Kamei Japanese Restaurant

We recently went to Kamei for the first time, after hearing rave reviews from friends. There were 4 of us; 2 adults and 2 children. Shortly after our entrees were served, a live cockroach crawled out of my son's teriyaki chicken platter! We quietly killed the bug and summoned our waitress (apparently the owner's daughter.) The restaurant was packed and we didn't want to make a scene. The waitress acted like the bug was no big deal. She asked if we wanted to order something else, and if we wanted the food from which the bug crawled out packed up to go. We had all lost our appetites at that point and just wanted to leave. (My youngest son was starting to gag. The waitress left the dead bug on our table in plain view. ) We quietly told the waitress that we didn't want to pay for the 2 entrees that were uneaten. She got angry and snapped at us, saying, "You'll have to talk to my mother about that!" In a few minutes, the owner of the restaurant dropped our check off...with 2 candies on top (I guess we didn't EACH deserve a candy!) The cost of the 2 untouched entrees had been removed and we paid $25 for the 2 other meals. There was no apology or acknowledgment that a bug had come crawling out of our food! After thinking about it overnight, my husband returned to the restaurant the next day and asked for our money back. Even though the restaurant was busy, the owner said she would give him his money back but he would have to come the next day at noon. My husband said he would appreciate having his money back then. The owner of the restaurant threw the money at him and said, "I remember your face. I don't ever want to see you in here again!" We have called the health department and are awaiting the results of their inspection. In the meantime, I would NOT recommend that anyone eat at this restaurant. The owners of the restaurant could have handled this in a much more appropriate manner by comping our entire meal and offering a sincere apology for the live bug. Their response leads us to believe that this must be a common occurrence at this restaurant. more

My family and I have been going to Kamei for years. We go in groups of 8-14 and they have always been great. The atmosphere is really casual and comfortable. They give you warm towels and tea to start off. The menu contains a wide variety of items that includes a long list of starters. The bento meals are nicely displayed, generous, and delicious. The sushi and sashimi is the best deal you can get out of the three sushi restaurants on California Ave. I usually order either the saba bento, red dragon roll, and the small sashimi plate. Definitely worth checking out for a good and inexpensive meal. more

I crave the Red Dragon rolls here - they do something special to the tempura shrimp inside and the maguro on the outside is great. Nice family runs the business, and it's very well priced! more