Service was great (although there was no one else in the restaurant). The steak was good, but a very small portion for the price. The fried rice was not what we were expecting. read more

Rice tastes like plastic and the way they store the silverware is very unsanitary, but other than that it is good. I like the asparagus

Hibachi was good! They are short staffed so sushi wasn't available. What we had was well made, tasty and prompt. Would go here again.

Hibachi was so rich in flavor!!! Steak and salmon 10/10. Big portions! Stephanie was very welcoming and attentive since the moment we walked in. You will not be disappointed. read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Hibachi - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Although the restaurant was empty and the sushi menus weren't available. The food was absolutely extraordinary and the service was amazing! The lady at the front is very nice. I definitely think this place is worth it. read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

My family and I overall had a wonderful experience at this location. While it is apparent that they are short staffed, they have enough signs posted that customers are well aware. We visited on Christmas night which the few places open all had extremely long lines. McDonalds was over a 2 hour wait and we waited around the same here. Even through all the people and surrounding frustration, we were greeted with the utmost kindness from the employees. The woman taking our order apologized to us for the wait and wished us a Merry Christmas. Every interaction showed their professionalism. On top of the great service, the long lines didn't deter from the quality of the food. We all loved our meal and had no issues. They did a great job Christmas night. read more

I would not stop here. People working were absolutely clueless. Took forever to cook the food. Said they couldn't find us. Couldn't find us while siting in your dining room? Then they said they wouldn't make fresh food when they tried to give us to go boxes. $60 for to cold to go boxes. No thanks. Got a refund and left. Place was empty and won't last much longer. Obviously has owners that don't give a crap. read more

Short staffed. NO SUSHI. Canned carrots. Tough meat (chicken & beef). If you want 90% of your plate to be rice.... It's the right place for you. The broccoli was eatable. Open til 11pm is a plus. read more

Just keep driving on. This place is a hard pass. 40 minutes of waiting from the time I got in line, to receiving our food. This is not even close to being fast food. I have NO IDEA why anyone would utilize the drive-thru. Other customers waiting for their food were growing vocally impatient. And also....no one wearing a mask except for a little girl. Chicken Katsu ($14) was not too bad, but not great either. There was way too much rice. The veggies were limp and overcooked. The hibachi entrees were very similar. Overloaded with rice, very little protein, and mushy veggies. The carrots were so sweet, they tasted like yams! If you must come here, get the kids meal ($6). With all the rice they give you, it's good enough for an adults except for the lack of protein. read more

NAO Japanese Grill - menus on the wall - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

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They should change the name to Nao Grill. We walked in to an almost empty establishment and after they stated they only have appetizers and habachi grill items quoted us an hour wait on even that. Did I say the place was empty. So no sushi and no Japanese items and an hour wait for walk up service. Don't waste your time here. read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Nao Japanese Grill - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Please do not eat here. If I could give it a 0 I would. This place along with the food is bland. The staff is in pajamas on a Thursday night there's 0 people most of the time I don't listen to reviews as traveling tourists are rough. But my goodness the staff came over and asked how it was I expressed my concern for the bland food and she said they have an award I should talk to the cook. An award for what I asked she said best food in pigeon forge. Please don't eat here if you like food at all. And apparently they don't use salt? read more

NAO Japanese Grill - The food we left without eating - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

They don't have staff to make sushi. Besides that it looked like a nice place and lots of other choices. We didn't stay to eat bc we wanted sushi. read more

Amazing food and great service. They were great all the way around, would definitely recommend it again. The staff was really friendly and professional. read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

People super nice. Food was fresh , hot and very delicious. Fast service no waiting. Food came out quickly and sup read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Chicken teriyaki - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

We thoroughly enjoyed this place!! It was very clean too!! We come up here every year and saw this place last year, but wasn't sure about it from the outside but decided to try it, THIS year. We Got chicken and shrimp and filet and shrimp combo, fried rice and 3 veggie choices! It was so good. The person at the front said we are set up as fast food but we are not, it takes a bit to cooked. So don't be in a rush! Jazzy, calming music we will come back! We went at 4 before the rush ! read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

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Picked up an order to go while on vacation in Nov. Bought it back to our hotel in Gatlinburg. It looked good, smelled good, but somehow had -0- flavor. Steak chicken combo & Samurai Dinner & eel nigiri. Ordered hibachi flavor but perhaps they forgot to add that seasoning. We ate very little of it. Too bad as it looked good. Service was quick on the take out. read more

If you just need to get a sushi fix or a taste of Japanese, you can get it here. You'll want to ask which are the larger dishes as the rolls are small. Nice place, friendly staff, and food was okay to satisfy me as I was not very hungry; one roll and soup. Why Japanese in the Smokey Mountains? Lunch elsewhere was over the top and was still full. ;) read more

visiting the area and placed a take out order on the phone. thought it was strange they asked us to pay over the phone. then we get there and they said someone took our order and they're remaking it (not entirely their fault). not sure if it was right the first time they made it but what we got was wrong. didn't get the right vegetables in our hibachi and I didn't like the fried rice, the chicken and steak were both dry, so overcooked. I typically LOVE hibachi and haven't had a bad meal the four days we've been here. the staff was nice but based off other reviews too I wouldn't bother coming here. read more

First off the food was dry and I had steak and broccoli stir fry, how can you mess up stir fry!? Food was also bland. Service was decent, can't complain about that. Overall the ambiance was pretty good, probably because we were basically tho only ones there. read more

The food was and service was amazing. Was out of town visiting Pigeon Forge and was craving Japanese food so I decided to give this place a try and it didn't disappoint. read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Hibachi chicken with fried rice and sweet carrots - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Arrived at 3p today, lobby was closed. Went through the drive-thru w/ the intent of buying hibachi and sushi. Upon arriving at the speaker, we noticed a handwritten "sorry not serving sushi" sign. We ordered 1 chicken hibachi w veg., and 1 w/o. The order was $40. The portions were sufficient. Halfway into one of the meals we found a hair, one we hope was of the beard variety. Nonetheless, what remained of the order went in the garbage, hair or not. read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

To be honest, my husband and I were not expecting a nicely plated meal. Our hotel was near by, and every time we passed this place, it looked empty. Like.... EMPTY. We were the only ones there at noon. We decided to give it a try because we wanted something quick. We were skeptical because the menu looked over priced... and who wants to pay this much at a place that clearly didn't look hyped up? So we ordered a minimum: Philly Roll and two Hibachi plates. I'd usually order sashimi & Nigiri, but I didn't trust it. So we ordered something simple that we knew that couldn't be messed up. Anyways, the food actually turned out pretty, flavorful, and well portioned. The sushi was good and tasted as Philly Roll should. Overall, this beat our exceptions. ...and on the last day we were in the area, we drove by this place at night and it was definitely busy! read more

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Flavor was not so bad, but portions were a joke. I've never left a Japanese restaurant still hungry with an empty plate. And the cost was too much for quantity, but quality seemed okay from what I could tell. Shrimp sauce and teriyaki sauce did have a good flavor. No soup or salad sadly. Felt like it was essentially the fast food version of Japanese. read more

Advisory Warning! Do not come here if you are totally hungry already. So pretty much packed everywhere on a Saturday night in PF. We spotted this joint as we were craving for some sushi and it was not as packed. Approx 8:50pm we ordered a couple of sashimis and calamari which were quick and good. Then we had 3 orders of Nao Trio...Mind you there were about 7 people in their open kitchen cooking and prepping. Our food came around 10:40pm!!! Which really was similar to a panda express meal. It was decent, but that wait time was just unacceptable, no apologies given for the long wait. Will definitely not recommend and not be back. Should've paid attention to previous reviews. read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Nao Trio - steak, shrimp, scallops with yum yum sauce - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

We decided to give this place a shot even after seeing the reviews..... we ordered a hibachi chicken plate, and a steak plate. The chicken was exceptionally dry, we took two different bites and had to spit them out. It tasted as if it had definitely been reheated. The steak had a tangy musty taste. The rice was bland with a very heavy pepper flavor. We spent $50 and took maybe 3 bites of our food, and left. Terrible! There were 3 other customers in the restaurant with us, and then 2 groups of the workers friends, hanging out/being loud and eating TacoBell & McDonalds right across from us in the dining area. The worst experience we have ever had a restaurant. We should have demanded a refund. read more

Food was good. Portions were plenty. Food tasted good. wish they offered more vegetables but overall a good experience.

Short staffed not much to do about that but when I went to order food a Japanese restaurant you would excpect sushi but they omitted it from all of their menu and on top of that I went to sit down to wait for my food tables were sticky and as I'm sitting and waiting a COCKROACH climbed up onto my table safe to say not going to be eating here again read more

This is the dirtiest restaurant I have been in for sometime. Floors were so dirty you had to dodge the trash. Tables were nasty. Had to wait an hour for food. One person got their food at our table 40 mins before the rest of us. Was not at all worth $115 dollars. read more

The food is fresh and taste good the servers are very nice and respectful I 100% recommend it . read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Atmosphere- Clean, calm, and not too busy! It was the perfect place to stop for a nice casual meal with my spouse to relax and unwind after a busy day exploring Pigeon Forge. Staff- The staff was amazing! For a time when the world is short staffed- both myself and my spouse commented on how hardworking the crew was here. They were non-stop taking orders, checking on tables, cleaning. It was nice to see the entire crew seemed to care about maintaining a well run establishment. Food- Delicious! I ordered the hibachi chicken, friend rice, miso soup, and some carrots. It was all cooked well and delivered promptly to the the table. Don't forget to grab your shrimp sauce! read more

They were unable to make sushi when we were here but other than that the service was quick. Food was very tasty and I am very happy with the lady who took our order as she was very helpful and was working very hard. She was so sweet!!! The atmosphere was also very nice, calm, and clean :) read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Hibachi Steak and Shrimp - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

The staff was so nice even after coming in right before closing time, the food was phenomenal, personally I got the kids habatchi and it was amazing, the setting was great, the entertainment of the different TV channels were nice, read more

While on vacation fory friends daughters wedding a group of 7 stopped in for dinner everyone ordered and rec'd their food but me. I ordered the same dish as others in my group and a beer, the order taker said " no one there had a license to serve beer so I asked for just water. Everyone else's food came out but mine, then I saw them carrying 2 beers over to another table; when I called him over to ask about my food he said they were still making it. Everyone at my table was half way through their meal, then I inquired about the beer he nastily said " well I'll get you one! His demeanor made me not want to eat there besides by this time everyone was through eating so I just asked for my money back. When I gave the cashier my receipt she rang it up and said it will be returned to my card....I told her I paid in cash! Everyone in my party did enjoy their meal! Unfortunately I wasn't able to. My service was way below par. I'd say I will never eat there again. They need to take customer service classes . End of rant! read more

Way overpriced and not very good. Go to little Tokyo if you want good Japanese food and the best sushi.

This place is a great getaway from all of the typical Pigeon Forge 'delicacies.' The menu offers a variety of different items but my fiancé and I chose the hibachi combos. I ordered the scallop and shrimp combo with fried rice and teriyaki sauce and he had the filet mignon and shrimp with white rice. We both had miso soup and hot tea. Both hibachi entrees were cooked perfectly with a solid amount of flat iron char on the meats/seafood and veggies. They also both came with a heaping side of spicy mayo which is great with anything. Additionally, our tea (which was green tea by default) were steeped perfectly and the miso soups were balanced and had seaweed as well as green onion and tofu, thus it was not boring and did not skimp. Overall the food was incredible and well balanced. However the best part of the whole experience was how incredibly attentive and polite the staff were. From the moment we ordered the food to moment we left the building, the customer service was off the chain. They even turned on the fire lamps as requested by us when we asked because I was cold. Couldn't say enough good things. Try it out!! read more

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The food was definitely frozen i mean like the broccoli was tough and the rice was cold and bland the only thing good here was the yum yum sauce... i mean you can't mess that up right? I have been to plenty of restaurants like this and i can say with 100% certainty this is the worst Japanese steak house i've ever been too don't come here even if it's a last resort (don't be like me) Service was shit the lady tried to steal 20 bucks on the bill... read more

This is the first 4 star review I've ever left. If the food was bad, it would have been a 2 with a bullet. I never leave anything but 5 star reviews (if you don't have anything nice to say...), but I feel like I owe it to the owner of this place to shape up their establishment but not bring their star average down from 3. Gordon Ramsay would have a field day with this place. To begin with, the concept is... interesting. Japanese hibachi/sushi counter service and drive-thru. This is probably where the restaurant is dealing with a bit of an identity crisis. If they picked one or the other it would probably be fine, but the day we went, the restaurant was severely understaffed. That's really where the problem lies here. There appeared to be two cooks and two other staff. I say "other staff" because the women working up front were working about 4 different jobs. Two people were taking orders, serving alcoholic beverages, serving soup, running the orders to the tables, AND servicing the drive thru! This would be a job given to three unique positions in any other restaurant, but these ladies didn't have half a chance to breathe. You could tell they were seriously in the weeds and this was with a restaurant that was at most 1/6th full. Many of the tables were empty and dirty, waiting to be bussed and cleaned, so I can only imagine that was their job as well. The soda fountain area had sticky liquid on the floor with a "caution wet floor" sign next to it, obviously yet to be tended to by a staff with no time to clean it. So by my estimation, there were four people working what would require a staff of 7 (2 cooks, 1 order taker/beverage/soup server, 1 drive thru attendant, 1 food runner, 1 busser/clean up, 1 dishwasher). A guy popped out of the back for a very brief moment (assuming this was the owner/manager) who was asked for help out front but proclaimed he was too busy in the back to help. Food prep? Dishwashing? Not sure, but he definitely conveyed that he couldn't be bothered to help the staff. It took a few moments to order since the plates of food coming from the kitchen were piling up and the ladies had to run the food out while it was hot. Kudos to them for that. It took a few more moments for the food to come out. The appetizers came out fairly quickly, and the entrees took just a bit longer to come out as well. Oh yeah, the food... good! We ordered egg rolls, soups, salad, dumplings, the Nao trio (filet cooked a perfect medium rare as requested, shrimp and scallops cooked masterfully), and a few sushi rolls. For as much of an ordeal as it was to finally order and find a clean table, the food was unexpectedly tasty and fresh. I'll definitely revise the review should we get sick from it (the yellowtail sashimi looked questionable but it's sushi in the Smoky Mountains. We understand the risk.). So to close... Attn: management... if you can't afford to properly staff a restaurant, you shouldn't own a restaurant. Your concept is too far reaching to depend on four staff members doing a minimum of 7 people's job. The cooks are doing a great job and keeping up with the orders, but the other two servicing and running were busting their butts and in way over their heads. read more

Showed up. Took 10 minutes before they took our order. No sushi. Terrible customer service.

Alright for a place that has hibachi for much cheaper than going to an actual hibachi grill restaurant. Our portions of rice were more than the protein we got with our combo meals. Chicken was pretty dry. I think it could have been us going late in the evening that whatever ingredients they've had left was what we got. The yum yum sauce was sweet and I quite liked it. That was the only thing I could fully enjoy and eventually drowned my food with. Ordered a side of miso soup and it tasted kind of sour. Originally, I thought this place would be more of a sit down and they take your order but it was more like a hibachi . It was decent for a one time meal while trying to find something else non-American in PF/Gatlinburg. read more

Already spent more than 30 minutes and still waiting for my dish... And only a few tables right now! Starving!!! Terrible service!!!! read more

NAO Japanese Grill - Japanese Near Me - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee