Hayashi

I’ve been coming here since I’ve moved to Lubbock 5 years ago. I can honestly say they have never disappointed. If you want hibachi then get seated for hibachi. Don’t expect the same taste and experience sitting at the bar. If you’re in the mood do be adventurous then have their sushi combinations, you will not be disappointed.

Whenever my husband and I are in Lubbock we have lunch or dinner at Hayashi. Normally they have very good food and service. Today we went to have lunch in between appointments. After sitting at our table for 10 minutes without any service my husband went looking for help. A waiter by the name of JD came from another part of the restaurant and took excellent care of us. He was clearly extremely busy, but he took care of us as though he was not. The food was outstanding and because of JD’s excellent service we will be returning to Hayashi on our next trip to Lubbock!

Good here is always great! But the hostess girls at the front had a look on their face like they were pissed off that we walked in, also did not give us the time of day with an obvious eye roll.

Very SLOW! 2pm lunch and very few people there. Nice waitress went and asked manager to go get chef’s. Chef had the personality of the shrimp he was cooking. Food was bland but salty and meat was tougher than it should have been for a $ 25 plate.

Friendly waitress. Unfortunately she had to ask the manager to make the chef come out and cook after a very, very long wait period. He finally decided to come out and cook us some so-​so food with zero enthusiasm. It’s not worth the money or the time. Excellent waitress, though.

In town on business with another co-​worker. Both of us like sushi and were pleasantly surprised with our experience at this restaurant.

GOOD BUT NOT GREAT! I was skeptical of finding decent Japanese teppan grill/​steak house in Lubbock. My guest, a Lubbock Ian native had never heard of this type restaurant, even though there are 5 – 6 in town. She was taken aback when we joined 6 others around the grill. «Do you know these people… why are we eating with them?!» I ordered saki, then etemami, all of which were firsts, but enjoyed, especially the saki! Then the chef showed up. Totally flummoxed but game, my guest watched in amazement as the chef went through his knife routine (not too enthusiastically). Typical shrimp, fried rice, soup, steak and veggies. She was impressed, satiated and probably will never come back unless I bring her. Good food, $ 5 too much per entre, and chefs need to be entertaining, no matter how many times they do their act per night.

Just moved to Lubbock from Phoenix and am sadly disappointed in the selection of Japanese restaurants here.
The sushi at this place is mediocre and the hibachi options aren’t super inspiring. The veggie tempura is alright but the shrimp tempura is no good. They use a different/​thicker batter on the shrimp that just isn’t tempura. If you are going to get tempura, just order the veggie one.

I have been going to Hayashi for years… time to write a Unilocal.When I first went there, I sat in the Hibachi area. After all, who doesn’t love huge fires, sharp knives, and fillet mignon. It was amazing… every time.
Now however, I love to sit at the bar unless it’s a special occasion (like really special… hello graduation dinner). It’s almost always full of nice ppl — especially on Tuesdays with their 2 for $ 22 sushi rolls (all included, even custom ones as I found out tonight).
I have to give them 4 stars just because of their awesome service, consistently amazing quality, and great atmosphere. It feels pretty authenticity Lubbock, Tx. The owner creates his own drink menu and rolls and is always changing it up… nice. I love the Midori martini, the rising sun (made with fresh cherry juice vs yucky grenadine). They also make all of their broths in house — not that weird stock that you get with a lot of subpar Japanese restaurants.
It is clean, nice bathrooms, and just a great place to go with friends or family. They never fail to keep me coming back for more.
To be clear, I have not been to their new location — I’m pretty regular at the original one though. I highly recommend if you want great sushi, bento boxes, or my personal favorite, hibachi.

Great Bartender/​waiter, Josh! Food was good. BUT… downloaded the 10% off coupon, from their website, showed it to them on my phone (btw it has no upc code/​etc) but they only would accept/​honor if «printed» …Really…om from out-​of-​town, I don’t have access to a «printer»

Best sushi for 500 miles any direction. Consistent. Delicious. Period. I tend to be torn between the King Maki roll or beef soup. My mother is oriental and their soup reminds me much of hers. Except that I enjoy Hayashi soup more.

Hayashi is the only place I trust in Lubbock to eat their sushi and sashimi. Maybe there are better places I haven’t discovered, but so far this is my go to sushi location. The fish always taste fresh and is served very cold, which makes me feel like they care if I get sick or not. I really love their spicy tuna roll, but I add yellow fish to it, because I am crazy and need all the raw fish I can get to satisfy my sushi cravings.
Their Hibachi also happens to be the best in town. The quality and portions are both great. You can really tell they use premium ingredients that are worth the price you are paying. The chefs are always really nice and friendly, but not too distracting so you can also talk with your friends. I like how accommodating the servers are as well. I have never had a bad server here and have been over ten times.
Now, I know this sounds like something a twelve year old would say but… I love that they have a coy fish pond and a bridge inside the restaurant! Don’t worry it is far from the food and it really clean and well kept. It really adds to the décor. Their décor doesn’t make it seem like a cheap hibachi place, it makes it feel very nice and cozy.
If you are craving some raw fish or hibachi, this is your go to place!

Ok now listen… I don’t claim to be a hibachi or sushi expert by any means. I definitely stick to the Texas style sushi and haven’t been brave enough to branch out into the real stuff yet.
That being said… Hayashi is my favorite place for hibachi or sushi and all of Lubbock. The filet mignon hibachi is amazing. It’s perfectly cooked and is so tender that it practically melts in your mouth. I constantly find myself craving the clear soup and a salad they give you before your hibachi meal.
The West Texas roll also known as the Jay roll is my favorite of the Texas style sushi rolls. It includes tempura shrimp, avocado, jalapeño, and cream cheese topped with crabmeat. You see what I mean by Texas style now. I can also recommend the spider roll and the hamachi roll. On Tuesdays and Thursdays specialty rolls are two for $ 22. To put that in perspective at West Texas role is usually about $ 16.
This place also has a great sucky selection. Granted this is the only place I’ve ever had sake but both the hot and cold was amazing. I specifically liked the hot apple sake.
The atmosphere is pretty cool. You can eat at the sushi bar, the dining room, or at a hibachi grill. If you’re wanting to grab a quick lunch I definitely recommend the dining room or the sushi bar as you’ll be served more quickly and won’t enjoy the hibachi show. The food is just as good served in the dining room as it is when it’s cooked in front of you.
I know tons of Japanese restaurants have Koi ponds. However, Hayashi has an amazing one with a cool little bridge that you walk over to get to the hibachi grill portion of the restaurant.
The only reason I wouldn’t recommend someone go to Hayashi is if they don’t have the money to splurge on it. Today I took a friend to lunch and spent $ 38 including a generous tip. She ordered a sushi lunch combination and I ordered a specialty sushi roll and we both got drinks.
EDIT: I almost forgot to include that our server was so accommodating and extremely friendly. Not the kind that’s annoying but the kind that you truly enjoy while having a lunch out with a friend. He made us laugh all while taking great care of us and making sure we had everything we needed. I really appreciated it.

One of the crappiest restaurant… Pl do not even think about going for hibachi. We were informed that the asian cooks they have are very passionate but i could not see any signs of passion. Very very rude people. We felt as if we are having dinner for free. Very disappointed.
Make sure you think hundred times before going to this hell.

Went to dinner with my parents this evening. Ordered the hibachi vegetables. I asked for fried rice with no egg and was given fried rice with egg. I asked the waitress about it and it was corrected. We were given the same amount of vegetables that the orders with meat received. I got the attention of the waitress and she said she would find out. I was told that We were supposed to receive double the vegetables and that the cook gave us double. The person next to me said that we did not not and she was not with us. After some time we received a little more vegetables. I felt like it was a fight to get what we ordered. The manager never came and apologized to us and nothing was compensated. Very half-​assed service. Will NEVER eat there again!

I was town and was craving sushi and hot sake so I decided to check this place out. I had their king maki, spicy tuna roll, 2 tuna sashimi and 2 shrimp sashimi. Everything was great. My waiter was Cory and he was very attentive and sweet. No complaints. I would go back :)

The best hibachi in lubbock! This place blows o’hana out of the water. They use quite a bit of butter but wow the food always tastes awesome. Cory was our server tonight and he provided the most amazing service but we always get good service here. The orange house dressing on the salad is so sweet and delish!!! Make sure to try the spicy mustard. Love love love this place

Pretty good sushi and hibachi but the service is hit and miss.

Awesome… Gotta go for the 2 for $ 22.00 on Thursday.
They are nice sized rolls. Staff was very friendly, but a little too relaxed at times with you.
Very clean dinning area.

ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE customer service. I would not recommend.
I made a reservation for a birthday party of 16+ and was told by the hostess that should I have any changes to the reservation to be sure to call back as early as possible. I called back before business hours to change my reservation due to a change in availability in the family and was told they could not take reservations for the afternoon due to «Parent Day»…whatever that means. Apparently what it boiled down to is they were keeping the party rooms open to walk ins.
I asked to speak to the manager hoping he would be able to make an exception because most of us are from out of town and we already had a reservation earlier that day. I was directly called a liar in regards to the hostess saying we could call back to adjust the reservation. In shock, I questioned further only to be told that they were not concerned with our business and did not want our money. He was extremely rude and not interested at all in assisting me. I was constantly met with attitude and directness instead of concern to help us out at all. I would have even settled for another day had he offered. He clearly did not care and thought they were too big to worry. You are a Hibachi restaurant… in Lubbock, TX… get over yourself buddy. 5 star restaurants in downtown Dallas have better customer service, and they make WAY more money.
I cancelled the reservation, sent an email to a friend in the BBB, and booked a reservation at Ohana’s instead, who was MORE than happy to have our business. Never again will I give Hayashi my money.
BTW…unless you have a party of 15 or more they charge $ 100 for reservation…$ 100!!! Pure greed, all around.