Shima Japanese Steakhouse opened this past weekend on Coronado's main thoroghfare, in an 8000-square-foot space that was previously Firehouse Bar and Grill; it's a teppanyaki-style eatery, where chefs cook your meal on a large tabletop griddle while performing tricks, from juggling cooking tools to flipping bites of food into customers' mouths and stacking onion rings into a flaming volcano.
Tim Aaron, who owns the nearby Nicky Rotten's on Orange Avenue, has upgraded the Benihana experience with higher quality ingredients and modern, Asian-inspired design, from cherry blossom trees suspended above the main dining room to backlit photos of Portland's Japanese garden behind a bar serving signature cocktails and a variety of cold sake, from dry to sweet.
Open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, Shima is aiming to provide a different kind of dining experience for locals on and off the island; there is a sushi bar and a la carte dishes, but the menu offered at eleven large teppanyaki tables of various sizes, including two grills inside a 30-person private room for special events, is the main event.
Each teppanyaki meal comes with the works, including soup, salad, grilled vegetables, a shrimp appetizer, rice and sauces, ice cream and tea. Protein options range from 100% wagyu strip loin grilled with garlic butter and mushrooms to Jidori chicken breast and sea scallops with butter and lemon, with smaller portions available at lunch.
