A1 Japanese Steak House
| Address: | 3300 Lehigh St, Allentown, PA 18103, USA |
| Phone: | +1 610-709-0998 |
| Site: | a1japanesesteakhouse.org |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
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Andrew Schaeffer
Here are the lowlights: 1. Ordered wine that was sour. Now this was a white zinfandel - something that I am sure turns pretty quickly by the glass at a restaurant, right? Told the waitress and she did not return with a new glass. 2. Ordered a philly roll for appetizer. Not the best, but OK. 3. Ordered a sushi and sashimi combo platter. Three separate times I asked the waitress what is in it, and she had to *three* times go back to someone else. Now mind you I work for a Japanese company, and I certainly understand the language barrier, but you have to have the slightest command of the language spoken in the US. Broken English was not even preset. The sushi was not representative of sushi. I might of expected too much of a "pedestrian" platter. Glad I didnt go for anything spicy, or a "special" tonight. 4. My wife ordered (not a sushi fan at all) chicken teriyaki. She nibbled on a few pieces, and I tasted it. It was no more than a bunch of pre-cooked chicken slices, cut in strips for chopstick use, bathed in horrible teriyaki sauce, sprinkled with some sesame seeds and placed on a sizzling platter. I have to tell you we left 90% of it. 5. Filthy restaurant. Floor littered with napkins, trash, etc. Who knows what happens in the back of the house? Waitress comes over and asks if we want a "to go" box. I said I would prefer to see the manager. Lots of excuses from the manager but no apologies whatsoever. We ask for the bill and pay the bill in its entirety, including what I would consider a fair tip of 15%. Bill taken up front by waitress and while walking out of the restaurant the manager (at the register) asks "if we need change." I said no thanks, and be sure the waitress gets her tip. She says OK. I turn back and the "Manager" is laughing. Nice, huh?
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A Private User
I do not usually write any bad reviews because I am trained to find good in anything, but A-1 makes the exception. First its the slow seating despite reservation. And other people, with no reservation, got ahead of us because of "seating arrangements" we were told. Then its the food, the sushi was not fresh at all, and it has a rotten smell. No biggie I said, we were here for the Hibachi anyway. Well, heres the racist part. Let me just say we share the same ancestral identity as the restaurant, but oriental restaurants are notorious for treating their own badly and favors the "foreigners". However, this is over the top. With every hibachi the chef tries his best to divide out the food into equal portions, especially if multiple people ordered the same steak or shrimp or scallop, etc. It just so happens that many of our table ordered the same "steak and shrimp" combo. However, when the chef divided it everyone else got big portions, but my hubby and I only go 4-5 pieces of steak (everyone else get at least 15+ pieces each, yes I counted), and while everyone else got 8 shrimps we got 4. A minor protest by my hubby didnt do any good. We were speaking English so they started to cuss us out in their native orient language, which we understood every word. We even heard them say, "I should of spit in his food when I had the chance", ridiculous. Never go to this restaurant.
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Sky Walker
If youre looking for a great, authentic Japanese dining experience...this is not the place. The experience was fantastic! Until we were served. "Monkey see monkey do, the sushi was poo poo" - dissapointed customer. You may be laughing, but when I received the minced meat rolls... AKA spicy tuna and spicy salmon rolls, you would laugh too. The sushis preparation was lazy, cheap, and cut every corner in the book. Sushi is not meant to be this way. I swear Dr. Frankenstein was back in the kitchen, experimenting with various meats until he created something that somewhat resembled Sushi. Dont come hungry during lunchtime because youll leave just as hungry. The portion sizes were smaller than Chinese military rations and the dilapidated decorations did little to help the situation. Ive seen Russian prison camps that were more inviting. Ultimately, this meal was more disappointing than my son. This was not meant to be hurtful but only to be an honest review of our experience at the "restaurant".
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A Private User
There are a lot of places to "get sushi" in the Lehigh Valley. Most are mediocre. A1 is one of the better for Sushi, you can sense a focus on freshness and quality. The sushi bar is staffed by seemingly experienced itamae who do a reasonable job. On the few occasions when I’ve asked for chefs choice, its been rewarded. As a traditional sit down Japanese restaurant, A1 is a success. Most of the entrees are nice, have fresh ingredients, good flavor. The sit down area is a bit small, as the focus is on their hibachi tables, for small numbers, its not a problem. A1 is also one of the better Hibachi places in the LV, they have many tables, and even when busy the wait is normally acceptable. They have an excellent and attentive staff. Im not a huge hibachi fan, as its very much "same thing different day." If you want to mix it up, order some sushi to share. With such a large place, the show varies in quality.
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Christine Talley
My family, including 6 year old niece and 85 year old father went here for lunch on a Sunday. Not only did they give us the wonderful weekday price but it was fantastic! Everyone, including niece, got large portions which were delicious. We had the hibachi experience which was great, entertaining and even had humor thrown in along with the fancy flipping of utensils and eggs. The show was so much fun and the food so enjoyable. I recommend the Teriyaki steak on noodles, which was served medium rare and tender, just as I liked and the noodles absorbed the delicious flavors but my son was happy with his chicken teriyaki and my niece thrilled with the show and her shrimp teriyaki. We will definitely come again!
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A Private User
Went here expecting good food, especially after reading all the positive reviews. Menu selection was average, sushi options were lacking, chef showmanship was good and everyone was friendly enough BUT the food was awful. Having been to many hibachi style restaurants this was hands down the worst. Everything was overdone, tasted the same (terrible) and the portion sizes were pathetic. The only positive was the 20% off coupon. But given the quality of food, they should have paid us for having to ensure such a debacle.
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Chuck Murphy
This is definitely my "go-to" place for both the sushi as well as the cooked offerings. Everything has always been very fresh, the staff very polite and eager to please. On my sons birthday (he and I are the sushi lovers in the house) the chefs made a spectacular platter that I was sooo pleased with -- and this was going home with us!! I can, and do, recommend this restaurant with confidence and pleasure.
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Debbie Moore
The worst restaurant experience. Reservations Saturday night at 6:30 pm we were seated at 7:30 pm. No server came until 8 pm. Finally saw the chef at 8:30 pm. Other guests came after us and were served and left before we were served. Food lacked in flavor. Then to add insult, they added 18% tip onto our check. No manager came to apologize or explain, even though we kept asking what was wrong.
