Kasai Sushi Bar and Kitchen — Restaurant in Gainesville

6/22/24 First time visiting this new-ish sushi place in Gainesville. The reviews were overall good, so my husband and I decided to take a chance to eat late lunch here instead of our regular spot.

The parking lot was already a bit crowded, but it's expected since this restaurant shares its lot with a mini strip mall of other food establishments. We were lucky and able to get parked near the entrance. Warmly greeted by the manager (brown haired guy with a pink polo shirt and goatee) as soon as we walked in and seated immediately.

It was late afternoon before the dinner crowd, so we were able to choose booth seats. I think our waitress was named Tessa. She was very accommodating, took our order when we were ready, and thoroughly answered menu questions. Excellent customer service overall. I ordered the sashimi dinner plus salmon roll and a hot green tea. My husband ordered the General Tso's chicken (extra crispy) plus veggie special roll with rice wrap and jasmine tea. Our order was ready in about 20 minutes. Everything tasted fresh (including the sashimi), and the chicken was definitely crispy just as my husband likes it. The fish smelled and tasted clean; it was just what I was looking for. We were too full for dessert so maybe next time we'll try the tempura ice cream.

The only tiny issue with the place that I noticed was the single-person woman's bathroom smelled weird like bad perfume or something along those lines. I was glad I was just there to wash my hands. If I stayed any longer in there, I might've gotten a headache. Maybe there's an air freshener that went bad or someone decided to splash on perfume in there.

Anyway, (apart from the bathroom) the facility itself looks, smells, and feels clean despite how large it is. The walls are a little bare and could use some koi fish or sushi art to make it livelier. The interior decorating aside from the walls is very modern with easy-on-the-eyes lighting and leatherette material on the chairs and booths branded with the Kasai logo.

Overall, a good foodie experience. Bill total was about $100 including generous tip. We might come back if our usual spot isn't open :) Thanks for the...

My friends and I (African American females) and the only African Americans in the restaurant visited Kasai Sushi Bar and kitchen last Friday for lunch. When we walked in, the hostess did not speak, smile or welcome us at all. He looked at us, put his head down and said in a low dismissive voice, “3”? We said yes. He grabbed 3 menus and walked off. Seconds later, while we were still waiting to be seated, he is standing at a table looking over his shoulder at us. He never said this way or follow me. Before we could sit down, he walked off. Did not say enjoy your lunch or the waiter will be right with you, nothing! Throughout our meal, I observed him warmly greeting and engaging in conversation with incoming and outgoing Caucasian customers, which made the contrast even more noticeable. After lunch was complete, I asked our waitress, who was EXCELLENT, for the name of the hostess. She said, “oh that’s Adam the OWNER. Would you like to speak with him?” With shock, I said no. A word to Adam, the owner of Kasai Sushi Bar and Kitchen. Your attitude and behavior on Friday 8/23/24 @ 12:20pm was unprofessional, unpleasant, and dismissive. Thank you for showing your TRUE COLORS. A word for future customers, If you have a Brown Face and want to be dismissed and felt unwanted, but still want to spend your hard earned money. Visit Kasai Shushi Bar and hope the OWNER is waiting to greet you. First...

We ordered pork buns for appetizer, sushi dinner and salmon bowl for entree. Jordan was very friendly and this is probably the only reason I give a 3/5 overall. To start with, the pork buns are supposed to be steamed and you should feel the moisture when you bite it. The bun was dry, probably because you microwaved the frozen buns. For entree, for a $30+ sushi deluxe/dinner, I’m expecting a variety of sushi, and the most common way for sushi restaurants in the US is giving you different fish/tamago on each sushi, but I ended up getting white fish, yellowtail, tuna, salmon and shrimp which are ones I can easily get from local grocery. By tradition, the sushi should be a mouthful size that you can easily put into your mouth instead of a big rice ball. Plus, the rice was too tight - I can get the point that you don’t wanna make the rice collapse but you shouldn’t make it taste like a rice cake. Now to the salmon bowl part: the red ginger is used to clean up the flavors in your mouth from the last sushi so you get ready for the next one - You don’t need to put it in a salmon bowl. Plus the color of wasabi resembles lettuce and my girlfriend almost bit it down. Additionally, she said the container looks like a dog bowl… If you wish to name your restaurant after sushi, please respect the cuisine and don’t just focus on how to profit, it’s not a sustainable...