Kansai

Cuisine	Japanese
Price	$$$ (31-50)
Rating	4/10
Last Visit	April 10, 2022
Location	SFBA: Berkeley + Oakland

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General Notes

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Overall, Kansai is a mediocre Japanese restaurant in Temescal. The food isn't terrible but definitely leaves something to be desired. What stood out to me is that the sushi / sashimi was so bland. The portions are very generous, but the rice and fish was so devoid of flavor. It's been a while since I've found sushi at a restaurant that I dislike but this was definitely one of them. The other kitchen items were decent but nothing particularly noteworthy.

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Positives

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> The portions are surprisingly generous. The mixed tempura was a mountain of tempura (and it was pretty heavy too), and the sashimi slices are some of the biggest slices I've ever seen. Each slice here is probably equivalent in size to 2-3 slices elsewhere. Perhaps a good thing, but the sashimi slices are honestly a bit too big. Definitely don't order any more than what you think you'll need.

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Negatives

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> Every aspect of the sashimi and sushi is so flavorless. The fish has a decent texture but no flavor whatsoever. The rice is relatively bland too.

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Dishes Tasted

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• ★★☆☆ Tempura Mix -- Overall pretty grood - the exterior is nice and crisp. Way too much batter on the shrimp (it's mostly batter and very little shrimp), and the choice of bell pepper for this is a bit questionable.
• ★★☆☆ Negihama -- Decent but rather unnoteworthy.
• ★☆☆☆ Sushi / Sashimi Combo -- (sashimi) 3pc tuna, 3pc hamachi, 3pc salmon, (nigiri) 8pc, CA roll. A pretty generous portion and reasonably priced, but everything was remarkably flavorless. The cuts of sashimi are MASSIVE ... surprisingly huge.
• ★★☆☆ Agedashi Tofu -- The texture is nice -- the tofu is fried well; a healthy balance of crisp and chewy. The sauce is meh, a little bit unpleasantly acrid. Could use a bit more bonito.