Third-generation owner adds modern twist to 50-year-old Kobe Steakhouse in Vancouver

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The magic of Kobe Steakhouse lies in its balance between food and atmosphere.

When you dine at the downtown Vancouver restaurant, owner Dylan Bruser says, you’re welcome to have a good time.

“People can come here and just celebrate and be themselves,” says Bruser. “You can be a bit louder here, you can have a bit more fun. You don’t have to be super reserved here, like at some other restaurants.”

Opened in 1968 by Bruser’s grandfather, Michael Bruser, the teppanyaki-style steak house offers a meal-and-a-show approach to fine dining.

Sure, the food is excellent, but the real feast begins with your eyes.

“Kobe is very different from other restaurants because you get to be part of the experience, you get to have fun,” Bruser says of the dining setup that sees tables clustered around their own cooking stations where a chef slices, dices, cooks — with an impressive, feel-it-on-your-face amount of heat — and serves your meal straight from the iron griddle.

“You get to have a relationship with the person who is cooking your food,” Bruser says. “We have chefs that have been here for 20-30 years. They’re masters of the teppanyaki art. So, they’re doing tricks, there’s fire. It’s amazing.”

That relationship stems beyond just chefs and diners, according to Bruser.

“The back of house at Kobe is really like a brotherhood and sisterhood. We have this group of people that has been together for so long,” he says. “I think they have this bond that is unbreakable, and they truly enjoy working together.”

As the third generation to run the establishment, Bruser well knows the dynamics of the tight-knit group. He says he grew up working in the restaurant, learning the ins and outs about the family business before taking over.

“I have a lot of gratitude for everyone here,” Bruser says. “They’ve been my family since I’ve been a kid. And they’re still my family now. I’m just really lucky.”

Bruser’s grandfather founded the restaurant after returning from a trip to Japan in the 1960s.

“My grandfather was quite a prolific businessman. He tried a lot of things. I guess you could say he’s an entrepreneur,” he says. “He was in the car business and in the nightclub business. I think he saw this style as a niche that hadn’t really been filled in Canada and in North America.

“I think half of him fell in love with the fun that he had in Japan, and the other half, as a businessman, he saw that it was a really good business that he thought could be viable somewhere else.”

Since its opening nearly six decades ago, the menu has remained much the same.

“I think that’s part of the charm, we don’t want to mess with a good thing,” Bruser says, pointing to the restaurant’s teriyaki chicken as his personal favourite after all these years. “It’s sweet, it’s salty,” he explains. “It’s our own in-house recipe.”

What has changed recently at Kobe Japanese Steakhouse is the interior.

“We did major renovations about a year and a half ago. We totally gutted the bar and lounge area and completely brought it to modern standards,” Bruser says. “It’s very beautiful and welcoming now, but still keeping the old-world charm that Kobe has.”

While the upstairs dining area is all about enjoying a good meal — and, of course, the preceding flame show — the bar space downstairs, which is right off the entrance, is a place to make yourself feel at home.

“When you first come in, you’ll see that everyone is super warm and welcoming,” Bruser says. “Right away, we want you to feel like part of the Kobe family.”

Aharris@postmedia.com