UPDATE 2: Please read the replies the owner has given to me. You sir or ma'am are out of control. Someone needs to take your keyboard away. My original review was mixed with critiques *and* complements. Why would you be so negative in front of the world? Again, I would NEVER go here unless you want to be belittled and yelled at (virtually or in person). UPDATE: I originally gave this restaurant a 4 star review and mentioned some honest feedback. But recently the owner decided to reply in a very sarcastic manner stating "I'll call you when I need an interior designer". K bud. Here's a 1 star from your "interior designer". ORIGINAL REVIEW: Mediocre sushi. The restaurant had a good ambiance but needed a bit of extra care. There was a light fixture hanging all askew and some of the wood finish was wearing off.

Had a great dinner experience here. I loved the statement piece above the sushi bar area. My favorite part of my meal was the flaming Hawaiian Volcano roll. I also tried the fried gyoza, Menage A Trois roll, along with a special sake recommendation. Good value for what I paid as well.

Another place was recommended and we hated their menu. Tried out this place and sushi was FABULOUS!! Would definitely recommend and if we are in town will come back!!!

We enjoyed the sushi here…some of the better fish that we’ve had in Milwaukee. The location is very cute. Service was good.

I was in town for a work trip. Food was great, vibes were great, waiter was great. I got the dragon roll and the "oh my god" because I wanted to see the fire. The fire was awesome and the roll itself was pretty good. The dragon roll though???? I want to eat it every day for the rest of my life. Too bad I live 12 hours away :(

UPDATE: After being invited back to give Kanpai another try, I returned excited to try something new. We had the Oyster Shooter (which had a nice bite), Stuffed Avocado (which was absolutely amazing), Menage a Trois, Dragons Den, Boss, Blue Fin Nagiri Atoro, Truffle Parmesan Akimi (an interesting and savory blend of flavors) and Vegetable Udon. All were extremely delicious, and the presentation was beautiful. Our reservation was taken without hassle, and followed up with a confirmation text. We were seated in a well lit booth near the sushi bar, which is always a showpiece. Unfortunately, there was no bartender the night we were there, and they were down a host. This meant the owner and on-site staff had to work extra hard to service the guests. While there was a wait for drink and food, the quality of what we had was worth the wait. I will definitely be going back to eat my fill of sushi!

We had an fantastic dinner at Kanpai Izakaya! We made reservations through the open table app for a Saturday and we are glad we did, otherwise we would’ve had to wait. Our host was very friendly and sat us right away where our introduced himself and went over the menu and made some great suggestions. Everything we ate was amazing and we even tried the flaming sushi which was fun and delicious! The restaurant and bathrooms were very clean. We look forward to another fun date night at Kanpai Izakaya!

I ordered delivery, got the shrimp tempura and spicy crab rolls and a house salad. The salad is huge! Everything was very fresh and delicious. Highly recommend giving them a try.

Called at 8:45PM before driving 45 minutes to get Sushi. The person on the phone said the sushi bar closes at 9:30PM and restaurant at 10PM. I got there a couple minutes before 9:30PM and had to wait for someone to help me. I was told the kitchen just closed even though they were still making some sushi. I went to screaming Tuna 3 minutes away. Same scenario but they made an exception and got me food.

Service was great but it did take a while for my sushi to arrive. They're very busy with doordash and Uber eats so I get it. Other than that I will be back!

I only eat crunch munch and searched several places before finding Kanpai Izakaya. Love this place and will definitely visit everytime I'm in Milwaukee. The shrimp appetizer with fried jalapeño is delish!

Service extremely slow. We had a reservation and came with our family including 2 kids and were given a table top at the back of the restaurant when there were nice booths that were empty. Not sure if bartender called in sick but servers were making the cocktails and both the ones I tried were poorly made by our server. Appetizers were good, sushi was good, bulgogi dinner was delicious. Fried rice was not good. Chicken in it was also dry.

First things first, this is NOT a traditional Izakaya. At the time I went (early 2021) small plates and drinks were not their strong suit. However, as a modern Japanese fusion restaurant, they are very good. I particularly liked the cream cheese and tofu sushi dish and their truffle soy sauce is excellent. The atmosphere is nice, good place for busi, a date or a family and the service is attentive. I was a little annoyed that Izakaya is in their name when this is pretty clearly not an Izakaya, but that doesn't mean they don't have good food.

Sushi was good, appetizers were okay & the soda & lemonade tasted funny here. A reservation is definitely recommended, we had one and our sushi took a long time to prepare!

This place was exceptional. I absolutely loved it. The sevice was quick and amazing. The food was really good. Really nice atmosphere. Good bar area. And very private booths.

Food was good but for a place that wasn't very busy it took a long time to get service. Could have been a number of things but my wife and I were surprised to be waiting so long when we arrived and then evert step of the dinner. Still it's good sushi and the atmosphere is good for date night.

Everything about this restaurant was great! The service was top notch, as well as the atmosphere. There are plenty of tables and large roomy booths. I HIGHLY recommend getting the stuffed avocado as a starter. For an entree they have a great selection of sushi rolls and other food for the non sushi crowd. Definitely get at least one roll that is served flaming.

I enjoyed my visit to Milwaukee and found this gem. The atmosphere is authentic, and they offer an excellent selection of sushi!

I made a reservation here for a birthday dinner. Our server was nice, but we waited about an hour and a half for our food. The sushi was mediocre and overpriced. One person in my party had to send their food back because their sashimi was frozen in the middle. I think we should have been offered a complimentary item off the menu or a discount off the bill, but we were not. The person in my party was offered a bottle of wine, but she does not drink. No other attempt was made to rectify the situation. Also, the staff was aware that we were celebrating a birthday but nobody really made an effort to make it special, especially after everything that happened. Overall, very disappointing and frustrating experience. I will not be going back.