Kobe Japanese Steakhouse - Kirkman

Chef Tam was excellent and exciting. He engaged with us made us felt welcome. Atmosphere is amazing, clean place. When l return again request for Chef Tam. The food is tasteful

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Chef Tam is absolutely amazing! He made our hibachi experience so much fun and unforgettable. Not only was the food cooked to perfection delicious, fresh, and full of flavor but he also brought great energy, humor, and entertainment to the table. His skill and showmanship kept everyone engaged the entire time. You can tell he truly cares about giving guests the best experience possible. Highly recommend asking for Chef Tam if you want the perfect hibachi night!

Tam our chef, went above and beyond to make the experience exceptional. He listens to all Of your yummy gestures and attempts to accommodate everyone at his station. Great Guy, Tam. Keep up the great service.

Our chef Eddie was fantastic. The vegetables were cooked to perfection. The shrimp and chicken were great. Wonderful meal.

We had the best experience with Joel this evening! His food was fantastic and he was so, so kind! One of the best!

Joel was an amazing chef! As well as put on a great show. He was very courteous and spoke kindly to the entire table.

Just went to Kobes. Was absolutely amazing in every way. The food was delicious. The service was hilarious and warming.

Absolutely loved this place. We came out of town all the way from Indiana. I’ve been to lots of places where they cook in front of you, and let me say, this place really exceeded my expectations. They give you noodles along with potatoes. Our cook Joel was literally so sweet to a little girl, cutting up all the food into little pieces, and interacting with her. He was also so nice to me. Seriously made the whole interaction so fun. Totally recommend this place if you’re a tourist coming for Universal and Disney! So good for kids!

Eddie was so kind and put on a great show! He was funny and patient with everyone at the table! Would come back for Eddie!

Wee is hands down the best hibachi chef I’ve ever had! The food was absolutely delicious—cooked perfectly and packed with flavor. On top of that, his entertainment made the whole experience unforgettable. He’s hilarious, engaging, and keeps the table laughing from start to finish. If you’re looking for great food AND a great show, ask for Wee. Highly recommend!

Place was very great, and clean. Our chefs name was Joel. He deserves a raise and is extremely hilarious and Kisha was a great host!

Chef Tan IS AMAZING!!!! He was so great! The food was so delicious Also Bamboo was an ALL STAR!!! She made sure we always had refills. Definitely will be coming back 100%

UPDATE: came back for second time and had the joy of doing the table with Chef WEE. What an incredible experience. He was funny, energetic and worked so well with the two kids at the table. The food was superb and having him made it so much better. The service for this day was amazing as always. I finally had the opportunity to enjoy a dinner at Kobe Steak house. We decided to enjoy table service vs the hibachi this time and it was awesome. Some things to note for your visit. It’s a LOT of food. I enjoyed the veggie delight and with both noodles AND rice, plus the salad and soup, I ended up with lunch for the next day as well. The sushi looks amazing but there just wasn’t enough room to try this time. Plenty of parking but be careful as the lot next door is a paid to park area. Use the free area instead.

From our hostess..server, Grant and to our chef Eddie truly was amazing. Great energy and personality!! Really made our night :)

The service was well. Everyone was in a great mood. And everyone was so friendly. Our cook, Joel, made this time an amazing experience for our 10 month old. He had so much fun just watching everything Joel was doing. Also Joel was very interactive and made sure we all wanted mushrooms, onions and even green onions in stuff! That was over the top with kindness. Thank you again!

Had a great night, food was brilliant. Melvin was a pleasure when cooking, and Jimmy with orders and servings was spot on.

Chef Joel and Vince were amazing! Vince was very upbeat and polite the entire night. He was very attentive and made sure we were well taken care of! Chef Joel was very entertaining. Jokes were on point, very engaging!! 10/10 combo with these two. Haven’t been to Kobe’s in a while, but it was such a pleasure to be back to have an experience with the both of them!!

EDDIE WAS AMAZING! Best singer and makes the atmosphere very lively ! He’s the best and would come again just for him. THANK YOU EDDIE FOR MAKING MY BIRTHDAY AMAZING!!!

Our cooks name is Wee and he was exceptional. He was very funny and attentive. The food was amazing. He made our birthday celebration extra special

Eddie was the best! His jokes were HILARIOUS, and the food was amazing. I will be back, only if Eddie is working!

Everyone here is amazing. Chef Tam was amazing!!! He was very funny and interactive with us. We will definitely come again!! And tell him we love him too ! (He’ll understand 😂)

I love coming to Kobe’s yearly for my birthday, the atmosphere is really nice for dinner and food is delicious, you always get large portions and it’s tasty. The regular dining area is a pretty nice place to enjoy your meal in a nice ambiance with friends or family. I always go home with so much leftovers. Our server Sylvia is very friendly and caring, she made our experience really great. They sang & cheered for my birthday and overall it was just a great time there.

I’ve been here a few times with my family, and every visit has been amazing! The service is great and the atmosphere is so much fun. Chef Wee, Happy, and Chef Tam were absolutely wonderful to be around—Happy made sure everyone was taken care of, and the chefs kept us laughing the whole time. We sang songs, shared jokes, and even talked about life—it truly felt like being among friends. The restaurant is very family-friendly, and you’ll definitely leave with full bellies (and leftovers to take home!). They were also incredibly accommodating with allergies, which we really appreciate. If I could give more than 5 stars, I would. Highly recommend coming here!

We had an amazing experience tonight. Vince provided outstanding service — attentive, friendly, and truly welcoming. And Joel’s food was absolutely delicious! Everything was perfectly prepared and full of flavor. Thank you both for making our evening so special

Julia had the best energy to bring to a great evening, she was witty and kind and was on top of everything! Joel was funny, entertaining and made our night! The food was perfect best I’ve had at Kobe in a long time! Great experience and as always will recommend

Joel was the best cook we have ever had at Kobe. He was so much fun! He absolutely hit a home run with top notch service! Bamboo was amazing as well! Very impressed with impeccable service!!!!! Thank you Joel and bamboo!

One of the best services ever. I have dined at Kobe and alot of other restaurants, however this time was the best. Our service WEE was AMAZING!! The most attentive waiter I’ve ever had. I absolutely loved him. Me my son and daughter really enjoyed his service! Please keep him around give him a raise lol!! I have gots to come back so see him. Thank you again WEE WEE you are amazing! You over delivered today!!

If I could give more stars I would. Spectacular hospitality. Wonderful environment. Food was delicious. My son said he wants to give 10 Billion stars. I totally recommend Kobe's to anyone looking for a great experience. ❤️

Grant was an amazing waiter and Joel was an amazing chef! They were super accommodating to my food sensitivities and made sure everything was made correctly. We had such a great time and the wait was worth it!

Eddie was such an amazing cook our table had none stop laughs the whole time. The food was top tier and I definitly will be coming here again. Also GET THE LYCHEE RITA but only if you have a sweet tooth.

Not just your typical Japanese steak house. Our chef was very entertaining & skillful with food prep & cooking. I had the steak, chicken, shrimp combo, which was the popular choice on the menu. The restaurant was unique, fun & clean & worth a 2nd visit.

We ordered two Chicken Vegetable Teriyaki Rice Bowls tonight and a side of fried rice to go. While the food itself was very good—and a consistent go-to for us when staying near Universal Studios—we need to provide feedback on the "vegetable" portion. The bowls contained an extremely small portion of vegetables: literally one small carrot slice, one tiny piece of broccoli, and an even smaller piece of zucchini per bowl. When we inquired about the lack of vegetables, we were told this quantity was correct. We expected (and were looking forward to) a more substantial vegetable serving, especially after a long day of travel. Additionally, we understand why the extra white sauce is offered for a charge, as more sauce is definitely needed for the rice bowl. Great food, as usual. We appreciate the quality, but hope you will reconsider the vegetable portion size in the future.

Our chef was excellent, our waitress was not. The food was greasy, and the majority of my meal was a pound of noodles. The veggies were undercooked, and huge hunks of carrots-not my favorite cooked veggie. The rice was bland, the sirloin was very chewy and flavorless, the teriyaki chicken was cooked in burnt sauce. On a happier note, the tuna tatakiwas excellent.

My wife wanted to go here for her birthday week and the restaurant is very nice, the food was ok the chef was entertaining,bathrooms could have been a little more cleaner Follow me on Instagram docccwayne_reviews

All of our food was extremely salty and we love hibachi. We asked for the Wagyu A5, but it was frozen when they put it on the grill and you’re supposed to allow that type of meat to come to room temp before cooking because you are supposed to cook it to medium rare. So of course when trying to cook a frozen steak to that temp, it’s cold in the middle and has no flavor because it’s not marinated well enough. It was very disappointing for an expensive cut. The quality of our ribeyes and the A5 were all good. The drinks were tasty. Our chef, Yashida was super funny and nice. His laugh is awesome and reminds me of Masuka on the show Dexter. Our server, Lan Le Xuan was also very, very sweet and attentive.

READ IF YOU’RE ORDER ONLINE OR CATERING. I ordered the catering fried rice pan and was given a small pan. Upon informing the manager on duty, he said they “discontinued” the bigger pan. I showed him the website and the literal display they have in the restaurant, the bigger pan is displayed for the catering size. This is an extreme difference. The small pan is less than half the amount. Extremely shady business to cut the size by more than half and keep the price the same. It is not disclosed online or listed anywhere. He also tried to tell me it’s the same amount of rice in the small pan as the big which is a LIE. There’s no way a “catering” size is only 4 portions.

RUN!! 🛑 Save yourself the anger and disappointment! In all my years on Google Maps, I have never left a review like this one. The whole meal cost $161.87 with no purchased beverage to feed two adults, one teenager, and one child. This included the non-negotiable 18% gratuity. Note: The food cost is the same at the grill or at the regular dinner tables. The real burn comes from the chef continuously making sexually perverted comments to all the men at the table, and to make matters worse, there were three children at the table. My family was very uncomfortable and my wife and daughter were disgusted. If that was not bad enough, the drink service could not have been worse—because she gets her 18% whether she serves you or not. One of the cooktops was wrapping up and we’re the only other customers in the restaurant. We received our waters initially and then not receive refills until a other refill until more customers arrived after we finished our soup and salad. All of our ice at our cooktop was becoming dryer and dryer as the entire meal was consumed. Only as the bill was to be brought out was our drink refilled again with the verbal reminder two or three times that an 18% gratuity was already added. We have eaten at a Kobé in St. Petersburg that was very good. We have eaten at this one two outside Universal Studios’ City Walk and it will be our last time. I can eat the cost, but I cannot stomach sexually perverted comments from our chef and lackadaisical service from our waiter. DEAD!! ☠️ NEVER AGAIN!! Oh! I forgot about the food. The steak has little flavor and a bit dry for Medium. The rice was quite salty and there was nothing special about the vegetables and noodles about which to write.

UPDATE: We appreciate the restaurant's reply and accept their statement that they are not complicit in this scheme. We suggest that a large sign on the restaurant's entrance door which warns and directs customers to safe parking would help solve a lot of the problem. ORIGINAL REVIEW: BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN GOING TO THIS RESTAURANT! $70 PARKING FEE!! No joke. My family parked in the parking lot which is adjacent to the restaurant and which they thought was a part of the restaurant. When they returned to their car, they had a $70 parking ticket on their windshield from the private parking lot they were parked in. $70!!! When my family went back to the restaurant to ask about it, their only answer was, "Not our problem". The restaurant did have a sign out front notifying customers of the parking fee (which my family did not see), but no sign at the entrance or on their door to warn their customers of this obvious trap (don't they care about their customers?). And then because of their total lack of surprise, concern, or help, I have to wonder about the restaurant's involvement in this scheme. The parking ticket warns of consequences of not paying: increased fines up to $250 and boots being installed on the vehicle's wheels or it being towed if the car is ever parked at an associated parking lot anywhere in the US at anytime in the future. A quick internet search verified that they were serious, with victims' reviews and stories of being booted or towed. Bottom line: IF YOU ARE NOT ABSOLUTELY SURE OF YOUR PARKING STAUS, DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT!

DO NOT !! Come here for lunch. They charge full dinner price for lunch. Go to the Altemonte Kobe location you get the same amount of food as you do dinner. But for Lunch special pricing. Plus you still get the making food in front of you experience. Which they cant do here. Why pay so much more $$ here? Its not a good deal. Just go up the road a bit more and get an amazing lunch deal !!

RUN — Don’t waste your money here. We were a family of two adults and two children, and our total bill was over $190. That price would have been acceptable if the food and service were good, but this ended up being one of the most disappointing dining experiences we’ve had. Almost everything we were served tasted watery, bland, and lacked any real flavor. We even paid extra to upgrade to the filet mignon, but it tasted strange, had no steak aroma at all, and even had a slightly bitter aftertaste. The noodles and fried rice were both poorly cooked and not enjoyable. The salad dressing was extremely salty, and when I asked for a salad without dressing, the server simply ignored my request and never replaced it. For what we paid, we expected much better. Instead, the food quality, taste, and service were all extremely disappointing. We definitely will not be returning, and I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone.