The food was fine, but I left with real concerns about hygiene practices here. Around 6pm on a recent visit, I went to use the restroom (shared with a neighboring business) and found no soap at the sink. The dispenser was wet, suggesting it had recently been used and run out. I flagged this to an employee who was handling food at the time. They acknowledged me but didn't address it. I waited and brought it up again and was met with visible annoyance. Another staff member eventually mentioned that employees use a sink in the kitchen. I asked if I could use it. Shortly after, soap appeared in the bathroom with no acknowledgment or apology. What concerns me most is this: if the customer-facing restroom had no soap during the dinner rush, and the response to being asked about it was irritation rather than urgency, what does that say about how handwashing is handled behind the scenes? I'm not looking for perfection. I'm looking for basic food safety protocol to be taken seriously. I didn't see that here. read more

This was a cute sushi spot I had never heard of before since I don't come to this neighborhood often. It was quiet when I came in for an early dinner on a weekend evening. My friend and I ordered a few different rolls and shared them. I thought all the fish was very fresh! I liked the simple but elegant presentation as well. I would certainly come back here in the future if I was in the area! read more

Kisaku Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

At my table, the ratings for food and service were 3.5 and 3. We had an assortment of nigri sushi, tempura, adamame, miso soup, a couple of different rolls, sake, and beers on tap. Tempura and miso was run off the mill, some nigri knocked it out of the ballpark such as toro, while other cuts were again standard. The uni looked darker than anything I've seen before and tasted, shall we say, a bit dry and potent. The rolls were okay, one better; the other had a bit of a fishy sub-aroma and was half left-over. Service was lackluster; the guy was a bit spaced out. The miso soup was forgotten, so was another order of sashimi. Also, we re-ordered some fatty tuna nigri but got served something horrible (like a piece of old, lean tuna instead) - here my spider sense was ringing as if we were intentially slipped some other cut ("they wont know the difference"). Or our server or the chef was slipping. Lackluster service and some fishyness gets a 3 star rating - could have been better and fresher. Not likely to return. Ambiance was middle of the road, neither loading ramp nor dark and cozy. They only have tables and counter seating, no booths. Of note, there is a bar across the street where they made a couple of nice after dinner cocktails - the better part of the evening. read more

Food, service and ambiance were all spectacular. Took my boyfriend there for his birthday and he loved it! They offered a complimentary appetizer or dessert for him so we ordered the teriyaki chicken app. His Sushi Combination M looked beautiful and he enjoyed every bite. I had the Tempura dinner which included shrimp, vegetables, miso soup, salad and rice. It was more food than I could eat. Our server was very attentive and nice. We've eaten there before and will go back again!! read more

Kisaku Sushi - Tempura dinner and sushi combination M plus teriyaki chicken appetizer. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Been here several times. Waguyu Seafood is a specialty. Ramen is good too. Price is acceptable and staff is friendly. Nice restaurant. read more

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I'm not a sushi expert so I can't rank it as the best but it's pretty darn good. I ordered the market special nigiri and futomaki, which left me happy with order. The atmosphere was moody and modern, while the waitstaff was polite and observant. read more

Kisaku Sushi - Market special (nigiri) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Really cute family style vibe restaurant! We got the chef's special omakase set! I loved the fatty tuna and salmon. The rice felt too dry and the fish sometimes tasted a bit fishy. We all got really bad stomach ache for days after eating here. read more

Kisaku Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Best place ever! Been going there for at least 15 years. Its a family Favorite. Same wonderful lady runs the front and the cooks are amazing as well. read more

From just looking at the menu none of the rolls excited me too much as I was looking for more adventurous rolls. So I decided to get sushi combo M and see how their fish is. I'm happy with my decision, the nigiri options were great which included different options of tuna, salmon, clam, scallops, and octopus. In my opinion, the octopus wasn't anything special as it didn't have much flavor and was a little rubbery. The restaurant was a bit more upscale and our group of 8 enjoyed the experience. read more

Kisaku Sushi - Sushi Combination (Medium) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I can't believe this restaurant only has 3.9 rating. My husband and I went last night, it was so good! We had Linda as a server, she was stand out! Absolutely incredible, such a fun and kind energy. Her recommendations were amazing as well! All of our food was delicious, but the highlight for both of us was the baked crab hand roll. I will be going back specifically for that hand roll. Thank you for the incredible service and delicious food. Also very grateful for a restaurant that has lower lighting + natural light versus aggressive overhead lighting. bless you! Haha I literally will avoid certain restaurants with terrible lighting. Adding this restaurant to our rotation! read more

Kisaku is a neighborhood gem in the Green Lake area of Seattle. Tucked in a primarily residential area, its blue neon sign beckons like an oasis signaling the pristine fresh seafood inside. I always make it a point to stop in when I'm in town for business or pleasure, sometimes directly from the airport with carry-on bag in tow. Both the dining room and sushi bar are spacious, with plenty of space for all and a proper server to customer ratio. Reservations are recommended though, especially on the weekends due to the relatively short hours (last seating even on the weekend is 8 pm). A 3.9 rating is unfairly low from my vantage point at the sushi bar. Richard and his efficient crew serve a wide variety of high quality fish that is well presented and basted with a light touch of soy sauce so there is no need to dip which would overshadow the subtle flavors of the fish. The price points are much lower than those at similar restaurants in big cities across the country. On this occasion, I had a seven order lineup - hamachi, salmon, sanma (pike mackerel), albacore, saba, natto hand roll and unagi. With the gracious and generous add-ons of anago and tamago by Chef Richard, I was completely satisfied and am already looking forward to my next visit to Seattle. read more

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Great sushi spot in green-lake. Very nice, dim lit interior with decent amount of seating (more upscale) - you can sit at bar to watch chef's as well. The fish is super fresh, with tons of variety and speciality rolls. I highly recommend starting with miso soup, and ordering the waiter's suggestion for a variety of rolls to split! Many great options, plus you can order it as takeout! read more

Kisaku is an excellent local stop for fresh quality sushi. I have only been for lunch, but their lunch deals are very good and consistent. Their rice has the right amount of seasoning without being overly sweet or tangy, and the consistency is the right amount of sticky with distinct grains. Every cut of fish I've received was very flavorful. During lunch you get complimentary miso soup and salad, and the service is very attentative. They are frequently full, so a reservation is recommended. Overall this restaurant is a sunny and joyful place to get some great fish. read more

We ordered sashimi combo and tempura this Saturday. They tasted so delicious and fresh. This meal is so satisfying. The price is reasonable. For the quality, I think it is a steal. We do not eat out as often because everything is so expensive. So happy we spent the money at Kisaku. So worth it. read more

Loved Kisaku, the service and the staff. Good selection and rotation of fishes, their rolls aren't bad. I have had better, and enjoyed their other food items from the menu which were exceptionally prepared. They have a large dining area which fills up easily, so be sure to come early or make a reservation during busy days or nights. They are a bit on the pricier side, which is expected given their location. But given the quality of food and the ambience, I personally think it's worth it. I will be back and I highly recommend this cute sushi spot in Tinseltown :) read more

I was really looking forward to trying this restaurant. The reviews looked great and it was close by. My family and I had come to Seattle to visit my brother. There are so many sushi restaurants and being from New Mexico I am so excited to try it all. Unfortunately we did not get the chance. As soon as we walked in, the woman seemed to be annoyed. I said hello, and that I needed a table of 5: 3 adults and 2 high chairs. She rolled her eyes and asked, "do you have a reservation" "No, I'm sorry, we don't. Is this a reservation only restaurant?" "ugh, no, but let me check" When she came back she told us we could eat there, but it was going to be a while a LONG while. And we could order "a la cart" if we sat near the bar. We weren't even given a wait time. But it felt like she just really wanted us to leave. I don't know what was going on, but there seemed to be plenty of tables. They may have been short staffed, but there was no mention or explanation. There are so many wonderful places in the area, so we just left and ate sushi at another place in the neighborhood. My kids are small, but we go out to eat all the time. I don't know if it was a misunderstanding or what, but we felt incredibly unwelcome. I was on yelp and the website and I never saw mention of "reservations required" or "no children allowed" Again, I don't know what was going on, but when I left I kept thinking, "are we dressed weird??" "Do they dislike children?" "did we do something??" I have never experienced that before, and it was really uncomfortable. read more

I've been here many times. The food is good and there is easy parking. However, my clothes always end up smelling like stale grease. Also, I invited a friend (his first time there) and they kicked us out after 85 minutes. I had a reservation and was on time. I felt that 85 minutes was too short and/or they should've warned us earlier. My friend had barely finished eating. read more

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service was great, food was good, and had cute interior with nice lighting for a more romantic feel. Had seating at the bar area where you can watch the chefs which was cool also. read more

Kisaku Sushi - Hamachi roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Excellent sushi. Excellent service. Nothing more nothing less. I need more characters to post this review.

Before I entered, I saw their logo on the door and I thought the artwork was awesome! When we went in we came a little before our scheduled reservation but they sat us down anyway which was nice! Taking a look at the menu they have nigiri, sashimi, and some sushi rolls. This place seems legitimate though when it comes to their fish. My friend ordered the sashimi combo which was $32 and she said it was a great deal since they gave you thick slices of 7 different kinds of sashimi along with miso soup and rice. My other friend purchased the sushi combo L and I purchased the sushi combo M which was around $27-30. These also came with miso soup but not rice. They were all great btw! I loved the presentation of our orders! I am a bit of an amateur when it comes to eating nigiri but I learned quite a lot. I learned that there's a little wasabi that goes in between the fish and rice. Having the wasabi was definitely an experience lol but I ate everything! I loved the fish cuts (salmon, white fish, tuna, etc.) and would definitely try it again! It would be nice to try out their lunch menu since they have some pretty good deals! read more

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Our son's birthday was the occasion for our dinner at Kisaku Sushi. I found them on Yelp and since my son's favorite meal is sashimi we decided to try out this well regarded (on Yelp) sushi restaurant. We arrived for our reservation on time and they were finishing setting up our table. The restaurant was nearly full so we're glad we made reservations. The restaurant is not too big; I think maybe 10 tables; 2 tops and 4 tops. They had to make a larger table for us. We were promptly given water and soon after we ordered several sashimi dinners and some appetizers. Each dinner came with rice and miso soup. The dinner consisted of several fish choices including albacore, yellowtail, salmon, white fish and octopus. All was nicely arrange on a bed of ice (see pictures). We had to wait a bit for our food to come out. So the server brought out complementary edamame to hold us over until the entrees came out. Wow such great service and we had a great time. We're looking forward to our next time here. read more

Kisaku Sushi - Menu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Came here for a friends bday and it was fairly decent! FOOD: We got one of the sets for $27 which had 10 pieces of nigiri. Although it wasn't a bad price, I felt that the quality was all right. It's sort of a "you get what you pay for". Still yummy! SERVICE: We had to wait for our food for a bit. It was a full house but even with the many servers that were working, the wait was quite a bit. AMBIANCE: It's chatty but that's expected. I thought the interior was just average. It's a good place to stop by if you're around but I think for me it's not a place I'll eagerly crave. read more

Unfortunately I didn't have a great experience at Kisaku. Our party of 3 came here Sunday night with a reservation at 7PM. They were quite busy and we were seated after 10 minutes so that wasn't too bad. They took our order soon after but it took about an hour and 40 minutes before we received our food. While we were waiting, we ran out of water and asked one of the workers for a refill on our pitcher and she took it but never came back. Most of the workers in the restaurant seemed to be in a bad mood when we would ask them for an update. Our server was at least apologetic and did give us some miso soup on the house, which we appreciated. I got the caterpillar roll and some salmon nigiri. Overall it was decent sushi, wasn't terrible but didn't taste the freshest. The nigiri slice looked a little butchered. One of my friends got the combo and he enjoyed it. My other friend got the $50 omakase and regretted it because one of the pieces just had asparagus and another was just with avocado. If you are to get anything here, the combo order is a better bang for your buck. read more

Kisaku Sushi - Caterpillar Roll and Salmon Nigiri - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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I came here after a friend's recommendation and have to say it was a great experience! Made a reservation for Saturday for right when they opened for dinner (4:30pm). There were plenty of spots open at that time, however it filled up about an hour later. Sat at the sushi bar and the sushi chef was super friendly! We ordered 2 of the omakase hoshi courses and some extra nigiri. Each omakase course comes with an appetizer of your choice and 12 piece nigiri or sashimi. For appetizers, we ordered the ceviche and the gindara kasuzuke (flame broiled marinated black cod) and both were delicious! The ceviche had a lot of flavor and a good mix of raw fish and the cod was buttery and soft. The nigiri portion of the omakase was fresh with a good assortment. It includes 10 pieces of fish nigiri and 2 vegetable. There was an eggplant one that was surprisingly tasty! After finishing the omakase, we ordered two orders of amaebi nigiri, which one was specially made that was seared with quail egg yolk and also an order of seared flounder. These were definitely the favorites of the meal! Overall, had a yummy meal and left with happy bellies! Will definitely be coming back! read more

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Pretty cute, dim litted, and quaint place! It feels very cozy even though it's a smaller restaurant. I have been here multiple times and it's always been consistently appetizing! Recommended to make a reservation even if it's last minute as they take phone calls. Hands down get the devils roll. This is a vegetarian roll and it's one of the only times I'll order a veggie roll but it's amazing! The other roll, Ballard roll, was also very good! Mackerel, Shiso, takwan, and maybe just top with a bit of ginger. Tempura (3/5) pretty gummy batter and on the thicker side but not bad. We got an assortment of sushi and everything was so good. The rice is a lot but so are the cuts of fish. Hands down the marinated fatty tuna was the BEST. Two for 13.50 but worth every cent. We will be back again as usual! read more

Kisaku Sushi - Salad - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Very average sushi that tastes like it's made at a grocery store for a premium price. The fish to rice ratio was pretty disappointing, not something i would expect from an expensive restaurant, hence why I said it seemed like grocery store sushi. Waitress seemed very quiet but I have nothing to say about the service, just average. I just wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. read more

We ordered chirashi sushi and tendon. Good: Rice Miso soup Salmon Bad: Tempura - why are they soaked in sauce? Fish - my sushi-loving fiance refused to eat more after eating two bad pieces. Also, the cuts are too thin. Cannot be too thin or too thick. Service - we told the server that food was bad. She did nothing about it and asked if we wanted to order dessert lol read more

OVERALL: 6/10 (Yelp Converted Score: 3/5). Came here for the 2020 Seattle Restaurant Week (more like month) - pandemic edition! Snagged a reservation for two (my partner and I) on November 6, 2020, at 6:00pm, through OpenTable. Can't say this place was my favourite Japanese food in Seattle, but for a fixed-price menu, it's hardly a complaint. The only advice I'd give for this is that if you expect to be full when you leave, you might end up disappointed. Let's get into the breakdown. 1) VARIETY/SELECTION: 6/10. We ordered from two people the SRWeek menu, plus one dish and a beer from the normal menu. Here's what we picked! Appetizer - sashimi with crab and avocado, and the Hamachi sashimi with orange. Entrée - sashimi (10pc) with rice, and sushi (5pc) with roll! (11/06/2020) Dessert - Mochi and Cheesecake We also ordered a spider roll off the regular menu, since we felt like we'd still be hungry after the main food, and I ordered an Asahi Super Dry cuz it was cheaper than I usually saw on menus. 2) FRESHNESS: 6/10. The sushi and sashimi that we got here (incl. the spider roll) wasn't the best that we've had in Seattle - and that's unfortunate, since Seattle has access to some of the most fresh fish in all of the USA, and I can think of multiple examples of sushi restaurants (even at this dining tier) that have better cuts of fish. It wasn't *terrible* by any means, but don't come here expecting Mashiko, Umi Sake House, or Shiro-levels of sushi-grade fish. The hamachi specifically tasted dry and somewhat stale - I'm a HUGE fan of hamachi normally, and LOVE how it tastes normally, but this one felt more bland, and the orange definitely didn't complement it that well. The mochi dessert was still somewhat frozen, and it actually kinda felt like the ones you get from Costco - y'know, those tiny little mochi bites? The cheesecake wasn't really anything to write home about, and it was tiny. 3) VALUE FOR MONEY: 7/10. I can't comment on the normal menu, but the price for the SR"Week" wasn't bad for what you got (3 courses for $28 - appetizer, main entree, dessert). I think the Asahi was $5, and the spider roll was probably $11-$14. The recurring theme of Kisaku is that the SRWeek portion sizes are miniscule - referring to my pictures, it really isn't a meal that will fill you alone. It's great to have with other roles, but for $28, I guess it might be asking too much to provide slightly larger sizes of sashimi, or slightly more fish on the end of the sushi, or a slightly larger non-SRWeek spider roll (especially for the price). 4) SERVICE: 6/10. When I showed up, the host was prompt and seated us at a table for two that had individually wrapped kits (probably for easier table turnover between reservations), which started off pretty nicely. What I found afterwards was a little disappointing. The food took a WHILE to come out; I think it was at least 15-20 minutes per dish, but granted, there was this huge party of six to eight that came in after us and they totally needed to be served to the utmost of quality. It took *forever* to get the bill, since we wanted to leave promptly after dessert but it seemed like I had to actually walk up to a staff member and get them to get us the bill, because we were sitting there after we finished eating thinking "where is the wait staff at?" And when you're asking that question, you're having a bad time. 5) CONSISTENCY / FIRST IMPRESSION: 5/10. I know these folks could have done better, so I might give them another shot someday, but as a first impression, it left much to be desired. I hope this place ups their game moving forward! read more

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Tucked away in Seattle, me and my girlfriend wanted to try this place out. We got the TORO TARTARE - Fish was super fresh and melt in your mouth and I loved how there were pieces of fried lotus root, it gave another element of texture to the dish. RICHARD ROLL - Their most expensive roll on their menu I believe. Was great but wish there was more flavor to the roll. SPIDER ROLL + SPICY TUNA ROLL - Spider roll was pretty standard but the spicy tuna roll was the best i've ever tried! The quality of the tuna was so good! They turned a simple roll into something that was truly delicious. Would definitely come back again for the quality and the ambiance! read more

A true hidden gem! This is where you get quality fish! Pleasantly satisfied with the quality of seafood, abundance, and traditional style of the food. Reasonably priced. Reservations highly recommended. Very limited menu selection, but every single item is fantastic. read more

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As a bit of a sushi snob and after living here for 8 years, I can honestly say this is my all time favorite sushi restaurant in Seattle. They have incredible fish and unique cuts (black throat perch, salmon belly, geoduck). They make incredible custom hand rolls - especially the spicy scallop with avocado instead of asparagus. Really good value for what you get too! The people are super nice as well. read more

I made last minute reservation for this place on OpenTable for a party of 2 - and it is almost mandatory since it is a fairly popular place. I actually tried to walk in one time on a Friday early dinner (5:30pm) and was told that it was a 2 hour wait, so definitely make reservations. The place is very well decorated, perfect for a date night. My friend and I shared the salmon sashimi with crab appetizer, crab hand roll, Green Lake roll, Futomaki roll, and Otoro nigiri (very fatty tuna). The salmon with crab is very fresh and the hint of truffle oil makes this quite good, yet does not overpower the actual flavors of the salmon. The crab hand roll has generous amounts of crab - I thought that the crab is only placed on top and the rice is at the bottom, but they seem to do a good job with doing a good distribution of ingredients throughout the roll. Green Lake roll is okay - despite it being a more popular roll, I wasn't a fan as the seaweed salad on top overpowered everything. Futomaki roll is also decent, but nothing too stand out as the eel and shrimp are very tiny so you could barely taste them. Otoro is okay, as they raised the prices on this a bit too much ($16 as opposed to $12) but did not offer the quality and freshness of the nigiri that I would eat at other Japanese restaurants, and certainly not as good as omakase ones. At the end, we shared the mango sake-rita dessert which is mango sorbet with sake. It is a somewhat unique dessert and is alcoholic, though I feel the flavors are a bit too artificial. The sake they used was a bit too heavy for the mango sorbet, and it does not really mix in that well. Overall, this place is okay and not too memorable. It somewhat lost the charm as a more affordable sushi establishment, making it easier to check out other similar or better places in the greater Seattle area. Prices used to be great for the portions (small portions so it does add up), but seems like they raised the prices quite a lot after the New Year (it was 10-30% cheaper less than a month ago from the Yelp menu photos) so you'll need to budget around $50 per person if you want a nice dinner here with a fair amount of variety, or go with the omakase experience for a bit more. read more

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Took my sister here for a late birthday dinner, otherwise I don't think I'd randomly trek up here. Located in a cute neighborhood near Greenlake with the interior and such, you'd mistake this place for a fancy sushi place. We both order the Hoshi omakase. My sister ordered the black cod as her appetizer and i got the salmon sashimi with crab. Both were great but her portion was definitely bigger and packed with so much flavor. The 12 piece of nigiri we got were okay. I was wanting some melt in your mouth sushi but weirdly all were really firm and I felt like the rice was a bit over powering as all I taste was the rice vinegar. The first two top pieces; kohada and mackerel? were so good flavor wise, hint of garlic which I enjoyed but that was about it ahaha. Every other piece was okay. Left a lot to be desired. The servers were great, really attentive and would stop by every so often to check in. Gonna be honest and say not sure if I'll be back. Getting catfish by food is an unpleasant experience for me because I love food and always want to enjoy what I'm consuming. read more

Kisaku Sushi - Top two left pieces were bomb. Everything else was okay. 12 piece nigiri. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Disappointed with the new omakase. 65$ for 12 piece nigiri and miso soup. The omakase menu was different from what was online, which was 12 nigiri pieces and a choice appetizer. The pieces weren't served one by one either. The nigiri was not anything fancy either, no uni, no caviar or sweet shrimp. We did get some fatty tuna. Service is nice. read more

Cute restaurant with cozy ambience. Make reservations! I was listening to the incoming phone calls while waiting for my friend and the place sounds booked. There were also multiple people waiting in the front as we left. We got the omakase for $55 per person. You get to choose 1 appetizer with 12 pieces of nigiri or sashimi. Fish were cut in generous portions. The deduction of 1 star is due to a couple fish tasting dry, but many fish were really good quality. I'm guessing the recent ice storm may have affected shipping. Fast service and the waiter checked on us frequently. read more

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My exploration of sushi places continues and looking for a place in Wallingford and decided to order from Kisaku Sushi. I called in my order for pickup and was told my order would be ready in 15 - 20 mins. My food was ready when we got there about 30 mins later. I got California Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, and Hand Roll. I loved the Spicy Tuna roll, and the Hand roll, the California Roll was good. Their rolls are on the smaller side (they are priced accordingly), I ordered multiple rolls for 1 person. I am looking forward to coming back to this place and trying more of their options. read more

Kisaku Sushi - Spicy tuna roll, California roll, and Hand roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Used to be one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants. But after last night's dinner we were disappointed by how much it had gone downhill. Despite raising prices, the sushi portions were significantly and noticeably smaller, with smaller fish and tiny portions of rice. The green tea, which used to be fantastic was significantly watered down. read more

Pros: good quality food, location (close enough to the hustle and bustle of 45th street but far enough to be laid back and easy to find parking), friendly staff Cons: small portion for the price, omakase menu doesn't look impressive (to be fair, I didn't order it) read more

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This is an underrated sushi restaurant nestled in Tangletown's main drag. This is my go-to place when craving sushi. It's no frills, but the sushi is consistently fresh and really great quality. I've never had a bad meal there and I've been A LOT. The decor has some cool modern 90s vibes going on. I dig it. Since it's in Tangletown, you'll get the young families with kids earlier in the evening, so if you're not into that vibe, make a reservation after 7 pm. Also, if you have a hankering for nabeyaki udon, this is the place. It's my favorite in the city. It's like a warm delicious hug. All in all, it's a wonderful Japanese restaurant if you're not looking for something hot and new. read more

Menu changed (possibly ownership change?). Rolls only come with four pieces and taste is no longer what it used to be. No more dinners just sushi, sashimi and rolls. read more