On Wednesdays this spot has half priced fishbowl cocktails. I had the jungle juice, it was good and strong. I had a avocado salmon roll and it was fresh and tasty. read more

Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant - Teppanyaki Near Me - Alameda, California

earned a star for: 1. great entertainment for our 5 year old 2. great portion sizes 3. food was delicious and served hot! 4. many options for food and drink 5. changing table in the clean bathrooms lost a star for: 1. service fee automatically added 2. high chairs aren't appropriate height for tables read more

Pretty bad experience last night at Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant Alameda last night. Granted, it was Valentine's day, but still . 1. I wanted a particular seat so I could stretch out my right leg due to recent knee replacement surgery. The staff member refused to do it because they didn't want empty seats between us and another party that was already seated. Except there wouldn't have been any empty seats, because there was another party about to be seated at the same time as us; it was just a matter of where we, and the other still-standing party, would sit. They actually had to get a manager involved so I could sit where I wanted to. 2. We had a coupon for a free appetizer, up to $12 value. The only restriction was that it couldn't be combined with other offers. Nothing on the coupon said anything about restrictions for Valentine's Day. Staff said they weren't sure and would check, but did NOT say we couldn't use it when they took the order, so we ordered an appetizer. And then at the end of the meal, they refused to honor the coupon. 3. None of the single teppanyaki dishes were available; you could only get combo dishes (e.g. chicken & filet mignon). Issue is not a limited menu for V-Day, because chicken, filet mignon, shrimp, we're all still available. You could modify a combo dish to get two of the same item, but doing so was a lot more expensive than the regular price for a single dish. 4. The kid's order of filet mignon tasted funny. . Overall, a really negative experience. read more

I love teppanyaki and had a just horrible experience at Benihana SF two years ago which totally turned me off to the whole thing for a while. So it was with a bit of trepidation that I agreed to have my birthday celebration at Shirasoni this year. SO listen, I'm going to tell you the GOOD, and then I'll tell you the BAD. The service was great, drinks came right away (we were the first party to arrive), and the food was absolutely amazing. The steaks were really tasty, and everyone in our party of eight people LOVED their meals. The garlic fried rice was killer. Killer. The ginger salad dressing rocked, I should have brought some home with me. And even the mushroom soup was really exquisite. What a meal! I think I was the only person in our party who didn't take half of their meal home with them (I can eat. It's a fact). I really, really want to come back here again, it renewed my faith in teppan restaurants. OK. The bad. My wife used their website to book a reservation for our party at 11:30 on a Saturday. They accepted the reservation and confirmed it multiple times. We had people coming from Marin, San Jose, and SF. At about 11:10 AM, while we were about halfway there, my wife got a call from the restaurant saying oh, by the way we don't open until noon on Saturday. This is after they confirmed MULTIPLE TIMES our party and time. Everyone arrived by 11:30 and guess what, the staff had the doors locked. Didn't even let us in to sit in comfort, we all had to sit in our cars for 30 minutes until EXACTLY noon when somebody opened the doors. Really? If it were my place and I screwed up that way, I'd buy a round and have everyone wait in the bar (chance to sell more drinks too BTW!). They use OpenTable as their booking mechanism, and as of this date they STILL haven't corrected this. So you can go right ahead and book any weekend at 11:30 and the system will accept the reservation. UGH. Management, please fix this NOW! Then, we might come back with another party of eight hungry and thirsty patrons. PS: They did offer us $30 off for the birthday boy. But still, sitting for a half hour in the parking lot? Anyhoo, great meal, fun time, wish we didn't have to wait in the parking lot... especially since the reason we don't go to Benihana has to do with something like that (DM me and I'll tell you the gruesome details). read more

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Shirasoni used to be top tier to me. It was a great place to bring family and friends for birthdays or just dinner and watch a presentation of your food be prepared. The chefs were always so delightful and the food was really good. After Covid, I think a few things changed. Now they charge a standing 20% gratuity just a dine in and a lot of times the service you receive isn't worth it. The food is still pretty good and the pour is heavy which is why every once in a while I return for the Benz roll, the garlic fried rice, and or a combo meal, but overall... the quality of the experience has gone down. read more

Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant - Lemon drop and a Benz Roll - Teppanyaki Near Me - Alameda, California

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We enjoyed a nice family outing here. We did have a reservation and our table was ready for us when we arrived. The staff was great and our meal was even better. I did forget to take a picture of my filet mignon lol but it was cooked perfectly and the portions of food we got was well worth the price. read more

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It's been more than 5 years since I last visited this restaurant. My last experience was a disappointment but this time my family and I had a great experience. The chef was friendly and the food was delicious, flavorful and cooked to perfection. It was Thursday evening where they offer $7 martinis which was nice! read more

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Super dope experience Eddy Pinero was having a meet and greet yeah the 49ers kicker! Super friendly staff like moved quickly def would come back and try their food. I didn't have time because I had to rush home and cook dinner for the family but it has a Benihana style where the chef cooks infront of you read more

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I ordered chicken fried rice to go for a late-evening snack. The rice was fresh and the portion was generous. The vibe was cool and the place was very busy. The staff was so-so friendly. read more

Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant - Garlic Fried Rice with chicken Togo - Teppanyaki Near Me - Alameda, California

We can for my brother's birthday. The service was great, the show was fun and the food was standard. I think the food itself is probably 3.5 stars- consistent, but nothing to write home about. But our cook- Memo is the reason this gets bumped up to a 4. Interactive, fun and a memorable dinner to celebrate my brother's birthday! Also the amount of food was VERY generous!!! Pretty much everyone in our group had leftovers to take home- some of us had full meals!! read more

Great service and good food- my daughter had the kids steak teriyaki and I had the Unagi donburi bowl. My ball came with tons of eel, pickled carrots and daikon, seaweed, salad, pickled ginger, miso soup, fresh lemon. The kids plate had tons of steak mixed veggies rice and my daughter wanted soup. She spilled a lemonade all over the table and they graciously cleaned it all up and the floor and her. And offered to replace her lemonade. read more

Great place for happy hour. The martinis are great. Service is good and this is a pleasant location. read more

Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant - Ginger martini - Teppanyaki Near Me - Alameda, California

Came in & to my surprise the menu was more Expensive than usual ! I couldn't even find my usual I asked and they said it was a special Menu Well maybe advertise it .. on social Media they've been promoting Father's Day but never a special Menu .. having it be more expensive is ridiculous! About $50!- person is insane & greedy ! I'd rather go to Benihanas next time read more

I work next to this place and had to get the lunch serving of their takeout Hibachi. They did not disappoint with the portion or service. I ordered from the Yelp! portal which is through GrubHub. There were no added fees. I was a little late picking up my order but the food was still hot and fresh. The restaurant wasn't full at 12pm. It was clean and the hostess was friendly. I picnicked in my car- everything was packed with efficiency. The shrimp, chicken and fried rice were delicious!!! I saw a reviewer who said that the sauces were not as good as Benihana sauces-- not true! My cream sauce was mustardy and the brown sauce was a ginger sauce. My only dislike was the salad dressing. Clearly not enough for the amount of lettuce- it was watery and onion clumpy. I didn't enjoy my salad. Overall a good experience. $30 was steep for lunch for me- but I do have leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. Kind of a win? read more

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If you take nothing else from this review, take this. Whatever you think your meal is going to cost here, go ahead and tack on another fifty percent. This spot hits you with a mandatory 20 percent service fee and then a 10 percent sales tax, and after that they still slide the screen around expecting a tip. So before you even get your food, you're already deep into the bill like you ordered bottle service. And the part that really made me laugh is how regular this place is. This is basically the knockoff version of a knockoff. It wants to be Benihana but it isn't even Hana Japan. The vibe is already average and then they hit you with luxury-level fees like they're doing something exclusive in there. The signs on the door make it seem like they're doing you a favor. Twenty percent mandatory for "servers, chefs, bussers, dishwashers, bartenders". Cool. But that's the owner's responsibility, not mine. Pay your people what they deserve out of your business, don't pass the whole payroll over to the customer and call it a service fee. I have no issue leaving a big tip when the food is right and the service is fire. That's part of the experience. But forcing it before I even sit down, and then asking for more on top of that, is wild. This place is overpriced and not offering anything to justify it. Definitely won't be back. read more

Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant - 20% mandatory tax - Teppanyaki Near Me - Alameda, California

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Great place for some teppanyaki. You can either sit and order off menu (from the kitchen) or sit at the teppanyaki tables. We always choose the latter. My go to is the shirasoni-- filet mignon and scallops. Always, ALWAYS upgrade to the garlic butter fried rice. The teppanyaki Chefs are a little lackluster, but my family and I have seen it so many times, we're really just there for the food. We order rolls to go with your teppanyaki dinners too and the ones we've gotten are pretty good! Pretty expensive and the service isn't the greatest. I feel like we're always trying to flag people down. It's not that they're not friendly, I feel like they are just always understaffed. read more

Let's start with that the women's bathroom is not only tiny but has no changing table or any where to change a diaper and I'm sure there wasn't one in the men's restroom either. The foods always been mid, hence why I haven't been in years but the Man wanted hibachi on Fathers Day so this is where he ended up looking up and deciding to go. Had he have told me where I def would've encouraged Fogo over this but he only said Hibachi in Alameda so when we pulled up and were already hungry I didn't say anything. We already had tried the spot in Emeryville Harbor and they were reservations only for Father's Day and passed the exit for Fogo on the way so it was what it was but I didn't expect no changing tables in the bathroom. He wasn't impressed not in the least by his food which was like the combo with lobster, steak and shrimp plate. It was drowned in way to much sauce which some people like, such a myself but when it's to cover up the food being mid it doesn't help. He was also very turned off by the staff sitting in the dining area for guests eating jolly bees chicken and pizza hut pizza. I'm sure it was to provide the staff a meal on a busy day as Fathers Day is for a lot of places but it was a little crazy to see. I told him I wasn't surprised there's no staff lounge or area for them as the bathroom didn't even have what guests would need. I ended up going outside to the car to change the baby in the backseat so he wouldn't be fussy and he ended up needing to be changed twice during the hour we were there. Despite being vegan I ordered two of the very few options they offer and they were both pretty basic and unimpressive. One was fried tofu and a sushi roll of the most basic veg. I def wouldn't come back here by my own choice and I wouldn't encourage anyone else to come either. read more

20% automatic gratuity needs to go. Food was decent, service was meh. Guy waiting on us was nice and pretty prompt. Almost forgot about us at the end. Our chef was quiet and seemed esleep at the wheel. He may have spoke primarily Spanish, but even if so he did little to no "tricks" and barely talked with us. Just a substandard experience and was grossly overcharged for it. I won't go back. read more

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We visited for sushi. I had a bad feeling as I entered the restaurant plastered on the door was an announcement of a 20% service fee. This was not based on the size of your party. No big deal really unless your meal gets ruined because someone abandoned in the dining room a mop and pale which carried a strong smell of bleach. I presented my concern to my server. Nice girl but didn't take the issue to management like I asked just brought me my bill with my 20% mystery fee. She then said she would pass along my concern eventually. The was fine. But I am paying for an experience. Big fail. I have a headache as I write this and the taste of bleach on my palate. read more

The food is okay but the problem I had was with the bill. They tack on a service charge of 20% to every bill!! I dined by myself and they added a 20% service charge on my bill without telling me. If I was a large party I would have no problem with that but I was by myself. And when I spoke to the manager she couldn't make change. And when I was leaving I handed my waitress a tip and I heard the manager say that is not your tip. You have to share it with everybody!! I do not recommend this restaurant at all. They are screwing over their workers!!! read more

Great experience all around. The food was fresh, flavorful, and cooked perfectly right in front of us, the filet mignon, lobster, garlic fried rice and veggies were on point, and the proteins were tender and well-seasoned. Service was friendly, attentive, and made the whole meal fun without feeling rushed. The atmosphere was lively and great for a night out with friends or family. Definitely a spot I'll be coming back to. read more

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It's been awhile since I've stopped by here. So let me start with my pros and cons.. then engage... yeah? PROS; Lots of parking nearby, full bar, option to sit at a table or in front of a chef, big sized restaurant. CONS; Automatic 20% added gratuity to ALL tabs, overpriced dishes, cleanliness, quality, service.. Stopped by on a Friday night and the restaurant was indeed busy. However, there were a lootttt of working staff. Some, actively assisting and checking in on tables, others, standing around watching tv very disengaged. I guess the others may think, we're auto charging everyone 20% anyways.. right? Right.. As a person that tips based off of my service experience received, I believe it should always be an option and not a requirement. Especially if I chose to not have the whole chef cooking in front of me experience. Chicken + fried rice/veggies (comes with soup/salad)-- $31. Dish was drenched in teriyaki sauce, making everything soggy at the bottom of the plate. Salad was accompanied by some kind of ginger dressing which was alright. Soup.. entirely bad, tasted weird, as if the bowl was just washed and not rinsed off completely.. a bit soapy.. My partner ordered a steak + chicken fried rice plate -- $43 plus a Corona. Dinner came up to over $110 easy. Nothing special about Shirasoni to me, definitely not a place I'd choose to eat at. Probably skipping the next time opportunity comes around to dine here. Overall experience, just not worth the $. read more

Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant - Banzai Combination - Teppanyaki Near Me - Alameda, California

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Stopped by for a quick bite! We opted to dine on the regular seat instead of the teppanyaki which I've heard better things! I'll have to come back for the tappanyaki. The sushi was ok. Fish was fresh but the rolls weren't too special. Had a lot of rice. Miso was on the saltier side. Great service though! read more

Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant - Sushi Combo #1 - Teppanyaki Near Me - Alameda, California

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Shirasoni is so much better than Hana Japan they have a lot more items to choose from they do cook in front of you excellent drinks Hana Japans drinks are so watered down what a shame Ambiance is very busy and loud because everyone is busy enjoying themselves the noise is not out of hand ordered a lot of different items it was about 15 of us so we all tried something different and just tasted each other's food very good place read more

Had a great lunch experience with the service provided. Unfortunately the service did not match the food. The rice was slimy and had a smell the next day. Which could explain the upset stomach the day of. Called the restaurant to make them aware. I was informed I would received a call back and nothing yet. No concern or apology. Like if this is a common incident for them. That they just ignore. read more

Food was terrible. I ordered shrimp tempura rolls and poke salad. There was something off with the shrimp. Very disappointed. Especially when they are charging almost $17,$18 for 1 five piece roll. read more

So today I wanted some food and came to Shirasoni & now they have a new policy & I don't agree with that but it is what it is .but I do think they will be in lunch rotation anymore . read more

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Had dinner here for 2. We had 2 dinners, 2 drinks + the bill came out to $250! For a place like this definitely not worth the price we had for dinner. Service wasn't that great either. On top of the 20% automatic gratuity and $25 tax on total. Will not be dining here again. If I'm paying $250+ I would expect fine dining and great customer service. read more

Food is always delicious. The service was fun and entertaining. Friendly cook. The ambiance was nice and quiet enough to have a conversation. It was Sunday so not too crowded. read more

Food here is good. Service ca be better all around. The ambience it typical chatter tv sound air vents. "Amara is awesome at what he does kind and firm" read more

Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant - Soup and salad - Teppanyaki Near Me - Alameda, California

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Came with my mom on a Monday ( holiday ) around noon. We got sat quickly. Salad only for lunch menu ( no soup for lunch ). Lunch prices seem reasonable. Took around 15-20 minutes for our chef to start cooking. 2-3 groups of people arrived after us. Our chef was nice but honestly we were impressed by another chef that was making his table more engaged. Overall a good place to stop if you're in the area and have time. read more

Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant - Salmon and Steak Combination - Teppanyaki Near Me - Alameda, California

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Always love this place Never fails me Hibachi is good Hibachi chefs are always fun and interactive. They're alot of sushi roll options that make you want to keep coming back to try them all read more

Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant - Scallop Roll - Teppanyaki Near Me - Alameda, California

Awful experience today. I have been here mannnyyy of times, the staff has been good, food is always mediocre, but enough to come regularly. This time, my daughter asked to do Teppanyaki for her 6th bday. We arrive for our reservation on time, 5 of the 7 of us ready to go, but they refuse to seat us until everyone arrives it's "policy". Two in our party were late due to traffic from work, management still refused to seat us, unless we order their food for them, cause the chef won't come back twice. I said fine, so they go to seat us and they crammed 7 chairs together at a station that already had 2 people!!! Trying to cram 9 people together in what should comfortably fit maybe 6. I asked for our own table, cause we want more space and a chance to celebrate her birthday alone. They said no, even though the WHOLE area was empty!!! They had no reason, just kept saying no. So we ended up walking out. Management here are assholes and I will never go there again. Thanks for not making my little girls simple bday wish come true. read more

Food and service quality was amazing and is well worth going to. Even with a large part we were good and didn't have any issues. The place has a dim lit hue so it doesn't strain the eyes and it follows in a modern classic hibachi style design. If you haven't already try it. read more

Our group of 13 (mostly seniors, people of color, and several with disabilities) dined here after church. Sadly, our experience was very disappointing for the following reasons: Although the food was okay when it finally arrived, the long wait and poor service overshadowed everything. As a Christian group coming from church, we were gracious and patient--but our kindness was not reciprocated. No management present and no demonstration of management or problem-solving skills. No water, soup, or salad was brought to the table until everyone was visibly starving. Our group included four people with disabilities and at least ten seniors, but there was no accommodation or courtesy shown. Restaurant was understaffed, especially in the kitchen and chef area. Silverware was not properly cleaned. Staff provided terrible customer service, with no apologies or attempts to make things right. Then they had the audacity to include a tip in every single bill and no discount was given to compensate for the inconvenience. Two members of our party left, ate at another restaurant, and returned before we were served. Waited over an hour to be seated; food was not served until nearly two hours after arrival. To top it off, it was my mom's 78th birthday--a day that should have been memorable for good reasons. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone and will never return. read more

The food was amazing . I did feel kinda rushed because they were closing until dinner.

Came here out of the blue. The food was okay for Japanese food. The service was friendly but mediocre. There is already a 20% service charge whether they try hard or not for the tip so that's probably why it's an average effort on service. The ambiance is casual with bright lights. Everything here overpriced I think. Miso soup was a little salty. Sushi rolls were okay and the Donburi had so much rice but not enough unagi. Probably would not come back here again. read more

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not sure how this place has negative reviews, but me and my friend always have an awesome time hanging out having drinks and a snack here. the service was quite attentive and the quality and cleanliness of the place stood out i always look forward to coming back when visiting the area (please add smoking cocktails to your menu. it would probably compliment the live entertainment with those chefs cooking in front of guest. i know id definitely be coming here regularly if that ever happened) read more

Shirasoni Japanese Restaurant - smoking cocktail - Teppanyaki Near Me - Alameda, California

The place is a little gimmicky and yet a fun place to celebrate birthdays. Looked like nearly all the table were birthday parties. Our server was Kathy and Jessie was the chef. Both did good. Decent food and I guess the entertainment justifies the high prices. Long list {~60?} martinis! Plenty of food in the Teppenyaki dinners which are, obviously, cooked to order. The thousand islands (yum-yum?) dressing and the hot sauce need improvement. Overall, a loud place where the grill is the center piece and conversation is secondary. read more

I visit this place often and absolutely love everything about this place. The food is amazing and the customer service is always Top Tier! I highly recommend giving this restaurant a try. Oh and they have daily specials during the evenings! read more