Sushi Kanpai Santa Monica

I finally visited Sushi Kanpai after it had been on my list for a while, and I’m glad I did. I happened to be nearby (it’s right next door to O’Brien’s, the NY Giants bar, even though the team hasn’t been relevant for about 15 years), and I was able to get a reservation at the sushi bar. Surprisingly, the bar was almost empty at 7 pm on a Saturday, which actually made the experience feel relaxed and personal. The menu had many items I already love and a few I hadn’t tried before. Prices are definitely higher than what I’m used to, but it’s Santa Monica and the quality is strong, so it felt fair. I considered doing omakase, not sure if they officially offer it, but ended up ordering a series of nigiri pieces. Food highlights: - Shoraku ponzu appetizer — delicious, bright, and something I

Ate here with friends after our Pokemon Go event. The staff are so nice and friendly! In addition to the great tasting food (orders ranging from sushi to ramen), they were really kind and generous to our table! We came with a Fennekin plush and they set him up really nice with us!

This is the best sushi in all of Santa Monica. Chef Yoshi makes the biggest hand rolls. The menu is very extensive. We eat here once a week and love the food.

Hidden gem. Noticeably high quality ingredients and great service. Even my Korean mom, who is germaphobic and difficult to impress, enjoyed her meal very much. Will be coming here again. We ordered the oyster/uni (!), the baked scallop roll (!), the chirashi bowl, the sea cucumber, and the spicy japan scallop roll. Everything tasted fantastic and we didn't leave a single grain of rice. In my opinion, it's rare to encounter Japanese food in America that I end up loving. Every raw ingredient looked and tasted fresh. Uni here was creamy, the green tea was well-steeped, and the sesame seeds on the spicy japan roll were aromatic. I highly recommend that you come here for a special occasion or whenever you crave extremely FRESH Japanese food.

I have been coming to Kanpai for over 15 years. They finally opened up a location in Santa Monica. The most important Takeaway about this restaurant is the wide variety of exotic Japanese sushi sashimi. They have incredible seasonal type shellfish, and a variety of fish that you will not ordinarily get at any other sushi restaurant. I highly recommend this restaurant to the real Japanese sushi enthusiast.