I've written before on the good experiences I've had at Benihana, and how each location handles allergies differently, from cooking the allergy meal first, to making it in the back and bringing it out plated, but never had a bad experience. Last year a friend mentioned an independent hibachi restaurant that he loves, and has been going to for many years. He kept bringing up taking us there to try it, cause he was certain we'd love it more than Benihana, so we made plans to check it out. I gave him my spiel on food prep and eating there. He called and talked to them and they determined that I would be able to eat most of the meal. Most because they do a course of hibachi noodles with the meal, and that would not be able to be adjusted.
So we made reservations at Rokbonki and hoped for the best. I was pleased when I mentioned to our waitress that my meal had to be made gluten free, and she understood what needed to be done and helped guide our meal accordingly. It turned out the salad dressing was not safe, nor the soup, but a plain salad was an option. The teriyaki noodles were a no go, as well as the dipping sauces. But the rest was going to be fine. We had a fabulous meal, the hibachi chef opted to make my meal before the rest, of the people at the table. All was going well, and he had a misstep, I thought he grabbed the wrong bottle, and he realized it just as quickly. He apologized, and flagged down a server to get him a new steak and mushrooms and gave my original cut of meat to everyone else at the table and started over at making my portion of steak. Every part of the meal was fabulous and my husband who hates salad could not stop raving about the salad dressing.
We recently had our 3rd visit, each the 2nd and 3rd time the chef was chatty with me about my allergy, how long I've known about my issues and how it impacts my life. Each time he was super cautious and I even learned I could have the egg sauce (Tokyo style shrimp) as that is gluten free, though their garlic topping is not, because it has breadcrumbs. I was so glad they went and asked all the questions and the chef at our table was super informed. He was so nice to explain that the scallops are dusted in corn starch (not flour) to keep them crispy when frying. I also asked for 2 sides of rice, since the teriyaki noodles are not gluten free, and I was hungry.
The 2nd time we went, I felt bad, since we only had half our table to our party, the other party was 2/3rd vegetarian. I don't think they were totally understanding the chef trying to keep the gluten free and vegetarian separate and prepped at opposite ends before the regular options. But he still did a great job at it. My husband and I are always alert watching the movement to make sure they don't grab a wrong bottle or switch a utensil. Finding a 2nd Hibachi restaurant that handles allergies quite well makes me feel better about this type of food option. Knowing that it all about the training and staff awareness anywhere you go, here it's top notch.
I give them 5 dragonflies for service, personal handling and amazing tasting food.
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