Kanpai Sushi - PISMO BEACH

This past September when my wife and I were vacationing in Avila beach, we were hungry and looking for a reputable sushi spot to satiate our palate. After much back and forth and a lot of hand wringing, we decided to go to dinner at Kanpai. Initially we were going to reserve our table but because of our indecisive delays we ended up missing the window for reservations but decided we'd walk in anyway. When we arrived we were told the wait was approximately forty five minutes which for a weekend night seemed pretty reasonable. So we hit the nearby Depalo Sons market and shopped for some souvenirs and after dinner libations while waiting. My wife and I walked back into Kanpai with about five or ten minutes to spare and they promptly called us back to our table. Our server, a shorter young lady with a very cheery disposition, was a pleasant and welcome sign of things to come. When we ordered an appetizer (the name of which escapes me for the life of me) that was unavailable, she suggested the pork belly as an alternative and it was insanely good. It was thick, crispy and the sauce paired with it was a fantastic addition that helped cut through some of the richness of the pork. The rolls we ordered were delicious but my favorite was the spicy tuna with yellowtail, jalapeno with sriracha on top. The fish was crisp, fresh and spicy all the beautiful things I love about properly crafted spicy tuna. So if you’re around the central coast or Pismo Beach and you’re in the mood for good sushi with excellent service and a wonderful ambience, Kanpai is the place to be.

Had the sashimi gozen. It was a large amount of food. A bit small on the sashimi but still filling. Son got a free ice cream for his bday

Carefully prepared sushi as well as a vast array of traditional Japanese cuisine set this establishment apart from other restaurants in the area. That, combined with the best service imaginable, made for a very sumptuous dining experience. I am somewhat of a local and can say unequivocally that this restaurant, hands down, is the best in the area. Would highly recommend making a reservation well in advance to be seated quickly.

I absolutely love Tony (the owner) and I love everything they make. He treats his employees like family and he cares about our community. If you’re craving Roman! this is the place. Oysters so good! And the area isn’t that bad to look at.

My son and I were very excited to eat here. We had made reservations and showed up about 5 minutes early and was asked if we wanted a table or booth... we said a booth. We were sat at a table instead of the booth we asked for and upon saying something about it we were told it would be a much longer wait but was not even given the choice to begin with. We decided to sit at the table and order some drinks and the Cheers Platter for 2. This platter had many components and unfortunately my son was eating one of the pieces of the basic roll and found plastic in the roll and actually ingested it and also spit some out. Upon showing the waiter this plastic he asked if we wanted them to remake the roll, we chose not to due to him already have eaten the plastic. When he took the dish away he also took the roll that wasn't part of the issue which we still had to pay for. They did take off some money for the issue with the plastic but it really wasn't enough compensation for what had inspired. Probably won't be going back.