Story · Mission District, since 2019
Loud since 2019
Kanpai started as a six-seat counter and one very smoky grill. It got bigger. It did not get quieter.
The short version
A Tokyo side street, moved to 24th
Owner Rin Okada spent her twenties eating under the train tracks in Tokyo, where the best bars had twelve stools, a charcoal grill and a wall of handwritten paper menus. When she moved to San Francisco she missed three things: the smoke, the noise and the lemon sours.
So in 2019 she opened Kanpai with a borrowed grill and a tare recipe from her uncle’s yakitori stand. The wall of paper slips came with her. So did the rule that nobody drinks until everyone has a glass.
Read before sitting
House rules
01
Nobody drinks before the kanpai.
Wait for every glass, then clink.
02
No double dipping.
The kushikatsu sauce is shared. Dip once.
03
Counter is first come, first served.
No holding stools for friends who are “five minutes away”.
04
A flipped slip means sold out.
When it’s gone, it’s gone till tomorrow.
05
Food till midnight, sours till close.
Last skewer order is at 12 sharp.
06
Be kind to the grill cook.
He has tongs and a long memory.
42
Seats, twelve at the counter
300
Lemons squeezed a day
38K
Skewers grilled a year
2019
The year it got loud
Thirsty? Pull up a stool.
Walk in for the counter, or book a table for four or more. Either way the first “kanpai!” is on you.