Kansai Bistro

This place is CLOSED — it’s being replaced by a Vietnamese restaurant named Quan Bac (under construction).
The décor was beautiful. LOVE their gigantic sea water fish tank filled with colorful blue & yellow fishies.
I only came here a few times because of a
certificate. I always got friendly service, no complaints there. I already knew that some items weren’t top-​nocht, so I only ordered items I liked from their list of specials. My favorite was a special dish of ankimo (monk fish liver) topped with hirame (white fish) and tobiko, the hamachi carpaccio was good too ($ 10 – 12 each). Plus a few grilled skewers, like beef tongue, pork belly, and shisamo. The bento box was a good deal (choice of 3 items), I often chose the salmon shioyaki — around $ 14, I think.

My friend and I had our birthday dinner celebration here. I called to make a reservation and the guy was very helpful and friendly. He even called me the night before just to double check on the time and the number. I liked that because it made it seem more personal.
They saved my party of about 20 our own little private room, which I enjoyed a lot because we were able to be as loud as we wanted without bothering the other customers. We were doing sake bombs and I kind of made a mess, oops, but the server was kind enough to clean it up and bring us more napkins.
The sushi was not bad and it was decently priced. I remember DEVOURING my sushi, maybe because I was hungry!
I absolutely loved their aquarium fish tank and their lounge area, where my friends and I took TONS of pictures. Their décor really adds to the experience.

[Happy Hour]
SAKE WAS ½ OFF… bring on the glow…
Ordered a few appetizers:
1. Tatsuta Chicken – pretty good fried chicken (not the best)
2. Hokkaido Scallops – drizzled with a creamy-​vinaigrette sauce with edamame, shiitake mushrooms, and onions (mmm…ONIONS). Looked better than it tasted.
3. Agadashi Tofu – regular, run of the mill
…and some rolls – all of which were good – nothing to die for, but still on par and decently priced.
Service: MINUS 1 star for the service. Our server barely came by and never really made an attempt to be friendly or even smile – jerk. Bitter much?
I doubt I’ll be coming here again, unless I’m in the area, it’s happy hour, and I’m looking to get drunk!
Sidenote: This place looks like it’d be good for large parties.

Came here for my friend’s birthday dinner and to my surprise, Kansai is pretty good at accomodating for large groups as big as 20+ people. They gave us the private room which was perfect.
Since I had happy hour before, I ordered the Toro and it was really good. It was fresh and the piece was rather large. I also ordered a large bottle of sake and tons of beer and thank you Kansai for letting us go off on the sake bombs. We had a great time and I’m glad my friend enjoyed her birthday that night.

It’s no surprise, I came here because of a
coupon. Thought it’d be nice to get a little discount on Japanese food as sometimes it’s kinda expensive.
The dining space is pretty impressive as well as the bar and lounge area. As other Unilocalers have mentioned, the fish tank wall is pretty cool to look at while you’re eating (granted you’re eating the cousins of the fish in the tank but hey! it’s still cool). The bar/​lounge area is spacey and very beautifully decorated. It looks more like a hotel lobby than a restaurant lounge.
Toward the back, there is a private dining area. Tucked away so you can get some privacy, it’s a spacious area for large parties.
We were seated in the main dining space in which the décor, again, was very impressive. Several televisions for your viewing pleasure. The tables are long and the chair backs are high. Kinda felt like we were sitting in chairs fit for giants. Anyways… onto the food.
We ordered our usual Japanese fare — a dragon roll, a deep fried california roll, gyoza, spicy tuna roll. All were very mediocre or lacking in flavor. The deep fried california roll was overly tempura’ed. The décor was more satisfying to look at than the food tasted. Nothing really wowed me, nor was memorable and the price after the coupon wasn’t cheap either. The 2 star «Meh. I’ve experienced better» rating is definitely fitting for the food and the price.
The service was excellent though and and the staff welcomed our
coupon with a smile.

So, I’ve been here before… but before it was Sushi Rock… everything was exactly the same except the name of the restaurant. Bad service, the not so great food, and even the décor is exactly the same!
The waiter, for the life of him, could not get anything right. They brought out 2 orders that weren’t ours. He couldn’t remember who asked for what when we asked for it. After ordering, they informed us that they had run out of spicy tuna. ok… wtf?! So we ordered a different roll. 10 minutes later they inform us they ran out of salmon… ok seriously?! W… T…F. Aren’t you supposed to be a sushi restaurant? Shouldn’t fish be your main priority? It’s a Friday night, this place is not busy at all, what is going on here?
After getting our food… it wasn’t that great. I think it’s way overpriced for the portion they give you.
This place failed as Sushi Rock and it fails at Kansai Bistro.

Like most other Unilocalers, I had a
gift certificate. That’s what drove me to try this random restaurant.
Décor: A+. Really liked the spaciousness, the deep furniture choice and the massive wall of an aquarium with some entertaining exotic fish. It separates the back dining room from the bar. Very cool.
Happy Hr Special: They didn’t honor the 5p-​7p 25% off appetizers. They claim it is from last year. Be sure to ask first.
Service: B. There was only one server given that it was a slow night. We were the only table at 6p. 2 others came in after us. Enough for one server to handle and he was polite enough but he had served us tepid green tea which had to be sent back. And then had to ask for refills.
Food: B. Tried the halibut ceviche which was tasty ($ 8.50). Slices of halibut sashimi w/​some lime tomato salsa. Delicate.
We tried one of the box dinners — SF Bento ($ 15). Came with chicken katsu (flaky and moist — very nice), 4 pieces of calif roll (average), 3 slices of maguro (nice thick cuts), and saba shioyaki (grilled just right). Oh and I should mention we were both served miso soup and sumono right off the bat. That was nice.
Then we had 2 rolls — spicy tuna with unagi and mango ($ 12.50) and the checkboard ($ 12.50). The spicy tuna was REALLY spicy so much so that I couldn’t taste the unagi nor the mango. I actually found that to be a negative. And I like spicy too. I had to shovel rice and down water to compensate. The Checkerboard was average — basically hamachi and maguro slices in alternating fashion on top of CA roll. It cleansed my palate but was a little disappointing.
So then the total bill came after tax tip and my $ 25 gift cert = $ 38. It didn’t feel like a great deal considering the sushi was average. But I did discover a new venue, one which would be a cool party space. And from the looks of business, they could use a little party to get it going.
Worth trying but use the gift cert.

With a $ 25
certificate in hand, I came in around 6 p.m. with little to no expectations.
You open the door and it’s big inside. Big, and empty. The waiter (looked and sounded a bit like William Hung, no offense) then brings us to the other side of the fish tanks, where it’s bigger and more empty. I get it now! There are two sides! What we didn’t understand was why they put people on the side that no one can see when they walk by (so the restaurant looks like a ghost town from the outside).
Because we had an hour for happy hour, we delved right in to their selection of 25% off appetizers.
+ $ 6.75 Hamachi Kama. Well worth the price, and the long wait while it cooks.
+ $ 3 Edamame. Big heaping bowl to last you until entrees.
+ $ 4.50 Chicken Karaage. One of the best on the menu. Must try!
— $ 3.75 Agedashi Tofu. Needs more bonito, less deep frying, and less sauce.
— $ 6 Soft Shell Crab. Please skip. It’s deep fried grossness with dough.
$ 4.50 Tako Sunomono. Looked good, but didn’t taste, so can’t comment.
$ 6 Hokkaido Scallops. You get six small seared scallops. Also looked good, but didn’t taste.
The table got free miso soup and cucumber salad. The rest of the menu can be daunting, because it’s pages and pages on regular paper. I was really afraid to dirty it so they don’t look as good for the next set of customers. The selection was too vast for my taste, and I had a hard time deciding what to get.
I ended up with the Tropicana Makimono ($ 7, five pieces). It’s salmon, tobiko, mango and lettuce wrapped in soy paper. Awesome to the fullest.
We ended with the green tea chocolate cake dessert ($ 6). Very interesting and refreshing flavor combinations.
All in all, it was too much to handle for a random evening out, but it’s definitely a good place for a group dinner. And there shouldn’t be trouble getting seats!

Heyy little gem in the Richmond, I’m glad we met!
Kansai was a yummy treat last week for a b-​day dinner with my co-​workers. We were the only guests at 7pm on a Monday and it felt like we rented the place out for a private party.
We had almost a little bit of everything on the menu — the Tiger roll stood out and although I try to limit fried food in my belly, the vegetable tempura was battered lightly enough to splurge or at least trick myself into it :)
Although we brought our own dessert/​b-​day cake, I have tried the green tea chocolate cake in the past and highly recommend it.
Extra star for the fishies and décor. I was particularly impressed with the bamboo seating in the dining area. Nice touch.

The big selling point about this place to me was that it DELIVERS
I found out about the place Thur
, and the reviews were decent, so I place an order and was quoted an hour but the food got in about half.
I ordered salmon sashimi, beef teriyaki, miso and the house salad
The beef was undercooked and tasted like brocolli. The sashimi was packaged beautifully with cucumber, seaweed and pinapple, but unfortunately the fish had absorbed all those flavors and was quite unsavory. The miso and salad weren’t terrific either.
I feel like this is mostly the fault of having these items delivered because most people have very good things to say about Kansai Bistro. I would definately consider eating there, but try to avoid ordering if you can

For those that remember, this is at the same location as Sushi Rock, which closed down earlier this year. They changed the menu cover to Kansai Bistro, but the rest of the menu is exactly the same as Sushi Rock before.
Anyway, the sushi was decent. Nothing to rave about, but no unfresh fishy tastes or food poisoning either. The only memorable thing was the lemony soy dipping sauce that came with our fried soft shell crab appetizer. I must admit that was delish. Stay away from their fried chicken appetizer because the batter is dry and tasteless (not enough salt) andy and the bland dipping sauce doesn’t save it from the gross food category.
Given all of the above, I’d give them 3 stars, but they get bumped to 2 stars for their unpleasant cocktails. Their mojitos tasted like virgin mojito — imagine a minty drink with no alcohol. My friend’s lychee martini tasted worse. I think they used this asian vodka (Koo) that wasn’t smooth enough for a martini — at least not an enjoyable martini.

3.5 stars.
We came on a Wednesday night. Not that many patrons. a couple of group diners (10+ in each party).
Positives:
It was wonderfully decorated — a modern and large space. Kansai Bistro would be a nice place to celebrate a group birthday/​special occasion dinner without spending too much. It was reasonably priced as a japanese restaurant.
Our waitress was quiet but was nice. P spilled tea on me and she brought us napkins. Clumsy P! :)
They serve you miso soup and pickled cucumbers as a starter! Nice touch! I think they might have inherited this from Sushi Rock. I heard this place used to be Sushi Rock, but nonetheless, still nice!
The Pacific Bento Box Special (4 pcs of California Rolls, 4 big pcs of Salmon Sashimi, Shrimp Tempura, Beef Teriyaki) we ordered was very good quality and the presentation was lovely. However, I’m not too sure if it’ was worth $ 15 when they had the Kansai Bento Dinner Special for $ 12.95 previously. Boo!
Negatives:
Menu was missing some stuff — I didn’t see any Donburi items or that Kansai Dinner Bento Box Special that several Unilocalers mentioned.
They didn’t ask how we wanted the the beef teriyaki cooked. It was rare. I’ll still eat it, but it’s not my preference.
The chairs were heavy. It was hard to push them out. I’m such a weakling.
The menu was a set of 8 ½×11 papers stapled together. Maybe they can just print the menu on one long nice/​thicker/​colored paper (back and front). It’s more aesthetically pleasing and shouldn’t cost that much, I think.
The waitress didn’t tell us about the specials! We saw the Board of Specials on the way out. There was so much I would have liked to try if they had told me :(
Special rolls were sort of tiny.
Total for 2: $ 48 before tips
I’d come again to show people the nicely decorated space — like the awesome huge aquarium. But for the food, it’s OK, nothing mind-​blowing or different.
P and I were trying to analyze and see what else Kansai Bistro can do to differentiate themselves from the other japanese/​sushi places in the area.
It would be great if they start putting BAKED ROLLS on the menu. Not many japanese restaurants serve them and it’s SO good.
I did notice their appetizers were different. items included special salads, salmon & tuna tartare (i think), and other random items that were fusion style.
But I’m still sad that certain items weren’t on the menu, when it was on their online menu. :(

So, I went to this restaurant for my friend’s birthday and the place looks pretty clean… The food was alright I guess… I mean I can’t really tell the difference between other restaurants that I’ve been to that’s like sorta Japanese so yeah… I don’t know, I think the food is okay, it’s very pricey even though I didn’t pay for it. But yeah, I mean if you like the American-​style Japanese food, this isn’t the place you would really want to go to in my opinon… Like if you actually wanna eat some REAL Japanese food, you should go somewhere in Japantown or like an actual Japanese restaurant b/​c I think the food they sell there is like sorta more like Chinese food and sushi or something so yeah. That’s all I gotta say…

This open and warm restaurant is very welcoming. With giant aquariums that separate the bar from the rest of the more formal sitting area, you have two great choices to work with. We chose to sit on the more formal area that have sky lights that provide you with a great amount of sunshine during the lunch time hours.
Their lunch specials are varied and reasonably priced. I chose some sushi and Miso soup and my friend had the Teriyaki Salmon. All the food was great as well as the service.
I will dine there again if I’m nearby and consider going for dinner sometime soon.

Wowsers! The décor was very clean, modern, yet inviting. Took a look see at the menu/​prices and we prepared ourselves for an outta this world experience.
But what we got was UM, EH, DECENT.
We just expected more from the set-​up and kinda pricey dishes. Here’s the rundown:
hamachi toro (special of the night) — served at room temp… bleh!
hamachi kama — decent, should have been grilled more on outside
agedashi tofu — ok, wish it were more crispy
amaebi (sweet shrimp) — served at room temp also
spider roll (soft shell crab) — good
49’er roll — not good at all
poki roll — tuna was like buttah, enjoyed this one
spicy scallop roll — star of the night, really LOVED it… yummeh!
chocolate cake with green tea cream — very refreshing
2 glasses of sake
3 glasses of complimentary sake
Total bill — $ 105
We had a gift certificate, but if we paid the actual bill, I don’t think it accurately reflected the quality of the food.
This place is far from terrible. Service was excellent and the people there are so sweet. I wouldn’t make an effort to return, but if I happened to go again, I’d try the bento box. The sushi just wasn’t done well.

oh my god… i LOVE LOVE LOVE the fish tank that separates the entire place. I love sitting at the bar it’s just so pleasant with the flat panel tvs, huge fish tank, & awesome owners & staff. Here are my must-​have suggestions:
–Green Tea Crem Brulee (oh my god!)
–Green Tea Ice Cream Cake (can you tell i love their dessert?)
–Fried Chilean Sea Bass (so deliscious)
–Tiger Beer (they have Tiger Beer specials on Tuesday nights through Sept!)
–Deep Fried Tilapia w/​Mango salad (gota try it!)
–Teryaki Sea Bass
–Steak!
sigh…i can’t wait til I go there again. I go there once a week!
Update: They now have free wifi

08÷04÷08 (Monday):
«Meh. I’ve experienced better.» —That is the best way to put it.
I remember this place being a Sushi Rock from before, but tried to keep that memory separate from my experience last night. The place still looks the same. It’s nice. However, it was also empty… like before. Aside from a table of four seated next to us, we were the only two parties inside the restaurant for dinner.
They provided miso soup and thinly sliced cucumbers in oil to start. Not bad. Yesterday was cold so the miso soup hit the spot.
My girlfriend and her sister shared a dinner bento box that was made up of teriyaki beef, 4 pcs California roll, and a vegetable tempura. They asked the waitress what type of vegetables came in the vegetable tempura and the waitress kind of had a puzzled look and said, «they’re, uh… mixed vegetables.» If you don’t know the answer, then just go find out.
I ordered a Oyako Don Buri (basically rice, with chicken, an egg and onions) and a shrimp tempura roll.
Both girls really liked the shrimp tempura roll. However, their dinner box came out first and after they finished eating, we still had to wait 10 minutes before my Oyako Don Buri came out. It’s kind of annoying having to wait and watch while the people in your party are eating and then for them having to wait and watch while you start to eat.
For a place that was basically empty, I didn’t understand why our meals were served separately and/​or had such a big gap in time.
Positives:
1. The place looks terrific. Nice bar and lounge area when you initially walk in. The salt water fish tank is awesome.
2. Service is polite.
3. When you receive the bill it comes inside an abacus. Nice touch.
4. Flat-​screen TVs, nice furniture. Again, the feel of the place is nice.
Negatives:
1. The Food. The dinner bento box was small. Obviously every restaurant wants to make money, but they were really skimpy on the portions. The girls felt the teriyaki beef was undercooked, but I actually ate it afterwards and thought it was okay.
My Oyako Don Buri was «meh.» It wasn’t bad, but at the same time I’m not having any cravings to come back to order it again.
2. Service. Although they’re polite, I think they need to be better prepared.
It also seems like there’s a lot of staff just standing around.
Overall, I hope this place stays in business. It has a nice atmosphere. However, they really need to give people a «bigger bang for the buck» when it comes to their food.

This place use to be the third Sushi Rock but they recently changed the name to Kansai Bistro but their sushi menu is almost the same as Sushi Rocks’. Came here for dinner after happy hour at Rohans with Vincent! Thanks to
, we saved $ 25! The ambiance of the restaurant was really nice. Big lounge area with what looks to be really comfy seating couches and a big bar. Then there’s the big fish tanks that separate the lounge from the eating area.
The menu was big and there are lunch specials like Teri Steak Burger ($ 8) Avocado and Onions. Served with Seasonal Veggie Fries and a Mixed Green Salad. Teri Chicken Sandwich ($ 8), Seabass Katsu Sandwich ($ 9), lunch box specials, and sushi combos. They also serve the usual shioyaki, teriyaki, tempura, sushi rolls, etc.
What we tried:
Hamachi Carpaccio — Thinly sliced yellow tail drizzled with jalapeño kobu sauce $ 10
What Vincent said!
Checker Board Roll $ 11-​Real crab meat with tuna, yellow tail on top
We chose to get tuna and salmon instead of tuna and yellow tail. Fish tasted fresh and the crab meat inside was yummy!
Daegi Roll $ 7– Spicy tuna, scallop and flying fish roe
Two of my favorite things in one roll! Tuna and scallop!!!
Una-​Ten-​Roll $ 10– Fresh water eel, shrimp-​tempura, avocado, flying fish
Reminds me of a Dragon roll but everything is rolled up inside instead of the avocado and unagi outside.
I really wanted to try toro since I haven’t yet but they ran out of them!!! I’m glad we only ordered three rolls cuz we were full!

We had a pleasant experience at Kansai Bistro. The layout of the restaurant is split into two sections. When you enter you’re at the bar (great for dates) — through the two tropical fish tanks you’ll see the dining room.
We ordered two bento box meals of fair size portions and a few rolls (Rock & Roll, Dragon, and Caterpillar). The food was good, waitstaff was very friendly — and we must have gotten six thank yous, goodbyes, please come agains. Did I mention the bathrooms were SUPER clean — wifey approved!
A nice neighborhood restaurant to try. Also 15% coupons in the San Francisco Examiner.

This place just opened and its fantastic. Nice ambiance with a huge aquarium. The servers are very friendly (Kevin Mak was cool). Perfect place for drinks or a nice meal. Had lunch here and enjoyed it. Must try the Chocolate cake with green tea ice cream, its terrific.
Must try it!
P. S. The lunch seating area is bright, kinda gives you the feeling of being outside, but you’re inside.