Las Vegas’ Best Teppanyaki

Teppanyaki Onion "Volcano" at Musashi

Ask most Americans about Teppanyaki-style Japanese cuisine, and they will either look at you with a blank stare, or say something akin to “You mean like Benihana?”  Well, yes.  Benihana is, in fact, responsible for introducing American palates to the teppanyaki-style of cooking – with the presentation and performance by the chefs, the volcanoes made from stacked onions, the flipping of the knives and spatulas, and the tossing of things into their hats, pockets, and even the diners’ mouths.

Actually, the first teppanyaki steakhouse was the Misono chain, in Japan, that introduced cooking Western-influenced foods (i.e. steak, chicken, lobster, scallops, etc.) on the hot, iron teppan griddle.  And while I know that’s a bit of culinary trivia you couldn’t have lived without, here’s something a bit more germane: we have an awesome teppanyaki restaurant, right here in Las Vegas: Musashi.

Chef Tsutomu “Tiger” Molde

Musashi Japanese Steakhouse is located on “Restaurant Row” on Paradise Road between Flamingo and Twain, in the Citybank Plaza.  I’m not sure how it managed to slip under my radar for so long, but apparently, it’s been operating for three years.  I enjoyed my first meal there, so much, that I came back the following night!  The chef/owner Tsutomu “Tiger” Molde has been flipping his teppanyaki knives for nearly two decades (he was the head chef at Las Vegas mainstay Hamada of Japan for 10 years), and is a charming, smiling showman who also makes the time to do the rounds and check-in with his guests, when not behind the griddle.

Chef Tiger shows-off his mad teppan skills

My favorites thus far at Musashi include the Fried Rice (I take mine with no egg, extra garlic, and very crispy), the onions, and the Samurai Special 1 (New York Strip and Prawns).  If you really want to get into it, order a large, 20.3 oz bottle of Japan’s Sapporo Premium Beer and call it a day.

Reservations are definitely a must if you want to have Tiger cooking for you, but both of the chefs who’ve prepared my dinners (neither of whom was Tiger, btw) were wonderful.  In addition, Musashi has a sushi bar, private dining rooms and lovely décor.  Also, they are open well into the wee hours of the morning (past 3am) and are becoming a favorite among the late-night crowd.

Musashi Japanese Steakhouse
3900 South Paradise Road – Suite W
(702) 735-4744

Lunch:  11am – 3pm (M-F)
Dinner:  5pm – 4am
Happy Hour:  11pm – 4am

Get into it!