Kampai Japanese Steak House

Great food! Golden shrimp are so so delicious! The best I ever had! Me and my husband went there on a busy sunday night. Even though it was packed we did not wait that long. It was our first time going there and will probably come back because of the great food, but only 4stars because of the host… zero customer service. We came and nobody greeted us. We stood by the host station good 5 min when she finally realized we are there. Oh. well not everyone can multitask I guess:)

This place was excellent! You have to look past the relatively small and unimpressing décor but the food speaks for itself. The prices are a lot steeper than other places I’ve been to in this niche of cuisine, but I found it worthwhile. You get about 6 little shrimp, a salad with yummy ginger dressing, an amazing soup, and what I thought, was a lot of food in addition to your choice of ice cream at the end. I got the salmon and filet combo and it was cooked perfectly and my salmon was delicious. Golden sauce is so good! Our friend got it and I tried his and it was killer. Our chef was excellent and entertaining and put on a little show for us which was cool. He tried to get a shrimp in my mouth and missed but that’s not his fault, I probably could have helped out a little bit. We had a lovely time! Our bill for six of us was just under $ 300 but we left stuffed and with a lot of to-​go containers.

When my wife and I got home from eating here this past Saturday night, both of us could’ve shot ourselves across the room we farted so much. And our clothes smell so strongly of cooking oil that I think it’s going to be a month before I get the smell out of my jacket.
But overall, it was a pleasant dining experience, and I’d come back here again. Just perhaps wearing less-​favored clothing.
Mind you, neither we, nor our friends who joined us were newbs when it comes to the teppanyaki experience. It wasn’t our first rodeo, so when the chef arrived to start the show, I think he was a bit surprised to find we were more engaged in our own conversations than in his performance. The three marinated women on the opposite side of the table who appeared to be indulging in a girls’ night out also seemed a bit disinterested in the performance.
I remember when we were kids taking dates to a dance it was always a popular option to take your date to a Japanese steakhouse beforehand. Why? Because you didn’t have to make awkward conversation and could instead focus on the presentation. But now 20 years later, things are a bit different.
Our chef did a nice job working the teppan with the presentation. He didn’t drop anything and he pulled out a few tricks we hadn’t seen before. The food was good, albeit a bit on the salty side, but our drinks were refilled quickly.
My one major complaint was the staggering prices. I don’t remember other comparable teppanyaki restaurants being quite this expensive. Our dining companions alleviated this with a Groupon, as did the ladies opposite us, but we weren’t aware that there was a discount available and had to swallow the full cost. I’d highly recommend looking for such a discount should you choose to dine here.
But otherwise, everything was just fine.

This Restaurant is unbelievable. It is a very entertaining spectrum. The food here is Fire AF. I don’t know what will happen 4 hours from now in the bathroo

Highly recommend. I used a Groupon. I forgot to make a reservation and to present the Groupon when arriving but they took us in anyway. Everyone was very friendly and attentive. Prices are reasonable. Our chef Gunner was amazing. We will definitely be going back.

The best Japanese Steakhouse in the Chicagoland area! Love, Love Love it :) There is only one improvement I feel should be made… Kampai should update their décor. Otherwise, you will not be disappointed.

My wife bought a groupon for this establishment and we came and used it this past Saturday evening. Our reservation was for 7:30 and we were seated just a few minutes after checking in.
Our waited named Calvin was great and was constantly refilling all of our beverages. I really like not having to ask for my water to be refilled and he was all over it.
We had a chef named Ruben and he did the customary entertainment that all teppanyaki chefs do before cooking. Unfortunately, as he was spinning the large fork utensil thing around the spatula, he lost control and it flew right toward my face. It missed my face by a few inches and landed on the floor next to me. I laughed it off and didn’t complain, but now that I think about it I’m pretty heated because I easily could’ve lost an eye. If he isn’t 100% confident in doing those tricks, he obviously shouldn’t have been doing them.
I ordered the garlic shrimp and sirlion combo which came with soup, salad, fried rice, veggies, and ice cream. I wasn’t fond of the steak which wasn’t well seasoned and sort of tough, but the shrimp was great and I’d definitely order it again. It is quite greasy though so be prepared for that. This combination and everything that came with it was $ 30.50 if memory serves. It’s not a bad deal given how much food you get, but I don’t think I could recommend this place over Benihana.

The Yu Yu Floating Sushi Bar is inside the Kampai Japanese Steakhouse and it is quite a hoot to eat at, not to mention GREAT sushi!
It’s a shallow stainless steel canal with a bunch of tiny wooden boats chained together so that they travel in a circle to offer their sushi cargo to hungry patrons who ring the perimeter. As strange as this sounds, and looks, it works. My wife and I actually started laughing when we saw it but we went with it and now we’re fans.
The sushi is great! It’s made by sushi chefs who are in the middle making fresh sushi to fill up the ships whose tiny cargo has been eaten. They charge by the color of the dish which is a pretty clever scheme. We spent $ 57 for two but we way over ate. We were stuffed.
I highly recommend this place. It was packed so we’re not alone.

Ive been to both the hibachi side and the sushi bar. The Hibachi is what you would expect, overpriced food for more of a show. The egg yolk sauce or whatever its called is great though. The sushi bar was spotty service. There are better places out there…

Nothing compares to the spicy garlic shrimp. That alone is worth checking this place out. My friends and family have been coming here for years and the food never ceases to amaze. The golden shrimp is a close second on my favorites list. Come hungry because you get a lot of food!

This place never has room for walk-​ins. Even on this Monday night at the time they just opened. Not the first time. Reservations are required for any day of the week. Rokbonki is so much more accommodating. Gah!
Just got an obnoxious «compliment» from Josh R., a restaurant guru, obviously:
«I like that you gave Kampai 1 star for always being busy, I guess you would give them 5 stars if they were always empty and on the verge of going out of business.»
Yes Josh, because that makes perfect sense. I would rate a restaurant with nobody in it and a going out of business sign FIVE stars. Can’t really «rate» a restaurant when you can NEVER eat there. Maybe you have stock in Kampai, but ratings aren’t just about the food. It’s the whole experience. Having finally eaten there once, it’s just an okay experience in a pretty «dirty» looking, needs updating room. Service is meh. Not even ordinary. Very forgettable. Even the GroupOn didn’t entice me enough. BUT clearly you are the foodie with the tastes of Kampai. Maybe you should save your sarcastic energy and get out of Mount Prospect to try some actual 4 and 5 star rated restaurants. Sorry, Josh, but you’re wrong. Thanks for the opportunity to let you know. I really cannot believe I wasted my good writing skills on the likes of you. Argh. Why are humans the worst species on Earth?

After years of driving past this place, I finally took the plunge. And it was well worth it.
We ate at the sushi section, where boats float around, slowly moving in a circuit with each boat containing a few plates for us to choose from.
The atmosphere was decent, though some music to add to the background noise would’ve been nice. The service was consistently attentive and exceptionally friendly.
The food was overall pretty tasty. The salmon nigiri and ikura were my favorites, and the fish/​egg portions were truly generous, notably more than another nearby revolving sushi restaurant. The presentation of the rolls wasn’t the absolute best, but the portion size and taste were excellent.

I’m a Benihana regular, but my friends wanted me to return to Kampai.
The décor in Kampai is very outdated. As you walk in they have so many signs posted, you can’t do this, you can’t do that etc. The places has no ventilation system, we still smell like Japanese food 24 hours later.
The staff is attentive and nice. The food is great, a bit more costly than other Japanese restaurants.

I’ve been obsessed with Kampai since I was 5 years old and have made my parents take me there for pretty much every birthday since my first visit back in the day [I’m 30 now and will continue this tradition as long as I’m able]. I don’t know if it’s because it’s familiar to me that I’m so enamored, or that I’ve eaten here what feels like a bajillion times, but regardless I’m in love.
I have to admit I’ve ordered the same thing every time I’ve eaten there: filet (medium rare) & golden shrimp with fried rice and 2 soups, no salad. The food has been consistently delicious and I’d eat it any day [though the egg sauce is a heart attack waiting to happen, so I probably wouldn’t eat it every day, because, well, I want to live]. But, if I was going to choose my last meal, it would almost certainly be this.
The service is generally pretty smooth, but I’ll admit it can be hard to get a refill on water or a drink when it’s busy.
Bonus Tip: If you’re drinking, the Blue Hawaiian is my favorite.

This review is only for their sushi bar, as I did not have the opportunity to visit the other side of their restaurant.
I had lunch with my boyfriend at the sushi bar during our trip to Illinois. Initially, I was a bit skeptical since we were the only two guests. However, our servers were still very polite and patient with us. They promptly sat us at our table and gave us water, and since we were the only two guests, our food came up extremely quickly as well. I was also very thrilled to learn that there was an entirely vegan sushi roll, since that seems to be fairly rare at sushi bars. Unfortunately, the roll did slightly come apart, but it was still pretty good.
We also ordered a vegetable tempura, which was a little bit of a disappointment. My boyfriend and I have had sushi and tempura at many places (all across California) and the tempura just didn’t meet our expectations.
We were too nervous to order a lot of raw fish, since it is a hazard if not properly cleansed – and we had no idea how reliable the restaurant was, especially as the only customers. However, we both ended up just fine with no food poisoning – yay!
I probably will not return just for the sake of geographic location (all the way here in California), however I do wish I had the opportunity to try to other side of the restaurant. Overall, the food and service were not bad and I do recommend!

Great service, nice ambiance and fresh food.
Our chef Reuben was great. He planned the cooking and cooked the meal to its best. I ordered sirloin steak and scallop. Scallops were so fresh. My husband ordered salmon and scallop. The salmon came with teriyaki sauce, which is amazing!
The soup and salad filled me up. They also gave generous portion of rice and teppan veggies!
Overall, we like it.

Been coming here almost 20 years! I love this place! Im a chef and I love this place. Hoghly recommend the steak combination with salmon, shrimp flambé and all cooked medium rare!

Kampai is definitely a place worth experimenting at, but it wouldn’t be my go-​to restaurant in the future. This was my first experience at a hibachi grill steak house and I’ve been told that it’s similar to a Benihana (which I have also not been to). As I walked into the restaurant the lighting was ambient and the interior was well-​decorated (I can’t help but note the interior design of places — aesthetics is my middle name). We were greeted and sat at a table with 6 other people who had come to eat dinner. Although you don’t have to make reservations, it is extremely beneficial if you do so because the type of seating requires that a table seats 8 people before a cook comes over to the grille. If you don’t make reservations it is likely that you will be waiting to be seated for a while so do yourself a favor and call ahead.
I thought it was a little strange to sit with strangers, but since that is the nature of this type of restaurant I accepted it. It can actually be fun to sit with and converse with strangers. Anyways, the drinks were good and you can even order some drinks in a figurine mug that you get to keep (I got a geisha mug and my fiancé got a ninja mug — super awesome). This was definitely the highlight of the meal.
Our cook was the least experienced one so the show we received when he was cooking our food was not quite as impressive as some of the others (though I feel that’s a little picky)…but our cook was extremely sweet! All of the food was cooked right in front of us and honestly, that was pretty cool! The fried rice, which comes with all the entrees, was under — cooked, but that was pretty much my only complaint with the food.
I think this was a nice experience, but I just don’t think it’s my forte… but who knows it could be something that you love!

Be very careful. I paid by credit card and a few days later I got a fraud call from the credit card company — that card number was being used in Europe. Pay by cash if you can.
Food is good otherwise. :)

The absolute only reason I’m giving 3 stars is because the food was decent. First we call to see if we can come in at 8:30pm they said yes. Then we get there and find the place seats until 8:30pm and so we are rushed to order because everything is shutting down … Mind you almost all the tables are full. It is about 100 degrees in the place, no accommodation because the habachi tables are so hot. Way over priced for the décor being so cheap. Not worth coming here again… That’s for sure.
Gunner, the chef was very polite and tried to make us as comfortable as possible. The only one who did!