Sapporo Teppanyaki, Liverpool

Sapporo was chosen as the location for an evening meal out with my Team at work, as several of us had heard good things about the food and atmosphere at this restaurant.

On entering, the decor is very striking. There is an emphasis on natural materials, wood, stone and leather, and their browns and greys make for a warm and comfortable feeling setting.

There is a bar area to the left as you enter, which has a range of comfy sofas (and they are really I-don't-want-to-get-up comfy!), bar stools and leather chairs, on which you can enjoy a drink. It is a pleasing feature that the bar area is on the other side of the restaurant from the dining area, as you don't feel like you are sat on the laps of those who have your table before you! The bar has a good selection of wines and spirits, though the range of beers is a bit limited in comparison.

The tables are set around the hot plates, where your meal will be cooked right before your very eyes if you select something from the Teppanyaki menu. The high back wooden chairs are unexpectedly comfy (they look like school chairs - so we were all a bit concerned at first). The menu has a lot of fish dishes on it (as you would expect from a sushi bar), but there are a range of meals offering you a choice between chicken, duck, pork, beef and lamb.

Our team had the Emperor banquet, which gave us the opportunity to try a little of everything on the menu pretty much, and there was not one complaint about the food! It was served hot, it was fresh and flavoursome, well presented on the plates and the servings were of a generous size. The Teppanyaki chef at our table was friendly and entertaining, and encouraged us to get involved - the sight of my boss trying to flip an egg into his newly acquired chef's hat is not one I will forget quickly! Watching the chef in action was almost like having live theatre with the meal - fabulous!

The only caveat I would issue here is that other people eating at the restaurant are being treated to the same spectacle - and on occasion the restaurant can be really lively. It's not a place for a quiet conversation at peak times, that's for sure!

I was also impressed with the service I received - being that I am allergic to fish oil, I expected I would be told to simply choose bits of the banquet that I could eat, or perhaps swap my share of the fish with someone who did not mind. However, this was not the case - once I informed the waitress of my allergy she returned with a senior member of staff, who was only too happy to encourage me to choose something else from the menu to substitute for the fish. This was done with minimal fuss and a genuine sense of their being happy to help.

At the end of the night we all went away with full tummies and a couple of great stories to relate to our families. I was really pleased with my night at Sapporo, and I would not hesitate in recommending it as a great place to eat in Liverpool.

Sapporo Teppanyaki is another one of those Japanese restaurants to which you should not take Japanese guests. You only force them to be polite.

No Japanese would be satisfied with Chinese soy sauce for their sushi or diluted soy sauce for the tempura. Of the sashimi, I would guess the tuna imported already frozen and cut, the mackeral had dried out and the salmon was not sliced properly. Only the sea bass came close to acceptable