Sato Japanese Restaurant

Absolutely fantastic hibachi experience! From start to finish, everything was top-notch. The chef put on an incredible show with impressive knife skills and the famous onion volcano fire, making the meal not just delicious but also highly entertaining. The food was cooked to perfection—tender steak, juicy chicken, and fresh shrimp, all seasoned just right. The atmosphere was lively and fun, making it a great spot for a family dinner or a night out with friends. The service was friendly and attentive, ensuring our drinks were always refilled and that we had everything we needed. If you’re looking for a hibachi restaurant that delivers both quality food and an exciting dining experience, this is the place to go. Highly recommend! Feel free to tweak it to match your exact experience! Let me know if you’d like to add anything specific.

Took my daughter here to celebrate her graduating. They had hibachi and I had sushi! Food was really good! I also tried their pinacolada and it was pretty decent as well!

I honestly hesitate to write this review because I feel like this sushi bar is one of the best kept secrets in Columbia, and I like it that way. But it truly is. People come here for the hibachi, but the sushi bar can’t be matched anywhere that I have found in the greater Columbia area. And the gentleman preparing the sushi is amazing. He remembers us and our order every time and has impeccable customer service and such a friendly demeanor.Its the only place we go to for sushi.

Food was great. Our host was friendly very helpful and never let our glasses go empty. Atmosphere was good other than the AC was not working real well. Not good when eating at a Hibachi. Our cook must have been having a bad day. His attitude towards food allergies and just in general was bad. We will definitely be back.

We were seated right away. Food service was great and fast and cooked perfectly. They were very hospitable to our wants and needs, even offering a cushion for the high chair for our 7 month old. We all enjoyed the meals and atmosphere and the place is decorated very nice. Even our picky eaters were satisfied. We will be back again.

SATO is the best hibachi restaurant in Columbia, SC. The food and showmanship are great! I personally prefer the Shrimp Sauce over the yum yum sauce!

I haven't been to this location in more than 30 years! It had a different name back then, but I still enjoy the live cooking at the hibachi grill! The food was awesome and plentiful. Had enough for lunch the next day!

Came in from Cali for my best friend’s army graduation earlier, and everything was great. We were a little slow to be seated since they seemed to be busy, but the service was great. Our server, she seemed like a young girl, was very helpful, kind, and patient, and our chef was funny and extremely personable. He talked about all kinds of things, from doing some time in the army, high school memories, motorcycles ~ even taught me a new word — hashi, for chopsticks. ✂️🥢 I’m regretful I didn’t get his name, but he had a Korean flag tattooed on his inner forearm. Please give him my thanks, he made the trip memorable to say the least and I’ll (hopefully) be back when I’m in town for his service, if nothing else. Thank you~ ❤️❤️

Food was delicious service was fast and our cook was very fun . Great food and entertainment

The food is amazing, and they give you a ton! If you can get a good chef, you'll be laughing the entire time. I've been going there for almost 25 years if that says anything. They also have buy 2 Sake and get 1 free!

My partner has always wanted to try this place so we stopped my while in the area. First impression I was not pleased! I truly judged based on its appearance. It's honestly quite grungy and very dark! I definitely feel they need to invest in a major renovation. Service was a little delayed however when he appeared he was very pleasant and attentive. The chef was absolutely amazing! Even though our table was only about 4 guest he put and an amazing show and was very personable. I most likely will not return due to the conditions.

Visited the place on a Friday afternoon. Unfortunately did not take any pics (which I regret) but definitely a place worth visiting. The lunch specials were great, it had the perfect trifecta of: value, taste & quantity: Our chef was personable and service in general was great. Plenty of parking available as well as seating inside the restaurant. The seating area was clean. If we are ever back there, will definitely take the pics to update the review. For what it is worth - for a party of 6, we all got hibachi lunches and ordered non-alcoholic drinks and the total was less than $100!

Every restaurant in this area is about this same quality. They are all completely hit or miss. Check your order before you leave!

ppppooorrrrrrr service , did not cook our food all the way broccoli was still hard, shrimp was not done half cook , the manager was soooooo nasty and disrespectful she is a women with blond head, veryyyyyy rude 1-10 i will give them a 4 maybe 5... they gave us water down alcohol drinks and did not drink it it was nasty, we could not reorder or exchange and still had to pay for the drinks.... they tax you too high and will gratuity you a lot ... i would not recommend anyone to go here only if you want rice... i will not come here anymore and pay for a high bill for something not worth it.. my bill was $49 and end up having to pay $67.89 smmmhhhh

Great service the chef was funny and kept the family entertained and fed well. Food was good the terriaki chicken was very flavorful

Do not order online. Horrible customer service. I have ordered take out here 3 times in a row, and each time the order was 30-60minutes longer than their online ordering service states. management does not care, which is reason I am writing this review. Dining in- restaurant is dirty and dated.

Great food and really enjoy the entertainment of the chef cooking our food. Highly recommend

We went on a Saturday and were seated within five minutes of walking in. Not crowded at all but was a little noisy. Typical lighting for a hibachi place. Lemonade is the best I've had aside from my own- super sweet with just a touch of tartness. Will give you diabetes if you drink enough (I was seriously full after finishing most of it long before he came to prepare the food- sip it slow). The clear soup... hear me when I say, this is the best clear soup I've had and clear soup is one of my absolute favorite things. This one is peppery- just a little bitty kick on the palate. So good. Shrimp that comes with the hibachi meals is so fresh (could do without the lemon though, speaking for myself)! Ordered the teriyaki chicken and WHOA! I've never had teriyaki chicken made with bell peppers. It gave it so much flavor. First bite is sweet then the bell pepper kicks in and adds a totally different dimension. Will make mine at home like this from now on.

Awesome! My husband and I went there for dinner tonight and the Habachi was great. We got the "Early Bird Special " (5pm-6pm), I got the Steak and Shrimp and my husband got Steak and Teriyaki Chicken, and every bite was soooo flavorful and tasty. I would recommend this restaurant to family, friends and strangers. Eat local!

Ate here one night with my girlfriend and my son and firstly, the server seemed like she was rushing us out of the establishment as the chef just finished cooking our meal, she bought us our checks and to go boxes and we had hardly started eating. We then, a few bites in, I feel a tickle in my throat. I pull out a long black hair. It's not mine and it's not my s/o as she has light brown hair. For some reason I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I continue eating and find 2 more similar hairs and I immediately stopped eating. I have to track down my waitress as she already closed our tab out and I tell her the ordeal. She then gets the manager to come over after a few minutes and he says that he is really sorry about what happened and he would comp the meal but he can't because we already paid. "We were rushed out." He then goes on to say that he will give me a FREE meal next time I come in to which I wasn't too keen on. Anyway, fast forward a few weeks I'm looking for dinner and I think wth let's give them another chance. I call in my order and when I arrive to pick it up, the host/cashier says let me get the owner. This lady says no I can't give you your meal for free because it's expensive. I can only give you a discount. To which I replied that's not what I was told, I didn't get to finish my expensive meal the first time because your staff had their hair in my food and mouth. Don't give this lady anymore money.

The first thing you notice about this restaurant is the decor. Others have complained about it, but I actually enjoyed the Dark wood walls and red paint. I have no issues with the interior design of the restaurant. I was quickly seated at a table with a family of 6. Thing started off, fairly well but the chef kept trying to flip a piece of shrimp into the guest's mouth and I think 4 whole shrimp was lost to the floor, which I feel is a waste of food. The sauteed vegetables were onion an zucchini, fairly common for hibachi. The chef did his fire trick with the onion towers, and I was actually impressed with his "Lava" which was boiling soy sauce making the volcano smoke a lot. Then he began to prepare our food. The rice was that. A huge mountain of white rice (about 12 cups worth) cooked with about 2 tablespoons of butter and crap ton of soy sauce. So, basically the rice was brown but flavorless. As he was serving the rice, he made his first mistake. The lady on the end was not supposed to get any rice. Then he forgot that the two teenage girls were supposed to get extra rice, and mom and the to-go box were supposed to get extra rice as well. He actually ran out of rice and had to ask another hibachi chef to make the extra rice he needed to fulfill all the orders at our table. The family was also upset because the he placed the to go box near me (I'm a stranger) and not near the family. He did move it when asked to do so, but the family shouldn't have had to ask. It isn't rocket science to ensure a stranger isn't breathing on your food. Then he began cooking the food, and at Sato they cook their shrimp with broccoli and lemon. He made the mistake of asking if anyone didn't want lemon, AFTER he squeezed the lemon on it. And also, he forgot that 2 of the orders for the family didn't want broccoli. He did pick the broccoli out of one order prior to serving (that was the to go plate) but didn't pick the broccoli out of the mom's order so she ended up having to pick out the broccoli herself. I enjoyed the flavor of the shrimp and broccoli though. I had the steak and the other family had filet mignon. I was very pleased with my steak and it's cooked with mushrooms. The family at the table though noticed that the baby (about 2 or 3 years old) kept rubbing his eye and that it was very puffy. Like, rapid onset of swelling because he was perfectly fine as we began but his sister did give him a piece of shrimp. Mom asked me what she should do and I told her to take the baby to an urgent care or an ER. You just don't want to play around with possible allergy symptoms on the face. They asked for to go boxes but she had to ask several times before someone finally dropped off enough boxes for the family to be able to pack up their meals and go. So this restaurant lost some stars in my review for poor customer service all around, and for their bland tasteless rice.

Worst service ever. Was sat 2 times to be told it was a mistake. Salad came as the food was cooking. The other people at our table had empty drinks. I was charged for something I never received. The hallway to the bathroom is covered in water.

Really disappointed. I ordered $38 worth of food over three items and none of them are edible. The fish in the sushi is not fresh and the soft shell crab had a very off putting taste on the first bite. Total waste of money.

Someone recommended this place to me and told me it was a cheaper version of the Miyabi Japanese Steakhouse and I'm so glad I decided to try this place out. The food was tasty, good quality; The crunchy shrimp roll was great. I ordered my usual shrimp and teriyaki chicken and we went during the times of the early bird special so it was $15 bucks for my meal which came with the salad and soup. Our overall experience was great and I wildefinitely be coming back to this place whenever I'm craving some hibachi food and the whole chef grilling experience, especially when I'm trying to save money! Side note: I read other previous reviews about the place and majority of them weren't so great but I'm glad I didn't let that detour me from coming here.

Went inside to see what the wait was. Hostess looked around me and wouldn't even speak to me. I have been bringing my family here for years and have not had any problems. Will never come here again. April 30, 2023 620 pm.

So it's been over 15 years since I have been here. We were disappointed with our waitress. She didn't feel the need to explain menu deals of the day nor ask us if we would like more water. The cook was descent because his conversations was geared toward the other people at our table. I asked him not to add any more soy sauce to my food and he did and told me I added just a little more. The rice was so saturated with soy sauce I couldn't eat it. Mushy and salty, Not a good combination. Seafood was old very old. I paid and will never return again!

I use to love this place years ago. I went recently and it has changed. No eggs in the rice and my seafood didn't taste fresh. This is first time I have ever not liked my hibachi food. The waiter was nice as well as the cook but I was very disappointed in the food quality.

The food was pretty good! Kind of disappointed that our cook didn't do anything like we have seen before basically just cooked our food no show!! Everything was good but the rice was tasteless! I watched him it was rice oil and some sauce! Before they put vegetables and garlic butter seasoning! I don't know if he was new or what! Hopefully it will be better I would definitely go back

Arigatōgozaimashita , now you try.... we'll practice it a few times before you go because you will be saying it a lot. It is Thank you, and Sato Japanese Restaurant, Arigatōgozaimashita for a great group meal. My coworkers and I came in for lunch and the hibachi was second to none. They handled the double digit group of us , we did call in advance but at other places that still doesn't mean a smooth event. I saw the other customers and groups that came in after our group also flash smiles from their experience. If you are passing through town and reading this, that means you are trying to break the monotony, so keep driving past McDonalds and have lunch here. I can't wait to come back because I saw $3 sushi rolls on the menu, I will have to try that out next time. I went with the group experience of Hibachi this visit. Tasty and friendly, Arigatōgozaimashita

Great food and good atmosphere. Haven't tried a menu item I didn't like. Sushi is superb.

The quality of food has gone down. The manger looked very irritated, wasn't friendly at all and only kept saying that is the business decision not hers when asking about discounts and policy. The soup was salty, they over cooked the steaks and soy sauce was running like water. For the money spent I will not recommend this restaurant, nor will we be returning. I will say that at least the 2 waitresses trying to help were really sweet and nice.

We haven't been here in awhile, but we've missed the experience.. and plus you end up with a lot of food to take home, for the next day! Our cook was very humorous, while he prepared our food.. enjoyed that! The Sour Apple Sake, was very good.. My Shrimp & Vegetables were firm & crispy, very delicious & well blended. Hubbies Steak & Teriyaki Chicken was very delicious.. the steak melted in your mouth. The chicken was seasoned and very tender... Our service was excellent & quick, we didn't have to wait very long to have our food prepared... Again we enjoyed ourselves, and we will be back!

I just got take-out from this restaurant. The hostess was not masked and was clearly having issues with nasal congestion, to put it nicely. I said, "My wife is at risk and I have to be careful." The hostess just chuckled. All the while she was talking to the other hostess about packing lunches for her school-age kids. This sort of thing explains why our COVID-19 numbers are skyrocketing. To be fair, the food was very good. PLEASE DON'T COME TO WORK SICK, especially if you are in the food industry! Especially now. Please don't penalize your workers for staying home if they don't feel good.

I hate having to do reviews but this was by far the worst hibachi I've ever had. Soup and salad wasn't edible, salad was brown and soup taste like chlorine. Fried rice was terrible, no egg or anything in it.. just soy sauce and friend. For the price you pay this place is not worth wasting your time

I walked in the restaurant and was accused of not paying my bill the last time I was there for lunch... the chef that accused me call the manager (that refused to talk to me) and she stated it was the waitress stole the money... The part that upset me the most was that the chef that accused me never spoke to me but one of my coworkers. This was made it even more embarrassing!!! ive had birthday, anniversary, and other family events there but I will never eat here again

Went for dinner today. The restaurant was clean and the staff was professional. We had the filet and shrimp dinner and it was absolutely delicious. Their soy salad dressing is fantastic! We go occasionally and consistently have delicious food here.

I ordered the salad roll (no fish) and some rice for delivery and got food poisoning. Spent the entire night puking. Probably cross contamination from raw fish. Do not eat here.

The atmosphere was great!! We loved Martin and his vibe. He was hilarious and the food was GREAT! I will definitely be back!!!! Service was so great, we left a $30 tip. The price for the food is reasonable. My sister and I had steak, chicken, and shrimp plus 2 things of sushi and it was only $65ish! I loved this place. Great customer service.

Service：below the bar, long waiting time for to go order Food：not savory at all !!! You can have better choice with similar price. Don't waste your money!

My family and I had the worst experience at Sato Japanesse Steakhouse. First off, when you walk into the restaurant the tabletops are badly cracked. The employees do not clean the tables off well. In fact, there was residue on the tables and chairs. The plates and silverware were all dirty, so we had to request plastic plates, utensils and cups. When the drinks came out to the table, we observed hair in my young son drink. And, if that was not bad enough, when my husband asked the cook for some sauce, the cook turned to the table behind us, grabbed a used saucer from an occupied table and tried to give it to us! When we informed management about our experience, they failed to address the issues. They did not try to resolve any of our concerns - they did not adjust our bill, nor did they apologize. Overall, our visit at Sato was below sanitation standards, the management team was rude/incompetent and the experience was an absolute nightmare!

I've previously had several bad experiences with horrible service while dinning in but the food is enjoyable so I decided to give them one last try and order online for pick up. I placed my order (more than a hour before they closed) even pre adding in a nice tip. 30 min later I check my email just to see what time my order would be ready and I received a cancellation saying my order has been cancelled and I would get a refund 3-7 days. I called to find out if this was an accident and was informed they were too busy to make my order. 8:30 pm on a Sunday afternoon. One entree (extra rice and extra scallops), 2 sushi rolls, and 2 appetizers. Too busy! Don't do it. I live 5 miles away and I will go any where else besides here from now on!

My family and I were supposed to celebrate my bday here. We made a reservation for a 7:00p dinner and was approved. As we get to the restaurant 15 mins prior to our actual time of reservation we were told that our reservation was never guaranteed and we have to wait another (this time it was already 7:30) 45 minutes until we get seated. We've been coming here since the late 90's and the food has always been the best but the management and their staff is just plain horrible now. Specially that blonde girl host up front. She was rude. You all have to do something with your reservations and management because clearly, it sucked.

Sato is always a go-to for me, we got takeout for dinner a couple nights ago. Got an order of California rolls and the crab crunch rolls which were amazing!! So fresh and tasty. Also did early bird special- two steak and shrimp, one chicken and steak and the portion size is great you'll still have leftovers! Will definitely be ordering more takeout soon.

Stay away!! Made a reservation walked in 10 minutes before and we were told reservations are not guaranteed.

Would leave no star if could food had no flavor nothing hibachi about it chicken was dry and tough along with the steak fried rice was also lacking in flavor would be better off spending less money and by frozen food from Walmart.

The food was great and all employees were great too it wasnt until after we paid and i went to the restroom that i saw one of the employees not wash his hands after taking a leak. That was gross and makes me think who else doesnt wash their hands at that establishment.

I almost broke my tooth on some kindof small pebbles in my rice. The Health department may need to be notified. This was a very strange occurrence.

Let me start off by saying the food is good! However, they cannot handle the load of taking phone orders, online orders, and resuming dine-in. If you want to pick up your food, expect a two-hour wait; if you want it delivered, three-and-a-half to four hours. Sometimes, they will not put your order in at all or answer the phones. Sato is great when they are not busy, but a crowd breaks the whole system falls apart. But, like I said, even with bad service and long wait times, the food is very good. Dine at your own risk and good luck!

I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. The service was terrible and the manager was extremely rude and unprofessional to me and other patrons at our table while giving her the reasoning for our dissatisfaction. We waited 30minutes to be seated, which wasn't bad. Once seated it took about 30-40 minutes until a server came to our table to take our drink order and salad/soup options. Then we waited at the table for several minutes before receiving a cook. The server never returned to the table to refill drinks or clear our table of used platters. The cook was running out of portions of food to fulfill our orders which caused a delay in our table providing a full meal for our table many of our plates were cold after almost an HOUR AND A HALF of waiting. There were tables that were seated after us that received a way better dining experience than we did and they were waited on in a timely fashion. In all of my years of traveling and eating around the world, I've never had an experience like that. The manager rolled her eyes, scoffed at me and walked away from me in the most disrespectful way. I wasn't upset because I understand restaurants, but once she was disrespectful, that really upset me. I wasn't asking for a refund or anything just offering a way to make the experience better since she wanted to know. She offered 10% off our meal but unfortunately that would not excuse the distasteful situation. The hostess and server apologized on behalf of the manager but they didn't have to because the person in charge should've had the capacity to rectify the situation. We boxed up our food and ate at home and the food, unfortunately was lackluster as well. I won't return to this place for sure but we were treated unfairly.

If I could give this restaurant negative stars I would! The food is so disgusting I would advise never ever to eat there! We ordered take out. Let me start of with the edamame, it was cold & had a wax-like texture to them. I can assure you that they were microwaved out of a bag. Also we ordered the Hot roll, rainbow roll & red dragon roll. All the rolls looked completely unappetizing but I decided to give the Hot Roll a try first. Instantly I got this really sour flavor in my mouth from that roll!! It tasted completely rancid!! I spit it out instantly & almost gagged! All of the rolls we ordered had the same appearance & taste. The most disgusting thing ever. My husband also ordered the spicy ramen soup, it literally tasted like the cheap cup of noodles you buy from the grocery store for 99cents. Please don't ever go eat at this restaurant. I almost encourage that it should be Inspected by a health inspector because I am positive they will fail

I had a great experience here. The waitress was amazing & so was the chef. I had superb service & food! Definitely will be going back & I recommend to everyone.

The rice was undercooked which stuck to the vegetables and meat. Poor service and rude owner did not want to give a discount. Food was inedible.

Had a conference on the Forest Acres side of town this week and decided to get a late dinner with work associates. Even though it was 8:40pm, they still seated us (closes at 9:30pm). The staff was SUPER friendly, fun to be around, and didn't show any wear-n-tear after working all evening. Spicy tuna roll tasted fresh. The hibachi food was in good portions and tasted great. This is a hidden gem (I've never heard of the place before in all my years of coming through Columbia) and I will remember it next time I'm in town!

Here to leave an honest review from my experience. Ordered take out online through the website at 6:45 didn't get notified of a pickup time until 7:10. To which it would be an hour until pickup. Arrive at 8:05 and let them know I am here for pickup . Hear back at 8:10 that they haven't started the order. Proceed to wait an additional 20 minutes. The manager, Amber, wasn't very helpful and runs a disorganized business. Many people approached her about service while I was in there for the short 20 mins. And I overheard staff arguing amongst one another about orders/customer service. Food was okay, just felt rushed. Wish I could leave a better review but I would like to know this when I choose a restaurant in the future.

Food is always good and they give you a lot. One of my favorite place to eat at. Good for groups and you will love the entertainment the cooks gives you.

This is one of the best steakhouses in Columbia! I absolutely love the entertainment that the chefs provide for the course of your meal. The entire staff seems to be well trained and knowledgeable about the menu and specials. I love that Sato has a variety of foods that can appease even the pickiest people. Their bar is also aesthetically pleasing and large enough for you and your friends to sit around and hang out before you dine in. My favorite appetizer to get on their menu is their baked mussels. I order at least two every time I dine in because I can't get enough! My favorite hibachi is their weekend special (filet mignon, chicken, and shrimp). Their steak is very tender and the chefs know how to cook it perfectly. :) Overall, I've never had a bad experience here. This is a perfect place for any occasion: birthdays, dates, dinner with friends. I highly recommend you at least try this place once. You won't regret it!

Wow! It's like the SC version of Shogun haha!!! First meal for my bro out of post!! Definitely larger portions .. Unlike Shogun and Benihanas this place lacks flavor.. No garlic fried rice like I'm used to in San Diego and less butter and all the other good stuff that adds flavor. Sushi- wouldn't recommend it. Ordered a basic crunchy roll and figured it was safe.. :( I definitely regretted it.. On the positive side service was quick and efficient .. Chef we had was nice.. Ultimately, at the end of the day I'm more of a quality over quantity kinda girl .. So if were to ever venture out here again I probably wouldn't come back...

My best place for hibachi in my life! Seriously, I got steak and chicken and the food was sooooo good! so yumm. I went several hibachi places in other states but my fav. is this restaurant. Sato! Ahhh I love there food and cant forgot about the taste! And they renovated after the flood. the restaurant become more clean and new new place. I will definately come back and eat the food sooooon :)