Teppan Edo + Little Kids

[Disneyvirg]

I've read that Teppan Edo is a great restaurant for kids, but how young of a child would you take there. Our youngest will be three weeks shy of her third birthday. Is she too young for this restaurant?

 

[DISNEYNUTS]

I've read that Teppan Edo is a great restaurant for kids, but how young of a child would you take there. Our youngest will be three weeks shy of her third birthday. Is she too young for this restaurant?

for us this is a not to miss restaurant. We went ever year up to three years ago. Going back for Christmas. Our Kids are 14, 12 and 10 they love this place and look forward to it each trip. They have been going there since they were babies. I think your 3yr would love watching them cook. They can make it a great experience watching.

 

[bleeps]

I have a different perspective--

The challenge with this restaurant for very young children is that you are sitting at a table for 8. Now, if yours IS a party of 8 then you're all set, sort of -- in that you won't have any other guests at your table. But the tables are all relatively tightly set (even after the remodel) and it's the kind of place where a child really needs to be capable of sitting at the table, in the chair, for the whole meal. Also, because it is a group setting (the entire table of 8, even if made up of different guests/families, is served at the same time), the waitress really can't do much to help a family with a young child -- can't bring meals out earlier, etc.

Also, although they did improve this with the remodel, you are sitting at a table that has a huge grill/cooking surface built into it and it gets extremely hot (500 degrees+, I think they say). They made the counter bigger, but it is still possible for a child to reach out and touch the cooking surface -- that would be my biggest fear with having a young child here.

My advice would be to hold off on this one until your child is a little older.

 

[DISNEYNUTS]

I have a different perspective--

The challenge with this restaurant for very young children is that you are sitting at a table for 8. Now, if yours IS a party of 8 then you're all set, sort of -- in that you won't have any other guests at your table. But the tables are all relatively tightly set (even after the remodel) and it's the kind of place where a child really needs to be capable of sitting at the table, in the chair, for the whole meal. Also, because it is a group setting (the entire table of 8, even if made up of different guests/families, is served at the same time), the waitress really can't do much to help a family with a young child -- can't bring meals out earlier, etc.

Also, although they did improve this with the remodel, you are sitting at a table that has a huge grill/cooking surface built into it and it gets extremely hot (500 degrees+, I think they say). They made the counter bigger, but it is still possible for a child to reach out and touch the cooking surface -- that would be my biggest fear with having a young child here.

My advice would be to hold off on this one until your child is a little older.

still ways to enjoy this rest w/ young kids. Put child at end were it doesn't get as hot and put adult next to child. We've done this 20 plus times and never had a problem found the staff very accomodating they are great with kids and teach them their customs as you are preparing for meals. We are a party of 5 now (sometimes 4 or 3 depending on who was born). So we never filled the table and always were seated with another family/guests and found it great fun to meet new people. I quess it would depend on your child. Ours insist on this rest., always have, even when they were little.
Do what you are comfortable with you know your child and what they will/won't be able to enjoy.

 

[Disneyvirg]

Bleeps and DISNEYNUTS - thank you for the different perspectives! I think you both make valid points. I may make the ressie - but I'll have to see how she does at local TS type restaurants right before the trip.

Bleeps - your kids never seemed SCARED of the restaurant, did they? Honestly, that was the thing I was most concerned with - I hadn't thought about DISNEYNUTS point of the hot surface possibly being too close.

 

[drew2wdw]

Bleeps - your kids never seemed SCARED of the restaurant, did they? Honestly, that was the thing I was most concerned with - I hadn't thought about DISNEYNUTS point of the hot surface possibly being too close.

Not Bleeps, but did want to weigh in and say that my DS (4 years) WAS scared of this type place! Not at Disneyworld, but we recently took him to a hibachi type place and the first time the grill flamed up he was under the table sobbing! I'm sure the reactions vary greatly from child to child but he is not a fan of loud noises (or fire up close evidently!). So I would say if your child is a little fearful of some noisy/surprising things, you may want to think carefully before doing this one!

 

[Disneyvirg]

Not Bleeps, but did want to weigh in and say that my DS (4 years) WAS scared of this type place! Not at Disneyworld, but we recently took him to a hibachi type place and the first time the grill flamed up he was under the table sobbing! I'm sure the reactions vary greatly from child to child but he is not a fan of loud noises (or fire up close evidently!). So I would say if your child is a little fearful of some noisy/surprising things, you may want to think carefully before doing this one!

Good to know! That will help with our decision. Funny thing is that based off your reply I'm thinking my current 5 year old may be the one scared of it. She doesn't deal well with loud noises - she still covers her ears when a public restroom toilet flushes!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

The hostesses at Teppan Edo are very aware that young children will be near a hot stove. They will do their best to place them on a corner etc where they have the farthest reach from the hot part- so rest assured

DS went to this restaurant when he was almost 2.5 and it was one of the best dinners we had that trip!! He loved watching the chef slice and dice and ham it up. He also loved that the food was all bite sized.

It is a must do restaurant for us EVERY trip. In May, when he turned 5, they brought him children's chop sticks (rubber banded together) and he ate his WHOLE meal with them. He felt VERy grown up. They also brought him a paper chefs hat with his name and Happy Birthday written in Japanese to the table and sang to him with is dessert.

I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant for families!

ETA: DS isn't fond of loud flughing toilets either, and loves this place!

 

[BeckWhy]

We just returned and were graced with the presence of a great family. They had 5 children. They ranged from a couple months to I believe 7. One of them was a sleep (the CMs brought out a few chairs and lined them up against the wall so she could sleep). They had one that was three or so. They didn't order her her own meal, just got her a bowl of rice. All the kids really enjoyed the place. Well, we all enjoyed it.

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

We took DS3 and DS1 there in September and both of them loved it. We put DS3 in a booster near the corner and the baby in the corner in a high chair. Neither was in danger of touching the grill surface unless we as parents were totally not doing our job. They would have had to be standing up in their chairs, leaning over the table to reach it. We have taken them to teppanyaki style restaurants many times and never feared for them getting burned. They know to stay in their seats at the table.

At Teppan Edo, our server brought DS3's meal out right away after we ordered, so he was able to eat while the adults' food was being prepared. He ate at his own pace while watching the cook, who did a great job of playing to the kids.

If your kids are really sensitive to noise, some of the "show" with knives and spatulas may bother then a little bit, but I don't think most would be bothered by it. We think it's a must-do, both for us and for the kids. I hope you give it a try!

 

[northriver]

We've never actually been to Teppan Edo because we have two hibichi style japanese restruants in our neighborhood and we eat at one or the other about once a week. These resturants were my daughters favorite place to eat from the time she turned 1. She is now 3.5 and doesn't particularly care for it when they light things on fire, but she loves the food and LOVES to watch the chefs cook for us and has learned to hide her eyes before the fire parts of the "show", lol!

I agree, I always place DD at the corners so there is a little more space between her and the grill, also the corner would be the coolest part of the grill just in case she somehow managed to touch it.

While I'd say no age is too young, this type of resturant was always by far my least favorite place to breastfeed babies since you share the table with other families AND you have the chef in front of you - so basically zero privacy.

 

[Dsnymouse]

Crazy question - where is this located? On or offsite.
Thanks!

 

[lucigo]

Our son is a very picky eater, so we stopped at McD's on the way around the countries and picked him up a chicken nugget meal and he ate that while we had habachi.

 

[TJA]

We've been 3x and our twins were age 2, 3, and last trip age 5. They enjoyed all 3x eating in Japan. The cook makes it fun for the kids to watch by doing little tricks with the food while he prepares it. My kids never had any issues with the cooking area. They were told in the beginning to stay away from the hot surface, so they did. They really enjoyed the experience and we really enjoyed the food! It's a not-to-miss restaurant for us each trip.

 

[TDC Nala]

Crazy question - where is this located? On or offsite.
Thanks!

Japanese pavilion in the World Showcase at Epcot.

 

[Colleen27]

My DD was 4 the first time we took her to a hibachi restaurant (not Teppan Edo but a similar restaurant in the real world) and she loved it. Both my kids did/do, and it is very much a "most do" on our list. I wouldn't worry too much about a child reaching out to touch the cooking surface. It isn't *that* close to the seating, especially if you seat the little one at the corner, and the chef does warn children to stay away from the hot surface.

 

[GentleOceanWind]

We visit local hibachi restaurants pretty regularly, and my noise-sensitive 2.5 yo dd loves the show! What is hard for us is the wait time before the actual cooking begins, so I bring a little ziplock filled with stickers, crayons, small notepad, gluestick and foam shapes, to keep her busy while we enjoy sushi and some peace.

And usually, she is restless before the end of any adult meal, so dh (or me, whoever finishes first) will usually take her for a little walk to explore the restaurant and exterior area while the everyone else finishes. We did the same with our ds who is now almost nine yo. They both have always loved Japanese food (fried rice, potstickers, grilled shrimp/chicken, miso soup...)

We've never been to a hibachi table where the cooking table was dangerously close, and the chefs usually make it pretty clear right away how hot it is. As far as the noisy/fiery stuff, when we see that coming, whoever is sitting next to dd will usually cuddle with arms "protectively" around her and make a snuggly exciting moment of it, "wheeeee, look at THAT!" in a cheerful voice to help set the tone and reassure her that she is safe. And because I'm neurotic like that, after dinner I like to include a statement along the lines of, "We know better than to play with fire, don't we!"

Btw, we have ressies for Teppan Edo next week - doing lunch then the 5 PM Candlelight Processional. I got a reservation for 8 of us even though I just called tonight! I'll be back with a review in a few weeks!

 

[Allison]

Also, because it is a group setting (the entire table of 8, even if made up of different guests/families, is served at the same time), the waitress really can't do much to help a family with a young child -- can't bring meals out earlier, etc.

I have been to Teppan Edo several times and I have always seen the servers be very accomodating to young children. The youngest children are seated at the end of the table so they are furthest from the grill. I have seen meals brought out early for them, extra towels handed around to help with clean up and various other friendly gestures.

My kids love it.

 

[Disneyvirg]

Great comments from everyone! Depending on how our TS list comes together we'll likely give this place a try!

I look forward to your review once you returen, GentleOceanWind! Have a great time in FL!

 

[Terapin]

I'll weigh in. My kids thought it was great. They are younger and older than yours, but still really enjoyed it. The food was top-notch and pretty healthy. I found that when the kids were getting a bit restless waiting for the chef, that I requested a bowl of rice and chopsticks, and that worked well. I think they had little chopstick helper devices for the kids? Anyways, it was good food, fun atmosphere, and entertaining.

My kids are really used to restaurants and I think one key piece of not developing a picky eater is exposure, exposure, exposure. My kids will eat sushi, hot pot soups, Indian, even Ethiopian food. If all else fails, there's always plain rice!