Popular place serving steamed buns, Asian dishes & draft beer in a chill space with a covered patio. Based on 837 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.6 stars. Price $$
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Curbside pickup ✔️ No-contact delivery
Address:
127 S Central St, Knoxville, TN 37902
Phone: (865) 409-4444
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
Closed
Holiday hours
|
| Tuesday | 5–10 PM |
| Wednesday | 5–10 PM |
| Thursday | 5–10 PM |
| Friday | 5–10 PM |
| Saturday | 11:30 AM–3 PM, 5–10 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
Menu
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Menu Photos
Photo Gallery
Order and Reservations
Reservations: resy.com
Reviews
Anne McMillian
Great service and overall atmosphere- but the quality and flavor of food missed the mark. We order serval different dishes to taste test.
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Hali
First time here, and it did not disappoint!
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Ginger Fisher
Cons: We are a spicy family and our dishes were almost too much spice for us. Extreme amount of cilantro in each dish. Service wasn’t very friendly and pricey. If we return it would be for the buns only. Pros: The buns (not pictured) were delish and i would highly recommend those. Nice outdoor patio.
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Baibhari Barua
Firstly regarding the kid-friendliness, they didn’t have any high chair/booster seat for our 1 year old. To start we had 2 tiny steamed bun: the eggplant one & Thai sausage one. We liked the eggplant one, but the sausage was very tangy to our taste and the sauces don’t go well together. The buns were very small for its price. For the main course we had hot & sour duck noodles & bang bang shrimp fried rice. Both dishes were very salty. The noodles soup was overwhelming with its ingredients which destroyed the simplicity of a broth. It smelled rather “fishy” ( due to the amount Katsuobushi bonito fish flakes) than “ducky”! The duck slices were very dry. We chose that dish by reading others’ review, but we were fooled. The Bang bang shrimp fried rice was very oily, saucy, salty again, not well balanced between ingredients (again). Overall it was very disappointing.
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Kevin Holmes
Great service and nice environment. The food leaves a lot to be desired. The bowl was basically rice. Overall a nice spot with lack luster food.
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Irina Sanziana
+ Nice, cozy place to chill with your friends and trying something new to eat or drink!
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Steve Johnson
I don’t throw 5 stars out to often but this place really rocks. Is my first night in town and wanted something different. It was quite busy for a Monday IMO but I waited my turn and sat at the bar. Had a really good beer from Barrique to start. It was nice and light. Then I ordered 2 Pork Belly Boa Buns. OMG, could of just ate 4 or 5 of them and been really happy. The Pork Fat Noodles sound interesting so I gave it a try. Really nice spice and I’m thinking that this meal is a little oily, duh… Pork Fat Noodles! It is not a healthy dish but it’s packed with flavor and would be a great plate to share if you want something with a punch of flavor. I could eat here several days in a row. Great job guys. Staff was really nice and hustling to get people taken care of. Place has a great vibe.
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Lynn Chau
A friend and I were looking to treat ourselves the other night and decided to try this place. It’s in a cute area of downtown, next to a glass shop and gift stores. The atmosphere is very upscale and artsy, and we dined on the patio which was fenced off and had a nice vibe. The food is in the $18-20 range for entrees and $5 for a bun. We ordered the bang bang shrimp fried rice, an eggplant bun, and a tofu/bean rice plate. When the food arrived, the plating blew me away. The colors are gorgeous and both of our dishes were eye candy. My dish was delicious, however my friend’s beans were a little bit overpowered with the flavor of anise and possibly five spice. The bun was also delicious. The waiters checked in the right amount and were helpful in asking my friend if they were vegan or vegetarian upon asking about the ingredients in a certain dish. Overall, it was a nice experience, just needed less kick on one of our dishes. Side note: the bathrooms are very nice.
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Kira
So, I have had dine -in and takeout from Kai Zen and the quality and taste has been impeccable every single time. This restaurant really knows how to create atmosphere as well as amazing food.
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Jeffery Montgomery
One of the best places to get Japanese bar food with great atmosphere and service. Hearty portions made fresh with some of the best well prepared ingredients. The buns are the highlight, sweet buns filled with your choice of meats. The shrimp, pork belly, and fried chicken buns were amazing! This place is seriously addictive located in the best part of Knoxville.
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