Kanpai — Restaurant in Gauteng

The menu is limited (comprised of 2 pages for food) was sad that an Asian fusion restaurant didn’t have any sort of noodle dish on their menu, the drink menu pages are more than the food pages. I was also really looking forward to the ceviche which was on their menu previously and now is no longer on the menu. The place is very aesthetic and the dishes are beautifully presented and plated, the lighting of the place is also very well executed and the metallic ceiling is very unique and fun. They have some lovely spots to take pictures if that’s what you are into, and a really cool water feature wall. Meals we ordered ;the jerk chicken, crispy chilli beef and Korean fried wings. The wings were the star of the show the jerk chicken came with chips they make nice chips. We got egg fried rice with the crispy beef, I feel that the rice was much more tastier than the beef. The jerk chicken was flavourful but a bit too salty for my taste I think if you are going to marinate the meat don’t add so much salt to the meat. The glass and crockery are very aesthetic. I do feel that while the food was enjoyable its food I feel one could prepare for themselves at home. They charged R18 for the second glass of hot water and lemon you order which the wait staff do not disclose to you when you place that order, while I do believe an establishment has the discretion to charge for anything they’d like to charge, if you are charging for boiled tap water (something other establishments do not charge for) for R18 with one tiny slice of lemon you absolutely should disclose this and empower your customer to decide if they want to spend R18 on a glass of boiled tap water. As someone who frequently orders hot water and lemon when dining as it aides in digestion, soothes throats in very air-coned restaurants and keeps you hydrated I’ve never been charged for boiled tap water and I’ll be honest that left me unimpressed, again this really should be disclosed to customers so they can decide. They have a very fun playlist of chill music that isn’t too loudI appreciated that. I also appreciated how they do not allow any smoking ( vapes and electric cigarettes included) inside the restaurant, as more restaurants are allowing this. The menus were a little stained and dirty, maybe laminated would be a better option to keep them clean? Or a wipeable paper solution?. The positioning of the hostess desk at the door when door is closed makes it a little tricky for people to manoeuvre in and out the door with the desk kinda in the way might be a good idea to reposition , this isn’t an issue when the 3 door panels are open but when the panels are closed and only 1 panel is available it becomes an issue . The space is quite intimate with small tables and very close proximity with other tables. Sizing of the tables makes it a bit tricky to comfortably place your handbag (I did see one of the outdoor dining patrons who were seating as 4 during their dining as they ended up not having enough space for their bags a waiter brought out a small nesting table for them to place their bags this was brilliant and I think it needs to be an option offered to all diners or maybe even think about getting hooks or a basket for people to put their bags comfortably, dinning with your bag in your lap or on your chair digging into your back or side or hip is uncommon ). The bathrooms are unisex cubicles and while they are clean and pleasant a few of the toilets had pee on the toilet seats (probably from male diners) could be a good idea to have someone cleaning them hourly to ensure people aren’t walking into that as the rest of the bathroom cubicle is clean or ditching the unisex cubicle concept so that everyone who stands while peeing and messes the seat and doesn’t bother to clean it up isn’t ruining the experience for those who sit down to pee . I think it would be a great idea to add the little sanitiser/ disinfectant foam dispenser for the bathroom cubicles so that a person can clean the toilet seat before...

It was supposed to be a quick in and out trip to Johannesburg...to keep a promise to a 6 year old given that we always tell her ' a promise is a promise"...within an hour of the delivery, we were on our way out...almost turning simultaneously to each other and saying we seldom get to be in Joburg ( we live in Harties) on a Sunday, should we make the most of it...immediately we narrowed our choice down to Modena, Kolanaki, Le Bouqueria ...and agreed while we enjoy them we have been there too many times...and I remembered that there were a number of restaurants mentioned in our whatsapp group...Kanpai it was ...located in trendy Rosebank.. surrounded by restaurants of familiar names, including the reknown Marble...loved the vibe...very New York...cosy, intimate and smokey.., including the music that my partner thought was a tad too loud and which I had not problem with ...we were not too hungry as we had a wholesome breakfast before driving through...settled for a Cabernet Sav...the cheapest on the menu which set you back R330...served in white wine glasses...and ordered two tapas to kick off our meal ...tempura prawn on sushi rice and the house mayo...really liked it...the prawns were juicy and nice size...next was the taco tuna...when it arrived I did raise my eyebrow as the dish was just under R200, meaning each taco was R100...underwhelming, unbalanced and in desperate need of a citrus dressing...and then we discovered they were linked to the Prawnery...killed two birds with one stone...ordered the prawn and calamari combo with chilli on the side...it was really an enjoyable dish...dipping our prawns into the rich butter sauce...yummy! All of this enhanced by Mike, the manager's energy...friendly, vibrant and trendy...pretty sums up the place...and ready to try out their...

We booked Kanpai for my son's 18th birthday dinner on 30 March. We chose the restaurant based on a recommendation and had looked at the reviews and menu and even decided what we would want to order. Out of six of us, three of us planned to order the short rib. When we arrived,the waiter told us there's only one portion of short rib available. Imagine the disappointment. It was not even very late. Approx 18h30. We asked for the one short rib while two of us chose different meals. After waiting for not less than 40minutes,the waiter returns to tell us the one short rib was given to someone else. This is when I asked to speak to the manager. After a while someone came,who didn't introduce himself but he just said not to worry he told the owner he can't have the short rib because we ordered it. I was appalled. So the owner was the one who was awaiting our short rib. The food came,all good except my stir fry veg was 90% peppers. We ordered a mango juice. After some.time we were told there's no mango juice. At the end of the meal we all wanted dessert. And the waiter told us they are too busy and can not make.us anything except chocolate brownies. That's when we decided to leave because it was a little too much to deal with for one night. The food we managed to order was nice but the service and the disappointment of being told things are unavailable left a bitter taste in my mouth. Pity because it was meant to be a special dinner for my son's 18th birthday. I just hope noone gets to experience what we did. Kanpai needs to manage things better and for a restaurant of this calibre,things should not be...