Tsubaki Japanese Restaurant

If you’re anywhere near Lufkin, Texas, do yourself a favor and stop by Tsubaki Japanese Restaurant—this place sets the standard for what great sushi and hibachi should be. From the moment you walk in, the atmosphere feels warm, welcoming, and genuinely authentic. The staff is attentive without being overbearing, and everything from the décor to the presentation screams quality. But the real stars of the experience are the chefs. Sushi Master Audi is in a league of his own. Every roll is crafted with precision, balance, and creativity. The fish is unbelievably fresh, the cuts are perfect, and the flavors are clean and bold. You can tell he takes pride in every plate that leaves his station. If you’re a sushi lover, Audi will absolutely ruin every other sushi spot for you within a 3 hour radius—in the best way . On the hibachi side, I've heard Chef Wong brings pure entertainment and skill to the table. His timing, techniques, and showmanship keep you smiling the whole time, and the food itself is phenomenal—tender steak, perfectly seared shrimp, vegetables cooked just right, and fried rice that hits every note. He’s fast, funny, and really knows how to create a great hibachi experience.

This is super cool and the food is great the employees were super nice go check it out

Very disappointing experience. The food was excessively salty across the board. The fried rice in particular was overwhelmingly salty and almost inedible. The noodle soup was also heavily over-seasoned, with far too much salt added, completely overpowering the natural flavors of the ingredients. Proper seasoning is basic and fundamental. I hope the restaurant takes this seriously and improves the quality control.

*** edit**I have to agree with a previous review, you get vip treatment here. We loved the hibachi experience. We went for lunch. And then also dined at the sushi bar for dinner later the same day. Everyone was extremely polite and courteous. Service was good and the food was tasty. The miso soup was delicious. My toddler loved it. Her only problem was I couldn't feed her fast enough. She ate steak and rice too. The mixed drinks were so good and made extremely well. My daughter had a great time and we will absolutely be returning. Best sushi I have had in a long time and felt very welcomed and appreciated as a customer. **still just as great. They even remembered our drinks.

Tempura plate…everything tasted the same…for both of us. We couldn’t really eat it. We ate here last year and it was excellent. What changed? Perhaps we had a different meal. Do NOT recommend the tempura. I think the “shrimp” was chicken. Unsure what the scallops were. Also, the bathrooms were disgusting. The floors were so sticky, they almost pulled our shoes off. Last time we came, the entire place was pristine.

We just moved here from Los Angeles and were excited to try hibachi here, but this was honestly a very disappointing experience. After we were seated, we waited about 15 minutes before anyone even acknowledged us—while a family seated after us was helped immediately. The hostess eventually noticed we hadn’t been served and took our drink order, but the drinks never came. When my husband flagged down another waitress, she seemed reluctant and told us she had to re-enter the drink order because it was never submitted. From there, everything stayed slow, and we were repeatedly ignored while other tables around us received prompt service and attention. The difference in how we were treated was obvious and made us feel like second-class customers. We won’t be returning. If I could leave 0 stars, I would.

The food was good, we had Hibachi and sushi/sashmi. We haven't been in a while (almost a year) because the food nor the service was good then. I did not receive my sushi/sashmi until everyone else was done with their hibachi, in fact the waitress asked if we needed to go boxes before I even got to eat...not to mention we were not checked on throughout the meal to see how we were doing i.e. refills, or to let me know about a delay on my meal, etc... I'm sorry but when I'm paying to eat out at any restaurant i shouldn't have to ask for the normal essentials that should be with my meal, for example: soy sauce, a tray for the soy sauce, chop sticks, straws for drinks, etc... All in all it will probably be a long time before we come back to try again! One more thing, it was very cold in there. And as with the other times we've been before, it's either extremely hot or cold, depending on the season of course. I did notice as we were leaving. They had space heaters, trying to warm everything up. And not working for mild winter weather.

Unfortunately, our experience was disappointing due to the service. Our server was not very friendly and made us feel rushed. She brought us the check before all of our food had even come out, which made it feel like we were being pushed out rather than welcomed. The lack of attentiveness really took away from what could have been an enjoyable dining experience. It was our first time there. Definitely won’t be going back.