One of Bristol’s Finest

by Cuiyin Zhang

Lovers of Japanese cuisine have probably increased by ten fold since the mid-80s in America. Hibachi steak houses have proliferated like mushrooms. One that stands out is Tokyo Japanese Steak House which is conveniently located on 28 Commonwealth Avenue, Bristol, Virginia. It's a hibachi steakhouse which has its own separate Teppanyaki section complete with grill tables and also a dining room that serves traditional oriental cuisine.

The restaurant was opened in 1993 by the Lam couple, and has been serving locals with top-notch food for nearly two decades. Throughout these past eighteen years, the restaurant has grabbed the attention of the local media. It was voted the number one Best Oriental Restaurant by the Bristol Herald Courier in 2003; Best of Bristol in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 by Herald Courier readers; Reader’s Choice of Oriental Food in 2006 by Washington County News readers in Abingdon. Everyone is talking because of the breath-taking ambiance, mouth-watering food, and timely service provided at the Tokyo Japanese.

Traditional Interior

You can’t help but notice the Tokyo Japanese Steak House when strolling on Commonwealth Avenue. It is a large building with a green roof and a red door that attracts a lot of attention from passersby.

At Tokyo Japanese Steak House, a 6,000 square foot space can feed 180 diners. The owner, Mr. Lam, not only excels in cooking and restaurant management, but also has an eye for architectural and interior design. Lam wanted his customers to feel like Tokyo Japanese Steak House was always ready to welcome them with good food and a family friendly atmosphere. He eschewed the cold modern look of many Japanese restaurants to create an establishment filled with traditional elements and a homey décor. With an interesting mix of crystal lamps, Japanese paintings and traditional wooden sliding doors, the ambience and materials used are perfectly woven into the concept. Tokyo Japanese provides a warm and comforting environment for your dining experience.

The interior of the restaurant was designed elegantly with bursts of thoughtfully chosen color throughout, giving the dining room a graceful setting. The main interior attraction of the restaurant is the Asian styled bridge and streams design—complete with koi fish—in the waiting area to help keep his restaurant on customers’ minds. This feature never fails to amaze guests, especially kids. Everything in the restaurant, wallpaper, floor colors, decorations, and dishware were all designed or chosen by Lam. With years of restaurant management experience, he knows and always understands how the dining atmosphere affects customers’ moods.

Outstanding Food

Serving both a wide array of Chinese and Japanese food, Tokyo Japanese Steak House is absolutely the perfect place to satisfy everyone in your party. “It’s no exaggeration when I say we’re the most diverse Asian restaurant in the area,” boasts Sara. It's also a must-go place for vegetarian friends to visit, for it offers plenty of options for those with special dietary concerns. Everything is fresh, nicely cooked, and pleasing to the eye.

Tokyo Japanese features a number of hibachi entrée choices including hibachi steak, chicken, salmon, lobster, shrimp, filet mignon, and vegetable. Sesame Chicken (not the normal Chinese style ones) is also a frequently ordered dish. The chicken is fresh, and always perfectly seasoned. Other popular dishes include Grilled Chicken Breast, Yaki Chicken/Beef, and Pepper Steak. Depending upon the chefs, who generally take their cue from the patrons, this can be tremendously entertaining as they slice, dice, and perform an array of culinary tricks that have to be seen to be appreciated. Patrons in a good mood will find that the chefs are only too eager to maintain the festive atmosphere. Youngsters will also be enthralled by their tricks.

It’s worth mentioning that the chef crew in Tokyo Japanese consists of Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese cooks and is regarded by Sara as being a tiny United Nations. “A multi-cultural team with people from different backgrounds and relative knowledge can always learn from each other. It’s good for their individual improvement and that of the restaurant,” Sara told ARN.

When all is said and done, patrons can feast on lobster, chicken, steak, scallops or pork - or various combinations - along with freshly prepared vegetables. Each dinner also comes with a bowl of the restaurant homemade shrimp sauce for dipping, fried rice and Japanese sweet carrots or grilled zucchini & onions. Up to 80% of the customers choose sweet carrot as a side order, some even order extra portions. Along with sugar and butter, the sweet carrot is cooked at least 6 hours to obtain a smooth and tender texture.

As it is known, sauces are important to Japanese food because it brings out the flavors. “The food can’t be at its best without a delicious sauce,” Sara says. Shrimp sauce is the mayo based sauce which can be found in most Japanese steakhouses and is always served with salad and shrimp appetizers. Shrimp sauce is such a commonly offered sauce in steakhouses and is often made by mixing mayo, sugar and water. However, the sauce offered at Tokyo Japanese has something extraordinary about it. According to Sara, her shrimp sauce is used by 99% of customers. Rather than just for dipping, this kind of sauce is ordered with rice, noodle and everything on the menu by customers. Many of them drive miles just to taste the sauce.

Consistent Service & Prices

The restaurant industry as a whole continues to suffer because of the economic downturn. The reason for Tokyo Japanese Steak House, a seventeen-year-old eatery, always maintaining a competitive advantage is Lam’s distinctive management philosophy.

Consistent service can be achieved through constant feedback from customers and staff. “Instead of the majority of our diners consisting of tourists, most of our guests are actually residents from nearby so we can’t ever let up,” Sara said. Throughout these years, even in the face of rising food costs, prices on the menu have not increased.

“Tokyo is not an overly upscale eatery. What I want is to provide high quality food at a reasonable price to my customers. I am not the only person who suffers from the financial crises. I would rather earn more, but a consistent price is one of the long-lasting promises I have made to my guests,” Sara boasts.

As for the service, “Attentive”, “Efficient” and “Friendly” are the most frequent descriptions customers give about Tokyo Japanese Steak House. Sara believes that always having a thankful heart is very important. A successful restaurant can not run smoothly without a reliable team of staff and a group of loyal customers. A stable chef crew is especially essential for sustaining a restaurant business.

Sara and her husband want to take this opportunity to thank John Kim (the Korean chef) and Phuong Dieu (the Vietnamese chef) for 18 years of effort in consistently preparing great food for the locals since the restaurant first opened. Tokyo wouldn’t be what it is today without their numerous contributions. Sara and her husband also promise to bring more surprises to customers in the future.

You might visit such a place just because it is different. So give Tokyo Japanese Steak House a try if you are a fan of Japanese style hibachi steak and just happen to be in or near Bristol, Virginia.