Kanpai — Restaurant in Palo Alto

I got the deluxe sushi (which is basically the omakase) and was thoroughly disappointed. Granted, I didn't have super high expectations given that it was only $34, but still, it could've been better even at this price point.

The texture of the fish were fairly decent, but they all lacked in freshness, and consequently flavor. Everything except for the unagi and the ikura gunkan was completely flavorless. The kani gunkan was dry and awful, tasting like it had been frozen for weeks. The amaebi had very little sweetness to it, and the sushi rice for everything was way too sticky and clung unpleasantly to the inside of my mouth. The unagi was the only piece that I actually liked.

Judging from what everybody else was having, it became clear to me that this place mostly caters to people who get California rolls or chicken teriyaki and finish with a big bowl of green tea ice-cream. Maybe you'd like it better if you order off of the American-Japanese menu. The "authentic Japanese restaurant" label on Google Maps is really misleading.

I must say there're much better authentic sushi in the Bay Area at this...

Honestly the worst sushi I’ve ever had in my life. The food is so bad that I’m literally taking the time out of my busy schedule to write this review, it would be disservice to others if they entered the restaurant without prior warning.

We ordered spicy tuna roll, salmon avocado roll, and yellowtail scallion roll. The rice was mushy and tasteless, they also really skimp out on the fish for their rolls. For what you’re paying ($18 total for three rolls), the food quality is not worth it at all and the taste is just absolutely unacceptable. I’m so baffled by my experience here and do genuinely wonder how this place managed to survive the pandemic, perhaps it is one of the only places that serve sushi in Palo Alto? This establishment would not stand a chance in metropolitan places like New York, where the competition and standard for sushi is a lot higher. This whole experience is making me rethink about dining out...

The three stars is basically for service because the people are really friendly. The sushi however is basically the same quality as grocery store sushi. I came here on a quiet Tuesday night and the place was about half full. I ordered the Special Chirashi, 2 pieces of salmon belly nigiri and an uni nigiri. The chirashi was lacking in quality sushi - it came with 2 tuna, 1 yellowtail, 1 salmon, 2 squid, 1 surf clam, 2 tamago, 1 shrimp, and that fake krab. All the fish tasted not fresh, the salmon belly was very fishy, and the other raw fish just seemed low quality and not fresh. The chirashi bowl was $18.50 and each salmon belly piece was $2.75. Definitely overpriced for the quality. Would not recommend unless you just want quick sushi...