Enjoying the teppanyaki experience at Katana in Peterborough - and kids eat free

If you have ever walked past the stunning, glass fronted building on Broadway in the city centre there is a good chance you will have seen one of the tall-hatted chefs cooking at a hotplate, surrounded by guests.

You probably thought it looked fun. Well, it is. Big time.

The restaurant, with its separate “bubbles lounge” and private dining room, is huge and at the heart of it are half a dozen of these teppanyaki stations each with seating for 10 diners.

In a nutshell you order from the menu and take a seat as your main course is cooked for you, which is where the fun begins.

The restaurant is always looking at new incentives to make the food more accessible to diners who maybe don’t know what Japanese food is about - we have enjoyed the set-course lunch menu previously, served at the table.

At the weekend we returned for the recently introduced Sunday Lunch Teppanyaki offer - two courses £24.95 or three for £29.95 with a free drink - but kids under 12 eat free from the children's menu (one per adult and they get the same number of courses).

The four of us were shown to our seats (we shared with another family of four) where we ordered our food and drinks - the two girls had mocktails which are not included.

All this in anticipation of the theatre which was to unfold.

The girls had cucumber maki, nicely presented with mayo and picked ginger, and chicken Yakitori - tender chicken skewers in teriyaki sauce. Two clean plates tells it all.

My chicken karaage - coated chicken strips with a lovely dip - was tasty and plentiful, while Donna tucked into soft, steamed vegetable gyozas straight from the basket with a soy dip. Off to a great start.

And to the mains.

The girls' dishes came from the kitchen - family favourite chicken yakisoba (stir-fried Japanese noodles) which was better than the one I make at home apparently, and a katsu chicken burger, with lashings of mayo, lettuce and cucumber in a seeded bun with a bowl of fries.

Chef Raziv did the rest, providing mains for the adult diners but entertainment for all - starting with the hugely theatrical flames when the oil first hits the hot plate.

Lots of utensil juggling followed as the eggs were cooked and everyone in turn at the station invited to try to catch a carefully tossed piece of cooked egg in their mouth.

Lots of fun and free juice drinks for the kids for being such good sports – and catchers.

More dazzling exhibitionism with the utensils saw the vegetables, and rice prepared - with diners tossed a bowl of rice to catch and put on their plate.

There is a choice including chicken, lamb, salmon and duck with the mains, which Raziv was cooking as he chatted and entertained – medium rare ribeye steak for me and and for donna two seabass fillets.

A sauce of your choice is added – teriyaki for me and chef’s suggestion Tokyo Cream for Donna – then a well-deserved round of applause before we tucked in.

Terrific fun and amazing food.

Brad Barnes was dining at Katana in Broadway, Peterborough, www.katanapeterborough.co.uk