Niwa Japanese BBQ Reviews

We have been to this great little catch of a restaurant twice now, the food is so wonderful! Just have to be careful not to over cook the meat. Definitely try the dessert menu too!

I’ve been following Niwa on Instagram for awhile so when it was my turn to choose dinner for girls night it was a natural choice. I read the menu carefully prior to going as none of us eat beef or pork and they basically advertise themselves as a meat lovin kind of place. There were a few seafood selections and several veggie choices! The concept is pretty cool, choose a few things from the menu and cook them yourselves on the grill in the middle of your table. I think this would be a fun date night for sure! We had lots of stuff but the garlic shrimp (a special that night), sweet corn, and shishito peppers were our faves. I’d come back for the cocktails alone - unique and super tasty!

My husband and I had never been to place like this. Our first experience was wonderful! Great food & really cool atmosphere! We will be back!

I must say we were not having any high expectation with this restaurant, days before going to DFW I saw an advertisement on FB about this restaurant so we went...from the outside you can’t tell is a Japanese bbq, looks very modern and like a lounge, reservation was no needed (was like 8pm on Saturday) Our waiter Joseph (and I do apologize if that is not the correct name) was very nice, great service most of all, he was friendly with us, as Japanese couple he started to ask how to pronounce some of their meat cuts I think that’s nice! We asked for kalbi, ribeye, skirt and tongue! Everything was first quality! But I must say I love tongue in my yakiniku... and they prepare the cut little bit more thicker than other this really makes the difference when you put it in the grill... And we love it! We got such as synergies with our waiter that he asked us to try new things for their new menu... also tried dessert (coffee jelly with biscuits and cream) that was really good!! We love this place beyond our expectations!!! Definitely we will go back.

Something for everyone’s tastes. The proteins were tender and delicious. I would definitely come back again!

This was my first time to Japanese BBQ. Definitely a unique dining experience. We had a large group so the sharing concept came in handy. There was some sort of special for $45 that got you a large variety of the meat options but we also ordered almost every one of the vegetable appetizer options as well to share across the table. The service was excellent and overall the food was good!

Awesome find in the Deep Ellum neighborhood. Everything here is absolutely top notch and quite authentic. Service was stellar, as our server Shelley and the manager were more than accommodating. They must have dug us because we were given a gratis serving of prime meat to cook up on our little grill. Almost forgot -- Apps were superb along with the main courses! Overall, we just loved this place. A must go if in Dallas.

My husband and I ate here for the first time today and just loved it! The Wafu salad was divine and the miso soup was very good. For the grill we got the sweet butter corn, the seafood papillote (pouch), and an assortment of meats including filet which was of course the best, so tender and juicy. For dessert we had the panna cotta and the matcha cake. Every single thing was just delicious! We will be back soon!

We really enjoyed this place. We started out with the shishito peppers and wafu salad. We ordered the rib eye and the filet mignon. We couldn't believe how good the rib eye was, but then, we tried the filet, which was so tender and juicy. I would get them both again. Our waiter was nice and explained food choices to us. The owner walked over and asked how the meal was.

Farm to table fresh food at a pretty reasonable price. Similar to Korean BBQ, Our server was very helpful in suggesting what to have. We enjoyed the experience of cooking our own foods on the grill set in the table. The overall experience include nice ambiance was great!

Picked a night with the special meat platter and it was awesome... always fun to cook it yourself so you can keep it nice and rare but really nice meat and great variety. Excellent service, very informative and friendly without being overbearing. If you haven’t tried this place you have to - we’ll be back soon!!

Great food, cocktails and service! Reasonable prices. Fun to cook your own food at the table but nice to have the option not to.

It was great experience! The food is tasty, environment is very unusual, calm and nice. Service was very good. I would highly recommend this place!

Happy Hour dinner and drinks was a great value, and delicious. Service was helpful and friendly. Interactive meals are always fun too.

Our server seemed like she could smile at least once. We had 15 rounds of meats/veggies. Everything was excellent but the Buddha was the crown jewel. Will defiantly be back for dinner with the wife.

Delicious bite sized cuts of beef, chicken, fish, and sometimes Lamb Chops. I had Asparagus, Spinach, Lamb Chops and Filet Mignon. Delicious! Oishi!

My first visit to this type of restaurant where you cook your own meat. Loved it! Will certainly be back. Start out with "Not 2 Sweet Drink". Amazing. Only had one but could have knocked back three so tasty. Spicy Edamame a must appetizer. Two of us each ordered rice and shared beef belly, rib eye, short ribs, outside skirt, onions & peppers. So we each ordered a rice, then shared 4 meats and 1 vegetable. That was very satisfying. Will probably add one more meat and one more vegetable next time and come a little hungrier. Meats were all very good, but different textures. Rib eye melts in your mouth. I love this place. Night before, spent 3 times the price at high end steak restaurant without a unique experience. One tip...allow 15 minutes ahead of reservation to hunt down a parking spot. I will be back.

This was my first time with my old friends to Japanese BBQ. Definitely a unique dining experience. We enjoyed the experience of cooking our own foods on the grill set in the table. Everything is carefully orchestrated. We ordered the filet, the beef belly, shishito peppers, karaage. the noise level was not too high, A must go if in Dallas.

Very impressed by the meat selection and how well versed our waiter was in helping us to decide what to order. It will be a pricey meal if you eat a lot, but the cuts are well worth it. We've spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia where Korean BBQ's are everywhere. They are a novel and fun dining experience. Niwa takes it a cut above by providing some superior cuts of meats as well as some more economical ones. It's up to you how much you want to spend. You can leave here with a severely dented wallet or eat fairly reasonable for a nice dinner experience. We enjoyed everything they brought out to our table. I would definitely recommend Niwa for a nice meal or special occasion. Some of the things we would definitely try again are the Wagyu deviled eggs and the tenderloin. I will say that the more expensive cuts are worth it! Good drinks from the bar too.

We got a tip from a local bar tender to try out Niwa for dinner. She was spot on! We happened to get there dutimg happy hour specials on a Friday afternoon. The prices were great and the food was delicious. We had a great server who is happy to explain to us everything about the menu and make recommendations and give us some tips since it was our first time. We tried a few different grilled meats, one cold and one warm prepared salad to start. The steamed bag of mushrooms were underwhelming. We would love to go back next time we are in Dallas!

We enjoyed everything!! We had the filet with onions, peppers and asparagus. The grill gets up to like 600 degrees but is never too hot to the touch. Can't wait till we go back to Dallas again so that we can hopefully go there again.

Went here to experience Wagyu for the first time. We had no idea it is one of those restaurants where you cook the food yourself in small table shared gas grills. We were nervous about cooking such an expensive meat ourselves but it was great. Our server was lovely and told us extractor how long to cook on both sides. The meat is cut to order and tasted like butter - $29/oz!! The filet mignon was also amazing and like butter. Such a unique experience but can definitely rack up a crazy bill fast!

I have been to NIWA a few times and every time it has been excellent. The service is good, the self serve barbeque is fun and the food is top notch. The cocktails are pretty good too.

This place is special. The staff (we sat in Malory's section) and owner (Jimmy) constantly circulating, truly engaged. The food! We've had all kinds of hibachi, bbq; but this, this is on a whole different level. Even the miso soup was outstanding, not some green-ish water but actually had seaweed and tiny mushrooms and FLAVOR. The gyoza---get them if they have them. They are made once a day and when they're gone they're gone. We had the yakiniku set---the salad was amazing. This included the miso soup, and rice. We then had the shrimp, short rib and ribeye. Veggies we grilled were zuccini and red bell peppers and white onions. All fresh, flavorful goodness. The surprise---Jimmy (owner), came by and gave us---yes, GAVE US--a "sample" of cherry wood smoked filet mignon....omg this needs to be on the menu for good. I can't forget the beer---ice cold, fresh pitcher of Sapporo. Shout out again to Jimmy who, at meal's end, bill has been paid, comes by and describes a Japenese style coffee dessert....then brings it, on the house! So good! We were stuffed but still managed to polish it off. What a great find, we cannot wait to come back and take advantage of their great outdoor space.

My daughter and I made reservations here based on recommendations but found the server super nice but the food was average. We ordered the hamachi crudo and it was so fishy that we did not eat it. The peppers on the grill were very good as was the miso steak and the salad.

My brother took me here because I had never tried this style of eating. It costs too much to get such small portions that I have to cook myself. It was defiantly an experience though.

It was very hot inside the restaurant and everything seemed dirty. See pics. The service was good and the food was ok, but everything looked dirty. We were told it was hot inside because it was hot outside. LOL! Reminder us of a subpar restaurant at a theme park. No idea why it gets such good reviews.

We loved this placed. The food was excellent and so was the staff. I highly recommend eating a meal here.

I loved the vibe of Niwa. The servers were knowledgeable, friendly, and full of suggestions. Grilling the meat in front of you is SUPER cool, I’ve never been to a Japanese BBQ place. The Niwa Salad, Deviled Eggs, And Fingerling potatoes with Bonito flakes were delicious. We tried the Japanese style pancake too! I know we ordered skirt steak, rib eye, and the sausage for the grill. I feel like we got something else but I can’t remember. The cocktails were all very interesting and refreshing to go with the meats. I would love to go a million more times!

My friend girl invited me here June 20. The food was filling and succulent. The staff was awesome, friendly and helpful. Jimmy the owner, did a great job on the concept.

My husband is Japanese (moved to the US a year ago after we got engaged) and I lived in Japan 1.5 years. We struggle to find good authentic Japanese restaurants but this place hits the mark! We both enjoyed the food here. I see other reviews state the price is high, but for us it is worth it and the price is comparable to other Japanese restaurants across the US but the difference is this actually tastes like food you would get in Japan, unlike most restaurants that claim to be Japanese. They also have late evening hours convenient for those who go out for a late dinner.

Each table has a grill in the middle. The menu offers servings of raw vegetables and meats for grilling with your metal tongs. I liked the thinly sliced tongue the best. The service was attentive (offering occasional advice on cooking techniques), the noise level was not too high, and the food was tasty. The wine list is a thin but well priced.

For Japanese BBQ that is close to authentic, this is a great choice. We had an array of beef and vegetable dishes, and all were very good cuts and quality. Only feedback for improvement may be to keep the seasonings (on the meats) simple - a little salt brings out flavors nicely; I found the sauces generally too sweet.

This place is AMAZING! The filet mignon literally melts in your mouth. The rice is true Japanese style rice. Other than the filet mignon, we had the octopus, chicken breast, shrimp, ribeye, mushrooms, peppers and onions, cucumber salad, and spicy edamame. They have a wonderful bar with a wide variety of cocktails, beers, sake and wine. Great atmosphere with wonderful decor- keeping the original brick and also some modern industrial feel. The grills are great, and it's so fun to cook your food right at the table. They have really done a great job- nothing else like this in Dallas.

Amazing food! A lot of fun cooking your own meal at the table. The happy hour special is great to split between two people. The beef and shrimp are delicious.

We made a last minute reservation here before grabbing drinks in Deep Ellum. It has a fun atmosphere. Everything is carefully orchestrated. We ordered 1lb of the filet, .5lb of the beef belly, shishito peppers, karaage, and a few more apps. This was better than the korean bbq places I'm used to. They had vents built in right above the metal grates, so you didn't smell smoke or leave smelling like it. Definitely a fun date night for a reasonable price.

Never had Japanese BBQ before, it’s like the evil twin to Shabu Shabu. You grill meats and vegetables on a rock heat fire grate. Makes for a great fun dinner, similar to Swiss Raclette. Make sure and try their appetizers which were fantastic - we had agedashi tofu and Horenso Gomae. Place is popular so get reservations and it’s in Deep Elum so don’t leave anything in your car. We will definitely be back

A happenstance meeting with Lena - the manager of Niwa - at a cafe gave us the opportunity for some amazing unpretentious umami. Dish after dish was incredible. So good - that in their pure form with the chef’s seasoning or marinade was a gustatory delight without the need of anything else. Mallorie - our server - and her colleagues gave comparable table service as that of Michelin star restaurant. Quite a jewel that’s worthy of a detour 😉

The best meal during my short trip to Dallas was without a doubt Niwa. We chose it at random and a group of four got a table on a Thursday evening without any problems. The meny was interesting and varied, although vegetarian/vegans might find themselves a tad bit limited. However, we ordered both starters and a few BBQ with the help of a superprofessional and friendly waiter. Some of the starters included a very flavourful pork belly, edamame and the highlight for me was the okonomiyaki. It was billed as the chef speciality and oh how perfect it was. Rich with flavor, lots of umami and contrast with a bit of a crunch,and not at all soggy in the middle like some tend to be. The sirloin steak as well as the other pork belly (two separate dishes of pork belly) were my personal favorites of the BBQ part, both of which were filled with intense flavors, interesting spices and paired with three different sauces. I finished the meal with a match ice cream sandwich,where the ice cream was just enough to not be too sweet with the cake instead delivering the sweetness. The cocktails and the sake were good as well, however the cocktail was a tad bit on the watery side w perhaps too much ice. We ordered and ate a lot. The food came quickly, with instructions on how to cook it the best . For what we ate, in terms of quality, quantity, and flavor it felt reasonably well prized, perhaps a tiny bit expensive. The food we got was incredibly fresh though.I hope to be able to come back here at some point. When I do, I will probably eat a whole lot.