Bonzai Japanese Steak House

Wish I could give this restaurant zero stars me and my nephew went to sit at the grill and this cook was cursing at this Family sitting next to us. They wanted their meat well done and he was in a rush to cook and Burt their food another came out and they looked just alike they were twins. He proceeded to tell them he wasn’t going to cook it any longer for them either the waiter was very nice. She was trying to calm them down. He was throwing tongue, spatulas, ect… He was cursing The father out and was even trying to fight with him then he went in the back and was being veryloud in the back, the owner came out and acted like he was afraid of them guys and said I’m just sorry they can’t cook to your perfection. I looked like anyone would have known that he burnt their food. They said they wanted it well done not burnt. It was just an absolute mess the owner of the Restaurant did not even try to de-escalate the situation. He let them twin guys that worked there sabotage that family in front of everyone. You sit at the grill to make sure they cook it how you want not how they want bad service all the way around owner is crap and so is his employee twins that cook.

1st time visit. Seated immediately, waitress took our drink orders within about two minutes of seating. The chef was very entertaining and good at cooking. The portions were huge and delicious. Full bar 🍸. Great experience, was about as good as the Hibachi restaurants I've been to in DFW. Will definitely be back.

I came in on 10/31/2025 around 5pm. There were only 2 tables occupied and then myself, not busy at all. Staff was dressed for Halloween and we're very in the festive spirit, except for my server. She was MIA for the first 15 minutes of my visit, she was not happy to be there, inattentive and lackluster is the experience I had. The food was wildly overcooked, I ordered the emperor lobster feast and shouldn't have. The fried dumplings were good.

I mainly went for the experience. The service girl did a great job! Very attentive and friendly. Our Hibachi chef I feel like he was trying hard to get us to laugh and participate in the show, but I could barely hear him over the sound of the hood exhaust. Also he talked very low and I had to ask him to repeat what he was saying. The food was not good, everything way overcooked and over seasoned. It actually made me very queasy and bloated until I made it home to take some dietary meds. The steak quality was very poor for the price. I won’t patron again, but I made sure the server and chef got a good tip from me despite my experience.

The sushi is phenomenal, me and my co worker went here two days in a row

Tuna roll came out with dingy gray color and fishy smell. Romance roll came out full of mostly rice and not cut all the way. Became a sticky mess of undercooked rice and wet soy paper. There was a 10 minute wait for Salmon Roe? They should come in a jar. Not sure what we were waiting for there. When they finally arrive, their color is gray and the eggs are warm to the touch. There is a foul smell and the taste is fishy. This was the most awful experience at a place I have come to for over 10 years for at least fresh food and good service. Today the service was great other than the waitress obviously seeing all the disgusting foods I refused to eat and not questioning the reason. She just charged me like it was business as usual. No followup and didn’t care about the food quality.

The BEST sushi I've had in a while. Also, our server was very friendly & she was very helpful, as well. We came a little late but it was still packed which was a good sign from the start. Good restaurants stay busy. I had sushi & my husband had hibachi. I would absolutely eat here, again!

I was in town for an event and stopped in with some friends. The California rolls were good and the food in general was good. But the reason I am leaving this review is to say our chef was absolutely hilarious and it was definitely an experience we will never forget. We had a great time and I'd absolutely return if I am ever back in Abilene.

Absolutely delicious food if you can get past the outdated restaurant. Floors are dirty & tables wobble. Good people, good service and most importantly good food!

I have eaten the filet mignon, well done, double rice, no shrimp(allergic), no veggies dozens of times by this point. If I eat at the grill, it's perfect every time. If I eat at a table, it is always a VERY horrible experience. Tonight, first served with vegetables. The vegetables I hate so much, I would rather vomit than see them. Their solution, bring me more rice and do nothing about the vegetables. Can't do it. Told them and they took the food back and brought it back with rare meat. I mean so rare it was like bubble gum. I show the waitress and she takes it back and brings back a different plate with meat that literally has red juices coming out because it's so rare. She takes it back. It comes back with two small pieces well done and the rest like bubble gum. I gave up at this point. If you're going to eat here, only eat at the grill. The waitress was nice about it all.

Service only good thing about my meal. Romantic roll anything but. Fell apart all over my plate Did NOT represent description on menu. . Hard to read menu because lighting is so dim. Always smell like stale grease. I'm not going back.

MAN Bonzai Is Good, as Good as Shoe Leather And I'ma Dog Give Me That Shoe Damnit. Bonzai's Staff Is Really Good Actually, -The Hibachi Chefs All Vary In Skills But Overall Charismatic Cool Guys -All Da Servers Be Cool Bombaclats Tcha Know Maon (I Hope You Read That In a Jamaican Accent) (I'm not Jamaican) -Sushi Chef's #HardCarry #GotTheTeamOnTheirBack #WinnersClub #Kissable #Skilled -The Other People I Acknowledge Over People Work At Bonzai I'm Sure Their Around And I Appreciate That. Bonzai's Great I Love To Eat There If Your Thinking Of Going There Then Don't Their Food Sucks Ass But They Make You Feel Like Family. (Just Kidding The Foods Good)

Bonzai Abilene June 18. 5:37 pm. Party of 2. I think it was Father's Day. We were able to get a seat at the hibachi right away. We ordered the Cowboy roll for an appetizer. As well as the hibachi steak and hibachi filet. The chef was kinda inexperienced. And it showed. He fudged up his showmanship and overcooked his proteins. Because this is such an expensive meal. I'm giving it . It was yummy. But I expected more . In my humble opinion: 3 stars.

People either love it or hate it here... I come here for their California roll! Unlike your average California roll, it consists of avocado, imitation crab, no cucumber, topped with their version of yum yum sauce, which is a sweeter white sauce. Portion sizes are decent here! The Hibachi chefs are always entertaining and friendly. You'll definitely laugh a good bit! Nikky, I believe is his name, is so sweet and seems like he genuinely enjoys his job! His service was 5 stars! The only reason my review isn't higher is because it always feels a bit dirty in this restaurant and most of their food is normally average at best. It's Abilene, Texas so we really have to lower our standards here when it comes to Japanese steakhouses yet I still try to give an accurate review!

This place is dirty!!! very nasty!!!! We as in my family and I which there was 13 of us that came that day ate and it made us all super sick!!! I and the rest of my family will never go back to this place!!

The service is really good here as soon as me and my friend got here we where seated and the waiters are so nice I love coming here always good

Used to be my favorite place when I lived in the area. Seems to have gone downhill over the past years. Our to go order was cold and you could tell the sushi was made by someone who didn't know what they were doing. We asked for medium rare steak and it was more than well done. Definitely our last time eating there.

I always love going here. Their snowcrab heaven roll is my favorite. Staff is always friendly and efficient.

I'm unsure as to what happened to Bonzai however the quality has suffered tremendously. I ordered the California Roll which is the simplest form of sushi one can order and I actually had to send it back. They drizzled on top of the sushi roll what tasted like pure mayonnaise. Which was awful. I informed the server that the sushi did not taste well and asked for another roll with spicy mayo. However she did not seem to understand what I was requesting so I informed her not to worry about the sushi at all. The complimentary salad was drowned in so much salad dressing that you could barely taste the lettuce. However, since it was complimentary, I just pushed it over to the side. For my main course, I ordered the Hibachi Shrimp with fried rice and vegetables and unfortunately I did not enjoy the dish. The food did not have any flavor what so ever and I had to use salt on the vegetables and drown the rice in ginger sauce. In conclusion, I was not pleased with my food, or service. The only reason why I gave it two stars is because I have previously visited before in the past and had good experiences. Once again I'm unsure if they are under new management but the lead staff definitely needs to do some more development in order to improve food quality and service.

The best sushi bar! They also have an awesome full bar and grill. The sushi rolls are a great size and filling. My husband and I tend to share an entree and get our own sushi. So filling and delicious!

If there was a way to do negative stars they would get it overcooked steak mushy veggies fried rice had no flavor. The soup was made with onion powder and salt. Salad is mediocre. Waitress came by once but our tip was automatically added at 22% do not recommend this business at all overpriced and tip was not appropriate for the service

I honestly can't believe there are such low reviews, here. We had a wonderful server who warned us they were short-staffed, just like every restaurant after covid. Our food was amazing! We left happy & full & more than pleased with our experience. I don't mind paying good money for good food & that's what we got so I'm happy!

When Bonsai first opened, my sister and I came 2-3 times a month to try a new roll with a roll that we favored (blackened dragon). They were awesome in the beginning. Then they started going downhill being chinchi (cheap) with what they put in their rolls, specifically the blackened dragon which is one that is always my go to. I didn't leave but I did start complaining. I'd guess others did too because they started doing better. Now they're slacking again. This last time, mom got her usual, Volcano Roll and I got My First Love Roll and we shared a Blackened Dragon Roll which didn't taste right. These were mostly just rice. Very bare on what is usually in the center. The Volcano Roll keeps shrinking in size yet the price has gone up. I'm not paying good money for mainly rice. I have been a dedicated customer all these years. Though, now, I will say that this has gotten old. I'm walking away. It's sad when a long time customer has had enough to leave.

This is a very.... rustic establishment. When we got to the table there was a pile of wet trash that appeared to be swept in front of the table so we had to wait to be seated for that to be cleaned. It was at least 4 minutes before any came to the table and took drink orders. My son says he had a better experience at the hibachi table. None of the food came out particularly hot, we got warm to room temp items. Miso Soup - no one at the table liked it Onion Soup - loved Teriyaki chicken - salty and very small portions of veggies Teriyaki shrimp - salty and very small portions of veggies

Had not been back in years as it was dirty on the inside last time we went. But we figured surely it's gotten better. It did seem a little cleaner the floors where not slippery from grease this time. I thought the food was okay but after getting home I got sick and was up all night. Checked in with my step daughter who joined us for dinner and she was up all night sick also. We will not be back.

Came here for my birthday and was completely ignored the entire time because they sat us with another birthday. We even told them it was my birthday and they brought out one piece of cheesecake for the other person. When my significant other said something they asked if I wanted some and I just said no. The service was awful, couldn't wait to get out of there. Definitely don't recommend coming here for a special occasion.

FIRE FOOD STG! and it was literally 10/10. BONZAI B. i got the hibachi but couldn't get a grill as we were starving and couldn't wait.

Took my wife for her birthday along with my daughter. The show was lacking and nothing close to Benihana's or other similar restaurants I have visited. Cooks were not professional, overcooked the food, but tried hard. Food was a C minus...at best. Ambiance was not as hoped for. My wife was disappointed on her birthday and won't return again. Way overpriced for what you get.

The food was just not good. If u want some authentic tasting Japanese food, little ninja is the place to go. Even simple things like salad dressing and tempura sauce were soooo off. Ginger dressing was horseradish and tempura dipping sauce tasted str8 sour. Not good at all, sorry.

Sushi was "okay" which is the only reason it deserves one star. The food at the grill was beyond disappointing. I don't care that the "show" was pitiful, I do care that the shrimp was super salty and over cooked, the vegetables were way undercooked, and they and my filet lacked flavor. So disappointing.

Our party of 8 was greeted with a smile & come on in, we were seated right away at a grill. Drink orders were taken, and appetizers. They then brought out this amazing onion soup, so good! The calamari was absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly! On to the show, our chief was hilarious, and man, could he cook! The fried rice was flavorful, and the steak, chicken, shrimp, and scallops were perfectly cooked. Everything was a wonderful experience. Yes, the building is old, and yes, it could have used a bit more cleaning, but the food was wonderful!

John Cortes was the best hibachi cook we've ever had. If you come to this establishment, request him. He has the best show and food in the joint. I can't say enough good words about this young man. He gave you his meat and dumped all of the juices from his grill. Best. Chef. Ever.

I gave this place another try and found confirmation in how I feel. Bonzai is an all around mediocre spot. I feel like they are able to skate by because they have little competition in the area and the Teppan Grill is usually pretty good regardless, given the nature of how the food is prepared fresh and made to order; however, the sushi and service beyond that, definitely brings the overall experience down a few notches. Elaborating on what I meant by service and sushi. For one, I can't really expect too much from a sushi spot in west Texas but both times that I've tried the sashimi, it has been cut super thin and poorly presented. The service issue comes from the cleanliness of the place, or lack thereof and the lack of professionalism from the staff. If you're sitting at the bar, be prepared to have the peanut gallery of staff on their breaks, sitting behind you next to the bathrooms. That really threw me off and really think that the staff should have a designated breakroom, but that's just me. Just to reiterate, I haven't had a horrible experience and I haven't had a great experience. Bonzai will more than likely suit your needs, just don't expect to much. Thats fair right? Oh, and the alcohol situation is pretty dang good, so if it gets too bad - Sake bombs may do the trick :) Tabemashou!! MLA

Man, this place has gone way down hill. 4 adults and 2 kids. Server was very sweet, but the chef and the food were terrible. The chef didn't talk to us at all. My wife's chicken was SUPER salty. Rice was cold and lacking flavor. We ordered a filet, and it didn't look a good color and tasted sour. Waitress was sweet and gave us a discount, but the be mindful that the gratuity was already included. The chef was very impersonal and untrained. Please save your money and go somewhere else.

I kind of hate to leave this review, but since it was for a birthday lunch just have to. The good? WOW was our Spider Roll delicious! I normally pick nigiri or just straight up plain red snapper, but my b-day girl wanted to try something different and it was lovely. The tempura crab was to die for. Hard to eat, but we soldiered on. Drinks (a glass of white wine for me, just a typical house chard, plus a Wedding Cake martini for my daughter) were good. Ordering a house chard is a gamble and I lucked out. Her martini was VERY tasty. Unfortunately, praise kind of ends there. Our service was good, but serving fried rice (we didn't sit at the hibachi table) that tasted really weird, AWFUL grilled veggies (they were soggy and just terribly flavored and impossible to explain) with some great scallops and shrimp made for a sad meal. Even our soup was sad. Sad, sad birthday folks. If it'd all come together as well as the drinks and sushi and proteins had it'd have been awesome.

If you're looking for decent sushi, skip it. We made the mistake of getting a Spider Roll and Snow White Roll. Even Little Ninja (fast casual) makes better sushi, this was bad. Sour, off taste. No little soy sauce plates and one piece of ginger provided per plate of rolls. Unheard of, never see a sushi place do that. Gotta give a little sauce plate with ginger and for soy sauce, if you serve sushi. It isn't cheap either $13/roll. Mostly rice. Skip it...

Food was alright but didn't Taste the same as the last time. What made it gross was they served me water and the the lemon had some type of mold looking on it.

Got a tower... rice didn't seem fresh, had WAY too much sauce and too little caviar, fish was cut into strips rather than either cubes or traditional style sashimi, and it also had cucumber and tempura bits in it. Very different way to make a tower and a higher price and smaller portion that most sushi places I've ordered a comparable item.

Stopped in here for lunch today, while in town. Was pretty good! The staff was super nice. Our cook was still learning but entertaining. Prices are spot on. Definitely not leaving hungry.

The staff is wonderful, but i'm guessing the "owner"? The head guy i guess is beyond rude. I've overheard him talking bad on his employees on more than one occasion and they don't deserve that for how hard he works them.

We have always loved this restaurant however the past few times we have been it has been horrible. The food has no flavor. Tonight I asked for water 3 times, never received. My martini tasted like straight olive juice. I ordered the sashimi sampler with no eel, my only no like, the "sampler" came with ONLY salmon and tuna sashimi. Do not order this! My thoughts are where is the squid, the octopus, the white fish, anything but only Salmon and tuna. Mgrs response was.. well it's chef choice of 6 pieces.. a sampler to me means a variety... they brought are no flavor to go order our before our appetizer. We will NOT be back anytime all.

The hibachi chicken and shrimp always our favorite, due to covid we have been doing take out ,Still delicious and fresh. Love this place.

The food here is very good, and the show at the grill is great. But the service during the evening on a weekend is sloooooooow. We have been sitting at this hot grill for an hour, and still waiting for a cook. There is the choice to sit at a regular table and the service should be quicker. Other than the slow service that takes up your whole evening out, this has not been a bad place.

Sushi was what you would expect from Abilene, TX. HOWEVER, we decided to bring my brother here following an AFB graduation and it was a bad experience. We got sat right away and ordered several sushi rolls on the waitresses recommendation. They were wrapped in a weird white plastic and covered in mayo. When our hibachi chef came out he told us he wasn't having a good day and hated his job. We tried to make light of the situation but he wouldn't let up on how much he actually hated being there. He strictly prepared our food as quickly as possible with only negative dialog and packed up and left - less than 10 min to cook 3 meals from start to finish. We were left super uncomfortable in a quiet restaurant and just asked for to go boxes and left. We had to sneak the waitress a cash tip for all her effort only as the chef reminded us multiple times they split tips.

... never again. Steak was old, our chef had no clue what he was doing nor did he say anything. Food was awful.

OVERPRICED!!!!! But the food is really good. The food is so fresh when they cook in front of you, but it takes so LONG! Makes for a rushed lunch hour. Guess I'll try the table service next time.

I really don't recommend this place. The California Roll came with some cream on top which Is different. I asked what it was, but the waiter told me that "it was a secret sauce" and he couldn't tell me the ingredients. The vegetable tempura was good. The plate is very large. You could definitely share that with 3people. Restaurants is not the cleanest. Hostess didn't want to be there, and service was not that great either. I ordered the vegetable yakisoba noddles, which I thought just came with veggies, but to my surprise it came it also came with egg. The menu does not say anything about eggs. Overall I rate this place a 1 star. Not worth it.

Had the best time and some great food. Our cook was hilarious. He helped turn a surly, tired 4 year old's protests into laughs and smiles. Food was amazing! We will be back!

We enjoyed the food and laughter! It was my boyfriends first time there and he wants to go back! We will be going back!

I don't live in Abilene but every single time I have visited in the last 10 years I have always gotten my fix. The habachi is always great. My go to is the filet mignon with scallops. And the sushi is amazing, my all time favorite is the blacken dragon roll but I also recommend the Abilene roll, the snow crab roll, or the texan roll. Can't go wrong with any of those choices.

My daughter turned me into a fan. I've lived in Japan twice and have had some awesome sushi and teppanyaki who thought that in the middle of Texas you could find such good Japanese food? Let me assure you that Bonzai's is very good. Bonzai's is two restraurants in one - part of the area has tables and there is a "Benihana" style seating around the grill upon which your food is cooked. Most Japanese restaurants don't serve terrific sushi and cooked to order food, but Bonzai does! The sushi is surprisingly fresh and there is a wide variety. My office often would order takeout -- it was that good. The "cooked in front of you show" is entertaining and fun for kids and adults. The accompanying miso (soup) is authentic and so too is the salad dressing. I've always enjoyed the steak and shrimp while my family has raved about the chicken and the scallops. If there is anything not to like, we never found it!

I sat at the bar and the chef still came to personally mAke sure my plates were proper and and the food was great! Service and atmosphere made me feel like I was in Okinawa again

They literally told us that the roaches crawling on the tables were "water bugs". Lol, never have I ever been so insulted and disgusted.

I am a fan of Bonzai. The reviews are so of and on about this place! But here are the deets: -fried rice is wonderful -sushi is warm which is odd to me but very good nonetheless -sitting at a grill is fun and enjoyable -if you are a local, you will always see someone you know here -the staff in the back can get a bit crazy at times -salad is GOOD! You went to japanese place for goodness sakes, it's not an American salad! -soup is good -you'll always leave with a to go container unless you are a fattie

Wow! Completely exceeded all expectations. My daughter and I ordered a couple of sushi rolls and the shrimp/scallops combination. All were excellent but what really set the experience apart was the service!! It was some of the best service I have had anywhere. I will go back again.

Very unprofessional!!! I was with a party of 6.... We sat down had a few drinks , had a great chef !!! Right before our food was done cooking .. one of my friends was asked to leave due to a personal problem she had with a employee!!!! So of course we didn't stay !!! Very childish and unprofessional !!!!! Do not recommend this restaurant to anyone !

It's going down!!!! Bonzai's review that is. Man I'm so upset at Bonzai right now. My green tea martini came out fabulous and it was so nice of the bartender to give us some sake samples but my rolls disappointed big time. Think mush in mouth! That was the salmon roll. The fish was mush-shay! Even my Asian adjacent friend didn't like it and he usually likes everything with rice. The tuna roll was ok. I also ordered the hibachi chicken. The chicken and vegetables were good but it had too much oil and the rice was so oily that I could see my reflection in it. What's going on Abilene!! I'm going to buffet city next.