Kiku Japanese Steak House

I came to this restaurant on Valentines Day with my fiancée and family. I ordered the shrimp dinner and my fiancée ordered the teriyaki steak. My fiancée is a very picky eater so he got only the meat and steamed rice yet he had to ask multiple times for his rice (everyone else at the grill ordered fried and were already eating their meal). During the show where the cook is tossing shrimp to the guests, he managed to hit my brother in the eye with a hot piece, drop another down my sisters shirt, and narrowly miss my 2 month old daughter with the last. The food itself was alright, nothing that would bring me back. I paid by card and left a generous cash tip (since its not the waitress’s fault the cook was ehhh) but that didn’t stop them from taking an additional tip from my card. The next morning, I got to watch the shrimp come back up, yuck.

I used to come here and knew that I’d receive a large quantity of vegetables, meat and rice. The last few times I have come here this has changed. You will pay a very large fee $ 17 and up for a plate that has mostly rice. There were hardly any vegetables again. They are charging customers to fill you up with rice and that is not something a quality restaurant does. I had ordered the steak and chicken. My steak was hard to chew. My chicken was okay. For the price I will go elsewhere from now on.

im a huge fan of Japanese food, so of course i had to try this place. i tried both the hibachi and sushi side. i was almost fooled by they generic Japanese environment. but its jus a bunch of fake Japanese decorations you can buy on ebay. im jus going to get to the point this place is a dump, the place is disgusting and filthy, (it really should be shut down) there was old rice and food on my plates and on the cooking area, the cooks looked like they never shower, wear no gloves and sweat over your food, you can tell they hate their job, the owners are rude, racist and hes a pervert. dont even bother trying to comment to him or any of his close family, they dont give a squat, they jus want your money and to get the eff out, they are hands down unprofessional. the young servers were amazing, very polite and fast, doing anything they could to make things right. so i spent hundreds here in the few times i went, when tipping its a confusing mess and not sure who to fairly give money to?! you have a cook, a server, and if you order sushi, a sushi chef also… so i asked how do the tips work, and i got filled in. the cooks get paid a fair hourly wage (above 10 a hour) the sushi chef also get paid a fair’ish hourly wage. the servers get NO hourly wage and have to split all the tips over 50% with the cooks. these servers almost work here for free. after the filth i saw on my plate and all around me in the building (grease, oil, funk and UUUGHHGH) and trying to mention it to the manager and his family, he was a complete A#$%hole, i will never ever step foot in this place again. you are brave or dumb if you do. oh and i forgot to mention my car got ran into (hit and run) in the parking area while here last time.

I’ve eaten cooked food here once and sushi here about three times. This is definitely one of the better places in Topeka for sushi, and several of their rolls were decent. The cooked food is good, and the chefs are entertaining just like they are at any Japanese Steakhouse.

Fairly average hibachi grill, the service was good and the chef was personable, the complementary sherbet at the end gave a nice touch. The chicken was tasty, but the steak and shrimp I ordered needed some more spices or some teriyaki sauce. I would probably make a return visit in the future.

Pretty decent experience. Got the Hibachi Chicken & they were generous with the portion size. The food was good, although pretty average. I’ve definitely had better Hibachi. I’d come back for round two one day!

Can’t go wrong with the filet and shrimp. All od the food was fresh and delicious. Always look forward to the next trip there.

I use eat here every Sunday. I’d drive an hour there and back but it use to be worth it. In February for Valentine’s Day I ate there and ordered the steak and lobster and the lobster tasted absolutely horrible.
When I told the manager and she tasted it she said oh it needs more lemon. I left irritated but assumed they had a bad night.
Fast forward to tonight. We hadn’t eaten here 8 months.
I got the steak and lobster again to go home for my mother in law and the lobster tasted ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIC AGAIN!
This time I told the manager and the chef and has them smell it.
He said «oh that’s was lobster smells like.»
Lobster is not suppose to taste or smell like rotting fish.
I told him that I do not want to pay for the lobster and he said if that’s the case I cannot take any of my food with me. A 150 $ meal ruined by a money hungry business.
I am so disappointed in you KIKUS.
You have forever lost a valued and adamant customer who use to eat here weekly and recommend you to everyone.
Turns out every single person at the table was not satisfied with their meal after they heard me express my disappointment.
You guys may have been labeled one of the best places to eat in Topeka but you will forever be the worst in my book from here on out.
The only good thing about tonight was the server. She was only 16 but an absolutely sweetheart and a doll but because of how poorly I was treated I bid you farewell KIKUS. Get some new management and maybe I’ll consider coming back.‘
Sincerely,
The Pissed Off Blonde in the Striped purple shirt in the back of the restaurant.

This use to be a place for special occasions. People dressed up and service was impeccable. Now? Customers in shorts and t-​shirts. Dirty floors, dirty walls, dirty menus, everything smells like a grease fire, dimly lit and very loud. A difficult walk for my grandparents from the parking lot, through a mini-​mall and into the restaurant. Waited at our table 15 min to be asked our drink order. Miso soup was bland — one sliver of mushroom and a few specks of green onion. Salad with ginger dressing — salad needed chopped smaller and dressing tasted bitter this time. Glasses were empty before refills were offered. Chef was great. What I would expect for a teppenyaki steak house. He did all the tricks and was personable. Plentiful fried rice, although the scrambled egg was singed. Great veggies. Strip cooked MR. shrimp and scallops were great. Chicken was overdone. And yes, it all kind of tastes the same and is a big messy pile of food on your plate when it’s all served. The sauces were not offered this time, you had to ask. Fork tines were bent. Chopsticks were not included or offered. The sherbet dessert was — sherbet. My mouth stills tastes like MSG. Spent about $ 20 a person. If you’ve never been? Go and have fun. Overall, this restaurant is better as a memory for me. I won’t be going back.

We go to Kiku every time we have something to celebrate. We have been to many hibachi Japanese steakhouses all over the country, and none have come close to the deliciousness that is Kiku. The fried rice is yummy and the filet is tender and melts in your mouth. The veggies are seasoned perfectly and the sesame chicken is sweet and savory. They toss shrimp in the air for you to catch in your mouth. The sherbet finale is an excellent palate cleanser. If you have trouble choosing what to order, I recommend the filet, chicken and shrimp combo. It’s enough to share, or take it home. Leftovers are amazing in a skillet with a little butter, reheats very well this way.
For a lighter dinner or lunch, I highly recommend the sushi room. Excellent sushi in Topeka! You can order sushi at the hibachi grill, too.
The owners are wonderful and friendly, they know us and always come over to visit. They’ve watched our kids grow up!

This is a fun spot for larger parties or a date night. The food always tastes great, though it can be a little pricey. I do wish they’d update and improve upon the décor here though. I understand mood lighting, but I’ve been there a few times where I feel like the only illumination is the fire in front of me from the hibachi! Definitely depends on the cook you get as to the kind of experience you’ll recieve — some put on more of a show than others.

Gave this place 3 stars. Took my family here hoping it was awesome but it was far from it. It was hot in there so not sure if air conditioner was working and the guy who cooked the food didn’t interact with us at all. The chicken that was cooking on the grill was popping and splattering me. The food tasted all the same and we ordered a variety between chicken, steak, shrimp. The sushi however was fresh and was excellent.

I moved away from Topeka 5 years ago. I’ve always loved Kobe now Kiku.
Took a friend there who had never been before on Saturday, February 15 2014.
They messed up our reservation. We finally got seated. Our table and grill had rice left on it from other meals.
Our cook was just going through the motions of cooking for us. The food was just so-​so. Sorry to see this happening at my fomer favorite place.

Not bad not great. Bit run down, table was pretty wobbly. The service was not so great. It took over 10 minutes for us to be asked what we wanted to drink. And waiter was chewing on… lunch? While asking us. Food was ok, steak teriyaki was very good, best of what we ordered. Cook was very friendly and polite. Waiter may have been having a bad day, who knows, but very slow and the place was empty.

I enjoy taking my whole family to Kikus. My son loves the fire and the show. Due to the price I tend to make this more of a special trip kind of place. Building does need an update to the décor.

I tend to think hibachi grill food all tastes the same. This restaurant is no different. It has your standard hibachi grill offerings and they are well cooked. The service was excellent and our chef was very good. What I think us really good about this place is the price. You get a lot of food for the money and its way cheaper than places in Lawrence or KC and it has better service.

nice japanese ambience. kind of dark and romantic. although a bit worn and run down. hostess and waiter were pleasant and communicative. hence not a two star.
Food Quality: i ordered shrimp special roll, unagi hand roll, caterpiller roll and since I paid $ 27, I was expecting some high quality rolls. but was a bit disappointed. the eel is definitely NOT fresh, and from a can. I got some canned eel before since I was on a college budget and thought that how bad could it be compared to fresh eel, and I quickly gave that up. It was bad. So now I can tell the difference immediately. and the imitation crab they use is imitation. The sauce they use is a generic teriyaki sauce i think that they substitute for eel sauce. Bottom line — Don’t come here for the sushi if you’ve had good sushi. I didn’t try the steak. Maybe that’s where its at?

The atmosphere as you come in definitely leaves something to be desired… but what more can you ask for from a place inside a mini mall. Once inside the décor is better if somewhat cliché. The show is entirely dependent on which of the chef’s you are lucky to get. I would say that they range from solid 4 level cooks and showmen to some of them on the ³⁄₂ threshold. The food itself is always the highlight. It’s great and always plenty of it for the price point.

Stopped in while on a business trip.
Service was very good — attentive but not smothering.
Sushi was good, decent cut of fish. Tuna roll was average and the California roll was more than I expected.
Two rolls, two sushi and a glass of wine for under $ 24.

In the spirit of total honesty, I have to say: I love Japanese steak houses. I like the food, I like the show, I like having shrimp thrown at me. But not all steak houses are the same. A lot depends on the staff, the chefs and the freshness of the food.
Kiku Japanese Steak House is located in a mall but that shouldn’t discourage a visit. The atmosphere is wonderful and makes you feel like you stepped into another world. There are several dining rooms with multiple cooking tables. The lobby doubles as the cocktail lounge and sushi bar. There were several couples enjoying the sushi offerings. Everything looked delicious.
The décor is very traditional and beautiful.
We were quickly seated with another family. The server handed out menus and took our drink orders. He returned quickly with our beverages and took our dinner requests. Soon, the chef arrived with a cart filled with our food. He confirmed each person’s order and started the cooking show.
I’ve been to many Japanese steak houses and seen some fantastic chefs. This was not one of them. The food was perfectly cooked. Rice, vegetables, shrimp, chicken, steak; each was seasoned and cooked to order. Fantastic flavor. However, the show was not impressive. Generally, the chefs put on a spectacular presentation complete with humorous lines. Our chef was a little disappointing.
I was prepared to lower my rating until I saw the chef at the next table. Very entertaining and flamboyant! He was spinning knives, flinging shrimp, drumming pepper grinders and building an impressive onion volcano. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, visit a Japanese steak house)
Overall, I was impressed with Kiku Japanese Steak House. The staff was very friendly and attentive. The food was fantastic. Our chef was the only slight disappointment.