Joined for NYE and wow what an experience. We sat in one of the rooms in the back. Service was friendly and personalized. It's staff like this that make the overall experience elevated and memorable. The chef preparing each dish was very skilled. Do the wine paring and ask that they do a blend of wine and sake. We loved the wine so much from Kenzo Estate we purchased some to take home. Normally NYE dinners are rushed and not up to par but Kenzo hit it out of the park. Everything was fantastic.

Kenzo is definitely an experience and a splurge. The highlight of the night was definitely the customer service. It was one of kind and not something you experience often. We had a total of 9 courses including dessert (I forgot to take a photo of one of them ). We could tell the chefs put a lot of attention to detail into the food and presentation. The head chef was very kind, he offered to take a picture of us since we were seated at the bar. This a great place in Napa to truly indulge in fine dining and immerse yourself in the experience.

2nd time going to kenzo and the consistency of the restaurant food and staff is amazing. I love sitting at the counter top with the chef to appreciate the craft it takes to make each dish. The staff here explains each dish to you and also gives recommendations on how you should eat certain dishes. The restaurant itself has a calmness to it that makes you feel relaxed. A place you go to for something to celebrate or if you just want to do something special for someone you love. Reservations seem a bit easier to get this time around compare to the first time as well.

Very delicious meal, great service. A small place as well, walked in and you were right in the dining room. It's kaiseki style so it's not just nigiri and sashimi and rolls, nice difference but I was still hungry when I got home. Great experience for a Michelin star place

Kenzo is an experience. You walk in and feel like you've been transported to Japan. A counter with a rice paper window to your left, 5 tables to your right, and a walkway to the kitchen that has the customary Japanese banners hanging. My husband treated me for a birthday meal, deciding on this location due to its Michelin recognition. They provided a champagne toast upon seating, and we opted for a small bottle of sake to share, which was recommended by our server to complement all of the courses in the meal. It was light and delightful - JUST enough to get us through the meal. Perfect. The meal started slowly in that the flavors were... fine in the first couple bites, but nothing special. It wasn't until the blue fin tuna with blueberry sauce came that we both were beginning to understand. The eel that followed was... interesting and not our favorite, but the crispy wagyu was delicious and offered a different take on the usual seared wagyu. It was my husband's favorite part of the meal! I enjoyed it but prefer the "usual". The sushi course was lovely, but then I am partial to sushi. The assortment of desserts was delightful to end the meal, with a refreshing coconut and mango dish, a matcha and mochi dish (the mochi made the matcha very bitter), and a lady dish that I just can't recall right now. Our server was delightful, though VERY soft spoken - I had to concentrate to hear him over the unusual music choice. The chef also signed my menu in honor of the occasion, which was a nice touch.

This is a walkthrough of Kenzo's Spring 2024 Menu and a few of my notes for each course: Simmered Shimane Lake Shinji Icefish with Jidori Egg Yolk | Icefish was phenomenal. Great addition of the wakame in the jidori egg yolk.  Seasonal Hassun (crispy hokkaido scallop with lotus root, hyogo firefly squid, hokkaido cherry trout nanbanzuke, green pea tofu with hokkaido sea urchin, sweet kumquat with tofu dressing) | The crispy scallop with lotus was the best; squid was a silky, delightful texture; closing on the tangy-sweet kumquat note was creative. Have to love that green pea tofu with uni.  Canadian Snow Crab Shinjo Owan (signature dashi broth, turnip, maitake mushroom, mitsuba parsley, and yuzu) | I didn't love the snow crab shinjo dumpling with that particular blending of vegetables; the Canadian snow crab ends up in a supportive role to the maitake and to the broth. Nagasaki Cornet Fish Sashimi (with a ponzu gelee) | I love akayagara; this presentation was balanced perfection. Grilled Chiba Sawara Mackerel | A surprising rustic inclusion to this menu line-up. still contemplating the rationale for the mackerel feature at this point of the food journey, as the next dish is also a grilled fish Cherrywood Smoked Mie Bluefin Tuna Okakiage (kale, black pepper and tamari soy sauce-an) | The tamari soy sauce overpowered the tuna. The enso calligraphy with the sauce was a nice aesthetic touch. A5 Satsuma Wagyu Tenderloin Jibuni (taro, chrysanthemum cress, and grated shizuoka wasabi) | Easily the star of the show this evening; I am still thinking fondly of that wasabi; could have scaled back on that rich sauce, however -- it became a bit overpowering. Chef's Selection of Sushi with Red Miso Soup | I cannot recall what that first one to the right that looks spherical was, but loved it; so glad to close with that fatty tuna; a heartwarming red miso. If I'm being nitpicky, however, the presentation of the miso is reminiscent of a cremation urn for ashes, so in terms of aesthetic considerations, I might have gone with a different style of soup bowl and lid. Chef's Featured Desserts | An apple jelly with the perfect mousse topping; strawberry mochi and leaf wrap with red beans; ginger ice cream Overall, I highly recommend this experience. Great attention to detail. Most of the ingredients shine, although at times the dishes could be heavy-handed with the sauce. The Japanese cuisine almost felt French influenced.

Kenzo is a kaiseki based Japanese restaurant with seasonal ingredients and menus that change. The flavors were delicious and clean, accentuating each ingredient in various ways of intervention. Overall I really enjoyed my meal, though I can't say it's more memorable than some of the meals I had at ryokans in Japan. The ambiance was minimal and the service was attentive.

The last time I visited Napa, I went to Kenzo's estate and the ladies there recommended I go dine at Kenzo Napa if we had time. Unfortunately we didn't have time our last visit. So when I found out I was going to Napa again, I immediately made reservations to this restaurant. I really liked the service here. My cup of tea was never empty because they kept refilling for me even without me asking them to. Also, they made sure to serve us together and if one of us went to the restroom, they would hold on bringing out food until we were both ready. The servers made sure to explain each dish to us in detail and the sake pairing they offered went really well with each dish. However, I feel like for the price we paid, the food was not as impressive as I had hope for. I think the presentation of the dishes was amazing, but the taste was a little lacking. The 2 dishes that stood out to me was the wagyu and the desserts. Overall, I feel like everyone should come at least once for the experience, but I don't think I would be back again since it was pretty expensive.

Kenzo Napa is the brainchild of Kenzo Tsujimoto, the founder of Capcom of Street Fighter fame. He wanted to bring the love of Napa Valley wines to his home country so started the award winning Kenzo Estates vineyard. Missing authentic Japanese Kaiseki cuisine while in Napa, he then opened Kenzo Napa helmed by the 3 Michelin star chef of the restaurant Kanda in Tokyo. Kenzo, located in Napa, is a serene oasis to Japanese cuisine and our excellent meal was greatly enhanced by the food and wine descriptions of Patrick Kaiseki Menu $275 / Grilled Shizuoka Fresh Water Eel / Seasonal Hassun ~ blue shrimp, kanagawa octopus, Hokkaido scallop with sweet corn, yukon gold potato caviar, tomato gelée / Yamaguchi Tilefish Owan / Seared Chiba Cutlassfish Sashimi / Chiba Seabass and Green Asparagus Okakiage / Chilled Somen Noodle with Nagasaki Abalone / Slow Roasted A5 Satsuma Wagyu Tenderloin / Chef's Sushi / Chef's Dessert Kenzo (Napa, CA) Reservations are required on Opentable and dining is all inside with both counter and table seating available. All credit cards including AmEx are accepted.