Kampai Japanese Restaurant

Great Sushi

This restaurant is my favourite in Hamilton. I have been 5 times so far, every time the food has been outstanding, delicious sushi and sashimi and the presentation is beautiful. The desserts are great too, try the tempura bananas! I love the neat not too extravagant decor here and the service is among the friendliest I've experienced, even the sushi chefs smiled and greeted us and the waitress we always have is very nice, attentive without being in the way. A must visit for sure, in my opinion.

Good and Bad

I'm new to Hamilton, and I noticed that a lot of Japanese places are cruddy all-you-can eats. So it was nice to find a half-decent normal place. I got an elaborate, Unagi-based maki roll, that was really good, nicely balanced. My girlfriend, however, got the tempura, and I'd say it wasn't technically up to snuff. Not crispy enough, and the vegetables seemed a touch bland. The salad was also a bit dull. The miso soup was ok. I'm from Peterborough, which had two little sushi places that are really quite good, so my standards are pretty high. Some people think that going to a big city will yield better food -- I'm fairly sure Kampai is one of Hamilton's best, but it couldn't compare to Peterborough's worst. But you can tell that this is a good place. NO PRIVATE DINING ROOMS. If you want this experience, GO ELSEWHERE. However, the service is much better than I'm used to at other Japanese places, and it's a far more casual atmosphere.

awesome food, No1 service

I tried many sushi places in toronto and north america. this restaurant is cozy and small. but in japan , most sushi restaurant is this size. they have wonderful service and authentic japanese food. sushi was really great. tempura shrimp was really crisp and big. we will be back for sure.

Good but not great!

The sushi was okay, but the sashimi platter fish were not really fresh. Miso soup was okay, a little more taste would be better. Tempura was okay. service was slow and below standard.

The best Japanese in Hamilton, hands down. I had a day off and decided to try this place for lunch and was completely impressed by the food, service and presentation. There's at least three all-you-can-eat Japanese places downtown, but if you want a proper Japanese meal, you have to go to Kampai. It was worth every penny. The soft shell crab appetizer was cooked perfectly crisp and beautifully presented. I always order the soft shell crab at Japanese restaurants as a way of gauging the quality of their food and I was completely impressed. The teriyaki salmon bento was gorgeous, fresh, and delicious. The unagi (eel) sushi was made with big, thick slices of grilled eel. Authentic style, not like the skinny slices they give you at all-you-can-eat places. 100% worth the price. I can't wait to go back again some time soon.