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Kanpai

3.3 (315 reviews)
Open • 5:00 pm - 8:30 PM

Order Kanpai Takeout or Delivery

Kanpai Photos

Business Info

KANPAI ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Good for kids
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Kanpai

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Reviews With Photos

Special Chirashi
Christine C.

Kanpai has my favorite Grilled Chicken Udon in town! I preferred the Special chirashi this time. I felt this bowl was a bit over price. However, the real crab meat California Roll was the highlight.

Bento Box: Chicken Teriyaki, California Roll
Mike S.

Came in for lunch and this place that is usually busy was actually empty. I am thinking because it was a Friday and most businesses work from home on Fridays. Got seated right away and ordered a bento box. The chicken was fresh as is and it was nice that it wasn't covered in sauce... could actually taste the grilled chicken. The California was nice as well and made with real crab. Overall this place was good and service can be a tad slow, but that is because it is all freshly made. Cute place and smaller than what I would imagine, but they use the space well. Parking can be tough as it is on a Main Street, but there are plenty of side street parking.

Delicious vegetarian options of sushi .
Anandita S.

We came here for lunch date. Super clean and quiet place. We are vegetarian we ordered some vegetarian options like cucumber sushi, mushrooms sushi and avocado sushi all were Super fresh food. We cleaned our plates and less than 10 minutes. my husband ordered spicy tuna and he loved it. Check it out when you're in the area and parking is not a problem.

Aji Special
Lisa H.

Another stellar lunch! Ordered some of our favorites - quick friendly service.

Dragon roll  Rainbow roll  Salmon avocado roll  Suhi nigiri

I was looking for a new sushi place to try and would always see this restaurant as i drive around. Overall it was fine, i went during lunch hours and was greeted immediately. I was handed an order sheet to quickly select sushi on top of the menu. They did have a bento boz special and as customers came in that seemed to be the popular item. All in all, it was okay. Not the worst but definitely not the best in terms of flavor. The fish tasted the same as ever other sushi place and it lacked any uniqueness in flavor. They did use thick cuts for the nigiri. Also the tea is served very hot that you can't drink it until it cools. Even holding the cup would be a bad idea.

Yellowtail roll, Saba, Ika and Ikura
Satoko I.

Hands down the best sushi in the area!! Authenticity is all about it. Sushi chef Jun-san is you wanna see. Also, kitchen chef Kazu-san who was trained in Japan is there Wed to Sunday, if you want to have real tempura and cooked food, this is the place to go. Compared to other Chinese or Korean owned Japanese restaurant in Palo Alto, Kanpai is Japanese owned most reasonable and worth place to go.

Appetizers, salads, plates from the sushi bar, plates from the grill, udon noodles, dinner
Reece A.

Basically you're typical japanese sushi restaurant. Homey vibe, several tables large, welcoming chefs, wooden decor, cultural art on the wall. Came in on New Years Day and got seated immediately (restaurant was about half full). Miso soup came out in about 5 min, followed by the salad. Main dishes came out 10 min later. The food itself is quite good. I got the Chirashi dinner while my family got a few sushi rolls and the salmon teriyaki dinner. Rarely do we finish our food (because we eat very small amounts), but this time around we actually did, due to a combination of the reasonably sized portions and the delicious taste. The only reason I'm giving 4 stars is because the prices are a bit higher than I normally would expect at a restaurant like this. I guess given that it's located in the heart of Palo Alto, I'm not surprised, but $20 for chicken teriyaki dinner (chicken, rice, salad, miso soup) seems a few bucks too many, especially given the portion sizes. If you're looking for good japanese food, come here. If you wanna save a few bucks for slightly poorer quality japanese food of the same kind, I recommend going down the street to Ruby Sushi.

a plate of sushi with sauce and chopsticks

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7 months ago

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

Food is delicious and fresh, service is fast and very friendly, and the ambience is quiet and calm.

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6 years ago

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8 years ago

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2 years ago

Average sushi, nothing special, nothing bad. It's not crowded on a weekday lunch, so that's a positive.

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5 years ago

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13 years ago

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Gott's Roadside - Kimchi Burger w/ Garlic Fries ($16/burger) + $5/fries

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Gott's Roadside - California Burger $16.99

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Dumpling Hours - Pork Xiao Long Bao - @rayz

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Kanpai - sushi - Updated May 2026

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