Kai Sushi & Dining — Restaurant in Santa Fe

I grew up in the restaurant, meat and seafood businesses. I fully understand how any place can have an "off" day. However, having eaten here more than once, I must say that whomever is in the kitchen has no idea how to cook. If you just want sushi it's o.k. (although the large slabs of fish are not our preference for presentation) and the tempura is fair. But the cooked dishes (e.g. Chicken Katsu, Chicken Teriyaki) are, literally, inedible. Badly overcooked and stale-tasting, these dishes should never have been allowed out of the kitchen. Not fit for high school cafeteria food. We ordered a pot of tea which was barely lukewarm. One tea bag for the whole pot and it wouldn't even color, it was so cool. Asked for a different pot, explaining the problem. That pot came out even colder. Asked the server if she had tasted it per our suggestion. No, but she brought a third pot, saying "This should be fine". Well, no. It was, in fact, warm enough to color the water, but... The server was a nice young woman who tried very hard but is badly in need of training. I asked if there was an owner or manager present. No. "Does he ever come in?", I asked. "Sometimes", was the answer. As the expression goes: There's no...

I like to break my reviews into 4 parts. The first part being atmosphere, second being food and service, third cost and location and fourth being an overall summary and my personal opinions. With that being said lets jump in!

---- Kai's atmosphere feels a little out dated and a tad dark. The place feels like it could use a little bit of a refresh and some lighter colors to make it seem a little more open.

---- The Sushi is decent. It's hard to have fresh fish in a desert, but Kai does a decent job, flying in fish daily. The mediocre fish is made up for in awesome rolls that are creative and delicious. The service is often slow and I've been left feeling like waitresses have forgotten I was there. The chefs are awesome and love to chat.

---Kai is by far the most affordable option for Sushi in Santa Fe and is conveniently located off of St Michael's. There's rarely a wait and almost always a spot at the sushi bar.

--- I enjoy the friendly staff and unique rolls. The sashimi salad is wonderful and is filled with a variety of fish. Personally I like to ask for some extra field greens and...

Gem of a place just a few minutes walk from home. Third time now so thought I’d write them up. Like most others write, the ambiance is excellent for what is basically a strip mall. The music is non intrusive and instead of mindless rubbish on the tele they show excellent scenes from nature, today I was treated to beautiful footage of wild cats, tropical birds, monkeys etc. Then, there’s the food. Freshly made sushi etc. made right in front of you if you sit at the bar, but there are tables with chairs and booths too. The sushi is really good and very reasonably priced, cheaper in fact than the local supermarket, which you have to take home to eat. If you don’t like sushi there is a hot kitchen that serves most oriental dishes such as soups, cooked fish, tempura etc. There is also a good selection of beers, wines and Saki. The staff are friendly, courteous and professional. Give it a try, you’ll...