Teppan Edo Dining Review + Hibachi Tips for Weight Watchers

My husband and I have been wanting to try Teppan Edo at Epcot for years, and finally we did for a nice Valentine's Day evening! This Walt Disney World restaurant is one of my new favorites and I had to review it for you all to see why - plus, a few tips for not going overboard at a hibachi are at the end if you're on Weight Watchers like I am!

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What is Teppan Edo?

Teppan Edo is a Japanese hibachi grill in the Japan Pavilion at Epcot, located in the World Showcase. Teppan Edo and Tokyo Dining are both located on the second floor of Mitsukoshi, the gift shop of the Japan Pavilion. There are some gorgeous views of the Japan Pavilion here (and when you get your pager after checking in, you can roam the entire Japan Pavilion with it - you are not restricted to just the lobby!). 

How do I eat there?

You will likely need a dining reservation, which you can book on the Disney website or the My Disney Experience app. To check in, head up the stairs (or elevator) and you will find yourself in the lobby. A cast member helped us check in, and as the restaurants share a lobby, it was helpful - but note that Teppan Edo is on the left side when you enter.

The dining experience

Like most hibachi restaurants, your table is communal style. Your server sets you up with your drinks and your order, and will ask if anyone would like - as our server Ryo called them - “cheater chopsticks” which a few people at our table accepted. Ryo took the paper sheath the chopsticks came in, turned them into origami cranes like it was as simple as folding the paper in half once, and then used the crane to attach the chopsticks, held together by a rubber band. Color me impressed! 

Our chef was Yasuka, and let me just start off by saying if I could hire her to cook for me every night, I would. The atmosphere was very fun, and because you are at Disney, as Yasuka said, “Mickey is everywhere!” This started with her putting the soybean oil on the grill in the shape of Mickey Mouse ears (plus added a bow to make it Minnie Mouse), and continued with the onion volcano being transformed into Mickey with the help of other vegetables. Even when she put the butter on our vegetables, she put the little scoops on there to resemble Mickey ears! This is such a cute touch, even for adults.

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とても おいしい です よ! ?⁣ ⁣ Anthony and I enjoyed some hibachi at Teppan Edo last night, and as our chef Yasuka said, Mickey is everywhere! ???⁣ Swipe ➡️ for volcano video ? ⁣ I’ll have a review of Teppan Edo coming to the blog soon ? spoiler alert: was the perfect Valentine’s dinner!

A post shared by Jessica • Disney + WW Blogger (@magicallyfit) on Feb 15, 2020 at 2:22pm PST

My husband and I both ordered the chicken and shrimp. When you get an entree here, you get a ton of food - ours came with a salad (with a delicious ginger-based dressing), then udon and vegetables, then white rice, and whatever your protein options are. 

Tips for Weight Watchers at hibachi grills

So it goes without saying that hibachis can strike fear in the hearts of Weight Watchers - after all, as you can see, we got a ton of food with our meal, and it can be scary to tackle when you are out and far from home. But have no fear! Here are some tips for managing if you're worried about going overboard.

1. Don't be afraid to ask for a to go box. This is a great tactic at any restaurant, especially when you ask for one right off the bat. Then, you can practice some portion control while you're there so you don't feel bloated beyond belief if you, like me, don't trust yourself to not eat everything put on your plate.
2. Pace yourself. The beauty of hibachi grills is that you don't usually get all your food served at the same time. You're watching them cook it up and it is being served to you piece by piece - this was the case at Teppan Edo, at least, and has been at other hibachis I've been to. If you find them serving it to you piece by piece, take it slow and give yourself time to digest and ask yourself how full you're feeling. You can even try a few bites of everything, but save some for later so you can sample everything and then do your fullness check - and then if you are full, your to go box will come in handy!  
3. Pre-track your meal to the best of your ability. Do this before you track any of your other food for the day. This way, you know what you are working with in two regards: you can plan for lower SmartPoints (but still healthy and nutritious - don't starve yourself!) for your other meals, but also you can go into the restaurant with a game plan, especially if you checked the menu beforehand. Unfortunately, Disney does not include the nutritional info for any of their restaurants, so the best I can do for tracking is generic options in My Fitness Pal and the WW app. That being said, I'm also sure to track a little butter and soybean oil since I know they typically cook with it. I also like to plan to go on the higher side to play it safe. 
4. To avoid deprivation, try something you wouldn't normally have. This is something I like to do with desserts because I have a sweet tooth. To avoid eating my trigger foods, I stick to a rule with desserts that always works for me: try something I can't just get at the grocery store, and if I'm to have anything, have it while I'm out. I tried the Green Tea Mousse Cake at Teppan Edo and it was delicious, worth however many Weekly SmartPoints I spent on it, but because it's not like I can just go buy that at Publix, I didn't feel the need to go on a sweets binge the next day. If savory foods are more your thing, you could apply this method to that as well. It allows me to not feel deprived while also not setting me back into a cycle of bad habits.
5. Enjoy yourself and use your Weekly SmartPoints! Sometimes, special occasions come up and you're going to want to enjoy your evening without obsessing over calories. If we were not allowed to use our Weekly SmartPoints on WW, we would never have been given them in the first place, so don't be afraid to dip into that budget and be kind to yourself. Remember, no one lost weight from eating one salad, so you won't gain a ton from one meal either. 

What is your favorite spot around the World Showcase? Japan is my favorite by far! Let me know in the comments where you tend to hang out the most at Epcot.