Restaurants in Columbia

The culinary team at Tsunami fixes up a veritable feast for the eyes with artfully plated Japanese delicacies festooned with sprigs of herbs, splashes of sauce, and colorful garnishes. Flames rage as hibachi chefs blast rib-eye steaks, scallops, and vegetables on their sizzling grills, and the restaurant’s sushi-rolling savants coil specialty rolls such as the Emperor, which surprises tasters with hidden stashes of fried soft-shell crab, cucumber, eel, shrimp, and avocado. At Tsunami's four locations, diners polish off plates in a sleek, modern dining room with candles in faceted glass votives, a bar backlit with lights that slowly change colors, and waiters who can speak fluent binary code.

Tokyo Grill’s chefs stand over sizzling grills, their furrowed brows illuminated by the dancing flames as they speedily prepare food that blends hibachi flavors with fast and casual dining. With swiftness and precision, they grill fresh vegetables alongside juicy strips of steak, cuts of chicken, and plump jumbo shrimp, then quickly plate the still-steaming meats atop beds of rice speckled with wedges of zucchini, slices of onion, and traces of fairy dust. Elsewhere in the kitchen, sushi chefs are equally hard at work, folding crabmeat and crisp cucumbers into sushi rolls.

Tony's Pizzalicious has dished out hearty Italian food since 1967. By tossing dough and ladling house-made sauce, the chefs create their namesake pies in styles such as the meat lovers and the Hawaiian, or in customized forms that don slices of tomato and pepperoni arranged into scale models of diners' favorite solar systems. A range of classic Italian entrees emerge from the kitchen, too— eggplant parmesan top twirls of spaghetti, and chopped bacon tops baked ziti with a four-cheese blend. Oven-baked subs and foot-long strombolis and calzones help round out the menu.

Marinoni's Restaurant and Pizzeria's chefs whip up authentic, homemade Italian dishes and pizzas. In addition to wood-firing pies, they insert 8-ounce salmon filets into the brick oven, imbuing each bite with a smoky, robust flavor. They swaddle sausage and beef with pasta to make their signature cannelloni, and coat eggplant slices with breadcrumbs and mozzarella for eggplant parmesan. The restaurant stations its guests in a spacious, dimly lit dining room or outside next to a fountain that speaks nothing but gibberish. Live entertainers amuse crowds every Friday and Saturday, and trivia hosts query patrons on Thursday nights.