The garlic flavor was nice though. Price for this whole entire meal: $107 with tip. Literally 4 things cost this much is ridiculous. I've been to other Japanese resturants where i got more bang out of my buck and paid around the same price or even less. This pricing does not live up to its par of quality in food. It is such a disgrace of calling this Japanese food. Never coming back again. I'm just happy to try it. Note: Food is Horrendous. It is not our servers fault that the food was bad. He even saw how much left overs there were and was like "oh is the food okay?" I had to say "yeah it's fine". Update: my husband and I got food poisoning and was vomiting hours later after dinner. read more

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This restaurant is like shotgun Beni Hamas servers are good. The food is good. I recommend this place if you wanna go.

One of the few teppanyaki places in Pasadena! It's on the top level of the Paseo shopping center on Colorado, so a convenient stop after shopping or attending an event at the convention center. read more

First time visit to this location and it's really lovely at night..... chef was very authentic food an entertainment was a great experience a very nice quiet place to enjoy a good meal!!... servers were very attentive and friendly read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Looking out the window from Tokyo Wako ... amazing - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Nice nice staff but the food all had a fishy taste- the chicken tasted fishy and I even like seafood. My husband's scallops were on their verge of rotten - disappointing meal for over $100 for two of us. read more

BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE! Really really bad! Really rude server (Miguel)and receptionist! What's the problem with these people. We are just starving that's why we didn't leave! What is Management doing about it?! The food is horrible. The only nice thing today was when we paid the bill- Sarah was nice!But that's it! Not coming back! read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Caterpillar roll is slimy and unappetizing! - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Prices are just too high for what you get. We used to love this place and go all the time but now it's just not worth it. Sprung for the more expensive ribeye last time and half of it was inedible fat- I get it's a fatty piece of meat but that was just over the top a waste. Manager refused to do anything about it (even though our bill was over $600) read more

I'm truly not exaggerating when I say this was a perfect meal. Sat at the teppan table and had an incredible time. Allen (or Alan I'm not sure) was great! Super personable, fun and entertaining talking about Pasadena. The fried rice he made was perfect. The shrimp appetizer was so well cooked and seasoned. And the filet was a perfectly tender, flavorful main course. The drinks were good, the ambience was lovely, I truly don't have enough nice things to say. Killer work. read more

I've been coming here for years and always leave satisfied. Good place to get your teppanyaki fix in Pasadena. Love the steak and shrimp combo along with the fried rice. read more

Quaint setting, good food, it's a bit difficult to find the restaurant. Friendly service.

Recently we celebrated a birthday with 13 of us, at Tokyo Wako Pasadena, and it was nothing short of a disaster. While the price wasn't bad, the service (Miguel) was absolutely atrocious. From the moment we sat down, it was clear that the staff had zero respect for us. They kept glaring at us like we were doing something wrong, probably because we were a younger group. The chef couldn't even get a simple order right after repeating it! Completely butchered the steak orders. Three filet mignons were all cooked medium, even though we ordered one medium and two medium-rare and they all went to the 3 on the right in a roll,But somehow he even put steak to the person that ordered Salmon. And to top it off, he gave my filet mignon to someone who ordered a medium-well ribeye. Are you kidding me? No apology, than at the end everyone got their food and someone got mine and that person steak was still on the grill than he says I have an extra steak if anyone wants more. Like no it's not Extra!! It was just an attempt to play it off like it didn't happen. Completely unprofessional! When it came time to pay the bill, the situation got even worse. The staff hovered around us like we were criminals, giving us uncomfortable stares as if we were going to dine and dash. We decided to pay in cash as a group, but that seemed to trigger even more suspicion. They started speaking in another language, and it was blatantly obvious they were talking about us. It was downright disrespectful. This was my first time at Tokyo Wako Pasadena, and it will be my last. The place was practically empty when we arrived, and now I understand why. They had every opportunity to make things right, and they didn't. Do yourself a favor - skip this place and head to a Korean BBQ where you'll actually get your money's worth. This restaurant deserves to fail. **Avoid this place like the plague!** read more

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Been going here for two decades. Very consistent great food and service. Our chef, Vietnamese guy has been here for a while, awesome friendly guy. Love going here and the Pasadena ambience is amazing. Highly recommend. Best staff and chefs and location. read more

The miso soup was good! The chicken bento box with california rolls had little to no flavor. Chicken was overcooked and covered in sauce that was bland. Sushi rolls tasted like they may have come from a Safeway or like a regular grocery store. The price of the bento box does not match the flavor, $30+ for what tastes like a $10 meal. Servers are nice. read more

The food doesn't taste good and the place smells very oily. And the service is lacking

This is so close to the convention center, which I think draws in big crowds of people. We had a reservation for 7pm, arrived right at 7:00, and had to wait over ten minutes for our reserved table (which was clear the whole time -- I could see it) because they were so short staffed and couldn't seat us. Not a big deal at all, but just something to keep in mind when making reservations. The appetizers were delish-- it's been over a week and we still can't stop thinking about the calamari! The garlic edamame was also amazing, SO garlicy. The sushi was pretty standard, not the best ever, but what you'd expect. For entrees, the fried rice was our favorite. We also had the udon soup and seafood pasta dish, which were both okay. read more

This place is never busy lately, which is nice. I've been here several times before covid and after. After covid it's never really busy. The girl at the front was nice as she took us to our table. The worst part about this place was our sever. He literally seemed to be in his own little world. He kept calling my adult son, "bro", which is not the most professional. We were a table of 6 and after we ordered the soup was brought out. The cook started cooking before we informed him we still didn't get salads. The server brought them out and handed everyone one but me because he got distracted with another table that wanted to pay their bill so he just set the tray down. Someone at our table went and grabbed the salad. A couple of us wanted another beer and he returned with only one saying they were refilling the beer so he wanted to know who was going to get it because he only had one. Strange... then in the middle of dinner he bought out soup - again. Finally, to top it off, he brought another round of salads when we were done eating. Very strange ... but I must say the food was good and the fried rice was excellent. read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Filet and scallops - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Bad Services, very unprofessional. The Manager is unprofessional, and the girl with the glasses in the front desk. Very unprofessional Customer service. Also, food was bad. I got food poisoning from the food I got sick. I was throwing up and vomiting. Someone has to monitor the Manager and the girl with the glasses to treat people Better someone above her someone higher than her has to correct both of them to treat people right? With good Services, but it has to be someone professional, responsible and respectful and with good service. Customer service read more

My first visit to this restaurant, and I ordered way too much food, but everything was excellent. Started with the vegetable tempura appetizer and order the Chitrashi sushi for my entrée. Both items were prepared perfectly. The tempura was excellent: crisp, warm and delicious. The sushi was very flavorful and fresh and I realize it's been too long since I've had sushi! Recommend both of these dishes read more

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First and foremost the head waitress or owner continued to state we are charging you 18%. Okay I don't agree with that but let's move on. The head waitress was very rude squeezed all 9 of us at a table. I told her we were uncomfortable the waitress said she was more concerned about her staff being comfortable twice and not the customer that was our Que to exit. Since you are so concerned about your staff try having them clean this dirt restaurant where is the health department when you need them. Dirty restaurant, nasty attitude will not keep customers coming. Running water on the floor dirt dishes on several tables helped us make a sound decision this is not the place we would like to give our money to definitely do not want to eat. read more

My family and I are repeat customers for years and as always lovers everything! Natalie the manager and our server Emily made sure our experience was exemplary. read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Shrimp - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

If you want severe food poisoning come here I'm 100% it was the chicken, the chef didn't cook it right at all! My entire family is vomiting and experiencing diarrhea, I called the manager to report this and he just told me to go see a doctor, he had nothing to say, the alcohol had a weird aftertaste probably expired, we all had to call in sick for work, the rice was sticky as well, ridiculous bill came out to $155 the only good thing was the ice cream, read more

My family loves this place! We have little kids and they get such joy from the live cooking action and kind staff. Tonight we had an extra great experience with our waiter Miguel and our chef, Marco. They were so fun and kind and attentive. We like the Hibachi Chicken, Ninja Chicken, Steak Teppenyaki and the sushi. They also have a non alcoholic beer on the menu I like too. all around, 5 stars for us! read more

Went here with some work friends and the sushi was so fishy. The roll I ordered was supposed to have crab and it tasted like cheap canned tuna. The chef that served some of the party with the whole grill experience was very nice and those that had that were happy. If you go here just don't order sushi. read more

I love Tokyo Wako! Out of all the Teppan dining in the area this has been our favorite for years. They have great quality from the Filet Mignon to the Salmon or Tuna. I'm sad to see that foot traffic in the Paseo Coloardo has decreased so much. With the theater gone, so many of the shops have left too. There used to be a big wait to get in and always a packed house on the weekends. Lately the whole restaurant in vacant. I hope people help support this business so they can stay open! read more

I have been going to Tokyo Wako (the chain) for over a decade and I can firmly say that Juan Jose is the best chef I've ever had the pleasure to cook my meal. He was so careful to ensure there was flavor in our food, and that my friend's allergies were all accommodated. He's so friendly and made the tastiest meal with care and a smile. Ask for him as your chef when you visit! read more

Food is great I like it better then Benihana. The hours aren't great they only open from 5-9 I had a large party of 10 and wanted to make reservations at 7pm they didn't let me 6pm was the latest they allowed me to make the reservation. Hopefully this location survives because it seems like this shopping center doesn't get as many people as it used to and lost a lot of stores. read more

Only 3 stars if you sit at the right table and have a friendly and adept chef. Tokyo Wako is more spacious and less smoky than Benihana but prices are too expensive. Not much ambiance on many nights, the reason is it's doubled in prices over the past few years and service isn't better. Needs to spruce up its look to attract the young hip set. read more

We went there on Christmas Eve, got there at 5 pm since we didn't make any reservations. The hostess gave us the impression that they were going to be pretty busy that night. She simply asked us to order before we even sat down. We ordered steak and jumbo shrimp for dinner, which is about $45 / person. The foods were pretty blank. Our waiter rushed us the check before we even asked for it. We left the restaurant at around 6:30 and it was only 30% occupied. Why the rush!! Worse service and food. Waste of money read more

Food is so delicious and cooked in front of you so you know it's fresh. Chef is always fun to watch. Service was excellent. read more

Food was great, but if you are part of a group this is NOT the place to go. Went here for lunch while in Pasadena for a business conference. Went with a group of people from the conference and they would not allow us to have separate checks. They have a policy of only 2 tickets per table. Will find a different place to eat at for the rest of our convention read more

Great service. Bomb food. We ordered the shrimp and chicken hibachi The steak sauce is definitely awesome. Highly recommend the shrimp and the chicken. My boyfriend loves the rice it's like his favorite part. read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Menu - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Food is okay and the customer service could be a little bit faster. Probably won't be back for awhile.

Quality of food went down completely....or maybe, our chef just didn't cook so well. The house salad is my favorite. The ginger dressing is amazing, so flavorful. The only problem is that they charge $3.50 for it. If you've been here before, you'll know the bowl is tiny. I don't think it really warrants a $3.50 charge especially that they don't use any special ingredients. The onion mushroom soup is ok, it's not my favorite from here. I've had better. We also ordered garlic edamame. For $5.50, you get only about 20 of them which is a rip off. Note that they took out calamari from their combo selection which is a bummer because it's one of the better choices. I ended up ordering the scallops and shrimp. First let me start with the fried rice. It tasted like soy sauce. It almost seemed like it didn't have their signature butter. The scallops were delicious. The shrimp was nothing to rave about. The problem was the chef waited until the last seconds to put butter and lemon. Almost immediately he placed them in our plates. The vegetables were also cooked super fast which has never been the case. The vegetables has always been the last to make it on the plates, but this time, it was the first. It was also just onions with a bit of zucchini and barely any mushrooms. I'm not complaining about the prices, but I think if they want to charge as much as they do, at least match it with the quality of food. read more

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Today I had a deplorable customer service experience with Tokyo Wako on Sunday, June 2, 2024. Despite being a loyal customer for several years and even recommending the service to family members, I was shocked by the decline in service quality. The lack of care, unresponsiveness, rudeness, and overall disregard for customer loyalty left me deeply disappointed. It is evident that customer care is non-existent at Tokyo Wako, and loyalty no longer holds any importance to them. The negative reviews on Yelp platform reflects the deteriorating state of customer service at Tokyo Wako, and it seems like the company is not making efforts to address these issues. What really made the experience an "all-time" worst was the ladies restroom. The water was coming up from the sewer drain and flowing out into the restaurant area. The waiter told us before we sat down that for a party of 9 or more there's an 18% imposed gratuity. Not once, but three times. From the hostess to the manager, the first impression was less than desirable. Customer service is a lost entity. I believe there needs to be training on how to engage with customers in all situations. Being culturally sensitive and aware of the clients you serve is key. Without customers your business FAILS! I think management needs to re-evaluate its practice, protocols, and procedures to better serve its customers. A customer should be satisfied with their experience, not outraged. Do better, Tokyo Wako. Hire "secret shoppers," to examine what the people at large are saying! read more

Let me say first off. If I could put zero stars I would. My group of 4 were the first people threw the door when they opened. Another group of 5 people got there food WAY WAY before us Even though we irderded first. It took them 50min before they came out with the food. So we had to get our food to go. Since our lunch was already over. Now let's get started on the food. Orderded seared tuna sashimi. Nice portion and it was nicely presented. But it was very salty. Then I also orderded chicken fried rice. And it was very bland with no flavor. I wouldn't recommend this place at all. And I think I'd rather starve than go again. Now let's talk about pricing. It's pricy. Chicken fried rice, shrimp meal, seared tune and a lemonade. $68 Lunch for the four people came out to $192.00 and that's with out tip read more

A great place for family and friend dinners and celebrating a special occasion. This place was within walking distance to our hotel so we made reservations. They got us right in. A good selection of signature cocktails that we enjoyed during our table side dinner show. The chef was amazing. Special mention to Katie our amazing server who we really kept busy. The food was so good and the staff so friendly. We will be back. read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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I attended a birthday luncheon here for my niece and we were fortunate enough to have a whole big room (4 teppanyaki grills & 4 chefs) to ourselves. It was my first time at Tokyo Wako and I enjoyed the food and show. As with most Teppanyaki places, the emphasis is on the delivery and presentation of the food. It's more of the same here. I ordered the Wako Lunch combination of emperor steak and calamari. The chef worked his presentation with first making the fried rice... He had the spinning egg trick and flip down to a science. He was entertaining. He even shaped the fried rice into a big heart when he was done. He asked us that ordered steak what temperature we wanted ours and mine was a perfect medium. I enjoyed the meat and its flavor being cooked on the hibachi. I also liked the calamari steak which took a little while to cook because of its thickness but it was worth the wait. The grilled vegetables, fried rice and requisite miso soup and salad were all good. I have no complaints about the food. I enjoyed it all. The dipping sauces were also tasty. Service was good. Chef was entertaining and waiter service was decent. Tokyo Wako has a huge space at Paseo Colorado. It's worth checking out if you have some time to sit down for a meal. read more