Gen Kai Japanese Cuisine & Sushi Bar

Tonight (a Sunday) was my first time here; I ordered to go. Being from the Bay Area, I’m used to really fresh, high quality sushi, so I may have high standards. However, I don’t think that’s the reason for a 2 star review. I’m pretty sure anyone would say this sushi is lacking in flavor and freshness. It was also pricy for the serving size. I ordered a California Roll and a Spider Roll. I ate them both and was full, but not stuffed. For $ 20.10, I was kind of hoping I’d have some leftovers. Also, the tempura crab on the end pieces was overcooked.
The waitress was nice and provided good service. There was only one table in there, so I can’t say what it’s like on a busy night. So, 4 stars for service which averages about 2 stars when combined with food quality.
I will not be going back.

I absolutely LOVE Gen Kai! They have the best baked roles in town. I recommend the «Jamie» and the «Mike» Roll. Great for dining in or take out. My favorite sushi place in Chico.

Made 3 trips here just in case I was wrong in my opinion of what they offered. Service is the only reason I’m giving 2 stars. Rolls are fishy in taste, slow to get from the bar and just lack any sense of goodness. On our last trip we ordered a special roll that can out with crunchy rice. Took one bite and called over the server. She checked with the chef who claimed it was a brown rice roll. Funny, the board didn’t mention brown rice and undercooked brown rice doesn’t have a charcoal taste. Turns out we got bottom of the barrel rice that had been sitting in the cooker. Any chef of any talent would have never served this roll. It was the last straw for me at this establishment.

I’ll have to say it was our first and last time at this place. Went on a dinner date this past Saturday with my husband and we were not satisfied. The service was okay, although the waitresses were an open book. They were having overly loud conversations with a customer at the bar, did not refill our drinks on a timely manner, the sushi chef was drinking a bottle a beer on the job (health issues/​red flags), and we waited quite some time for our order. I was not impress with my chicken katsu don buri dish, it was bland, the eggs were over cooked and portion was small for it’s price. My husband had the New York steak dish that was dried when he actually wanted median rare and portion was small as well. We also order calamari, however they only brought us a dish with small bits and pieces of calamaris because they ran out and lastly we ordered a spicy tuna roll of which was just a regular tuna roll. They charged us for the full portion of the calamari dish, however, luckily I checked before we paid and the waitress was kind enough to take it off our order completely. Spent over ~$ 60 on our dinner. I honesty have to say I was expecting a lot more quality from this place. We will not be returning and hopefully they upgrade soon.

Came in on a Sunday evening and sat at the bar and was one of maybe 3 patrons in the restaurant.
The service was slow given the crowd.
The sushi came out at room temperature, which made me question how the fish was stored.
The edamame was salted prior to being delivered and it being salted was never mentioned on the menu.
When it came time to settle the bill it took 20 minutes to receive my change, granted I paid with a $ 100 bill.
All in all, I won’t be returning next time I’m in Chico.

Meh. So I went there today. First off, the waitress didn’t even tell us about happy hour, so we ended up paying 30 $ for two small rolls that were good but not great. I might come back but I’ll definitely be using happy hour to my advantage next time. Other than that, service was good, but you should always tell your customers about happy hour/​specials.

The food here was horrible. I asked for the tuna on top of the roll to be torched and I received a roll that tasted VERY strongly of propane gas. It was as if they turned on the torches gas and held it directly on the roll for a few seconds before starting the flame. It even reeked of propane from about a foot away when you would smell it. I asked the waiter about it and she tried to just tell me that that’s how torched rolls come out, but I’ve had them at many other restaurants and that has never been the case. They replaced my roll after some confrontation and I made sure to get it not torched this time to avoid any problems. It came covered in mayo and that was about all I could taste in the roll. This will be the last time I bring a group here a the food decreases in quality each time. The only positive part was that they did replace the roll for me. Very disappointed.

Good service. Sushi was fair. They were quick but there weren’t many people in the place. I don’t know if I would come back since there are better places in Chico to get sushi.

My new favorite sushi place! Everyone working there is super nice and the place is clean! No joke. And I love the «Jamie roll» (at least that’s how I think it is spelled) thanks to my gf. Whenever I think about sushi I think about this place. Definitely recommending this place to anyone who like me, loves sushi. I’m glad I tried this place out.

Sushi isn’t that extraordinary, but at least it’s edible and doesn’t taste bad.
They have their happy hours, which is great for some lunch with friends. The atmosphere is rather friendly, the service is not bad, and I like being away from the clustered student crowd (not that students don’t come here, there’s just less students plaguing the streets).

I recently went came here with a group of friends. I ordered their caterpillar roll and I was not a big of it. It was super small and plain. I was expecting it to be much more flavorful. I also had their lemonade, which I actually really like! I liked how it was had refills.

As a family we decided to go for my brother’s birthday. We arrive around 6:30 for a group of 4. There were about four other small groups seated when we arrived. There was one «hostess/​waitress» who was arranging the take-​out for people, those whom had arrived after us. She also proceeded to keep going into the back, completely avoiding us all together. Finally after approximately 15 minutes she seated us.
It then took another 15 minutes for a different «hostess/​waitress» to come and take our drink order. By that time we had already decided what food as well as drinks we had wanted to order. She was very distracted and came across as very rude.
20 minutes later our food arrived. We ordered four rolls and some edamame. The only thing remotely edible was the edamame. The sushi came slopped on the plates as if it was a school cafeteria meal. In addition to the horrible presentation the rice used to make the sushi was JASMINE RICE, not even SUSHI RICE. It fell apart immediately when you tried to grab it.
We barely ate anything, paid and left. Never to return again. The worst sushi we have ever had.

This is my go to place for any occasion friendly atmosphere love the people and the food is wonderful. I love sitting at the sushi bar and just watching all the great creations they make the great way to get ideas on what to order next

Best Sushi in Chico by far! I am a huge Sushi fan and have traveled far distances just to try new sushi spots and Gen Kai is by far the best quality in Chico. They have great prices, awesome service, fresh fish and delicious flavor combos. I would eat here every day if I could!

Made a reservation for Saturday night at 5:30pm for a group of 15. There were 3 other tables with people in the restaurant when we arrived. It was obvious that the waitress wanted to anywhere that day but serving us. It took over 20 minutes to get out drinks. We were less than 20′ from the bar and they sat there waiting for her to bring them to us for over 10 minutes. I was trying to play it cool and not make a scene but I almost lost it.
Our waitress has either never done this before in her life or is burned out from doing it her entire life and needs to retire. The rest of the night pretty much went as to be expected. A third of the food we ordered didn’t show up. We ordered 2 plates of calamari for the kids as their main course. l literally asked her 4 times when it would be out and she said they’re still working on it. It took over an hour from when we ordered the calamari until it made it to their table. By then they were all full from eating my edamame, salad and miso soup.
The worst part about this entire night and my review is that the sushi wasn’t good… it was great. All of the food that we actually did get was really good. They have a lot of unique rolls I haven’t seen before and they were all delicious.
We received our receipt at 7:30. We were there for 2 hours. When you walk into an empty restaurant and are seated imediatly and are litteraly 20′ from the bar and 15′ from the sushi station and it takes 2 hours to get your drinks and food you’ve got to think that there’s a real disconnect between the staff that’s transferring the order/​food from the table.
I’m sad to say but this is my first and last time here. On our next $ 475 sushi dinner we’ll be heading somewhere else.

Love this place! Awesome food. Good prices. Good people. 1 $ beers during happy hour. The Ahi Poki salad is bomb! The scallop shooters are bomb. All the sushi is made by well qualified sushi chefs.

Came in on Wednesday night, started off with some spicy jalapeño peach martinis! Next to the wasabi my spice needs were met! Ro was our server that night, completely attentive making sure we got our food and drinks quickly! As far as sushi goes in this town probably the most consistent! A good way to spend my day off!

I just got back from eating at this sushi bar and I will defiantly be returning. My friend and I were seated right away and were given options on where we wanted to sit. Not only did we order a variety of food, sushi and non sushi items, our food didn’t take long to get to us at all considering it’s a Friday night.
The food was amazing! The sushi wasn’t over powers by sauces and I being a person who likes cooked sushi rather than entirely raw sushi, I found so many cooked options! They also have noodles, tempura, and other things to accommodate non sushi lovers. The rolls were huge for the prices they offered, I’ve been to other sushi places around Chico and they defiantly give you more for your money.
The main reason why I gave them 5 stars is because our waitress was awesome! She was so prompt with even the smallest things like water and when we packed up to leave she gave us fresh wasabi and chopsticks to go without even asking her for them. I wasn’t able to try and alcoholic drinks there but others around the restaurant seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. Check this place out!

The sushi rolls were pretty darn tasty, but sweet Jesus the food took a lifetime to get to us. We sat there so long waiting for the second round of rolls, it felt like we hadn’t even eaten yet. They didn’t comp anything, they just smiled and shrugged and said sorry like idiot children running a lemonade stand that ran out of sugar. Mismanaged kitchen, ye be warned.
Food gets a 4, but the service/​kitchen gets a 1. So, overall it feels closer to a 2 than a 3. Some of the better tasting sushi I’ve had in Chico, but if I ever eat there again, I’m definitely calling my order in ahead of time so I can avoid the annoyance of that herein-​speed kitchen.

This is certainly not the Gen-​Kai I used to know and love. The service was excellent, the Wait-​staff friendly and helpful. Then it occurred to me. the place I loved was in a different location, owners have changed several times, and the times have changed.
The sushi was fresh and well made, although it looks like they changed from typical short grain sticky sushi rice to Cal-​rose (Genetically modified) rice. Instead of a little bit of sunomono I was given a larger than I needed lettuce based salad with a dressing that just did not thrill. The miso soup. often one of my favorites was less than thrilling. The tempura shrimp was the skinniest I have seen. making me wonder if larger shrimp were split down the middle. The atmosphere was more sports bar and bar-​bar. Eh music for a regular restaurant, a bit out of place for a Japanese one. Décor is very generic. Nice enough, but failed to create a mood for the food.
All in all, a bit less stereotypical Japanese and a bit more college student hangout. Maybe it is better for business, And for the most part the food was «good.» but I left less than thrilled.
The new Gen-​Kai is not for me.