Kanpai exceeded even our high expectations after reading the reviews. A new sushi favorite - from the quality of the fish, to the impeccable preparation of rolls and nagiri, to the immaculate details with every dish. The staff is friendly and professional, the sake selection is excellent, and the cocktails are fresh and delicious. Extra points for dueling Godzillas managing the tip jar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Moriah McDill
My sushi expectations are hard to meet, and I was floored by how tasty most of their rolls are! SO GOOD! Their sashimi special almost had me in tears of delight. Really happy with this
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Neil Marchington
Probably one of the best restaurants in Oregon. One of our favorites for around a decade. The specials are fantastic. Ask about them.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi, Sake Sashimi, Steak and Eggs, Nigiri, Poke
Tyler Gremban
This place is incredible! Chef Luke puts out some of the freshest and most unique sushi flavors I've had. This is the sushi I've been looking for in Bend. Definitely found our new go-to!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dan Leash
I don't normally write reviews, however, my experience last night at Kanpai was so exceptional I felt it was necessary. I have never tried this restaurant specifically, and saw some reviews that were negative.I would just like to say, most of the reviews I've seen below about the quality, appearance, amount of food etc., are all baseless. These negative reviews are most likely the reviews of Karens with fast-food palates. My experience (Omakase), was absolutely mind blowing. My wife and I left quite full, and content.The head chef was not only friendly and enthusiastic about what he was making, but he also told us his vast experience making sushi and cooking over 20 years. He deserves to be recognized as a chef as every course he brought out was absolutely delicious. Every course had a perfect balance of seasoning, texture, acidity, savory, you name it.I would love to come back and try it again soon since every day the head chef creates a new menu in his head to try, and has countless recipes to bring a new culinary experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Elizabeth Liederman
Spicy Tuna & Eel roll- amazing. Pork Belly Ramen & Dynamite dish share-worthy. We really enjoyed our dinner exerience.Parking: Weeknight parking was no problem
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi, Spicy Tuna
Jackie Keogh
We had a 6:45 pm reservation which they kept bumping out, past 7:15 pm. Disrespectful of our time.
Y C.
I would say, overall, sushi is good and the rolls were creative. You can tell the fish is a good quality thus 4 stars. The Yakuza roll with seared steak on top was delicious, would recommend that.Where Kanpai didn't shine was in the hot foods. Miso soup was fine but the agedashi tofu wasn't great. I prefer soft tofu vs the firm and the broth was kind of bland and though I'm used subtle broths in this dish, there wasn't much flavor here. The salmon kama was a really generous portion and you could tell that it was good quality but it came out pale. If they had broiled it to give it more color and texture would have tasted much better.Service was good and friendly.
Laura M.
My only regret about Kanpai is not having eaten here sooner! We came in for date night and sat at the sushi bar. The entire experience was fantastic. The rolls were flavorful but delicate, the atmosphere was quaint and lovely, and all of the staff had great energy. Definitely our new go-to sushi restaurant in Bend and I can't wait to go back!
Absolutely delicious and wait staff were amazing. Recommend a million times over.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nigiri
A Smith
The food was noticeably less... enjoyed. Not sure if this is due to new ownership, new chefs... Not bad, but not up to the standards that they set in the past.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
revrpb619
We were in town for family business and were told that we HAD to try Kanpai. We are from the Northeast, in an area that is heavily populated with Japanese ExPats, that and we are regulars in two local Sushi places, so our attitude is "let's see what these people think is good." First off, there was no one Asian working in the place. Secondly, these guys know their stuff. Let me start off by saying that my go-to in every sushi place is the Salmon Skin Handroll, and the one they prepared for me was nothing short of excellent; absolutely one of the best I have ever had. So good in fact, that I had to get up mid-meal and tell them how much I appreciated their work. They had several special rolls which we tried, as well as several oyster specials we also ordered. I am not sure why this place got bad reviews but there is no accounting for taste, so let me say it is absolutely worth your visit, and the prices aren't too shabby either.
mickey1991
Ate here on a recommendation, and we’re not disappointed. Sushi was prepared well and it was better than average. The ingredients were fresh and authentic. The tempura was OK, Pretty average. The service was good and helpful. All in all a better than average sushi restaurant in Bend Oregon.
Sahra K.
Absolutely amazing! The food was incredible, but what I'm really impressed by is the service. We had originally come planning to do a chef's omakase, but I neglected to share im vegetarian beforehand. While we couldn't do omakase, the staff was quick to recommend a lot of alternative rolls and options to have a great time. The atmosphere is so fun -- very small and busy! 10/10 recommend sitting at the counter. We'll be back!
Great sushi! Seating is tight.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi, Miso Soup, Nigiri
Kanpai exceeded even our high expectations after reading the reviews. A new sushi favorite - from the quality of the fish, to the impeccable preparation of rolls and nagiri, to the immaculate details with every dish. The staff is friendly and professional, the sake selection is excellent, and the cocktails are fresh and delicious. Extra points for dueling Godzillas managing the tip jar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My sushi expectations are hard to meet, and I was floored by how tasty most of their rolls are! SO GOOD! Their sashimi special almost had me in tears of delight. Really happy with this
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Probably one of the best restaurants in Oregon. One of our favorites for around a decade. The specials are fantastic. Ask about them.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi, Sake Sashimi, Steak and Eggs, Nigiri, Poke
This place is incredible! Chef Luke puts out some of the freshest and most unique sushi flavors I've had. This is the sushi I've been looking for in Bend. Definitely found our new go-to!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I don't normally write reviews, however, my experience last night at Kanpai was so exceptional I felt it was necessary. I have never tried this restaurant specifically, and saw some reviews that were negative.I would just like to say, most of the reviews I've seen below about the quality, appearance, amount of food etc., are all baseless. These negative reviews are most likely the reviews of Karens with fast-food palates. My experience (Omakase), was absolutely mind blowing. My wife and I left quite full, and content.The head chef was not only friendly and enthusiastic about what he was making, but he also told us his vast experience making sushi and cooking over 20 years. He deserves to be recognized as a chef as every course he brought out was absolutely delicious. Every course had a perfect balance of seasoning, texture, acidity, savory, you name it.I would love to come back and try it again soon since every day the head chef creates a new menu in his head to try, and has countless recipes to bring a new culinary experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Spicy Tuna & Eel roll- amazing. Pork Belly Ramen & Dynamite dish share-worthy. We really enjoyed our dinner exerience.Parking: Weeknight parking was no problem
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi, Spicy Tuna
We had a 6:45 pm reservation which they kept bumping out, past 7:15 pm. Disrespectful of our time.
I would say, overall, sushi is good and the rolls were creative. You can tell the fish is a good quality thus 4 stars. The Yakuza roll with seared steak on top was delicious, would recommend that.Where Kanpai didn't shine was in the hot foods. Miso soup was fine but the agedashi tofu wasn't great. I prefer soft tofu vs the firm and the broth was kind of bland and though I'm used subtle broths in this dish, there wasn't much flavor here. The salmon kama was a really generous portion and you could tell that it was good quality but it came out pale. If they had broiled it to give it more color and texture would have tasted much better.Service was good and friendly.
My only regret about Kanpai is not having eaten here sooner! We came in for date night and sat at the sushi bar. The entire experience was fantastic. The rolls were flavorful but delicate, the atmosphere was quaint and lovely, and all of the staff had great energy. Definitely our new go-to sushi restaurant in Bend and I can't wait to go back!
Restaurantji Recommends
Absolutely delicious and wait staff were amazing. Recommend a million times over.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nigiri
The food was noticeably less... enjoyed. Not sure if this is due to new ownership, new chefs... Not bad, but not up to the standards that they set in the past.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
We were in town for family business and were told that we HAD to try Kanpai. We are from the Northeast, in an area that is heavily populated with Japanese ExPats, that and we are regulars in two local Sushi places, so our attitude is "let's see what these people think is good." First off, there was no one Asian working in the place. Secondly, these guys know their stuff. Let me start off by saying that my go-to in every sushi place is the Salmon Skin Handroll, and the one they prepared for me was nothing short of excellent; absolutely one of the best I have ever had. So good in fact, that I had to get up mid-meal and tell them how much I appreciated their work. They had several special rolls which we tried, as well as several oyster specials we also ordered. I am not sure why this place got bad reviews but there is no accounting for taste, so let me say it is absolutely worth your visit, and the prices aren't too shabby either.
Ate here on a recommendation, and we’re not disappointed. Sushi was prepared well and it was better than average. The ingredients were fresh and authentic. The tempura was OK, Pretty average. The service was good and helpful. All in all a better than average sushi restaurant in Bend Oregon.
Absolutely amazing! The food was incredible, but what I'm really impressed by is the service. We had originally come planning to do a chef's omakase, but I neglected to share im vegetarian beforehand. While we couldn't do omakase, the staff was quick to recommend a lot of alternative rolls and options to have a great time. The atmosphere is so fun -- very small and busy! 10/10 recommend sitting at the counter. We'll be back!