The New Food and cocktail options are delicious and the relaxed environment is much more approachable. I can't wait until they're open all week.
Hailey Ballard
AMAZING food and cocktails! Can’t wait to go back!
williane charles
The menu looks great but too bad we didn’t get the chance to order because the waiter ignored us. However, I did order the strawberry yuzu daiquiri from the bar.
Amy L.
I recently came in for Kama's soft re-opening so they had a limited menu. We got drinks and the fries. I thought the strawberry daiquiri drink was good, but a bit strong for my taste. That's probably a good thing if you're trying to get your money's worth though haha. The fries were okay but way too salty. I felt like the concept of the fries was kinda cringe. It was like a weeb tried to make the fries Japanese, so they took an easy route and threw a lot of spicy mayo and a few sprinkles of seaweed on top. Because spicy mayo + seaweed = Japanese food, am I right? (Please note my sarcasm) Charlottesville has a bunch of other Asian restaurants that offer well-executed Asian food. I'd check those out instead. The food quality is much better and you will also support smaller businesses, rather than a restaurateur who owns a bunch of restaurants in Cville. Kama seems like a restaurant that was added to a portfolio of businesses just to add diversity, not to offer people a chance to really explore the beauty of Japanese cuisine. Although the ambiance is cool, the food is really not worth the price.
David Kutas
This place is tremendous, with tasty thoughtful drinks and legit Japanese food w some good heat. I miss it everyday during corona.
Rachel Offenburg
Average experience like other reviews had. This is a Japanese style tapas restaurant with grilled Japanese foods (not sushi).
J Nianh
This place is average for Japanese cuisine. No where near Ten or Now and Zen yet. A lot of potential for growth though! It is also a cool concept here!
John Dennis
Went last night. Food was excellent. Handmade noodles! On par with Ten. Service was excellent as well. No problem getting a table. Nice big windows overlooking the mall for people watching.
Wendy W Wright
First time at Kama last night and it was fantastic!! Food was incredible and wait staff extremely friendly, helpful and passionate about the food. Bartender well known for his top rate cocktails!
John T.
Really tasty, but small, dishes with terrific cocktails and fresh ingredients. Best to go for cocktails and snacks - but expect to have to order 5-6 dishes if looking for a dinner for two. Taste 5/5 The food was mostly very good! * warm soba noodle soup - Absolutely delicious! The best of the meal. The broth was incredibly flavorful, the large noodles were perfectly textured, and the meat was tender and well prepared. This was an excellent soup for a cold day, but a very small portion. * Tuna Tartare - the fish was fresh, but not very flavorful. The server said it was a bit more finely minced and bound sauce (not a traditional tartare), however it turned out to be a traditional, large diced squares of tuna loosely bound with soy sauce and Tajín-like seasoning. It was over a bed of seaweed salad, which was nice. It was well prepared, just not what we were expecting - perhaps a curse of the constantly altered menu. * Pork-belly and scallops - this dish was terrific. Slightly salty/umami flavor was a strong contrast to the mild tartare. The texture of the pork belly worked perfectly when combined in the same bite as the scallops. Great dish. * Veal ribs - very good, but also salty/umami. Good flavor, small quantity, but tasty if you have a complimenting sweeter dish to counteract the saltiness. * Cocktails - pretty darn good cocktails and with large, hand chipped ice chunks (I'm a s***** for quality ice). A lot of the booze is barrel aged in-house, and most of the syrups are made in-house. Good drinks and drink menu! Ambiance 4/5 Very nice buildout, with full floor to ceiling windows open to the Mall, but as others have pointed out, the smell of popcorn butter is odd - but not off putting. The server and manager were very attentive and eager to discuss the menu, the drinks, and the movies! They'll even keep track of your movie time and help ensure you can get up to the movie in time if you are also planning on seeing a flick (You can also bring beer/wine to your movie - but not a cocktail) Value 3.75/5 This is where the biggest knock is. The price for each dish isn't that much on its own (think $15-$25), but if you're looking to treat this as a meal and not some snacks - it will take about 2.5 per person to come even close to filling you up. The cocktails are fairly priced, and the value rating would certainly shift up a bit if viewing this through the lens of looking for a place for some drinks/snacks.
Excellent Japanese fusion food with well paired cocktails.
Thomas Adams
We really wanted to like this place and kept open minds but ultimately it left a lot to be desired. We ordered two house cocktails,the Udon, and the Karaage. The house cocktails are really great and probably their strong point. The Udon was in a small bowl, the size of which you might get as an appetizer at any other restaurant. It was $18! I still can’t get over paying $18 for this small bowl of soup that had no asian flavors whatsoever. The udon noodles are not even Udon noodles. They’re some flat flour-based noodles. So if you order this, you won’t be getting anything like traditional udon. The karaage was not true to the original cuisine and was simply fried chicken thighs.
Tiffany L.
Fellow yelper Jennifer H. and I were excited to come check out this new Japanese tapas restaurant. (Charlottesville has great restaurants but can be somewhat lacking in ethnic food choices.) The recommendation from our waitress was to order 2-4 dishes per person so we were expecting tiny portions and were pleasantly surprised at how large everything was. So depending on your appetite, you could probably order 1-3 dishes per person. Our absolute favorite item of the evening was the mackeral and scallop dish. This is definitely the one to order. Perfectly cooked in a rich and creamy sauce/broth. We also enjoyed the mushroom tempura and unagi (eel). The two items we were unimpressed with were the udon (overcooked and strange broth filled with random ingredients) and the complimentary popcorn (aioli made it regrettably soggy). Overall a great dining experience! Nice space inside with terrific staff.
James Beeman
This is a great take on Japanese cuisine. Great sashimi and other dishes. It also has an excellent bar and very good selection of beer and sake.
Ra Osolage
Very much enjoyed the squid ink tempura cauliflower and the grilled octopus.
The New Food and cocktail options are delicious and the relaxed environment is much more approachable. I can't wait until they're open all week.
AMAZING food and cocktails! Can’t wait to go back!
The menu looks great but too bad we didn’t get the chance to order because the waiter ignored us. However, I did order the strawberry yuzu daiquiri from the bar.
I recently came in for Kama's soft re-opening so they had a limited menu. We got drinks and the fries. I thought the strawberry daiquiri drink was good, but a bit strong for my taste. That's probably a good thing if you're trying to get your money's worth though haha. The fries were okay but way too salty. I felt like the concept of the fries was kinda cringe. It was like a weeb tried to make the fries Japanese, so they took an easy route and threw a lot of spicy mayo and a few sprinkles of seaweed on top. Because spicy mayo + seaweed = Japanese food, am I right? (Please note my sarcasm) Charlottesville has a bunch of other Asian restaurants that offer well-executed Asian food. I'd check those out instead. The food quality is much better and you will also support smaller businesses, rather than a restaurateur who owns a bunch of restaurants in Cville. Kama seems like a restaurant that was added to a portfolio of businesses just to add diversity, not to offer people a chance to really explore the beauty of Japanese cuisine. Although the ambiance is cool, the food is really not worth the price.
This place is tremendous, with tasty thoughtful drinks and legit Japanese food w some good heat. I miss it everyday during corona.
Average experience like other reviews had. This is a Japanese style tapas restaurant with grilled Japanese foods (not sushi).
This place is average for Japanese cuisine. No where near Ten or Now and Zen yet. A lot of potential for growth though! It is also a cool concept here!
Went last night. Food was excellent. Handmade noodles! On par with Ten. Service was excellent as well. No problem getting a table. Nice big windows overlooking the mall for people watching.
First time at Kama last night and it was fantastic!! Food was incredible and wait staff extremely friendly, helpful and passionate about the food. Bartender well known for his top rate cocktails!
Really tasty, but small, dishes with terrific cocktails and fresh ingredients. Best to go for cocktails and snacks - but expect to have to order 5-6 dishes if looking for a dinner for two. Taste 5/5 The food was mostly very good! * warm soba noodle soup - Absolutely delicious! The best of the meal. The broth was incredibly flavorful, the large noodles were perfectly textured, and the meat was tender and well prepared. This was an excellent soup for a cold day, but a very small portion. * Tuna Tartare - the fish was fresh, but not very flavorful. The server said it was a bit more finely minced and bound sauce (not a traditional tartare), however it turned out to be a traditional, large diced squares of tuna loosely bound with soy sauce and Tajín-like seasoning. It was over a bed of seaweed salad, which was nice. It was well prepared, just not what we were expecting - perhaps a curse of the constantly altered menu. * Pork-belly and scallops - this dish was terrific. Slightly salty/umami flavor was a strong contrast to the mild tartare. The texture of the pork belly worked perfectly when combined in the same bite as the scallops. Great dish. * Veal ribs - very good, but also salty/umami. Good flavor, small quantity, but tasty if you have a complimenting sweeter dish to counteract the saltiness. * Cocktails - pretty darn good cocktails and with large, hand chipped ice chunks (I'm a s***** for quality ice). A lot of the booze is barrel aged in-house, and most of the syrups are made in-house. Good drinks and drink menu! Ambiance 4/5 Very nice buildout, with full floor to ceiling windows open to the Mall, but as others have pointed out, the smell of popcorn butter is odd - but not off putting. The server and manager were very attentive and eager to discuss the menu, the drinks, and the movies! They'll even keep track of your movie time and help ensure you can get up to the movie in time if you are also planning on seeing a flick (You can also bring beer/wine to your movie - but not a cocktail) Value 3.75/5 This is where the biggest knock is. The price for each dish isn't that much on its own (think $15-$25), but if you're looking to treat this as a meal and not some snacks - it will take about 2.5 per person to come even close to filling you up. The cocktails are fairly priced, and the value rating would certainly shift up a bit if viewing this through the lens of looking for a place for some drinks/snacks.
Restaurantji Recommends
Excellent Japanese fusion food with well paired cocktails.
We really wanted to like this place and kept open minds but ultimately it left a lot to be desired. We ordered two house cocktails,the Udon, and the Karaage. The house cocktails are really great and probably their strong point. The Udon was in a small bowl, the size of which you might get as an appetizer at any other restaurant. It was $18! I still can’t get over paying $18 for this small bowl of soup that had no asian flavors whatsoever. The udon noodles are not even Udon noodles. They’re some flat flour-based noodles. So if you order this, you won’t be getting anything like traditional udon. The karaage was not true to the original cuisine and was simply fried chicken thighs.
Fellow yelper Jennifer H. and I were excited to come check out this new Japanese tapas restaurant. (Charlottesville has great restaurants but can be somewhat lacking in ethnic food choices.) The recommendation from our waitress was to order 2-4 dishes per person so we were expecting tiny portions and were pleasantly surprised at how large everything was. So depending on your appetite, you could probably order 1-3 dishes per person. Our absolute favorite item of the evening was the mackeral and scallop dish. This is definitely the one to order. Perfectly cooked in a rich and creamy sauce/broth. We also enjoyed the mushroom tempura and unagi (eel). The two items we were unimpressed with were the udon (overcooked and strange broth filled with random ingredients) and the complimentary popcorn (aioli made it regrettably soggy). Overall a great dining experience! Nice space inside with terrific staff.
This is a great take on Japanese cuisine. Great sashimi and other dishes. It also has an excellent bar and very good selection of beer and sake.
Very much enjoyed the squid ink tempura cauliflower and the grilled octopus.