Genji

As Japanese Steak Houses go this is sub-​par. The building looks nice, but it’s dirty. The grills that weren’t being used all seemed to have left over food. The «chef» we had was inept, despite what he said — 6 months of certification training and a year on the job. He not only fumbled through our dinner, but was back out at an adjacent table just minutes after leaving ours — doing a similarly poor effort. The backroom/​kitchen must be a mess as well. I ordered steak & shrimp, which he even stated when he first arrived at our table. My date was having just shrimp. So imagine our surprise when he plops two chicken breasts on the grill… We asked him about that as they sizzled and I guess he woke up because he quickly scooped them off the grill apologized (which he did for a lot of things) and ran back to the kitchen for the proper food. This also was repeated at the other table. In short — I won’t go back.

Worst run restaurant I have been in in a while. No help visable. Out of every first request I had but nobody knew so I waited forever. Waitperson had to explain to cook appetizer. Appetizer arrives and waitperson had no clue what she was serving. Very boring menu for sushi/​Japanese steakhouse.

We went for the sushi and had to wait for a seat in the dining room — expected on a Sat night.
Meanwhile we ordered a couple of drinks at the bar. My wife’s drink contained pineapple juice that was most certainly bad. The bartender replaced it with something different without incident.
Following a short wait (maybe 15 mins) we were taken to the dining room and were surprised to see only 2 other tables with guests (since we had to wait). The rest of the tables were either dirty from past guests, or cleared but not re-​set. They remained dirty and askew throughout our visit.
We ordered a couple of salads, an appetizer, sushi, (1 large roll and some nigiri), and a hot house sake. The waitress said she thought they were out of sake, but would check. Salads came out and were good. Sushi came out and was adequate — although this ‘large’ roll used to be much bigger. Waitress came back and handed us what appeared to be a child’s glass with about an inch of sake in it — and while laughing, said, ‘This is literally all the sake we have left in the restaurant, you can just have it’
Appetizer came out after the sushi and looked like it had sat under the heat lamp for 20 mins and was swimming in sauce. We asked to have it replaced and could hear our waitress literally yelling at the kitchen staff when she walked it back. The second was marginally better but we kept it anyway.
Bottom line, this place appears to only cater to the hibachi guests, which is obviously their money maker considering they bulk up each meal with pounds of fried rice, vegetables and mayo sauces. Don’t go for the service or the sushi, you’ll be disappointed.

It’s always fairly busy here so I get a reservation to be safe. It’s decorated very nicely, and the staff is usually very friendly.
It used to be a hibachi/​sushi-​style menu ONLY, but since it changed ownership it now has a binder full of food. (You won’t get your food cooked in front of you if you order something NOT on the hibachi menu though, which is the primary draw of the place). The rest of the items are appropriate, but seem overwhelming and out of place because many are Chinese, and it’s supposed to be a Japanese restaurant.
The food is delicious, and they take care to note your allergies if you tell them. My sushi has always tastes fresh, and the green tea ice cream is heavenly.

Used to be THE Japanese cook em’ in front of you place to go on tri-​cities, amazing how quality unfortunately has degraded in past few years. Just expect more from $ 30-​$ 50 meal.

Is Japanese steakhouse restaurants go, this is a typical offering. For some reason on the latest visit we were required to wait about 20 minutes despite there being lots of open tables. We didn’t want to sit at the grill, so we should have been able to be seated immediately.
Once we got to our table our service was very slow. We had to flag someone down to finally take our order. I ordered some basic sushi rolls and they were OK. The bottom line for me is I can get mediocre anywhere. I may or may not return this is yet to be determined.

We came back a month later, and the place is so run down, on top of that it was cold outside and and they had the air blasting, when I asked if they could please down a little, as I was secretly miserable, our waitress said she could ask but guests had been asking all day…? I am so glad we found Hokkaido, I can not imagine us going back to Genji’s again.

Good food, tasty, great cook show.
A little too heavy on the rice portion for the price of the whole meal

We have been going to Genjis for every birthday\special occasion for about 5 years now and have always been very satisfied with the service and food.
I’ve noticed that portion sizes on everything (including the fried rice, which is super cheap to make) have gotten ALOT smaller.
This will be the first year we aren’t going to Genjis for a birthday.

Went there yesterday for my birthday the food & service
Excellent Rey our server & our cook were awesome I’m from the Detroit area
Up here for a weekend getaway with my wife. Great place I will be back :-)

You really can’t do much better. They have great food and you don’t need to sit at the grill to get it. I have been to other places that try to imitate their Yum Yum sause and it’s just not the same. Of cource it’s not cheap, but what is now days

There is always an abundant amount of food when you’re serviced here. A lot of people like to see the show that the chefs put on, but every now and then, I’ll go with my mom and we’ll just sit at a table. It’s quieter, and more intimate, and you get served faster. I absolutely love the hibachi shrimp, and I always order the hibachi shrimp with a side of hibachi shrimp. A lot of my sushi-​lovin’ friends and family come here for sushi and always take it home. Genji is great. The one on Bay Rd, in my opinion, is much better than the one in Midland. Sometimes you’ll get a crummy server, but the food is great!

It would be a zero if it wasn’t for the cooks… Management is a joke… I have never seen a place so missed managed. Customer service is second to their money. Prices go up portions go down. All concerned about money so what do they do cram 10 of us around theses tight tables. When talking to management you can see them just cycling thru the same tired lie. So disappointed in what it has become.

I usually love Japanese steakhouses, and I have been to a lot of them. Genji was not my favorite. The food was good, but not quite up to par. I ordered s cucumber roll, hibachi vegetables, and I substituted steamed rice for fried rice. The cucumber roll was good, although I would have preferred small pieces of cucumber instead of one big chunk. The vegetables were delicious as was the salad with ginger-​carrot dressing. The onion soup was bland and had very little onion flavor.
Our chef was not very entertaining, which was surprising to me because we had kids sitting at the table. He also accidentally threw something behind him and almost hit one of the kids at the other tables. That was a little nerve-​wracking. One other thing I noticed, that other people may not notice, was that their ceiling and light fixtures were extremely dusty. May not be a problem to most, but I don’t like dust falling in my food. I don’t think that their food and free dessert was enough to keep me coming back.

So they stopped putting egg in the fried rice, and they don’t do the smiley face flame up or the the onion volcano/​train anymore. Whole point of hibachi is the show and after decades of fried rice with egg in it to stop. Will not be back!!!

Made a reservation a week before Valentines Day so I could take my wife to Genji for Sushi and dinner. Making a reservation was a waste of a phone call, cause we waited as long as those who came in with no reservation.
The place seemed very chaotic. There were only 2 bartenders, so getting an overpriced drink was a long process.
After over an hour we were finally taken back to the grill for dinner. They had one server for two grills with 16 people, which made the service slow.
My wife had to redo her Sushi order 3 or 4 times because they were out of everything she wanted.
The food itself was disappointing. I have eaten at many Japanese Grills before and I have always enjoyed the entire meal until the dinner Saturday. I was not impressed with the food at all. The rice was nasty, the rest of the food was acceptable but nothing was impressive.
After approximately 3 hours, from the time we arrived, our meal was over and so was our night.
I hope a Benihana’s opens in Saginaw soon.

There aren’t many Asian cuisine options in Saginaw, Michigan, but there is a Genji’s, which offers teppanyaki grilling a la Benihana. Providing a sleek atmosphere with a bounty of teppanyaki grills and sushi bar counter seating, Genji makes for a good date or family night out.
Onion Soup
With less salinity than miso soup, the clear broth offered a nice green onion taste.
House Salad
The house salad offered standard ginger dressing found in most sushi restaurants.
Sushi Deluxe [$ 23.95]
10 assorted deluxe nigiri, spicy tuna roll
The GF’s dad decided to try sushi for the first time and really enjoyed it. He was most leery about the eel, but was surprised at the fact that my BBQ description was spot on. These were fairly straightforward offerings including striped bass, tuna, and salmon — all were fresh.
And with that, our friendly teppanyaki master came by and started his show. For those not in the know, expect flips of shrimp and friendly snark.
Shrimp Appetizer
The shrimp were slightly overcooked, but still had good flavor.
We were offered both a soy glaze and a mayo-​based sauce for dipping.
Vegetables
Grilled veggies included carrots, mushrooms, onions, and zucchini.
Hibachi Vegetable [$ 14.95]
Carrots, peapods, broccoli
IF you’re ordering the hibachi vegetable entrée, expect a larger portion including peapods and broccoli as well.
And in the spirit of all the couples at our table (there were 4), our chef created heart-​shaped fried rice!
Fried Rice
The fried rice had great sesame flavor and I appreciated that it wasn’t over-​salted compared to other hibachi grills I’ve been to.
Hibachi Steak [$ 25.95]
10 oz. premium ribeye
While I requested my ribeye medium rare, these choice cuts of beef were still decently marbled and delicious when prepared medium with a light soy glaze.
Teriyaki Chicken [$ 19.95]
Chicken breast
The GF went with the teriyaki chicken which offered moist bits of salty and sweet chicken.
Rainbow Sorbet
For the dessert, we had a range of ice cream options. The GF went with the sweet offering of rainbow sorbet.
Green Ice Cream
I opted for the muted sweetness of the green tea ice cream to cleanse the palate.
So if you’re in Saginaw and are craving hibaci/​teppanyaki eats, Genji has got you covered without overdosing you with sodium.

Very good sushi. I sat at the sushi bar and took suggestions from the sushi chef. I went with a simple piece of octopus and a tuna roll, but decided to spice things up with the Casino Roll. The casino roll is Chef’s Choice, and it is different with every chef. It was worth it, he asked what I like and out came awesomeness

Love it here. I’ve been here many times. You can sit at the hibachi grill or in the sushi area. Very nice place. My favorite is the princess chicken and the Cupid sushi roll, and for hibachi I love the chicken and shrimp. The staff and service is always great/​I don’t get it, but my family always gets the Saginaw roll — that is their favorite! You can order sushi at the hibachi too, which is great. Kids love it too because it’s a show!

The food is great and I’m a huge fan of the Yum-​Yum sauce at Genji. Their menu prices are high compared to other restaurants in the area, however — their food is much more healthy and the atmosphere is nicer. The last waitress we had was not very good, but that was the first time that’s ever happened. The food was so good it outweighed the bad service that time.