I’ve been aware of Sapporo Teppanyaki in Manchester for over 10 years and have always fancied going, yet shockingly I never have! It’s a stylish Japanese restaurant serving both sushi dishes and “teppanyaki” (food grilled on a large iron griddle) and what’s most interesting about this venue is that guests are seated in tables of 20 around chef stations and the food is cooked in front of them! Well we finally went along to try it this weekend and had a really enjoyable experience.
The first thing I noticed as I walked in is that this is not a quiet restaurant. Thanks to the concept and the table layout, it’s a very lively and bustling place. The chefs not only cook your food in front of your eyes, they also add their own theatrics too. The huge flames created by the lighting of the grills creates a huge buzz, as do the chefs performing tricks with spatulas and eggs. And they also play a game where they toss fried potatoes to each guest at the table for them to catch in their mouths!
And our food was really delicious. We didn’t go for a full tasting menu as we knew it would be too much for us, so we just chose starters of Duck Spring Rolls and Tempura Prawns, and then our Teppanyaki main courses. Out of the various meat and fish and flavour options we both opted for the same thing – Teriaki Beef Fillet, which was just delicious! It came with stir fried veggies, more of the fried potatoes that were tossed at us, and egg fried rice. And after just these 2 courses we were massively full! Having the food cooked in front of us kept us mesmerised the whole time, and there was no sitting and waiting for our food, which was great!
I’m pleased that Sapporo Teppanyaki is still going strong in Manchester 14 years after it launched. It’s in the centre of Manchester, but you probably won’t pass it naturally unless you’re visiting the Museum of Science and Industry (and by the way, it’s a great place to dine after a visit here as it’s literally across the road). I have to say it’s not really the place to go if you want to gaze romantically into your partner’s eyes. For one thing you will be seated next to each other rather than opposite, (which we actually decided we prefer!), and for another, it’s more of loud and lively place than a quiet romantic one. But it is a great place to go for a relaxed and unique dining experience with a fun atmosphere. It would be particularly great for a large party and it’s also a family/child-friendly experience.
Disclosure: This was a gifted visit. The opinions stated are honest and my own.
English Rose from Manchester's Blog 