Hirosaki Prime

I’ve been here 3 or so times and they haven’t once had even half of the sushi items on the menu available. I can’t speak to the other types of food it serves, but this definitely isn’t a sushi restaurant. They also don’t indicate which sushi is made with the artificial crab sticks and which are made with real crab, which is just bad practice.

I have been a frequent visitor to this establishment since it opened and have been thoroughly disappointed at how it has slipped. When first opened, this was a great place but, now, I will never return. Last Friday night, my gf and I decided to give it another try. The waitress sat us (she was very distracted by something) and quickly walked away after saying she would be right back. We waited 15 minutes and as she walked back and forth across the nearly empty restaurant, never stopping to ask us what we would like for a drink or to give us menus. Finally, the bartender came over and gave us menus and asked if we wanted a drink. She still walked by us and didn’t take our orders. I called out to the bartender that we wanted an appetizer, which he put in for order. Our order was carpaccio and and it was another 15 – 20 minutes for it to come. In the meantime, the waitress still had not come to our table, so I stopped her and told her we WOULD LIKE TO ORDER. She took our order and we waited and waited. I flagged her down and she said it was coming and walked away. Our water glasses were never refilled, nor did she ask if we needed anything. The silverware came with one tiny, nearly cocktail napkin sized napkin that was completely useless. Our food came and it was pretty good, but no knife on the table made some food hard to eat. I tried to flag her down for a knife, but she was too preoccupied with «something» to stop and help us. After finishing with the food, we waited and waited for our food and dishes to be cleared and to get our check. I had to wave my hand to get her attention. She never even asked if we wanted some dessert or another drink. I asked for the check because by this time, I had had enough of this place. Again, we waited for her to bring the check. While I watched her REPEATEDLY go do something «very important» on her cell phone, I sat and waved for her attention. Finally, the bartender came and gave us the check and I gave him my card to process. He took care of it immediately because he must have seen how displeased I had become.
While all this was going on, I watched a couple at the bar sit with no food or her attention for about 35 – 40 minutes. They had drinks, but no food, even though I had seen them order.
I should have known things were going to be bad when I went online and noticed they no longer had an active website.
This was, by far, one of the worst restaurant experiences I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through.
If you enjoy being annoyed by a restaurant experience, by all means, go try this place. If you want a good Sushi meal, avoid this place like the plague.
Go here if you want a good sushi meal with a pleasant experience:

3.5 stars
So I decided to come here because I did not feel like cooking my own dinner so I decided to check out this place as it was down the street from my house.
Of course since I decided to go on a weeknight the place was almost empty. I chose to sit at one of the tables in the lounge area rather than the bar (I don’t drink alcohol so I thought it would weird, haha XD).
I wanted to get the gyoza but sadly they didn’t have any but the waitress suggested the spring rolls. It was pretty good and the sauce that went with it was great.
My meal though? I ended up getting the sesame ginger salmon. It tasted fine but it wasn’t anything special.
The ambiance of the place was nice. The waitress checked up on me a few times and it was a great service experience. I wouldn’t mind coming here again. Maybe I will enjoy one of the other main dishes more.
Also, to note the only dessert they have here is fried ice cream which is a bit of a disappointment to me since taking desserts home is something I do at almost every restaurant I go to.
But yeah, overall it was pretty good. I wouldn’t mind coming here again.

We are never coming back. This is our fourth time here and the service has gotten progressively worse. We have been rooting for this business to stay open, but I can honestly say hope this place closes ASAP. I have waited over an hour for a warm bottle of sake… at a hibachi place! Apparently, if you aren’t a middle aged divorced man and decide to dine in the lounge you will not be served. It’s a Friday night… there should be more than one waitress for the entire restaurant. This place is ridiculous… do not come here. I wish I could give 0 stars. Stay away.

This place is alright, but I’d recommend looking elsewhere if you want a real hibachi experience. The staff was friendly, but the food was so-​so and overpriced.

Hirosaki had a great atmosphere, really beautifully decorated. On Wednesdays they do karaōke and trivia which is so much fun. The food is really good, hibachi is pretty standard, enjoyable but not much different from other hibachi restaurants, they don’t offer anything that is unique to their restaurant. Sushi is really good, I love the Spider Roll! All of their drinks are fantastic, the bar tenders are experienced and knowledgeable and they have a decent wine selection.
I’ve order mostly everything in the menu, the duck is unbelievable! Anything you get will be good, I’ve never been disappointed.

Our server was very attentive and our cook was very entertaining and talented! The food was okay but the show was fun and worth the price. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxing, the décor is modern and pleasant. This is a great place for small group parties. There were several people in the seemingly laid back and casual lounge area. There was mention of a karaōke night.
Tip from a newly relocated Texan: Bring a sweater! They keep the restaurant section cold to accommodate the cooking surfaces. It might heat up when several of them are fired up at the same time, but we were the only ones in there and it was cold.

Went there for restaurant week. The selection was standard for hibachi. I sat in the lounge, Which was mostly filled with the employees including the host sitting at the bar. The drinks ordered were terrible, a mai tai with little to no booze and a wine glass filled not even a ¹⁄₃^rd of the way. Our water glasses remained empty after the first pour. The food was ok but the miso soup was served Luke warm. Do not suggest going to anyone. Stay away!

I tried to go here for lunch on a Saturday. The website and sign on the door say they open at 11:30 but they were closed. I asked the people at the store next door and they said they don’t open till 4pm. They need to update their hours.

Hands down the best Hibachi I’ve had in a long time. Def ask for «Bey» his knife skills were amazing and definitely stepped out of the usual routine. Only had the Mai Tais but they were excellent — watch it… They’ll sneak up on you.

Hirosaki Prime is a gorgeous place, full of atmosphere and sophistication. The service is great, the food is fantastic, I haven’t had a meal I haven’t liked. The sushi and maki is unbelievable, the desserts are pretty good.
Hirosaki just started doing karaōke and trivia on Tuesday nights and it’s a blast. I’ll always come back to this place even though the location is less than desirable.

I took my kids here for dinner in January. The place wasn’t very busy for a Friday night, there were plenty of people in the lounge area, but we were the only ones in the hibachi area. We sat by the door, which was drafty, so we were cold the whole time. We ordered 2 maki rolls, 2 adult meals (chicken hibachi) and 1 kids meal, and it came out to around $ 90. Fairly pricey when we only got sodas.
The food itself was pretty good, the only other hibachi I’ve had in the Worcester area was Jasmine which is awful, and Kyoto which is amazing. This place is right in between.

Nothing to write home about and definitely not the best hibachi place I’ve been to. My husband and I went for Valentine’s day with a groupon. Our server was cute and funny but she messed up and never brought us our appetizer. Then our chef was booooooring. I prefer a hibachi chef that doesn’t seem like he’s bored and just going thru the motions. People pay (and tip) for the experience. The food was not bad but they ran out of scallops by the time we got there at 8 and the shrimp dinner I had was not worth the $ 20 I spent. I might go back to try their sushi but there are at least three other hibachi places in the area that I know, for a fact, are a better experience.

This is the worst! We sat at the Teppanyaki tables with two other couples. The cook made no effort to put on a ‘show.’ The fried rice (for extra $$) was just white rice with an egg and some soy sauce thrown on. We got the scallops and filet/​lobster tail combo. Both we very very expensive. The cook threw ‘em on the grill, chucked some soy sauce and lemon on them. Then tossed them on our plates.
Not impressed. Bill came to over $ 100 for two. Food was lousy. Service was ok. Cook was horrible. Stay away!

really really love this place!!! I went here a while ago and underestimated it. I came back again and sat at the bar and another time got a table. The food was awesome and we had an awesome bartender! She made excellent food suggestions and she made us basically whatever drinks we wanted and made up her own amazing cocktails! Super super nice staff! The sushi chef is the cutest little man ever! Some of my favorite rolls: La cholita and ninja roll! I really recommend this place. It is small but very cute inside; perfect for date nights!!! Also the desserts are great! I love the tiramisu. Another fun dessert is the deep fried brownie! THis place is really underestimated and I am a BIG fan. Really recommend this place!!!

I came here about a week ago for a dinner of all couples. Upon stepping into the restaurant I was immediately impressed. The décor is very classy and trendy with great lighting fixtures and sleek chairs and booths. Its upscale while still being casual enough for a dressed up jeans outfit. My husband and I arrived early and went straight to the bar for a pre-​dinner drink. The bar was large with plenty of seating and TVs straight ahead. They had a great selection of wine, mixed drinks, and beer.
We were a large party of 10 and split ourselves between two hibachi tables. Our server’s name was Sara and she was very attentative and helpful. She got everyone’s drink orders and appetizer orders immediately.
My husband and I decided to get a few sushi rolls and seaweed salad for appetizers (we LOVE sushi). I can’t seem to remember which exact rolls we got but they were delicious. We are very picky sushi eaters and know what good sushi is.
The hibachi chefs came over soon after and began prepping the grills. We were all in a fun mood and were lucky enough that so was our chef. He was a young, energetic man that made us all laugh (I cannot for the life of me remember his name). Before I knew it he made me come up to the grill and try flipping around the food! Obviously I was terrible and threw food everywhere but he got our entire party laughing.
Now let’s get to the quality of the cooked food. Delicious! We all ordered a combination of chicken, shrimp, scallops, and steak with fried rice. I did not hear one single complaint from our party. The «special sauce» that they put in the rice is phenomenal! All of the while, our server kept the drinks coming and checked on us frequently.
After dinner a few of us went to the bar for another drink and dessert. The bartenders were very sweet and made sure we were taken care of. For dessert I ordered the tempura brownie and ice cream. Oh my goodness it was amazing! They had an assortment of other delicious desserts and will show you all of them on a dessert tray — which I love.
I highly recommend this restaurant for its sushi, hibachi or if you just want a few drinks. We all had a great time, were very impressed with the service and I will surely continue to go to Hirosaki Prime.

We’ve been waiting to try this place since it first opened. but then it closed again for renovations? i guess. so when it opened again, we jumped on the opportunity, since we bought a groupon! when we arrived it was around dinner time and the place was kinda dead. we opted to sit at the dining tables versus the hibachi grill. we ordered drinks, a sushi, an app, and an entrée for the both of us to share just so we can try a little of everything. i dont exactly remember all the names. sorry. but my overall experience was a-​okay. the fried rice was very spicy for my taste buds. the prime rib was good though, very tender. our drinks came out kinda strong too. with our groupon the price still came out to be almost $ 100! A little expensive for not so much food either. not sure if we’ll be coming back anytime soon with so many other options out there.

I’m really alarmed by the whopping 30 filtered reviews. They seem legitimate AND most of them perfectly describe my two experiences at Hirosaki Prime.
My friends and I tried going for a hibachi night first. The chef was very nice, but it was kind of a short show. There was an extra $ 3 – 5 fee for fried rice. I’m an Asian who has grown up eating all kinds of fried rice (yum, nasi goreng), so I feel comfortable saying that making a small bowl of it does not warrant an extra $ 3 – 5. Besides cost, the food itself was alright. I did really enjoy this white dipping sauce… which strangely enough, the manager could not describe to me as anything besides «white dipping sauce.» I wish they’d get to know their product better, and hopefully that will improve after all the complaints here.
We went again to try the $ 5 lunch special… but it was really $ 5 appetizers. We were so annoyed that we didn’t bother with the $ 5 deals and got sushi and entrees instead. I didn’t think the sushi was as bad as people say, and I even enjoyed it. However, the duck ramen was AWFUL. Duck noodle soup in general is one of my favorite dishes (side note: if anyone has a recommendation for good mi vit tiem in the area, please msg me!) so this was especially disappointing. The duck was rubbery and there was a strange taste, like it had been frozen for months. The soup was bland.
Even though they’re right next to my house, I likely won’t be going again.

I love Japanese restaurants and was pumped to see one being built in my neighborhood. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll go there again, at least until I see some better reviews up here.
I debated between 2 and 3 stars for this place. The service is a 3 or 4, food is a 3, prices are a 2, decoration is a 4.
Anyway — I headed there with a friend, and enjoyed the atmosphere. A bit small, but nicely decorated (sorta funky). The waiter didn’t exactly know what was what, but hey I’ve been new at a job before too, and he tried. The sushi itself was ok, at best. Not bad, but I’ve had better.
The menu is pretty confusing. Sushi menu is straight forward, everything else — no idea. A few pricey entrees and a lot of clutter. I’m no stranger to Japanese restaurants. After looking at the entrees, we decided to split a dish and order a bunch of sushi as appetizers. It was tasty, but not for what they were charging. I have no problems with pricey restaurants, but this shouldn’t be one. It’s in a strip mall, in Worcester, right off of route 20. They aren’t in Shrewsbury or Holden on Cambridge, cater to your surroundings.
It might sound awful, but I also couldn’t help but notice that everyone (while polite) had Brooklyn style accents, perhaps I’ve been brainwashed into Japanese restaurants employing mostly Asians. But the Brooklyn ‘fughedaboudit’ accents everyone had definitely detracted from the ambiance.

I was anxious to try Hirosaki Prime as it is touted as the best 5 star restaurant Worcester has. I’d be reluctant to call it that. I’ve been to better Japanese restaurants in Worcester and those aren’t 5 star. I think Hirosaki is working through some start up issues and may become better in time. I’d give them a try once they’ve established themselves and worked out the kinks a bit. It appears to be much more of a bar /​night scene than a restaurant. So if you’re into loud, trendy dining, with less emphasis on the food, this may be the place for you.