I cannot give this fine restaurant enough stars. I've been frequenting Ryu Nakano's sushi restaurants for many years and it's some of the best sushi I've ever had. We reserve well in advance and mostly sit at the sushi bar. The space is on the smaller side but I've seen hopeful walk-ins be seated (I've also seen many turned away--I suggest reservations.) Service has always been stellar. We normally enjoy a salmon flight, a tuna flight, the kelp-cured scallops (must be ordered in advance) and whatever else strikes our fancy or Nakano-San recommends. It's always spectacular! I find the nigiri to be just about perfect--just enough rice to offset the fresh taste of the fish. There is plenty on the menu beyond sushi but we admit to coming here for one reason only so I can't speak to much else (although the green salad is very nice, as is dessert.) Plenty of wine, cocktail and sake options. I remember the many years we didn't have a sushi restaurant in downtown Edmonds so I never take an evening here for granted. We are fortunate to have Nakano-San as a part of our community. Check it out if you haven't yet, and enjoy! read more

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3.5 stars! My partner and I wanted to try out a new sushi place that wasn't in the Seattle area and decided on this one after looking at the many wonderful reviews. I would say that many parts lived up to the high praises while others did not unfortunately :( The service was amazing! The staff were very attentive and kind. We were seated quickly and were not left waiting long for any part of our dinning experience which was very nice. We both got 2 portions of the 11 piece omakase ($53) and the great pacific northwest roll ($20) to share. The omakase offered good variety and came with an explanation of each cut of fish which was nice. We both enjoyed everything just fine but were left a little disappointed with the quality. Because of all the great reviews and the price point, I think we just were expecting to enjoy our meal much more than we did. The fish quality was not poor by any means but just not that good. The roll also lacked a bit of flavor as well :( I don't know if we just went on an off night or not, and I am hopeful that might be true. The ambiance was nice and balanced, the tables were spaced apart well, making the hum of the restaurant nice but not too much. I don't think we would be back due to the overall quality of our meal but it think it is worth a stop if you are craving sushi in the area. read more

SanKai Sushi - 11 piece omakase - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

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My family and I came in to celebrate my birthday with omakase and it DID NOT disappoint! They offer very affordable omakase (14 pieces for $56?) so my expectations weren't very high, but quality was unbeatable. Staff were friendly and attentive and it was packed throughout dinner hours. Everything tasted incredible that I forgot to take pictures! Plenty of street parking & restaurant is on the smaller side so I suggest making a resi before you go. read more

SanKai Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

Small and delightful sushi restaurant with fresh fish flown in from Japan daily. Excellent selection of Nigiri and sashimi. Great happy hour. Came here on a Monday night and it was still very busy. Reservations recommended read more

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3rd time coming here for birthday celebration. Omakase is very reasonable at less than $70/person. Food is always good and staff very friendly. Noise level average. We sat at the sushi bar and enjoyed chatting with staff. read more

Had to come back and double down with a second review for these guys. They stay at the top of the Snohomish county sushi game and could give any place in King county a run for their money as well. Our favorite date night spot in Edmonds. read more

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I've been coming to Sankai since they first opened, and it's still my go-to sushi restaurant. The quality has always been consistent -- fresh fish, beautifully prepared dishes, and great attention to detail. Nakano San and his staff are amazing, friendly, and clearly passionate about what they do. What I love most is that Sankai delivers top-quality sushi at a great value. You get high-end taste without the crazy price tag, and the experience always feels welcoming and genuine. After all these years, it's still the best sushi spot around -- hands down. read more

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Nice busy sushi place with some good menu items. Ankimo was available in the menu, although a bit overcooked. The positive is the freshness of their seafood and their attentive service. The not so good is the detail on their consistency. Their servings were a little off as not all portions were executed the same way. Table service is better than the bar seating. And there's only one unisex bathroom for the entire restaurant. Reservations are highly recommended! read more

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Tl;dr incredible sushi in Edmonds I would have never expected such a great sushi spot in Edmonds but this place was amazing. The food was delicious and our server was very attentive. I ordered the 11 piece nigiri omakase and enjoyed every single piece. The quality was extremely high for the piece and I loved that they had local and foreign fish. read more

One of my favorite spots for sushi in the northend. The restaurant is a cute spot serving about 25/30 people inside and has 4 igloo heating pods for outdoors. The food is always fresh. Highly recommend! Our group ordered the following: Apps: karaage, agedashi tofu, hotate gyoza Entreees: omasake nigiri, spider roll, tempura udon, great pacific north west roll, red dragon roll, and Sankai roll. read more

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Make reservation Omakase is my way to "roll" here. A chef who really pays attention to how I enjoy my meal at his present. read more

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The omakase was 3.5/5 for me. The service was excellent, so I rounded it up to a 4/5. Price at $58 for 14 pieces which is an excellent deal compared to other restaurants in the Seattle area. I enjoyed the white fish nigiris, yellowtail, and ankimo. However, the chutoro had a texture that was not ideal as it was falling apart on the sushi and mushy texture. I was served with uni from Maine, and it gives an off-putting taste, instead of the usual sweetness from the Hokkaido uni. It was the only one that was unpleasant to me. read more

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Slow down or you might miss this one! SanKai is tucked to the side of busy street in downtown Edmonds. I don't live in the neighborhood and can confirm this was worth the Friday after work traffic for. Everyone is so friendly and helpful - both our omakase and a la carte items were served up quick. For our group of 4, everyone went with the 15-piece omakase and still had room to share several appetizers and rolls. The stand out roll for us was the lobster roll. The Yuzu beer was also a light and bright pairing to the meal. In general, the space isn't huge so get there early or make a reservation, especially if you want to snag a spot at the sushi bar. read more

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Comestibles and Potables: ANY sushi place in the PNW compared to the midwest should be great -- including overhyped premiere sushi bars in Detroit area. So with that said, I am trying to compare apples to apples -- and this joint was lovely all around. Fresh, interesting, quality ingredients; meal was satisfying and flilling. Reasonable HH menu; 4-6 daily. Service: Friendly, KNOWLEDGEABLE, helpful, accommodating. Ambiance: Make reservations; place is small and BUSY; seats about 20 inside and about 15 for outside. Sat outside in igloo. It was a bit rainy (surprise!); and was kept warm because of the portable heater in ingloo. Music was chill, indiscernable and not overpowering; I can hear myself and others in conversations; a music speaker was inside our igloo. DETAILS. Of note: Street parking. Loo was cleaned and stocked. Photodocumented the experience. read more

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No complaints about service, it was good. There's a huge range of sushi eaters so I hesitate to provide my assessment. My parents loved it! They want to return. Personally I won't return. For me sushi is a sacred and artistic experience. I only ordered basics. Thought I was safe with that and a roll. My ikura was not filling the seaweed and the seaweed was even coming apart... my roll was covered in artificially colored seaweed (iykyk). Nothing stood out. Sake was hard to drink. For non-snobs this place seems great! I wish I could have enjoyed it more. I think the head chef was not there though. read more

SanKai Sushi - Not bad, but not spectacular (for my high expectations). This is hamachi and ikura with Brackett's Landing roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

Cute spot Freshest fish Innovative rolls And tasty hot apps Fills up early But empties out around 8.30pm so you can roll right over to Daphne's when ur done read more

Excellent service,Food--tasty food uni,scallops from Hokkaido and variety of white fish from Japan

Highly recommend making reservations on Open Table, they are usually pretty busy. They offer table, bar, and outdoor heated seated. Parking is parallel parking. We came here to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary. We were seated at the bar & served by the head chef which is always more fun since the chef paces the food & only serves about 2 pieces at a time. SanKai is our top 3 omakase in all of Seattle area. The quality is always amazing & it's not overpriced like other Omakase servings in Seattle which can go for $150 or higher per person. Everything was delicious - starting with Toro Tartare, the Omakase, and ending it with Japanese Cheesecake. I always recommend this place to friends! read more

SanKai Sushi - Omakase, Japanese Cheesecake, and Toro Tartare - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

Sankai has excellent service, the fish is fresh and an exceptional price point! Highly recommend making a reservation and eating at the sushi bar! My favorite sushi spot in the Seattle area read more

Sankai is located in downtown Edmonds. During the busy weekends, a reservation is highly recommended. We stepped in and was seated immediately at the sushi counter per my reservation request. Our place setting is ready, and we had menus available. Service was swift. Our water glasses were refilled in a timely manner. The restaurant has simple deco, which is just fine with me. They have outside heated dome seatings; they look pretty neat. I feel bad for the servers coming in and out of the rain, though. Overall, I think Sankai is a great neighborhood gem. The Food: Cured Bristol Bay sockeye salmon, $17 - 5 Stars Marinated with sake, mirin, and soy sauce, served with pickled onion and shiso oil, each bite of this salmon is divine. Highly recommend ordering this. Shichimi crusted maguro tataki, $18 - 3 Stars Menu: Shichimi crusted and flash seared bluefin tuna, served on radish salad with hibiscus ponzu. I am a big tuna fan, but this maguro is too "meaty" with not enough fat. The hibiscus ponzu didn't penetrate the meat, so that each bite of the fish didn't stand out. Negitoro Roll, $11 - 4.5 Stars Seattle Roll, $9 - 4.5 Stars Both rolls are reliable and very fresh and appropriately priced for the moderate 6-pc set. Sometimes, I have a disdain for the $20+ rolls that are over-exaggerated, and the only seafood is the fake krab. These are not it. Omakase - 4.5 Stars L: Koshinaga maguro (longtail tuna), $5.00, R: Ishigakidai (spotted knifejaw), $4.50 L: Sockeye salmon, $3.50, R: Buri (large wild yellowtail), $5.50 L: Medai (barrel fish), $4.50, R: Iwashi (sardine), $4.50 L: Aji (horse mackerel), $4.50, R: Katsuo (bonito), $5.00 L: Kawahagi (black scraper), $5.00, R: Nodoguro (black throat perch), $6.50 L: Mongo ika (baby cuttlefish), $4.50, Mid: Tairagai (fanshell clam), $5.00, R: Aka uni (Hokkaido sea urchin), $8.00. I requested an open ended omakase, and I appreciate SanKai has all their fish varieties listed on their fresh sheet. With every bite, I am not surprised by the end total cost. The fishes tasted fresh. Though I did up the dressing a bit (both soy sauce and wasabi), each bite was a delight. The quality is excellent. Their overall rating is closer to 4.5 Stars. I decided to up them to 5 Stars, because the greater Seattle area doesn't have high quality sushi restaurants that don't also cost $150 per person easily. This place is unique in delivering quality without excessive cost. read more

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I would say this is the best sushi spot I've been to in Edmonds, and I love getting takeout from here too. I did dine in once at the counter during restaurant week and it was also a great experience. The staff were all friendly and helpful and the food was superb with many authentic options that aren't in every run of the mill sushi joint. read more

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What we ordered: - Shiso calamari - Lobster roll - Nigri omakase ($47 for 11 pieces) Tucked away in a little corner, SanKai offers fresh sushi and a stunning view of the water in Edmonds. Omakase is a steal given the amount of pieces you get and the quality that comes with it. Shiso calamari was soft, not rubbery in texture. Pesto had quite a strong basil taste. Lobster roll was generously portioned. Consisted of great quality lobster as well! Nigiri omakase consisted of 11 pieces. Highlights of the night were the snapper, sea bass (suzuki), scallop, and bonito (katsuo). Snapper and sea bass were quite similar, buttery soft. Scallop was up there with the best we have had, dissolved in the mouth with a nice citrus element. Bonito had the smokiness of mackerel and meatiness of tuna, our first time having it and really enjoyed it! read more

SanKai Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

Delicious Food. Husband and I love eating here. Service is fast and efficient and friendly. Food quality is amazing. Love dining here and you will too. read more

The best sushi and sushi experience I've had. Small intimate setting, so definitely make a reservation. We sat at the bar and it was a wonderful Omakase experience. Everything was fresh and flavorful. Service was friendly. Nice clean atmosphere read more

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This is probably the most affordable omakases in the greater Seattle area. I was so excited to hear about it and made a reservation on open table since I heard it gets really busy. The restaurant was clean and spacious. My boyfriend and I sat at the sushi bar. We got the 14 piece omakase for $58 which is a steal for the experience. They have 3 options for the omakase: 11 piece for $47, 14 piece for $58, and sashimi 14 piece for $56! Omakase is chef's choice so you just sit back and let them decide. If you want rolls, hot food, or other options other than omakase then they have it all too! All the sushi pieces were excellent! I'm looking forward to coming again:) read more

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Probably some of the best and freshest sushi I have had in the State. Excellent service. Indoor abd outdoor seating. Good variety. Highly recommend read more

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Very attentive and kind servers. Sushi quality is one of the best I've had. Will definitely be coming back again! I got my own choice of nigiri and rolls as well as the restaurant week dinner 3 course special (forgot to take pics of the special). You can't miss out on the soufflé cheesecake! The yuzu cake was a bit sweet for me but it wasn't overly sweet. The restaurant is on the smaller side, make reservations before coming. It gets packed fairly quickly. read more

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Delicious sushi in Edmonds! I really like San Kai. It has a great ambience and I enjoy sitting at the sushi bar in front of Nakano-san. I miss him owning Kisaku as it was closer to get to but I will make the trek up north to visit him and enjoy his omakase. We celebrated our friend's birthday the last time we were here and they kindly gave him an ice cream mochi. I highly recommend this place! read more

Delicious sushi and great service. I wish i lived closer but definitely worth the drive!

It took me awhile to figure out there was sushi in Edmonds. So we scheduled a HH run after work. We kept it simple and kept to the basics. I thought everything was fine and the staff checked in regularly. Nothing memorable but it was a solid outing. read more

I came back here for the second time and I have to say the quality has increased. Each slice of fish was incredibly fresh and perfect. I was so impressed that each dish was memorable and delicious!! read more

SanKai Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

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We were craving good sushi so came here for restaurant week. There was street parking available if you got lucky. We made reservation but were late 10 minutes. Staff notified us that they will need our table in one hour 45 mins. Fair enough. Ambiance was minimalist yet elegant. When we got sat, we started to order 2 sets of meals from restaurant week menu, hot tea and draft beef and a couple of items on Happy hour menu. In the beginning, some staff dropped off dishes without saying the names so we were not sure what we got. Later, another server seemed to be more experience and approached to us. Overall, it's great. Seafood was fresh and well prepared. It's worth stopping by if you are craving sushi. read more

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Best sushi in the Seattle area. Super service. Fresh, fresh fish. Make sure to sit at the sushi bar with owner Nakano San. Definitely worth the trip to Edmunds. read more

Cute addition to Edmonds. As far as Sushi goes its not bad for the location. There are not many good "date" spot sushi places up this North but realistically the price per quality is not amazing. You can find same quality at lower prices around the area so likely this was an ambiance tax. read more

SanKai Sushi - 11 piece nigiri omakase - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

I'm obsessssed with this place because I already have another reservation booked with my friends even though I was JUST here this past weekend. I'm not one to gatekeep but I have thought very hard about sharing this place. This place really hit all the marks for me. I had gone to sushi a few weeks back and that left a lot to be desired. The neighborhood SanKai is located at is SO cute even though 45min away for me. My sister and I noticed the bubble seating they had outside and wonder how cold it was because it looks like a neat experience to dine outdoor. Decor inside was minimal but there were some Japanese artwork on the wall. Inside was fairly larger than what I was expecting which was a pleasant surprised as other reviews have noted this place to be tiny. Our server was great, she was very kind and accommodating of my sister's allergies. The restaurant offers a daily HH which is very cool, dont see that very often. We ordered HH hot sake and brussels spouts tempura, 2x chef choice omakase; 11pieces, 2x Hokkaido uni, 2x chutoro, I added an additional piece of kinmeddai and snow crab. My sister also wanted dessert so an order of Japanese souffle. Everything was delicious! You can definitely tell this place serves quality fish, it was so fresh and every bite of nigiri from mackerel to scallop to otoro, LITERALLY melted n your mouth. I was loving this whole experience. It's been a good year where I've had an omakase like this. I have been raving about it all weekend. My sister now know what I mean when I talk about melt in your mouth sushi. Twas a good night to share with her. We're definitely going to come back and I dont quite mind the drive because I know this place is amazing. read more

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Another visit to Sankai for sushi with my daughter. We tried the igloo outside before it's gone next month. We ordered variety of nigiris as usual. I appreciate Sankai offers per piece nigiri unlike other places. After trying some of my favorite, I order what I thought was best for the second order. The quality of fish is different every time. We liked Maguro this time, both of us ordered more maguro. I thought maguro was a lot better than chutoro. Igloo was very pretty and warm inside with a small space heater surprisingly. We tried the tent last year or the year before, it was so cold I could not stand. So we brought blankets, beanie and gloves just in case. But I ended up taking off my down jacket. It could be nicer if the weather cooperates. Overcast, rain, typical Seattle weather at this time of the year.. The service was excellent even outside. The staff here is very attentive and courteous. This restaurant is the one to visit when we want authentic sushi in north side. read more

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The food was very good and everyone was very nice. Good family spot and the surrounding town was beautiful. Would recommend.

I love this place and will take the ferry to have a meal there. Ambiance-wise, it's a small, modest-looking but cosy restaurant that offers an intimate atmosphere. For small parties or individual diners, it offers a sushi bar. When the weather isn't too cold, they put up three geodesic domes made of clear plastic, if you don't mind eating outside. Each has enough room for a table. It's a curious and unique way to dine. It's rather nice at dusk and at night, or on a cloudy day that's not too hot. Food-wise, this restaurant offers very nice, very fresh sushi - definitely one of the better places. It's got such a wide variety of fish and shellfish, including some that are rather hard to find (imports, and locally-sourced products that are usually geared for export to Asia). I don't eat sea urchin and geoduck anywhere, because it's not available most places, but also because when it is, it can have an unpleasant very easily if the chef doesn't take the most care with it. But I have them at SanKai! Drinks-wise, you've got some nice sakes and imported beers available. read more

First time back since COVID, and I will definitely be back more often! Four years ago I had their sushi omakase, so got it again and really enjoyed. I appreciate the chef substituting out geoduck which I just cannot eat, and the slices of fish were generous and delicious. Rice was flavored well too, which is so important. We also ordered the braised pork and daikon appetizer and this was nice comfort food on a cold autumn evening. Service was attentive and quick, and I highly recommend reservations because this place fills up fast. read more

SanKai Sushi - Braised Pork and Daikon small plate - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

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We made reservations and had to put in a credit card to reserve. We arrived and were excited about the lovely ambiance. Place is a bit on the noisy side. We felt the sushi was fair and ordered some rolls but they were like the ones you get at the grocery store with fish on inside only. We felt it was overpriced and they hurried our dishes out, small pieces too, nothing great to write home about . We felt like it was an assembly line, and things were rushed to turn the tables. No plans to return read more

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