Japanese Restaurants in American Fork

Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar creates a culinary celebration of Japan with mouthwatering sushi and seafood, flavorful steak house fare, and dazzling displays of teppan-style grilling. At each hibachi grill-top table, a talented chef chops, dices, and serves succulent steaks, chicken, and shrimp with the showmanship of a professional wrestler and the delicate knife skills of a hummingbird surgeon. At the sushi bar, guests can savor the rich textures and carefully selected ingredients of treats such as a five-piece sashimi plate or a specialty rolls named for bonsais, sunsets, and cowboys.

Shabu Shabu House utilizes the Japanese variation of the hot pot, known as shabu-shabu, as patrons cook selections from the menu of meat, seafood, and vegetables right at their tables. Diners first choose their protein from a lengthy list of options, including beef ($14.99 for regular), chicken ($12.99 for regular), Kobe beef ($17.99 for regular), and shrimp ($14.99 for regular). Shabu Shabu House's staff assists as the meat then simmers in a hot tub of broth with an assortment of veggie and noodle friends, ensuring that shitake mushrooms aren't diving into the shallow end of the pot. Forgo cauldron cooking and instead nosh on five pieces of salmon sashimi ($12) or two pieces of octopus nigiri ($5). A slate of specialty rolls awaits capture via chopstick, such as the Alaskan with spicy tuna, cucumber, avocado, and eel sauce topping ($11), or the Volcano ($13) with salmon, asparagus, and lemon sprinkled with crunchy tuna, scallions, and edible seismograph printouts.

Wasabi Sushi Restaurant whips up an expansive menu of sushi, sashimi, teriyaki, and other authentic Japanese fare. In specialty rolls such as the italian maki, a skilled chef conducts a harmonious orchestra of tempura, shrimp, crab, avocado, Placido Domingo, and cream cheese ($12.95). Meanwhile, the seafood yakisoba ($12.95) swims with stir-fried veggies, noodles, and four different types of seafood, and the beef teriyaki ($7.50/lunch, $12.95/dinner) comes nestled in a bed of rice and served with miso soup.

With more than two decades of Japanese culinary experience as his guide, chef Joe Takeda crafts and serves creative sushi rolls with artful authority. City Weekly writer Ted Scheffler relished in the chef's expertise when he dined omakase-style at Mt. Fuji Sushi Bar and Japanese Cuisine, letting Joe surprise him with a parade of custom rolls and a sampling of the teriyaki, tempura sauce, and spicy mayo, all of which are made from scratch. As he dined, Scheffler unearthed stories from the chef's lengthy career, starting at his birthplace in Osaka, Japan, and moving on to the cauldrons of sushi rice he made, weighty boxes of fish he hauled, and wasabi-breathing dragons he conquered on his journey to rolling and slicing his own sushi.

A long chrome counter in front of Mt. Fuji's sushi bar seats patrons for an up-close view of the chef's expert skills as he rolls Gokudo rolls with ginger and mackerel and Nemo rolls stuffed with salmon topped in unagi and mango. The kitchen also serves Japanese cuisine from shoyu ramen with sliced pork to chicken teriyaki to wasabi steak. Chef Joe transfers his master skills to novice sushi rollers in BYOB sushi-making classes every weekend, during which they can eat their freshly wrapped creations and belt out love songs dedicated to the most beautiful salmon at karaoke parties.

Although Kobe Cho Sushi earned a feature on Man v. Food with its incendiary Hell Fire roll filled with tuna and jalapeño, the chefs can also dial down the heat and showcase the delicate flavors of fresh fish and produce. The menu stems from the mind of owner and head chef Mike Fukumitsu, whose 13 years of sushi-making wisdom has been honed during numerous training stints in Japan. As an example of his dedication to high-quality ingredients, he seeks out Wagyu kobe beef for some of his premium sashimi and sushi creations.

A few tables line the pastel-orange walls, but a large number of seats also surround the sushi bar, allowing guests to watch as the chefs slice, layer, and roll orders with the confidence of an encyclopedia salesman at a trivia competition.

Jars of Korean kimchi and delicate spheres of salmon roe dot Dahn Sushi’s kitchen, adding artful flourishes to a menu of classic Japanese cuisine. Sushi, the restaurant’s specialty, ranges from dainty duos of eel nigiri to hand rolls packed with tuna, octopus, or red snapper. Diners can belly up to the sushi bar and take notes as they watch the chefs chop, slice, and roll their creations into vibrant spreads, some of which look like friendly caterpillars. In addition to serving small groups within the scarlet dining room, Dahn's staff delivers giant platters of sushi to parties, meetings, and mermaids’ swim meets.

Japanese, Korean, and French culinary traditions collide in Yuki Arashi's kitchen, forming Asian-inspired tapas strewn with local and organic ingredients. The hot and cold small plates are perfect for sharing or alternately pressing to a sprained ankle, and they range from classic gyoza to modern arrangements of truffled albacore with microgreens and garlic crisps. At the sushi bar, chefs slice catches flown in fresh from Japan and the West Coast for sashimi and nigiri, as well as for rolling into specialty maki rolls such as the inside-out Millipede with tempura shrimp, spicy tuna tartare, avocado, and tobiko.

In the sleek dining room, bulbous vases of flowers sit above high-backed banquettes, their colorful blooms echoing the honey- and plum-hued flecks in the large variegated stone wall. Seats at the sushi bar invite patrons to gaze at the chefs' artful hard work, and an intimate tatami room enables guests to forgo chairs and dine in the traditional Japanese style.:m]]