We've been obsessed with this place since we first wandered in about a month ago. Like, we agreed we have to limit visits to only once a week, lol. Menu is broad but not in an overwhelming way. We're always pleasantly surprised when we get the check and it's much less than expected. Our favorites so far are the octopus skewer, bacon-wrapped quail egg skewer, tsukemono, negihama roll, and orange roll. But again, the menu has a nice variety of options for all different approaches and preferences, so we're excited for our next visits and to nail down our true favorites. read more

I'll preface with a few things: * They close at 10PM: We came towards the end of the night, *however* we had called in advance at 8:50PM, asking 1)) if they could take us if we arrived around 9:20PM & 2)) if we could have the Okonamiyaki. While they could've been speaking to menu technicality of simply having it on the menu, in a well-spirited reply they said they had it for us. And so we... * Took a $35 Lyft to zoom over and respect their time, which certainly contributed to the frustration but very much isn't where most of it derived from. We made it a few minutes before the time we said we'd be there. * The only reason this isn't one star is because we ordered skewers that were pretty decent. I do recommend those. * Make sure to have phone charge for the virtual menus The host was amazing!!! Incredible spirits for late night. The servers were pretty garbage! I say servers plural because dude and his lookalike double-teamed us and somehow both sucked. I say this as someone who's worked in the service industry for 3 years. The servers seemed actively dismayed & angry that we were at the restaurant (there were 2 bigger tables that ended up remaining before we left the place, mind you), which simply could've been easily mitigated by telling us at 8:50PM to come a different day if we wanted better service or something of the sort. After traveling far & wide for this freakin Okonamiyaki, with an offputting slight glare, the waiter told us that they didn't have it for the night. No reason provided: "we just don't have it"... mmmk buddy. At least lie to us and say that the kitchen doesn't have any more ingredients or something dude. Upon the 3 of us ordering what we got, each item was disappointing in its own right: * To be fair, my friend who ordered the Uni Udon was warned that it might be a little weird tasting, and it sure was. Don't recommend * The JFC Don pictured was about 90% rice according to my friend. Nothing more needed to say there. * Annd my Maguro Avocado Don... wow I was astonished at how much I disliked it. The rice was lukewarm. Nothing was mentioned about minced tuna on the menu so it looked like dog food in my bowl. I'm white... so what in the white people shit was in my bowl? Like...genuinely. I could make that 10x better at my house in half the time and I'm a fcking college student. Is seasoning no longer with us? Does anyone know what pepper or garlic are? Was astonished at how one can make a dish so terrible. I only ate it because I'm broke and can't afford other stuff. The dish looks as horrible as it tasted , and I made it look better than it was served to me I could go on. And lastly, the checks. Yknow, for guys that seemed so pissed for us being there, they were slow as hell with the checks. I'm kind af but a bitch when I'm fucked with (case in point here), so I really gave them my whole dentures, which was exponential in magnitude compared to what they gave us. Thank you Issian, for a terrible night. Citizens of the world, please don't waste your money here, I beg you. read more

Issian - JFC Don -- according to my friend was about 90% rice & everything else just on top - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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This place was packed on a Friday night with not a lot of waiting area space, so everyone's crammed at the front door. It got pretty noisy, and my hair smelled smoky when I left. We ordered only from the happy hour menu because they had a ton of good sounding options there. The yakiton came first and was really greasy and black peppery. The yakitori meat was smaller than the chicken skewers I've gotten at Southeast Asian restaurants in the Seattle area, but these ones had a softer texture like teriyaki chicken. The kalbi beef was inconsistent. One of our plates had large pieces, while the other plate was full of small pieces. The smaller kalbi was drier. The bigger kalbi was chewier. I'd stick to ordering kalbi from Korean restaurants where the meat is more tender and easier to eat. The best item we ordered was the crispy chicken wings. They really were crispy - nothing like I've had before in terms of crispiness. Next time I would try the JFC to compare. Something that I didn't like was that they put both orders of the wings on the same plate instead of splitting them up. They split up the kalbi plates, but nothing else. It was ok to combine the skewers because they're so tiny, but the wings were almost falling off the plate they were on and very close to being a bad jenga situation with how they were placed. read more

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Absolutely delicious skewers that were made fresh! Service was also great, although the wait time after our order was a bit due to how popular the place is read more

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We came for happy hour on a Sunday and the wait was CRAZY long- about an hour- but they warned us ahead of time that that would be the case, they said to having many reservations that night. So it was on us deciding to wait! We got in just under the buzzer and ordered a bunch of things. Everything was good and prices were great for happy hour in Seattle. Good hot sake. Do take wait time into account when deciding! read more

Place was still very busy on a weekdays so it's best to call and get a reservation. You can call when they open the day of and they'll still have spots open. Happy hour options were great and I loved the jell-o shots. Although it might take a little time to get the waiters attention. read more

The yakitoris are tasty and their à la carte are delicious. Staff are all polite. Very Japanese atmosphere and we enjoyed a lot! read more

Issian - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Food 3.5/5: My favorites were the Japanese fried chicken and chicken hearts. Some skewers were really salty Service 5/5: warm and attentive Environment: It could get hot and smoky if you sit close to the bar. Some might find it authentic and unique read more

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My husband and I came here for happy hour on a Friday early evening- a few minutes after they opened! Like previous reviews say, it helps to get here early, as there was a line out the door of folks waiting by the time we left. Our server was very prompt to take our order and was patient as I listed out the multitude of items. This is an izakaya-style place where you order lots of small bites- we ended up ordering mostly off the happy hour menu, with edamame, two yakitori, two yakiton, takoyaki, wasabi mayo fries, and finally the omakase chef's choice small sashimi plate (not on the happy hour menu, but four types of fish with two pieces each). Plus a pitcher of Sapporo! This was the perfect amount of food for two people, and the bill rang up fairly inexpensive at $60 total. The place has a fun, loud atmosphere when it gets full. I highly recommend this place for anyone trying to get an izakaya experience in Seattle without breaking the bank. read more

Issian - Edamame and chef's choice small sashimi plate with pitcher of Sapporo - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Happy hour deals were fantastic. The chicken and pork belly skewers were tender and had a nice char. Agedashi tofu was crispy and silky inside. Sashimi was super fresh and some of the best I've had. Service was flawless and the staff were kind enough to my friend's service dog and even brought him water. read more

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My hubs and I have eaten here three times this year and while the staff are generally friendly and good, the food just isn't that great, and the place can feel very hectic and noisy. We've tried all kinds of dishes including the yakitori, agedashi tofu, gyoza, maguro avocado tartare, sashimi combo, and the JFC. Except for the JFC, everything has been meh or okay. Twice the sashimi tasted off, like it wasn't that fresh, and we complained to our wait staff. The best thing on the menu is the JFC (Japanese Fried Chicken) which is their version of karaage chicken. Every time it's been crispy, savory, delicious. Giving Issian three stars only because of the staff and the JFC, otherwise I'd give it just two stars. read more

A nice vibey spot, with some pretty good food! My friend and I came here on a Tuesday night without a reservation, but were still able to get a table immediately despite it being quite busy in there. Your clothes will definitely catch some of the smoke smell, so be prepared for that! We got the jfc (japanese fried chicken), agedashi tofu, negihama and sake rolls, and a variety of skewers: pork belly, chicken thigh, wagyu beef, scallop, and chicken heart. The jfc portion was HUGE and the chicken was super crispy and juicy - we did ask for a side of spicy mayo since it felt necessary to eat with it. I enjoyed the agedashi tofu a lot as the broth was light but savory, and the sushi rolls were tiny but yummy as well. Out of all the skewers, I liked the pork belly the best by far - the rest were good but nothing special. Overall, I would recommend the jfc and pork belly skewers! I would definitely want to come back to try more of the menu. read more

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Fabulous izakaya in Wallingford. We came for the Happy hour and then stayed throughout dinner service. Ordered yakitori, tempura, chicken kaarage, tofu, beef yakitori, so much food I was in a great mood..highly recommend read more

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Why food tastes better when the restaurant service is great? Here is the answer "Issian" All the food is delicious and to top it off, the service from the entire staff is excellent, even in a busy restaurant! Happy Hour, Izakaya menu, Fish (Grilled and Raw), Yakitori and Drinks are so good!! read more

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Walk-in only! We (lady and I) showed up at 7pm on a Friday night. There were 5 groups in front of us, but we still somehow sat down and place an order before 8pm. We ordered 10 skewers (2 of each of the chicken), kushikatsu, squid okonomiyaki, two uni handrolls, uni udon, jfc don, and.... I don't remember what else. There's a QR code which hosts the website menu, and daily specials for sushi (today was fatty tuna, bluefin otoro). When you walk in you know it's a Japanese izakaya (plus sushi? So not "completely" izakaya but hey it's still Japanese). Also, for peanut allergy folks - NO PEANUTS HERE! WOOOOOOO The vibe in here has a soundtrack playing (80s tunes?) but it's not too loud. The noise of the food being made and chatter is definitely louder than the ambient sound. If you look up towards the light, you can tell this place doesn't have the best ventilation - even on a cold winter day, the smoke still hangs around the ceiling. The air is a bit stuffy? Not terrible but I wouldn't come here if you need the PNW "fresh air" feeling. The first thing that came out was on a paddle, above the sushi bar (we're at the counter), was the uni handroll. Very fresh! Next up was the kushikatsu, delicious! Then the flood of food - uni udon, jfc Don at the same time... Then the okonomiyaki and the skewers. All in all - decent service. Food all came out within 30 min, we were so stuffed, and all-in it was only $120 with tax (before tip) for 2 people. Definitely higher quality than Shinya Shokudo, which is the only other yakitori place in Seattle I know of (at the moment). read more

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We went to Issian for Happy Hour last night after many years of staying away due to the pandemic. It was so nice getting some of our old favorites - mine are the crispy chicken wings, the croquettes, and the yakitori (grilled chicken skewers). My family ordered the mackerel, kalbi beef ribs, gyoza, chicken kushikatsu, and pork skewers. All delicious - but we were sad to see some things we used to love, no longer offered. The Drunken Clams and one of the salads we used to order were missing from the menu. Service was friendly and quick. They kept our water glasses full and never kept us waiting for long. It wasn't very busy when we got there, but that didn't last long. By the time we left, lots of people started arriving. It's a lively spot to meet up with friends and share a lot of small plates. read more

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This is a pretty good izakaya place up in Wallingford. I went here with some coworkers on a weekday and we were able to just walk right in for happy hour, for a party of 5. We got a bunch of yakitori, wings, agedashi tofu, etc off the happy hour menu, as well as other skewers like scallop, wagyu, etc from the regular menu. Regardless of happy hour or regular menu, prices are fair. Happy hour $1.60 per skewer is pretty good, with the fine print that you must get a minimum of 2 of a particular skewer. I am particularly a huge fan of the chicken wings and the yakitori, with the negima off the regular menu my favorite albeit a bit pricier. I always love some green onions. The wagyu skewers were pretty stellar as well, at $3.80 each which is a fair price for a fair amount of food. We also got some agedashi tofu and sashimi which were good but I'd personally just stick with the skewers next time. Happy hour large sake was like $7 which is a steal, as that is enough for 2 people. Everything is mostly satisfactory and would be considered an enjoyable meal if I get it at any time of day. Service is good for the most part as food is delivered in a timely manner and water refills are present. I am not a fan of how strict they are of the order minimums for subsequent orders. For initial orders, I understand the 2 minimum, but if we got like 10 of a kind already and wanted 1 more of a particular kind and a few more of something else, being inflexible on adding just 1 more of a skewer we already got a lot of is a bit of a miss and disincentivized us from ordering more, as it will be too much food if we stick to the 2 minimum. read more

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Flavorful yakitori and really great food! We came here for a birthday and it was really nice they were able to accommodate such a large party! Service was friendly and were working hard to make sure we all got our food and drinks. Ambiance is casual. You can see them making the yakitori and it gets a little smoky and toasty inside. Food: + yakitori scallop - sooo good! + yakitori beef sticks - very flavorful and perfectly cooked + okonomiyaki - I devoured this! + assorted sushi rolls - all were pretty solid and fresh tasting Overall, huge fan of the smoky yakitori flavor and the prices seemed pretty reasonable! read more

Issian - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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This place has a really good deal during happy hour. I come here mostly for yakitori, and their chicken thigh skewers are excellent and pretty cheap compared to other places. Service is great, and the vibe is pretty chill izakaya vibe. I have tried their seared salmon, which was fine, and their galbi beef, which was a bit too salty. However, I loved their chicken skewers as well as mackerel. The portions for the mackerel was quite big - was not expecting that under $10! The only complaint is my second visit was not as impressive - the skewers were not quite as good so maybe they are not super consistent. But I'm willing to try again given their price and service. read more

Issian - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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This place is great for skewers, sushi, and other assorted Japanese food. The staff are friendly but busy. The restaurant is busy. The only minus is that there is no parking and that parking can be a challenge on 45th on average. read more

I was craving creamy udon and some sushi. Issian has both and they do it so well. A cute restaurant in Wallingford area with street parking. Came for a weekday dinner with my friend and it was pretty full, but we were seated right away. We ordered the aburi salmon starter, the mentaiko udon, the hamachi sushi bowl, and the unagi cucumber roll. Their creamy udon is honestly the best thing. It looks weirdly watery, but the flavors are so good and the udon is nice and chewy. TBH give me a jug of the sauce/soup and I'll eat everything with it. Everything else was pretty good. Hamachi was fresh, I felt like they could've added a bit more eel to the rolls, scallops had a nice sweet salty sauce. Overall, great restaurant. Would come again and again just for their creamy udon. Service is also quick and friendly. read more

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Issain is a hidden gem stellar happy hour. I highly recommend it if you're looking for quality Japanese food at an Izakaya style restaurant. They're fast as friendly and the mood is just right. My friend said it felt like they were in Japan! They have a huge selection of small plates so it's easy to share and try out lots of things. My personal favorite was the crispy chicken wings. read more

Issian - Karaage chicken - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Delicious yakitori and izakaya bar in Seattle. Beef tongue, cartilage, kalbi, chicken, tasty skewers all around! We also had kaki fry (fried oysters), okonomiyaki, mentaiko udon, wasabi fries. All delicious . Good service, fast and tasty. Ambiance is very Japanese. Love the authenticity of this place. Would recommend coming here during happy hour to get some dishes (and drinks) at a slightly better price. Check included tip so that was refreshing as well! Was so tasty and food coming in so fast I didn't have time to take any photos! read more

Immediately upon entry to Issian, you're hit with an incoming wave of happiness. The scents of fried and grilled food flood your nostrils and get stuck on your clothes. The sounds of friends sharing food and laughing. You can tell you're in the right place. Sit down and grab yourself a glass (or maybe a pitcher) of Sapporo, you're in for a treat. There's a reason why Issian is incredibly popular, and it's because it's not only a fun and delicious experience, but very reasonably priced for Seattle. Each skewer is around $2 and has a few decently sized morsels of the meat of your choosing. Go for the chicken hearts, don't be scared. I couldn't recommend the Japanese Fried Chicken highly enough. It comes with around 6 huge pieces of chicken, and some fantastic dipping sauce if you ask for it. I would come back for this alone. The sushi here is also very high quality. The best part is that you can try a wide variety of dishes to share without breaking the bank. I came here with a group of 4, and we all left incredibly full for under $40 each with drinks. I still decided to get Molly Moon's afterwards though, which was a bad idea (great ice cream, I was just too full for it). This will be a staple in Wallingford for years to come. read more

I've heard lots of good things about the Happy Hour here at Issian, but unfortunately I missed it. That's okay though, because the food was still great and reasonably priced! Between the three of us, we ordered 7 items to share (counting the 3 scallop skewers as 1 order since we ordered 1 per person) and we were very full. We had a pescatarian in our group so we did not try any meat dishes. My favorite was the fried oysters. Perfectly fried and juicy. The seared saba sushi was the star of the show though since I wasn't expecting much but it was delicious! Everything from the fish to the rice was done right. The okonomiyaki was my least favorite. It was somewhat battery and was just not as good compared to everything else. While I enjoyed the scallop kushiyaki skewers, I did think they were a little small. There is only street parking available but we were able to find some relatively easy and close by. The staff are very kind and made sure to let us know when last call was. The store has cute Halloween decorations up to celebrate, but halfway through our dinner, they started deflating and falling on us oh no! read more

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It's out second time dining at Issian, it's became one of our go to spots whenever we visit Seattle. We arrived without a reservation at 6, they managed to get us in before their next reservation arrives. Service was quick, food was flavorful, and the happy hour price was unbeatable. We ordered and reordered skewers and sharable plates, with two drinks for under 90 before tip. read more

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We got here for happy hour and nearly ordered everything on the menu. We ended up with enough food and was not able to try the non-happy hour items. We made a reservation for 6pm and the place was packed already. People be a little crazy to wait an hour for a table. I would say this place is a bit hyped and may disappoint you. read more

Stopped in for a quick happy hour and had a great time. Huge selection on the happy hour menu and good prices on the regular price menu as well. We shared sake, yakitori, gyoza, and JFC donburi. Everything was flavorful and fresh! Service was fast and very friendly. read more

Expect to wait a while for a table during dinner hours, but it's well worth the wait! The salmon sashimi was like eating butter. I will be back, and I'm ordering two servings next time! read more

Issian - Salmon Sashimi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I was soooo surprised by how cheap it was! We were seated at the bar so it was very fun being handed our fresh fish via long pizza handle by the chef lol. The chasu bowl was amazing, the large omakase was cheap but very tasty. The yakitoris are an amazing deal at happy hour and come out hot. My salmon don unfortunately tasted a little strange was was smelly so I hard a hard time finishing, which I thought was strange because the salmon on the omakase was incredible. Love the dark and lively ambiance and great service! read more

Issian - Large omakase and chasu Don - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Solid happy hour place for sure!!! I have heard of this place for a while but never went until now. We came right when it open because we want happy hour and there was already a line of people as well. Their happy hour deal is definitely one of the better ones in my opinion. What's nice too is you can do take out for the happy hour deal as well!!! Yakitori/yakiton: $1.60 each and a minimum order of 2 each --- pretty good. The meat was tender, the flavor was there 4/5 Agedashi tofu: $6.50 - one of my favorites. There's 4 chubby tofu in a plate and it was fluffy light and I love the sauce and it comes with daikon/wasabi thing on top 5/5 Kalbi $7.50 - ok, not the best. More dry, jerky style, some had burned taste. Comes with some salads 3/5 JFC salad $7.50 -- such a great deal! Easily can just order this and it will feed a person. Chicken was Flavorful and tender and juicy. comes with spinach and some mustard dressing 5/5 Service was ok, the food came out fairly quickly. Overall, great place for happy hour! read more

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The happy hour at Issian is top notch. They have a large variety of food options, but the Yakitori and Yakiton skewers plus a pint of Sapporo will always hit the spot for me. At around $1.60 per skewer, I'll order multiple along with some edamame and just enjoy. The chicken wings as well as the agedashi tofu are also items I would order again. The wings have a nice 7 spice seasoning that's very enjoyable. To me, this spot is a staple in Wallingford. Anytime I'm around here between 4:30pm-6:30pm, you bet I'll hit up Issian for happy hour. read more

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I appreciate the diverse menu this place offers, and I think it's the best Japanese restaurant in Wallingford. However, I think the service needs an upgrade. There is no reservation system, so not only did we have to wait for a table but also wait a painfully long time to be on the waitlist and to check in after being called from the waitlist. The front doesn't seem to have a designated receptionist, which is the problem. Then it took 15 mins from the time we sat down before our waitress took our order. The table that sat next to us 10 mins later got their orders first. A call button is much needed, especially for an izekaya restaurant. Our waitress never came back but the busboy did 4 times. So we couldn't order any more food; another big flaw for an izekaya restaurant. I liked everything we got, and even though it feels pricey, it's the average cost of izekaya. None of the items were the best I've had, but it hits the spot. read more

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Love love love their food! We ordered grilled squid, quail egg bacon, bacon asparagus, pork belly, beef wagyu, uni creamy udon, caterpillars roll, JFC chicken salad, tempura, shrimp tempura, omakase (no tuna), tonkatsu donburi. The place is not big but managed to get us a table for six right away. They only have street parking so it might get hard to find parking too. Overall the only thing we didn't like is the Wagyu since it was chewy so they gave us a 30% discount on it. The creamy udon was my favorite, even the caterpillar roll too. The service was amazing and they were very hospitable and attentive. The price for six people was $45 each after everything we ordered. read more

This is our regular spot for mentaiko udon, fresh fish, and japanese grill. Everything is reasonably priced and after eating here several times, I always leave impressed by the quality of food and service. It's significantly better than other overhyped options in Seattle. My partner and I share multiple dishes and our check is under $75. This restaurant is gold! read more

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Issian is one of my go-to Japanese restaurants in the Wallingford area. They have great sushi, happy hour and Japanese food overall! They are open in the evenings and often have a wait during peak dinner hours and weekend nights. During all of my visits, the staff are very attentive and willing to answer any questions about the menu. They're also very good on helping you when you'd like to add more to your meal and with drinks! There is a good amount of table seating, as well as counter seating too! I've tried a variety of things on their menu, but their mentaiko udon is a staple every visit! The udon texture is perfectly chewy and I love the creaminess of the mentaiko broth. It always hits the spot. I've also ordered their masu sushi (3 sashimi on a small bed of rice), several of their yakitori, sashimi platter and orange roll. Their yakitori is so fresh and well marinated. Their fish quality is great and I've only experienced fishy sushi here once, out of all the times I've been. They have a great roll section and the masu sushi is a good option if you're looking for fish and rice. Also, the food is super reasonably priced for the quality and for Seattle. Would highly recommend! read more

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My friend highly recommended this place and it is one of her usual hang out spot for Izakaya. I agreed with her why is this place so amazing. It is in middle of Wallingford, it's a Lowkey chill place. It's better to go earlier since many people was waiting on Sunday night. They have happy hour and it's definitely worth the price for food and drinks. I tried many new things that I never knew it's that good. I got a couple sushi and sashimi. They are really fresh and buttery, made me ordered the salmon again! The beer were cold and refreshing. I tried chicken heart and wow i actually really liked it. I had a bad experience from somewhere and it tasted like blood and iron, this place doesn't. It tasted like grilled and it did not have any of the bloody or iron taste. The chicken cartilage is so crunchy and I didn't expect it's that big. It's usually a tiny ones. The crispy wings are definitely a must order!! The chicken skin was so crispy. Over I will come back to this place for more food and beer! It's a great place to catch up with your friends. It can be loud tho but it's a personable place. read more

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We came for the meat skewers and they did not disappoint! We ordered the Wagyu, pork belly and chicken thigh skewers. They were all delicious but I especially loved the spicy mustard with the Wagyu. We ended up ordering more after our first round. I love sushi but usually am more of a deep fried with cream cheese kind of gal. The Las Vegas roll hit the spot. The masu sushi was different from the nigiri I'm used to, but it was still delicious. Overall, this was a great first time at Issian and we will definitely be back! read more

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denied food at 9pm on a saturday night when they are still open for an hour! will not recommend or come back do you want to make $$? read more

Good food and very reasonably priced! Got takeout here and was early for pick up, so sat and had a glass of wine while I waited. Only $6 after tax and it wasn't even happy hour. Got several sushi rolls which were pretty good. Only one I didn't like was the California roll. My favorite item was the Issian salad though! Will definitely get this again. Again, everything was very fairly priced. Restaurants in Seattle have been jacking prices left and right, but this was a great price for the quality of meal we had. Next time I want to eat in and try some other items on the menu. Give this place a try! read more