Kasai Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Carnegie

When this place was brand new, I was so excited to try it out. It’s very local to my office, sushi is my favorite, and I love giving my money to small businesses vs. large chains. The first two times I went, the service was a little slow…attributed to being new, I’m sure of it…but the sushi was fabulous! And the ginger salad dressing is the best I’ve ever had. Not that sweet creamy stuff that I despise. That said, I was eager to return today for more delicious sushi! Today, however, was NOTHING like my previous visits. The waitress brought soup for my friend and then….nothing. We had to ask her to get our drinks and also my salad…she forgot. Ok, it was busy before we came in, she’s just gathering herself….no problem. I ordered my usual shrimp tempura roll add cucumber with eel sauce and sriracha on the side. The sushi chef gives me one side of eel sauce, sriracha, and spicy mayo ALL MIXED TOGETHER. I told the waitress that I can’t eat mayo, it makes me very sick and can I please have the eel sauce and sriracha in their own small containers. She does this. Then I got my roll…..without cucumber. UGH. She gives me a side of cucumber that I fumble with to eat on top. Crisis averted. Then I bit into the roll….this is where it gets weird. So, usually the shrimp tempura roll is one shrimp stretched straight and deep fried. This was not that. This was a MASS of BABY SHRIMP that was deep fried and put in the middle. Now, I wouldn’t have cared if it tasted the same. But it didn’t. Have you ever over cooked those baby shrimp? They turn into chewy hard pieces of rubber. Well, that’s what this was. Chewy hard rubbery meat with too much greasy batter. So, I speak with the manager. I ask him if there was a change to this roll lately. He says to me “No. We typically use the one piece of long shrimp, not the baby shrimps. I don’t know why the chef did that. I will speak with him.” I told him it was not good and I could not eat it. He apologized and walked away. I got my bill. The (uneaten) roll was still on it. I spoke with him and told him that I didn’t eat it, it was not good. He said that the most he could do is discount the check 10%. Here’s my problem….I said to him….I have no issues paying for anything at all. But this is a customer satisfaction issue and it wasn’t even edible. I would gladly pay for the cali roll I took to go and my salad, but I don’t understand paying for 90% of a roll that I didn’t eat. He said “I’m sorry for the inconvenience”….but that is all. 10%....which totaled about $1.60. I’m not sure what planet this guy was from. He TOLD ME that it was made wrong. AGREED. Then STILL CHARGED ME FOR IT. So, I won’t be back. That’s a shame because it was so convenient. Let me say also that had the manager said, “I’m sorry your food was wrong and inedible. I took that $6.25 roll off your check and I hope you will give us another chance to get it right in the future”. I would have said, no problem….things like this happen. And then I would have been back over and over. It’s sad that a manager with no customer service skills killed this place for me. Oh, and I’m in Human Resources for my company with 135 coworkers.

I sure hope this place gets their act together. $6.25 was a small price to pay to get many return visits. Horrible business decision...

PENNSYLVANIA ROLL...OMG!!! Eagerly and dearingly, I chose this sushi roll on my second visit. I've returned twice for the same. ELL! OMG, some kind of delicious.

I ordered it the first time along with the traditional Philly Roll. I thought it was time to be adventurous and try an "extreme" dish-- stop playing it safe/good, and venture into the Japanese cuisine.

A Giant andwide roll, cut into ten slices. Flavored with the sauces, vegetables, and ELL. Ell and avocado also garnished the top. SO DELICIOUS!!!

As I comment, I want to return and purchase my third one.

Not sure if the Pennsylvania Roll is offered at other locations, but ask. If living, visiting, or traveling through Carnegie, stop and order the roll.

Service is fast, friendly, and professional; Sushi is DELICIOUS!

VISITING friends tomorrow; the PA ROLLl is going with me!

PLEASE ORDER IT, YOU WILL BE...

We tried it out for the first time tonight and had a great experience. It’s a little unique in that Kasai (Korean BBQ) is owned and operated by one family, but Don Don (the Chinese kitchen) is run by a different family. They share a dining room and service staff, but if you order from both menus, you get two different checks at the end. Either which way, the food from both kitchens was fantastic and the service was attentive, friendly and on top of it.

From Kasai, we had the Spring Rolls with Chicken, Tofu Bibimbop, Chicken Bulgogi and Beef Bulgogi. From Don Don, we had the House Special Lo Mein. All were craveable and worthy. Portions were generous and prices are reasonable.

Kasai is family-run, with Mom doing the cooking, Dad, Son and Daughter running the dining room. There’s a personal / family pride that’s evident in experience they’ve created.

We’ll definitely...