Arigato owners open Little Ari's in Burke Mill Village

The owners of a local Japanese hibachi restaurant have opened up a slimmed-down version in Burke Mill Village.

A variety of dishes at Little Ari’s Japanese Kitchen on Thursday.

Little Ari’s Japanese Kitchen opened Aug. 1 at 3429 Burke Mill Road in the shopping center that holds Guitar Center and Academy Sports + Outdoors.

It is the second Little Ari’s, the first having opened in Greensboro in 2018. Both are owned by the family that runs Arigato Japanese Steak & Seafood House. The first Arigato opened in 1982 at 2995 Bethesda Place, just off South Stratford Road. The second Arigato opened in Greensboro in 1987.

Makoto “Mack” Matsuoka serves as general manager for all four restaurants on behalf of his parents, Toshiko and Tetsuo Matsouka, who he said are “mostly retired.”

As the name suggests, Little Ari’s is designed as more or less a smaller version of Arigato — yet, it manages to have a fairly extensive menu.

People eat lunch at Little Ari’s Japanese Kitchen.

The restaurant seats about 70 inside. Seating is a mix of tables and booths. Situated on the end of the shopping center, it has two full walls of windows, offering plenty of natural light.

The restaurant is fast-casual, offering quick counter service, though it does use regular plates and silverware. Unlike Arigato, Little Ari’s does not sell alcohol, yet the food menu manages to offer just about everything that Arigato has — and then some.

“We don’t sell the snapper, lobster or scallops,” Matsuoka said, partly because Little Ari’s tries to keep the prices lower than at Arigato.

Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen at 3439 Burke Mill Road.

Half of the menu is hibachi, like you’d find at Arigato. “We’re using the same recipes, same ingredients, same sauces,” Matsuoka said. The one major exception, he said, is that they tweaked the teriyaki sauce so that it would do better for takeout.

Customers can choose from about 10 different proteins plus vegetables and can choose a regular or “light” — i.e. smaller — size.

Choices include teriyaki chicken, tofu, shrimp, filet mignon, and hibachi shrimp, chicken and steak. Combos are available as well. There’s also katsu (fried panko-coated) chicken, spicy chicken, tofu and shrimp.

Address: 3429 Burke Mill Road, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27103

Phone: 336-331-3893

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Website: www.littleari.com

Regular hibachi plates start at $9.80 and go up to $18.80 for the filet mignon. The light portions – available only for the teriyaki chicken and hibachi chicken, shrimp and salmon—range from $9 to $10.65.

For hibachi plates, customers also can choose steamed or fried rice, various vegetables and one of six sauces.

Several items are available in side-order portions, and there are also such add-ons as soup, salad and edamame.

Kids’-meal versions are available with chicken and shrimp. Lunch specials of bento boxes with fried rice, small salad, edamame and pickles are available for $6.95 to $7.80 until 3 p.m.

Shumai (left) and gyoza at Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen.

Hibachi dishes take up about half of the menu. The other half has a bunch of dishes not sold at Arigato. Ramen is available in chicken, shoyu (soy-based) and tonktoksu (pork-based) with a choice of pork loin, pork belly, chicken or tofu added for $11.95.

There are beef and chicken curry entrees ($9.80 and $9.55, respectively) and such appetizers as gyoza and shumai dumplings and nikku-mhan (large pork-filled bun). There also are onigiri (rice balls, $2.25) filled with a choice of salmon, tuna mayo, shrimp katsu or shibazuke (Japanese pickles).

Tonkotsu, pork bone-based ramen, at Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen.

Little Ari’s also offers entrée-size salads ($11.75 to $13.25) with topped with hibachi chicken, shrimp or salmon.

The restaurant also offers online ordering for takeout through its website.

Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at 3439 Burke Mill Road in Winston-Salem, N.C.

People eat lunch at Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at 3439 Burke Mill Road in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Nikku-mhan, a large bun filled with barbecue pork, at Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at 3439 Burke Mill Road in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Shumai (left) and gyoza at Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at 3439 Burke Mill Road in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Beef curry with rice Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at 3439 Burke Mill Road in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Tonkotsu, pork bone-based ramen, at Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at 3439 Burke Mill Road in Winston-Salem, N.C.

A variety of dishes at Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at 3439 Burke Mill Road in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Steak and shrimp hibachi at Little Ari's Japanese Kitchen on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at 3439 Burke Mill Road in Winston-Salem, N.C.

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336-727-7394

@mhastingswsj

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