If you’ve ever had the opportunity to visit Japan and eat in a traditional Japanese restaurant, you’ve certainly seen the Chef cooking in the middle of the room, surrounded by guests sat around the counter - giving an amazed look to the cooking process.

This is Teppanyaki and, compared to Japan’s ancient traditional cuisines, is a relatively new cooking style, which consists of “simply” cooking food on a hot plate. Indeed, “Teppan” means iron plate and “yaki”means grilled. 

While the meaning of Teppanyaki is pretty straightforward, its origins are still uncertain. 

Most probably, Teppanyaki is an outgrowth of Kuwayaki, a cooking style originating from Osaka just after World War II. Farmers would use the flat part of their hoes over a fire and cook meats; hence, kuwayaki (kuwa meaning “hoe”), with the hoe becoming eventually a hot steel plate. 

It is believed Teppanyaki was made famous in Japan by a Japanese restaurant chain in 1945, which first introduced the concept of cooking Western-influenced food on a teppan and stressed on the performance aspect of Chef’s preparation. 

It is not hard to see why Teppanyaki’s popularity has then quickly spread across Europe, the UK and North America. 

For whom is familiar with barbecue, more than sushi and noodles, sitting at the counter, watching the artistry of the Teppanyaki Chefs, is a fascinating and memorable experience.

Teppanyaki Chefs use a flat iron plate as cooking surface to cook basically every kind of food. The Teppan Yaki Counter uses state of the art carbon lighting to ensure a constant heat source.
The Teppanyaki cooking method lends itself to meats, especially Wagyu steak but different dishes can be cooked on it: chicken, seafood, typical street food such as Yakisoba (fried noodles), Okonomiyaki and Monjayaki (savoury pancakes) and more.

If you haven’t tried Teppanyaki yet and you are looking for a truly memorable Japanese dining experience, then look no further than Ginza Onodera.

You don’t need to go to Japan, eating at our Teppan-yaki counter will give you the best immersive Japanese Teppanyaki experience.

A private room with Teppanyaki Counter is also available for you to hire.