Kanpai Sushi

So deliciously fresh and delicious! Chef Tony’s creations are not only a work of art on the plate but they are mind blowing in flavor and amazement! His wine list is incredible and desserts are over the too great!

Really good sushi! Great kids meal! Friendly staff, busy/​happening, and clean. Looking forward to going back and bringing some family members.

My wife and I got to eat dinner 30 minutes apart since they forgot to put my order in, good food doesn’t make up for bad service.

Best sushi anywhere! Best special rolls anywhere. Fresh, delicious, great atmosphere. Tony (owner and chef) is awesome! Tell your friends! This is the place to go!!! You will NOT be disappointed.
The Shi-​So Hot Roll was incredibly good but The Chef’s Special/​Diablo Canyon Roll is my new all-​time favorite special roll! Can’t wait to come back and try more!

Let me set the scene for you; we were staying at the Cliffs Resort and Unilocaled for a good dinner spot. This place came up with the highest reviews so we decided to check it out. We walked along the bluff from our hotel to this restaurant. The walk alone is a must. We really felt like we were in Maui. The weather, the ocean view and the friendly folks walking along the path.
Once we got to the restaurant, we were kindly greeted and seated. Our server was quick and patient as we didn’t let her leave until we placed our order (we just sat). After a few minutes of browsing she suggested the kids menu and man what delicious options for kids not into sushi. The meal came with miso soup, edamame, choice of teriyaki chicken or salmon, rice and salad. Our kids were so content and so were we.
We ordered on the lighter side, Sapporo on tap (they had some others too), avocado roll, cucumber roll and rainbow roll. I can’t eat fish anymore but my husband really enjoyed the roll and said it was very fresh. My rolls were very delicious too.
The staff was very attentive and polite. Just an overall wonderful experience.
A bonus for us was in the same lot, there’s a convenience store that sells the most amazing ice cream made in Santa Barbara and marshmallows for roasting over our hotels fire pit! Yum!

First timer here I had the sizzling plate yaniniku BBQ it was really good ! Also got to try the Asahi beer it’s great if you love dry beers. Overall staff was really friendly and attentive!

Sadly, I have to lower my rating. It’s a dangerous thing to do when you are a regular. SITREP Last week we went right after work at 5:30. I thought it would be nice to have some appies and drinks. Well, my husband picked out a bottle of Sauv Blanc from the wine list, which the server said they didn’t have. So, he picked an $ 18 bottle of pinot grigio. She said they had a different pinot grigio. My husband sensed something odd, so he asked if it was the same price and she said, no, it’s $ 33. OK, well that’s a significant difference in price. So she said, we have a new wine list, that one is not up to date. So she went in back and after a few minutes, came back with a few names written on piece of paper. We decided to stick with sake and beer. If wine with sushi sounds weird, sorry. This is wine country. Then I ordered the Japanese pancake which was on the Specials menu (and I mentioned wanting to try it in my previous review). She came back after a few minutes, and apologetically said they «couldn’t make» the Japanese pancake. We selected a few other things, drank our bottle of sake and finished up. There was not even an offer of a reparation. So… OK. That kind of sucked. We dropped down $ 65+ on a few rolls, bottle of sake and beer. We go in there all the time. I get that stuff happens. It would have felt better if they would have even offered to knock off the price of the beer or something. They are open for dinner Tues-​Sat and it was Wednesday. Seemed like a weird time to run out of everything. I did notice that they have a complimentary corkage for one bottle of local wine, so we will probably BYOB if we want wine from now on.

I am one of the fussiest sushi lovers I know. I assumed this place would be similar to the other average sushi restaurants in the area. I was way off! This place is amazing!!! The selection is great with many interesting alternative options. The fish quality and flavor is second to none. The only way you will appreciate that is to taste it for yourself. Staff is well trained and polite. Head sushi chef is fun and friendly. This is the only place on the coast I’d recommend and I try to get in here to eat at least weekly!

My husband and I went here for dinner tonight for our first night of vacation. It was delicious! Very nice staff and we were served our food shortly after ordering. The BLC was our favorite! We are looking forward to going back!

New to the area and thought I’d check this place out. I’m a big time sushi freak, and also love ramen almost too much. I ordered a glass of cab and a tuna roll to start. Simple and perfect beginner course. Roll was clean and fish was fresh. Ramen for dinner– a chicken and pork broth with miso, plus some nori, cabbage, and some sort of boneless pork rib on top (different than the char siu I normally have on ramen, and happily accepted). I didn’t catch my sushi chef’s name… But he was great. Really made me feel welcome to the area and suggested adding a chili powder to the ramen that made it even tastier. I’ll be back to try more items on the menu to be sure.

Went to this place tonight very good service nice people. The food was very good all fresh ingredients and the presentation was wonderful like art.

Amazing, simply amazing.
Best sashimi & sushi I’ve had in a really, really long time… maybe ever?
At the sushi bar, Tony consistently served up plate after plate of expertly crafted sashimi and sushi — I was blown away.
I’m generally not at a loss for words writing reviews, but Kanpai was so good, I’m struggling to find the appropriate words to describe.
Thanks Tony & Kanpai team, you really blew me away with amazing fish, service and fun!
5 stars

Amazing sushi, amazing fresh fish. Highly recommend it if you’re in the area. Also recommend sitting at the sushi bar for the full experience!

I enjoyed my meal at the sushi bar. The sushi chefs were very friendly and was attentive to my needs. I never had to ask for anything, she asked me if I was ready to order and if I needed to add to my order during my meal. She also offered to remake my uni so it was smaller and easier to eat.

Had a wonderful dinner here recently! So thankful they had just started offering gluten free Tamari soy sauce. Decent beer and wine list.
Thoroughly enjoyed: baked mussels, kamikaze roll, and my first California roll in years because they offer real crab for an extra $ 3! (The «crab» in most California rolls is processed with wheat so a no go for people with gluten issues).
Paid a little more than usual compared to some other sushi spots in the area, but the quality was outstanding! We will be back!
P. s. Free corkage fee on local wines. I definitely plan to go the «byob» route next time!

Craving sushi? This place is decent. Rolls are small though. Thinly sliced and spread across the plate to look bigger. Good and fresh though. They were out of the miso black cod, so couldn’t try that.
Heart attack: good, not that spicy.
Ribeye wrapped asparagus: awesome!
Pork belly: amazing!
Popcorn lobster roll: good, took a while to come out. We were about to order more food cause it took so long.
Philly roll: we got this one crunchy. They can batter and deep fry any roll so we tried it out on this one and it turned out really good!
Alaskan roll: decent
Kamikaze roll: really small but decent.
Diablo roll: pretty good but also came out small.
Basically all the appetizers were awesome! Rolls left us hungry. Service was decent.

This place has it going on! I’m a die-​hard fan of Sumo Sushi in San Luis Obispo and they now have some competitors. I got the $ 65 meal and it was enough to feed my normally insatiable appetite for sushi and then some. We did get an extra roll to add to the special but we ended up with leftovers. I recommend giving it a try, you will be happy.
Good new place on the Central Coast!

The food at Kanpai Sushi is just about the best Japanese food I’ve ever had! It’s a short distance from our house, so my husband and I walk there when we decide to go.
The ambiance is one of dark wood and large windows. The sushi bar sits almost at the middle of the restaurant and the chef makes exquisite creations! My meals have been superb! the only exception would be the spicy tuna roll. It’s a mousse-​like texture and I really dislike that texture. The taste was correct, but I didn’t want to eat more than one portion.
The miso soup is rich and hearty. My yakanuki meal was gorgeous and very filling! one gets lots of food here!

As a regular Yanagi-​goer, I am delightfully surprised and thoroughly impressed by this experience! Amazing food, great presentation, comfortable setting, and very inexpensive compared to Yanagi’s. Jessica is the best sushi chef with great conversation, and she makes custom rolls (see picture)!! I will definitely return!

No spoon and no fork! 6 stars!
Yes, a bizarre review opening. But there is a reason behind the madness.
After 2.5 years in CT (which we absolutely loved), we returned to CA. This time it was not Folsom or the Bay Area. No, we have been banished to the central coast. LOL. No, really, we are so happy to be in a super hip area on the coast. Not the humidity of the east coast or the south (except for the few last days). Nor the frigid San Francisco weather.
Kanpai Sushi is a two minute walk from our new abode. The interior has a lovely ambiance from brightly lit to a romantic darkness depending on placement and, of course, time of day. There is a sushi bar as well as table seating. Also, there are a few patio tables.
The staff is adorable. Our waitress was Korean. My husband Jack immediately identified that. I was afraid to ask. One does not ask a potentially Japanese person if they are Korean. That’s like asking a Greek for Turkish coffee. Japanese restaurant. Are you Japanese? No, I am Korean. I started conversing with her in my few phrases of Korean.
Enough fluff!
Food: superb!
We started out with the sunomono. Cucumber, seaweed, radish with a shrimp and a vinaigrette. Gorgeous and delicious. Then the hamachi (yellow tail) «carpaccio «with jalapeños. So good. Similar to a dish at Japanero in Sugarland, TX.
I ordered a few nigiri including a variety of tuna and yellowtail, octopus, and eel. Jack ordered the equivalent of a bento box. His yakuniki was special: grilled beef over some veggies. It came with tempura veggies and a shrimp. Salad, shumai, rice. Wow!
So glad to be back in a place with an Asian soul. Too bad there is no real Korean close by.

Great winter specials! Got Hawaiian poki, 3 handrolls, and buta kimchi. All great and super super well priced. (3 handrolls for $ 9.50!!) Everything was fresh and the flavors were great.
Really nice server as well.
Also really good sake sampler for $ 13.
definitely go here if you get the chance!