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| - I had a good time with my friends here a couple of weekends ago. I used to go to Samurai with my family when I was a kid in Ohio- they were the first of the restaurants I'd heard about where the food was prepared teppan style, at your table, which is actually a grill. Samurai was overtaken by Benihana's, which I never visited, so Osaka was a nice reminder of the fun I used to have at Samurai.
Before all of our group arrived, a couple of us sat at the bar where the friendly waiter showed us pictures of the place during their evening DJ event. Twice a week they have laser lights and DJ'd music that is apparently pretty fun- the DJ even dances on the bar, so it must get pretty lively sometimes. I'm gonna have to check that out!
When you eat in the teppan area, your group is seated at one side of the large table, and a group of strangers is given the other seats. Everyone orders at once so that the chef cooks for the whole table. This means that if one of your party is late, too bad. The chefs are pretty entertaining- very silly, creating a party atmosphere.
We had a fun time at dinner, as our chef was a real performer. One of the women in my party discovered that every noise she made was incorporated into our chef's performance, which made for some hilarious "call and response" moments between the two of them. Displaying knife skills, juggling know-how and other odd talents, the chefs give you a pretty fun experience. I suspect that working there can be fun, since each chef likely has his own "act". Ours liked to play the harmonica at opportune moments.
I like the decor here- very stylish and hip. The food is somewhat pricey, so this is definitely only an occasional experience, but its good, and during happy hour, the food is more affordable. They do a good job with the sushi as well. I think I'd come here more often for happy hour than for the teppanyaki experience, and that's not a bad thing.
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