For me personally, the attraction to restaurants where you sit around a grill and watch a chef cook your food while performing tricks is fun only if you're eating with a group of out-of-towners or children. When you're going out for dinner with your husband or another couple, however, watching a Japanese chef toss eggs into his hat seems pretty ridiculous. I was pleasantly surprised to find that you don't have to sit at a grill at Kobe in Jeffersonville, and I was elated to learn that the sushi is the restaurant's true highlight.
The Experience
My first experience eating at a restaurant where the table and grill had been merged together was as a preteen in middle school. Back then, I thought the chef's tricks were awesome. As an adult, on the other hand, the idea of having to clap for a chef performing tricks like I would for a circus animal is less than appealing, and the thought of having to sit at a table with people I don't know is downright appalling.
Luckily, for those of you who are like me, one side of the restaurant at Kobe in Jeffersonville is devoted to traditional restaurant tables and booths. In fact, the traditional side is completely separate from the side with grill tables. Not that the grill tables aren't an attraction in themselves on the right occasion, but the best part of Kobe is that they cater to people who want to be amused by a show as well as people that want to enjoy food and intimate conversation.
The Food
Kobe has a number of different menus. What they're serving depends on when you're eating and where you're sitting. Diners can choose between the lunch menu, the dining room menu, the iron plate grill menu, and the sushi menu. Kobe serves 18 different types of raw sushi priced from $1.50 to $6.50, and five types of cooked sushi priced from $3.00 to $4.50. In addition, they offer 26 different types of sushi rolls priced from $3.00 to $11.95.
Kobe's lunch menu combines fish, chicken, and beef entrée combinations that are served with fried rice, hibachi vegetables, and either soup or a house salad. The smaller portioned lunch meals are priced from $5.95 to $11.95. Sushi is available with lunch, though the number of available kinds is limited.
It is less expensive to eat from the dining room menu than the iron plate menu, so that may be one factor in your decision of which side to sit on if you're undecided, and the dining room offers a wider variety of choices than the iron grill menu. On the iron grill side, you're looking at paying approximately $20.00 for an entrée, while entrées on the dining room side average around $15.00.
Review
To be honest, my favorite sushi bar in Louisville is Raw Sushi Lounge, so I was skeptical when my husband claimed that the sushi at Kobe was comparable. I was pleasantly surprised when my rolls arrived and they were full of flavor and perfectly prepared. The sushi at Kobe is on par with that of Raw Sushi Lounge, and that's saying a lot coming from me. Kobe definitely has one of the best sushi bars in the Louisville area.
As far as my dinner was concerned outside of the sushi, I wasn't overly impressed. Our entrees weren't bad, but they were far from extraordinary. My chicken tasted like it had little to no marinade -- I believe I could have just thrown a naked piece of chicken in the oven at home and gotten the same flavor. Of course, I did eat on the dining room side, so perhaps that made a difference. On another occasion, I ate with a group of people on the grill side and was very satisfied with my meal.
I would absolutely go back to Kobe for sushi, and I'd probably return to take a large group of people out to eat on the grill side. However, as far as having a dinner with an appetizer and entrée, I think I'd choose P.F. Chang's over Kobe.
Recommendations
- Yum Yum Roll
- Unagi
- Dragon Roll
- Kobe Roll
Pros
- Delicious Sushi
- Separate Dining Room and Grill Room
Cons
- Entrees on Dining Room Side are Mediocre
- Limited Hours -- Kobe is open only for lunch and dinner, so you'll have a long wait if you show up at 4 o'clock for dinner like I did.
