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Had the chef's choice for sushi tonight. All of the selection was very fresh. Especially the uni... that was so good and sweet that I ordered two more pieces. Also liked the shrimp b/c it was served with egg smeared over it. Never had shrimp served that way. For chef's choice it was a little over $30/person so that was a very good deal. It came with miso soup, the steamed egg thing, and ice cream.
Would definitely go back.
Sidenote, it's a very small place so I can see how it could get crowded.
I am upset. I have not felt this upset from a sushi bar in a long time. Upon entering on a quiet Wed nite, I was directed to a table, even before I was able to voice my opinion. I prefer the sushi bar. I should have went with my gut and asked for the bar, which was EMPTY when I got there.
Upon sitting, they had a variety of choices. Then I noticed the omakase for $33 per person. So, figuring this is my first time at a new sushi place, I decided to get it and get a glimpse at their "razzle dazzle". Upon getting our "plate" of nigiri pieces, I was pissed. For two people, there was just 2 pieces of tuna, 2 toro, and NO SALMON. While we did ask for no mackerel, there was 4 pieces of it. The sushi rice was off - it didn't fall apart in the mouth like it should. It felt clumpy and damp. the fish had no tail. The extra long trail piece that you use to dip into the shoyu, NONE of the pieces had it. Infact, the fish was cut thinly and barely enough to cover up the rice. WTF... do they have trainees making nigiri pieces now???
For a Japanese bar, I expected far better. Then I realized, towards the end of the meal, the head chef wasn't the one who made our pieces. Would they have been better had he made it? I don't know. I have known for a while that Japanese owned bars, not all, have a tendency to give poorer slices and cut to unsuspecting non-Japanese folk. I also noticed that ALL of the japanese patrons were sitting at the bar. Only when the bar was over 1/2 full the head Itamae showed up to help.
For that quality, I overpaid. I wished I sat at the bar and sampled a couple of pieces, which I USUALLY do, but I didn't make a fuss due to my dinner date.
I won't venture in here again unless I am served by the head itamae, and if someone convinces me that he's good.
Went for the first time today for lunch. Lunch menu is very slim and efficient - a variety of Chirashi-like Bowls. Lunch buddies had chirashi, I had the "STAMINA BOWL" (come on ... how could you not?).
Stamina Bowl wasn't too shabby. Uni, Ikura, and Tuna. All fresh and fine. Serving size was about average, meaning too small for me. But no complaints.
Miso soup was original - not typical, had a variety of meat in it, not just miso-tasting.
Stamina Bowl was $14.95. Not cheap, but not unreasonable either.
I've been here multiple times and the fish is usually very fresh and of good quality. I usually get the chirashi bowl for $16.50 which include miso soup and a bowl of rice that is covered in not only fish but other items like lotus root and this fish sprinkle stuff... but when you only get to try one piece of each thing, it can feel like a taster or a teaser and I always want more fish even though the bowl is enough to fill me up. Sometimes it's worth it for $2 more to get the next Special on the menu which has more fish, but less variety.
The spacial rolls are not worth it. $13 for a mini looking caterpillar roll is not worth it at all. I may get an order of the spicy tuna, but the rolls really don't impress me here. If you really want to try sushi, just go to the bar and get the Omakase (chefs choice) which comes with miso soup, 14 pieces of fish, chawan mushi, and ice cream. It's worth the $35/person and is probably the cheapest omakase around (I'll edit this post if I find one as good and cheaper). Sake can get pricey here, but if you want some fresh fish, come check this place out.
It's a small place, so if you come with more than 2 people, call ahead and reserve a seat at the bar or the table in the back room which seats 4-6. It's easy to find the plaza it's in, but a little difficult to identify the place since the Kanpachi Sushi sign may not stand out.
Are you an adventurous yet cost-conscious sushi connoisseur? For about $40 a person, tax and tip included, you can get a fourteen course omakase dinner (17 courses if you include the miso soup, chawan mushi and ice cream) that will satisfy your restless sushi spirit.
I can't remember everything, but the highlights of my omakase dinner this weekend included:
-baby squid sushi (two purple baby squids, sitting whole on top of the rice!)
-a crab sushi that had some kind of sweet yellow rub on top of it--delicious!
-uni--of course, I love my uni
-various clam sushi
-homemade tamago
-toro
What I love about Kanpachi is that I was served several types of sushi that I had never eaten before. That's saying a lot--I've eaten a fair amount of sushi in my lifetime! The value is also hard to beat, and you leave absolutely stuffed. The fish is not as melt-in-your-mouth as say Sushi Zo's, but how can you compare, really? Sushi Zo's omakase is 3 times the price! Also, the sushi rice at Kanpachi is served room temperature--not served warm like at some other sushi restaurants.
Btw, the other reviewers weren't kidding when they said that they were the only ones speaking English in this place; it was the same for me and my dining companion. This is as close to being in Japan as you can get!
4.5 stars!
I stopped by here yesterday and was famished from a busy and hectic morning and was looking forward to a really fulfilling chirashi bowl. I was salivating just thinking about all the great sashimi I was going to feast on for lunch as I was driving to this location.
Sitting at the bar, I glanced at their lunch menu and decided on the bigger chirashi bowl for $11.95. My waitress said it was the popular bowl and had more pieces of fish than the smaller one for $9.95. It also came with miso soup and green tea. That's for me, I declared to her.
The miso soup was good, I think it had some pork pieces in there from which I normally try to abstain but since I was hungry, I gulped that down.
The green tea was a little light on flavor for some reason but, eh, I was here for the chirashi bowl so that was no huge concern.
She then brought out my bowl and it didn't really look as appealing and appetizing as the picture on the menu. I started noticing too that there were some pieces that were missing that were displayed on the menu. I wasn't sure if I received the smaller bowl or whether they were short on fish and some of the other ingredients but it sure seemed like it to me. I grabbed the menu a few times just to compare and yup, there were a couple of things missing which made my bowl look more like a veggie bowl.
I was really disappointed, especially since I had eaten here before for dinner and had an amazing omakase experience. Don't think I'd come back here again for lunch nor do I feel motivated in returning for dinner either after that huge let down.
I wish places would truly serve us what they advertise and not pull a bait and switch. It really gets aggravating!
This non-descript and modest place gets 5 stars. Being a lover of sushi, I must say I've never had… Read more »
So a debt must be repaid to me. But cuisine was not my choice. Yelp to the rescue! Sushi? I became nervous. Gardena has so many great restaurants -- just not for sushi! Kanpachi had so many glowing reviews, yet I did not see anyone comparing this place to more reputable LA spots.
I'll spare the blow by blow. Did I dine here on an off night? A sushi place can't afford to have an "off night" IMO. It's either good, or not worth paying $40+/person for -- just buy the boxed stuff @ Nijiya. And for some strange reason, the rice texture seemed quite off.
I'm a sushi snob, if I don't enjoy most of my sushi -- then it truly is dreadful and waste of $, jaw muscles, stomach acid, toilet time. I'm much happier gorging myself @ Hide -- which I don' t even consider that high end.
Sushi is just about the only meat I haven't given up. I was so delighted that I didn't because Kanpachi was fantastic. How did I miss this place? I've lived in South Bay for years!
I'm definitely planning on another visit ASAP...
A nice quaint place. Don't pick up the phone when you're dining here or else you'll face the wrath of the chef that or he just gives you the stink-eye.
Supposedly they have the best deal for Chirashi bowl in town. Withholding my judgment, I decided to come here after a 15+ hour flight. The uni didn't seem very fresh to me as with other fish. Nothing bad but nothing great. What stood out the most was probably their freshly made tamago, but that's not enough to earn them a 4 star rating.
But what will earn them a honorary 4 star rating (will not show on the scoreboard) is the fact that the meal was free and I got a ride home from the airport. Woot woot!
Good Sushi place!!!!
Last night I went here for dinner. It was a little hard to find since the sign fell off and the only sign in the front says "SUSHI". It's right next to a yakitori place and Curry House, by Teri Hawaii.
I was tempted to order the omakase, but chickened out. I ordered the Chirashi bowl with all the cuts of fish for $16.50. It comes with Miso Soup.
The bowl included salmon, tuna, clam, octopus, squid, uni, shrimp, salmon roe, mackerel, two other fish(?), egg, lotus root, cucumber, shitake mushroom, and baby shrimp powder stuff.
Other reviewers were not kidding about how attentive they are at refilling your tea cup, or rather replacing it with a new tea cup every time your cup was less than half full. Great Service!
I ate everything in my bowl! I am not a big fan of Uni, but it was delicious and creamy. It didn't taste like I was licking a pier.
It was probably one of the best chirashi bowls I've had. The price is a bit steep here, but you are paying for better quality fish.
I will return in the future to try the lunch specials and omakase.
This is not a 5 star place. No, this is not.
Everything was ok, nothing bad but very usual. Several types of fish are definitely from pre-frozen pack. Price is OK but I'd rather spend the same amount of money at Sushi Gen to get more varieties and ***fresher** fish.
Kido san is very nice, however, Kanpachi doesn't live up to my standard at all.
Upon the recommendation of Yuko...
Went here last Thursday for lunch. The place is tiny, but I was able to grab the last table available and we sat 5 comfortably.
Ordered the Rainbow Bowl (begin with the snide comments), which is $9.50. Each lunch meal is served with green tea (caution, mug is very hot) and an interesting, albeit really good, miso soup with meat.
The Rainbow Bowl, as you might guess, comes with a good assortment of sushi, which was all good, but just not phenomenal as I expected it to be. I'm sure that the dinner omakase is quite different and I'd like to try that sometime to give the place another try.
This place is delicious, authentic, fresh, small, and quiet.
I had the Chefs Omakase and we were blown away. It was a great experience.
The owner/chef himself explained every piece that we ate. It was slightly annoying, but informational.
OMG I alsmost missed this one!
Driving around looking what to eat i stumbled into this hidden jewel!
There is no sign. I parked and walked on a strip mall where also peruvian restaurant El Pollo Inca is located and i was curious about this very small but cozy place. So i went in opened minded, then i saw on the sushi bar live conch so i thought this has to be good. I was right, incredible fresh seafood. The chef buys the stuff during the day to prepare it for dinner. I tried almost every sea creature on display and amazing taste. great service not too pricey. A truly genuine sushi bar. Not exaggerating anyone serious about sushi should go try this place!
I'll make this update as "Useful," "Funny," and "Cool" as possible since my last review was like 10,000 words. OK, I lied, it's the maximum 5,000 words. Whatever.
What else can I say about Kanpachi besides their Omakase menu? Well, if you're in the area Monday - Friday, do check out Kanpachi for lunch. There are about 10-12 different choices to choose from, and my roommate and I went with the Chirashi bowl and we were both very happy with our lunch. The bowl of sushi rice was layered with Uni (Sea Urchin Roe), Ikura (Salmon Roe), Ika (Squid) among the fishes in the bowl. The best part of the chirashi bowl was the Tamago (Egg) in there. The thick egg piece was so delicious, it's like a dessert to me. The lunch menu ranged from $8 to $15 (I believe). Very reasonable prices for the quality cuts of fish in the lunch choices.
Anyways, back to the Omakase. My buddies were visiting from up North and I've been raving about this place for awhile now, so we decided to check it out on a Saturday Night. The fishes were similar to my previous 2 Omakase experiences here, but there were a few changes. I won't describe them again, but check out some of the pics I've posted:(Courtesy of my friend Yohan and his camera since I'm a lazy ass and never bring my camera around...)
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Again, Kanpachi is a great place to relax and have a nice sushi dinner. The best part of the meal actually was the Persimmon topped with toasted sesame dessert that came extra besides the usual ice cream given during the Omakase meal. Kido San and his wife make an excellent team and the staff here are all courteous and friendly. If you want to come to a more "Mom and Pop" run sushi place that serves great food, at great prices, Kanpachi is it.
Please don't compare to the Omakase offered at Zo, Sasabune and Urasawa to Kanpachi. For the price, value, and ambiance, to me, Kanpachi is awesome!
BTW, I love all the sake cups they have on the cupboard. I need to order some sake the next time I'm here. (http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
Again, big props to Kido San, the man in blue (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) for another great meal here. Even though I'm moving to SGV, I'll definitely be back here often.
*Note* Omakase is served for lunch and dinner Tues-Fri (w/o the Chawan Mushi during lunch) and only dinner on the Weekends.
*Note 2* If you're coming with more than say, 4 people, I'd call in and reserve a spot at the bar.
*Note 3* The a la carte menu offers plenty of choices and it's also a good value, so check it out if you're not full from the Omakase or want to venture outside of the Omakase choice.
First and foremost. Kanpachi deserves a big WOW from me. The whole time, I was thinking to myself,… Read more »
If you want candle-lit surroundings, tablecloths, or your sushi plated in a bizarre, stacked fashion as a mini monument to abstract contemporary art, head to LA for your sushi.
If you want the best sushi in Southern California at the best price possible (and I've been to a LOT of sushi places, and I am very critical), then head to a small place named Kanpachi in Gardena off the freeway, go here for Dinner, get the chef's choice (omakase), and sit in front of the head chef (wearing blue). Then prepared for 10+ courses of awe-inspiring, yet simple mouth-watering sushi.
This place is unique to me as it is one of the few places that seem to be valued more highly by word of mouth than on Yelp. I have been here 4 different times with 4 different groups of people and they all agree with me.
Notable standouts:
1) Seared toro
2) Sliced Octopus Tentacle
3) Spanish Mackerel
4) Uni (Sea Urchin)
There are a lot more but I forget exactly what they are named. But you Yelpers get my drift - go! =P
Uber fresh fish, no LA type pretenses + highly crafted preparation. All these can be found here without Sasabune type prices.
Been trying to come here for several months, somehow the opportunity remained elusive. Lately on strong recommendations from a couple of fellow Yelpers I decided I have to do Kanpachi or else I will lost all respect from my fellow foodies.
Got here last Sat. and it looks familiar - I have been here before! Turns out I found this without Yelp - I found it through a free Japanese market magazine. At that time I didn't know they offer omakase. I might have found this pre-Yelp but I owe this discovery to the untiring prompting from my fellow foodie Liz L and Danny C.
Went straight for the omakase. Chef lay down those lovely banana leafs while a nice full aroma green tea is served. We were the only patron sitting at the sushi bar. The rest was one of the most memorable meals I had in a while. The fatty tuna, seared abacore, Spanish mackerel, two different types of uni, sardine, snapper. The red clam was crunchy and not the tiny bit chewy and free from slime, WOW. The clam the spanish mackerel and the sardine was among the best I had anywhere.
The chef will give you suggestion about each dish needing soy sauce wasabi or not. I usually use a lot of wasabi with just a dripping of soy and always low sodium. Here at the end of the meal I found the wasabi soy paste I habitually mixed at the beginning of the meal was barely touched. BTW do eat a piece of ginger in between each course. It help cleanse the palette.
The miso soup with the shrimp head in it is several notches above what is serve in your typical Japanese place.
The ordering, the careful use of little garnishes and the coloring are all works of art. It was fun watching the chef use a gigantic stainless steel chopsticks to place tiny chopped garnishes onto the sushi. That is SKILL.
All these for $32 and you get free dessert. Usually after a sushi meal I feel I need some udon or ramen but not after this meal. Their regular menu is very interesting too. I had their grilled yellowtail collar before, it was smoky and moist. Very good eats.
I'm not big on raw fish so I don't know about how great/fresh it was besides the fact that it was edible and didn't taste fishy. I've had worse so I guess that makes this place A-OK. I'm still waiting for my raw fish taste buds to turn on and I try ever so often to see if I'll ever really enjoy it. I'm sure more experienced sushi eaters will be impressed with this place.
The lunch specials here seem pretty reasonable. What was pretty amusing was that the miso soup had a little piece of meat in it.
So....I walked thru the door of this joint located in a large strip mall...and felt like I had arrived in the best of both worlds. 10 seats at a small bar, and 4 tables, and one tatami 'party room' in the back. For ONE, instantaneously I felt I had been transported back to some small neighborhood sushiya in rural japan and TWO, everyone knows that virtually all the best sushiya in LA are located in strip malls.
Sadly, i left an hour later totally disappointed.
The two best things about this place, other than the japan-feel ambience, are the service and the semi-reasonable prices (if you order as a set/chef's choice). my green tea was always refilled while I ate, and the women who work there were always attentive and typically japanese polite.
Now to the food. Hmmm.
We ordered two omakase (chef's choice) dinners, which nets you 14 pieces of fish each (1 piece each of 14 sushi) per person, as well as miso soup, chawanmushi, and ice cream (azuki, matcha, or vanilla). it's like 70 bucks with tax for 28 pieces of fish total plus the extras noted.
the problem with this place is that the fish just ain't that good. in many cases, it was no better, or worse, than most other sushi places i been to that are kinda americanized or that cater to the 'Roll Crowd' (not that i dislike rolls, sometimes i actually kinda like 'em, but quite frankly it's the traditional sushi that makes me drool when it's prepared the way it should be)....
anywhoozers, the deal is that the rice was decent but the fish etc...did not taste fresh, and were often either too dry or too mushy or too salty or...you get the picture:
-Toro (passable, but generally overly fatty without any melt in your mouthfeel where you can also taste the texture/sinews of the 'meat' as it goes down)
--Maguro Yuke (marinated tuna)--it basically looked like maguro tataki and tasted bland and mushy
--Tai (red snapper)--overly chewy and dry
--Awabi (abalone)--just average
--Mirugai-- probably the best sushi on our omakase list
--Saba (mackerel) --probably the 2nd best sushi on the list
--Aji (spanish mackerel)-- dry and tasteless. damnit, aji is one of my alltime favorites! crappola.
--Sake (salmon)--one of the worst salmon sushi I have ever had. Slimy and too thinly cut. Sake should have a thicker cut than this. I felt like I was eating lox.
--Ikura (salmon roe)-- like parent, like child. waaaay too salty and the salmon roe 'balls' were way too small.
--Uni (sea urchin) --usually one of my faves, it tasted recently defrosted and had no creaminess at all
--Shako (kinda like shrimp/crab in flavor, it's a shellfish)-- it had a kinda mealy taste, no chewy/elastic 'crunch' like it's supposed to have.
--Amaebi (sweet shrimp)--normally when the chef prepares amaebi, he takes off the heads on the spot and either frys 'em up for ya (dang i Looooove shrimp heads!!) or throws it in a soup of some sort. well, upon glancing in the sushi case, i noticed ALL the amaebi were already headless! not good. and i then realized that the shrimp head in the undelicious miso soup i had just consumed was my amaebi head. yuck.
--Tako (octopus)-- it was the raw one, not the slightly cooked one. it was dusted with lemon and salt. no me gusta.
--Tamago (egg custard)-- very sweet (more than normal), and it kinda fell apart while i was eating it. i've never eaten one with such a thin, undense texture before.
From the corner of my eye i had spied our neighbors, a couple, with two huge pieces of hamachi that looked kinda good. I ordered it up, and when it came, it bore no resemblance to theirs. Smaller cuts, and side cuts, and not delicious at all. WTF?
by the time i reached the too-bland chawanmushi at the end of the meal, i was fighting back the frowns and wallowing in a depressed state of buyer's remorse.
All the while, headscratching at the overwhelming percentage of seemingly satiated japanese clients in the place.
i really felt like i'd stepped into a japanese episode of the twilight zone.
japanese ambience.
japanese service
japanese neighborhood.
japanese peeps in the majority
happily eating below average japanese food.
oh, the humanity!!!
BLECH!
BLAH!
BAMBOOZLED!
Went here with three friends tonight. Sat at the bar and, having read the other reviews here, we all ordered the omakase.
High points: [1] very friendly chef and staff; the chef went out of his way to give us a lesson on Japanese traditional cuisine (in very broken English) [2] variety and quantity of fish & side dishes [3] subtly inventive decor and settings [4] very reasonable prices.
Wow, my bf and I just got back from dinner with Danny C and Antho L at Kanpachi and I am UNCOMFORTABLY FULL!
We all had the omakase which included about 20 items (16-17 pieces of sushi, miso soup, chawan mushi, pickled cucumber, and ice cream).
Everything was very fresh and expertly cut. We had too many to go into detail but a couple highlights for me were the halibut, red clam, and giant clam. These were simply dressed with lemon and salt that the sushi chef makes himself! I loved the crunchy mouth-feel of the salt and it had a lot of depth to it. Apparently, it takes about 3-4 hours for him to just make salt. Now that's dedication!
I also loved the gunkan-maki trio of uni, caviar with quail yolk, and ikura served on one plate. It was a fun play on egg, egg with egg, and egg!
The service was outstanding. Everyone was very friendly, our teacups were never empty, and plates were always removed promptly. I especially appreciated how the chef took the time to explain certain items and got into specifics when we asked detailed questions. You could tell he had a lot of pride (and knowledge) but it never came across as condescension or "nazi-ish" as some other sushi chefs can be.
I can't believe it took us this long to discover this gem of a restaurant but now that we've found it, I know we'll definitely be coming back soon. Thanks for introducing us to this place Danny!
This is the place I allegedly had whale sperm! I've found it finally! To clarify, my dad took me here a few times, and once I figured out it was amazing (the restaurant, not the whale sperm---pervs) he dubbed it off limits because apparently he takes hot dates there. Now, if the image of your parent trying to get their swerve on isn't a natural deterrent, I don't know what is. Anyway, up until now I couldn't remember the name.
The restaurant is run by a husband and wife team; it's a very traditional sushi bar and certainly not fancy or trendy in appearance or function, so it's not the place to order a Vegas Roll, Dragon Roll, or even a Caterpillar Roll---not because it wont taste good but because a.) you'll look dumb and b.) they wont do it. Though I must say that I had the best spicy tuna roll I've ever had in my life here. It was made to order; chef chopped up some pickled mountain root and performed some other magic to it that doesn't typically occur, and the result was an untraditional spin off an untraditional dish performed by a traditional master of a traditional craft. In short, it was brilliant! And it didn't even have pools of spicy mayo and eel sauce!
While on the topic of "best of," I've also had the best octopus in my life here, and I need to point out that by "best" I mean that if I were presented with a platter of seafood---lobster, prawns, crabs, etc---I'd still say THIS SHIT IS BOMB. I'm not big on octopus except this octopus. The largest cross-section of a tentacle is probably about the circumference of a quarter, so the octopus are small; they're cooked, sliced, served chilled, and OH SO TENDER!! Wow! I mean really tender! You're given a small dish of sea salt mixed with pepper (I think it's pepper) to dip and it's really very delicious.
The fish is of exceptional quality and so is the presentation (on a banana leaf), and I have never seen leaves of uni so fresh that they seemed to stand up in the box. You wanna know how the uni was served to me? Chef dug to the bottom of his canister, grabbed the crispiest piece of nori, delicately folded a leaf of uni with a drizzle of dark sweet sauce and said as he reached over the counter "EAT IT RIGHT NOW." It kind of makes me feel like a bottom just thinking about it.
On a side note, I also adore fresh out-of-the oven tamago and I've had it here on occasion: when compared to everything else, it's predictably delicate, fluffy, lightly sweet, and lovely overall.
I realize that such an abundance of enthusiasm might seem feigned or an exaggeration of the truth, and while I don't know anything about the quality of their their lunch specials I can leave you with at least one complaint about an experience that I once had here: I was supposedly fed whale sperm and I wasn't told until after I ate it. NOW IS THAT FUCKED UP OR WHAT?? God damn them. Of course, it was meant to be a treat, but if that isn't FUCKED UP on so many levels I don't know what is.
Forgiven.
Definataly, One of BEST sushi I ever had in CA...Everything is FRESH...
Love Sushi, Would LOVE this PLACE...
Not a JOKE...
Check it out... Sushi LOVERS...
A good lunch spot, when it's not crowded. Which easily happens, since the place only seats like, 15.
Fresh fish, quick service, good prices. It's a no-nonsense place to get sushi when you don't want Marukai/Nijiya/Mitsuwa packaged sushi. The lunch specials came with miso soup, but I didn't like it that much because it had too much stuff in it (tofu and fried tofu curd and daikon radish and seaweed and...).
The green tea is extremely hot! Don't burn your fingers trying to pick up the mug, like I did.
Instead of saving for a down payment on a house, I like to eat out a lot. So when the woman and I were hungry, we decided budget sushi was in order.
Kanpachi is pretty close to where we live and she knew it had a $33 omakase so we go for dinner. Never had it felt so good to feel so foreign. I think the chefs serving us spoke two words of English to me throughout the meal. But them and the girl babbled on and on in their devil tongue, laughing and just having a gay old time. Despite that, my displacement was rewarded with a bevy of Japanese treats. She told the chef to just give us a few good appetizers and the omakase courses.
First thing that was brought out was so good I forgot to take a picture. It was a plate of bonito sashimi. I'm pretty sure bonito is one of my new favorite fishes. It was very fresh and tender with just enough fishy flavor. Next was a snapper head in a soy sauce broth:
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
That was fun to eat! Apparently a skilled eater will be able to pick the head clean without making a mess of it. We did a good job of picking it clean but we kind of butchered the poor guy.
The rest of the sashimi and sushi was all placed on a giant leaf on the bar in front of us. And here's what we got:
Tuna (sashimi)
Octopus; http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Halibut
Kanpachi
? (red snapper maybe)
Tuna (nigiri)
Toro
Miso soup
Aji
Pickled cabbage, radish and squash; http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Sake with Krill; http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Ikura
Uni; http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Kazunoko
Mirugai
Chowan mushi
Kohada
Yariika
Amaebi
Tamago
Ice cream
All of it was delectable! Super fresh and melted in my mouth where applicable. It's always a delight to get stuffed off sushi and not have a single complaint about the quality of the food, level of service or the price. Sure we could have paid three times as much somewhere else and had slightly better sushi, but this is as good as it gets for the price.
The chef told the girl that in a few months the bonito fish would be fatter and even better. So we definitely will be back for that.
kanpachi is solid! for reals.
rolled in last night with my friend to get our soosh on. she lived in the area so a quick yelp recon = kanpachi. thank you yelp, for you made a great rec.
we sat at the sushi bar and were warmly greeted by the owner. he was a portly older japanese gentleman with a big smile. we ordered the omakase and off the the races we went.
i LOVE that kanpachi serves sushi on a gigantic leaf. very green and progressive.
food:
1. ika - very tender with a nice crisp. salted with a squeeze of citrus (yuzu?). good stuff
2. hirame - firm and oceany. also salted with a squeeze of citrus. i'm not usually fan of hirame, but this was quite good.
3. hotate - a good rendition of hotate. this was also salted with a squeeze of citrus. my hotate was cut a bit haphazard and was "ugly". however my friends' hotate looked very nice.
4. tai - very light and crisp. not much flavor as is expected. clean finish
5. kanpachi - YUM. i love this stuff. a very good cut and extremely fresh....melt in your mouth.
6. toro - delicious......literally melted in my mouth. had a slight piece of gristle though. very unctuous, in a good way.
7. red snapper collar - this was braised in a sweet base with a burdock root(?) garnishment. this was served at room temperature and was a nice break from the sushi. tasty.
8. uni - good. not as good a sushi zo but good nonetheless. it was not as sweet as i hoped it to be.
9. caviar w/ quail egg: i loved the textures in this. crunchy with gooey. good stuff.
10. ikura - normally i am not a fan of ikura but kanpachi's ikura is quite good. very sweet....pop, pop pop.
11. seared maguro - this was marinaded in a sweet shoyu. good, but kind of bleh
12. tako - fine rendition. tako can be quite tough, but this was oh so tender.
13. ama ebi - unfortunately this was a dud. ama ebi should be presented live. this was pre dispatched and prepared. thus the meat was not firm and crisp. rather it was a tad mushy and slimey.
14. tamago - awesome stuff. sweet and juicy. very good rendition. the name of the restaurant is branded into the tamago, which i thought was a great touch.
15. ice cream - i got the red bean and it was tasty. very standard japanese red bean ice cream
service through the dinner was spot on, dishes were cleared with the tea and water glasses never dipping below the 50% mark.
everyone....seriously, everyone at the restaurant that evening were speaking japanese. my friend and i were the only "outsiders" but we were treated like family.
i will definitely be back to try some of the other stuff such as mirugai, aji, kohado and shirako. the sushi was very good, service was excellent and the price is very reasonable.
yay for soosh!! but i wish they were closer to my pad. boo to being in the south bay. lols.
Got the "Flower of the Sea" lunch special which was a bowl of rice, with nori on top of that, and 8 pieces of salmon, hamachi, albacore, and whitefish. Comes with miso for $10.
For you manly men who might feel emasculated ordering something with the word "flower" in it, it's also known as #8.
I was thinking about this stupid chirashi bowl the whole week! Friend told me about this place and… Read more »
First I want to warn those self-proclaimed sushi lovers, if all you eat is dynamite roll, spider roll, rainbow roll or even spicy tuna roll, then this is NOT a place for you.
This sushi place serves traditional authentic Japanese sushi, not Americanized sushi. I'm saying this because 2 gals gave only 1 star for this sushi bar, and when I look at their profile they gave "Obviously" Korean owned Sushi bar a 4 star! C'mon now, if you want to satisfy your burger or hot dog appetite, then go somewhere else.
Now here goes my review.
I've been to many sushi bars or so they call sushi bars, this is as good as it gets for the authentic Japanese sushi. I know some fish are fishy, but it supposed to be like this and we enjoy it.
I went to this place with 2 of my friends. We ordered 3 appetizers and omakase sushi course. The appetizers, monk fish liver, seasoned squid, oyster in half shell were all good, but first 2 are not for beginners I think. My friends did not like these dish that much. Monk fish liver has very unique flavor and acquired taste. When I was small I did not like it at all, but now I have to order it wherever I go if it's on the menu.
Seasoned squid (ika no shiokara) is thinly cut squid with its own ink and guts. Yes, it does not sound appetizing, and yes you probably will not like it. =)
For the omakase sushi, it was really good. Omakase means "It's up to you", and sushi chef decides what to include in the sushi combination. It usually comes with the best fish available on that day. Tuna, salmon, yellow tail etc are available everyday, but some rare kind maybe available today but not next week. Omakase came with some familiar fish and some I haven't tasted for a long time. I loved most of the fish, but not herring roe. I like it, but not my favorite.
Like I said earlier, if you want the traditional Japanese sushi, this is the place to go. In Japan, when you go to sushi bar, you usually first ask "what's good today?" This is one of these place you can ask what kind of fish is available that day. You may find a fish you have never tasted before.
I've been pretty busy at work that dipped into my personal life. I haven't been out much and I've been feeling cooped up. Finally I had the chance to go out on Sunday night and I was just so excited about the night out alone.
But then... I found it!! Yes, "it." I've been passively searching for good sushi restaurant in LA for who knows how long now, but as I said, it was a very passive quest. So many recommendations and so many trials turned out to be a huge disappointment in the past that I just simply stopped trying new sushi restaurants. Somehow I came across to this place online, both on yelp and on another site, and I had a good vibe. I decided to give it a try and I was so glad that I took the chance!!
This is a rather small, very traditional setting of sushi joint. Very few tables, L shaped sushi counter, with 2 sushi chefs nicely greeting us in. It reminded me of the sushi joint where my family used to frequent in Japan. I instantly felt comfortable and at home.
My night there started off nicely with beer and Tsukidashi (tiny dish of any sort that comes with the first drink you order at Japanese drinking joint). Tsukidashi of the night was a simmered pregnant squid. The squid ring was filled with yummy eggs, marinated and simmered in soy sauce based sweet sauce, and it was perfect to work up our appetite!
My friend and I both ordered the chef's Omakase course, which was 14 kan of nigiri (14 different kinds of single nigiri, not 14 pairs of nigiri), Chawan-mushi, Miso soup, and ice cream for about $30. I wasn't expecting much of great selections as $30 isn't much at all for sushi dinner, but noooooooo, I was so wrong! Some of the Nigiri we had were Oh-Toro (super fatty tuna), Uni, Ikura, Aji, none of which is cheap. We also had some unique (as in the USA) selections like Leucopsarion petersi (tiny transparent fish - see the pic) and Squid Shiokara (shiokara = marinated in its own guts). Also, I wasn't expecting to be full, but even my guy friend said that he was more than content with the amount of food. Well, we couldn't fit in post dinner boba drinks, so that should tell you how full we were!
Everything that we had was quite tasty and accompanied by our chef's comments like "this is also good if you grilled it" or "soon we'll have different kind of squid in a month and that one will be full of texture." I love friendly and chatty sushi chefs!!
Chawan-mushi was good, and the two complimentary appetizer, Tsukemono (pickled veggies) and Chikuzen-ni (simmered root veggies) that the chef gave us were fantastic! Their miso soup wasn't the usual cheap tofu and seaweed one, instead, it had a huge shrimp head that gave a really good flavor to the broth.
The chef said that they got some good selections of kitchen food, and he explained some of the special that they had that day. We were both full with the Omakase sushi course that we didn't get to try any of them, but how he described some items definitely made us want to come back here for sushi as well as for their kitchen food!
Overall, wonderful setting, fantastic food, and friendly and attentive service. As I said, I think I finally found "it" and I'm just very happy with the fact that good sushi restaurant does actually exist in LA.
Kanpachi: CRAP-VILLE USA
There's a line in the movie "Happy Gilmore" where the antagonist snidely tells Adam Sandler, "I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast." I'm convinced that the character had previously dined at KANPACHI SUSHI in Gardena.
I lunched here this afternoon only because of the good Yelp ratings. The food was CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!
I ordered the $20 combo nigiri lunch plate which included:
- Nasty miso soup w/ slices of turnip, bacon, and carrot (travesty, I know).
- salmon: tasted like a slimy tongue of a rotting sea slug
- uni (sea urchin): the worst, sea vomit aftertaste
-2 pcs ea: cucumber roll & spicy tuna - bland and dry
- tuna: looked and tasted like rotten beef jerky
- unagi (eel): dried, shriveled up, and sad
- some other nasty fish not worth describing
I don't know what the locals are thinking. This place was packed at lunch time. Don't go here, please. There are far better and cheaper places where you can get mediocre sushi.
Kanpachi was worse than 8-week old Yoshinoya leftovers.
This is by far most authenitic Japanese Sushi bar I found in Los Angeles. None of the Fusion roll, Teriyaki Dinner bull shit. The place is small but sushi is superb. I normally don't eat sea urchin because it have to be really fresh other wise it taste like shit. But not at this place. It was so fresh and sweet. The best.
According to yelpers, Kanpachi sushi is supposedly a great lunch spot for authentic and fresh sushi. I sincerely am starting to doubt yelpers' tastes after my visit to the south bay for sushi. I can't even hate on South Bay-ers because a large chunk of the population out there is Japanese and I would assume that they know what's up when it comes to sushi. Well, as my 9th grade Algebra teacher told the class, "You should never assume because you make an ASS out of U and ME." In other words, I assumed wrong.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I've had sushi at other joints in the South Bay, and they were legit-- one particular one I have in mind is Tsukiji Restaurant, on Redondo. But Kanpachi really should change their name to Kan-PUKE-chi or KanCOOchi. The food was just... atrocious, terrible, awful, and disgusting.
My friend Jane and I met there on a Thursday afternoon, right before the lunch crowd stumbled in. We were not allowed to sit at a table, as they reserved the tables for parties of 4 only. I thought this was quite rude, because I did not feel like sitting at the sushi bar, but apparently we did not have a choice in the matter.
We both ordered the "deluxe" sushi combo and shared a spicy tuna roll and a spider roll. The deluxe combo consisted of 1 piece of tuna roll, 1 piece of yellowtail roll, 1 piece of halibut roll, 3 pieces of cucumber rolls, and one of the each sushi: Maguro, Hamachi, Salmon, Halibut, Shrimp, Squid, Unagi, Egg, Ikura and Uni.
I think the safest piece of sushi that everyone can eat is Maguro-- tuna generally is the least fishiest and is pretty hard to get wrong. So when I put the piece of sushi in my mouth and all I could taste was a rotting piece of bait in my mouth, the kind that conjures images of last week's trash covered in maggots, I knew that something was wrong with this place. I had to spit it out into my napkin because it was SO bad.
As for the rest of the sushi, the yellowtail tasted old. The spider roll was over-fried and I couldn't taste any hint of crab in it. The shrimp was dry. Even the unagi-- perhaps the safest thing on my plate was a pathetic piece of shriveled eel. I gobbled up the egg because I felt horrible about wasting my money (I think the combination was 17 or 18 dollars). Even the spicy tuna roll tasted like odd... like doughy. There was virtually no fish in the filling.
There was not ONE thing that was even worth eating. The miso soup was a bizarre amalgamation of bacon (yes, bacon), carrots, and brownish tofu. It came with a chinese spoon, which I also found offensive.
I usually love uni, I think it is the perfect way to end sushi, as it has a nice sweet taste to it, but I was scared to try it, in fear of it being rotten at that point.
The weirdest thing, however, was that the place was packed, and with a healthy mix of JAPANESE people! I didn't get it. Was the sushi chef secretly trying to poison us? WTF?
Kanpachi Sushi
1425 W Artesia Blvd # 27
Gardena, CA 90248
(310) 515-1391
I love to share... whether it be good news, good deals, or hell, even good food... I love to tell all my friends my latest findings.
Once upon a time, a good acquaintance took me to Kanpachi because it had the best lunch deal in town. The said acquaintance told me not to let people know because the deal was oh so good and he didn't like to share his space. $12 for a chirashi bowl. TONs of fresh fish.
However, judging from the Yelp reviews. I think the word is out so let me chime in. Kanpachi is IT.
BEST LUNCH DEAL IN TOWN.
$12 chirashi or $12 sushi platter. Fresh, high quality fish. What more could you ask for? Great service, reasonably priced good food.
-------------------------------------
Best lunch deal it is. I've been here for dinner though. It is about $35 for omakase... However, omakase did not fill me up so I ordered a few dishes a la carte which was quite pricey. It was $150 for 2 ppl including sake (which they charge by the glass but a glass was only a shot). Take it as you may. Lunch and omakase is the way to go. NOT a la carte. Oh yea, also helps if you speak their native tongue because only then are they more personable to you.
Komachi, Kanpachi, it's all Greek (or Japanese) to me!
Sorry!
Most of their stuff are just ok.
However, their grill yellowtail collar bone is quite good.
Do you like fresh fatty tuna, yellowtail, and other yummy sushi goodies?
Do you like a good deal?
Do you want something other than sushi boy, mcdonalds, and del taco for lunch?
Do you want fresh sushi under $12 in an authentic japanese setting?
Of course you do.
Do you want to take me?
Wow! We were not expecting the awesomeness that is Kanpachi! We order the tuna tacos, the assorted tempura, and a custom roll. We got the tuna tacos because they sounded interesting and the price wasn't too bad. The crispy wonton the tuna was sitting on was scrumptious and the three different types of caviar that accompanied each taco was a unique twist. The assorted tempura was standard, but delicious nonetheless. We also pleasantly surprised that they got our custom roll perfect and it tasted great! The price was the icing on the cake! We would recommend this place in a heartbeat.
This place is goooood... but its pretty pricey for eating lunch there.. about 10 bucks for whatever lunch number you order.. and can go up to 16 bucks.. but its sushi so you pay for what you get.. i got the toro bowl.. which included rice, cut up seaweed, tuna, and mashed up tuna.. it was really goood! totallly filled me up! my friend go the chirashi bowl which included a variety of sushi, was worth the price i guess for being a sushi place..
I dunno what the people on here are complaining about the service.. because when i went, the service was pretty good, the server was very attentive to us.. she was nice and polite.. i dunno, i had a good experience there.. and the food was great.. remember.. you get what you paid for.. =)
One of the best deals for Chirashi in town--14 bucks for uni, tuna, albacore, salmon, salmon eggs, sweet mushrooms, halibut, octopus, giant clam...and some other stuff. Oh and they have freshly made tamago..you have to order it....
the sushi chef doesn't smile much and I"m really there for the food...if I wanted smiles, I'd go to chuck e cheese.
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