Kanpai Club — Restaurant in Houston

Wow, I am surprised that this place doesn't have more reviews and/or isn't filled with people. Kanpai club is a family run business that mainly serves Japanese/Japanese-inspired drinks and small bites. They also have other Asian-inspired drinks which was super exciting to see (i.e. 'Welcome to Yam Rocks' which is Aged rum, ube, lime, guava, spices).

I came in at 4 pm sharp on a Wednesday for Happy Hour (HH is daily from 3-6 PM). Since Kanpai club is a bar extension of Hando, you have to walk inside Hando and take a right- the red doors that lead to this bar are next to the bathrooms. The seating is quite limited (7 bar stools and a L shaped couch that maybe sits 10) and I'm not sure if you can make reservations so I'd double check but I can see this place getting busy at night/weekends. The inside is dimly lit and I love the interior (especially the Japanese snacks that are laid out underneath the counter as part of the decoration). Just a heads up, the music is a little loud so that's a deal breaker for you, this place might not be it.

For drinks I ordered the 'Everything is Lychee Keen' and 'Shibuya Roll Call'. Since it was HH, they were both $7 each which is such a good deal. These were recommendations from the bartender after I told her that I enjoy sweet drinks. Both drinks were refreshing and spectacular- I genuinely can't choose over the other because they were both great choices. I will say though that the Shibuya Roll Call has a little bit of a spicy kick to it because it's made of ginger beer but personally, I loved that!

As for food, I ordered the Geso Karaage, Curry Croquette, and Wasabu Shumai for $5 each. They were all delicious but if I had to pick one, the Geso Karaage would be the must get since I love squid and the yuzu kosho aoilo sauce was delicious! However, the croquettes were fried perfectly and I loved how the sweetness from the potato balanced out the savoriness from the onion curry (they were filling too!). As for the wasabi shumai, these are made in the house. Be careful though because you can actually taste the wasabi and they definitely got a kick to it so they're not playing!

Aside from the delicious drinks and food, the service was great! I appreciate the bartender giving me great recommendations on these delicious cocktails and I enjoyed talking to one of other staff member (shoutout Mandy!!) telling me about this restaurant's story and how she got into the service industry.

If you want to have a good time with your date, friends, or to just treat yourself with a lowkey/hidden gem, Kanpai club is the spot! This place has intimate vibes, delicious food, and even better drinks! I cannot wait to come back and...

Let me start off by saying I owe HANDO an apology. I'll get to the why in a second, but I wanted to apologize first and foremost.

Hey, everybody! Didja hear that HANDO SUSHI opened up here in Spring Branch? Unfortunately their soft opening got completely roont by the weather, but I wanted to stop by, check them out, show some love, soze that's what I did today.

The restaurant is all shotgun bar seating. The host walked me over and sat me down. They have a pre-fixe lunch menu so I just chose from that (and added a miso soup cuz it's a good day for that.)

They add a spoonful of yuzu mustard foam to the soup. It adds a citrusy punch. I also opted to start with the matchstick salad, which was composed of daikon, carrots, cucumber, takuan (pickled radish), fried shallots in a soy vinaigrette. It was an excellent way to open up the pallete.

I also chose the Hand Roll Set ("Handokase") of Spicy Tuna, Yellowtail, and Salmon. They were delishes, the fish tasted extremely fresh.

I also had some hot green tea.

Now here is where I apologize to HANDO:

I am truly sorry I went to lunch at your establishment by myself. It lessened my experience and that is TOTALLY my fault. Lunch would have been so much more awesome if I were joined by three or four friends and we took over a corner of the bar and ordered one of everything off the menu and got mosty-toasty off some of your delishes cocktails.

Anycrap, I promise I will try and find some friends and we will come back and eat everything. Promise promise. Pinky swear!

But thank you so much for the delishes lunch today. And the surprise savory Tamago at the end was much...

Fruit flies behind the bar, mosquitos flying up through the drains in the kitchen, tree roaches in the kitchen and bathrooms. You’re paying a premium price for juices and mixers that are over a week old because the person running this circus doesn’t like to throw things away Never order the shot special, it’s just months old frozake mix repackaged as a shot so they can squeeze every last penny out. Lots of favoritism here as well. Don’t see this place succeeding in spring branch. Coming from someone that’s lived here their entire life. Keep that mess...