Kanpai Club

Behind Hando - Spring Branch, this small, well-designed bar is a great addition to the East Spring Branch neighborhood.Located in the same restaurant zone as Feges BBQ, Blind Goat, Cosmic Ice Cream, Slowpokes, Stuffed Belly, Barnaby's and Jinya Ramen, is a bar that is high design with a Karaoke room coming soon. Visit soon for the late night, reverse happy hour or a cocktail before dinner at the restaurant.Tell JJ hello.

First impression was that this bar was very cozy & inviting. The bartenders are attentive as well. We got started with their signature "welcome to yam rock" & the Thai tea gin fizz. They were both very creamy & strong. We later got their Shibuya roll call which in my opinion was my favorite! It had a hit of spice. The chicken kaarage, curry fries, & skewers are fantastic. Definitely will be back to try other cocktails & snacks!

What a vibe!! Came here on a date night this past weekend and had a great time. Kanpai club is located inside of the restaurant called Hando...when you walk inside, walk right past the host stand and past the first door like you're going towards the restrooms. There is a red unmarked door to your left and that's the door you need to enter. It's a small speakeasy bar, but definitely worth checking it out. They have a lot of specialty cocktail drinks that were fun to try. One of the first drinks that I tried was a Thai tea sort of cocktail. I can't remember the name of the drink and unfortunately when trying to look up the menu I didn't see that drink listed. But it has a fizz on top that kind of makes your mouth tingly at first. So it was meant to be sipped without a straw. That drink had an interesting taste, but not my type of drink. I can't really taste the Thai tea flavor as much. But I went on to try the Sweet Gin Music because I am a sucker for the specialty mugs they put the drinks in and also it was noted it was a spicy drink with Soshito peppers and jalapeños. It had a nice kick to it and that was more of my type of drink. My hubby tried the smoked green tea old fashion because he loves himself an old fashion. He wasn't sure on the green tea, but he tried it anyways. You can definitely taste the green tea, it wasn't overpowering, but if you're not a green tea drinker then you might be able to taste that more more than others and it can come off a bit of a bitter taste. I wish I took pics of our appetizers, but they had a few to order from. We tried the Brussels sprouts, Gyoza and beef skewers...all of them were my favorite! The brussel sprouts came with bonito flakes on top and if you haven't tried them before, they do have a fishy element to them, but I've had it before so I quite enjoyed it. The beef skewers are so delicious, a must try! It was nicely grilled with mushrooms and a nice sweet glaze on top. It came in an order of 2 beef skewers..most of the apps were $7 each. They're more of like small bites in between drinks. Overall, a really fun and cool experience. The bartenders were attentive and explained what each drinks were and offered excellent recommendations. Definitely will be back with some friends next time. And if you've read this far, don't forget to try their frozen sakeritas - it's like a frozen margarita mixed with sake. Perfect drink to cool down with on a hot summer day!

Wow, I am surprised that this place doesn't have more reviews and/or isn't filled with people. Kanpai club is a family run business that mainly serves Japanese/Japanese-inspired drinks and small bites. They also have other Asian-inspired drinks which was super exciting to see (i.e. 'Welcome to Yam Rocks' which is Aged rum, ube, lime, guava, spices).I came in at 4 pm sharp on a Wednesday for Happy Hour (HH is daily from 3-6 PM). Since Kanpai club is a bar extension of Hando, you have to walk inside Hando and take a right- the red doors that lead to this bar are next to the bathrooms. The seating is quite limited (7 bar stools and a L shaped couch that maybe sits 10) and I'm not sure if you can make reservations so I'd double check but I can see this place getting busy at night/weekends. The inside is dimly lit and I love the interior (especially the Japanese snacks that are laid out underneath the counter as part of the decoration). Just a heads up, the music is a little loud so that's a deal breaker for you, this place might not be it. For drinks I ordered the 'Everything is Lychee Keen' and 'Shibuya Roll Call'. Since it was HH, they were both $7 each which is such a good deal. These were recommendations from the bartender after I told her that I enjoy sweet drinks. Both drinks were refreshing and spectacular- I genuinely can't choose over the other because they were both great choices. I will say though that the Shibuya Roll Call has a little bit of a spicy kick to it because it's made of ginger beer but personally, I loved that!As for food, I ordered the Geso Karaage, Curry Croquette, and Wasabu Shumai for $5 each. They were all delicious but if I had to pick one, the Geso Karaage would be the must get since I love squid and the yuzu kosho aoilo sauce was delicious! However, the croquettes were fried perfectly and I loved how the sweetness from the potato balanced out the savoriness from the onion curry (they were filling too!). As for the wasabi shumai, these are made in the house. Be careful though because you can actually taste the wasabi and they definitely got a kick to it so they're not playing! Aside from the delicious drinks and food, the service was great! I appreciate the bartender giving me great recommendations on these delicious cocktails and I enjoyed talking to one of other staff member (shoutout Mandy!!) telling me about this restaurant's story and how she got into the service industry. If you want to have a good time with your date, friends, or even just to treat yourself with a lowkey/hidden gem, Kanpai club is the spot! This place has intimate vibes, delicious food, and even better drinks! I cannot wait to come back and try more items!

Fruit flies behind the bar, mosquitos flying up through the drains in the kitchen, tree roaches in the kitchen and bathrooms. You're paying a premium price for juices and mixers that are over a week old because the person running this circus doesn't like to throw things away Never order the shot special, it's just months old frozake mix repackaged as a shot so they can squeeze every last penny out. Lots of favoritism here as well. Don't see this place succeeding in spring branch. Coming from someone that's lived here their entire life. Keep that mess in the heights