My family supports the dynamic Kenzo and Natsuko Tsujimoto with going to their amazing restaurant everytime they come to visit California. My dad is very choosy when eating sushi. We leave on a cloud and love the food very much. Thank you for taking care of us. Delightful kaiseki cuisine in Napa! read more

Terrific experience! The staff was very warm and friendly and the food was amazing. We opted for the beverage pairing, which we felt had great value and was the perfect complement for the food. Everything was fresh and had excellent flavor. The decor is minimal and clean. Well done and thanks for a great meal!! read more

A magnificent experience. My wife is from Kyoto and was hugely impressed too. I had let general manager Tomonori-san know that it was her birthday so extra effort was expended on the menu and desserts. The ten course Kaiseki meal was extremely well paced, honoring regional ingredients mostly from Japan. These ingredients... fish, meats, vegetables, broths etc were so thoughtfully, artfully and skillfully combined by chef Kenji Miyaishi. It's hard to put in words the brilliance of the meal when viewed as its parts leading to the whole. The chef's varied high level experiences... Nihon Uni, Tsuji Culinary School, high end restaurants in Tokyo and Germany showed up in his combinations and sequencing of ingredients. His seemingly kind and calm nature showed up in the warmth of the courses he prepared. We also benefited from the work of the great sushi chef accompanying him. Kenji-san was most obliging and eager to see that we were having the best of experiences, and spared the time to come and see us. Same goes for the sous chef and our excellent servers. The dining room itself is minimalist, helping to showcase the food and, again, we could not have been happier with our evening at Kenzo. Thanks to chef and the rest of the team. read more

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This is an overdue review. I went to Kenzo about 11 months ago, thinking that I would experience the food and service that I usually get at a high end sushi restaurant in Japan. It turned out I was wrong. Service was terrible, no water refills clearly when the glass is completely empty. I had to ask 3 times to different servers to get my water refilled. Once I finished the meal, I stepped out to use the powder room, and upon return, the staff was waiting for me with my coat ready in her hand to kick me out of the restaurant. Kenzo severely lacked the concept of "omotenashi" as you would see in a sushi restaurant. Worse than kaiten sushi chain restaurants. Now food...I had sushi omakase at the sushi counter ($270 per person excluding tips and tax.) The nigiris came with mustards (like the French's mustard that you see at the groceries.) By using mustards with nigiris, it completely destroys the taste of the fish. Couldn't we just kept the original fish flavor?? I didn't pay for mustards! I would take my $270 to somewhere else for sushi. Perhaps, you would be better off just paying $130 at a sushi restaurant in SF that has concept "omotenashi" and preserve the fish with its original flavor. read more

Yes - Woohoo! A fabulous venue, each course (& there were many) very delicious and a dynamite staff attentive to every detail. A must do in the Napa Valley !!! read more

Their performance is really good, and each dish reminded me of Japan. We had a good time there. I really want to go there again soon. read more

This is a great restaurant! I would say better than Morimoto. The staff was VERY attentive but not hovering, giving you space for a intimate conversation but if you need them they are right there coming your way. It did not have that pretentious feeling we felt at Morimoto. We had the lucky experience of having Mai take care of us and she is SUPERB!! Very friendly and knowledgeable. The food was very fresh and one of a kind. The sushi chef (Atsushi) that took care of us was also very knowledgeable and taught us a lot of the different kinds of fish and it's origin. It was fresh and Atsushi certainly knew how to cut his fish. There are two prix-fixe menu (see picture ) and we had the Sushi Kaiseki!! Yum yum! Keep in mind the menu selection can change due to the season and what is fresh and available. Thank you very much to Kenzo and staff for making my husband's birthday so special!! read more

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Very very under-whelming. Everything is so expensive. Meal was $225/person. Wine list average glass of red wine is $70/glass. Put the multiple on that to equate the per bottle pricing. Wow! Portion sizes extremely small. Miso soup without tofu...what's up with that? Only 3-4 pieces of sushi as your last course and only so-so. At $225/person, I thought there would be several courses with larger portions but was I ever wrong. There were only two other customers in the restaurant for the 2 hours we were there and I am pretty sure I know why now...probably there because they thought what we thought when we chose the restaurant. Really too bad. Oh and because they have no customers, they literally watch you while you eat. Very poor value for the dollar. Certainly your call but I recommend you look elsewhere. read more

After returning from Tokyo a few weeks ago, we wanted to see if a small place in Napa could really replicate the high end Tokyo sushi experience. We were delighted to find out that answer was an emphatic yes. Kenzo is a beautiful restaurant, built very much in the restrained modern style of a high end Japanese sushi bar. We were fortunate to be seated in one of the private rooms and shared our sushi chef with just one other couple. It was an amazingly warm and personal experience. Our chef trained in Japan for 20 years and was part of the team that opened Kenzo a few months earlier. His English was rapidly improving and we had a chance to communicate and thank him for the amazing meal he served us. The vast majority of the fish is flown in from Tsukiji market in Tokyo. It is absolutely pristine and served with a great deal of competence and restraint. They do add sauces to enhance the flavor but they do not overwhelm the fish. The toro and the anago were particularly incredible but so was just about everything else. We were also impressed by their cooked dishes: a very tender chawanmushi, great soups, and some cooked fish as well. Just about everything we tasted was absolutely superb. My wife and I are very picky about sushi restaurants. In SF, only Kusakabe and Omakase are places that we enjoy going. Though both of those are great, they seem much more American than Kenzo. This place truly transported us back to Japan. We now have our new favorite sushi place in the Bay Area. Cannot recommend it more highly. read more

We went into Kenzo Napa with baited breath. But don't hold your breath as we did. Kenzo is an ungenerous restaurant, with moments of excellence and infuriating mediocrity and callousness. Kenzo gave the appearance of caring by fastidiously leaving me voicemails to request our menu choice days before arriving. We replied with how each person would order, and requested separate tabs for each person. Mai replied it wouldn't be a problem. In the end, these instructions were not carried out. We spent the last 10-15 minutes calculating the tab of our meal (our waiter was oddly unaccommodating, and refused to open separate tabs), a final impression that marred our experience at this restaurant with Michelin expectations, when all we expected was to drop our credit cards and drive off happy. After all, I had only given them an hour of my time beforehand to read menu and send off a reply. It made me question the whole exercise of coordinating with them in advance, only to be ignored. In practice, it should have made the experience stress free. Instead, we received an air of menace (perhaps sneering, too) from our waiter Nicholas when we asked for separate tabs as I had requested in my email. Service is included in the price of the meal. However, I doubt service was provided. While guests of our party had momentarily left the table, they brought food to the table before all had returned on multiple occasions. The restaurant must believe that service is a direct function of number of waiters present; the 5-6 staff standing at attention behind us was disarming and uncomfortable. We felt as if we were eating in a proctored test environment. Moreover, our champagnes were not chilled on ice; perhaps this 3-Michelin starred Chef was being mindful of California drought conditions, and wanted to approach champagne uniquely from a lukewarm angle at the prices they charge for their premium kaiseki. One of the dishes that we were eager to try was the straw-seared sashimi. Yet our bluefin tuna had no straw-seared markings on the sashimi cuts of fish. Four of the dishes contained mustard. While this mustard was a nice touch to many of their dishes, we felt on the verge of being gassed with it. The uni chawanmushi was murky and the heated pieces of uni were rubbery to the touch. And to rub salt into our wounds, a "premium" kaiseki menu priced at $270 (rather than the "basic" kaiseki menu priced at $225) still has a supplement: A4 (notice how it isn't A5) wagyu for an additional $30. Clearly the premium menu isn't so premium. Along this rough road, there were smooth slopes. One dish that was exceptionally fragrant was the salmon grilled in Japanese cedar. The smokiness of the wood pierced through the flavor of the fish. Also transporting was the toro (fatty tuna) done with sea salt and wasabi, then with truffle, and finally aged soy sauce with mustard. Desserts were pleasant and good finishers, especially the pear gelee. Staff tried to take dishes before they were finished, and once we had settled the tab our water glasses remained empty, perhaps also due to the drought. One member of our party noticed that a waiter had motioned to another waiter with annoyance that we had not yet left. After paying my tab, I went to use the restroom. When I had returned, they were already scurrying to retrieve our jackets to escort us out despite my party still being seated. For a restaurant that is proud enough to include service in a $270 premium menu, exactly what kind of service was included? It surely is surly for premium prices. At Kenzo, the pacing and vibe is strange. The waiters give the impression they want you to finish the meal quickly, with not a moment to spare, despite long awkward pauses between some of the courses. One of the desserts was brought out before we had even finished a dessert. We felt oddly rushed out of the restaurant. Is Kenzo worth north of $300 per person and a long drive from San Francisco? No. It is by far one of the worst food deals in San Francisco Bay Area. We came, and left defeated--knocked out in typical streetfighter fashion. read more

They are very good for u.s. standards but definitely no where near the level of kanda in Japan. It is their bootleg version to ripe off foreigners that never been to Japan. They will probably max out at one star mitchy. Save your money and go to kanda in Japan. I felt ripped. read more

Very high quality ingredients and great flavors. Enjoyed the variety of fish and meat including pike conger and wagyu tenderloin. Dessert was mind blowing. Will return. read more

Easily one of the best Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area. I would put this above the one star Japanese spots in SF. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets two stars in a few years. Kaiseki and sushi blew me away. Ambiance was on point, I felt like I was in Tokyo. For those questioning the price, this is average for this level of restaurant. This isn't Tokyo Express with 5 day old low grade tuna. Get in now before they raise their prices! read more

Had a great experience. Food was off the charts. we had the sushi menu. service was perfect. Bill was impressive but i knew that going in. I felt you got your moneys worth. Exotic fishes I have not seen outside of Japan. Fantastic read more

Exceptional, Authentic, and Delicious. I will put it this way, if I were to get an opportunity to take JaLo out to dinner (never gonna happen), I would take her here. The food is amazing; the wines are excellent, and the service is better than anywhere else in the entire valley. It is a truly special experience, if you are looking for something outside of the mainstream Napa fare, this is it. read more

Absolutely fabulous. Be prepared for a pricey, but fantastic Pre-fixe menu which will blow your socks off! Highly creative, inventive, and sensational. Loved the Sea Urchin Chawanmushi soup. read more

Kenzo Napa serves top of the line quality sushi resulting in this very well deserved five star review. Our favorite chef, Shuhei -san, is a highly-experienced sushi chef from Tokyo Ginza. His fine handwork is proven in the way he slices his fish, making the sushi both beautifully presented and tasty. He enjoys engaging with customers and is open to sharing his own experiences. The service there is great as well. Chef and waiters make the customers feel valued, cared, and respected. Overall, dining at Kenzo Napa is a wonderful experience and a must! We can't wait to come back for our 4th visit. read more

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Food and service were exquisite. All the plates were outstanding but my favorites were the wagyu beef and yuzu grilled yellowtail. While the Kenzo wine was very good (so good I bought a couple of bottles) I would still recommend the sake pairing over the wine. read more

Kenzo Napa - Yuzu Grilled Yellowtail - Sushi Bars Near Me - Napa, California

I had the pleasure of dining at Kenzo restaurant in Napa again last night, and I was once again in awe of the experience they presented me. The artful composition of the dishes is so exquisite and colorful, and the presentation so carefully thought out. And of course the Kenzo Estate wines complement the food perfectly. I would absolutely recommend visiting Kenzo when you are in Napa and looking for a truly memorable dining experience! read more

Lights out amazing. Calm, clean and serene. Tremendous flavors and presentation. Hospitality and service is right there with the top echelon of any dining experience. Menu is pretty set and although I'm sure they accommodate dietary preferences I would go in with the understanding it is traditional Japanese. Definitely am going back. read more

Amazing assortment of authentic Japanese cuisine with meticulous attention to detail! Service was awesome as was chef Atsushi. Wine/sake pairing totally enhanced the experience! Best Japanese food experience ever!!! Highly recommended!!! read more

Excellent food and amazing service. Had a great time to celebrate my husband's birthday.

I went to Kenzo with several colleagues. They do not treat all guests the same. They seem to have regulars that they serve first and provide the best service and food to. Everyone else is unimportant. We were actually asked to leave the restaurant mid meal because one of their regular guests didn't want us at the restaurant. At this price point, I would expect more. Additionally some of the seafood did not taste fresh. read more

TLDR; Will pay several hundred to eat yellow mustard several times with no amuse buche have you water glass stay empty and be offered bold red napa cab reds to be paired with your fish. (Is the yellow mustard uses some sardonic joke for taking money from the rich gaijin?) Service: ~ dry water glasses(Truly Kampai!) ~ coats offered as you go to the restroom before you pay, can't wait for you to leave, very weird when you go to the restroom and they're holding the door open while holding your coat? ~TIP: upgrade from syscoesque corporate soap to a great brand like Aesop in your restrooms. Also if you want Michelin nice job on Riedel and Frette, but have some towels in your restroom even non michelins in sf have them in neighborhood joints. This isn't a corporate franchise(I hope). ~ visible eye rolls for taking too long to eat.(two hours is apparently too long for this fine dining?) If two hours is too long because Napa is asleep at night then do 3pm-6pm dinner service if you don't want an 830 reservation taking 2 hours.. That is a rational and prudent time frame for a "kaiseki" it's not a 45 minute fast food meal. Maybe the staff should stage more at some other restaurants with a prefixe that takes 2 hours or more. ~ dry demeaner, no character, stiff but not due to a spiritual experience but due to a lack of leadership? Seems they're threatened their heads will roll by leadership or be asked to commit seppuku if they fail by the mannerisms. ~obvious inexperienced staff, inability to conjur decisive responses to simple questions ~Tax and Tip forceably placed on the corkage fees as well be prepared for some % on % games to squeeze out a bit more of the bill. Tip line also on signing receipt as well. ~ Be prepared to be stared out intensely as you eat by the two chefs at the bar. Must have a strong soul to eat here and be ok with public eye as they see the facial reaction of your every move. This is fine to a degree at counter eating where it's handled as part of the art, here it's faux and the pass and play between you and the chef's was with latency. ~NOTE: maybe this is authentic and you like that but several employees will not speak english at all really such as the sushi chef so can not inquire on anything really, stuck with my yellow mustard and unanswered questions. ~Dishes are placed on mantle in front of you, some of the time they choose to place them on your matt for you, some of the times they don't. No synchronicity. I prefer more of a Keiko A Nob Hill instead where everyone in the dining room starts at the same time and everyone at your table has their coursing placed and opened at the same time, here at Kenzo it was done at different times for different counters and different for even your party, a party member had theirs lowered at times vs mine, very weird obvious fine dining service flaw, you might want to you know, place a coursing in front of a diner. ~You will be called several times to confirm your reservation, as well as emailed. Notice points made in the emails will not be listened too which made the experience very frustrating. Specific choices were asked(toro upgrade) via email before and then requests weren't met. So we were asked via email for options we gave them and then whe we got the bill the requests weren't met and were scoffed at awkwardly for making a request. Why email and contact just to ignore this whole communique? You waste someone's time who's worth more then the meal per hour just to ignore his communique and then chuckle in his face at requests? This was very counter intuitive. Also why not ask for the upsell of wagyu at this point in your user experience? Why ask some things before the meal and waste time, not listen to some of those things, and then save options for in person that should have been adressed here? My suggestion is do tip and all supplements or options at this bothersome email/call point if you'll continue doing that Kenzo, instead of an asyncrhonous pattern that makes it difficult for your staff to even follow nevermind consumers. Food ~ No amuse buse on a 350 dollar bill, I'm so sorry sir I didn't put enough quarters in street fighter machine's growing up that I deserve not even a cute little awakening morsel! Your food costs must be so damn high I completely understand you couldn't muster the tiniest food cost! Don't want to go to 26% food cost now! ~ Oddly placed upsell of 30 dollars for an A4(way better kaisekis include A5 Wagyu in their 150 Omakase with no awkward upsell) This is counter philosophy, why include tip and include most yet then try a tacky upsell to a grade lower then similar restaurants include at fractional cost? Just charge 30 more and go A5. ~ Toro was great, I opted for the upgraded three way toro. Was weird it said straw seared though and it wasn't seared it was smoked. So this was a bit off two. Still quite tasty yet was inconsistent in messaging from kitchen to table. ~ The yellow mustard really got to me, while it was ok I read more

Having been here on their first week of opening and a couple months later as well, both my wife and I can not stop raving about this place to all of our friends! If you enjoy sushi from your local Safeway I would comfortably recommend you keep it that way and stay out of this place. Kenzo has ruined the 'American sushi' experience for us by serving some of the best tasting dishes we have ever had in our lives! We can never look at sushi the same again. Having some of the best trained sushi veterans prepare your courses right in front of your eyes is something I never thought is possible without taking a trip to Japan. From the ambience to the genuine Japanese setting and mostly imported interior and even dishes you find yourself confused whether or not you just got off the plane in Tokyo. The food was orgasmic! Sake was some of the finest in the world. Service was beyond great with patient explanation every step of the way. Most servers are fluent in Japanese which breaks the language barrier between you and the Master Chefs behind the counter. On the downside the noise level was beyond acceptable. You would expect such high end spot to have some sort of sound deadening. Both of our visits we had a really hard time hearing each other because of the parties going on right behind us. Regardless, Kenzo was an experience to remember for the rest of your life. I would look for any excuse to come visit our favorite restaurant in the future. P.S. Just noticed how some reviewers are under the impression that Kenzo is kaiseki dining. I would strongly disagree with that. Starting from the fact that most ingredients are imported from Japan and are nowhere near local to the fact that you are sitting at a bar right next to strangers(not a private room where you kneel on the ground). Also the fact that your food is prepared right in front of you, by long time veteran master Chefs, who pay close attention to your reaction to the dishes, says that this is nearly the farthest experience from kaiseki dining(where the food is traditionally brought from the kitchen). Please don't consider Kenzo kaiseki style dining. read more

We had a wonderful evening there. The food, preparation and presentation was fantastic as was the staff! Would definitely visit again.

As expected the wine was stellar but the grounds and staff alone make the trip out of the valley worth it. Colin lead the tasting which was fun and wonderfully informative, he did a great job! read more

Exquisite. I was lucky enough to score a reservation with short notice in order to celebrate my birthday (original plans derailed by weather). This was hot on the heels of my outing to take my sister out for her birthday at Omakase in SF. Two beautiful price fixe meals - different, but equally amazing. Everything about Kenzo was perfect. It has gorgeous minimalist decor and the staff are spectacular: warm, friendly, full of interesting information about the origin of the food, decor, even the earthenware dishes. I got to hold a three year old dried bonito - not unlike a piece of smooth dried sanded driftwood. Every single bite was so skillfully nuanced. The use of unique ingredients and quality of the food was astounding, down to the balanced red miso, kelp salt, yuzu pepper, and the dashi. The desserts were also exceptional and bursting with flavor. If you're familiar with kaiseki cuisine, you will really appreciate the skill involved in each course. read more