201 E Bethany Dr
Allen, TX 75002
(972) 396-7600
Our Sunday quest for late lunch/early dinner took us into the direction of Allen. Hubby and I stumbled onto Hibachi Rock, and DH made the executive decision to pull up and dine, despite my reminder that Japanese restaurants don’t typically open until 5pm for dinner (it being 4pm on a Sunday afternoon).
We almost ended up in the adjoining Thai restaurant, but DH was insistent that Hibachi Rock was open. A quick scan of the restaurant sign revealed that HB was not only open, but open all day. Intrigued, we went in and sat down for the eponymous hibachi.
Hibachi Rock is subtitled Live Grill and Sushi Bar. Walking through the front door, we were confronted by a stage-and-light setup, suggesting live music and/or karaoke played here. Happily, there was no stage show today, and we were grateful for the relatively quiet and subdued atmosphere. Our server led us through the table and tv-studded bar area to the back where the grills were.
While our server brought out our sodas, we were confronted by the variety of grill items and roll options. I was determined to sample their Thai Style Fried Beef for an appetizer. We then finally narrowed our hibachi choices to Salmon Teriyaki and Filet/Scallops/Shrimp and ordered 2 rolls, Bethany and Caveman, for accompaniment.
The miso soup accompanying our hibachi entrees was warm and thick, though slightly saltier than I’m used to having. Both hubby and I dug into the light ginger-dressed salad hungrily. Apparently, the dressing wasn’t too overpowering for hubby to consume. The fried beef appetizer tasted great, slightly crispy, and enhanced by the sriracha dressing on the side. It paired well with the fried rice that our hibachi chef delivered.
On to the hibachi…normally, the show put on by these hibachi restaurants don’t grab my attention, usually proving more of a distraction to the meal. But our hibachi chef went straight into his performance without prompting and persuaded us to be entertained. He proved adept with his flying spatulas, the egg-toss-into-the-hat routine, and cracking the egg at the tip of his blade (though I would have to deduct points for some shell bits that he had to clean up). He made our food dance on the grill top, and while the delicious rolls came to divert us, he made sure to command our attention with the delicious aromas wafting from the grill. He proved to be attentive to demographics as well; he later entertained a family at another table, making sure to impress the kids with darkened lights and a train whistle.
Onto the food. The filet mignon came medium rare as requested. The scallops and shrimp however tasted slightly undercooked and may have benefited from a little more grill time, though they were no less tasty. My salmon teriyaki came out excellent: moist and delicious. I was glad to discover that the teriyaki sauce was not thick and cloying like some places.
The first roll delivered to our table was the Caveman roll, a seaweed topped eel roll that surprised both of us. The use of cream cheese seemed to tie the whole roll together, giving a slightly sour note to the overall sweetness of seaweed and eel. Both of us agreed it was an amazing roll. The second roll was their Bethany roll, a baked salmon special topped with mayo sauce. It came served on a charger dish, and the server warned us that it was temperature hot. Again, we were bowled over…the crab/salmon and mayo combo melted in my mouth, the flavor combinations were extremely satisfying.
In the end, I had to cry no more, having cleaned off my plate and consumed more than my belly could handle. DH was pleasantly surprised that I had reached my limit. We both agreed that we had made a delightful discovery in our neck of the woods, a short drive from Wylie into Allen. We’ll definitely be back for more!
