How much is hibachi catering per person?

SIFU works out to about $40 per guest at the 20-guest package, and every guest receives chicken, steak, and shrimp rather than a single protein choice. Fuel, travel, setup, a professional hibachi chef, and a dedicated event attendant are all included. Guests added between package tiers are $50 each.

How much does hibachi at home cost in Rhode Island?

SIFU's Signature Hibachi is $800 for up to 20 guests, $1,600 for up to 40, and $2,400 for up to 60, with $50 per additional in-between guest. Every guest gets chicken, steak, and shrimp plus all the traditional sides. Fuel, travel, and setup within our standard service area are included, with no hidden fees. The quote you approve is what you pay.

What is included in SIFU's hibachi catering?

The full hibachi menu for every guest: chicken, steak, and shrimp, plus fried rice, noodles, hibachi vegetables, salad, edamame, and signature sauces. Every event also includes a professional hibachi chef, a dedicated event attendant who handles food distribution and cleanup, and complete setup and breakdown. Premium upgrades such as filet mignon, salmon, scallops, and lobster tail are available.

Can SIFU serve alcohol at my event in Rhode Island?

Yes. SIFU holds a Rhode Island Class P caterer's liquor license, so we can provide and serve alcohol with professional bartenders, craft cocktails, beer, wine, and spirits, with liquor liability covered. Most at-home catering companies cannot legally pour a drink. With SIFU, the food and the bar run on one vendor and one invoice. Bar service is priced as a separate add-on. Contact us for a quote.

Can I add a sushi bar to my hibachi event?

Yes. A chef-crafted sushi bar can be added to any hibachi package, with fresh rolls made on site and sized to your guest count, or booked on its own. Pairing live-fire hibachi with a fresh sushi bar is something most at-home hibachi caterers cannot offer. Contact us for sushi options and pricing.

What is the difference between White Glove Service and White Glove Concierge?

White Glove Service is a $300 add-on that brings additional hospitality staff to any package for a smoother, more hands-off event. White Glove Concierge is a separate premium package starting at $1,600 for up to 20 guests, built around personalized planning, a full sit-down setup with tables, chairs, linens, place settings, and decor, and premium protein upgrades including Wagyu, lobster, and scallops. Because Concierge is tailored to each event, contact us for a personalized quote.

Does SIFU offer drop-off catering without a live chef?

Yes. Drop-off catering is delivered to your event without an on-site chef or live cooking, starting at a $500 minimum. Orders can combine dishes from the SIFU kitchen and our partner kitchens, including Mediterranean and Dominican-Japanese fusion, delivered together as one order. Hibachi is optional rather than required. Contact us for menus and delivery details.

Does SIFU cater weddings, corporate events, and large parties?

Yes. SIFU serves events from 10 to 600 guests, with multiple hibachi stations, dedicated attendants, licensed bar service, and custom event planning for weddings, rehearsal dinners, corporate gatherings, conferences, and large private parties. Contact us for a custom quote and capacity planning.

What areas does SIFU Catering serve?

SIFU is a mobile caterer based at 24 Haven Ave in Cranston, Rhode Island, serving Rhode Island along with nearby southeastern Massachusetts and eastern Connecticut, generally within about 35 miles of Cranston. That covers Providence, Newport, Warwick, Cranston, Barrington, East Greenwich, Seekonk, Attleboro, Fall River, and surrounding towns. We come to your home or venue. Contact us about locations outside that range.

Is there a deposit to book?

For parties under 20 guests there is no deposit, and you pay your chef on the day once the grill is set up. For weddings and larger events, a fully refundable hold secures your date and locks your price. Contact us to confirm current booking terms.

Lunar New Year Catering: A Reunion Dinner Nobody Has to Cook

Paul Yu
Aug 4
3 min read

A hibachi chef for Lunar New Year means a large family meal where nobody in the family has to cook it. From $800 for up to 20 guests — about $40 each — with chicken, steak, and shrimp for everyone, cooked in front of the table.

One honest note before anything else: hibachi is Japanese, and Lunar New Year is a Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and broader East and Southeast Asian holiday. This is not a traditional New Year menu and we're not going to pretend otherwise.

So why book it

Because the point of the reunion dinner is the table, not the menu.

It's the largest family meal of the year, it's about abundance and everyone being in one room, and it traditionally lands on whoever cooks — usually the same person, for hours, while everyone else visits. That person misses their own reunion dinner.

A chef and a dedicated attendant handle the cooking, the serving, and the cleanup. Everyone sits down at the same time, including the person who normally doesn't.

Plenty of families run it alongside the traditional dishes rather than instead of them — the dishes that carry meaning get made at home, and the volume comes off the griddle.

The noodles, at least, are right

Long noodles at New Year symbolize long life across several of these traditions, and they're served uncut for exactly that reason.

Hibachi noodles are part of every package we serve. That's a coincidence rather than a design, but it's a genuine one, and it's the part of the meal that fits the occasion without anyone stretching.

Whole fish, dumplings, and the dishes that carry specific meaning are not things we make. If those matter at your table, make them — and let us cover everything else.

What the name means

Since it's relevant this once: sifu — 師傅 — is a Chinese term for a master craftsman or teacher, someone who has put in the years. It's where the name comes from.

We're a Japanese-food operation with a Chinese name, run out of Rhode Island, working with partner kitchens that cook Mediterranean and Dominican-Japanese fusion. That's a fairly accurate description of how food actually works around here.

Lunar New Year catering at a glance

Live hibachi: $800 up to 20 guests · $1,600 up to 40 · $2,400 up to 60 · $50 per additional in-between guest
Per-guest rate: about $40
Proteins per guest: 3 (chicken, steak, shrimp) — no upgrade charge
Also included: fried rice, noodles, vegetables, salad, edamame, signature sauces
Staff: 1 chef + 1 dedicated attendant, cleanup included
Indoor capability: electric griddles with our own battery power
Drop-off catering: from $500, no chef on site
Capacity: 10 to 500 guests
Service charge and automatic gratuity: none

It's February, so you're indoors

Lunar New Year falls in late January or February, which is the hardest time of year to book mobile hibachi in New England.

Most operators run on propane, which cannot be burned safely in an enclosed space because it produces carbon monoxide. Several refuse indoor work outright, and they're right to. That leaves you outdoors in February, which is not a reunion dinner.

We bring electric griddles and our own battery power. Inside the house, no combustion, no reliance on your circuits.

Large families, and the ones with everything

Reunion dinners run large. One chef handles up to about 30 guests before the food slows down, so past 40 we send two chefs and two grills running at the same time rather than one chef working two rounds. We staff up to 500.

Gluten-free: entire menu including the noodles
Vegan: cooked separately, tofu as the protein
Shellfish allergy: managed by cook order — all seafood last, shellfish absolutely last
Notice: at booking, not on the day

Three proteins for every guest also handles the range in a multi-generation room without anyone having to choose.

Book it

Lunar New Year is a fixed date and every family in the region wants the same evening, so treat it like Thanksgiving — six weeks out, earlier for a large group.

Text or call 401-402-9616 with your date, town, and headcount for a flat quote.

Large-group staffing is covered in mobile hibachi for large events in Rhode Island, and full pricing is in SIFU Catering prices, packages and specifications.

SIFU Hibachi & Sushi Catering — kitchens in Cranston and Providence, RI.