Last Samurai | Restaurant Review | Hibachi Grill, Oyster & Sushi Bar | Utah

My husband and I are frequent customers at Benihana, we decided to try this new place as another possible option. We looked at the menu before deciding to be seated. Last Samurai offers Tepinyaki style meals as well as sushi and other Japanese entrees like udon or tempura.

The building is nicely decorated with a great atmosphere. We were seated in a little private booth/room. After looking over the menu, we decided to try the tuna sashimi, side orders of fried rice. My husband ordered the miso soup, and I tried the onion soup.

Lets start with the soup. My husband said his miso was "alright" not great, not bad. My onion soup was a quite a disappointment. Upon the first sip, I could taste that it was obviously made using some sort of pre-made soup base. It reminded me of those cheap Lipton soup packets, or cup-o-soup. It was bad. Then our fried rice came. My husband had taken several bites and I asked him how it was. He said it was the worst fried rice he's ever had. I then tried mine, and was immediately overwhelmed by the fact that the rice tasted completely burnt. It was odd as the only thing that appeared only slightly charred were the small edges of the egg pieces in the rice. I took two more bites to be certain, it was absolutely terrible. The burnt taste stayed in the mouth and it was hard to get rid of it. It was so bad, I told my husband that I couldn't even stand the smell. When the waitress returned we asked for some steamed rice and my husband told her the fried rice was burnt. She was very gracious about taking the rice away and bringing the new steamed rice. The sashimi was excellent. Large well cut pieces, tender, flavorful and very fresh. I wouldn't mind getting the sashimi again, but that's about it. I would be too scared to try anything else, it is just not worth it!

The waitstaff was prompt and polite. When our check arrived, I noticed that they had not charged us for either the burnt fried rice, or the replacement steamed rice.

I think I can say that my husband and I will remain true to Benihana as our exclusive choice for tepenyaki fried rice. I would recommend Tokyo Sushi, or Kyoto as excellent sushi restaurants in the Salt Lake Area.