Reviews for Kanpai Sushi in Shell Beach, CA
Front end could use better time management, few employees just standing around with their phones. Dana our hostess was awesome,... she clearly stood out from others, on time with our needs. Chef and support staff had excellent ticket times and attitude!Quality of food was on point with reasonable prices. Atmosphere was inviting, good music and drinks. Would definitely come back.Cheers ???????? Read more
I've eaten in a lot of Sushi Houses, from cafeteria looking restaurants to traditional Japanese decorative style to progressive... new age decorative design with neon back lights. Kanpai is known as the local best Sushi House. More of atradition/conservative decorative style with limited seating. Highly recommended to make a reservation, that's the popularity. The staff is very attentive and friendly. Like I said, I've eaten at a lot of sushi houses, so I was expecting a bang from asushi house at a coastal city. Honestly, the food was good, but the rolls were a little skinnier than some other places I'vebeen, and the most important, the flavor, I felt all the food was on the bland side, but I come from a family of cooks, abrother who even became a chef, so when I spend $50+ on a meal per person, I expect the flavors to be complex and explosive. Itjust fell short for the hype. I made a reservation 2 days in advance because of the exclusive seating, and my best foodexperience was at Cool Cats, which was a show up and be seated diner style restaurant, which I went to twice in a 4 dayvacation, to try more food options. Read more
Make your reservations N O W. It?s so good. Everything is S O fresh and delicious, and presented beautifully! The wait staff is... attentive and timely. You won?t regret eating here. We were stuffed. It was my favorite meal of our whole trip! ???? Read more
Order up if you would like hair in your Sushi! Both my friend and I found long hairs wrapped into our rolls. Generally if it?s... just barely on the side I can skip that section and proceed, but when a hair clearly becomes a main ingredient it?s too hard andgross to let go?let alone x2. I think the most unfortunate part of our experience tho is that the staff and manager not onlydidn?t make an effort to take care of us but proceeded to blame and accuse us that it was our own hair. Truthfully appalled atthe low level of service and it is concerning because any clean restaurant would make a diligent effort to fix this sort ofissue. Needed less to say we will NOT EVER be returning. Read more
Make reservations. The service is great but it is eclipsed by the food. Super fresh fish, tempura is perfect, udon is amazing. ... Be warned when you order a tempura udon it isnt 1 piece of shrimp its a whole tempura app that comes with the udon. Read more
Great food but bizarre table service. Our three dinner selections were delivered 15 minutes apart ..the third meal was never... delivered as it was sold out. Windy brought out a replacement that we never ordered!!! If you don't mind eating your food atseparate times in front of your company, then this would be five ? Read more
Really great sushi spot near Pismo Beach, and seems to be a popular spot among locals as well! We had a few nigiris, including... salmon, freshwater eel, hotate (scallop), ikura (salmon roe), Santa Barbara uni (sea urchin), all of which were really fresh.They seem to really dedicate efforts into sourcing their seasonal fish correctly! We had the California roll and Crunchy Dragonrolls, both of which were great too. And finally, we ordered the Miso Ramen for something hearty ? decent broth flavour, but thenoodles were slightly overcooked, unfortunately. Otherwise, I would definitely recommend this place if you are looking for somefresh sushi and Japanese food. Read more
Our date night at Kanpai was amazing! A 10 minute wait for an outdoor table gave us time to review the menu. The host was very... nice and accommodating. Our waitress was stellar too! Everything we ordered (tempura, clam miso, sukiyaki, sashimi) was perfecttemperature & completely delicious. For dessert, we ordered the green tea cheesecake, which was one if the best things I haveever eaten! We will definitely be returning! Read more