Japanese Restaurant Near Me in Kendall: AOKI Teppanyaki's $18 Weekday Grill Lunch

A teppanyaki lunch of jidori chicken costs $18 at AOKI Teppanyaki inside Dadeland Mall, 7535 North Kendall Drive, from Monday to Friday between 11:30 am and 3 pm, and that price includes ginger salad, vegetables, vegetable fried rice and the chef's show at the grill. Dinner combinations start at $32. If your japanese restaurant near me search starts in Kendall, this is the Benihana family's own next chapter, served at mall prices.

Rocky Aoki opened the first Benihana in New York City in 1964 and turned tableside hibachi cooking into an American chain. Miami New Times reported in June 2014 that his son Kevin Aoki, owner of the Doraku sushi bar on Lincoln Road and brother of DJ Steve Aoki, had opened AOKI at Dadeland at the end of April that year, describing it as a tribute to his father and a way to continue the legacy.

The restaurant's own page adds the personal twist. Kevin added Inaka, or countryside, comfort dishes to the teppanyaki menu to reflect visits to his grandfather's hometown in Wakayama, Japan, which is why chicken gizzards and jidori chicken sit beside filet mignon and lobster. Chefs wear black samurai-inspired uniforms, and the page calls the flaming tableside routine eater-tainment, and the dining room is built around shared iron-plate tables where strangers often end up seated together.

The Teppanyaki Lunch Special runs Monday to Friday from 11:30 am to 3 pm and is served only at the teppan tables. Jidori chicken, dark or breast, is $18, shrimp is $18, the striploin is $19 and the filet mignon is $24. Teriyaki tofu is $15, and the Lunch Duo lets you pick two of chicken, beef, shrimp, calamari or salmon for $21, with no double portions.

Every lunch plate includes the ginger salad, mixed vegetables, vegetable fried rice and dipping sauces, so the $18 jidori is a full meal with a show. Yakisoba noodles with your choice of chicken, beef or shrimp are $16 if you would rather skip the rice. Because the lunch special is only served at the teppan tables, tell the host you want the lunch menu when you sit down.

At dinner, Inaka Teppanyaki combination entrees include the ginger salad, vegetable fried rice, local vegetables and dipping sauces. Jidori chicken is $32, the six-ounce filet mignon $39 and the eight-ounce center cut filet $47. Rocky's Wagyu Yakisoba, named for the founder, is $32. Fried rice can be upgraded with wagyu for $6 or with chicken, shrimp or beef for $3.25, and the upgrade is worth it only for the wagyu.

Our honest call: skip the five-ounce A5 Japanese wagyu at $90 unless it is a celebration. Five ounces of very rich beef, cut into bite-size cubes on the griddle, goes quickly. The $125 Aoki Brothers Special, A5 wagyu with a Maine lobster tail and colossal shrimp, makes more sense for two people sharing than for one, and the $37 jidori chicken and shrimp combination is the better everyday dinner.

The add-on list is where the Inaka idea shows most clearly. Chef's must-try extras for the grill include ocean scallops and three colossal shrimp at $14 each, beef tongue and pork belly at $12, and chicken liver at $9, the kind of offal you rarely see at an American hibachi table. Vegetarians get their own must-try list, from okra and corn at $9 to king oyster mushrooms at $11 and a mushroom mix at $12.

AOKI runs a second, quieter menu from what it calls the Izakaya Kitchen. Ika karaage, fried squid, is $12, eggplant miso is $8, kurobuta sausages are $9 and edamame with Japanese sea salt is $7. The sushi maki list includes a Tokyo Rainbow roll at $19 and a Coconut Shrimp roll at $18. Desserts are mostly $10, including a matcha creme brulee, and the Japanese coffee jelly is $8.

Read the bottom of the menu before you pay: an 18 percent gratuity is applied to all checks, so do not tip twice on top of it. Items marked with an asterisk contain raw or undercooked ingredients. Children 12 and under can order from the Kodomo menu, served with noodles, corn and vegetable fried rice, where chicken is $15 and the filet mignon is $26. Junior Deluxe, with two choices of chicken, steak or shrimp, is $21, a fair price for a hungry teenager.

For groups, the restaurant offers three semi-private areas named Pacific Eagle, Rocky's Room and Legend's Room, each for up to 20 people, and its Izakaya dining room seats up to 120 for private events. Reservations run through the Eat App link on the official page, and booking is the safest plan for a birthday table at the grill on a Friday or Saturday night.

The whisky list leans on the Aoki Collection of private barrel picks. With any combination entree, the Hot Whisky Deal pours a Japanese premium flight of Yamazaki 12, Hibiki Harmony and Hakushu 12 for $50 instead of $60. Cocktails are mostly $15 to $16, mocktails are $9 and a Ramune soda is $7. Cigars are served only on the patio, with a $7 cutting fee if you bring your own.

Dadeland Mall is a car-first destination, and the restaurant's page notes plentiful parking and about 25 minutes by car from Miami Beach. Metrorail riders can use Dadeland North station, which sits beside the mall. If every teppan seat is booked for the evening, ask for the Izakaya dining room and order sushi and small plates instead; the grill show is the only thing you lose.

Address: 7535 North Kendall Drive, inside Dadeland Mall, Miami, FL 33156. Hours: Sunday to Thursday 11:30 am to 9:30 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30 am to 10:30 pm. Weekday teppan lunch: Monday to Friday, 11:30 am to 3 pm, from $15. An 18 percent gratuity is added to every check. Reservations through Eat App, linked from the official site.