My husband and I have been looking forward to trying Kihachi for quite awhile, and finally did for a much needed date night. I wish I could say that it was a fantastic evening, but it all fell a little short to be honest. First off, we made a reservation which seemed to go smoother compared to some other reviewers noted. I would strongly encourage reservations - the outside of the door stated that they could only serve those with reservations for the remaining portion of their evening. Once noticed at the door, we were warmly greeted and shown to our table. First complaint, the tables are very close to on another, but this is due to the size of the restaurant. Unfortunately, we had an extremely annoying group next to us, so the closeness of the tables ended up being a huge inconvenience. On to the food - we ordered hot green tea, water, spinach with sesame, takenoko (braised bamboo shoots), tempura dinner (veggies only per request), tuna roll, fried burdock root, and finally sasadango and shiratama for desserts. They were very accommodating with making the tempura vegetarian, and helping choosing appropriate foods to be vegetarian. The stand out by far was the sesame spinach. It was light and flavorful. Secondly, the fried burdock root. They're served julienned and battered with a seasoned salt which took the flavor profile to the next level. The tuna roll was very disappointing especially for the price. It tasted like it was cut with a knife that cut wasabi -- I hate wasabi, so the roll was ruined (IMO). While the tempura was good, it wasn't outstanding. Again, the staff was extremely accommodating to make it completely vegetarian, and actually brought coarse salt as an alternative to the non-vegetarian friendly dipping sauce. It wasn't a meal that would bring us back to the restaurant. The braised shoots were good, but had a fishy taste to it. Neither of us are fish eaters, so that was a let down for us -- but that's not the meals fault. The desserts were good. Not overly sweet, but very enjoyable. Like others have stated, set aside some time for your meal. We didn't have anything to do after dinner, so we just sat and attempted to enjoy each other's company (insert an eye roll for the disruptive table next to us). I am quite disappointed in our experience overall, but I'm quite ready to black list this place. If I get daring enough, I'll try the omakase courses, but only after I pray to Jesus that we get better table neighbors.
Dee M.
This is definitely my favorite sushi in Columbus-- but probably my favorite sushi anywhere. The Omakase meal is an experience worth trying at least once in your life. We sampled everything from duck, to lotus root and uni. Each course was better than the last. To accompany our meal, we ordered glasses of plum wine, which were delicious-- much better than the bottled version we buy at Tensuke Market. We wanted to try something a little more adventurous for our second drink. My date and I agreed that Kihachi did not seem like the type of restaurant that serves "shooters", and, fearing that ordering a round of uni shooters would earn us a disapproving raised eyebrow-- or worse-- we settled on second best: blowfish fin sake. If you go to Kihachi and only get one thing, get the blowfish fin sake. The waitress will probably ask you if you're sure you want two, and not just one, as she did us. Trust me on this-- you're going to want two. One is just not enough. You will savor every sip and most definitely not accidentally spit it out across the table at your date. Do not attempt to eat the fin floating around in the sake. My date was tempted to nibble at it, but the waitress vehemently advised against doing so.
Jiayin L.
Everything is bad. The waiter said she cannot take my order when I told her I'm ready to order. The attitude was soooo bad. I have waited for an hour for the food. It tasted just so so. I'll never come again!
Ness S.
Let me begin by saying that this is not a traditional sushi/sashimi type of Japanese restaurant, although they do have both on the menu, it is not their focus. I also come out of this restaurant smelling of smoke (I suspect this is because of a cigar shop next door, but I'm not sure). This is also a relatively small restaurant with some quirks. When my secretary called for a reservation for 8 people a few months ago, the owner asked to speak with me!?! Who does this? Anyway, after a while I realized that a party of 8 would be pushing it there, and the owner seemed to consider it an imposition rather than revenue, so we cancelled. Now for all the positives. They have two types of menus. Their normal menu and their Omakase. Their omakase is their multi-course dinner that the chef prepares specially for you. It is quite the experience as remarked by a number of reviews here. Their normal menu is quite interesting and usually has a number of dishes that rotate in and out depending on the chef's mood. I've never been disappointed. Even their beef teriyaki, doesn't taste like beef teriyaki that you would get in a typical Japanese restaurant, i.e., the meat is a high quality piece of steak that has been cut up and served at a medium temperature. The sushi here is on the small side, but delicious. I'm surprised to see that there are complaints about the service. I've never found this to be the case (except for the weird phone conversation with the owner). The older lady that is usually in charge, may not speak English very well, but is very polite and helpful, and we've never had a problem. I highly recommend Kihachi, but I also recommend that you make a reservation in advance. I've never had trouble reserving for between 2-5 guests.
P C.
Price: omakase $150 person plus automatic 20% for service. Food: Overall pesentation was good but taste was just okay. The cooled dishes were presented nicely but didn't taste very good. The sashimi and roll were good but there were just 3 pieces of good tuna (other 4 pieces were ordinary) blue fin tuna roll 6 pieces (but it was scrapped flesh). Definitely not worth the price. Service: good and bad. The younger server was good but the older server had a frown the whole time. Every time she came back she looked more angry. Would not recommend.
Andrew Bow
This was a unique surprise. I went here for a friend's graduation party. We had a private dining room with the traditional Japanese in ground table. Although the menu was a bit confusing, the hostess gladly walked us through it. We had a great assortment of items to share and the dinner was great. I had the Nabeyaki Udon. Later we figured out that it was all prepared and cooked by one chef. Highly recommend.
Eric Wickliff
The very best in town. If you have not tried you really need to. The sampler menu is absolutely unique and the level of genius that is continuously show in the amazing food I have never seen equal or even close. Yes they have the Norman noodle dishrs,but the deep fried lotus root to the miso tuna dishes to any number of absolutely stunning combinations will delight you interest and taste buds. The menu only has a few sushi items but they are definately worth a try. Also take a look at the kitchen, you can see it from the bar. Each dish is handmade and quite inspiring.
Grace L.
First a tip: if you want to try the omakase, you need to call 2 days ahead. We were not aware of this so we didn't get to try and ordered from their normal menu. My favorite was the bluefin tuna and the fried tofu with vegetables. Bluefin tuna melts in your mouth, it was wonderful. The the tofu was soft inside and there was broth and mini mushrooms at the bottom which was delicious. The duck udon was great, really liked the broth and duck was tender. We also had the oyster rice soup with vegetables and it was again the broth that I really enjoyed. Overall I really liked that you can taste the flavors of the ingredients through all the different broths. The restaurant is very small, and only two servers so service was a bit slow, but we expected it as we've heard from people.
Josie M.
Man their food is phenomenal. It's just very expensive. We had, special 7 or 9 courses, I believe. Ended up with about $250/person with drinks. Good experience but dang.
Tyler J.
This is definitely among the top echelon of cuisine in Columbus. We ordered the Omakase which was a tasting menu of items unlike anything we have ever tried. The items were truly unique, creative, and sophisticated. The saying "you get what you pay for" definitely applies here and if you an amazing culinary journey, try the Omakase here.
If you'd like to eat quick and inexpensive food, this is not the place you should go to. However, If you'd like to eat and enjoy delicious food slowly and spend time talking with people important to you, this is the best place to go. The service is very slow but the food is really good. You should make a reservation.
Bining Z.
Probably the best authentic Japanese restaurant in town! I love all the food I ordered last night! Definitely will go back and try some more dishes soon!
Taekyung Lee
Great sushi place!! Fresh fish amazing food. Just let you guys know very expensive. But worth it!!!
shannon weimerskirch
Amazing! So happy to have you in Columbus! Not a newborn setting so don't be mad just get a sitter, not every place is newborn friendly! Get it Togo so the rest of us can enjoy our dinner, Respect Others! You may have the best Japanese Style Cuisine just short of Tokyo! Thank you Chef Mike! A great experience!! Cheers!!!
Francisco B.
The Best Restaurant in Columbus by far..... Ordered Chef's special sashimi, hamachi, pork cheek, toro sashimi. And all was perfect Love Kihachi Hope it never leaves
My husband and I have been looking forward to trying Kihachi for quite awhile, and finally did for a much needed date night. I wish I could say that it was a fantastic evening, but it all fell a little short to be honest. First off, we made a reservation which seemed to go smoother compared to some other reviewers noted. I would strongly encourage reservations - the outside of the door stated that they could only serve those with reservations for the remaining portion of their evening. Once noticed at the door, we were warmly greeted and shown to our table. First complaint, the tables are very close to on another, but this is due to the size of the restaurant. Unfortunately, we had an extremely annoying group next to us, so the closeness of the tables ended up being a huge inconvenience. On to the food - we ordered hot green tea, water, spinach with sesame, takenoko (braised bamboo shoots), tempura dinner (veggies only per request), tuna roll, fried burdock root, and finally sasadango and shiratama for desserts. They were very accommodating with making the tempura vegetarian, and helping choosing appropriate foods to be vegetarian. The stand out by far was the sesame spinach. It was light and flavorful. Secondly, the fried burdock root. They're served julienned and battered with a seasoned salt which took the flavor profile to the next level. The tuna roll was very disappointing especially for the price. It tasted like it was cut with a knife that cut wasabi -- I hate wasabi, so the roll was ruined (IMO). While the tempura was good, it wasn't outstanding. Again, the staff was extremely accommodating to make it completely vegetarian, and actually brought coarse salt as an alternative to the non-vegetarian friendly dipping sauce. It wasn't a meal that would bring us back to the restaurant. The braised shoots were good, but had a fishy taste to it. Neither of us are fish eaters, so that was a let down for us -- but that's not the meals fault. The desserts were good. Not overly sweet, but very enjoyable. Like others have stated, set aside some time for your meal. We didn't have anything to do after dinner, so we just sat and attempted to enjoy each other's company (insert an eye roll for the disruptive table next to us). I am quite disappointed in our experience overall, but I'm quite ready to black list this place. If I get daring enough, I'll try the omakase courses, but only after I pray to Jesus that we get better table neighbors.
This is definitely my favorite sushi in Columbus-- but probably my favorite sushi anywhere. The Omakase meal is an experience worth trying at least once in your life. We sampled everything from duck, to lotus root and uni. Each course was better than the last. To accompany our meal, we ordered glasses of plum wine, which were delicious-- much better than the bottled version we buy at Tensuke Market. We wanted to try something a little more adventurous for our second drink. My date and I agreed that Kihachi did not seem like the type of restaurant that serves "shooters", and, fearing that ordering a round of uni shooters would earn us a disapproving raised eyebrow-- or worse-- we settled on second best: blowfish fin sake. If you go to Kihachi and only get one thing, get the blowfish fin sake. The waitress will probably ask you if you're sure you want two, and not just one, as she did us. Trust me on this-- you're going to want two. One is just not enough. You will savor every sip and most definitely not accidentally spit it out across the table at your date. Do not attempt to eat the fin floating around in the sake. My date was tempted to nibble at it, but the waitress vehemently advised against doing so.
Everything is bad. The waiter said she cannot take my order when I told her I'm ready to order. The attitude was soooo bad. I have waited for an hour for the food. It tasted just so so. I'll never come again!
Let me begin by saying that this is not a traditional sushi/sashimi type of Japanese restaurant, although they do have both on the menu, it is not their focus. I also come out of this restaurant smelling of smoke (I suspect this is because of a cigar shop next door, but I'm not sure). This is also a relatively small restaurant with some quirks. When my secretary called for a reservation for 8 people a few months ago, the owner asked to speak with me!?! Who does this? Anyway, after a while I realized that a party of 8 would be pushing it there, and the owner seemed to consider it an imposition rather than revenue, so we cancelled. Now for all the positives. They have two types of menus. Their normal menu and their Omakase. Their omakase is their multi-course dinner that the chef prepares specially for you. It is quite the experience as remarked by a number of reviews here. Their normal menu is quite interesting and usually has a number of dishes that rotate in and out depending on the chef's mood. I've never been disappointed. Even their beef teriyaki, doesn't taste like beef teriyaki that you would get in a typical Japanese restaurant, i.e., the meat is a high quality piece of steak that has been cut up and served at a medium temperature. The sushi here is on the small side, but delicious. I'm surprised to see that there are complaints about the service. I've never found this to be the case (except for the weird phone conversation with the owner). The older lady that is usually in charge, may not speak English very well, but is very polite and helpful, and we've never had a problem. I highly recommend Kihachi, but I also recommend that you make a reservation in advance. I've never had trouble reserving for between 2-5 guests.
Price: omakase $150 person plus automatic 20% for service. Food: Overall pesentation was good but taste was just okay. The cooled dishes were presented nicely but didn't taste very good. The sashimi and roll were good but there were just 3 pieces of good tuna (other 4 pieces were ordinary) blue fin tuna roll 6 pieces (but it was scrapped flesh). Definitely not worth the price. Service: good and bad. The younger server was good but the older server had a frown the whole time. Every time she came back she looked more angry. Would not recommend.
This was a unique surprise. I went here for a friend's graduation party. We had a private dining room with the traditional Japanese in ground table. Although the menu was a bit confusing, the hostess gladly walked us through it. We had a great assortment of items to share and the dinner was great. I had the Nabeyaki Udon. Later we figured out that it was all prepared and cooked by one chef. Highly recommend.
The very best in town. If you have not tried you really need to. The sampler menu is absolutely unique and the level of genius that is continuously show in the amazing food I have never seen equal or even close. Yes they have the Norman noodle dishrs,but the deep fried lotus root to the miso tuna dishes to any number of absolutely stunning combinations will delight you interest and taste buds. The menu only has a few sushi items but they are definately worth a try. Also take a look at the kitchen, you can see it from the bar. Each dish is handmade and quite inspiring.
First a tip: if you want to try the omakase, you need to call 2 days ahead. We were not aware of this so we didn't get to try and ordered from their normal menu. My favorite was the bluefin tuna and the fried tofu with vegetables. Bluefin tuna melts in your mouth, it was wonderful. The the tofu was soft inside and there was broth and mini mushrooms at the bottom which was delicious. The duck udon was great, really liked the broth and duck was tender. We also had the oyster rice soup with vegetables and it was again the broth that I really enjoyed. Overall I really liked that you can taste the flavors of the ingredients through all the different broths. The restaurant is very small, and only two servers so service was a bit slow, but we expected it as we've heard from people.
Man their food is phenomenal. It's just very expensive. We had, special 7 or 9 courses, I believe. Ended up with about $250/person with drinks. Good experience but dang.
This is definitely among the top echelon of cuisine in Columbus. We ordered the Omakase which was a tasting menu of items unlike anything we have ever tried. The items were truly unique, creative, and sophisticated. The saying "you get what you pay for" definitely applies here and if you an amazing culinary journey, try the Omakase here.
Restaurantji Recommends
If you'd like to eat quick and inexpensive food, this is not the place you should go to. However, If you'd like to eat and enjoy delicious food slowly and spend time talking with people important to you, this is the best place to go. The service is very slow but the food is really good. You should make a reservation.
Probably the best authentic Japanese restaurant in town! I love all the food I ordered last night! Definitely will go back and try some more dishes soon!
Great sushi place!! Fresh fish amazing food. Just let you guys know very expensive. But worth it!!!
Amazing! So happy to have you in Columbus! Not a newborn setting so don't be mad just get a sitter, not every place is newborn friendly! Get it Togo so the rest of us can enjoy our dinner, Respect Others! You may have the best Japanese Style Cuisine just short of Tokyo! Thank you Chef Mike! A great experience!! Cheers!!!
The Best Restaurant in Columbus by far..... Ordered Chef's special sashimi, hamachi, pork cheek, toro sashimi. And all was perfect Love Kihachi Hope it never leaves