A Benihana-style Japanese place seems like an odd choice for a group of British tourists' final meal in Santa Fe, but in the prim and proper UK, cooking on the table may be as rare as blue corn enchiladas. There are lots of choices at this spacious Asian eatery-sashimi, tempura, sushi, shu mai-but if you don't try the teppanyaki, you're missing out. It's a simple concept: You choose your meat (chicken, filet mignon, shrimp, scallops, lobster) and then it gets cooked up in front of you with a Food Network flair. Flames fly perilously high, onions get turned into an exploding volcano and the table/giant griddle seems impossibly complicated to manage. But somehow the energetic, competent chef makes sure all the different meats get cooked to the right temperature and seasoned appropriately. All meals come with two yummy dipping sauces, steamed or fried rice (go for the fried) and a fairly forgettable soup or salad. The accompanying griddled vegetables, on the other hand, could make you pass up the meat altogether. Continue the entertainment for dessert with fried tempura-style vanilla ice cream. And a word to the wise: You'll be seated around a large table with strangers unless you come with an enormous party, so this isn't a good choice when you're not feeling friendly.
3501 Zafarano Dr., 471-6698. Dinner daily. $$.
SFR Pick:
Any teppanaki combination dinner and the vegetables.
