Visited for the first time last Sunday. Arrived at 8pm (closing is 10pm) and it took a while to seat us. Waiter was above and beyond kind and helpful, and we enjoyed our experience ordering. The buffet was already picked over and not being refilled when we made our way over shortly after ordering for hotpot and bbq. Was pretty sloppy looking too. Bathrooms were a horror show - the family bathroom looked worse than a port-a-potty, which was a major turn off. After seeing that, everything just seemed kind of ick. At that point, we had already sunk $45 per person and there was no turning back, so we made the best of it. Cocktails were the one bright spot. Two of our party did get upset tummies in the middle of the night, so I don't think we'd return. Seems like a lot of money was invested in this operation, they need more staff or better trained staff to keep it hygienic and enjoyable. read more

This could be just me not being very objective, but I now believe that two of the planet's top Asian buffets are located on Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland! For the other one, find it in my earlier reviews... cough... cough. For this one, let me start by saying WOWOLA! WOWINSKI! I went to get my annual eye exam, and my doctor's office is located on this strip mall in Rockville Pike, which is essentially miles and miles of strip malls. I finished earlier than planned, was hungry, and I strolled down the sidewalk to scan a place to eat. I thus discovered Kanpai, which looked new, a fact that I confirmed when I got to talk to my waiter. Kanpai has been open for a few months, but the grand opening was just a few weeks ago. Kanpai raises the bar for a buffet restaurant. Point in case: most tables have a built-in hot plate and a built-in stove, so that if you order a BBQ, etc., it gets delivered to you by a robotic waiter, and you can cook it right then and there, or a waiter will cook it for you! Fresh!!! Notice that I said "robot," as Kanpai has a small army of robots on wheels delivering food to the tables! Each table comes with an iPad, which can be used to place orders, add to orders, etc., which then the R2D2s of the restaurant world efficiently and talkatively (yes, they talk) deliver to your table. For old-fashioned buffeterians like me, you can also stroll to the buffet area and chow down on an impressive selection of mostly South Asian dishes, fresh fruits, loads of desserts and ice creams. The seafood soup was packed with fish, shrimp, etc., and was delicious! I was there for lunch, and the place was very busy, but I walked right in. The service is really top notch, and my waiter Andy was really good at explaining using the iPad to order. There is also an impressive assortment of drinks included in the buffet price, and I loved my green Thai tea! I also recommend the sticky rice pudding with mango - homerun in Yummy town! I asked and was told that weekends are super busy, with a 30-minute wait or so, but most weekdays, although busy, can easily accommodate walk-ins. Prices were really good, and they also offer a 10% military discount. Oh yeah! Give Andy a bonus for being so attentive and helpful... Kanpai gets my highest recommendation! read more

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This is probably one of the nicer Korean barbecue places I've been to. I really love the interior design of this location making it feel a little more upscale. The menu is pretty standard for KBBQ spot and very delicious. Definitely on the higher end flavor wise from my experience. The service was very attentive with your typical order on an iPad but still access to a server. I will definitely be coming back for another visit soon! read more

I have been to a couple all you can eat KBBQ/ HotPot spots in Rockville and this is by far the best one for both! The ambiance feels as if you're on vacation. It's so nice inside and they place great music. The service was very friendly and helpful. There are also robots that go around the restaurant dropping off food. Really cool! It also feels really clean in the restaurant, which for me is really important. Each table gets an IPad and you order all meats, produce, broths, and drinks through it. The food was all very fresh and flavorful. The buffet was clean and had so many variety such as ribs, pad Thai, fried rice, curry soup and more. There is also a sauce/toppings bar. Once you are all done you can make your way to the dessert area and pick out anything you want such as cheesecake, ice cream, and coconut jello shaped as bunny's . We had a time limit of 1hr and 45minutes. Don't know if this changes depending the size of the party. Also, since it was my friend's birthday they came out and sang her a birthday jingle and gave her a refresher. Will definitely be going back! Loved this experience! read more

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Came here for a group gathering, and it did not disappoint. Fantastic combination of hot pot, Asian barbecue, and buffet. Everything from appetizers, mains, and desserts. Considering the prices of restaurants in the area these days, the AYCA was definitely worth it. Food was fresh. Staff was helpful. We also saw three birthday celebrations where staff sang the most hilarious happy birthday song to help celebrate. So fun, so delicious, we will be back. There is a small plaza for parking which can be quite crowded, but there is a larger a lot in the back. read more

Get the LAKSA SOUP BROTH! Such a great addition to the DMV hot pot & BBQ scene! Southeast Asian-focused menu with hot pot, BBQ, and buffet options. The meat quality was excellent, and the buffet had surprises like crab legs, crawfish, and deep-fried soft-shell crab. Fresh roti was a must, and the sauce bar was solid with banchan, kimchi, and papaya salad that paired perfectly with the grilled meats. Drinks are included, but the unlimited Thai iced tea and Thai green tea stole the show. Ended strong with desserts--mango sticky rice and the coconut pudding bunny were . Definitely worth checking out! read more

Kanpai - Ice cream, coconut pudding bunny and sesame ball - Asian Fusion Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

My husband and I decided to come here for lunch during the week day! We've been wanting to try it because it has both hot pot and Korean BBQ. We did the all you can eat for the total menu which included the hot pot, bbq, as well as the buffet, which came out to $28 per person. We had great service and our waitress was kind and patient as she explained to us how the process works from ordering on the iPad to approximately how long to cook everything. Overall, the food was good, but I wonder if coming during dinner would've improved some of our options as some of the premium proteins are only available at dinner. If I'm being completely honest, I've had both better hot pot as well as better bbq at other restaurants, but I haven't been to a restaurant that offers both as well as a buffet. I think for those reasons, this restaurant is worth a try because of how much you have to choose from. The buffet was okay, nothing particularly stuck out to me as a "must try" or was exceptionally delicious, but I love that it had an array of food ranging from soups, salads, seafoods, meats, fried food and desserts. From what I did try in the buffet, which included the pineapple fried rice, fried chicken dumplings, spring rolls, and the seaweed salad, I did enjoy these and felt they were fresh and had great flavor. The bbq choices for meat were good but limited at lunch. We found our favorites to be the sweet garlic pork and brisket as it had a nice sweet flavor. I would definitely order these options again if doing BBQ. As for hot pot, I thought it was good. Had a decent choice of veggies and proteins as well as broths to choose from. I'm definitely not a hot pot expert but I liked this enough that I would order this again. Although I wasn't completely wowed by all the food, I did enjoy it and think it would be a good place to come to if you're trying to have a large selection of options with people who have various interests. I thought the restaurant was clean which I believe is a must, especially when raw food is around. I would come here again but mostly so that it can satisfy everyone's preferences on what they'd like to eat. I also want to come back during dinner time to see if maybe the increased options for proteins to choose from increases my rating. If you haven't tried Kanpai yet, you should give it a try, especially if you enjoy having a large selection of items to choose from like bbq, hot pot and buffet! read more

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Such a fun AYCE experience here!! But can be quite overwhelming since there are 3 different components: Southeast Asian buffet, BBQ, and Shabu Shabu. $28 for weekday lunch and $45 for dinner, weekends, and holidays. The dinner does include more premium items like snow crab legs. The AYCE does include drinks like Thai Tea!!! Overall, really loved the buffet portion the most since most things were so flavorful, fresh, and delicious. The snow crab legs were disappointing since they were super watery and not meaty. We did love yellow curry, ribs, pad thai, ceasar salad, papaya salad, mango sticky rice, egg tart, and coconut sago. The BBQ was not as impressive since the marinades were not that flavorful. Also our server kept forgetting about our grill and overcooked many items (it was super busy on a Sunday lunch). There was a sauce bar for the BBQ, but didn't get as much time to it (90 min time limit). The Shabu Shabu was good tho! Not as many options and variety as typical hot pot spots tho. Would definitely come back to focus on 2 components only! read more

So many Asian restaurants have opened on the Pike in 2024, they all have a unique little niche. I would say Kanpai falls into the BBQ and shabu-shabu hotpot category. We ordered a grill selection and a hotpot selection for a party of three and had our fill with very good quality meats and hotpot ingredients. They have a buffet, but I'm not sure it's worth going for the buffet alone - the choices were minimal, and the quality was standard. The buffet was a nice break from the grill/hotpot, but it was best as a diversion. Clearly the attraction here is the grill at the table and the shabu-shabu hotpot. One piece of advice, make sure you know what you're ordering and how to order. Take the time to get clarity from your server before things get out of control - it will make for a much better experience. Otherwise, come with an empty belly because you'll walk away full! read more

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Yet another amazing experience at Kanpai. The service was top tier and the Galbi? THE GALBI?! It was superb. The ambiance is always solid and the music - a mix of Neo Soul and top 40 - fit the vibe perfectly. I need to experiment more with the buffet, but the shabu shabu was none too shabby. Little by little, it's becoming my favorite spot in Rockville for BBQ. I'll see you guys soon! read more

We came on soft opening weekend, definitely did not disappoint and I have to say worth my $45/pp, even my friend agreed to that! We came in our name down and told it would be 45 mins but got the text sooner than that. There is option of WL on Yelp at the time, so might want to check that for future reference. The inside of the restaurant itself were well decor with nice modern touch all around. For the ayce price, you get hot pot/bbq just as any other places in the area. What strikes me the most were the included Buffet options. From salads, all appetizers, chicken wings, spring rolls, my favorite seafood pineapple fried rice (so good), to all the cute and tasty dessert options. Oh drink was included too... I had my Thai iced tea as usual. There was a little miscommunication in the kitchen or with our tablet then (dunno) that we ended up receiving nearly double orders of everything, and missing a few.. lol. But no big deal, our awesome server Michael was on top of things and made sure we weren't going to be charged extras due to system error. OH and they have the little robot delivering our items to the table. They do have the Buffett options only which if I remember correctly, $23.99 for weekdays opening- 4pm. So there's an option if you only wanted those, which I'd say would already be worth it. Most definitely will be back here again! read more

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we went there on Monday lunch time to try their buffet&bbq. Buffet selection is not huge, but there are crab legs w corn,mussels, crayfish, soft shell crab, tiny takoyaki like,shrimp tempura. I actually prefer the soft shell crabs here, in comparison to bland one from Umi. I love the coconut gelatin bunnies. No artificial flavor. Usually I hate coconut and cherry flavors. The pumpkin soup dessert is also nice, derived from Indonesian version of kolak. From bbq stand point, my favs are cumin lamb and hokkaido scallops. Cute robots to bring your meat. Honey, Connie, and there might be another one. Each has different voice too. Initially the eaiter would help you to cook your food. We didn't try the shabu2.They have snakefish on the selection too. Nice ambiance and pretty good food ,even for lunchkolar. Friendly waiters as well. Good experience. If you want comparison w Umi, they have huge selection of buffet, but no bbq. Kanpai has price for buffet only or ayce that includes bbq and shabu2, as well as the buffet. 90 mins time limit. Kpot has awesome korean bbq and add extra $ if you want to do both hot pot and bbq. Recently, they also offers sushi and crab legs as well. I haven't been there since the new addition, but I love that place. If you love seafood ayce, go for Hook&reel. Kanpai has nice atmosphere that looks more upscale. Your clothes and hair won't smell much in comparison to other kbbq spot. read more

Kanpai - Asian Fusion Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

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As soon as you step in, you will be happy to see that the place looks very clean and modern. Unlike some other restaurants offering similar dishes, Kanpai looks more upscale and trendy. During the weekdays, they offer two choices: buffet only or buffet with bbq and hotpot. Currently, lunch prices are as indicated in the photo below. Weeknights and weekends offer one flat price for the buffet and BBQ / hotpot at $45 pp. they do offer special discounts to seniors, military etc. Although mostly self serve, the staff is around to help with anything you need. We did just the buffet this time but will definitely come back to try the BBQ/hotpot. read more

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I am here to update my review from 4 to 5 stars! I have gone 4 times again since my first review and the service is always great. I've brought different friends here who are always impressed and I find myself wanting to go back! They added mango sticky rice to the dessert which was delicious. I probably had about 2-3! Great spot read more

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Lots of choices and a pretty decor. We didn't know what to expect when we went to Kanpai. I would suggest getting your food in increments because by the time we finally sat down and started cooking our food on the barbecue and making the hot pot soup it was a lot And kind of overwhelming. Everything was very tasty. Lots of selections. My favorite was the hot pot soup with the vegetable broth. My fiancé liked his chicken and pork broth or the original. the ribeye over the barbecue was excellent but again pace yourself. You get an hour and a half to eat, which was more than enough time. . The buffet was amazing. It had king crab, legs, and dumplings and crawfish and shrimp tempura. Our waiter was wonderful and helped explain how things worked. He came back and turned up and down our stoves. they cleared our plates frequently! highly recommend going and if you have a party, it would be fun. They have room to have 20+ people at one table. read more

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I first visited when they first opened and I've since returned twice. Their buffet is great and there is truly enough to just have that alone. But really, with the meats and hot pots, it's hard to resist. I found the waiters to be attentive and helpful. The place is large and they are easily able to accommodate larger good groups. Pro Tip: Try something that you normally wouldn't. read more

Counter staff amazingly friendly and helpful!!! Walked in and was warmly greeted and offered a ton of suggestions. Like I was a regular customer. Delicious bowls, overflowing with extras. I have to go back soon !!! read more

I love this buffet! So much variety and everything is well done. You get all you can eat bbq and hot pot, plus buffet. Don't miss out on the mango sticky rice dessert! Best to try to come early. Service is usually quick. You order on iPad and it's delivered on a little robot. For dinner price you get crab legs which are so good! Highly recommend the kbbq. And the green thai tea is addicting--you've been warned! read more

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Went with a bunch of friends that have never had shabu-shabu or Asian BBQ before. So it was a fun experience. We got to partake from the buffet, little pots for Shabu Shabu and the Asian bbq. Meat quality was really good. I don't eat beef, but friends said it was tasty. Buffet had a lot of seafood and fried foods. So they're was plenty of options. We had Victor as our server. Really nice and attentive. He explained everything, helped cook for the BBQ and kept up with our drinks. Nice experience. The decor is pretty. Exhaust fans seemed to be high power without all the noise. Our clothes didn't smell when we left. Lol Parking is crazy. Circled the lies twice before ending up at the bottom of the parking garage and having to walk up the side of the building. Hoping that when things settle down some, parking won't be such a mess. If you need to do anything by a certain time in the shopping center, you're going to need to be there early just to find parking. read more

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Relatives told me about this place so decided to come here for dinner for the 7 of us. Our waiter was really nice and helpful throughout dinner (refilling drinks, changing grills, etc) so props to her! This place hasn't been open a year so everything looks and feels new, and it has a little nice feel than your usual KBBQ spots. It also had a hotpot and a buffet of sides (satays, dumplings, wings, shrimp tempura, dessert, etc) available. The meats were good, and came out pretty quickly when we ordered. I recommend ordering another set of meats about halfway cooking the previous set so it gives you a little time to eat. The sweet garlic pork belly was a pleasant surprise. Lunch is $28 and dinner is $45, the only difference being beef tongue, galbi, and ribeye are available at dinner. We certainly ordered a lot of galbi and ribeye for this reason alone. I felt this was a little bit of gap between lunch and dinner prices, so I feel the dinner price could be about $5 cheaper. Good place overall. read more

The drinks were amazing and food were slightly above Buffett tier food but they were good. I loved the option to have kbbq or hotpot. We got the couch section so the scenery by the window and the vibes were great. Our server was pretty attentive and checked in every so often to see if we needed anything. Overall the experience was pretty great. Would recommend. read more

Kanpai - Mango Daiquiri w/ Hotpot & KBBQ + Buffett Items - Asian Fusion Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

Came here with a group of 4 for a Saturday lunch at noon, right when they opened. On weekends, it's one fixed price of $45 AYCE all day, regardless if you go for lunch or dinner. Most of the drinks are included like the Thai tea & green Thai tea (both were good) and some sodas, while there's a small surcharge for the Yuzu drinks. Good service for the most part. Beautiful decor and very clean, which makes the restaurant look more upscale and sets them apart from other hotpot/kbbq places. BUFFET -Good quality of food for the buffet. Enjoyed the snow crabs and soft shell crabs from the buffet. -Ice cream freezer in the small dessert area was completely EMPTY, which I think is weird and I feel like all offerings should be properly stocked if you're paying for the higher dinner price at lunch time. HOT POT -Hot pot was just okay for me - not enough ingredient options and didn't like how 1 order of meat comes out and you immediately realize it's not enough for even one person, so you have to place another order right away. - They have a 5 item limit per each time you order on the tablet. Have been to many other AYCE hot pot where they aren't this strict/stingy about ordering. Totally understand not wanting to waste food, but the amount that came out each time was ridiculous. -Some items we ordered on the tablet never came out, or the wrong thing was brought. For example, ordered lobster balls but we randomly got brought a plate of tripe. KBBQ -Similar to the hot pot, limited options. I think it was about 4 or 5 meat options and I only really remember the king mushrooms for the non-meats. -For example, 1 order of galbi is literally 1 piece/slice of galbi on a plate. So this means if you want 5 pieces of the galbi, you have to order a quantity of 5 and that would be your 5 items for that "round" of order. -You basically have to use up your "5 items limit" every time just to order enough of one item so that everyone at the table could try it, so it was a lot of waiting around before our small group of 4 could start feeling full. Finally, I thought 90 mins was definitely not enough time to be able to fully enjoy the buffet, hot pot, and KBBQ. It felt rushed and our server did come by to let us know when we had 5 mins left. They should increase the time limit to 2 hours, like other AYCE spots. read more

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First time here, party of three, came for dinner on Saturday at 5:45PM and no wait. The place is beautiful inside and it's spacious, with room for customers and delivery robots to move about freely. There's definitely a lot going on at this restaurant and you should definitely come hungry! Our waitress, Amy C. was great. She explained the process, helped us with some of the ordering, grilling and was attentive (refilling drinks/ensuring we had what we wanted/replacing grill). We also ordered through the iPad, which was easy and the staff and/or robots seemed to bring the items almost instantly after the order was placed, never waited long for anything. We decided to start with Shabu Shabu/hot pot. It was cool because one large pot could cook two different broths at the same time. Daughter had Original soup base, husband and I had the spicy soup base. We added vegetables (corn/taro/potatoes), beef and chicken, even dumplings and udon noodles. I really enjoyed the Shabu Shabu (I ate it continuously throughout our dinner) had the right amount of kick. Then we moved on to the buffet, they had cooked food (dumplings/wings/snow crab legs), a salad, fruit, dessert, sauce/condiments sections. Great selection of food, given we still had grill meats to go. For grilled meats, we tried almost all the beefs, satay chicken, regular and garlic pork belly, even a small piece of salmon, all great. Manager also came by at one point to ask how we were doing and that they're still in a "soft opening" mode, so open to customer suggestions. I mentioned I tried making a reservation online but the restaurant doesn't allow for reservations for parties less than 5. Honestly, that is my only real complaint, however the manager assured us that they encourage walk ins for smaller parties given they usually have tables. For $45, you get a ton of food, hot pot, even some drinks, I had the Green Thai Tea, which I enjoyed. We will definitely return! read more

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Another AYCE hot pot/BBQ place in Rockville like KPot, Hulu Skewers and others, but what differentiates this place is their buffet. Went last Friday, got there around 5:30 PM and there was no wait. They don't have their alcohol license until November so that was a bummer. At first, it's a little overwhelming and they only give you a 90-minute time limit, so you feel a little rushed to order everything in the iPad, cook and eat everything. Dinner is $45 a person. From the hot food bar, the crab legs are the best. They are perfectly steamed- wish they had clarified butter though. I must of ate five plates worth, so I was a little too full to enjoy the rest of the food. They did have sautéed soft-shell crabs and crab legs and a lot of other food such as ribs, dumplings, spring rolls, noodles, Thai food and desserts in their buffet. For the BBQ, I would just stick with the ribeye as the brisket and galbi was really tough, which is a shame. They should tenderize the meat cause it's a waste of good beef. I did like the pork belly. They have plenty of sauces in their sauce station that complement both the hot pot and BBQ. Hot pot was good, but wish they had more soup broth choices such as mala and pork bone broth. It's more Japanese soup broths. If you sit in a larger table, you can only have the one large pot which I am not a fan of. I wish all the tables had individual pots. I'll be back after their grand opening next month. Hopefully they will iron out some of the issues. The restaurant is really nice inside but the parking sucks. If it's full, you have to park in the back. read more

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Kevin has been very attentive and helpful with our party of 10 table. Very nice atmosphere and very helpful staff!

Always crowded. You have to get there to put yourself on the reservation. They do not allow reservation by phone for our party of 2. Great value for a weekday lunch hour at $29, you can do the buffet + hotpot +bbq. A little pricy for evening and weekend price of $45 with minimal addition to the menu. They have softshell crabs, which were delicicious. The servers always appear so cheerful, and help us with our grills. Parking is tough but apparently there are parking in the back read more

I didn't realize Kanpai was still under their soft opening, but I learned they were waiting until they got their liquor license approved before having their grand opening, which they recently received. I went this past Monday, which was a holiday, and so the pricing was all day dinner - $45/pp. I've been a few times for lunch since my first visit, so this was the first time for "dinner". I didn't think there was a drastic difference between the normal lunch items and "dinner" items on the buffet bar, but I did enjoy the soft shell crab and snow crab legs. There were more items available for the grill though - such as marinated kalbi, ribeye steak, and beef tongue. I highly recommend the kalbi. The ribeye steak was thinly cut, so be careful not to overcook it. They also recently instituted a limit of 5 orders per category, so for example 5 beef item orders. We didn't do the hot pot this time - but their hot pot is great as well. I enjoy their shabu shabu broth and laksa broth. For those with nut allergies - the pineapple fried rice does contain cashews. I do appreciate that there are small signs near each food item with a list of ingredients and possible allergens. Shout out again to Austin - he was incredibly attentive and stopped by regularly to help us grill our meat. The other servers have been great as well, but Austin definitely goes above and beyond. Last but not least, don't forget to enter your phone number for points before you checkout! I forgot last time, but I won't in the future. read more

My friends and I came here opening week. We arrived on a busy Thursday and luckily even with the large crowds we had to wait 30 minutes. When you arrive they have these nice plush green chairs on the left. Seating in this area has individual shabu shabu for 5 people in your party. Dining in the other areas have shared shabu. We kept talking about the ambience here. It had Tulum vibes with the light fixtures and EDM music. They feature private dining rooms and a large hot food bar as well. Some of the premium items we enjoyed here were the galbi, Australian beef, Hokkaido scallops, roti canai, chicken skewers, duck larb and the snow crabs. The hot food bar was so good you can eat that food alone. The quality of the meats and seasoning were very high. We really enjoyed our experience here. Even opening week you think they would have some hiccups, but our server was attentive and food was on point. You cannot find a restaurant in the area with this many premium items for the price. Highly recommend giving yourself 30-60 minute wait time. Great place to bring the family and kids as well. They had seating for large parties. read more

The food and meat were fresh and delicious, and our server was very nice and took good care of us. read more

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Great value for $45 per person for dinner. Weekend they do all day dinner. With so much appetizers and good selection of sauces for dipping. iPad order for foods which is very convenient , except for drinks. Delicious hotpot base and quality meats. Meats are lightly marinated allow customers to taste original meat flavor without masking it with heavy sauce. Soft shell crab was yummy, not a fan of the crab legs. Wonderful dessert selections, love the mango sticky rice and pumpkin coconut soup. Bright and open interior. Friendly and efficient service. Parking can be a bit tight especially during dinner time. Definitely recommend. read more

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The restaurant is beautiful inside with plenty of dining areas all separated by how big your party is. There's rooms tucked on the side for 4 and out mainly for bigger groups. Service was really fast and quality. She kept checking in and food came out correctly and fast. We came during dinner on Sunday and was seated almost right away. The buffet was refilled often and delicious. I think it's a 8 or 8.5/10 across the board for hotpot/kkbq/buffet. It was $45 pp dinner weekend as of this review. I'll definitely come here over Umi that place is inferior and not good service compared to Kanpai. read more

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I went to Kanpai for the first time in September 2025. The place was very beautiful visually and the service was great! But I wouldn't recommend this place because the food is subpar. Dinner on a Saturday night for an adult is $45 per person which includes the buffet, hot pot, and bbq. But with a lot of things, because it's three different menus I think they can't spend the money or the attention on each thing. The buffet was nice but the curries were sickening sweet. The bbq meat was terrible and had a weird texture and taste to it. The hot pot was decent but it wasn't as good as Urban. Would I go back? Probably not. Too expensive. Would I recommend this place, again probably not. I would rather just go to a Kbbq place or a hot pot place. Great try though. read more

Came here the 2nd week they opened on a Thursday for lunch. The restaurant was pretty busy when we got there but didn't have to wait long to be seated (less than 5 mins). The restaurant is very pretty on the inside. Definitely doesn't feel like you're eating at a buffet. We opted for the buffet, shabu shabu, and bbq. All 3 for lunch was around $35 per person. Everything was very tasty. I would definitely come back. read more

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Kanpai BBQ & Shabu Shabu - An Epic Food Marathon! It was grand opening week at Kanpai BBQ & Shabu Shabu, and I couldn't resist checking it out with a friend. We decided to go around 9 pm, and even at that hour, the place was buzzing -- packed tables, sizzling grills, and everyone happily digging into plates of food. It was all you can eat for $45 per person, which covered hot pot, BBQ, and access to the buffet -- basically a dream come true for two foodies ready to feast. And feast, we did. My buddy and I literally did not stop ordering food for 90 minutes straight. The ribeye steak? Amazing. The marinated galbi? Even better. Perfectly seasoned, tender, and grilled to perfection -- I could've eaten those two all night, and honestly, I think we probably ordered at least 9 plates of each (and could have gone for more). We also tried the beef tongue, satay beef, and shabu shabu hot pot, which were all fantastic, but I kept going back to that ribeye and galbi. Dessert was just as epic: cheesecake, cheesecake bites, and mango sticky rice that hit the sweet spot perfectly after all that savory goodness. And shoutout to Kelly, who served us with a smile, patiently explained how to navigate the whole process, and made sure we never ran out of anything. Our host was delightful too, waving us off as we left and even joining her team for their dinner -- you could feel that sense of community and fun, even from the staff. Kanpai BBQ & Shabu Shabu is the place to go if you're looking to treat yourself to an epic night of endless food, great vibes, and fantastic service. Trust me, once you start, you won't want to stop ordering. read more

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When you open a brand new AYCE restaurant, it needs to differentiate itself from others or else why bother, right? The same group that brought to you Gyu Shige, Southeast Impression, Urban Hotpot, etc., you know they will do it right Other than Las Vegas, you don't see this kind of nice ambience for AYCE restaurants. I love the decorations here. The inside is a lot bigger and brighter. I came here during lunch and didn't have to wait long. Surprisingly, a lot of people are here for lunch considering this is still their soft opening. Now, they have many locations in the US so this is just a local franchise. The price for lunch is comparable to others around the DMV. $35 for lunch and $45 for dinner. Dinner includes more selections such as snow crab, ribeyes for BBQ, and few others. You can see that in the mini iPad they have at the table. Just like Urban Hotpot, you use the iPad and order the items for your hotpot or bbq. They will bring them out to you. I decided to do BBQ first since I'm starving. The meats taste great and fresh. That's a plus. For the hotpot I chose the Shabu broth. Yummy. Flavor is perfect, not bland. They offer snakehead which is the first time I see at a restaurant here. I love fishing for snakeheads since they're are the best fresh water fish that I've ever had. Once again, everything is fresh and delicious. Service is great for a new restaurant. Our server is very knowledgeable and came from Gyu Shige. This place is definitely a great challenge to Kpot. I feel the food is so much better. Will be back again for dinner and hope they will add more items to their menu just Iike other locations. read more

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Dont walk, run there. The restaurant interior outmatches any high end restaurants in DC. Spaciously designed it was comfortable and relaxing. Upbeat music playing in the background and a team of energetic attentive staff. The hot buffet offered a variety of food ranging from Thai food to rendang to crab legs. I didnt try many it was just too much food but the shrimp tempura was well executed. The sauce station also offered a wider variety of dipping sauce including tangy Thai sauce. We tried both the shabu hotpot and Kbbq. We did move to another table that offered individual small pots instead of the bigger shared pots. One thing confusing with most hotpot/kbbq is when meats came all at once we were overwhelmed and didnt know which ones are for which. Perhaps a differentiation in plate color or tag for hotpot and for kbbq. Overall we were impressed with the quality of the meats - galbi, pork belly etc fav being the satay beef it was so tender and nicely spiced reminded me of home. The seafood such as bass, Japan scallops and NZ mussels were so fresh and flavorful! Even for desserts the fresh strawberries, mango shaved ice, macaron and chocolate cheesecake were good quality and palatable. The shaved ice was not offered yet but the manager was so kind to give my son a preview! Having tried lots of ayce in the area, I rank this restaurant #1 for its excellent meat/seafood quality and #1 ambience/music for the area, it was worth the value, compared to even the newer one in the next shopping strip which was a few dollar less with F quality food!! read more

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Loved the theme of the place and I recently ate there for the first time for my birthday with my boyfriend. The concept of both hotpot, bbq + buffet were really fun but hotpot & bbq tables were a bit awkward to use with only two ppl. Our server was really kind but ultimately allowed a loud & drunk group of people to totally take over the TV in our section once they sat down. Food was honestly disappointing to my boyfriend and I :( we've tried lots of k-bbq in the DMV but to Kanpai we won't be returning. The meat was chewy, came frozen and flavors weren't really as good or as seasoned as portrayed on the menu. We also both got !food poisoning! and I'm still suffering while writing this review. The only thing I enjoyed was my drink. But yes, $45 per person + tax just for food poisoning the day after my birthday . read more

The food was good, the ambiance was great, the staff were even better! Very accommodating to my group, much appreciated, would recommend! read more

Kanpai - The food was good, the ambiance was great, The staff are even better! They were very accommodating to my group! Would recommend! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

Today I treated myself to lunch at one of those big pan-Asian Hotpot / BBQ restaurants on Rockville Pike -- I've been curious about them for years now!! It's not the right place for folks who have trouble making decisions, because you're hit with hundreds of them within the first 10 minutes in the restaurant! Buffet for $22, or buffet, hotpot, and BBQ for $28? Free beverage or a beverage that costs extra? (Yes, they have cocktails!) Then, once you've decided to have hotpot and BBQ, you're given a tablet with a bewildering array of meats, seafood, noodles, and vegetables to simmer in the soup and cook on the tabletop grill. You even have a huge choice of different broth flavors. Once you've entered your choices on the tablet, you wait for 5 minutes, and then a ROBOT (not kidding about this) glides over to your table loaded with trays full of ingredients and tells you (in a disarmingly cute little kid's voice) to take your food and enjoy your meal! Dipping sauces, deep-fried snacks, seafood, curries, sauteed dishes, and desserts can all be chosen from the buffet, and the robot can't do *that* for you, so you do get a bit of exercise. Then you set to work lowering your ingredients into the bubbling broth and spreading them out on the grill to sizzle... and while you wait, you eat the things you got from the buffet with your tall insulated metal tumbler of hot tea. The whole thing is an experience in pacing yourself, because it's All You Can Eat, and you don't want to stuff yourself, but neither do you want to waste food. One thing is for sure: After lunch at Kanpai, YOU WILL NEVER. NEED. TO. EAT. AGAIN. read more

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I came here with my husband on Valentines day and it was packed. We waited for 1.5hrs and the food and experience was worth the wait. Although Kanpai offers Southeast Asian buffet, bbq and hotpot, you can still find some Korean style meat marination, which was delicious btw. My favorite protein was the squid and sweet garlic pork and beef. They were really flavorful. There were also other Southeast Asian style marination like pork/chicken sate. I My highlights were actually the unlimited papaya salad and green thai iced tea. I got like 3 plates! They didn't make it spicy at all but wasn't a problem for me. Our waitress was attentive. She checked in pretty often to make sure we had every thing we needed. read more

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