Kampai Highgate

Absolutely wonderful place with great food! Went for early dinner yesterday, food was amazing and our waiter Junyi was very friendly and professional :) Made our day!
Apr 27th, 2023

Apr 14th, 2023

Food : 4/5 | Service : 5/5 | Atmosphere : 3/5 More
Apr 13th, 2023

Apr 12th, 2023

Decided to have one of those power lunches, after a medical appointment. When doing a Google Map research for restaurants nearby, and what was the best. I came across this little gem of a place. So a little history, the name of the restaurant is Japanese for Cheers and is not spelt the Kanji way. The correct way you would spell it is Kan Pai More detail explanation below. Cheers in Japanese: / Kanpai In Japan, an enthusiastic kanpai!, which translates to empty cup, isn't just a celebratory way to cheer, it's a respected pre-drinking ritual. Customer Service / Hospitality A big shout-out and honour to Pom. Whom is one of the business partners of this fine Izakaya. He was so friendly, cultured and most importantly engaging and accommodating. The food was tingling my tongue, like fairies hopping on foxgloves flowers. Spicy Geso - Thats Fried Squid Tentacles in a nice light batter and spicy. This comes with like a spicy mayo dipping sauce (if requested) but also goes very nicely with the sweet chilli condiment sauce. Also comes with lemon to help the acidity and make the taste even better. Tori Kare - Or simply Karaage - this restaurant version was nice. If I were to suggest a little improvement. Perhaps a little more garlic and the batter to be a little more soy based. Also, needs a slice of lemon too on the side. Miso Soup - pre-cursor, before your main. The broth was nice, cloudy and not milky. Dont know if fish paste was used for Unami. But overall, very pleasant. Katsu Curry - Curry sauce was nice, asked for brown rice but none available at the time. The white rice is almost like sticky rice. The Katsu chicken cutlet was very nicely tender and panko crumbs, generous. The vegetables were cook nicely. Id also grabbed some take out of their sushi. Spicy Tuna, Spider Roll and Ebi Tempura Roll. Menu inside had a different name thats not reflective on website; i.e. Tokyo Roll. So this branch is 1 of 2. Highgate is the first store and has been opened for 6 years. I was informed in December theyd opened, 6 years ago. Whereas their Kensington is now 2 years old. Couldnt believe that I didnt know about this place and my Nan, just leaves around the corner. Perhaps an excuse to see my Nan and then come here for some cheeky food. Will be visiting again. Highly recommended
Apr 19th, 2023