Spokane, WA

My husband’s entire family was in town this past weekend to celebrate birthdays, Mother’s Day and retirement. Trying to find a place to take everyone to dinner where there is something for everyone’s pallet and is appropriate for a toddler is a difficult task. However, we found the perfect place, the Shogun Restaurant located downtown at 821 E. 3^rd.

The Shogun Restaurant is not only a restaurant, it is also an event. As you walk into the Shogun you enter a dark room where you walk across a bridge that goes over a small pond with a huge waterfall on the other side. As you walk down the bridge you are greeted by a hostess to takes you to your table.

If this is your first visit to the Shogun you will quickly notice that this is not like any other restaurant in Spokane. Your table, which if your reservation does not fill, is shared with other diners. Also, in the middle of the table is a large flat grill. This is where your meal will be cooked. That is right, your meal is cooked right in front of you.

Once we were seated, the waitress came and took our drink order and then quickly came back to deliver our drinks and take our food order. After everyone had ordered she quickly brought out our first course, soup. The soup was a broth soup with some mushrooms and green onions in it. It was very tasty. Of course, I did not get to eat the mushrooms as my son loved them! The next course was a green salad course with an Asian dressing. That too was very good.

After the first two courses are cleared, a chef appears at our table to cook our entrées. We were a diverse group who had ordered everything from chicken and steak to kobe beef and crab. The chef is there not only to cook your food but also to entertain. Which was good because at this point my son was beginning to get restless. The chef began by pouring alcohol on the grill and setting it on fire. After the flames died on went the vegetables and rice. While those were cooking he tossed some eggs into the air, caught them on his spatula, spun them around and then cracked them perfectly on the side of his spatula. This was entertaining to all of us.

After the vegetables and rice were done he served us. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and contained a mixture of leeks, onions, mushrooms and zucchini. The rice which was also a combination of white rice, eggs and some miscellaneous vegetables. The rice was delicious too. After the rice and vegetables were taken care of, he began cooking our meat. My husband ordered steak and chicken which was cooked with some teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds. Both were very good. I ordered chicken and shrimp. I enjoy chicken but love shrimp. I rarely eat it though so it was a special treat tonight. The rest of the family all ordered Kobe beef and either chicken, crab or shrimp. I tasted my mother in law’s Kobe beef and it was so tender. It literally melted in your mouth.

Meal prices at the Shogun run between $17 and $30 a plate. The drink prices are right in line with other restaurants in town.

Overall we had a great meal with great conversation. Reservations are necessary at the Shogun and can be made by calling them at 534-7777. Their website is www.shogunspokane.com.