Kampai — Restaurant in Columbia Township

I had ordered a salmon sashimi and a chicken pad thai. We had inquired about fresh wasabi.

We were assured they had it, but when asked for more details - the waitress stated she checked with the kitchen and they essentially told us it was pickled wasabi. That left a sour note before we began. For those familiar with fresh wasabi, you readily understand our confusion. Even for a gag, we didn't ask for some.

The waitress was friendly. No qualms about her. Originally, I was going to stick to 5 stars on service for her on how she handled our experience. The manager or owner, however, really changed my 5 to a 3 on service. I'll discuss that later.

My chicken pad thai was good - it didn't have a lot of flavor, but it was good enough. I got the peanut taste from the crushed peanuts. The chicken was a little bland but the noodles were decently firm.

My salmon sashimi, on the other hand, left much to be desired. It was pretty clear that the way they decided to cut it was not appetizing. It was cut oddly plus near the skin so it looked motley with many dark and grey spots. It tasted ok though. It didn't smell overly fishy so wasn't rotten - just looked it.

The others at my table also had similar experiences with their food. We sent some of the food back instead (for example, I only took the one piece of the sashimi and sent the rest back. I ate half the pad thai and sent the rest back). We did not ask for any of the items to be replaced nor remade.

Our table was approached by a woman whom I presume is the manager or owner. She asked us about the food and we shared about my salmon. We didn't get an opportunity to discuss the other items.

We tried having a conversation with her about the cut of the salmon, but then she tried to tell us about how their salmon is always fresh, never frozen, and then flash frozen on-site.

Frankly, for buyers unaware, that's not likely, especially considering it is illegal in the U.S. to have fresh salmon delivered in efforts to combat parasites. Most restaurants serving raw fish typically are defrosted. It is extremely cost-inhibitive to flash freeze on site, as it typically needs -50 degrees to do it.

We were confident that the salmon just looked odd by the way it was cut.

Upon hearing this from her, we were no longer interested in trying to converse. Even though it was expressed to stop the conversation, she kept trying to reiterate her story. Ultimately, I believe the incredulous looks on our faces dissuaded further discourse.

Finally, we got our bill and just paid it. No comp was offered nor asked. The food was definitely not worth $175 pre-tip for 4 people. We naturally tipped the waitress.

To end this review on a good note, the atmosphere was nice. It was a more modern look, also tucked away in an alley. The presentation was nice.

Pictured: my daughter's way of making chopsticks more friendly for the...

TLDR at the end

When it comes to Japanese restaurants I feel confident enough to say that I have a good understanding of what you get vs what you pay, and the expectations that come with each. When talking about Kampai, I feel the balance is skewed in the direction of you pay much more for not much more food.

I went here with my brother a nice night out, walking in the atmosphere was very much alive and vibrant, lights and Japanese adornments decorated the walls and ceilings while an appropriately selected music track played in the background.

After looking over the menu for a few minutes, I selected the fried gyoza as my appetizer, and a California roll and Shrimp Tempura roll as my main course.

I didn't have to wait long, perhaps 20 mins or so, until my gyoza arrived, it was hot and crunchy as I hoped, and the accompanying sauce added a small bit of spice that was appreciated.

A few minutes later my main dish arrived. The meal itself was not much different than anything else you'd see at any other sushi restaurant, I will add however that the California roll did come topped with smelt roe, which, while not mentioned on the menu, or usually served on California rolls, was a nice addition. Both rolls tasted alright, nothing else was especially notable or particularly memorable.

However, I have yet to talk about the price. The rolls were $10 each, with the gyoza being 7. I was quite suprised when I first saw the price, surely that couldn't be right, $10 for a California roll? But no, that was the correct price, and when it arrived there were only 8 rolls to be seen, so that's 1.25 a roll.

There's nothing wrong with charging such a price, and the owners are free to do as such, but for what I received, it didn't meet my expectations as to what a $10 California should be. And the same goes with the shrimp. The whole time, I was thinking of how just down the street, I could get the same meal for 9 dollars less at Geshia Sushi(if that they were open on Sundays)

TLDR The atmosphere is nice, The food is alright, not amazing The prices are expensive for...

My husband and I are a bit of “foodies” and not easily impressed and this place was amazing and exceeded every one of our expectations. I am completing all 100 things to do in the book “100 things to do in Columbia, MO before you die”. Alley A is stop 100 and mentions Kampai. So I guess they saved the best for last.

We came right at 5 (yesterday) on a Saturday, right when they opened. It was just us and another table shortly after. We thought it would be packed on a Saturday. Everything was absolutely perfect. It wasn’t freezing in there and the music wasn’t too loud. Our server Olivia was so nice and attentive. Our drinks came fast. Our miso soup was so delicious and not so hot that you couldn’t eat it right away; and only $3. Our sushi was so fresh. We ordered the dragon roll, volcano roll and rainbow roll. We liked them best in that order. I ordered the Brussel sprouts too and they were simply incredible. It was one of the best dinners in Columbia we have had in a long time, if not honestly ever in our 4 years here in COMO. We’re from Kansas City where we have incredible food, especially Asian and sushi and Thai and have had a hard time finding good restaurants in Columbia. We will most definitely be back. We parked in the garage at 10th and Cherry for free and was just a short walk from there. Thank you for providing such amazing service, atmosphere and quality food at an all around...