hibachi party
In February, we had a few grandparent birthdays to celebrate and decided it would be fun to have an at-home Hibachi party. My husband and I had previously attended an at-home Hibachi party with some friends and decided to use the same company (Let’s Hibachi) since the food and entertainment were fabulous. We also loved the idea of simply providing the venue without the stress of cooking and cleaning for a large group of adults and kids.
Working with Let’s Hibachi (Houston) was so easy. I found all the party information, including costs and food and table options on their website, and booked the party by simply filling out a form online with my date, number of guests, and food preferences. Then, the week of the party, the Let’s Hibachi coordinator got in touch with me to finalize the details and answer any questions. Being someone who worries a lot about outdoor parties, I felt more confident booking with them because of their favorable cancellation policy, which allowed us to keep an eye on the weather closer to the party date.
When we attended our friends’ Hibachi party, they used the table setup option since it was a large group. The tables looked great and had the perfect setting to enjoy all aspects of the party. There is an additional cost for the table setup, but it was so nice for the hosts did not have to do any extra work for setup or takedown. For our party, we did not order the table setup. We had a group of ten, including adults and kids, and felt that we could handle it.
I actually had a lot of fun finding a creative way to make a festive atmosphere in our driveway. To create our table area, I used two 6ft outdoor folding tables and folding chairs. Once we got our arrangement just right, making sure every guest could see the Hibachi area, I added simple red table cloths (linked HERE) and hung outdoor lights with these colorful lanterns (linked HERE). For the table decor, I wanted to keep it kid-friendly and have minimal cleanup, so we used disposable plates and silverware. I also added chopsticks (linked HERE) and these to-go containers (linked HERE). The to-go containers were by far the best decor items because they served as the utensil holders, flower vases (just grabbed a few bouquets from Trader Joe’s), and were the perfect way for each guest to box up their leftovers.
Other important items for our setup were the outdoor trashcan, a portable speaker for some background music (I use this one all the time, linked HERE), a small drink station with water bottles, disposable cups, and other beverages (we had beer and wine). We also borrowed a portable heater from our neighbor since the weather was a little chilly.
After everyone arrived, got their drink and found a seat at the table, the Hibachi show started. We had Chef Daniel as our host. The cooking show started with some egg toss entertainment for the kids before the grill heated up. Then, we moved into all the traditional Hibachi entertainment – food tossing, giant fires, bubbling onion volcanoes and a lot of jokes. We were all laughing, cheering and fully enjoying ourselves during the show.
Our meal consisted of a salad to start, fried rice, chicken, steak and vegetables. Every part of the meal was delicious and each person had plenty leftover from the large portions. At the friends’ party we previously attended there was also a wild sake element to the show – sprayed from water guns, a cooler and it provided a lot of entertainment. However, for the one hosted at our house, after considering our audience we opted to not have the sake element of the show and it did not take away from any of the fun. When the evening ended we packed up our leftovers, thanked our wonderful chef, and enjoyed some birthday cake with the family. It was definitely a birthday celebration to remember, so if you are looking for a unique and convenient meal to celebrate or just a fun night of food entertainment, I highly recommend Let’s Hibachi!
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