Kai’s Japanese Restaurant

Kai’s was taken over by another Japanese restaurant that’s further down the street as of Jan. 1, 2014.

I cannot believe that Kai’s has closed. Did they move their restaurant elsewhere?
Kai’s was our favorite Japenese restaurant in Alameda. They made good food, and sold them at affordable prices.
I am not a sushi fan, but I liked theirs. The Cherry Blossom roll, the Crazy roll, and the Tempura Unagi were my favorites. I liked their Bento boxes with either chicken katsu, tonkatsu, or beef teriyaki as well.
I will miss frequenting Kai’s restaurant when we go up to Alameda to visit family. Oh well. :(

After realizing sushi house sucks, I decided to go to one of my favorite spots for a long time. I get there only to see that the décor has changed, then I ask wow you
Guys really changed the place up and they had like 5 people staffed. I live in SoCal now, so it had been a while since I’ve been back. The hostess said that they are a Raman noodle house now??? What?
No sushi? No chix teriyaki? No sorry she says, but we have vegetarian Raman if
You want… really? wtf happened to Alameda?

Never liked this restaurant. But! There’s a New Ramen Shop opening up in it’s place. Hope it’s a good one! So excited about ramen!

I used to come here more often, but lately the service hasn’t been as good and thus I find myself coming here less and less. Their sushi is decent (not amazing), and they have an average selection — nothing too out of the ordinary.
In the past, they’ve had a few waitresses that were really nice and made it a great experience. I think one left, and the other cut down her hours considerably. This leaves several other members of the staff that are curt, unfriendly and/​or inattentive. One day I came in for lunch and someone behind the counter was pounding something loudly for a solid 25 minutes… annoying me and the other handful of people in the restaurant. Another time, we were one of two tables having dinner. The waitress spent the majority of the time on the phone which is at the end of the dining room — meaning not only was she not paying attention to us, but we also had to sit there and listen to her entire conversation since the place was so quiet. We sat with empty drinks the whole time, and we never saw her again until it was time to drop off the check.
I used to recommend this place, but now I’d say you should go to one of the several other good options in Alameda.

The best chicken katsu and chicken teriyaki because their sauce makes it stand out and maybe the chicken seems to be juicier than other restaurants. The katsu sauce is sweet, unlike the generic katsu sauce. The teriyaki suave is a but sweeter than normal as well but as I said, the sauces are why it is the best. It also comes with macaroni salad and a green salad, both worth mentioning.
This 5 star review is based on the katsu and teriyaki only.
If I have to review the sushi I would give it a ⁴⁄₅ but I believe Kai’s deserves more than a ³⁄₅ overall rating.
House salad: A
–Lion king critic

I used to really like Kai’s sushi… But they fell off. I use to come in loving their service and food. I can’t find chicken teriyaki rolls anywhere else. I came in with my sister for a nice lunch and left wishing I never went.
Walked in with my sister. The place was completely empty yet they took them forever to seat us. Ordered their rolls and agedashi tofu. For a place completely empty our food took forever to come. Their rolls were half the size what they use to be. Our tofu was disgusting. Bland. Cold.
Sushi house has way better sushi at the same price. Needless to say. I will not go back their again.

This was my first time here.
The service was great and the prices were fantastic
The avocado rolls were terrible. The rice was overcooked and mushy.
The agadashi tofu was bland and really disappointing. 4 huge pieces of soft tofu that has hardly any sauce…
Little to be desired. Will not come back regardless of the service and prices.

The food is good. But two problems.
1. The service is way too slow. I come here many times during my high school years in the early to mid 2010s. It takes 10 mins to get your food and it’s to go.
2. I get the chicken Combo but it says California rolls but sometimes does not come with it.

Best chicken teriyaki and katsu on the Island… and for cheap.
I think the owner’s are Chinese which is why their cooked foods are so much better than their raw stuff. Service is pretty good but they didn’t crack a smile for me.
Cooked foods are definitely their niche. For raw stuff I’d goto Sushi House and for ramen go to Yojimbo down the street. Kamakura does everything pretty good as well too.

Ever had to wash down a piece of sashimi with salad? I have! And it was at Kai’s.
Let me preface this review by saying that my husband and I love and know our Japanese food.
I absolutely hate giving poor reviews, but I am astounded by the good reviews for this restaurant. If I could give no stars, I would.
Wonder why there are so few photos for this place? It’s because the presentation is horrible. Sushi and fish look like they were cut by a 3^rd grader.
But I wish the presentation was the worst of it. But no, the quality of the food was even worse.
Where do I begin?
We ordered the sushi & sashimi dinner combo, which came with a california roll, salad, 4 slices of sashimi (2 tuna, 2 salmon) and assorted nigiri (Spicy crab?, Mackeral, Tuna, Salmon, Tamago, Inari and Tako), and a FutoMaki roll.
All the fish was fishy (like it had been sitting at room tempurature for a day, and the spicy crab mixture was slimy. Absolutely disgusting. The seaweed they used was cheap… it’s the kind that doesn’t break apart when you bite into it, leaving you with 1) an akwardly large piece of sushi you had to eat all in one bite, or should you attempt to eat it in 2 bites, you’re left with 2) that uncomfortable moment when you try to pull a piece of sushi apart but it falls apart and you have to pull stubborn seaweed out from your mouth.
The sushi rice was chalky and clearly pressed too hard. It was not held together by the slightly sticky starch that forms beautifully over perfectly cooked and formed sushi rice. Instead, it was like it had been formed and reformed so much that the rice was actually starting to break down, leaving a thick gluey consistency between the grains.
Needless to say, my husband and I struggled to finish the little food we ordered. It was probably the worst meal I’ve ever had in my life. Who is keeping this place in business? We walked a block over and bought boba to get the awful taste out of our mouths.
Our service was good, nothing out of the ordinary.
In general, to say that this place serves anything that closely resembles sushi would be criminal. Sushi chefs a many are turning over in their graves, I’m sure, even the ones who haven’t died yet.
If you know your sushi at all, save yourself some time, money and trauma and go elsewhere. I would suggest Yo Jimbo a few doors down, but I haven’t tried it. But anything has to be better than Kai’s.

Food: Decent «japanese» at some great prices. Rolls are just about average by Alameda standards, but the bentos are tasty and cheap. There is no «wow’ factor and that’s okay. If you have no other inclinations for the night, a $ 6 ck teriyaki plate and a $ 4 spicy tuna roll will suffice.
Service: I thought the service was great. It felt like a friendly neighborhood diner. They greet you from across the shop and kindly point you to the preferred destination. Tea was brought out immediately and they also offered ice water. They checked on us a few times during the meal, but kept a comfortable distance.
Overall, a good experience. But again, no «wow «factor like at Yojimbo’s, where the portion for ck teriyaki is close to 2x what it is here, albeit the price is slightly higher. I don’t know, maybe that’s a good thing.

a quaint restaurant, so simple and unassuming that you’d never expect such spot on food to come from this kitchen. I started with the Alaskan Roll and chicken Teriyaki Roll. These jewels on the sushi menu could stand alone as a testament of the good fresh product that Kai’s serves.
I can’t sing all it’s praises w/​o the acknowledgment of the cons. My lunch date ordered vegetable pot stickers. What they got was burnt flaky dough containing irregular tasting tofu and veggies. Clearly there’s not a lot of effort put into these items. They should be scrapped from the menu. Thank me later, Kai.
BUT THE SUSHI! oh, the sushi is perfect. It’s inexpensive but does not lack in flavor nor freshness. You get my vote Kai; I will be seeing you again and again in the near future.

I RARELY review low-​rated restaurants anymore. However, this is an exception I have to make. To any Orangehead, no-​friend, one-​review spammers I may encounter because of it, you can #@$% yourselves because this was a legitimately horrible experience.
Number one: I have some random food allergies that make dining out difficult. I really do try to be reasonable when I dine out and try not to ask for too much. However, when a customer tells you of a food allergy, it is so important to take it the fuck seriously.
I so honestly and totally own responsibility for the first failure. I’m allergic to sesame seeds and have a severe sensitivity to soybeans. Yeah, I know, what am I doing in an Asian restaurant? Well, believe it or not, plain sashimi is often a safe bet for me. I own that I forgot to initially specify «without sesame seeds» because sashimi (at least in my experience) rarely has it. So, when my sashimi/​sushi rice box came with sesame seeds all over it, and what actually looked like a drizzle of possibly sesame oil, I politely apologized and sent it back and said «I’m allergic to sesame seeds.»
And the waitress took it back and came back quite quickly with a plate that still had sesame seeds on it. I didn’t notice them until after a few bites… BECAUSE THE ASSHOLES SIMPLY WIPED OFF THE FISH INSTEAD OF MAKING A NEW PLATE! THANKS FOR TRYING TO KILL ME, KAI’S! So we had to explain to the waitress, AGAIN, that I was allergic and showed her the sesame seeds that I picked out of the plate. I honestly don’t know how sensitive my allergy is as it was diagnosed this year, but I was beyond freaked out. So, after taking some antihistamines and using my inhaler (no need for the epi pen, thankfully), the waitress came back with a new plate of sashimi and rice.
I might add the sashimi was, like, the type you get in the fridge of a gas station and the rice was much too sweet and too sticky-​in-​the-​wrong-​way.
Then my friend who came with me got food poisoning this afternoon.
Again, I own the first fault for not specifying in the beginning, but the rest of the experience was just dreadful. When you almost have to bust a Pulp Fiction scene in the middle of almost restaurant, it’s bad, bad news.

Hey Kais,
It says something that you are the restaurant I frequented the most in my many years here in Alameda. I can’t count how many times I’ve come here. When my friend and I can’t decide where to eat, you are the default place to go.
Why?
Food is Solid.
Food is Reasonably Priced (some ridiculously good priced)
Service is Good
Seating good for Groups
Where else can I go to order a $ 6 CHICKEN KATSU that is excellently made (honestly the best katsu I’ve tasted, perfect mix of being fried well and the meat being juicy). Unlike some of those hawaiian bbq place yuk! It leaves some $ room to get some extra rolls for the tables. One unique one I love? DEEP FRIED CALIFORNIA ROLL. Don’t get this to go, you have to eat there while it’s still pipping hot. Good stuff. Only $ 4. Stop pondering, just get it.
The other rolls are standard fare. But I don’t visit you expecting A+ Japanese cuisine and neither should anyone else? You are just a good place to go when your hungry, want some good food that will fill you up.
The only thing I get sad about is your Spicy Tuna Roll. I love this roll, but yours is not good. I said it. Nothing is perfect in this world. I tried it few times, trying to like it, but it’s just not good.
But anyways, see you, probably later today, or tomorrow…
You guys should have a VIP discount for people like me!

My mom came to Alameda for dinner and since she was craving sushi, we parked on Park Street (ha! pun intended) and decided to scope out our options before settling on Kai’s. BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER.
Firstly, the service was pretty horrible. There were 3 people working and it was a weekday, so not terribly busy, but it seemed that all 3 ladies on duty that night were oblivious to any crazy arm waving antics I pulled.
Secondly, my mom ordered the chirashi and it came on a plate with overly sweet sushi rice (if it can even be called sushi rice) and fish that had been tossed in some sort of sesame oil dressing. It made me wonder: do these people even know what chirashi actually is?
Thirdly, the fish was not fresh (I ordered sashimi) and the miso soup tasted like they had used a handful of salt to season the standard sized bowl.
I almost wanted to leave no tip (which I don’t think I’ve ever done), but I still left 15% for dinner. I’m usually pretty understanding of restaurants and I very rarely give negative reviews, but if there had been an option for negative star ratings, that’s what I would have given Kai’s.

My aunt and uncle picked this place for a pre-new-year’s family luncheon. Parking was a little tricky as noted by other Unilocalers, though we managed to snag a spot right out front on the street.
The adults sat at one long table, and the six of us cousins sat at another long table. Between the six of us, we ordered a sashimi bento box (we were able to request all salmon), a veggie bento box, the cherry blossom roll, the pink dragon roll, chicken teriyaki and katsu bento, and chicken karaage. After a bit of plate shuffling, everyone managed to try some of everything. The pink dragon roll was probably the best; tempera and chicken were standard. I wasn’t particularly impressed by the karaage, which is difficult to do without drying out the meat. The cherry blossom roll was a generous portion.
This isn’t a particularly good place for groups, though they will shuffle tables to make it work. One of my cousins did point out that they seem to have a really good lunch special for local high school students.

this place isnt that bad! I don’t mind it at all! let’s do a break down!
Food: I got benton boxes, dinner combos, sushi rolls, and sashimi before. Theyre prettyyy good. However, the sashimi slices are lacking, theyre not nice and thick… and for the dinner combo. when i order the salmon teriyaki, they gave me 2 dollar coin sized pieces. !!! gahh… it was good but still! come on! lol. and beef teriyaki is yummy. they give you some tender pieces. the sushi rolls are ok, not the best I’ve ever had, but better than sushi house. lol. Everyone gets complimentary miso soup! which is nice!
Décor: its nice and dark in here. hahaha but i guess it just creates ambiance, it doesnt bother me that much. It’s not a huge restaurant, but i have never had trouble getting a seat Then again, i never come during a weekend dinner. lol.
Prices: Its average japanese food joint, probably about 15 – 20 bucks a person. it’s not Geta thats for sure. hehe
Parking: SUCKS. lol good luck trying to find parking. Its right on Park street, so basically you have to … Park on the street. hehehehe. see what I did there? ok, yeah I’m lame. hahah. but parking definitely isnt fun here…
Overall, this is another option to go to, if I dont want to wait 45 minutes for a table at Geta. But probably not something I would crave… so I will be back!!! =]

This is a very hard thing for me to write. Considering that I am a loyal customer. The food is still good, it’s just the service.
I miss the younger girl that works at lunch [I hear she works evenings now]. But I have been here ³⁄₃ times and the older woman has disappointed me EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. I know she recognizes me by now, you should at least cut me a little slack that I’m basically paying you by coming here.
When I come here, I am HUNGRY, because I know Kai’s [FOOD] can deliver, but this is a case in which I MUST kill the messenger. Because she is SO FREAKING SLOW. This is what I observe when I am sitting, already knowing what to order.
–Counts the dollar bills in the register very slowly and puts some in another tip can
–Gets water for someone else [none for us, been here 10 minutes]
–Goes in the back for another 5 – 7 minutes without peeking out
–Clears other tables, pushes in chairs.
It just really makes me upset, I’ll stick with take-​out here for now. At least I don’t have to leave tip.

Good, but too saucy! We ordered the most un-​saucy rolls, and it was still swimming in unidentified teriyaki sauce?
Fish was good and fresh tho!
We still enjoyed the Cherry Blossom, Crazy Roll & Hamachi Deluxe Roll. Good service, good miso. Great prices!