The new location features a 7,500-square-foot restaurant with 12 large tables where teppanyaki chefs can chop, grill and put on a show. A modern bar seats 50 and a front patio has room for another 20 customers who can look out over the goings on of the shopping center. TV screens dot the space but the real show is the flames and steam shooting up from tables throughout the dining room, which elicit a chorus of “ohs” and “ahs.”
Along with meat, rice and seafood cooked right in front of you, Kasai offers a full menu of dishes from the kitchen. Starters include Korean steak tacos, Mongolian lamb chops and lobster dumplings. Next, customers can pick from a selection of soups, salads and sushi before diving into entrees like the Wagyu burger and fries, double lobster tails or a steak. Desserts range from a bananas Foster spring roll to cool and creamy frozen pineapple soft serve.
Here’s a peak inside the new restaurant and its grand opening celebration.
Kasai’s owners along with Peoria Mayor Jason Beck cut the ribbon to officially open the new restaurant on Thursday night.
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Handblown glass is used in a giant chandelier and a funky backdrop for the host stand at Kasai.
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The bar area sits at the front of the restaurant and has room for 50 customers.
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Two of the restaurant’s signature cocktails are the Plumptious made with Akashi Ume Japanese whisky, pear liqueur, blackberry puree and fresh lemon juice and the Lavender Yuzu Drop which features citrus vodka, Choya Yuzu liqueur, creme de violet, fresh lemon juice and a sugar rim.
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Fire dancers performed at the restaurant’s grand opening celebration. Above, modern vents keep the restaurant clear of any smoke from the tabletop grills.
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At Kasai, customers sit around U-shaped tables and watch as chefs prepare their meals right on the flattop in front of them.
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At Kasai, each table gets its own chef who cooks their dinner on a tabletop iron grill or teppan.
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Mongolian lamb chops and Mongolian barbecue ribs are two of the appetizers available at Kasai.
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Kasai doesn’t only serve cooked meats and seafood. There are also multiple varieties of sushi on the menu.
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The Kasai-Tai (right) is a boozy tipple made with Bacardi rum, almond liqueur, orange liqueur, pineapple puree, fresh lime and a Myers’s rum float. It is garnished with a flaming sugar cube.
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Kasai is now fully open in Peoria. Customers can make reservations online.
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Next to the bar, a wall filled with bottles displays Kasai’s wide range of wine offerings.
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Kasai Japanese Steakhouse
9744 W. Northern Ave., Peoria
