Aoki Teppanyaki

Even though the creator of Benihana is the father of Aoki he really should considered taking back the reigns from his son as this place is a bad version of Benihana. I will not be back after my first visit this past Saturday as I prefer Benihana to this place any day.
Staff– Our server was nice and attentive but the hostesses were clueless and unhelpful.
Ambiance– Biggest issue with this place is the size of their teppanyaki tables. They are way too small and cannot accommodate 4 people in middle and 2 on each side. If you’re on a side your knees are crashing into the stranger next to you and no matter where you sit you have no elbow room or place to put more than one plate. Waitress had to bring sushi rolls out one at a time as there was nowhere to put plate. I do not want to go out to eat to be on top of strangers while I am trying to eat. When we voiced our concern about this to the hostess when she tried to cram more people at our table she starred at us blankly, completely ignored us, and turned around and walked away. Great Customer service.
Food– We waited about 30 minutes for the chef to come out and finally start cooking. Way too long! Chicken fried rice was good and I was excited to change it up and try the noodles but the sauce they are cooked in is overly salty and not that good. This is an Asian restaurant so I expected good iced green tea and instead I got the stuff from powder that tastes like nothing. They claim to be more «traditional» than Benihana yet the do not include hot green tea after meal (they charge $ 4) like any authentic Asian place would.
Décor– They really went overboard in this area and not in a good way. It looks like an outdated cheesy teppanyaki restaurant from the 90’s. The Asian theme is overdone and the space is dark, cold, and unwelcoming. Bathroom design is cheap and outdated and not fitting of a nice restaurant that hasn’t even been open that long. Since this was a younger generation’s take at teppanyaki I expected a sleek and modern looking restaurant and this place is as far from that as possible.
Overall, it was just okay. I will stick to Benihana where I know what to expect and I can at least sit comfortably.

I love eating at doraku (their other sushi based restaurant in Brickell and SoBe) so you would think this would think this would be similar. I was very excited to watch this restaurant open. I have been many times since and each time leaves me disappointed. Food is always good. I typically do sushi and have not tried the teppanyaki. The issues I have noticed come from staffing and cleanliness. Table tops are always sticky and gross. Often there is a funny smell too. The menus are cool when new. They are made to look like a take out brown paper bag with the menu printed on that, but they appear to heavily reuse these. Yours will likely be stained, warped from moisture and handling, and in some cases hard to read from the ink rubbing off. Service can be very spotty based on where you sit. If at the sushi bar, service is always good. If you sit on the back patio or at the rear bar — expect to see your waiter seldom.
Again, food taste good but I always leave wondering if the front of the house is this neglected, what does the back of house really look like?

I love this place. They have happy hour all day every day except evenings on the weekend. The music they play is great. Their brussel sprouts, eggplant miso, chicken salad, kimchee pork, sweet corn, triggerfish jerky, firecracker shrimp and aoki slider are all amazing. They have cool things like chicken hearts and beef tongue too which I am into. Definitely try the chicken liver!!! The sushi is fresh, I like their salmon and ikura donburi. The soft shell crab roll is good. Many items on the menu ate vegetarian and vegan friendly which is awesome. Honestly I have never even tried their teppan because the individual dishes are so good. The service is also excellent. Everyone is very attentive, dishes are brought out quickly and the management is caring. This is my go to happy hour spot.

This is my third time here. After the second time, I swore I would not return. But, my son wanted to go for his birthday, so we went as a family.
The staff is friendly and attentive, but the chef left something to be desired. My steak was overcooked, my shrimp was given to someone else, and he actually removed it from their plate and put it on mine. WTF?!
I’m not seeing visit four in my future.

Love this place! The happy hour and lunch menus have delicious and very reasonably priced options! Yummy sushi, very cool vibe.

Just went by last night to this restaurant for date night. My favorite part about this place was the décor. It’s amazing! Asian inspired super cool and you have the option to sit down for regular dining or in front of the chef (pricier option by the way)
My fiancé and I decided to sit outside since its chili in Miami and for the view which is pretty great.
We ordered some dishes off the menu starting with miso soup, salad, and edemame. All delicious. Also, had dragon rolls, California rolls, and a coconut roll with shrimp and mango. The coconut roll is a must try if you like sweet stuff.
Had a steak bowl and a breaded pork bowl not to crazy about either. Too salty and saucy. Too much going on.

I came here for lunch and was a bit hesitant. Of course, most people think of the one and only Samurai or Benihana when it comes to hibachi. I mean… They’re basically like the OG of hibachi! Being that it’s in Dadeland mall, you have the option to go walking all that food off right after in the a/​c. It’s decoration and ambiance go well with the food and environment.
The service was, eh… Okay. The waitress my table had rarely came to fill our water or sodas unless a person from the table physically got up to get her. The chef on the other hand was very attentive and made conversation and jokes with one another.
I ordered the lunch steak. It wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst. It could have used more flavoring but it was also very tender. Along with the lunch meal comes a bowl of fried rice which was very tasty and not greasy. Lunch is also accompanied with veggies and mushroom, all which were very tasty as well. The portions here are a lot more than any other hibachi place that I’ve been to.
I think this place is definitely worth the visit if you’re in the area!

Pro
Ambiance is great
Server was very attentive
Ginger Salad was delicious & fresh
Menu items were fun and eclectic
Cons
Waited 30 minutes for a table. Then another 30 minutes for the table to fill up. Then 30 Minutes to actually start eating.
They absolutely PACK the hibachi table. I sat in a corner and kept knocking knees with the young man next to me.
Manager apologized to the table and told us there were «more tables than there are chefs»
We had Teppanyaki and the food was just «ok». I prefer the flavor of Umami, Kobe, or Ruson. The fried rice was a little dry and tasteless.
I really wanted to like this place…

To start off with, Aoki is a pain to find parking because the huge crowd of people at Dadeland. There is an option to valet park for $ 10, but if you circle around for 30 minutes you are bound to find something. Besides the parking, Aoki has very nice healthy food (or so I was told). They print their menu on paper bags to give you a farm to fork feeling, but aside from that there are plenty of vegetarian and meat-​lovers options to keep everyone happy. Of course the ginger salad was amazing. I ordered a side of brussel sprouts which did not seem to have any taste, however the rice and veggies were on point.
The tricks were similar as the other hibachi places in Miami, maybe a little more. The staff was friendly enough, however the people who seat us at the front sere very confusing. It seemed as if they wanted us to sit at the exterior of the restaurant because there was a «long wait,» but then when we entered there were so many empty seats!

Omg such great sushi. Have to come here for Happy Hour. Almost six days a week. A must try. Great food!
Great drinks!

Came here cause Samurai was way to packed and long wait time.
Located inside Dadeland Mall in the new addition on the second floor. Nice size restaurant with outdoor seating and plenty of tables inside and at the bar.
We came here for dinner. I started off with the shredded pork buns. It’s pork inside a steamed bao bun with cucumbers and sauce. It was good and a little spicy. Then the Waiter came and tossed the salad in front of you. It was ok. Then the cook came and started our meal. Started with the fried rice which had white, brown, and black rice with vegetables. Wasn’t that into it. Then I got the lobster tail with the sirloin sreak. It was a daily special for $ 29 The vegetables that they make were ok again not that into it. I also had the mushroom mix. It contains several different types of mushrooms. It was ok. Better off just getting the regular mushrooms. The lobster tail was good. The sirloin is cooked to order. It was ok. I found the food a little bland and not that we’ll seasoned.
The staff was friendly and helpful in describing the menu.

I came here for lunch and ordered my usual edamame and a rainbow roll. I had to hunt down waitresses for my order, a drink and then the check. While the food was decent and came out relatively fast, expect to hunt down your waitress for anything you need:)

***** *****World Class Sushi Restaurant and Amazing Staff!!! World Class Sushi Restaurant and Amazing Staff!!! World Class Sushi Restaurant and Amazing Staff!!! World Class Sushi Restaurant and Amazing Staff!!!
This have to be the best Sushi restaurant in my list. To me the best way to know if they are using the fresh products is by ordering the Tuna Roll. Let me tell you, this Resturant is great. Anyone will enjoy this Resturant. You can be seated at the mall area, outside on the sun deck, by the bar and inside area.
Both Rolls I ordered was recommended by our Server Roxy. She was awesome, very pleasant and happy to be there. Best customer service by far I received from Miami lol.
For a family get together and with friends I recommend the Hibachi area. It’s so cool to sit around the table and talk while the food is made. Also the tricks and fire will entertain the kids.
Overall, anyone is looking for a good sushi restaurant and a great service please stop by at this restaurant. Not to kill the mood, it’s cheap. $ 12.00 and up. Not bad for the food and service you get. Hope you all enjoy this restaurant. Cheers

My boyfriend and I came here for a nice dinner after an insane week of deadlines and projects. We made a reservation which turned out to be unnecessary as the place was near empty on a Friday night.
As I was seated the couple next to me leaving walked past me, stopped and said «eat somewhere else, food is terrible and so is the wait staff.»
I mentioned it to my boyfriend who arrived minutes later, we decided to give it a try anyway. Well, the food was good, but the service was abysmal and one of the waitresses was unprofessional enough to yell across the bar at us and ask us what roll was being consumed. Completely inappropriate especially since it was obvious we were on a date and trying to just enjoy some alone time at dinner. All in all we will not be returning.

WOW!
This place is just too cool. First off I had to cancel a Unilocal event (sorry Cassie) to come here for a mandatory family dinner. (It’s family time)
Glad I did. The décor is just.WOW. I mean I’ve never been to Japan but I feel like this place gives you a little feel as to what you may expect somewhat. I just wanted to video tape everything instead of pictures (unfortunately my phone died so not as many pictures were taken). From the entrance all the way to the back there’s just so much to look at and the walls, the ceiling, the lighting, I mean everything is just beautiful and talk about friendly. The hostess was super nice and our bartender was phenomenal, my mom said it was the best amaretto sour she’s ever had in her life… that’s a HUGE statement coming from my mom. Then our waiter was superb, I mean he was super attentive and even remembered all of our names (there was 8 of us).
Since our party hadn’t all arrived we sat at the bar and waited. It was happy hour and they had a great variety of selections from beers, wine, sake, mixed drinks, and even different rolls, salads, etc. It was all fairly priced and I had to text my girlfriends and let them know next happy hour is here. Once our party arrived our cool ass waiter took us to our tables and went over all the menu options and random annoying questions we had. Once we placed our order, Abbey, our salad spinner made a delicious ginger salad that was very refreshing. I stuffed my face like a hamster it was so good =)
Once our chef arrived (I believe his name was Portofio; sorry if I’m spelling it wrong) he too knew all of our names, he went over all our orders and started the show. First off, I know the Aoki family owns Benihana so it’s basically the same concept but I consider this place a way up upgrade and there’s more food and sushi options here. Anyhow the chef interacted with us the whole time. We laughed, smiled, and joked with him the entire time. We didn’t want him to leave. Wanted him to pull up a chair and join us. It was true entertainment. When you go you MUST ask for him specifically!!!
We all had tempanyaki style dinner so it came with the fried rice, veggies, the salad, and then your meat, poultry, or seafood option. I ordered the shrimp, my mom had the scallop, lobster, and shrimp, my step dad had the filet mignon and lobster. His nieces had the wagu steak with shrimp and the lobster and filet mignon. I can’t remember what everyone else ordered but we all tasted each others food so it was like we almost had all the options available. It all came with a ginger sauce and pink sauce on the side. I ususally would get double pink sauce but I tasted their ginger sauce and it was strong and refreshing and absolutely delish. Our overall experience was awesome. We continued talking about dinner this morning. This place is a definite must come back.

I love Aoki! It’s not as crowded and chaotic as Samurai, but is equally delicious! On my first visit, we dined at the Hibachi table. I ordered the chicken and shrimp combo, crispy pig ears (appetizer), and the cheesecake tempura for dessert! All of it was delicious! The pig ears were crispy and heavenly, and our meal included a large salad that was constructed in front of us! The service was outstanding and I can’t wait to return!

Surprised to find another establishment in Miami by the Benihana family. I like Benihana, and consider it pretty authentic Japanese food. Tried Doraku and wasn’t a fan. Wasn’t sure what to expect walking into Aoki.
Let me start off saying that I LOVE the décor– the high ceilings, the wood rustic feeling, love it all. Came during a Sunday afternoon and ate off of their lunch menu.
Salmon Poke — well worth it for $ 5. A lot of meat although the seasoning was slightly too much, but still great.
Katsu Don Donburi — The only complaint I have is that the meat was a little dry and it didn’t come with the katsu sauce, had to ask for it on the side. But good portions and came with a little side salad.

I’d never heard of this teppanyaki joint until I decided to eat lunch at Bobby’s Burger Palace — then upon seeing Aoki, changed my mind. Charmingly decorated and inviting waitstaff ushered us to a table — I loved the design of the chopstick wrappers and the furniture. The lunch specials were awesome for both food and drink. We had $ 4 beers and a $ 5 tuna poke salad that had TONS of tuna! For entrees, we had the spicy pork and bulgogi bowl. The bulgogi was not super authentic, but still tasty! I really enjoyed the meal and hope to come back to try the sushi or teppanyaki.

I don’t understand why people write bad reviews on this place. I love coming here with a group of friends.
We all ate from the Teppanyaki menu which is totally worth it!
I’ve been there a few times and I don’t recall having a bad meal there.
I have made it to dessert once and I had the deep fried tempura brownie and it was delicious. Anything deep fried is good to me!
I recommend coming here and try it out for yourself!

I liked Aoki. However, don’t expect anything wildly different (or superior) to a standard Benihana restaurant. This should be no surprise, since it’s founded by the sons of Benihana founder «Rocky» Aoki.
The interior is a bit more intimate and upscale than Benihana, and the prices are reasonable. Of course, if you go for the Teppan option (i.e. they prepare your food on the grill at your table), the quality of both the food and the ‘show’ will vary somewhat by the specific chef you get. For example, our guy was quite no-​nonsense and had no flourishes, while at the next table it was all onion ring volcanoes and jokes.
The meat was well seasoned, if not spectacular. The shrimp were above par and worked well with the seasoning.
A distinction of Aoki is their take on fried rice. They use a medley of whole grain brown rice varieties, and don’t put protein such as shrimp into their concoction. The result is likely healthier, but honestly I think I like the more decadent variety they serve at Benihana or Samurai. Your mileage may vary.
Also, they have a pretty good deal where a second person can share in your teppanyaki for a small charge and will get their own rice, etc. As a special note, my wife had sushi and it was quite well done.
Overall, it was a good experience and while I’m not addicted and going to rush back, next time I feel like Teppanyaki, it’s definitely on the list. Particularly given it’s convenient location in the Dadeland Mall.