Had a reservation. Seated promptly. Great service throughout: I liked this chef. Wasn't over the top. Started with a miso soup that was plentiful and good. Then the ginger salad. A unique item here are the noodles. Wow they were great. There were some crispy pieces from the grill top and that made it so delish! The veggies were fresh and well prepared. The fried rice was tasty. Had the chicken and steak. Both were good. The teriyaki sauce was good and the condiments were refilled. Great dinner. This location can accommodate large parties. We had over 20 at our table! It can be a bit loud with the cooking and fans. Note like any other similar facility, your clothes will smell like food from the cooking and smoke. read more

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Our chef and server were incredible. Food was absolutely delicious. We ordered from both the sushi and hibachi menu and were not disappointed. It was relatively quiet even though there was a bit of a wait on a weekday. Looks like there are also options to sit at the bar and the sushi bar. I did ask if I could have seaweed salad instead of my regular salad and he said yes, but still charged me. No big deal, but I probably would have also had my salad if I knew. read more

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This place use to be awesome, cooks use to play around with the kids and people at the table. Today none of that. Server was horrible, she very unhappily took our drink order, food and sushi order all at the same time and then we didn't see her until she brought our checks we had to ask for refills at that time and the kids wanted chop sticks and couldn't find her anywhere. The food tasted amazing but the service all round wasn't good at all. Makes me sad because we use to love this place. read more

Our experience there was great! Favorite part was definitely the onion volcano! Service was great, waitress checked in on us often. The restaurant decorations were awesome and I saw a sushi bar that looked fun. I figured out that I actually like sushi rolls. I tried the crunchy rolls, and highly recommend them! read more

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - The chef, my family and another group. - Japanese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Bicycle recycle of Springfield an awesome crew eat here once a week it's the best food best service Stellar offense we recommend this for everyone in Southwest Missouri read more

A Japanese steak house...or as (we) like to call it- wok-foo at the table! I'll tell you right now, if you're in Springfield and looking for hibachi style lunch or dinner: Go to Hinode. Hinode will knock Nakato in the proverbial dirt. On this night, our group commanded (2) cooking grills. So at that point, I can eliminate the variable of the chef, and the chance encounter of a bum meal. Then furthermore, my kids were seated at one grill; we the parents were seated at another grill. And FYI...my kids know their food and have experienced rather exceptional quality food around the world. Unanimous consensus: Nakatos is not good at all. This place fails to be half of what Hinode is. Go to Hinode. read more

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - Miso soup - Japanese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

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We tried to eat at your restaurant last night. We arrived at 6:05 pm and were told it would be 45-minute wait time. At 7:25 pm we were told we were next on the list. We received a seat at 7:35 pm (1 hour and 30 minutes later). It was 8:40 pm before service was complete. Not sure what happened but our debit card was declined and locked our account until morning. The front staff were rude while trying to explain why 1 hour and 30 minutes was required to receive service. Without cash on us, it could have been a very different situation while trying to pay for our food. It took way too long for our party of 8 to receive service. Service sucked all the way around at your restaurant. The Master Chef done an awesome job with cooking our food, but we have no plans to return to your restaurant. At this rate, it would be hard to stay in business if all your patrons were treated this poorly! read more

Best Hibachi in town. The fried rice was great and I love the taste of their chicken, it was well made and just right.

Clean friendly restaurant. Loved the food the service and the ambiance. Would recommend

We ate here 6/22/25 and what a sad state of affairs. Food was mediocre. The wait staff was fine but the cook, I don't think I have ever been more annoyed during a meal in my life. Disgusting display. He was offensive and reminded me of a slimy used car salesman. Even the ambiance was off. For the price which was over $200 for 4 meals I will never return. I left the restaurant angry that I wasted my time and money there. read more

Best place in Springfield. Food is always consistent and they always put the best show on for the kids. We will be back.

This is our second time at Nakato. We are trying the Nakato tempora roll with Spicy crab #2, the Tuna Carpaccio (a MUST, if your a tuna fan) and the assorted sashimi tray. Sunshine picked out several nigiri and a Spider roll. Everything was spot on. Their fish is limited...standard fair. By far, the Tuna carpaccio was my fav. Nothing extraordinary, but what we had was abundant and tasty! Service was perfect. Our server answered questions and let us have time to take in all the options. To be clear, the sushi menu is limited, but really tasty The restaurant has several (8) hibachi grill tables that seat a dozen people or so. We sat at the sushi bar. If the hibachi grills are on, there is lots of noise and such. If they are eating, the atmosphere is quite subdued. Our bill, with a generous tip was $250.00. To be clear, we had a LOT of sushi, but we only get to have it every three months or so. Sadly, dependent upon doctor appointments. LOL! read more

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Nakato never disappoints!! Love the fresh sushi... Huge selection. Such a friendly staff Great portion sizes. All of the chefs are fantastic and put on a great show. My favorite is Brad ! We eat here frequently. Highly recommend read more

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Food was good. However, there were quite a few issues with my experience: - they took FOREVER to seat you and serve you - they serve you white rice and they charge extra if you want fried rice (all hibachi grills that I've been to serve you fried rice automatically)...makes no sense. - I didn't want any noodles or rice with my hibachi order. I asked for extra vegetables instead...but they wanted to charge me extra (even considering I wasn't getting any noodles or rice). - they forgot to give me any vegetables at all and had to make a separate order (even furthering my wait time). All-in-all...not a good experience. read more

Always consistently good. Spicy seafood sauce only in my opinion but other sauce is good too.

I was shocked to see no lunch service during the week only carry out. Nakatos needs to step up and change things. Chefs do the same thing over and over and seem to be bored. What's up? I really enjoy the atmosphere here however, you all need to step it up. read more

We ordered take out for chicken and shrimp, ny strip and scallops and it was nothing like what you receive as if you were dinning in. The size and portions for a full price combination was not congruent at all, there were no scallops accompanying the steak; only a couple of small shrimp. When I attempted to call the restaurant, there was no way to get in contact with the front desk. This experience was egregious, I would have expected an accurate pick-up for food and service from this "reputable" establishment. read more

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Food and service were great. The prices are surprisingly lower than expected. They include noodles and rice with the Hibachi dinners. You will not leave hungry. I had the combo of chicken, shrimp, and filet. Husband had chicken, shrimp, and scallops. Highly recommend. read more

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - Noodles and veggies - Japanese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

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Very rude employees. Ordered food to go and was told it was going to be 45 minutes. Waited an hour 1 and 15 minutes. Then when I called to talk to the host, her words were "can I help you with something?" Horrible individuals working there. Not worth the price too. read more

I love the ambiance here. Our waiter was amazing and friendly. He was very knowledgeable about the menu and was able to recommend things that I can eat with my dietary restrictions. I really wanted the crème brûlée but they were all out. Other than the lack of crème brûlée this place was great. read more

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

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Our family has been here regularly since moving here one year ago. The food is absolutely delicious and all of the chefs are great, but we have to admit, we have a favorite! This is Nino, and let me tell you.....he makes the BEST steak in Springfield! We will literally WAIT for his work days to go! He may be one of the quiet ones and not very "performance-y" but it doesn't even matter! I totally suggest you ask for him next time so you can taste for yourself what I mean! This place has been great to us and we have never left dissatisfied! Their manager is also a great guy and recognizes us when we go read more

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - Nino the chef - Japanese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Always happy with the sushi here. We normally sit at the sushi bar. I can't remember what it's called but the beef and asparagus roll appetizer is amazing!! read more

The food was so so. If you sit at the sushi bar, you cannot order they hibachi meals, only à la carte items off the hibachi menu. My wife got three sushi rolls and I got a New York strip 4 ounce serving and an order of scallops. The scallops were only three of them for eight dollars. The ambience was mediocre as well. There are absolutely no windows in the building anywhere. I guess I would recommend this for hibachi more than anything else, that way everything is available on the menu. The service was pretty decent though. read more

do not eat here the yum yum sauce taste like onions and lemons had a baby and they put onions in the fricking rice. like what the crap you have competition it's called fuji you better be glad it's sunday or id be af fuji. and some old guy who was cooling our meal got ticked off when she said she wanted no onions in her rice like bro it's common sense to not put onions in. rice. do better. read more

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - Onions like what the crap - Japanese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Just had lunch here. We ordered two combo hibachi lunches. Those were good as usual and Brad our hibachi chef was kind and had great energy. We did however order a Tuna Carpaccio. It was paper thin so much so that it was falling apart and could barely pick it up. It was covered in mayo and tons of sauces you could barely see it. We took two bites and decided it wasn't for us. We asked the server if she could replace it with a sushi roll and she told us they wouldn't sub out. So we still sent the tuna carpaccio back. Mind you taking two bites of it. We received the check and sure enough it was still on our bill. The manager we spoke to told us sushi was not going to be taken off because "that's how tuna carpaccio is and it takes to long". Just know if you order something and don't like or eat it. You'll still pay for it. Which is very unfortunate because this experience makes us not want to come back again. read more

WOW! Superior to anything Hibachi I have ever ate. Wonderful service, I mean absolutely amazing! The man we had was so funny it blew me away! If you reserve a spot, you're in there pretty quick! The ambiance is something else, very pleasing! Recommend this 10/10 times. read more

Was seated before the table next to us, ordered before the table next to us. Some of the group only ordered sushi and after everyone finished their entree they approached the table to tell us it'd be another 30 minutes if we still wanted it while the table next to us all had their sushi. Mind you sushi orders are what they take first. read more

Good food good ambiance have had better but for Springfield pretty decent food .could use better portions

We ordered and split the sashimi plate. The presentation was beautiful! The raw fish were shaped like roses and the decorative veggies were sliced to perfection. Grace was our server and she was perfect. Price was excellent!!! Highly recommend! read more

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - Sashimi platter!! - Japanese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Don't go if you have a Gluten allergy. We had to ask him to redo most of the food because he kept forgetting to use the gluten free sauces.

Came here for the first time when a friend was visiting out of town and I'll be honest, it wasn't as much as it is hyped up to be in my opinion. The decor and interior seemed outdated and old. Our server kept forgetting what was happening, had to go back several times to get additional water cups, silverware, etc. Our cook was fun and engaging. He did a great job with the food and we definitely all had a good time. The quality of the food was pretty good, but not super fantastic. I got the steak and scallops and the way everything was served felt like it came out in largely separated increments. So by the time my meat was finished cooking, my noodles and veggies were cold. Appetizers were good. The salad and the soup were meh. The salad dressing was way too soupy and salty. The soup was also pretty salty. Honestly, I don't think I'll come back. But I guess I'm glad I tried it after all these years. read more

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - Cooked veggies and noodles from the hibachi grill. Meat was still cooking. - Japanese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

We had Chef Tim, and he was super inappropriate. He was one dirty joke after another. Made the whole table feel awkward. If we go back, we will be asking to not have him. If he is the only option, we will go elsewhere. This is super disappointing too because we LOVE Nakato food and their sushi is our absolute favorite in town! read more

Nakato... what is going on. We have been here for 5 years and what used to be marvelous has gotten old and tired. The picture of your menu paints the picture. Worn, faded and not paying attention to the details. We arrived at 6:30 on a Friday night and was seated at a Hibachi table ...it seemed like two or three lights were burned out. Then I looked at the cooktop and the floor below and rice and veggies were here there and everywhere. When we received our food the veggie portion was small. Filet and Lobster was ok but the rice seemed bland. People were dressed for dinner like they just got out of bed or came from the gym. I don't know if that was a Springfield thing or what but it is disappointing. Nakato -- print some new menus, use a vacuum cleaner... better yet replace the carpet and the lightbulbs. read more

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - Standard Hibachi fare - Japanese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

The only seasoning used is salt, pepper, and soy sauce, that is all. Want a hibachi show? F*ck you, you aren't getting one. Do you like war time food rationing? This is the place for you! Do you like feeling rushed so they can get to the next round of suckers? Well, you have found your place. Do you have an opinion on how you would like your food? Then prepared to be charged for it. Don't want onions, because you carry an epi-pen for it, upcharge. You want rare steak? Upcharge! You want medium rare.... Upcharge!!! You literally want soy sauce with your sushi? Upcharge! I have reviewed many places, and always try to give the positives even if I personally have had a bad experience. But this place is beyond ridiculous. There was an extra charge for fried rice instead of steamed rice of $2.25 on top of your $25 dollar steak with soy sauce, this place took the extra rice with soy sauce and scooped it up, and took it back to kitchen!!! I know times are tough, but you aren't taking back that extra fried rice that you haven't given to paying customers back to the kitchen to throw it away. They are recycling to to-go orders. I would ask for a refund, which I have never done, but I am pretty sure there would be an up charge on that. read more

Do not get takeout here. The portions are much smaller than they are in the restaurant and it is not good. My shrimp was very overcooked too. read more

Horrible service. The cooks are not engaged, looking tired , not pleasant experience. We had a birthday party, the worst experience in our life . The food is horrible . Plus no performance by the cooks . read more

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - That is the chef that not belong to the restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

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When I was younger, Nakato seemed like the only sushi place in the area. It's the only one I knew of, but that's before I even liked sushi. 10 years later, I finally tried it for the first time. A friend and I sat at the sushi bar area. There are little wooden boats going through a moat between the seating and the inside of the sushi bar. I couldn't quite figure out what they were for. The atmosphere is nice. I don't remember what I ordered, but it was 2 rolls and a small portion of another roll that had fewer pieces. I didn't realize it when ordering, but everything I ordered was covered in tempura shavings! Good thing I like them. Everything I had was good. But I underestimated how much food it was and couldn't finish it all. I would definitely go back again. It was comparable to most other sushi places as far as price goes. If you haven't tried this place yet, you should! read more

Don't go here hungry portions are insanely small prices are same as the other hibachi grills that give you 2 to 3x the food steak had a weird texture. Definitely do not recommend read more

Food is always fantastic !! We love taking new people to try this place. We have never been disappointed

The worst restaurant ever ! No vegetables in the rice and rice was burned never will I eat there again read more