Kaiba Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Monterey Park

There is a lot to say about this place and it is all AMAZING; I really don't know where to begin!

Let's start with the ambiance / restaurant set up: while it's been sometime since I was able to dine in because of COVID-19, I can tell you that with past visits that the interior décor and setup was comfortable and communal and it was stylishly well-furnished (but not overcrowded with tables!).

The food is to die for: the sushi is extremely fresh and it just melts in your mouth. I always try to get their 2-piece Nigiri for each sushi item they have. The albacore, salmon, and massago pieces are my favorite! They also have an incredibly delicious soft-shell crab that is perfectly garnished and just so tasty you'll be missing out if you don't at least try it once. I also really love their miso soup which always hits the spot and makes both my stomach and soul happy.

Their team is absolutely amazing; I cannot stress enough how phenomenal the manager is, but their best employee hands down is Will. Will has been working at Kaiba seemingly for a while and he is always highly professional, polite, courteous, efficient, considerate, and thoughtful. While there isn't necessarily too much interaction usually with front-of-house - especially with COVID-19, Will is always there to represent Kaiba in the absolute best way. He is eager, friendly, sincere, and truly just a wonderful person. I don't think I have ever thought so highly of food-service professional - certainly not when reviewing them. But, if you go to Kaiba and Will is taking care of you - you are truly in luck, because this kid is incredible - a true asset to their workforce and business.

Thank you, Kaiba for being an amazing sushi restaurant, but even more importantly, being a place of connection and community.

None can do...

We chose to visit Kaiba because they received a 4.6 in Google reviews and they were 15 minutes away from our hotel. The place was small and not in a cute cozy way, but in a cramped hectic way. Our table was near the kitchen and prep area for to go orders, so there was a lot of foot traffic. The staff was friendly, but too busy to really provide a warm welcome or reliable attention.

There wasn’t a kids menu. I ordered my daughter their chicken teriyaki on a sizzling plate as well as a side of edamame and miso soup. I asked them to hold the sizzling plate and the bed of onions the chicken was served on. The chicken was cooked well and the teriyaki sauce was balanced. The miso soup and edamame tasted as expected; nothing really stood out.

We tried their Kaiba roll (albacore, shrimp tempura, krab meat, cream cheese, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño in Kaiba sauce) and Fire roll (spicy krab meat, avocado, cucumber, spicy tuna, spicy crunch with fire sauce). Personally, I thought the rolls were too large; had to cut them in half to eat. We also thought the plates were too busy and had useless or excessive components. We didn’t even notice the fire sauce on the fire roll plate as it was underneath a mound of green onions. The albacore on the Kaiba roll looked old and was a tad dry. For both rolls, there should have been more focus on flavors and simplicity.

Their Mango tango cocktail was deliciously dangerous. The flavor was amazing and it had a kick to it. I would come back only for this cocktail.

We spent about $100 (including tip), but it was money wasted. I definitely left feeling full, but...

I use to come to this restaurant all the time. The food is good and the prices are great! But the last handful of times I did not like the way that I & Other customers were treated! They keep rushing us asking if we’re done when we weren’t even there that long and we didn’t ask for the bill. I had four beers and so did my friend and they said that they couldn’t serve us anymore because we didn’t eat enough food. I asked to speak with the manager, she apologized and said she realizes that we were fine and if we would wanted a beer. By that point we were totally over it! We went there with the group of friends another time and again they kept asking us if we wanted the bill, My friend that hadn’t been there before felt very uncomfortable... another time that we were there there was an elderly lady that wanted to sit down but her party wasn’t there so they told her no ! She look like she was at least 70 to 80 years old . Why would anybody treat somebody like that ?? It was cold that day and she had to wait outside ! My friend also experience similar situations. I now go to their other locations end it is a completely different vibe. They don’t make you feel rushed or uncomfortable in the...