Kamon Japanese Restaurant
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street, Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
27 Reviews for Kamon Japanese Restaurant
Kamon is one of my favorite places to get sushi. I've been about 50 times and the service is always good, prompt and I have never had a negative experience there. I like that it's hip yet not "the place to be" because then people are just standing around waiting and trying to look cool. Sorry if that seems offensive, I'm just over that stage in my life. We are always sat quickly with little to no wait.
My favorite item on the menu is the Godzilla Roll. Oh, and Tempura Ice Cream never hurts.
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Great sushi, reasonably priced, and great service. I've been here many times and the service and food is always excellent. Highly recommend!!
The good:
1. Very nice decor
2. Very clean
3. Their homepage is very well done.
The bad:
1. The sushi rolls are sub-par or average at best. The fire cracker roll and the rocky roll are simply not impressive. Perhaps they need to go out and sample their competitors' food.
I would have to agree with some of the yelpers who rated Kamon unfavorably. There are definitely room for improvement. Three stars.
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Everytime I go to Kamon for dinner and sushi, I am never dissapointed. The staff is always extremely friendly, the decor is hip, the pricing is reasonable, and the food is delicious. I would much rather come here for sushi then some of the other big well known places in Sac.
I've been going here ever since they've been open with family an friends. The staff is very pleasant and very accomadating to your needs. Plus, it doesn't hurt that they're all pretty as well haha. The food is always good in my opinion due to I've always thought they are consistent. I have friends that work there and that just makes it even better to know I'll be seeing their friendly faces. Parking is pretty limited in front of the restaurant but so sometimes you gotta find it on the side streets but that shouldn't deter you away. They also don't have a big flashy sign so you might miss it but right when you get off 16th Street when going I-80 West it'll be on your left hand side. Oh theres this gal bartender that makes me my shirley temple and doesn't laugh at me for ordering it. Thats always a plus as well.
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I've been to this palce a couple of times and both times I had an awesome experience.
I've had just the regular sushi as well at the bento boxes. Both were awesome. In my opinon they have some of the best Miso soup in town. It's very flavorful with lots of tofu. A lot of places I've been to have a watery tasting, 2-bits-of-tofu, kinda miso. I've been there for lunch and there was only one person there and the place was packed. Regardless, we got good service and our food came out in no time.
I hightly recommend the teriyaki chicken bento box with cali. rolls.
Definitely going back to this place again.
Very nice restaurant that keeps improving its decor. Entrees and sushi are very consistent and the service is very friendly. We like the tonkatsu and sesame chicken plates and the crunchy type sushi. The bar is very good but does not make a very good Manhattan. Use dry vermouth instead of sweet?
The parking is non existent on busy nights but one can find spaces on the side streets or near the creepy bar on the corner. We like how the restaurant seems to grow and take over the strip mall as it adds some need character to that neighborhood.
this is one of the places i go to when i want something consistent and when i know its going to be good. been going here for a few years and the staff is still great. its cool to have built at least some relationship with some of the waitresses that work here. but that only happened because they were good in what they do. the atmosphere all the time is pretty laid back and mellow. its in downtown but its not like any of those flashy, fusion, japanese places all over now. they have great rolls, but their boxes and regular food is great as well. the fish is generally pretty good and they have sapporro. parking is tough at times and i wish they sometimes were open later but the experience is great all the time. i dont think i have had a negative experience here ever. friendly fast staff, good consistent food, all hard things to find nowadays
This is one of my favorite lunch time places. My friend and I usually come here around 1pm and we get quick service. The food is very good and fairly priced. Very good sushi and very good combo boxes. I've never left feeling hungry or ripped off. The staff is friendly and efficient.
No Martini Glass?..need I say more?
As a bar Kamon is a great hide away. It is off the radar and has great televisions for sporting events. One of the best bar tenders in town works here. He's always there and knows how to mix it up...I'll get his name and post it... you can't miss him, he's a big dude and seems like the only person in the restaurant that understands customer loyalty. He loves reggie music and he told me drinking was NOT a sin!
As a restaurant...well...Kamon is average at best. Raw fish is high maintenance and if it's a bit too old or poor quality you can taste it. My wife and I gave this place several tries but they just don't get it. It seems like the owners take too many short cuts. The food tastes preprepared too far ahead of time and is sometimes room temperature! Yum...room temperature raw fish....
One time I ordered a martini and my big amigo had to inform me there were no martini glasses!!! What the F! How does a bar not have Martini glasses?...I bet the head is out of toilet paper too! The bar keeper was apologetic and I could tell he was embarrassed....no shame dude you still mixed a good one and served it up cold...in a tumbler. Tell the owners the 99c Store has some plastic "martinin glasses" in stock.
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Went on a Friday night and luckily it wasn't too busy....we got seated right away. The service there was surprisingly pretty good. I'm so used to places having bad service that when there is good service I'm always pleasantly surprised. The waiter did a good job of taking care of us and hopefully when I go back I will get him again.
As for the food we ordered:
- spider roll (soft shell crab)
- garden roll (cream cheese, seaweed salad, asparagus, cucumber)
- Godzilla roll (sesame chicken roll topped with avocado)
They were all pretty good. I would say it's comparable to the other sushi places I've tried in Sacramento. Nothing special but not bad either. Out of the rolls we ordered I would order the Garden roll again. The reason why I wouldn't order the Godzilla roll again is because it was a little dry and needs something else in it for more flavor.
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I love sushi and Kamon is mediocre at best...The rolls I ordered were so drenched in sauce that i couldnt even taste the mediocre fish on the roll...I'm not a big fan of the trend that all sushi rolls should have sauce on it...,I dont care if its red, green, or mayo based...whats the sauce for...to hide the taste of the mediocre fish, perhaps...
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You must save room for dessert because the tempura ice cream is a delight. The ball of ice cream is humongous, and the panko shell is delicately crispy. They serve it in two flavors: vanilla and green tea. My personal preference is the green tea tempura ice cream because the unassuming taste of the green tea blends well with and enhances the taste and texture of the light panko. The vanilla ice cream seemed a bit strong and too creamy.
Oh, and their sushi rolls are good, too, but that could be because of all the sauce. The nigiri didn't seem too fresh, unfortunately. I would get three rolls to share among two people. One is not quite satisfyingly filling.
There's a disease spreading through the grid and it's called, Really Mediocre Sushi, or RMS. This restaurant has been infected. Be forewarned.
Looking for a quick pre-movie bite close to Tower we headed here. The atmosphere is decent, it's fairly big inside, generic japanese decorations. On a Saturday night we were seated right away. We ordered agedashi tofu for an appetizer and two rolls. I can't really remember the names or configurations of the rolls, they were fairly typical. Tempura shrimp, cucumber, avocado, blah blah blah. I DO remember that they violated one of my biggest sushi pet peeves. Rolls so large you have to eat them in two or more bites, thus spoiling any appreciation of what the roll was going for in the first place. A seamless blend of culinary genius was not had. Also, the agedashi was too salty.
The service was wonderful. The prices too expensive for what it was.
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this is the place i go when i'm with a friend that says, "not zen again melanie." it's the next best thing. even better on second saturdays when you've had too much to drink. about 10 of us used to go there and pig out before wandering around to art shows. good times.
Ok so we know the owner and my bro use to work here....not to be partial but i really enjoy the food! the sesame ckn is good and also the shioyaki!!!! good service and the portions are big!!!
UPDATE (12/14/07): I finally went back for the first time in ages! Some of the stuff is not as good as I remember it - for instance, my saba was very dry, and they've started using a lot more filler rice in their nigirizushi. The rice is still seasoned quite well though, and overall the food is still solid. I'm still confident that this is still the best Japanese place in the Sac/Davis area. My date (who is quite the cutie) remarked that the food was much better than at Mikuni's - clearly he has good taste!
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I haven't lived in Sacramento for awhile, but before I moved away this was the best Japanese restaurant I could find in the Davis/Sacramento area. I have a mom who cooks Japanese food, an uncle who runs a Japanese restaurant, and a stepdad who trained as a sushi chef, so I get very picky about my sushi. After moving away from the Bay Area I was so sick of the trendy "Americanized sushi roll & happenin' bar!" concept that seems to thrive in Sacramento, especially in pretentious, overpriced frat-boy haunts like Mikuni's and "Tokyo Fro's" - and I was equally disappointed with the joints in Davis that catered to a poor college crowd looking for cheap, conveyor belt/buffet bar sushi that was not very fresh and Japanese dishes that were okay but not great.
So it was such a relief to find a place like Kamon, where the fish was always meltingly fresh and wonderful, and where the atmosphere was cool enough that it felt right going there with friends to have fun or dressed up for a date, but also casual enough that you felt just fine going in your jeans, sitting at the sushi bar, and ordering up a boatload of fish.
Everything on the menu ranges from either "satisfyingly good" to "aboslutely stellar." Their entrees are more on the "satisfyingly good" side, while the real stars here are the makizushi and nigirizushi. Unlike the overpriced rolls and sushi at places like Tokyo Fro's or Mikuni's, Kamon seasons their sushi rice properly, and the way they portion their seafood is very generous. In fact, the nigirizushi at Kamon is far more filling than at most places because they use larger mounds of rice and larger, thicker cuts of fish to top it with. The larger size of the nigirizushi makes the sushi-eating experience far more decadent than it normally should be.
The rolls are similarly huge, yet generously filled so that none of them taste like clumps of filler rice, and all were flavored with interesting sauces and decadent toppings like raw scallop. Kamon does not skimp on their seafood at all, and if they are a little pricey, it's definitely a place where it's worth it, unlike a lot of Japanese places I could name.
Service is also impeccable. The wait staff were always very friendly when I started going to Kamon, but as time passed and I became a semi-regular, I got greeted with welcoming, knowing smiles, and I started receiving complementary appetizers from the guys behind the sushi counter, for no other reason than they enjoyed my patronage, liked that I loved Japanese food as much as they did, and wanted me to try new appetizers they were testing out.
When I moved away from Sacramento, Kamon (in a misguided attempt to be more like places like Mikuni's) had just finished building a bar area that connects to the restaurant, so I can't comment on the atmosphere now. But if the food is still the way it was when I last went, it's a worthwhile experience by all means.
Things to try include:
- the spicy tuna/"firecracker" appetizer
- the momotarou roll, jujitsu roll, and caterpillar roll
- the jungle roll (a vegetarian makizushi)
- nigirizushi for the adventurous: uni (sea urchin), ama ebi (raw shrimp), hotate (raw scallop), saba (marinated mackerel)
- nigirizushi for the less adventurous: hamachi (yellowtail), maguro (tuna), shiro maguro (albacore), sake (salmon), unagi (grilled eel)
- tenpura udon
- saba shioyaki (grilled salt-crusted mackerel) dinner
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we used to go here when it was a slim hallway LONG --- 11 years ago?
we are proud of kamon and all it's current glory.
staff: ALWAYS polite, sweet, fast
sushi: STILL the best. the BEST: 16th Street Roll.
and i just discovered last night: a dirty GIN martini to rival simon's.
-: next to NO parking. plan on parking on the street.
I went to Kamon because a friend of a friend is a sushi chef there.
It was alright, it's like any other sushi place that puts a ton of sauces on their rolls. I tend to be more of a traditionalist, where I don't like sauces on my food. I specifically asked for a roll to be made without salmon....They included the salmon. The sashimi was decent, but it made me gassy, as well as my mom. The misoshiru was good.
Overall, I felt like I was visiting Mikuni's, which is not a favorite place of mine. The atmosphere is decent, there were a few Japanese people eating there.
I have a new favorite Japanese restaurant in Sacramento. This place has all the qualifications that I look for in a restaurant: good food, good service, and reasonable prices. Oh, and huge portions!
Don't be fooled by the tiny parking lot and the random strip mall around it--it's roomy and comfortable inside. There is a separate bar area that seemed to be stocked with regulars more interested in having a drink than eating. The dining area is large and comfortable, if spare.
The food portions are enormous. For a party of six, we ordered three sushi rolls to start. They were easily twice the size that you would get at Mikuni's, and they were delicious. The main entrees were huge as well--no one was able to finish their food. Overall, the food was solid, if not outstanding. Still the prices were reasonable and the portions huge. Did I mention that you get a lot of food?
This was the best sushi I have had in a while. The miso was wonderful. The sushi was fresh and big. I had to eat most of the sushi in two bites. The tempura was crispy and not greasy. It is so hard to find tempura that is not greasy. The service was also friendly, prompt and helpful.
Love the staff! I had my birthday party there New Years Eve with twelve other people and they were so helpful. Lots of restaurants aren't real excited to have big parties last minute on such a big holiday. They were. We ordered full dinners and rolls with no sweat from the staff. They even put us in another section of the restaurant so we had more intamacy. The tuna was fresh with wonderful marbling. The saki and beer was plentiful! We all ate and drank for under 500 bucks. I would tell anyone who wants to enjoy a great meal and not have an hour wait on a Saturday night to go to Kamon!
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Following in the steps of it's Sacramento predecessor, Mikuni's, Kamon did a remodel awhile back and is sporting a new suave look. The dark walls and modern furniture coupled with the odd bit of art gives it a polished vibe. The staff is helpful, efficient & quite versed in the menu ( a plus in my book).
Though the bento boxes are nothing to write home about, they're decent. Stick with the sushi rolls & an app. The gyoza's nice and crispy and I was digging the Rocky Roll. I also liked the fact that they don't drown their sushi rolls in sauce, placing just enough to add flavor but not overwhelm the palate.
There's not much in the way of dessert selection, so stick with a fun drink- the Sumo Slush is excellent for a light summertime beverage.
9/15/06 Edit: Just went back there last night. The place wasn't even half full on a Friday night and the service was faltering. Our waitress was nice & prompt but I thought I was going to have to throw something to get the sushi-guy's attention. There were three of them and they NEVER looked up. Also, it's the first time that I've been there when the sushi's been mediocre. Hope it's not a downward spiral on quality and that they were just having an off night.
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Love the Sushi, the service used to be a little slow, but is better these days.
Not quite sure what all the hype is about. went here a while back and the meal wasn't memorable. I don't even have anything else to add.
**edit**
actually, I do remember that the sushi rolls were small. And I don't mean that they were just not the godzilla-sized american style rolls that are found in most places, but the fillings were quite scant. Unless you know the sushi chef, don't expect generous portions.
Well, at this continuing rate of losing Japanese restaurants, I hope this review will last (^_^)
Typical family style restaurant featuring a lounge for karaoke nights and dining on the other side. Modern decor with low-lighting, decent seating and good light fixtures.
Dinner items are mediocre, but not bad when I am looking to take my papa out for a family dinner (we USE to go to Taka's, sheesh!). Good deals on their bento dinner boxes. Loaded with three choices from their entrees (Chicken, beef, salmon teriyaki, etc) another choice from their tempura, sushi, gyoza, or double the chicken teriyaki from above. Very filling, I normally cannot finish the entire box. My papa ordered the Pork Tonkatsu (would not recommend) and was sorry to report that the pork was a thin cut, dry, and not very filling. I forked over my chicken teriyaki to him. My sister liked her tempura dish, but when does fried food ever taste bad?
(^_^)
Dinner box was around $13-$14.
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What's up with the mediocre reviews for this place - both reviewers had nothing but positive things to say about it, so why only give 3 stars? The sushi is excellent, the sushi chefs are outgoing, the wait staff is on the ball, the host is cool and outgoing, and they've even got a cool little bar off to the side with some friendly bartenders who know how to make a mean drink. Those of you lamenting the recent loss of Taka's, Sakurabana and Zen Toro - give Kamon a shot. You'll be happy that you did.
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