Restaurants in Rochester

Phuket Thai Cuisine's chef comes from a family of food buffs, as his parents owned and operated a small grocery store in Thailand. Today, the chef employs the wisdom he's garnered from his family and magic 8 ball throughout the years to craft authentic cuisine inspired by the flavorful culinary customs of the Thai island province of Phuket. He draws from traditional recipes to craft inventive dishes that brim with fresh ingredients such as Chinese and Napa cabbage, steamed tofu, and ground peanuts.

Two tall, golden statues flank a fireplace embedded into a swath of exposed brick within the colorful dining area. Sculptures and artwork populate the canary-yellow and red-orange walls, and glossy hardwood floors stretch beneath sleek black furnishings.

At Takumi Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi, teppanyaki-style meals emerge from the flurry of spatulas and blades that beat a staccato rhythm against tableside hibachis. Knives slip silently through nigiri, and chefs twist together maki rolls crowded with caviar, soft-shell crab, and avocado at the sushi bar. Hanging lamps flood the dining room with warmth, and patrons slide between tables en route to the bar, where glasses of imported Kirin and Sapporo suds chime against one another or the heads of popular robots beneath flat-screen televisions.

The scents of udon noodles and tempura dishes spill past the high archway at the restaurant’s entrance, which gives the building the appearance of a temple. On karaoke evenings, aspiring singers perform before a receptive audience rather than the inattentive stuffed elk in their living room.

For more than a quarter-century, Arigato Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar has sated appetites with authentic Japanese cuisine, from sautéed meats and veggies sizzling on the hibachi grill to fresh cuts of sushi snuggled in sheets of seaweed. Warm bowls of onion soup accompany entrees such as thick-cut sirloin steak and Alaskan salmon, and cool pockets of rice pad the sweet and tart flavors of specialty sushi such as the classic california roll, so named for its place of origin amid the Pacific Ocean's briny waves of surfable soy sauce.