As I walked into the serene and calming Kamakura Japanese restaurant located at 715 S. Neil St. in Champaign, I was immediately struck by the cultural display of artwork and statues. But I couldn’t have anticipated the experience that awaited me. Kamakura restaurant exuded style and sophistication, from the amiable staff to the variation of dining areas.

Kamakura’s general manager, Casey Hayasaki, navigated my tour and provided me with a taste of some of the most popular items on the menu. Divided into three totally different dining experiences, Kamakura offers the traditional sushi bar – some of the best sushi rolls I’ve ever tasted. With a fresh shipment of fish three times a week and over fifty sushi roll varieties, you are sure to be pleased. The most popular sushi rolls Hayasaki recomends are the German and Rainbow Rolls. The German Roll consists of tempura shrimp, cucumber, avocado, spicy sauce and masago. The Rainbow Roll is filled with salmon, tuna, red snapper and avocado. I recommend the California Roll, which caters to those first time sushi eaters, consisting of fresh crab, cucumber and avocado.

The sushi bar was just the beginning of my experience. In the back of the restaurant were the Teppanyaki Grills. This particular dining area has about six flat grills, which seat up to eight people. For more special occasions, a chef caters to his group displaying the art of entertaining with food. It is not unusual for everyone, from wide-eyed children to the most conservative of adults, to cheer as the chef’s offer dazzling performances. Kamakura offers so many items, from Japanese steak to an assortment of vegetables, and you can watch in amazement as utensils fly and fires flamb‚. Noriko Miyasoto, a Kamakura employee, said, “Japanese food is focused on the art and quality of its dishes. We want to ensure our customers with that tradition, providing them with a different experience every time they visit with us.” I definitely recommend experiencing the euphoria of Teppanyaki dining, where you will find yourself in a playground of fine dining flavors.

Kamakura also offers the traditional style tatami room, specializing in vintage Japanese textiles. This private room brings customers into the cultural tradition of the Japanese, providing bamboo floor mats for kneeling, and, oh yes, shoes are prohibited in this room. My last dining experience was in the main dining area, which offers traditional tables and chairs. There I sampled many dishes. Kamakura is well known for their ‘bento dinners’, which are fancy “lunch box” meals, offering an interchangeable assortment of foods. Before you begin with your main course, I recommend trying one of their specialty drinks such as the sake sunrise, which consists of sake, orange juice and grenadine. Also choose from the variation of appetizers such as the seaweed salad or shrimp tempura.

My ‘bento box’ dinner included miso soup, which is a flavorful soybean and fish broth, slightly salty, with green onions and tofu giving this soup an extra kick. This decorative and unique box packaged my California rolls, which were excellent, and tempura shrimp, which is lightly battered butterfly shrimp fried to a golden crisp. I also had the teriyaki chicken, which are small pieces of grilled chicken with a sweet and salty teriyaki sauce infused with flavors of garlic, green onion and ginger. Lastly I had the tempura vegetables, which consisted of zucchini and sweet potato.

For those vegetarians out there, no need to worry, because Kamakura caters to your needs too. From tempura carrots, broccoli and onions and veggie stir-fry, to Inari, which is fried tofu with sweet rice inside, your palates will surely be pleased. With prices ranging from roughly $5 to $20, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to indulge your taste buds.

Overall, I give this restaurant an ‘A’, which I’m sure you will agree with once you visit Kamakura and experience the explosion of flavors and soothing ambiance. Because I enjoyed this restaurant so much, and want you to engage in the same experiences, Kamakura has agreed to take $2 off of the California sushi rolls when you present this column. Stay tuned, as I critique the many other restaurants that Champaign-Urbana has to offer.