Visited on a Wednesday around 7:30pm & there were still so many people and parking was nearly full. We just sat at the sushi bar area so we were able to get service faster than the others. Ordered the chef's choice sushi and sashimi dinner. Sister and I shared the platter. It may not look a lot but I thought it was good for the price & surprisingly filling for the both of us. We obviously were unable to choose which sashimi we wanted. It came with a choice of soup and salad. Both were great! Also had an extra order of mackerel sashimi with a side of steamed white rice. I thought the pieces were a tad bit too thick, but it was okay. Taste was excellent though! Ordered a cosmopolitan martini. It was very good, but it was our first time ordering one so we have nothing to compare it to. Initially, we did had to wait quite a bit to get our order in, but overall we had a great time! read more

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I was at the bar on a Monday evening. I enjoyed the Sparking Sake and pan-fried dumplings. My bartender that evening was Robert who was amazing. I enjoyed my experience here. read more

Kanki - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Food was delicious! The service from all staff 5 stars. The ambiance is chill. It's a fun to have a personal chef cook your food for you. I ordered veggie tofu cooked without butter/ and fried rice cooked without eggs. cooked in the back for vegan dishes. It was sooooo delicious If you are Vegan you CAN have a Vegan meal here!!! read more

Kanki - Veggie tofu with double ginger sauce - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Respected professional friend suggested coming here for lunch today. We entered from the lower level of the parking deck and were greeted upon entry and seated ourselves. Our server was attentive and capped off our drinks without asking. There was lunch menu and also a sushi menu but I can't resist habachi shrimp! I opted for a salad with ginger dressing which hit the spot! The food was delicious and enough to bring a to go box home with me! It was not super busy which allowed for a quiet atmosphere where we were able to have great conversation with no distractions! Thank you for a nice lunch and a second meal! read more

Kanki - Shrimp habachi! - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Service was great and the food was delicious! We love the show as well. I loved their fried rice, it's amazing! read more

Kanki - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Kanki is a great hibachi grill/ sushi bar type of restaurant. They're many Japanese eatery here in Raleigh, NC. We like this place because the staff are friendly, courteous, well manicured. It's a nice place to take your partner out for a Saturday afternoon snack. They have lunch specials, take out and pick ups. Schedule ahead for live cooking entertainment hibachi for the whole family. I like it and price is reasonable. Parking is a challenge since it's located right at the best mall in Raleigh...Crabtree Mall. Go check it out if that's what's your craving for today. read more

Kanki - Starters - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

The food is good but when you order to go you get a plate of rice. The meat is pretty much nonexistent for $32 which is a total rip off. You do get a little more meat when you dine in but that shouldn't be the case. read more

Kanki - "Rice dinner" that's supposed to be two meats - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Disrespectful food and poor management ... ordered the lamp chop lollipops to go only to get home to see the lamb chops in my plate were laughable except I was extremely upset being I was now 30+ miles away from the restaurant. I called and spoke to a manager who told me oh well can't do anything unless I bring the food back, even after saying I'm home 30 miles away this manager expected me to drive 60+ miles round trip to bring the food back .. for them to do what with it? I offered to send a picture if he thought I was lying but he wouldn't budge. I've also reached out to their general feedback form and haven't heard anything so they clearly don't care. I won't be back. read more

Kanki - Lamb chops - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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I have celiac and informed the waiter. He told me sushi was a no go for me but assured me I could get hibachi made in the kitchen. I got the filet mignon and shrimp with fried rice. I definitely got glutened. My nonGF family enjoyed their sushi. read more

We didn't get started until an hour after we got there and we had a reservation. So we didn't really eat until an hour and half after our reservation. Food was fine, but it was hard to enjoy after waiting so long. Everyone around us was in the same boat with extremely long waits. So, unfortunately, I would skip this place. read more

I usually really like this location. However on this visit, the service was slow and the sushi wasn't the best. We waited almost 10 mins to get our drinks. We ordered calamari and it came out cold. We did have an amazing chef though and the hibachi was good. read more

Kanki - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Let me start off by saying in the past this has never been an issue at other locations. My fiancée and I absolutely love the food and everything Kanki experience normally has to offer. This time though, we made a 6pm reservation for Sunday 3/1 and upon arriving there were told our reservation couldn't be honored. This was particularly rough because we had been fasting the entire day waiting until 6pm to eat because of our religion. Upon explaining this they told us it would be a 5-10 minute wait, after about 35 minutes of waiting we just decided to take our business elsewhere. I like to think this was a one time mistake due to scheduling and staffing on their end , but if I was planning something important at this restaurant I would've wanted to see this review/warning that it is possible read more

We continue to have great experiences at Kanki. Currently I am enjoying delicious kanki leftovers as I am writing this review. Pros: - So much food! First the savory soup and ginger salad, followed by shrimp, veggies, rice, more shrimp, and more vegetables (I ordered the hibachi shrimp). By the time I was full I still had a full plate in front of me! - large dining tables allow ample room to see and enjoy the show - Ample yum yum sauce and ginger sauce, plus additional to take home - Easy access to restaurant without needing to walk through the mall - They accept reservations via Open Table most days of the week. I highly recommend making a reservation - Multiple seating options available at the teppanyaki grill or at the bar or separate dining area if you want the food, but don't need the full experience Cons: - Prepare to be snug since you will be seated very close together. There were 9 people seated at our table - They don't take reservations on Saturdays - Pricy, however you are paying for the entertainment and a large quantity of food read more

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I had a terrible experience last week ordering online. I was charged for items I didn't receive. Then when they corrected it it took 45 min and was so bad I threw it in the garbage. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY!! read more

Kanki is some good and some not so good. I love Japanese food. Their dragon roll is quite nice. The hibachi steak was good. The steak was flavorful and seasoned well but the quality should be better. Their costumer service is atrocious. Food takes forever. When I asked how much longer they acted like they could've cared less. read more

Wife and wanted to celebrate a milestone in our married lives so we decided to head over to the Crabtree Mall to see what choice there are. We initially thought of the Cheesecake Factory but the wait time was almost 2 hours so forget that. We saw Kanki and slightly taken aback by the 3 star rating, but after reading the reviews of my fellow Yelpers, I figured I'd give it the opportunity to prove its naysayers wrong. So in we went. They asked us if we preferred the hibachi side or the sushi side. We were seriously considering the hibachi but they warned us that the wait is 40 minutes to an hour and 20. Yikes! I guess that's what you get for trying to dine out on a Saturday at 7 pm. So we chose the the shorter wait which was the sushi area. Glad we did! The appetizers comprising of the miso soup, the ginger salad and the calamari were good. The ginger salad was a little sour for my liking. The calamari and soup arrived fairly quickly and came in really hot and wonderfully aromatic, it was a perfect start. The main entrees were satisfying. Not exceptionally good but good enough to assuage the cravings. One notable item was my wife's salmon crunchy roll. The way they grilled the salmon on top was divine. The smokey fire-kissed flavor was intoxicating. I told my wife I envied her choice and made point to have that next time. Will I come back? Why yes! One of these days I will. read more

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Customer service was horrible, sat and waited for over 10 minutes for someone to come even take my order where because you have to go upstairs via elevator and no body was there ... So I called they had somebody come ask for my knee rare and just season it with extra garlic food was cooked well done and they charged me $2.50 for a tiny little cup of extra garlic read more

Kanki - $2.50 extra for garlic - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

This was a fun place to take the kids to eat for a special occasion. Chefs gave a great show. The waitress was very helpful and nice. Food was good and we got a lot of food. We tried the shrimp, steak and chicken. All good! I'd recommend making reservations. The place got really busy (we went on a Sunday afternoon) read more

Kanki - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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On our last night visiting our daughter & son-in-law we decided to come here for dinner. We didn't know that reservations were needed as of 9/4 (which was the day we went) due to staff shortage. Luckily we were able to sit in the bar area but it was more like terrace seating as we were sitting out in the mall area. The servers in the bar area were really hustling to take orders and bring out food. Since we had something planned for dessert, we didn't want to fill up and decided to order a Petite Filet entree that my husband and I shared & a Hibachi Steak Kanki which my daughter and SIL shared. The entrees came with soup and a side salad. We also ordered sushis: Firecracker, Rock N' Roe & Sweet Dragon which we all shared. My favorite sushi was the Sweet Dragon. You could taste the smokiness of the salmon in the Rock N' Roe. I didn't like it as it was too fishy for me. That was my husband's & SIL's favorite. My daughter liked the Firecracker. The filet was very tender and seasoned well, the fried rice was flavorful and the grilled veggies were good. I'm glad we chose this restaurant. Everyone really enjoyed the food and my daughter & SIL mentioned they were happy that they were able to try the food and said that they'll be back. read more

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We came to celebrate my granddaughters birthday. After an initial hiccup where they told her she reserved for the next night and said they couldn't seat our party, we got it straightened out and we were able to get our teppenyaki started. Have been to this location at Crab Tree years ago and it hasn't changed. Gotta give them kudos for consistency. Dinner and a show is always fun, especially with a quick witted cook. Food was tasty, prices have gone up but hasn't it everywhere. The place was packed so I highly recommend making reservations and keeping proof of said reservation. read more

Kanki - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Food cold. We were on the bar side and told if we wanted hot food that we needed to get it from the hibachi side.

We went at lunch and was seated right away. The menu is smaller but also affordable! The yum yum sauce was good but not the best out there. The scallops and shrimp were good and for lunch I felt like the proportions were exactly right. They have a great sushi bar and everything looked good. I think next time I will skip the hibachi and head straight to the sushi bar! read more

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Everything was perfect from the show to the service. Flavor was what I've been looking for for a long time now. Highly recommend.

Sat at the grills. Food is usually great but today if was extremely salty and overly done on my steak. Service was slow. Waitress wasn't attention at all. Didn't bring me extra ice when I ordered it and when I asked about it took her over twenty minutes to get it. She forgot my soup as well had to ask for that. Sushi took over 30 minutes to come for an appetizer. read more

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I tried this place for the first time today since I was in the area. The food was amazing! The service was great. I will definitely visit when I'm in town again. I love that it has mall access! read more

I brought my mother in law here and bragged about how good it was going to be. I hyped her all up. The salad with sesame dressing and soup was on point. After that we waited on the food for thirty minutes. It wasn't hot and the portion was way less than normal. To top it off the seasoning was off as well. The rice had a strange taste an the meat had no flavor. We had no refills the entire time. I don't suggest seating at the bar at the low top tables. The bartender waited on us and he couldn't keep up. read more

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Celebrated a birthday here with a group and had an enjoyable time! - Food: 4.8/5 - we love hibachi and everything was cooked well, to the right temperature, and tasted great! We got a variety from chicken hibachi, to chicken teriyaki, to steak hibachi, to steak + shrimp hibachi. The miso soup comes in a larger bowl than I'm used to and was nice and warm when it arrived. The only thing that needs to be changed is that the salad is DRENCHED in dressing. That can be cut down by at least half. The drink menu was also pretty extensive and had lots of options for us to choose from. - Service: 5/5 - Great service! The server was nice, and no complaints. She also brought out some sorbet as a birthday dessert. The hibachi chef we had was the best I've had from a personality/fun standpoint. I have no idea what his name was, but he seemed latino. He had a good sense of humor and interacted well with us. - Atmosphere: 5/5 - Spacious, good environment for casual meals or special occasions. I also think it's super clever to have a take-out option on the other side. read more

Is this the best meal you're ever going to have? No. Is it generally a fun experience with family and friends? Yes. Kanki is certainly not authentic Japanese food or the best food in general but it is a venue that is always popular with the young adults, teenagers and kids in my extended family. Typically, everyone can find something they like on the menu. The picky eater can just opt for basic hibachi chicken and fried rice. My vegetarian daughter is happy with edamame and a vegetarian sushi roll or salad. I usually opt for sushi myself. They have a wine list, typical Japanese and domestic beers and some overly sweet cocktails. This trip I ordered the Japanese Kiss which was sweet and pineappley but I couldn't really taste the liquor. The waitress asked for our entree order rather quickly and I had not had time to peruse the whole sushi menu so I just went with the sushi/sashimi dinner. It comes with salad and soup like the hibachi dinners do so is a nice choice if you are dining with others having hibachi. They were short staffed so we had to wait a bit for our chef which was not a big deal since we had soup and salad to enjoy. My sushi was okay -- nothing special. Husband and son ordered the spicy hibachi chicken and said it was good but not very spicy. Overall it was a fun family dining experience. read more

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Had a great first experience at this Kanki! We went on a Saturday evening around 5:30pm and sat by the sushi bar (no wait, grab your own table!), since the cooking seated tables had a 2hr 45min wait (scary!!). I would have rated this review as 4/5 stars, but honestly the only problems we encountered was service and time related, which I can absolutely blame the fact that there are many restaurants without enough staff! Our table took a while to get cleaned and our food took about 50min to come out, but it was super busy so we understood! Crabtree also had a hiring event this past week, so hopefully that fixes the issue! Food: We got 2 half & 1 full roll of sushi as an appetizer (pictured) and they were amazing! My favorite was the firecracker roll, such rich with flavor and created to perfection. We also got entrees, which came with a starter soup & salad! Those weren't pictured but had a great serving size and the salad was very fresh. I got a soy-type sauce dressing which was incredible. Our hibachi entrees were so amazing. Our server brought out all the sauces and really made it a great experience. The serving size was huge and everything was brought out correct to order. Cooked amazingly and felt so fresh. Drinks: We both got water, so nothing too special! However, there was a man training that day and he was great! He constantly refilled our waters and was very kind! Conclusion: We will definitely be returning! Luckily, we live in Raleigh so we can go during a less-busy time! Great experience in general, glad we tried out a new spot read more

Kanki - Hibachi Vegetables - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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This place is in a mall and super busy so make a reservation or be prepared to wait. Food was good and the show was definitely fun. Everyone had a great time. A much better experience than other hibachi places I've visited. Clean and modern with lots of seating. read more

Kanki - Horin Sake - yum - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Came here with some coworkers after working late. Decided to go with the table service instead of hibachi. We ended up sitting in the mail hallway, which was really strange. Service was ok but not great. I ordered steak hibachi dinner. I love hibachi fried rice. You could say it's the main reason I go to these places. Unfortunately the rice here is awful. It doesn't taste like typical hibachi rice. I don't know if they are trying to be different or something but it's bad. No soy sauce, no egg, no veggies. The steak was ok but very fatty. The veggies weren't very good either. I would not come back here. read more

I recently enjoyed Sunday lunch with friends and didn't want it to end after enjoying our dining experience at Kanki. This location is perfect because you can shop before or after you eat at Crabtree Valley Mall. You have several options for seating for dining (by the bar, at the sushi bar, etc) but we choose to sit at one of their Tepanyaki Tables to watch them prepare our food right before our eyes. Although we had a noon reservation, our party of four had to wait for a family of five so they could have a full table. Our drink ordered were taken followed by our food order. Since it's the holidays, we opted to try their seasonal Snowball cocktail. It reminded me of a non frozen pina colada. I enjoyed it! There is something for everyone on the menu from appetizers, sushi and of course Hibachi options. Everything was fresh and flavorful and filling (portions are plentiful) . No room to eat it all, no problem, you can pack up any leftovers to go! But if you can --save room for dessert--the snickers pie is so delicious! read more

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Kanki is one of my favorite hibachi places but this specific location isn't my favorite. I love the experience at Kanki and the food is usually pretty good but sometimes inconsistent. Read my PROS and CONS below. = HIBACHI EXPERIENCE: If you're not familiar with hibachi here's how it works at Kanki: They will sit you at a table (up to 8 people) with a big flat grill in front of you. After bringing your drinks they will take your orders. You pick one of the meat options (Chicken, Steak, Shrimp, Salmon, Scallops, Vegetables) or the specials (Samurai - Filet and shrimp / Banzai - Chicken, steak and shrimp / or the choice of two). Depending if you're there for lunch or dinner you can to pick soup or salad or both. The guy will cook your food over the grill and you'll watch him cooking while being very interactive, playing around, and setting an onion on fire. It's a great and fun experience. = FOOD: SOUP: I love their soup! It's a clear onion broth with some crispy onions in it! It also comes with mushrooms so if you don't like it or you have allergy make sure to let them know. You can also choose the salad instead. I usually get 2 soups with no mushroom when I go there for dinner. SALAD: If you choose the salad I recommend the ginger dressing. The salad is a mix of lettuce, red cabbage and carrots with the dressing on top. HIBACHI: Every hibachi meat comes with a side of rice and a side of veggies (zucchini, onions, mushrooms). If you don't want veggies just say "no veggies, extra rice" they will just give you more rice instead of the veggies and they don't charge extra for it. If you have any allergy make sure to let them know before. The rice is a fried rice with eggs. For the meat, I love their filet mignon cooked medium rare and I always add a side of broccoli! Tip :They have the best broccoli around! The veggies are also amazing! SAUCES: They give you yumyum sauce (a white/pinkish sauce - contains egg) and ginger sauce on the side (this ginger sauce makes you wanna go to the bathroom later, seriously lol ). = LUNCH x DINNER: Lunch prices are cheaper and you get the same amount of food as dinner. The only difference is that for lunch you only get either a soup or a salad and for dinner you get both soup and salad (or 2 soups or 2 salads if you prefer). You also get 2 pieces of shrimp for dinner, which for me is not worth the extra price. I think dinner is overpriced. Chicken Hibachi for lunch is $12.99 and for dinner it's $20.99 ($8 extra for one extra soup or salad and 2 pieces of shrimp). = PROS: - Kanki is the best hibachi place around; - Great for entertainment; - Their fried rice is amazing! - The food is very good and the soup is great. - They have the best yumyum sauce! - Great place to go when you're very hungry. You will get a lot of food! - Great place to go for celebrations; - They give you free sorbet for your birthday or anniversary and sing happy birthday in Japanese. = CONS: - It's reservation only. And if you dare to get there without a reservation they're kinda rude to you. That has happened to me twice at the Crabtree location. - The food isn't always consistent. Sometimes it tastes totally different. Last time I visited it the rice tasted different and the salad was just lettuce and dressing. - You will smell like smoke and food afterwards. - Not the best place to go if you want to have a conversation with someone. It's pretty loud and everyone sit very close together. = TIPS: - Choose the grill over take out. I'm never lucky when I get take out. At the grill you can see them cooking it and it's fresh. - Add a side of broccoli. Their broccoli is amazing!! PS: photos from different visits and locations read more

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