Kappo Seafood

I drove here last night to find out it was closed, very sad day. I personally thought Kappo Seafood was the best Sushi in the Southbay, for quality and value, you couldn’t beat it, it will be missed for sure!
On another note, does anyone know the Sushi Chef that worked there? I only knew him by name and would love to know where he ends up? If anyone has contact information for him, it would be greatly appreciated!
Thank You

What happened? Came by today and it was closed! Where will I go now? :(

I had my first kaiseki ryōri when I visted Japan almost five years ago. I’ve been trying to locat one ever since. With the help from a foody, she finally found one in the city of Torrance…
Kappo offers a ten cource kaiseki ryōri for $ 65. Foods were in delicate presentation. But, some course dishes were overlapping with it’s seafood dinner course, priced at $ 45. It made me wonder if the extra $ 20 was well spent!
To be honest, I couldn’t remember any WOWed me dish after… I would recommand $ 45 seafood dinner course for the best bang for the buck!
Would I go back again? Yes, but ordering from the non-​course dishes.

I’ve been here several times with my family, but the last time here was for the famed kaisaki. I had high expectation because I knew it was a high end deal. At the end, I was satisfied but not impressed.
We were given the list of dishes that were served that day. Each dish was cooked a different style.
It started with yam tofu
Appetizer Plate Seasoned duck breast meat, Seasoned herring roe, Boiled monk fish liver w/​PONZU sauce, Marinated Salmon
Sashimi Plate 3 kind of assorted sashimi
Soup Soup of whitefish & ASARI clam cake w/​veggies
Simmered Dish Simmered tilefish dressed with grated radish
Baked Dish Baked oyster /​butter flavor
Fried Dish Deep fried shrimp, 2 different flavor
Vinegar Dish Marinated salmon wrapped with radish
Original young sardine rice with miso soup, Japanese pickle (My selected the cold green soba noodle instead, which in my opinion was not as flavorful as my rice)
The dessert was red bean in this salty leaf (not sure what it was called now)
Overall, the sashimi was as fresh as I expected. The butter flavored oyster melt in my mouth. And each dish was very artistically displayed as it came to the table. Maybe I’m a fast eater, but I did felt the wait between each dish was a little longer than I would have enjoyed. I was definitely full at the end of the course but can’t help but wish each dish was bigger portion or more exquisite… after all, we were paying ~$ 10 per dish.
I still enjoy the restaurant but I don’t think I would come back for the kaisaki any time soon unless it was for a very special occasion.

This place was a pretty big disappointment considering how much the food costed. I came here with family and some family friends and we all decided to each get one of their dinner combos. Which comes with salad, soup, rice, egg pudding, etc. All of these side dishes they brought out one by one, which is fine except that it took them about 20 minutes to bring out each item. The wait was ridiculous. We ate our salad. 20 min. soup. 20 min. rice. Ugh the longer I sat there the angrier and hungry I got!
Another thing, their dinner combo menu is very vague. It shows pictures of different appetizers you receive with the meal, but the description says «soup of day», «appetizer of day». So when I asked why I didn’t receive the noodles in the picture, my server said ”trust me you got everything, it’s because we change it from the picture”. Hmm. I’m pretty sure I was missing something, but I didn’t want to argue with all my family friends there.
The food however was decent, but for about 40−45/each for one of their dinner combos, NOT worth it. Maybe it’s just me and I’m used to my local japanese ayce thats only 25/​person dinner and the food is so much more delicious (riverside asahi). I could tell this place is more «traditional Japanese» though. The only redemption was that when the food finally did come, it tasted alright and the authentic japanese feel and taste was nice too. The service wasn’t too bad, but the wait for the food is just ridiculous and the price is not worth the medium-​ish food.

OK.
Mr. Toshi Hayakawa, President of Reins International, brought me and some fellow managers/​supervisors here for a little dinner party.
First, the place is super authy-​chic. Feels like a REAL Japanese restaurant but still maintains a modern and sexy yet cozy atmosphere. We had a private room in the back. We ordered a few appetizers and the amazing meal began.
The salad was literally OMG in my mouth. i don’t know what it was, but it was amazing. i really wish i remembered which one i got but i don’t :(. sorry if i’m teasing you!
We shared the Nabe with Kobe Beef. HOLY KOBE-​COW! i’m still drouling! i’m a veggie girl too and the cabbage was super fresh and the nabe brought out the best of it.
I think we ordered near 30 dishes between 8 of us, but every single dish was consistantly absolutely delicious! HOWEVER, the Yakionigiri was literally the best I’ve ever had, and probably the best rice dish I’ve ever had besides my grandmother’s pilaf, ever. I loved it so much I ordered 2 more after my meal was through even though i was super full! It is a-​m-​a-​z-​i-​n-​g.
Service was wonderful! they were attentive and polite. But I have to say, i don’t remember much about the service because the food truly stole the show.
I cannot wait to go back with someone who can truly appreciate the authenticity and consistency this wonderful restaurant provides its customers every day!
Keep it up Kappo Seafood! I have much to learn from you!

This place offers to the largest selection of traditional multi-​course japanese meal in southern california. Their kaiseki is usually over 7 dishes and represents fresh seasonal ingredients (see
). I’d like to think of it as art eaten. I had the Kappo Seafood Set which was a lot of food. Each of the dishes from the salad to soup to sashmi to tempura to simmered fish to dessert was very well done and excellent quality. I would recommend this place is you want to truly experience some of the best japanese there is in southern california.

I come here for one thing and one thing only: hamburger steak.
Is it weird that I go to a Japanese restaurant known for their seafood to have a ground beef dish? I guess, but the first time I came here and ordered this, I was hooked and I never wanted to try anything else. The hamburger steak is a hefty patty served with this amazing mushroom/​beef gravy. Yum. I like going for lunch because you get salad, miso soup, iced tea, rice, the hamburger steak, and dessert for approximately $ 15. FATASTIC deal!
However, I work too far to dine here for lunch, so when I crave their hamburger steak sometimes I have to come here for dinner (but I check to see that I have enough funds in my bank account first — pricey!). Since their awesome lunch deal is obviously not an option for dinner, if I’m craving their hamburger steak, I am forced to either order a la carte or order the «western set». A la carte comes with nothing but the hamburger steak plated with steamed carrots and broccoli. So, I usually just end up splurging and go with the «western set», which comes with a LOT of food and is priced at over $ 30. The set includes the following: hamburger steak, salad, miso soup, 2 deep fried tempura shrimp, rice, hot appetizer, Japanese pickles, dessert, and I’m sure I’m missing some more items. It’s a lot of food and everything is very delicious, but it better be for that price.
The food tends to come out at a random order, but I never had a reason to complain about their service. Everyone is very sweet and the man, who I assume to be the manager, is always so smiley that it makes dining here a pleasure.
*Note: Iced tea is not free for dinner. It costs $ 1.50 or $ 2.00 per glass and I found out the hard way when receiving the check for dinner one day. It was just assumed that since it’s free unlimited refills for lunch that the same would apply for dinner, but this was not the case. It’s delicious iced tea, but we could have ordered an appetizer for the amount we spent on refills! Oh well, lesson learned…
P. S. I just want to throw in that Kappo has the BEST chawan mushi I have ever had.
Delicious.

One of friends brought me here for my birthday and told me right away that their deluxe chirashi is the way to go. It was honestly the best chirashi I’ve had! The variety and freshness of the fish were not only gorgeous to look at, but the taste was impeccable!
The place is rather serene and very very Japanesey as the waitresses are in their kimonos. The lunch combos seem reasonable for the area. But, if you’re going to splurge — definitely get the deluxe chirashi!

I went there for dinner with my friends.
We order «Omakase» (chef’s special course meal).
The best Omakase meal I’ve ever had in LA.
kappo seafood is known for Omakase meal.
Little bit pricey but you won’t regret.
For sure I will have Kappo seafood meal in my dream tonight…
assorted appetizers
One of the sashimi dish was made of ice… very artsy!!!
I also had sashimi pot
Lamb chop
fish head
sushi (I love especially toro and engawa sushi!)
Persimmon sorbet and Kuzukiri mochi

My mom and I tried this place for lunch one day.
When you drive up, it looks like an ordinary strip mall restaurant but when you open the door, you see a very upscale and cute ambiance.
We tried the following:
— Tempura lunch for $ 11
— Makunouchi bento for $ 26
We were very happy with both of our choices. Makunouchi was really beautiful. It had so much food we were so stuffed at the end.
I must mention though that they were out of many things including the dessert. Also, the way our waitress handled service was a little rude. It was surprising because this restaurant has a reputation for being classy and nice but has a waitress who doesn’t have any manners. Every word that came out of her mouth was «no» or «we are out of it.»
* Price: Lunch ranges from $ 11 — $ 46 which is very reasonable.
* Service: We had a pretty rude service but maybe it’s just that one waitress. The way she walked and the gestures alone made it pretty obvious that she really didn’t belong in a restaurant that has a good reputation.
* Food: Very good. Loved the food.
* Location: Very convenient, VERY close to Mitsuwa Marketplace.

I remember this place having much better business in the past. The past two times I’ve been here for lunch on the weekdays has been unusually vacant. Rumor is the head chef who used to work there jumped ship. The sashimi and sushi in my opinion has gone a bit downhill, so maybe it’s the truth. Despite their losses, I still thoroughly enjoy their food. They have pretty high quality ingredients from the salad, meats, and fish, to even their rice. I know it’s tough to mess up rice, but they somehow make it so soft and it’s consistently cooked to perfection.
The shabu shabu dinner here was a rip for $ 80 bucks/​person, I expected more. Plus you can’t order shabu for one person, the minimum is a party of 2. The dinner sets are pretty tasty. I’ll be coming back here pretty often, but beware most people believe the place is pretty overpriced.

Kappo seafood is definitely one of high quality
Japanese restaurant that has sushi to variety of foods.
I enjoy coming here when it first opened and it wasn’t popular yet.
Now its so popular that its hard to get a seat!
I’m happy for the business here but I wish they would
make this place little bit bigger…
Its 4 stars but –1 star b/​c of how tiny this place is.
Now a days I go to Tamatebako which has
JP style home cooking that I love.
This place doesn’t have the ambience of Kappo but
its big and you don’t have to wait to get a seat!
No sushi but if I just want katsu, teriyaki, soba, udon, cooked fish or jp style meat loaf then I would go to Tamatebako cuz its cheaper! :P

My birthday dinner.
I celebrated my birthday here at Kappo after reading good reviews from Unilocal.
We got Kappo seafood set and sushi set.
Today’s Salad and Cold Appetizer: I got salad with shrimp and seaweed. It was not bad. I got 2 large shrimps with the salad. 3 stars. Tuna salad mixed with spinach and roe for cold appetizer. Basically tuna salad. 3 stars.
Soup: Very pretty soup but it was kinda weird and slimmy. 3 stars.
Sashimi Plate: I was surprised at how fresh the fish was. It was not the best quality but definitely fresh for the price. 4 stars.
Chawan Mushi: I like chawan mushi. This chawan mushi had shrimp and mushroom. 3.5 stars.
Today’s Hot Appetizer: Steamed eggplant, burdock, potato and asparagus. Not my favorite. 2.5 stars.
Salted Salmon: yummylicious. 3.5 stars.
Tempura plate: Greasy and not so yummylicious.
Special Rice and Japanese Pickles: I like how they add silver fish to the rice. 4 stars.
Today’s Dessert: Mochi with Sweet Red Bean. 3 stars.
Not sure if my waitress was new but we had to keep asking for the dishes. It seemed like they just cooked whatever they wanted first because we didn’t get our dishes at the same time. We had to remind her that I didn’t get my rice and one other thing. They just brought out whatever they liked. I got my tempura plate before I got my appetizer.
3 stars!
Kappo is almost yummylicious!

Kappo had stolen my first. My first «voluntary» toro sushi.
Being an Asian, people presume that I eat sushi. Having exposed to sushi since I was a child I have never been fond of eating raw fish. Even my meat had to be cooked well-​done. So, yes… I’ve been given a lot of crap since childhood for not appreciating sushi.
To engage in sushi eating… I usually have to consume quite a bit of alcohol to not care what I put in my mouth at that point.
That, of course has changed. Working with a Japanese Company with majority Japanese coworkers, it’s hard sometimes to not be pressured into going to a sushi restaurant. Then, the day came. Our attorney suggested lunch at Kappo one day and I figured, I might as well order «one piece» of sushi… and give it one last try.
We ordered a piece of toro each… and when it came… I got nervous but quickly built up courage to put that piece of toro in my mouth. As soon as it was IN, I chewed and it was beyond my expectation. The toro had melted in my mouth and the savory piece of fish slowly disappeared. I forgot my phobia with raw meat and it was at that moment that I gasped and thought, «this is what I’ve been missing out on? This is the best piece of sushi I’ve ever had~!».
Later on, I realized… that for a $ 9.00 PER piece (yes, ONE piece… not two)…the sushi had better be good!
Since then, I’ve pretty much stuck with the basic choices of sushi…(toro, salmon, and etc.). I must say though, in my mind, Kappo’s Toro is still hands down the best piece of toro ever. No where else (regardless of price) have I found better toro.
Thank you Kappo… you converted me~!

The South Bay has a really good selection of Japanese restaurants. They range in both variety (noodles houses like Sanuki No Sato to yakitori spots like Shin Sen Gumi) and prices (the Mitsuwa Market food court for order-​at-​the-​counter prices to Sen Nari for expensive sushi). Kappo Seafood is probably the fanciest and most expensive of the South Bay Japanese places with a menu that covers a wide range of dishes (sushi, beef, chicken, noodles, cooked fish, tempura, etc.).
Located in a retail plaza near Matsui, Musha and Membei, Kappo Seafood looks pretty simple from the outside, but the inside décor is nice. During the day, the natural light and use of warm colors are nice. Unlike some of the other more cluttered Japanese restaurants in the South Bay, Kappo’s dining room feels more open with good, balanced spacing of tables throughout the restaurant.
The only problem with the dining room was the smell. The dining room smelled quite noticeably of cigarette smoke. It may have just been the day (or the people there that day). Hopefully, it was an anomaly.
While there were some really expensive options on the menu, the menu does allow you to dine more frugally with single lunch entrees in the $ 10-​$ 11 range and combination plates (such as tempura and salmon) a little higher in the $ 15 range.
On the table, I noticed a dinner set menu (with pictures of the many courses) that really reminded me of the menus I saw while dining in Japan. One of the more reasonably priced dinner sets was a Ladies Set, but I imagine anyone can order it (the name reminded me of Men’s Pocky). Anyway, the sets started in the low $ 30s; kind of pricey for the area, but I noticed that they do 20% off on select weekday nights.
I went with the daily lunch special, which was a Japanese style hamburger. The meal started with a fresh and crisp house salad of iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. The salad was dressed with a ponzu sauce. It was good.
My hamburger came with some pretty good steamed rice and some good miso soup (with tofu and wakame). This hamburger was served bun-​less (kind of like meatloaf). The hamburger was big and had some onions in it. The ground beef patty was very good (tender, juicy and flavorful). It was topped with a soy and miso sauce that made the hamburger a little salty. The hamburger was garnished with broccoli, carrots and (I think) mayonnaise, which I did not use.
I liked Kappo’s meat (quality, taste) better than similar hamburgers at nearby Yuzu or Tamatebako though I do prefer Tamatebako’s sauce (a very tasty wafu sauce) and garnishes (a fried egg with a runny yolk) over Kappo.
I also ordered an a la carte side of Japanese style fried chicken (they actually have a lot of a la carte options though they are a little expensive for the portion size). The fried chicken nuggets were made of flavorful dark meat. The chicken was fatty though it was not as fatty as the chicken at some other nearby places. The breading was crisp and it was not greasy (not light and mild like a tempura batter but not a heavy and over-​crunchy breading either). Unfortunately, there was no sauce (only a shishito pepper and lemon as garnish). I do like that sweet sauce they often dip the fried chicken in at Japanese places.
My friend had the tempura and it looked really good. I remember having it here before and liking it.
Complimentary dessert was served; it was pineapple gelatin topped with whipped cream.
Service was friendly and good. Waitresses served our meals in kimonos and Japanese sandals.
I would be curious to try Kappo’s other options because most of the food was good. In terms of quality, Kappo may be one of the better Japanese options in the South Bay. I remember liking I-​naba, but I have not been there in a long time. I really liked Komachi, but I heard the restaurant really went downhill after they made some management and kitchen changes. In terms of prices, there are definitely some scare-​you-​away prices here, but there are also enough reasonably priced options that you can dine here for lunch without spending too much money.
Parking is free and easy to find in the large parking lot that supports this retail plaza.

I’ve been here for lunch and dinner, both were impressive. The sushi is extremely fresh. I think it’s the best in south bay!
The restaurant has a simple setting and it’s very clean. The waiters are attentive. People always tell me the Washugyu (Japanese beef) is fantastic but I don’t eat beef so I’ve never tried it…

First things first, I do not consider this a Sushi restaurant. Their specialty is definitely Seafood and they have a wide array of kaiseki set meals.
This is a great place for the special occasion or a business dinner. It’s a bit pricey so I don’t see eating here everyday, but if you are into quality over quantity, they have a pretty nice ippinryori menu which includes daily specials, usually directly from Japan.
The set menus are usually seasonal with a few that do not change. Each stage of the set menu usually is well timed and they won’t overlap your servings. Service is impeccable. Your water glass is never empty and your osake of choice is always replenished. The décor is nice with the wait staff wearing kimono and suits. There are tatami rooms and regular tables/​chairs.
As far as food, they have a wide variety for all tastes, but most center around seafood. I may be biased towards kaiseki type restaurants because I am always reminded of onsen in Japan. The creativeness of each dish is an exemplar of the chef who created it. To see how each dish flows into the next is pretty amazing.
The reason for the 5 stars is for the overall experience of your meal. With the kaiseki sets, they are trying to make your meal enjoyable to you for a longer period of time instead of serving your food and rushing you out. The service has to be top notched and the timing has to be excellent. You are definitely paying for the experience and for the daily special availability, but how often are you going to eat here? With that mentality known to the owners, they are going to make sure they do everything in their power to ensure your meal is memorable and worth coming back for your special occasion. I know I have them as an option.

Kappo is good, I can’t say great… but good…
I felt like I was in Japan as soon as I walked in the restaurant. Almost all the tables were Japanese, there were some elderly Japanese as well. Ohhh, and something you don’t see quite often — all the waitress wear formal kimonos (like the traditional ones, the whole shebang, head to toe) which I thought that was really awesome!
The restaurant offers a wide variety of Japanese food including Japanese Kobe steak, sushi, shabu, and delicate combo meals. I was there for sushi only since the name of the restaurant is Kappo «Seafood», right? So we ordered — Red snapper, halibut, scallops, uni (of course), Spanish mackerel, etc… My favorite was the scallop, and I’m usually not a fan of scallops. It was cold, clean, and sweet! Everything else were disappointingly mediocre. Slices were on the stingy side.
Overall, nothing makes me jump out of my seat… although, one thing was impressive about the restaurant — the price!

This place is one of my favorite Japo dining in LA. Came here with the family for mom’s birthday over the weekend… which I’m not really certain why she selected this place because the food she prepares from her own kitchen is probably just as good. I remember coming here for lunch and dinner when working in Torrance for special occasions and remembering, ‘Oooooh. Must be someone important, errr rather sophisticated, if we need to entertain at Kappo.’ So, yes, this place is a bit more upscale than your normal J-​food eateries. I would say that the ambiance would be on the same scale as Kitayama in Newport Beach but much, much more authentic and considerably more delicious.
Order the Kaiseki omakase. [Kaiseki is the regional seafood cuisine of the Kansai (Osaka) region of Japan… ] I think every person in Japan is pretty regionally-​egocentric regarding fish/​seafood. I remember going to the Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido and wondering when those people would stop boasting about how good their seafood is. Sidenote: Hokkaido people also proclaim they crop the best potatoes and corn in the world. I know… whaaat. Fukuoka people (where dad’s from) are downright passionate about their seafood and think sushi in Tokyo is a joke. (They are exaggerating… but somewhat true — I’ve had the most amazing Saba & Fugu in my life in Fukuoka)
Any rate, sorry for the tangent. You could order the aforementioned Kaiseki omakase or order a la carte large and small plates for sharing. Since our family likes to talk a lot, drink and graze, (not until we’re uncomfortably full) we skipped the Kaiseki this time, even though we encouraged mom to just order it. Lunchtime, order the Chirashi-​don.
Service here is brilliantly crisp, attentive and courteous.