Kawa

I lived for 7 years in rural Japan and have been back for 14 years and have lived all over. This is the best I’ve had outside of Hawaii and California. Absolutely the most legit Japanese food I’ve had in the entire region.

One of the best places in Augusta to get traditional Japanese cuisine! The staff is far beyond amazing. Wonderful atmosphere. Great first date location.

We ended up here because Sole was not serving food. Upon entering we were a little apprehensive because there where no people in the spot, but i heard that it was really good and decided to check it out. This is such an awesome little spot. In my search for sushi, I was in hopes it would measure up to Sole. BOY, I had to place a to go order. I was stuck between the Philadelphia Roll (salmon and cream cheese) or the Spicy Tuna Roll (tuna and jalapeño). I ordered the spicy tuna roll and it was all that and more. Really fresh, cool, and refreshing. The price was good, Ryan really made us feel like we were important. He carried light conversation with us, and he does check id, so make sure you have it with you, and he simply appreciated our business. The menu is extensive an authentic Japanese dedicates. They have a great full bar that ranged from beer, wine, liquor, and my favorite sake. I can’t wait to try some of the other dishes. I never get the picture before I eat, and afterwards will do no good, because I have eaten it all. Kawa has been in Augusta for a year and I hate this was my first time at this downtown treasure, but i promise this will not be last time. Great spot, great food, great location. Super excited about Kawa.

Lived in Japan for seven years. This is by far best Japanese cuisine in Augusta. Food is very fresh and has the right combination of spices. The tastes explode in your mouth. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed Kawa. We were strolling down Broad St. and made an impulse decision to stop in. Upon entering, we were a bit worried as there was no other people in the restuarant (usually a bad sign), but we decided to try it anyway. We had an order of the dumplings and the chicken teriyaki. Both were delicious. People started showing up more after we had been there a while. The table next to us had ramen, which looked really good so I’ll definitely be trying that next time.

Great food & drinks. Sushi was excellent and fresh. Also several noodle/​soup dishes such as Ramen and Udon.
My friend got tempura shrimp and said it was delicious. I had a crunchy California bowl and Niku Udon.
Great addition to downtown Augusta!

The Hamachi Belly is the best! It’s so rich! The fat content is amazing! It’s the «drug of choice» for Sashimi addicts in Augusta! I’m addicted. I admit. ;)

The salmon ten don was perfect. It was very flavorful but not overpowering. There was a sauce at the bottom of the bowl that was just the right amount as to allow the rice to remain sticky enough to be eaten with chopsticks.

Excellent, authentic Japanese food. Best sushi downtown, this is a place for good food and not when your in a hurry. Service is great.

Since I had enjoyed the Japanese Whiskey, Hibiki, so much. I kept singing The Vapors’ «I think I’m turning Japanese. I think I’m turning Japanese. I really think so» as strutted yellow Dick Tracy jacket, dark sunglasses down the street. One huge canary blotch against the bricks until I walked into the coolness of Kawa. It was like walking into an old sepia picture. Calm.
We sat at the bar. The cutest bartender humored me. He asked me for my I.D. I found it charming. That seriously ridiculous demand is to become one of the best pick-​up lines in my modern Mister Darcy fantasy. I proudly displayed my ID and silently prayed he thought it was fake. There is just no way I can be that old and still believe myself to be Penelope Cruz’s abandoned twin sister. Orphaned in the streets of Spain, until my Puerto Rican parents brought me to the island and told everyone I was their own. He gave me the biggest and nicest smiles. I ordered a Lychee Sake Tini and tasted the Ginger Old Fashioned. My drink, a yummy «smoothylesque» syrupy concoction. I am not a girly, lady-​like drinker. I stay away from sweet drinks and tropical libations. I never order flavor infused vodka unless home-​made, and then it is still unusual. So when I saw the whiteness, the thickness filling up my glass… I was hesitant.
My prejudice lasted what it took me to lift the glass and sip. Certainly not sweet. Pulp and liquor. Balanced. Quite sexy. The ginger of the Old Fashioned palatable. Spicy. Modern Mister Darcy and I bantered back and forth about Udon and Ramen. Were we unknowingly flirting over noodles? Mister Darcy suggested we order: Pan Fried Gyoza (dumplings), Gyu Tataki (thinly sliced raw beef steak) and; even when I fully knew I would not be able to eat the whole bowl, I ordered Kawa Ramen.
Everything tasted heavenly, but maybe I was also a little charmed and dazed by the whole ID incident. The raw beef gave a new twist to Carpaccio and tartare. Japanese version, lovely. A sensual dish. The dumplings are the best dumplings I have ever had. Period. The thinness and lightness… like eating a cloud. Then there was the Ramen bowl… excellent noodles. BUT.
I am the kind of girl who only eats the noodles and ignores the broth. One humiliating moment: even in my fabulosity… I do not know how to eat with chop sticks. I asked for a fork… I think the romance ended there somehow. I was just too good to be true. Too old, a three-​day tourist, not a Cruz. So I paid the bill. Grabbed my map. This wanna be Spanish orphan needed an über and a siesta.

Good sushi, good location. Downtown needed a sushi spot. Spicy tuna roll and crazy roll were both solid. Simple menu and decent prices. Some outdoor seating, a couple televisions, reservations not needed. ~6 $ a roll.

I’m not usually a fan of sashimi due to its usually bland taste but I heard and saw good reviews ab that option here so we gave it a try. The waiter/​bartender explained to us that it is how fresh the fish is and and how it is stored which accounts for its taste. It turned out to be great! Everything we ordered was delicious. Only rant I have ab this place is their odd service. At checkout they explained to us that their card machine was down and they would take cash. We had no cash so they proceeded to presumably force us to write down our debit card number for a later charge when the system got back up. Even after I explained my contempt with leaving my card number on a piece of paper the waiter told me he «didn’t need my money, and that he had his own». Very unprofessional but overall a great tasting meal.

Ambience. B
Service. B+
Food. A
Price. A
This place has gone through several changes. I finally feel this authentic Japanese restaurant might just make it. The food style and preparations reminds me of experiences in Japan.
Kawa opened in Jan 2015. Owners/​chef come from California.
Ryan, the host waiter was very nice. He knew the menu and made good recommendations.
The fried oysters are nicely bettered and fried perfectly crispy with oysters very hot and creamy inside.
The tempura soft shelled crab was crunchy on the outside and moist, hot and flavorful of crab with each bite. Order a side of rice to make this a crab rice bowl!
The sushi rolls are very beautiful and tasty. We had the shrimp tempura with salmon. Mmm.
The Gyoza were nicely filled with meat veggies and pan fried /​steamed perfectly.
Loved that they had Pork Broth Ramen, but the server said they used pork broth and some other secret, so not sure what he’s talking about to create the broth. They do spice it up, so be warned that this is a little spicy. The noodles were tender, but not sure if they were dried or fresh house made. — I’m not a fan of the hard boiled egg /​I’ll request a raw egg next time or hopefully they’ll have soft boiled next time. Also, didn’t really like the lettuce leaves in my broth. I’d prefer they had tea tree fungus or just green onions. However, still tasty and fulfilling for under $ 10.
I can’t wait to try the sashimi next time. The ice presentations look beautiful!
For a good Japanese and affordable on Broad st. I’d go here again. 4 of us at lunch with tax and tip was around $ 85

I came in to Kawa on a Monday night, and didn’t have to wait long for a table. Service was slow, but the only waiter working explained that the other waitress had a panic attack and had to leave, so I don’t fault them at all for slow service! Totally understandable.
The food was underwhelming. We ordered the pan fried gyoza, pink dragon roll, and teriyaki chicken. The pan-​fried gyoza were nothing special. They tasted a little over-​fried for being just pan fried. The pink dragon roll lacked flavor, and the salmon on top tasted slightly off. Lastly, the chicken teriyaki was decent, standard chicken teriyaki.
I was pretty underwhelmed by the food here, and considering the prices, there are many other places I’d go if I wanted Japanese food instead of here.

The only authentic Japanese food you’ll find in Augusta.
It’s hard finding real Japanese food since Japanese food is often commercialized and Americanized. You won’t find any general teppanyaki or teriyaki dishes here. Nor will you be given instant miso soup like so many of the «Japanese» restaurants around here serve.
Izakaya-​style, Kawa offers an assortment of deliciously prepared side dishes in addition to entrees.
I forgot to take a photo but chef Kurokawa also sticks to Japanese tradition with beautiful presentation. The sashimi plate my mother ordered came with an intricate lotus-​shaped ice wedge to accompany and chill the fish. The fish was fresh, beautifully prepared, and delicious.
We were delighted they had rare items on the menu like potato korokke, takoyaki, and Yakiniku. While not uncommon in Japan it’s so rare to find dishes like this in the south.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ would and will come again!

Kawa is clean, friendly and upscale (ish) for a Sushi Bar in Downtown Augusta. Worth a repeat visit.

I was really excited to learn that Augusta has now opened an «authentic» Japanese restaurant. However, I was disappointed to find out that they no longer serve miso soup and a side salad along with their curry dish. My friend ended up ordering the tempura udon, which was really good but not enough tempura. I ordered the Kawa ramen. The broth didn’t taste as creamy and thick as I had imagined but it wasn’t bad, the cabbage tasted a little weird but the pork was on point! The pork was very tender and juicy.
The servers there obviously still need more training. Three different servers came to us back to back and then no one came for a while until we called for them.
I would have given it a 4 star if this place was just a little cheaper. For the price that we paid, the portion was barely enough. Overall it’s a good restaurant but there is definitely room for improvement. I’m hoping that it will get better as they get more time and business under their belt.

We were visiting friends one weekend in Augusta and decided to try this cute new Japanese restaurant out!
We came here on a Friday night and they seemed pretty busy. The staff were really friendly and nice.
The concept is Japanese tapas. You order about 3 – 5 dishes per person and share it with your friends while having an ice cold beer or cocktail (yum!)
We ordered so many different dishes because we got so excited looking at the different choices on the menu! We ordered:
Chicken karaage
Kawa Ramen
Kaki Fry
Tonkatu
Tempura
Spicy tuna roll
and Sashimi platter
my gosh, everything we ordered was so good!
It tasted so traditional and yummy!
My favorite was the sashimi platter! the presentation was sooo pretty (I took so many pictures to post on ig =)
What an awesome addition to the cute town of Augusta! We will definitely be coming here again when we visit the next time!!!

I’ve tried coming to this twice now and both times, they’ve closed early! I make a special trip to come down here and keep getting disappointed over and over again.
They close at 3:30 till 5:30 now so call ahead to be sure of their hours because it wasn’t this way a few days ago.

Great joint to unwind with friends serving a variety of Japanese dishes and it’s one of the first places in Augusta to serve Ramen (yummmmmm). Sushi. Raman. Rice. Noodles? Don’t noodles? So, many good options. The joint is still working the kinks out but I’m sure it’ll work out in time.
They serve a few domestics, internationals, cocktails, and of course sake.
Recommendation: the lychee sakateni (sake and lychee juice). It’s probably my new favorite drink (über manly).
There’s not many trendy places in Augusta so it’s nice to have Kawa. I hope it does well and becomes a staple in Augusta.