Food: Fair. I didn't spit it out. I didn't finish my meal. I won't be back. Forgettable. Service: good Ambiance: nice read more

Kanpai - Japanese Near Me - Bakersfield, California

The food was very tasty! The service was great and the ambiance was very welcoming and pleasant.

The service was a highlight of the meal, but I think the food needed a bit more work. The scallops were cooked well! I liked the lime squeeze at the end, however I feel like the flavor of the food was a bit lacking and disheveled. Once we asked and used the extra sauces, it was much better... but I think that for teppanyaki the flavor should've been more put together. Both the server and the chef put on a great show and were attentive! The place had a simplistic modern design and had mood lighting! read more

Kanpai - The onion volcano! - Japanese Near Me - Bakersfield, California

See all

First off let me say I normally don't eat at places like this. I am a pretty picky eater so I got the ribeye steak. They made the rice in front of me. I don't even eat rice unless it's sweet rice and it was good. I like it was great, nothing but five stars the ambience was amazing. Will definitely be going back again. The waiter was awesome and the chef was awesome. read more

Kanpai - Table - Japanese Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Made reservations for my granddaughter's birthday party at the Teppenyaki grill and they converted us to a regular table without notice. My daughter and wife were both on phone when they made the reservation. Both confirmed. This guy called my wife a liar and could not seat us for 3 more hours if that is what we wanted. Those guys get an F at this point. I like the restaurant but this guy sucks. read more

Kanpai - Front end staff who changed our reservation. - Japanese Near Me - Bakersfield, California

So I have been to this place many times, but first time for lunch. The service was very fast, we were sitting down and eating right away. This is by far the best teppanyaki place in town. The chef Lucky was amazing. The fried rice was buttery. The steak was really high quality and cooked perfectly. Well the picture is worth a thousand words. read more

See all

Food is reasonably priced. Sushi was good but similar to any restaurant that sells sushi. The appetizers are pretty tasty. Good atmosphere inside. Service was good servers would come by to make sure everything is okay and we're not missing any food items. Would come back again! read more

My friend and I went for dinner on Saturday night. We were asked if we had a reservation, which we didn't. But we were seated. Reservation is recommended, and the tepenyakki was booked for the whole night. I loved the baked mussles and the weaver dream roll. Their hand roll was good, but they are stingy in the tuna portion. The setting is the best sushi place in bakersfield so far. The ambiance was beautiful. Despite their beautiful ambiance and decor, their prices are really good compared to other sushi places. Service was good and attentive. read more

Kanpai - Japanese Near Me - Bakersfield, California

This is a nice looking location with attractive decor and a beautiful aquarium. All the items on the menu sounded amazing and we were excited to try some interesting dishes. Service was incredibly slow. I don't know how much of that was on the service floor and how much was on the kitchen, but we were discussing paying for our drinks and leaving by the time the food came out. We were also very hungry by that point, which is why my fiance's Black Cod dish was so very disappointing. It was tiny. I double checked the menu to make sure it wasn't listed as an app. Or an amuse bouche! I ended up giving him one of my Japanese Miso Beef Sliders (which were delicious) so we wouldn't have to stop for snacks on the way back to the office. The food we had was tasty, but buyer beware... don't do hungry, or unless you have an open schedule. read more

Kanpai - Japanese Miso Beef Sliders, seasoned fries, wasabi aioli. Tasty. - Japanese Near Me - Bakersfield, California

See all

Bakersfield does not have an abundance of Teppanyaki options. My wife has to have Gluten free options due to having Celiac, and this place has that option. The key to this place is making reservations ahead of time if you want to sit at the grill and enjoy the show while dining. We always get the same chef every time we go, not that we are requesting him just happens to be the luck of the draw I suppose. He's cordial and pleasant and we enjoy the interaction. Kanpai meets a need, the food is average as far as Teppanyaki is concerned, really just lacking in flavor. Until we have a better option though, we will be returning. read more

This review is for the service we received tonight: Wednesday, 7:00 pm, reservations for 8 at a teppanyaki table. PROBLEM: After the initial order, the waiter never returned to our table. We had to ask the chef for soup & salad after he cooked the entree, because no one ever brought them. Also, even though we asked for it, our water glasses and beverage glasses were never refilled throughout the entire meal. Since food is cooked in front of everyone, it was HOT around the table. Every person at the table had empty, dry glasses in front of them. OBSERVATION: The restaurant was not busy; there were several empty tables throughout the house, and we saw several waiters, busboys, a hostess and a female owner sitting at a table just behind the hostess. The Restaurant did not appear to be short staffed. WHY I WILL NEVER GO BACK: Female owner not interested in our experience whatsoever. When I say she couldn't care any less, I mean she never walked the floor of her restaurant and she didn't want to hear about any problems. THE REAL MASTERPIECE, THOUGH... Our party of 8 included a toddler that didn't eat. Parties of 8 have a gratuity automatically added. This can not be removed. We asked that the whole tip go directly to the chef since he was the only one working with us. The owner said no. FINAL-THOUGHT: Even though the food was good, the lack of service created a negative effect, especially since the female owner was disinterested In actually managing or helping her crew. You might say, the head of the fish smelled here tonight. read more

I'll tell ya for free, this place used to not be my jam, but I'm a convert and now LOVE IT. Drinks are tasty and well poured, huge appetizer list, tons of yummy sushi, and you can order teppan AT A TABLE. GAME-CHANGER. We are frequent teppan eaters but after 20 years of it, watching the same tricks and acting excited isn't enjoyable. We want to be able to eat the food without the show, and you can here!!! Protip- ask for some mustard sauce to be cooked in with the fried rice, you won't be sorry!! We are also super thrilled that they have scallops as an option and they were cooked perfectly!! I will say that I will be passing in the garlic tuna carpaccio... definitely was nothing to write home about and isn't worth the money. Man..... now I'm salivating thinking about eating there! read more

made a reservation for regular dine in on a wednesday night. enjoyed my food and when it came towards the end my friends and i were enjoying the rest of our drinks when i was suddenly shocked to see a small roach crawling on the wall. i have worked in a clean restaurant for 3 years and have never seen not one roach so this was a surprise to me. we decided to finish the rest of our drinks when i suddenly seen two more of the same kind of bugs on the wall. this made me uncomfortable so i decided to kindly let the nearest worker by know of the situation, i can tell she did not know how to respond and kind of felt embarrassed. immediately after that we were brought our bill. no one came by and apologized or made a statement how this was a shock to them or any type of remorse. this is honestly what upset me the most. i love their food but to see three bugs and for no management to come to the table after showed me they did not care about me as a customer. not sure if i will be coming back :/ read more

Fantastic service, amazingly fresh food, and a great place to celebrate a birthday or anniversary!

Came for our anniversary dinner. Excellent dinner exceptional bar service. Taylor was amazing. Very busy night she was on the go the entire time yet gave everyone her best. Highly recommend this place and if you like to sit at bar like we do, hope you get Taylor. read more

Not a great experience unfortunately. Expected more after hearing wonderful things from family members. Food was good service was bad and extremely slow. We had to ask for soup spoons twice, never refilled our water, everyone's dinner came out at extremely different times, didn't write down the sushi order correctly. Just not a great experience. read more

This is absolutely my new favorite sushi spot! I'd like to start by saying that I don't normally ever go for a roll with cream cheese as the flavor generally overpowers the entire roll. However, the Philadelphia Roll here was utterly amazing!! So much so, we ordered it twice! The flavors of the avocado & salmon were exquisite and you got a hint of cream cheese at the end. This will definitely be a staple roll every time I come. The Ebi Go Roll, wow wow wow! I didn't know what to expect as a few of the ingredients I had never tried in a roll before. But this is hands down THE BEST roll I've had in my life. I felt like Remy from "Ratatouille" when he experiences a mixing of flavor profiles. This roll blew my mind and was the perfect combination of everything. I will be back to order this 1000%!! If you're considering ordering it, do it! All the other rolls we ordered were delicious as well and there was not one piece of sushi left to spare. I cannot wait to come back again and try more of the menu. #veryhappycustomer read more

Kanpai - Front: Ebi Go Back: Philadelphia Roll - Japanese Near Me - Bakersfield, California

See all

I've came here a few time since my 2019 review. One thing that stood out to me was that if you don't fit their look they will not seat you at their hibachi grills. Both times I had reservations. The first time we checked in and after checking in a few more guest who would be at our table they seated us last but almost forgot to call us until a person in our party spoke up. This was in 2022. Now fast forward. I made reservations for 4 a few weeks ago. I made the reservations with the manager herself. So while on the phone she asked me for Hibachi or dine in. I repeatedly clarified Hibachi side. She said no problem see you at 6. We show up and eventually we were being lead to a table. I said No I booked the Hibachi she said we are all booked up for Hibachi. I said okay but I too made a reservation over the phone. The manager comes out and said I'm sorry for the confusion I thought you booked Dine in our grills are all booked up and booked a week out right now. I said there's no confusion you and I confirmed that it was for the Hibachi side. We ended up leaving because she seemed non remorseful and rude. Bottom line the vibe that I get from this establishment is that they don't like to cater to people of color. read more

I read the reviews in advance before planning my son's birthday dinner here, but took a chance anyway. I couldn't find any way to make reservations for teppanyaki, so we showed up at 5:15 on a Monday. The grill was booked until 9 p.m., so we had no choice but to sit down and order from the regular menu. I ordered a dinner that included steamed rice and I asked to substitute a veggie fried rice; the server said she could not accommodate. The boys' sushi was delivered immediately, but the other two meals were brought to our table 10ish minutes apart. So, we all sat for 20 minutes until the last plate arrived. We never received drink refills until we finally asked a busser, and we had to ask THREE different servers for spoons (soup & dessert) before we received them. I was surprised the only kind of hot/chili sauce they had was run-of-the-mill Sriracha, but I will point out that I was told the sushi was very good (two stars)! For $155 (included tip), I don't expect we will be back any time soon. read more

Awesome experience!!! High quality sushi!! I am a regular there !!! Joey is amazing !!!

First time at this amazing location. Environment is amazing, clean and friendly staff. I must say this place is so much better than Shogun Palace. Wait time was pretty long so I recommend to make a reservations. The food had amazing savory taste. Definitely recommend! read more

See all

I'm only giving them one star because I have too. The hostess ignored us as we walked in and we had to ask for her attention that she was obviously unwilling to give. We asked to sit in the patio, and after a minute of writing she looked up and stated that we "can just go sit wherever". We sat down and waited for a half hour for no service to come. Went back inside and was told no one knew we were outside and we had to see the hostess to be seated. Going in circles...I love merry-go-rounds, but not when i'm trying to eat. When we said that we already did, the bartender said that they were going home so we left hungry. Outrageous service. read more

Party of 3 adults, a 4 year old, and a newborn. Host gave us a chair to place the carseat on. Unsafe but made do. No reservation but sat within 15 minutes. Waiter, Riley, presented within minutes and took our drink order. Pepsi was severely flat. They brought another drink but was the same. Riley took our appetizer order and left. Brought refills as needed appeared to be busy and was not even a lottle friendly. We ordered the edemame and the baked mussels. Someone else brought the edemama but not the mussels. Our waiter could have been more attenative. They brought out our dishes one at a time with about 20 minutes in between. This was my 1st time here and unfortunately had the worst service. The mussels were delicious, and the chicken teriyaki was good. The surf and turf was basically just an insane amount of avocado.  That was all you could taste. The baked langosta was not that tasteful as well. Their best dish was the sashimi sampler. I was excited to come, but with all the cons, it is not worth us returning. read more

See all

To be able to eat local and have an amazing meal is the best combo you could ask for. The owner is dedicated to the local community and is always giving back. Bakersfield is built on the backs of people like the owner of Kan Pai. It will always be number one spot for tepan and sushi in town. read more

Service, food really good. Make rsvp before arriving. I bit pricey but with today's prices I guess can't complain.

We love Kan Pai! It's one of our favorite lunch spots! They have so many options to choose from-Bento Boxes-Rice Bowls-they even have Miso Sliders that are delicious! Something for everyone-also the Teppan is so much fun! read more

I've got to say I was impressed with what Kan Pai had to offer. It's a dinner and show, quite a way to spend the evening with friends and family. Our chef was a riot and he made sure we all had a great time. What to order: get the New York Steak meal medium rare. You will not be disappointed. The chef knows what he's doing and will not overcook your food. The prices are are premium, but you should know that coming into the place. One note, we didn't like that when we were checking in at 8:30, the host said "if you're party isn't here by 8:35 you'll have to order for the group." That's definitely not the way to be greeted to your establishment. Thankfully the chef made up for the host's blunder and the food was delicious. read more

See all

Manager was a total jerk. I paid in cash and forgot I had gift cards and they wouldn't let me get refunded to pay with gift cards. Never going there again. Good riddance. read more

Mother's Day treat and everyone is excited to go but nothing extraordinary. As what other reviewers said teppanyaki is boring. It seems like the chef is in a hurry to go home. My order is less tasty not as I expected. Not worth my $$. read more

Kanpai - Calamari - Japanese Near Me - Bakersfield, California

See all

We had reservations at 5:30 pm.. they seated all 7 of us in the bar. The menus brought to us didn't have the dinner teppanyaki choices, asked for different menus. Drink orders took a long to arrive. Once we ordered, the food arrived at intervals ... whereas 3 of us were half way through our meal when others received theirs! Two ordered 4 sushi rolls and they only received 2! Server never refilled water glasses! After a 2 1/2 hour dinner and a $300 bill ... we will not return! read more

This was my first time having dinner at Kanpai and it was nice and roomy. They have a nice little bar area along with a pretty cool aquarium. The food wasn't what I expected it to be especially for what it costed. I know you pay for the show which if there was a show I wouldn't mind but this place has a long way to go to be anything close to Shogun. The service wasn't very good either, again if your charging the prices you are charging I would hope you would have the service to match. So if your looking for entertainment and good food, I suggest you go to Shogun or somewhere else. All you will find here is over priced mediocre tasting food. read more

See all

Great food and service! Indoor and outdoor seating. Sushi and grill are bothering delicious.

Normally only have good things to say about this place.. and we love the food which is why we always come back. Today was different, we called in and were told it was a 30-45 minute wait and when we arrive we're told an hour wait so we wait. An hour goes by and we're finally seated. We already know what we're having and are about to place our order with the server who tells us they are backed up 45 minutes to an hour for teppan. We would've appreciated knowing prior to waiting an hour but instead we're told after we've already waited an hour. My husband and I walked out and that's a first for us, ever. In the future please inform your patrons of the wait time for their meal. This is ridiculous. read more

Went back again on Monday and remembered to take pictures! Ordered 6 rolls because of that Monday Special (Buy 2, Get 1 Free). This is becoming a weekly ritual, I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! read more

See all

Bar service is consistently ok. The general service is lacking. We were sat late and made the best of a late dinner. The chef was fabulous. However, the servers were not. Then we had gratuity added and were not informed. But the kicker was when we were very rudely asked to leave the table due to a reservation approaching when we were sat 20 mins late on out own reservation. Instead of apologizing or attempting to be accommodating the service continued to go down hill. Very sad that a great business has gone down so far. We have celebrated many occasions here. Can't say that will continue to be the case. read more

To be honest, the food was not bad. We tried spicy tuna rolls that I'd give a 8/10. However, my issue was when we were being seated by the blonde hostess tonight we were very rushed and there was a sense that she did not know what she was doing. Her attitude did not help. We then watched her berate another server or hostess after we were sat. It made for an awkward dining environment. I could honestly find the same quality food with more welcoming staff. read more

Great atmosphere, looks clean and friendly service. They do ask about reservations, but usually have room in the patio. Food has a great presentation but missing some flavor. When coming here you are paying for the atmosphere mostly read more

As busy as they were, they compensated and we were so taken care of!! Such a great night with wonderful service, and the best food ever!!! We loved the atmosphere and how the employees went out of their way for us!! Can't wait to go back! read more

Updated review- I had not been here since before Covid, and we did a group of 9 for Teppanyaki in June. It was a wonderful experience. First, We got a fresh salad w/ a gingery dressing delish!! And the miso soup exceeded my expectations as well! I selected the shrimp and chicken but tasted the husband's steak and the daughter's salmon-All really yummy especially with the fresh cooked rice & veggies! The chef was entertaining and we had a blast. My glass was never left empty! At the end, all got a scoop of ice cream. The green tea was really creamy & smooth while the lemon raspberry sorbet was light & fresh fruity. Loved it all read more

Nah fr tho, the food runner Joey is a really nice guy. He made quick work of my order, it was much appreciated. He's ran my food quite a few times, I envision him eventually taking over the restaurant one day. Smart lad. That new Teppan cook, I believe his name is David, was also very helpful. He was slacking on one of my buddy's orders, Andrew. However, he made up for it, he checked up on our table frequently and made sure the ship was running smoothly. He also took my Young Thug song request which was much appreciated. The bartender, Cameron (but his alias is Acosta), is a splendid lad as well. He is a real mixologist and definitely dedicated to the send. I still have yet to catch him half sending, and has a crazy sumo deadlift PR. Although, I still bench more than him, he doesn't let his ego get the best of him. Overall, Kanpai has solid crew and the future is bright. Shalom. read more