Absolute bad service. No one taking care of your table after you finish the dishes. They just thought that you haven't finish the dishes ,that's why they don't come to your table to take out the dishes. Older laddie had absolutely bad manner tour to customers. Unexpected service charge for four people and don't have any notice tour to customers. I was really got pissed off about it. read more

Filthy, loud and smoky establishment. There was a KITCHEN FIRE occurring during our meal and no open ventilation. There are major electrical hazards there... Extension cords dangling around the tables. This entire place needs to be audited by the fire department! The quality of the food absolutely did not meet its reputation. I would NEVER step foot in this death trap again. This place needs to be SHUT DOWN for public safety. read more

One of my favorite spots in Wallingford. The atmosphere has to be the best part, but the food is certainly fit to match. Come after 9pm for cheap eats. And eat at the bar if you can. They pass food fresh from the grill! read more

Issian is my favorite place EVER. Great service & delicious food each and every time. Try it, and you'll never regret it.

Came here for a quick bite, they told us the wait would be 30 minutes for 2 people but there were three tables open... They said they were reserved but they were open the entire time we waited. When we finally sat down it took forever to get service. The food was actually quite good, but you could tell they were severely understaffed. They'd probably benefit from hiring another server! read more

Issian is *easily* my favorite sushi restaurant in town! For the most part the service is quick (sometimes it is a little slow, hence the 4 stars instead of 5), the house sake is great and the food is out of this world! My fiance and I love to come here for happy hour. The rotating daily special is always really great (with the exception of Sunday's "free juice for kids") and the rest of the happy hour menu is delish and affordable. Outside of happy hour, you really can't go wrong with the sashimi plate! read more

I love this place for it's Maguro no Kama and having great happy hour specials. Good Japanese food run by people that actually speak the language. Highly Recommended. read more

This place is amazing!! I recommend the yellowtail ponzu appetizer (pictured) and the takiton - pork belly skewers. The menu has lots of amazing options and we'll definitely be back! The happy hour prices are very good as well. read more

Issian - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I do like the food but the service could be better. I came here with friends from Japan and they complimented how authentic the atmosphere and the food was. We shared a good amount of dishes from the happy hour menu and they were delicious! read more

So busy. Waited for almost an hour to sit down. Had their grilled meat on sticks and warm beers on taps. Fun but nothing special. Happy hour reasonably priced. read more

Under rated Japanese restaurant! Everything is great here! Better seaweed salad than most places, a good selection of sushi rolls, and the grilled mackerel is juicy! The quail eggs wrapped in bacon are my favorite. You must get the creamy udon as every reviewer has said. read more

This pale was awesome and the food was fresh. We had fresh Uni, abalone sashimi, Grilled mackerel, yakitori and other grilled goods. It was definitely a great place for a good hangout with friends. read more

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A friend of mine recommended this place and I was terribly disappointed. Had the katsu here during lunch. It was soggy and unfortunately didn't taste well. Also this restaurant is quite expensive for the quality of food. Heard good things are the happy hour here - will have to try it out. Hope it is more impressive than the lunch. read more

Came in on a Saturday night around 7:30, and didn't have to wait for bar seats with a great view of the grill. The Izakaya style grilling is what this place is good at, and it was cool to be able to see the chefs doing it. The ambiance here is awesome -- it's got a great feel which, for a person who hasn't even been to Japan, felt authentic. Lots of busy shouting in Japanese, and good smells and sounds. Service was fast and impeccable. The basics -- veggie skewers and simple rolls -- were passable, but as advertised on tin, basic. The special that the friendly waitress highlighted (a generous, grilled piece of mackerel) was more delicious and interesting. 5 stars for ambiance, 3 for food, except for the special which was a four. Would definitely go back for the atmosphere! read more

Damn good ... great prices [happy hour] of corse ... its worth going early to catch a table and HH ... can get crowded but worth it tho ... a lot of small dishes to share, but youll need to know what to order, order fast and all at once - love izakaya style [share with another]; one of our favorites when in seattle - I wouldn't go with a large party cuz youll be waiting ... read more

Fantastic HH menu! Everything tasted great, but the yakitori and yakiton were especially delicious.

I am missing Izakaya in U.S. but I feel I went back to Japan in Issian. I like their Tsukune, Tako-no-karaage or Maguro-no-kama. We were 5 Japanese + 1 American and enjoyed the place. We also used our Japanese meetup. The staffs are very Japanese style (Cheerful and not bother our conversation unless we call them) and they made Yaki-onigiri which is not on their menu. I really recommend that they put the Yaki-Onigiri on their menu!! read more

Issian offers the best sashimi I've ever had. It's buttery soft, fresh, and delicious, not the rigidly chilled little slabs I'm used to from other sushi places. We had the large sampler and the four of us just devoured it in wonder. We also tried their Sashimi Tartar, which is tuna, salmon, and another fish tossed with sour cream and herbs, and it was excellent as well. Their small plates are also terrific. We tried their seared tuna steak in a sauce so delicious we mopped it up with the decorative greens. We also loved their "JFC" (Japanese Fried Chicken), which is small pieces of chicken battered and fried. They're yummy and fun. Drunk Clams took a while (they warned us) but were fabulous: clams cooked in a sake broth with some veggies. Ground chicken balls with herbs were savory and satisfying. Two dishes were tasty but not worth raving about: Asparagus au Gratin and Gyoza. For all of that, plus sake for four, tea for two, and two beers, our bill came to about $95. I think that's a great price for four people to eat so well. The staff were super attentive and cheerful and the food came swiftly. We ate there about a week after their grand opening and the place seems to be running like clockwork. It's a superior replacement for Chinoise. If you love sashimi, in particular, you owe it to yourself to try Issian. And of course, you can follow it up with ice cream at Molly Moon's just a few doors down. read more

Please people do NOT write any more reviews about their sushi!!! This is NOT a sushi restaurant!!!!!! They probably had to put sushi items on the menu because most people here still think sushi is the Japanese food unfortunately. Please remember they specialize "Izakaya style" Japanese food which is one of the styles of food most Japanese people truly enjoy as part of their daily lives. To almost all Japanese people who live here think they make one of the best authentic every day Japanese food in the area. If you have something to say about this restaurant, please do so because we all have different taste and opinions. However, please DO NOT write ANY MORE sushi reviews. "NO MORE SUSHI REVIEWS" Again, this is NOT a sushi restaurant and sushi is just one of many many kinds of foods we enjoy in Japan. Ok... even if you still want to write a review about their sushi, please don't even mention about california roll, spicy tuna roll, rainbow roll, and such. They are not even Japanese food. Thanks guys. I just had to say something about this because this is really bothering me. One more thing, I saw someone mentioned about portion size about their yakitori being too small. They size is perfectly right for authentic Japanese yakitori, and the sauce for the is just perfect. Teriyaki sauce is not supposed to be that sweet like typical American Japanese restaurants serve. The portion size, atmosphere, flavor, service, they almost make me feel like I am back in Japan. read more

Probably one of the best Japanese restaurants to open recently. Great selection of dishes ranging from Kushiyaki (Skewered meats and veggies) to sashimi to small plates. What really sets Issian apart from other Japanese izakayas is the quality of ingredients, e.g. fillet mignon for beef skewers, thicker cuts of pork, etc. Great unagi as well, with a sauce that isn't overly sweet, and some very tasty fried chicken, which has a micro thin crisp outer layer and still tender and moist inside. The sashimi was also quite decent, despite other reviews. OK, it isn't going to match Kisaku or Nishino, but it was still very good, and priced fairly. Just two drafts on tap (Sapporo and Manny's), but that's one more than the usual izakaya in Japan. Service was friendly, good, and helpful. So the bottom line is that quality and authenticity sets Issian apart from other places. It isn't the cheapest Japanese place in town, but we spent about $25/person and came out very satisfied. read more

Solid spot for grilled items, sub-par for sushi though. Their yakitori (chicken thigh), hatsu (chicken heart), and yakiton (pork belly) were amazingly tender and grilled to perfection. Everything comes with this beautiful woody aroma and drenched in its own fat. Their happy hour rolls are cheap and full sized, but very bland. Just something about the fish that doesn't taste fresh. read more

The concept here is sub-par tapas at entrée prices. For the money, you're better off hitting Shiro's in Belltown.

As other Yelpers have mentioned there is definitely a variety of reviews for Issian. After going there for a second time I can completely understand why some people like it and some people are completely turned off. For me personally, I like the place. Ultimately I think it's worth the value, it's a unique dining experience, and some of the food is very good. Because their focus is on their grill, the amount of smoke produced from all their yakitori's is pretty intense. I actually chose to wear a t-shirt instead of a sweater because I didn't want to have to get the thing dry cleaned after going to a restaurant. But seriously, it might be a tad smokey but it's a GOOD smoke. It SMELLS AWESOME because their food is pretty damn good. We ordered the grilled squid legs and they were perfectly grilled, sweet, and with the perfect amount of chewy & crunchiness that you'd expect. We also got a grilled beef meatball and a grilled chicken meatball. Those were good but not as amazing as the squid legs. My friend loved her sliced rib eye steak but the definite show stopper was the grilled tuna collar. They don't mess around with that one - it was HUGE and cost less than $8 bucks. It was grilled and had a ton of soft, tender, lightly salted tuna meat. It will definitely be the must order item next time I go. We got an assortment of sashimi and sushi rolls as well. Their sushi is good but nothing out of this world. That being said, if you're looking for sushi there are probably other places you could go to if you don't want to be constantly tempted by grill smoke in the air. But I think if you've decided to walk through the doors you probably already know you're going to experience their Japanese grilled items. My last comment on the place is their service and I'm a little torn because their service is definitely a little over the top. I love good service and I love it when my waiter is nice, attentive, knowledgeable, appreciative - what have you. But I get annoyed easily - especially when its a little too intense. I understand that it's customary at Japanese restaurants for everyone to yell out a greeting or something when you walk in the door but I don't need people to bow to me - my ego does just fine on it's own without someone lavishing that much attention on me. And, not to call out race or something, but when the dude bowing to me looks like Topher Grace I just don't think it's necessary. But I'll definitely take that over crappy service any day. I'm not trying to rip on them...I just want them to scale back a bit on the over the top displays of appreciation. Anyway, as per the usual, I can't wait until I go back. read more

Easily the nicest surprise of the summer. I've been diagnosed with small-plate-phobia I was both nervous and anxious about a visit here. Will I be full? Will there be enough food? Will I have to spend an entire paycheck just to be satisfied? Basically the usual symptoms of my chronic affliction. Fortunately this was not the case. Each small order was larger than I had anticipated and was priced well enough that "sure I'll have another" came naturally and guilt free. The sashimi omekase was better than average and decently priced, $20. The Filet Minot was butter-tender and the Japanese Fried Chicken (though not as good as southern fried chicken) was really quite enjoyable. read more

Probably one of my favorite place for Izakaya in Seattle! Chicken cartilage is Amaaaaaazing! The sashimi, considering its price, is a great deal! read more

We went there on Friday night for the first time because we always wanted to try this place. It's not a fancy place and the menu is a bit limited, focusing mainly on the grilled dishes. We didn't try any sushi because 1) we know better places for that and 2) I think it was better to try their grilled dishes for the first time. Would order again: The yakitori and chicken liver were great. I didn't mind the sauce at all and they tasted really good with the spiced/flavored (?) powder provided. The dish that made the whole trip worth it is the grilled tuna collar. For less than $8, we got this fish collar that's the size of my face. I think we managed to scrape off all the meat and there was a lot of meat. I wasn't full before the dish, but I was afterward. Would skip the next time: The bacon wrapped mushroom was good, although I will try something else the next time. I was not impressed with the taco. It was not crispy nor soft. We also got one of the beef dishes. Don't remember the name, but it was $14. My friend said it was great beef, but we'll skip it in the future. Want to try next: We didn't order the dasi broth tofu and the gyoza. I really wanted to try them but was very full after the tuna collar. And after our protein-riched dinner, I was sort of craving for starch. So next time I'll order these dishes, along with grilled rice balls. Overall: I will definitely go back again and would recommend this place to friends. We sat at the bar and the chef was very friendly. Food is cheap but very decent for the price. read more

Okay, they need to clean this place. Tables and chairs are sticky, and floor hasn't been cleaned, or I see things on the floor. They are open everyday, but still they need to clean this place. Food is okay. We go here often, and food usually takes some time to get, but still we like this place. I really wish if they clean this place...please! read more

A huge improvement over Chinoise! We live only a couple blocks away, and were very pleased with our first two visits to Issian. As others have said, the staff are incredibly friendly, including enthusiastically greeting customers as they arrive and thanking them as they leave. The space is nice, with its high ceilings and tasteful paint job. We have tried the California rolls, seaweed and squid salads, the poke, the tempura, and the tempura. All were excellent- fresh and well-presented. We had no complaints about the timing of the arrival of our food, and our waiter returned frequently to see if we wanted anything else. All I can think is that the place is still very new, and the timing will improve as the staff learns. Every time we find a Japanese place we like (I Love Sushi, Kisaku, etc.) it quickly becomes popular and the wait for a table gets longer. I hope Issian is successful, even if it means waiting to get seated. read more

izakaya's are one of my favorite eating establishments. i get to order a bunch of little dishes with friends and try lots of different things, from fried food, boiled, fish, sashimi, sushi rolls, yakitori or skewers, and veggies. i'm used to izakaya's looking more like a japanese tavern and this place looks a little more posh. you can sit at the counter facing the chefs or at a table. they have a selection of japanese beer, sake, and wine. try japanese plum wine. it's sweet and i like it. just mix and match a bunch of dishes. i love enoki mushrooms! i also got the japanese fried chicken , tuna, and the issian rolls. the issian roll had beef and lettuce with a mayo type sauce on it. so good that i had to order another roll. read more

This place is TO DIE FOR. Absolutely IN LOVE with the small dishes like takoyaki, jfk chicken, agadeshi tofu, gizzard kabob, chicken skewers, sushi, sashimi, oyster shooters (SO GOOD, A MUST HAVE), salmon fillet, poke, and so much more! The setting is very authentic, Japanese-like (I'm Japanese myself so I would know) and the lighting is dim and sets the mood. The happy hour is the best! This is my favorite restaurant, hands down. read more

My favorite Japanese BBQ!! Plus their happy hour is unbeatable, $3 Pike's IPA? Yes plase.

Best ever chicken wings!!! A really good place for robata (grills). Sashimi was very fresh. Rolls were just okay, but we only ordered the simple ones (spice tuna, I think). Server was friendly. I also like the simple, open layout of the restaurant. read more

I am Japanese. And I miss the atmosphere of Japanese izakaya. This place has a very close atmosphere to what you feel in some izakayas in Japan. As for food, I think they are fine. I was happy with the atmosphere I couldn't even be critical on the food I was eating... Not that the food was bad. I would recommend this place. Just get there early enough so you don't need to wait.... Or reservation is recommended. read more

I've been to Issian several times. It's one of the few places in Seattle where I feel I get real Japanese food. And I love it izakaya-style! I don't go for sushi or sashimi in an izakaya, so I can't comment on that, but the JFC (karaage) and kushiton are fantastic. I love the yakitori; I really think I'm in Japan when I eat it. Great dengaku dishes, and the yakko has just the right amount of ginger for my palate. The tsukune in a patty form caught me by surprise, but it tastes excellent. The service is friendly (they yell out in Japanese every time someone comes in or leaves, just like in Japan) and the Sapporo on draft can't be beat. read more

Such good value and so much personality. Prompt, friendly and efficient service at door and table. 18 piece omakase, one roll, skewers of pork belly, chicken skins, beef tongue, bacon wrapped mushrooms and two rounds of drinks for $80. Fun and unpretentious. read more

This place is actually good, but unfortunately for them, its proximity to Musashi's has me coming here rarely. I can't help but compare the two considering they're what, a block apart? The first time, I came with two friends. We ordered a sashimi platter (omakase?), a plate of grilled mackerel, chicken yakitori and agedashi tofu. Everything was very good. I particularly liked the tuna sashimi...there was something that seemed reminiscent of a fatty tuna (though that seems to expensive to be on a variety platter)? The second time, I had a chirashi bowl. The fish here is fresh. I liked the extra grilled options as well. If I was going to pick this place over Musashi ever, it would be because I wanted the grilled dishes. Decent food but never quite made it was one of my favorites. read more

Ridiculous trying to make reservations for a large party. There is a two-hour time limit AND they require $16 per person pre-order or you cannot make reservation. There is also confusion about the currency of the menu - HINT: Don't use the Yelp menu. If the primary celebrant didn't request this restaurant specifically, I would NOT spend my hard-earned money at a place that doesn't understand the meaning if hospitality. read more

This is real japanese pub food. I came for lunch and had the maguro no tataki donburi and the karaage donburi (they call it JFC - japanese fried chicken). Both were great. We came again for dinner, had a couple of sushi dishes, agedashi tofu, maguro steak, yakitori, nankotsu karaage, and others. My wife (who's japanese) said it was one of the best japanese restaurants she's been to in Seattle and I agree. read more

I miss eating in Japan. I really do. So having a good robataya in the area made me a happy camper. The food was good, we probably ordered more than we should. I recommend doing the chef's faves which are starred on the menu. I love that they have a female sushi chef. The staff was friendly, but slow and left out an order I had, which at the time was no big deal cause I was already stuffed. I didn't detect any MSG which I have been experiencing around town lately. Prices were fair. I will probably put this on our regular going out rotation. read more

Happy hour is amazing. Great price for delicious food. The cooked tuna belly for $10 was enough to feed two people! Great service as well! Highly recommend especially with friends. read more