⭐️ 1 star — Disappointing and concerning experience at Kan Sushi (AYCE)
I don’t usually write negative reviews, but our experience at Kan Sushi was frustrating, disorganized, and at one point, genuinely unsafe.
Here are the key issues we encountered:
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First round took 1.5 hours — and was intentionally split We submitted a full first-round order, but the kitchen only served part of it. After we finished the appetizers and sushi, our server came back and asked if we still wanted the rest — even though it was part of the same original order. Only then did they enter the remaining items. This caused our first round to drag on for over 90 minutes, and it felt intentional: filling sushi came first, and sashimi was withheld until the very end.
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Sashimi required “manager approval” to be served? When we waited over an hour for sashimi and asked the staff, they told us they had to check with the manager for approval before they could serve it. This is an AYCE restaurant — if sashimi requires special permission, it should not be listed as part of the standard menu.
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Frequent mix-ups — and attempted to reclaim food we had touched Our table received dishes meant for other tables multiple times. On one occasion, a sashimi platter was placed on our table without confirmation, and one of us began eating it (after waiting so long, we assumed it was finally ours). The server then returned, said it was for the neighboring table, and tried to take it back — after we had touched it. This is a hygiene and service disaster.
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We found plastic in our sushi — handled poorly by staff The worst part of the night: we found a piece of plastic wrap inside one of our dishes (see photo). When we showed it to the manager, he initially dismissed it as unlikely and showed no apology. After “investigating,” he returned and blamed a trainee chef. Their only response? They charged us for two people instead of three. No sincere apology. No acknowledgment of the health risk. Nothing. Eating plastic in raw fish is extremely hazardous — this was completely unacceptable.
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Overall chaotic service Beyond these specific points, the overall service was messy, communication poor, and the experience felt manipulative and cheap rather than premium AYCE.
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Verdict: There are many AYCE sushi spots in Austin — Kan Sushi is one I won’t be returning to. The food may look decent, but the way customers are treated, the lack of accountability, and the major safety oversight make it not...
Read moreWe went here yesterday 04/20/2024, we got there at 2:50pm and left at 5:00pm feeling quite disappointed to the point that we didn’t leave a tip. We are big tippers and have never not tipped at a restaurant so that says a lot as to our experience.
We tried this place because we wanted to get sushi and we saw a video on tiktok posted by an influencer. We had a great day at the Museum and this place was only 8min away so thought why not.
We were seated and our server told us that they only have dinner prices on weekends which was $38 per person and the premium sushis and meat were an additional $20, which wasn’t a problem. However on the video we saw, they said that only the wagyu was additional, we thought the truffle sushi was also included but apparently it was also premium.
After filling out the paper with the items we wanted, it took a while before they came out and we only got served two sushi plates at a time, sometimes only one with 15-20 minutes in between. We spent most of the time waiting rather than eating which is kind of a bummer in an all you can eat restaurant. Most of the tables near us left before we did because they got tired of waiting as well. There was an influencer that was filming the same time we were there and their table was full while we were still hungry. We spent 2 hours in the restaurant and we still haven’t gotten our three appetizers, our server apologized and said that it’ll be out in 2 minutes. 10 minutes later it got served to us and the fried squid was already cold and tough.
The food was good but the service is terrible and please don’t believe the influencers you see online as they mostly just get special treatment. It’s such a shame because this place could have so much potential. We didn’t get the most out of it being all you can eat because we just got tired of waiting so we just stood up and left and got a mochi donut at mochiko next door.
I wouldn’t recommend this place if you’re celebrating a special occasion or for date night unless you have at least 3 hours to spare and if you’re fine with waiting 20 minutes between...
Read moreFor $60 pp (premium dinner option), I was pretty disappointed with the quality of food. Don't get me wrong—I have taken the AYCE factor into consideration.
Kan Sushi seems to be going for a more premium AYCE dining experience with its cocktail offering, menu designs, and prompt service. The food quality, however, was not quite there with the expectations at the time of this review. Here's what I observed: Sashimi variety was super limited (there are only 4 options with 3 types of fish). Fish quality could be better. While not mushy, a few fish pieces fell apart from the grain (muscle fibres) as I picked up from my chopsticks. The rice nigiri under the fish for sushi was loosely formed. It fell apart quickly as I tried to pick up the piece. The sushi rolls lacked prominent flavour, and because of this, they all taste about the same. The carpaccios weren't quite carpaccios. They were more like fish pieces with sauce drizzled on top. I was expecting thin slices of fish in low-viscosity vinaigrette
There were aspects of the restaurants I enjoyed: The fried oysters were done well, with the citrusy dipping sauce Korean dishes like the galbi and the pork belly The appetizers menu looked amazing, but I didn't order any since I just really wanted sashimi and sushi Staff was friendly with prompt service
The menu design is more American than a typical Japanese sushi restaurant. I think you might enjoy this restaurant if you're looking for more Americanized sushi dishes or fried dishes.
Since I prefer raw dishes, I would not return to this restaurant unless there is a menu overhaul and improvement in fish quality. For the premium AYCE price tag, the food did not deliver for me. There are other AYCE sushi restaurants in Austin that can satisfy my raw fish binge-eat craving for...
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