Tanaka of Tokyo Central

A fantastic restaurant with an incredible atmosphere! Our Valentine’s dinner was a truly unforgettable experience, with delicious food and wonderful company. The chef was a true showman, performing magic with his cooking—an absolute delight to watch. We enjoyed every moment and had an amazing time!

A fantastic restaurant with an incredible atmosphere! Our Valentine’s dinner was a truly unforgettable experience, with delicious food and wonderful company. The chef was a true showman, performing magic with his cooking—an absolute delight to watch. We enjoyed every moment and had an amazing time!

This place was a very interesting experience that someone can experience. We ordered 4 combo, then got 4 shared portions as we have 8 people total. I forgot the exact amount, but I think you paid around $10-20 for every shared portion. We ended up with the bill of nearly $700 for 8 people. The foods were unexpectedly good! This place has the best miso soup I have ever tried in the U.S. as it was very flavorful. I personally do not like lobsters, but for some reason, they tasted really good too, perhaps due to how fresh the seafood was. The vegies were also very tasty, even though they were pepper, onion, and mushroom. The fried rice is also really good because you can taste the smokiness and garlic in the fried rice. Beansprout was the worst one among everything for some reason and it tasted so bad. I think because it was the end of the day, so the chef was kind of tired and dropped things a few times when he was performing. But it's understandable and he is still a very cool guy. There was so much food, even though we only ordered 4 main portions + 4 shared portions, so be careful when you order food. They look like they are very little, but when you start eating, you get filled quickly due to lots of fat from oil and butter. Overall, it was a good experience, but if you ask whether I would return to this, then I would say no because it was good but not that good. We only came here for the first experience.

This place was a very interesting experience that someone can experience. We ordered 4 combo, then got 4 shared portions as we have 8 people total. I forgot the exact amount, but I think you paid around $10-20 for every shared portion. We ended up with the bill of nearly $700 for 8 people. The foods were unexpectedly good! This place has the best miso soup I have ever tried in the U.S. as it was very flavorful. I personally do not like lobsters, but for some reason, they tasted really good too, perhaps due to how fresh the seafood was. The vegies were also very tasty, even though they were pepper, onion, and mushroom. The fried rice is also really good because you can taste the smokiness and garlic in the fried rice. Beansprout was the worst one among everything for some reason and it tasted so bad. I think because it was the end of the day, so the chef was kind of tired and dropped things a few times when he was performing. But it's understandable and he is still a very cool guy. There was so much food, even though we only ordered 4 main portions + 4 shared portions, so be careful when you order food. They look like they are very little, but when you start eating, you get filled quickly due to lots of fat from oil and butter. Overall, it was a good experience, but if you ask whether I would return to this, then I would say no because it was good but not that good. We only came here for the first experience.

Every single tepanyaki chain, just like Benihana's, suffers one issue. Every single dish tastes exactly the same. This is because the way they are cooked is exactly the same - garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and butter. Tanaka is no different. Whether it was the lobster, scallop, ribeye or even the wagyu, everything was pretty much cooked exactly the same. The food has no character and each "dish" really isn't a dish. Just some fancy stir fry portioned on your plate based on what meal package you ordered. I do commend Tanaka for running the stations very efficiently, the way they group and seat you, and all the job is divded and conquered like a pipeline. Our chef Eric did a great job entertaining us, some jokes banal, other jokes original. However, just as I suspected, everything cooked including veggies to wagyu all tasted similar. And this entire thing is worsened with the two sauces in front of you - ponzu and ginger - which you endlessly reach out to dip because whatever comes out of the grill lacks diversity. I really hope that Tanaka and future tepanyaki joints treat this less as a show and more as a "cooking in front of the audience". Where is the artistry in culinary excellence? Fire shows are fun but add no flavor or impact to the quality of the food served. Reason why I still maintain 3 stars is because of the overall experience. We had a decent time and the Australian wagyu was indeed tender. Don't go for the Shogun - just too much of the same. Just go for one of their regular meat choices. Won't be returning as there's so much Waikiki has to offer than eat stirfry tossed in grease. Go there for entertainment and fun, just not the food.

Every single tepanyaki chain, just like Benihana's, suffers one issue. Every single dish tastes exactly the same. This is because the way they are cooked is exactly the same - garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and butter. Tanaka is no different. Whether it was the lobster, scallop, ribeye or even the wagyu, everything was pretty much cooked exactly the same. The food has no character and each "dish" really isn't a dish. Just some fancy stir fry portioned on your plate based on what meal package you ordered. I do commend Tanaka for running the stations very efficiently, the way they group and seat you, and all the job is divded and conquered like a pipeline. Our chef Eric did a great job entertaining us, some jokes banal, other jokes original. However, just as I suspected, everything cooked including veggies to wagyu all tasted similar. And this entire thing is worsened with the two sauces in front of you - ponzu and ginger - which you endlessly reach out to dip because whatever comes out of the grill lacks diversity. I really hope that Tanaka and future tepanyaki joints treat this less as a show and more as a "cooking in front of the audience". Where is the artistry in culinary excellence? Fire shows are fun but add no flavor or impact to the quality of the food served. Reason why I still maintain 3 stars is because of the overall experience. We had a decent time and the Australian wagyu was indeed tender. Don't go for the Shogun - just too much of the same. Just go for one of their regular meat choices. Won't be returning as there's so much Waikiki has to offer than eat stirfry tossed in grease. Go there for entertainment and fun, just not the food.

Our chef, John, was. just. amazing. He provided such an amazing service, entertained us thoroughly (with his dad jokes), and was generally so amazing. The only complaint that I have was the wagyu steak was cooked a little too well.

Our chef, John, was. just. amazing. He provided such an amazing service, entertained us thoroughly (with his dad jokes), and was generally so amazing. The only complaint that I have was the wagyu steak was cooked a little too well.

John was our chef and the laughter came the entire time. It was such a great time will def come back again! The food was great, drinks was delicious, and the atmosphere was all a 5 star time.

John was our chef and the laughter came the entire time. It was such a great time will def come back again! The food was great, drinks was delicious, and the atmosphere was all a 5 star time.

It’s a great teppanyaki eatery. The dinner was delicious, and everything was well-cooked as we requested. The presentation was interesting and very entertaining for children.

It’s a great teppanyaki eatery. The dinner was delicious, and everything was well-cooked as we requested. The presentation was interesting and very entertaining for children.

We have booked for a dinner 3 days before and nobody told us on mail or on website that apple pay is not allowed. We discover that only when we arrived for the dinner. I cannot rate the quality of the food because we didn’t try it. The service for me wasn’t professional or respectful. They also told us:”isn’t possible to use apple pay cause is possible to retire the payment after the transition”. An impossible thing with apple pay cause is directly linked with the credit card. I was sad cause the food looks good but the service wasn’t inclusive. In response to what you wrote I must say that it is not a defamatory comment as I am recounting the experience that was for us which could be reflected in someone else in the future, with my comment I explain what happened to me. furthermore, going to their website or open table of which I attach images, nowhere does it say that Apple Pay is not accepted, in fact they write that they accept all the cards that we all had on our phones so as not to carry cards or cash around. we were also honest to say it immediately at the entrance because if we ate and then it turned out that we couldn't pay it would be worse (although I'm sure a way would have been found). with this I leave my experience which was not positive.

We have booked for a dinner 3 days before and nobody told us on mail or on website that apple pay is not allowed. We discover that only when we arrived for the dinner. I cannot rate the quality of the food because we didn’t try it. The service for me wasn’t professional or respectful. They also told us:”isn’t possible to use apple pay cause is possible to retire the payment after the transition”. An impossible thing with apple pay cause is directly linked with the credit card. I was sad cause the food looks good but the service wasn’t inclusive. In response to what you wrote I must say that it is not a defamatory comment as I am recounting the experience that was for us which could be reflected in someone else in the future, with my comment I explain what happened to me. furthermore, going to their website or open table of which I attach images, nowhere does it say that Apple Pay is not accepted, in fact they write that they accept all the cards that we all had on our phones so as not to carry cards or cash around. we were also honest to say it immediately at the entrance because if we ate and then it turned out that we couldn't pay it would be worse (although I'm sure a way would have been found). with this I leave my experience which was not positive.

John our chef and was absolutely fabulous. The service was great, the food was amazing, and John was very entertaining, funny, and one of the best hibachi chefs I have ever experienced. The scallops were cooked to perfection.

John our chef and was absolutely fabulous. The service was great, the food was amazing, and John was very entertaining, funny, and one of the best hibachi chefs I have ever experienced. The scallops were cooked to perfection.