Going to the hibachi grill for dinner and a show has become an American tradition: Everyone loves getting squirted with sake and the onion volcano. But what if you just want the food, not the show? At the Hibachi Grill coming to 400 S. Broad St., customers will be able to get hibachi grill food in a fast-casual format. The restaurant had been a short-lived food stall at the City Market food hall on Elysian Fields. The new stand-alone spot will have seating for about 30 guests. An opening date is set for October.
“Usually, when people get hibachi, they have to wait 10 or 15 minutes to eat, while the chef puts on a show,” co-owner Nigel Pais recently told What Now New Orleans. “Ours is going to be a quick-service restaurant. You don’t have to have to sit through the entertainment part. We’re just going to have the best hibachi food in the city.”
In addition to offering classic hibachi proteins like chicken, steak, and shrimp, the Hibachi Grill will also have more unique offerings like lamb chops and oxtails. The more unique approach to hibachi shouldn’t come as a surprise if you know the restaurant was spun off of the Nori Guys pop-up, which is known for their sushi tacos. Pais said those will be available at Hibachi Grill, but he emphasized that this concept is about offering more than what he called “a festival food.”
“We’re going to have sushi tacos, but we really wanted to offer full meals,” he explained.
