Kanpai Sushi in Edinburgh, City of

We’ve been to Kanpai many times and have always had excellent sushi. It’s always beautifully presented and the service is always friendly

Def one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in Edinburgh! Been here a few times and have never been disappointed!

We stopped here for dinner and were able to get a seat. If it is a busy time, you may want to make reservations ahead. I ordered a beer as my son got a cider. We should have gotten sake, but couldn’t decide which one as there were so many choices. Menu book was a bit of a struggle to review due to the stiff pages. There were color photos on the pages to help see what you will get. The available selections were what you would expect for a sushi restaurant with some unique items. The expectations stopped there as the sushi was excellent. The Dragon Roll had something different in a good way from what I normally taste. The Spicy Tuna was Bluefin and it melted in your mouth (outside the rice part). My son noted the same excellence in ingredients as I did. We recommend going here if you are interested in sushi. Only weird thing was that they actually had a tip screen before final payment (?).

Recommended 100% I was a little apprehensive of eating at a pure Japanese meal and being celiac (needing gluten free) and a vegetarian makes it difficult for me even at places I know well BUT Rhea, the lovely hostess at this restaurant made it a memorable dinner for my husband and I. We ordered a meal in consultation with Rhea and enjoyed all the food and drinks. I was pleased that I was provided gluten free sauce which shows that someone out there is treating people with allergies with sensitivity. Good work.!

Great sushi place, delicious food. Green tea Ice cream is amazing!

best sushis we ever had, impeccable service, awesome moment

Eaten at Kanpai three times. Each time it was absolutely fantastic. In my opinion, the best the UK has to offer.

Some of these reviews, are absurd. This is a proper accommodation in Edinburgh. I am from San Francisco and know my Japanese sushi. Proper rolls and service you literally can't go wrong here, super happy with this place.

Nice place, phenomenal food! Cocktails and sake were also great - great value.

Amazing sushi, lovely service, the music is is quiet and calming, often from Ghibli’s animations. Their gluten free selection is excellent. One of the best restaurants in the city.

A highly recommended restaurant if you like sushi and you are in Edinburgh. Exquisite service and fantastic sushi. Recommend restaurant in Edinburgh if you are sushi lover. The service was awesome and the sushi is really good.

Excellent take away. Had the octopus balls,the rainbow roll, the soft shell crab, the chicken tempura roll and the vegetarian roll. All Amazing. The spicy crispy salmon was also excellent but the container unfortunately was not the best as cause the sauce to go over the sides. Easy pick up , took a few minute wait to get the food. The order was done by phone and payment on pick up.

Amazing. You should definitely check it out if you are a sushi lover in Scotland!

Food was excellent and the service was great (especially considering the price). I wish we'd have a similar place in my city

A well deserved 5-star rating for this world class Japanese restaurant. Have been here a lot over the many years it’s been open and have always found it to be first class. Would not hesitate to recommend. If it’s fully booked, try its sister restaurant, Yamato, for the same experience.

Can’t believe I didn’t take pictures of the food but it’s ok because they put them on the menu. Normally you avoid places with pictures on the menu but not here. It actually made us go outside our comfort zone and we are so happy we did. Everything we got here was delicious to the point we reordered some nigiri and gunkan before we left. If we were to go back we might actually skip a roll and order more nigiri and other items. This isn’t to say the roll wasn’t delicious, it was. But we were blown away with some of our other dishes. Sometimes you lose track of your waitress and she’s the only one who takes your order. Other than that it’s so good. Definitely recommend!

Nice sushi and sashimi place. Glad to have beef sashimi.

The ramen was so good taste. Drunk them all. 🍜😋

Great choices of well prepared Japanese food. Must try the broiled au bergine. Nice atmosphere and very pleasant staff. We look forward to. going here every year when we go to the Fringe.

This place is fantastic, good food, staff always friendly and helpful and a great chilled out atmosphere. Drop in everytime I’m in the Burgh.

A cut above the rest in terms of presentation and quality. By far the best sushi I've had in Edinburgh. Loved the Squid nigiri and kanpai special rolls.

Their sushi is awesome. I ordered the Grilled Teriyaki Salmon Maki I visited them a second time and repeated the sushi order and took extra Hokkaido Wagyu, bitter, delicious, literally the best restaurant in Edinburgh.

Calm and very typical atmosphere in this excellent restaurant! The service is impeccable and attentive, and the sushi is incredible, the best I have ever eaten!

Kind waiting staff. Yummy food and unique cocktails in a simple but adequate setting.

Bluefin tuna handroll is a must try, can feel its melting on your tongue. Overall the food was great. Service was good. Just the tables were so close to each other, I felt I was forced joining two different conversations at the same time, considering this is a 80+ GBP p.p. dining place, the environment can be improved.

A very good sushi restaurant in the center of Edinburgh! The prices are fair and the quality is really excellent. Walk through the door and discover a Japanese world that opens up to you with truly beautiful, original and sophisticated decoration. The staff are very helpful and go out of their way to satisfy all customers. I recommend 100%!

The sashimi set was the worst sashimi I had. I couldn’t finish it. They are not traditional Japanese food. They serve smoke salmon in the set(seriously ?) and the scallop and yellow tail tasted like plastic, they don’t taste like yellowtail and scallop. Service is good and the rest of food is ok but not super good. Don’t order the sashimi and I wouldn’t even recommend this place for its price.

Ate here alone whilst staying nearby for a conference - excellent food, especially the aubergine as I'd seen recommended on other reviews! The service was quite slow and my food came at different times, but these things do happen.

Year on year my favorite sushi restaurant in Edinburgh. It feels like an escape from reality, like a spa! Delicious sushi, excellent service, wonderful peaceful atmosphere. I recommend it to everyone!

Lovely and clean place, delicious sushi, nice and helpful service

After two days in Scotland and already saturated with British (???) food we came to kanpai 3 times in a row. Very good dishes, very pleasant. If I have another stay in Edinburgh I will come back.

Excellent Japanese food, high quality ingredients.

We just got off the plane and came to Kanpai (because it was near our hotel). Amazing luck! Everything about the meal was amazing !!!!

First time I had Brazilian-level sushi in Europe. Absolute must go for anyone visiting.

A very good Japanese restaurant in Edinburgh with much more than just sushi; good services; we ordered in several stages; it was perfect.

The best Sushi in Edinburgh! Wouldn’t go anywhere else!! Especially for takeaway service it’s always fresh and delicious!! Thank you to the people in Kanpai for always making it an enjoyable experience :)

Large selection of fresh and authentic sashimi and sushi at good prices.

Unbelievably good food. The aubergine and sweet miso was spectacular. Atmosphere a bit meh but we were there at 6pm and round the corner from the bar which seemed a bit lively.

Best sushi place in Edinburgh. Food is good, fish and ingredients are very fresh. Service is awesome. Will definitely visit again.

One of Edinburgh’s best sushi restaurants.

the food was amazing everything was super fresh. however took really long for some of our food to come out

A lovely little restaurant and the quality of the ingredients is so fresh and top notch. The staff are great and so helpful. We enjoyed every mouthful. I equate it to tapas Japanese style. Not your usual 2/3 course meal. This is our go to for Sushi over the years as it’s always consistently great.

Great sushi as always! I make it a point to visit this restaurant every time I'm in Edinburgh. The Dragon sushi is exceptional, and the aubergine with miso is a must-try. Highly recommend!

Got there for our reservation at 8pm, were stood in the lobby for 10-15 minutes before being taken to our table. Ordered food around 8.30. Some people in my party got food within half an hour, such as gyozas and a sushi roll while others such as myself didn't receive anything until around 9.30, an hour after ordering. The sushi roll I got was very nice, but quite pricey at around £15. Staff seemed to be rushing around and appeared to be very stressed, the manager didn't appear to be doing anything other than chatting to people at the bar. We ordered some Sake after finishing our initial drinks while we were waiting for food to turn up (which most of it never did). The sake never came so we asked a waiter where it was and then another 10 minutes after that we finally got it. In the end after waiting for an hour and a half, we still didn't have most of the food we had ordered and so we ended up cancelling the rest of our order and getting the bill. We were overcharged by £30, one item was an extra sake that we didn't receive, probably due to chasing the initial sake we'd ordered and another bottle of something that no one at the table had ordered. I ended up paying £30 for a sushi roll, a glass of wine and a third of a bottle of sake, with the sushi roll not turning up until an hour after I'd ordered it. The staff, other than the manager, were all very apologetic and seemed to be extremely stressed. We were told that part of the reason for the delay was that they had ran out of rice. We were only told this after chasing the food we'd ordered an hour ago. If I was the manager at a sushi restaurant and we ran out of rice then I would be very very embarrassed. Overall, the food that we did get was fine but arrived in dribs and drabs, with around 2/3 of what we'd ordered just never arriving and in the end after being there for nearly two hours, we gave up which I have never done before at a restaurant. Overbooked, understaffed and very badly managed.

Got there for our reservation at 8pm, were stood in the lobby for 10 minutes before being taken to our table. Ordered food around 8.30. some people in my party got food within half an hour, such as gyozas and a sushi roll while others such as myself didn't receive anything until around 9.30, an hour after ordering. The sushi roll I got was delicious but waited a long time to get it. Staff seemed to be rushing around and appeared to be very stressed, the manager didn't appear to be doing anything other than chatting to people at the bar. Overcharged us £30 for items on the bill that we didn't order and we ended up cancelling the remaining 2/3 of our order as it hadn't arrived after an hour and a half, apparently they had ran out of rice. Overall, food that we did get was delicious and the staff were very friendly and apologetic. Clearly there's a huge management issue and the restaurant is severely understaffed.

Amazing sushi 🤤a bit more expensive than usual but that's okay given the quality of sushi and service provided

The restaurant is very nice inside but very minimal (in my opinion more suitable for lunch). The staff is friendly but a little cold. The quality of the food and the choice are amazing. Excellent prices for the quality.

I would recommend Kanpai to everyone if you’re willing to pay slightly more! It has the nicest, cleanest interior and the food was INCREDIBLE. Everyone needs to try the miso glazed aubergine!!! Best taste in my mouth ever. We had a range of maki, rolls and hand rolls which were all great (I would recommend the teriyaki salmon maki). Servers were polite and attentive- always filling up our waters and ginger/wasabis. Cannot wait to go again!

The best Sushi restaurant in Edinburgh. Unbeatable quality. Perfect service and a very warm atmosphere. Highly recommended.

terribly slow service....waited more than an hour for 2 dishes. First few dishes came but even that there was a 15minute interval between each dish. Very pricey as well. Will not return

Most authentic Japanese food I have had outside of Japan. Great selection of sushi and hot food.

Absolutely brilliant sushi, great location if you are attending a concert at Usher Hall. Wide range of options all beautifully prepared.

Yamato was closed and answer machine directed me to their sister restaurant where I was looking to order a delivery. They don’t offer delivery but their food (which we opted to pick up) was exceptional. I had the cold soba noodles (absolutely authentic), tempura prawns, rainbow roll, salmon sashimi, gyoza, salmon teriyaki, California roll. Everything was delicious. Can’t praise Yamato and kanpai enough. There are no other Japanese restaurants in Edinburgh that can match for authenticity and quality of Japanese cuisine. Well done! Arigato gozaimasu :-)

Surprisingly a good gem. Food is amazing. Went there for a quick lunch without reservation and got lucky we got a table. Place is quite small so would recommend to book a table if you come with a big party or for dinner. Definitely will come back if I go to Edinburgh again.

Abs fantastic, ive had sushi all over the world, this place is worth the visit, the cocktails are great too!

THE ABSOLUTE BEST FRESH SUSHI IN EDINBURGH. YUM. EXTENSIVE SAKE LIST, TOO AND COCKTAILS. LOVELY STAFF EXCELLENT LOCATION. EVERY VISIT IS A JOY!

Very chilled atmosphere, efficient service and amazing food. Crispy salmon parcels are a game changer.

Great food of very high quality ingredients.

Fantastic sushi. Extremely fresh and perfectly made. Agedashi tofu was good too.

Nice food but a bit pricy. Didn’t get a particularly warm welcome.Felt rushed as when we ordered were told kitchen was closing in 10 minutes. Not very relaxing as seated near the bar and staff constantly watching, nowhere to hang up coats or umbrellas and no offer to take, it was a wet day. Wanted it to be special as it was our daughters graduation and rather disappointed. Sorry won’t be back.

Extrem gutes Sushi. Sehr hohe Qualität und alles frisch zubereitet. Nette Bedienungen. Die Preise nicht gerade billig, aber letztlich mit Preis-Leistung völlig in Ordnung.

Delicious! It was also conveniently right across from our AirBnB. We got chicken gyoza and edamame as starters. My dad got sashimi, I got a black dragon roll, and my husband got the steak. We’re American so eggs in sushi is uncommon for us, but still had plenty to choose from that was more familiar. All very good, we’re keeping it on our list for next time!

Very lovely food. Great for veggies

Best sushi I've ever had. I recommend the rainbow roll and the wraps, my friend and I were in heaven.

It's fine if you're in Edinburgh and in the mood for Japanese. Having done sushi at the fish market in Tokyo, I felt the sushi here was, . . . yesterday's fish? They forgot to serve the ginger. It is convenient to Usher Hall if you're looking for pre-theater.

Food, was not bad the owner need training he was rude and racist toward Chinese as i over heard the heat exchange!

That's us just nipped into the city for a wee bite and to visit some shops. Here on holiday from America, I always struggle to find healthy, light food in Scotland. When I suggested sushi for lunch, I was surprised to find such a cozy, peaceful lunch spot. We were fretted upon arrival and sat with menus. Our server was very friendly and accommodating. My husband ordered the Seared Tuna with a miso dressing that he loved and the Tokyo Roll. The roll was quite large and hard to eat but very tasty (he is new to sushi). I ordered the Hamachi Nigiri- melt in your mouth delightfulness and the Soba noodles. Such a light, fresh meal! Today is Tuesday so it wasn't very crowded and it was a perfect lunch!

One of the best takoyakis I've ever had !

OMG, this place is outstanding. Friendly, speedy service. The most delish, fresh sushi and sashimi. All served in an elegant place that was almost full but felt relaxed and serene.

Amazing as always! Best sushi ever. Fresh, well cooked, seasoned to perfection and presented so well. And that's just the takeaway!! My recommendation will be the soft crab roll. Absolutely exquisite. Such a treat.

The quality of the fish was excellent. If we take that into consideration, it is somewhat justified the higher prices, but it is still quite expensive. The cocktails were average.

Super speedy and friendly service. Food was outstanding. The perfect place for a pre-show bite to eat.

This sushi restaurant in Edinburgh stands out as one of the best. Their grilled aubergine is an absolute must-try and a unique highlight. It's worth noting that this place is consistently busy, so it's advisable to make a reservation to secure a spot. Enjoy the fantastic flavors and vibrant atmosphere!

mediocre food, slow and unwelcome service.

Absolutely devine! Every single dish was delicious and full of flavour. So many highlights it is hard to choose the best dish. Dragon rolls were really good though. Highly recommend! You must try if you like sushi.

Lovely food and staff. Nice sushi in the centre!

Overly expensive for very small portion of industrial food. The rice was not cooked fresh, the fish had no taste, the sauce was generic. No harmony between dishes and sauce. Sure the plate presentation are okay for instagram but you'll waste less money signing in shutterstock in this case. Sushis do not hold together properly, the texture are poor and the flavors are mild. The service was very slow and only bringing one very small plate at a time. The waiting staff seemed understaffed and quite stressed which question the management of the place. I wouldn't complain if it was half or quarter the price but at 12£ for a portion of tempura that can literally fit in one childs hand I expect at least a little bit of quality.

Impressed, its not everywhere you find very good Japanese food in Europe. I would strongly recommend the fried salmon roll and the miso based aubergine. Everything else we had was also fantastic (e.g. nigiri, sushi rolls, miso soup). Fantastic.

Poissons frais et sushis rolls de qualité. Le plateau de sashimis était un peu décevant

Super restaurant, avec des makis préparés avec soin.

Consistently excellent sushi. It's not the cheapest, but you get what you pay for. Nasu dengaku, dragon roll, salmon temaki all very good.

Tsome of pur favourites...tempura King prawns, steak on a ceramic stove, miso aubergine. All great with lovely staff. Sit at the bar if you want to watch the prep.

Great spot. Fantastic food. Staff lovely. If in Edinburgh, this place is well worth a visit. Will definitely go again.

I have visited Kanpai Sushi twice for lunch in the summer of 2021 in a small group and a dinner in a larger group recently. Really nice: - extensive menu, large restaurant that is relatively calm and quiet with the sushi chefs working at a visible counter. - the ice creams are delicious - some of the sushi dishes are creative and delicious too (liked the maki wrapped in buckwheat) Room for improvement: - the service can get rather slow in the busy times and we got some of our orders confused while acting annoyed :( - the sizes of the dishes are difficult to predict, some nigiri sushi and sashimi can be very small. Make sure to confirm. I would probably try it again when it's calmer for lunch.

私は日本人で昔からの常連です。久しぶりに行きましたが驚くほどのクオリティーが落ちた事です。寿司は写真とは異なり以前よりも ミニチュアサイズ、刺身はハムの様な薄さ寿司酢でも無く寿司としての味は全く無いです。プロの握りではありません。インフレーションなのか？プレゼンテーションも普通。味も普通。がっかりです。

Interessante menukaart. Hierop werd aangegeven dat het restaurant hoopte dat de gast niet alleen sushi, maar ook andere traditionele Japanse gerechten zou uitproberen. Mijn partner en ik voelden ons hier helaas niet stoer genoeg voor, dus wij hielden het bij de bekende sushi's. Deze smaakten heerlijk. De sfeer in het restaurant was rustig, professioneel en wat timide, wat je enigszins verwacht in een Japans restaurant.

Loved this little place! Atmosphere was so calm and suitable for the cuisine offered. Maki rolls were so fresh and yummy! Quality of salmon was great! Waitress was so friendly and polite 🙏🏻

Pour avoir vécu au Japon, je cherche toujours le gout authentique. Ici, on l'a, même s'ils ont une carte avec des "california rolls" qui n'ont rien d'authentiques. Par contre, les portions des nigiris sont ridicules, jamais vu aussi petit où que ca soit dans le monde. 2 nigiris, sont 1 nigiri dans n'importe quel autre restaurant, donc le rapport qualité prix est mauvais. Très déçu d'en ressortir avec une grosse faim malgré la dépense de 80 £.

high-quality sushi, but please, change the music or at least turn it down. *very* loud relaxation/massage-type music not at all conducive to a chill restaurant atmosphere. service was also very infrequent.

Disappointing. The food itself was tasty, but portions were small, and the service was unfortunately so slow that it ruined the experience. Over an hour to get all dishes served (we only ordered 4 in total) with massive gaps in between.

Amazing sushi, so tasty and fresh, highly recommend rainbow roll and dragon roll, the squid and king prawn tempura were also amazing, the batter was so light and crispy. Very nice chill atmosphere and staff were lovely. Will be back

Food was delicious. Very fresh. Temakis was perfect. The crab salad amazing. Dragon roll size was just a little to big to eat but even though was great. Misô soup was divine. Make sure to reserve the area where the sushi bar is.

Had dinner here in July 2015, and it was so so good. Still, remember the taste of Tuna Tataki

Nice service and good decoration shop

We wanted good sushi and we definitely found it! Such an amazing place. We had the tuna belly tartare which was so so tasty, the tuna was like butter. Also, a variety of different sushi rolls and for dessert ice cream for sharing 🍨 with 3 scoops of white sesame, black sesame and green tea and I it was so so delish. The perfect desert to finish an incredible meal. I can’t recommend this place enough. We will definitely be back.

El mejor sushi de Edimburgo,delicioso. El ambiente estilo Japonés es espectacular. Muy recomendado.

Best Sushi I've had in Edinburgh.

Second time here, really excellent. Food is fabulous.

Restaurante japonés con productos frescos y platos para disfrutar: desde el wakame hasta el sushi, la variedad de platos mantuvo un nivel muy aceptable. Como siempre en la ciudad, buen servicio con camareros muy atentos.

I’ve eaten a lot of sushi at a lot of places and this was top tier. The otoro (fatty tuna belly) maki and the snow crab hand roll were out of this world, and the simple pieces like tamago and kappa maki were amazing quality. I barely took photos because I was so busy eating. Service was excellent and vibe was overall very Japanese - clean, minimalist, tasteful, efficient. Would definitely come back!