Kappo Tsan Review: Soft Opening at Orlando’s New Upscale Japanese Restaurant
The highly anticipated Kappo Tsan has just recently underwent their soft opening phase, so as a local sushi fanatic I was keeping a close eye on my email inbox for the reservation link. Sure enough, I was able to snag a spot. I guess this is the time to admit my blog is heavily focused on Asian cuisine and specifically Japanese, but Orlando locals also love it or else there wouldn’t be so many places popping up over the past few years.
Kappo Tsan right now is an upscale intimate Japanese restaurant with a wide variety of items. Sitting at the sushi counter, you can see most of their kitchen layout: big combi oven, konro grill, saute station, deep fryer. Their menu is modest but with a variety of cooking methods.
What We Ordered at Kappo Tsan
Clam Miso Soup
We started with the clam miso soup and this was fantastic. The briny flavor of the clams steeped through the broth and provided a nice seafood flavor. A lot of miso soup I’ve had tend to be too salty, but this was well balanced between the savoriness of the miso and the savoriness of the ocean. Great start, especially on a cold December night.
Tuna Carpaccio
We also got the tuna carpaccio. If you’ve been to Chef Tsan’s original outpost Norigami, then you have probably seen this on the menu or ordered it before. It is thin slices of fatty tuna belly dressed up with mustard seeds, truffle pate, and parmesan for an extra boost of umami. It is great for those that like the richness of fatty bluefin tuna. I could pick up the entire plate with one swoop of the chopsticks and stuff it into my mouth, but I am in public and would rather not embarrass my wife.
Steamed Egg Custard
The steamed egg custard is another classic I get at a lot of omakase places, namely Natsu Omakase. This was a miss for me. The egg custard itself was fine, silky and light, but the chicken and shrimp inside were overcooked. This dish was held too long in the steam oven, I am assuming. The custard itself will stay fine in keep warm setting, but it was a bit lukewarm.
I think Natsu’s approach of having the egg custard cooked and held at temperature and then topping with chicken and shrimp would have resulted in a better dish, instead of just burying the chicken and the shrimp into the custard itself and risk overcooking.
Lobster Carpaccio
The lobster carpaccio was decent but probably not something I would get again. The lobster was very well cooked and had good texture. It was an overall bright and light dish with some acidity from the balsamic soy, but I did not like the addition of the persimmon puree, which I found made every bite mealy.
Crab Croquette
The crab croquette is another good dish that I probably would not order again since I found it a bit expensive given how small the croquette balls were. Probably just a tad bigger than the gumballs from gumball machines. Personally do not find it worth $12. The yuzu mayo does add some nice acidity to the rich creamy croquette, I will say.
Short Rib
The short rib is a dish I would skip unless you really wanted some land protein. It was an odd dish. It was sliced and served like a steak but was cooked well done. I would have preferred it medium rare if it was meant to be a steak. If it was meant to be more like smoked beef ribs, then I think it wasn’t cooked long enough and had too much texture. It was tender and well seasoned, but I was not a fan of the preparation.
Sushi
The sushi tasted great but also had some inconsistencies. I am not sure if it’s difficult to tell by the pictures, but the nigiri pieces differed quite noticeably on size depending on the chef.
The ala carte order with the uni on the plate was made by a different chef, and they tasted as great as they looked. The scallop was so sweet and supple but also tender. All the pieces were plump and generous, from the rice to the slice of the fish.
The moriwase set I ordered was made by Chef Tsan, and they were significantly smaller. It was chef’s choice, so obviously not every fish is the same, but the otoro pieces between the plates are honestly pretty significantly different, and it is not just the camera angle.
I have been to Norigami before and I’ve had sushi made by Chef Tsan, and one of the things I realized about his style of making nigiri was that he tends to make them quite small. This is all to say that I think the other chef that made the ala carte plate of sushi had better value and taste. If it is the same piece of sushi and everything from the fish quality to the rice seasoning is good, then of course me as a customer would choose the bigger piece.
The Verdict: Is Kappo Tsan Worth It?
Kappo Tsan is just starting out, so I can’t be too critical just yet. Every new restaurant has kinks to work out, and with the extensive cooking methods involved with their menu, they have a lot of points of failure, maybe even too many and too ambitious.
Our bill for two was over $200 including the tip, so if you’re operating at this price point, execution needs to improve dramatically or else the grand opening hype will die down quickly. Some dishes were great but some need improvement, but I do see the potential. Kappo Tsan will hit their stride and become a great addition to the I-Drive area.
Tips for Visiting Kappo Tsan
- Get the clam miso soup as a starter, well balanced and fantastic
- Order the tuna carpaccio if you like rich fatty tuna
- Avoid the steamed egg custard for now, overcooked proteins
- Budget over $200 for two including tip
- Sit at the sushi counter to watch the kitchen operations
- I-Drive location means some traffic along the way
Have you been to Kappo Tsan during their soft opening? How was your experience with the sushi consistency?
