Kanpai Review

Best for: Embracing the exotic in Edinburgh.

Great: Sushi, Sashimi and Sake.

It’s confession time at Fluid (stop fiddling at the back); I’ve never been to a Japanese restaurant before (pauses for reader’s sharp intake of breath and tirade of condemnation). I know in this assimilated, metrosexual, transexual, Transylvanian world it’s akin to confessing I spend my weekends hanging out with merchant bankers punching puppies and teasing aardvarks.

But hang on, put the pitchforks down, I know from my Simpson’s lore that there’s “No justice like angry mob justice,” but, clearly, I don’t partake in such activities. At least not at weekends.

Anyway, casting Skinnerisms to the winds, you came here for a review, right? Let’s go then.

It was a Tuesday in late February. Technically, it was raining (technically in Scotland in February it’s always raining); a misty, dreich sort of evening, to use one of Scotland’s 50 thousand words for damp. The sort of pre-payday night on which you expect a restaurant to be empty, with staff idly watching the clock whilst hoping the rain does not strengthen too much before closing.

But not at Kanpai, not that Tuesday anyway. It was nearly full with a cosmopolitan mix of clientele. We entered and immediately my mere presence dropped the tone of the whole establishment a notch or ten.

Fortunately, Kanpai had a surfeit of ambience to deal with my inherent un-coolness. There were facilities to take all sorts of diners: shadowy, exclusive, intimate tables for two; a bench area at the back that could sit a rowdy group of six or eight without their high jinx impinging on other diners; and, of course, traditional seats at the bar where you could be mesmerised by the knife work of the chefs as they sliced and diced.

Once seated, we were passed a gaudy covered hard backed book more akin to a photo album or catalogue from a high end, supercilious department store than a menu. It was full of bright, colourful, saliva-inducing photographs, which given my revelatory first paragraph, proved useful in determining what to order.

There’s no point in describing every dish in detail. There were so many to choose from and so many were chosen by my companion - she who is not fazed by the complexity of menus - and I. From popular sushi to slivers of sashimi to the delights of tempura (well, I have the Scots natural affinity with deep fried anything) as well as teppan, cooked on an iron griddle and other classics (popular Japanese dishes that don’t fit into any of the other categories). Plenty for the traditional, the novice, the experienced and adventurous Japanese diner to try.

For presentation, my favourite was the mixed vegetable hand roll which I would defy anybody to describe as anything but a leafy ice cream cone and came in a special wooden holder (the holder was designed for three cones so clearly an ordering faux pas was committed there).

For the less adventurous, there was sesame chicken wings. You can take the boy out of Nandos but you can’t take Nandos out of the boy! And these were a handy introduction for the uninitiated, like myself.

For pure taste and texture joy there was teppan teriyaki salmon which was so tender it flaked at the lightest impression of my chopsticks.

And of course there was sake; being a novice I had assumed that there really was only one type and thus being offered sake of differing brands and at different temperatures was a surprise. Seeing my confusion, the waitress suggested I went for room temperature. It proved very easy on the palate almost (appropriately for Edinburgh) like a weak malt, though I’m being careful in future of any wanton seduction. Even I have heard the stories involving innocent sake drinkers and the spectacular after effects of imbibing that one extra drink that “won’t do any harm”.

Was it always this busy on a Tuesday? Our waitress was a bit embarrassed but replied that Fridays and Saturdays were always fully booked but that Kanapi had won Best Newcomer at the Scottish Restaurant Awards the night before and that may have tempted people out.

And well it should.
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Kanpai Description

"Kanpai", the Japanese way of toasting and it literally means "bottoms up"!

Kanpai is a new venue of Shushiya restaurant, serving top quality traditional Japanese cuisine. Situated on Grindlay Street ,it is regarded as one of the finest traditional Japanese restaurants in Edinburgh.

Mellow colours and clever lighting allow shadows and shafts of light to soften the atmosphere of the interior.

One may choose to dine at the intimate sushi bar or the open kitchen counter, where you may observe how your sushi is made by their chefs.

In addition to the open space for customers to dine there is also a private room that can be booked by larger groups and private parties.

The menu is short, but comprehensive ,the food is all freshly prepared and beautifully presented.

Drinks available include green tea ,sake and Japanese beers as well as a selection of wine and soft drinks....read more

Additional Information

• Cuisine Type: Japanese
• Group: (Independent/Freehouse)