Friendly greeting. Had a table available w/out reservations. Food was delicious (from sushi, sashimi, to black cod & more). Happy hour even on Saturdays! We are excited for another visit. read more

I am very picky about Japanese food because my mother owned a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco for 25 years many years ago. There are very few establishments that have excellent fish. That is the keyword here you can get sushi anywhere these days but when the quality of the fish is so fresh and well cut that it melts in your mouth, that's when you know you've come to an excellent restaurant. I love the sushi bar that wraps around so you have seating right in front of the chef. Our chef actually interacted with us, which made it more fun. I got the omakase and every sushi piece with mouthwatering. I can't wait to come back even though I live in West Seattle I will travel to Edmonds to get a quality meal, and their prices are actually much more reasonable than other Japanese restaurants I've been to. read more

super fresh sushi in Edmonds! Staff was friendly and greeted and seated us right away at the bar area.

I've been wanting to come for Sushi here since it opened. Plus, they are very gluten free friendly. I was really impressed by the food, friendly service, and asking everyone to wear masks except while eating/drinking. Keep up the great work Ryuichi read more

SanKai Sushi - Omakase! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

The sushi was fine, rolls were a little small compared to other sushi places we are used to, and no good sauces on the rolls so they were a bit dry. Unfortunately, we placed an order on a Friday afternoon online and was told the wait would be 85 minutes, which was fine because we were getting drinks before. But when we arrived at the time we were told the food should be ready....we had to wait another 35 minutes. Very frustrating because we were not updated at all that the wait would be extend that much. Will not be returning. read more

The food was so good! We ordered Seattle restaurant week and got one of each thing. Loved the brussel sprouts and pork with daikon(comfort food!)but the oysters really stole the show for the apps. Chirashi and sushi were so good, you forget how good high quality restaurant sashimi tastes, it was a moment to be cherished. ordered shiokoji chicken for the kids, they really liked it and enjoyed the flavors of the mushrooms. Please do not expect this chicken dish to taste like teriyaki, this is so much more delicately flavored than that. Desserts were solid. Flan came in a pretty mason jar, nice custard flavor. Coffee jello was refreshing and not to9 sweet. I felt happy, satisfied wothout feeling heavy and overstuffed after eating. We will be back again soon read more

See all

We came here 9/17/20 and were so impressed 1. Fish variety and freshness 2. Price and service 3. Covid measures placed while still delivering an intimate omakase experience. Across the board we were so very pleasantly surprised. I'll note that it's not quite as fancy as some of the other spots reviewed but for what it is, a neighborhood friendly sushi spot that gives a "chef served" omakase experience, I highly recommend. One thing I loved, was they let me order what I wanted off the menu which is updated seasonally and chef Nakano determined the sequence and dressed each piece and served individually. It was so nice to experience such service and enjoy a special night out, we can't wait to get back. read more

See all

Wife and I went for her birthday. We each had the omakase 14 piece as well as panko oysters and menchi salmon from the happy hour menu. We both enjoyed everything. Even the fish you might have had bad experiences in the past with were prepared well and they tasted great! Overall a great experience and we are excited to go again! read more

What has driven this once excellent, Sankai Sushi to mediocrity? My sashimi was truly fresh and cut perfectly, then was dumped onto a plate instead of being presented beautifully. No ginger was to be found The udon was flavorless, like spaghetti in water The menu was almost impossible to read even with 20/20 corrected vision. Our server couldn't manage bringing our meals out at the same time. Sankai Sushi is part of a restaurant group that includes Salt and Iron, the new but dreadful Potlatch Bistro, and Market. Sankai Sush, Salt and Iron, and Market were once reliable multi-star restaurants in Edmonds. Again, what has happened to Sankai Sushi and the others? read more

Our family sushi staple! We love the owner and the servers who always take care of us. Last time we went without even asking they put spicy mayo on our table. Couldn't recommend enough! read more

Overall an ok dinner, with too many little defects. Let's start by saying that friends raised my expectations too much, definitely San Kai did not live up to them. Got the Otoro tartare on crunchy wanton with spicy mayo. The spicy mayo was absolutely vile and disgusting, it ruined the whole dish. The crunchy wanton seemed like a good idea, but it didn't work for us. I was able to isolate some otoro tartare from the mayo and it was good on its own. Not a good start. The negitoro maki was very good and the nigiri omakase was ok, without any wow factor though. Dashimaki was good and the otoro sashimi was very good. Finally we got dessert, upon hearing that they had flan I had to get it, never miss a good Japanese purin. Well it was not exactly Japanese purin, too creamy, almost like a panna cotta. I mean, it was not bad, but it was not a proper flan/purin. My wife got the cheesecake and it was good. We were so excited to try this, we drove from Bellevue, but we could have gone to I Love Sushi or to Izumi instead. Disappointed. read more

See all

I booked via Open Table and the only seating they had was Outdoor. I applaud their effort for setting up tents next door in the parking area, and they did what they could, but I really didn't enjoy the atmosphere. The inside looked great though, so still giving it top marks for what I assume is the more traditional experience. That said, the food and service were terrific! I've eaten way too much sushi, all over the world even, and I can easily say this was in the top 20. And on a Monday night! It had a great selection of dishes and the Fresh Menu was awesome. I almost ate everything on it =D read more

To start with, the place was too cold to be comfortable. I kept my full length wool coat on and was still cold. Even in winter, they apparently have set up service outside, so the servers come and go through the front door which lets the frigid outside air into the dining room. Our server couldn't recommend a good cold sake, didn't know what "ahi" is and didn't know that they have mackerel on the menu. Did manage to order the ahi nigiri which tasted good but not expertly prepared in that it was falling apart. This was my first visit and I have no plans to return. read more

We dined in the outdoor pod. It was a great experience with heat and sound. The service was excellent especially considering it was outside. We had various types of sushi rolls and nigiri which was very good. The cocktails were excellent. The cost was reasonable. The bplace is really small so highly recommend a reservation. We would definitely come back. read more

The best sushi and sashimi ever and we love everything on their menu which also includes lseafood gyoza, tempura Brussel sprouts, miso soup, chicken karaage which comes with rice, potato salad, and green salad!!! The menu is extensive!!! Curbside pickup is super easy as you just order from their website and choose a time for pickup. There is an great menu so enjoy perusing it and trying a variety! We order weekly and it's a wonderful experience and delicious every time! They also offer some in room dining as well as patio dining at this time but you MUST make a reservation for those. We fully support them because they're excellent and have a great process for cleanliness during these crazy times. Enjoy read more

I wasn't able to get pictures. However, it was incredibly amazing, so delicious.FlanJapanese SouffleSpider Roll

Our last date-night pre-pandemic was on the eve of Valentines Day, at San Kai. That meal was epic, and left a lasting, heart-clutching impression on us. We knew we wanted to share the experience with our kids, so we made sure to order a japanese feast to celebrate Mothers Day together! The kids LOVED everything, even the raw sushi. How couldn't they? We ordered plenty of our 2 favorite rolls: Negitoro and San Kai. Everything is prepared with care and excellence. San Kai is open for take out. We planned ahead and ordered online via their website. They even offer bottles of sake to-go. I lucked out on grabbing the last bottle of my favorite sake, Tensei Endless Summer!!! Such a refreshing pairing. We'll be back for our next big celebration! read more

See all

Very disappointed with their servings. We have ordered here in the past and their poke bowls were a lot bigger, the same size as the bigger foam boxes in the photos, but they cheaped out on us and gave us less this time. On top of that! They have forgotten to give us one order of sushi roll. If we didn't check in the car we wouldn't have found out they forgot to make it. All they did to resolve the problem was to make the missing order and say "sorry". We spent $200 on our food and this does not look like it's worth that much. Overpriced sushi. Maybe because of the location. But wouldn't go back again read more

I really enjoyed our experience here! We made a reservation for a table outside, which was in a super cool bubble with a heater and music. We ordered the tempura and toro tartare and three rolls and inari. read more

See all

I was excited to try out this place because I heard good things about the restaurant. The sushi is pretty decent but I had a bad experience about the service. I got there around 5 pm and there is plenty of seats in the sushi bar area. (There is ONLY one guest in the sushi bar during that time) The waitress put me right next to the guest and I asked to seat somewhere else in the bar area. But the waitress said : you just have to seat here. The waitress had a little attitude and no explanation why I couldn't seat somewhere else that I prefer to. Overall, because of the incident, I couldn't enjoy my food for the rest of the night and I would never come back again. read more

Our son and his wife just bought a house in Edmonds so we had to check out the local sushi bars. San Kai was our first, and it turns out, the only stop we made. The quality of the fish was amazing! But, what really impressed us was the extensive selection of fish on the menu! I have never seen any sushi bar offer that many types of nigiri, including 3 different king salmon selections! Copper River king, Ak wild and farmed king salmon to choose from. Of course, we tried them all and ordered seconds!!!! Looking forward to visiting again in the future!!!!! read more

I will not be returning. This was the most awkward and uncomfortable dining experience. The spouse and I have lived in numerous cities around the country and this was by far the most disappointing establishment. To begin, the master chef is easily annoyed. There is some sort of made up "strict" rule about ordering from the their happy hour menu vs. the dinner menu. The chefs do not allow ordering from the dinner menu during happy hour. Usually, it's the other way around because HH menus produce lower marginal profit but this "chef" is above it all and would prefer to make less money because "it's not about the money." Principles right? This awkward interaction between the waiter, the master chef, and us (customers) all occurred passively aggressively at the sushi bar when we were all facing each other. At this point, the confrontation made my spouse feel afraid and nervous to order anything on the menu because it was so obvious that we were unwelcome over something so stupid and silly and stubborn. But we all learned not to annoy the "master chef" that night. The sushi cut was also not great. The article in the Seattle Times over glorified this establishment. The level of arrogance does not meet the quality to justify such attitude. Personally, even if the quality is great, do it humbly. I don't have high expectations but the public press overly glorified and never met my reasonable expectation. Grudgingly, the master sushi chef made my chirashi bowl which was 31 dollars. Didn't even bother asking me how I wanted it, what type of fish I enjoy vs. not enjoy. I don't care if it's a prefixed bowl, if I am paying 31 bucks, you f**king ask. I don't care for your response. I won't return no matter what you offer. Don't respond to my review because it will not change my mind. I would have been a great advocate and client but I leave saddened and utterly dismayed for having to spend over 100 dollars on a Sunday evening when the wife and I finally had a date night away from the children. Readers, in closing, this well reviewed place is bias because the master chef picks and chooses his customers to serve. He was very friendly to certain folks. I can't put my finger on how he discriminates. It wasn't racial, it wasn't money, but it may have been ordering from the dinner menu during happy hour that put him over the edge. Personally, if that's the material reason, it's time to retire. read more

We are fans of Sushi Kashiba in Seattle and wanted to see where San Kai fell in comparison to that. First, parking in downtown Edmonds can be ROUGH. Since it was early evening, we were able to find parking about two blocks away. We were about 30 minutes early to our reservation, and popped in to just ask if we could get seated earlier (it would have been no problem if they said no). The hostess was friendly and invited us to two spots at the sushi bar in front of Chef Nakano. We opted for straight up omakase style from Chef Nakano, aka eat until you can't eat anymore. The fish quality was good and loved how he put his own sauce on it and therefore did not require soy sauce. I was a big fan of the scallops, amaebi, and tunas. We asked for uni at the end, however it was not as fresh as Kashiba's. Kashiba does not serve uni at all unless they are satisfied with the taste. Chef Nakano was quiet but friendly when we chatted with him. Cost-wise, it's pretty comparable to Kashiba. Although we were hoping that the cost was less than the pricey Kashiba, we were glad we found a place where we can 1.) make reservations, 2.) not have to pay for parking, and 3.) not have to wait in line to snag a seat for omakase. read more

I was very excited for the soft opening of San Kai! Unfortunately, every aspect of my experience was shockingly sub-par, aside from our server, who was very attentive and pleasant. My partner and I showed up at around 6:30, and saw that while the restaurant was busy, there was plenty of room at the bar. A large family was seated at the bar ahead of us even though the party arrived after us, but there was still room for the 2 of us if one of the many unused chairs could have been moved to the bar for us. Instead, we were asked to wait 5 minutes, which was no problem at all. We were happy to wait. When the host asked for my phone number, i asked what it would be used for. The response was that actually there were several people on a wait list ahead of us (??), and our wait would be an hour, so they need my number to call us. Wait list? So the people ahead of us were seated when a spot opened, but instead of being offered the next open seat, we were suddenly asked to come back in an hour. We assumed things were still being ironed out, so we did wait and return in an hour. At this point the restaurant was almost empty. We ordered several pieces of nigiri. No rolls or anything requiring extensive prep or cooking. 45 minutes later, still no food while patrons seated at the bar were being served right away. We were quite surprised and dismayed that though we still came back after the initial confusing and very inconvenient mix-up, no extra effort was made to ensure we had a good experience. We weren't expecting anything special, just normal treatment for a reasonably high end restaurant. At an hour later, it was getting too late for us to be out (we had been expecting to eat around 6:30-7:00 and it was now approaching 8:30 with still no food) so we asked for our order to go once it was ready. Upon getting home, we were shocked at the quality of the fish. The salmon on the nigiri was paper thin and badly prepared. Please see photos. Each of these pieces was $5. None of our food remotely resembled the other pictures of menu items on yelp or their website. We were given a 20% discount, but even this was overpriced for the quality and quantity of food we received. The serving staff was wonderful, and we understand that things are still being worked out through the soft opening. But if this is the quality of fish to be expected, we will not be back. I've had better quality sushi from safeway. read more

SanKai Sushi - Smallest pieces of fish I have EVER encountered at a sushi restaurant. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

See all

The restaurant looks nice, traditional sushii restaurant. Sushi chef was very personable which to me is very important. They had a good variety of quality fish - more than I expected. I usually order nigiri, rarely rolls. The service was pretty good, could have been a bit more attentive. We ordered the omakase 14 piece nigiri. The price was reasonable, but I thought it would be too much and it wasn't. Definitely a much needed solid sushi restaurant in downtown Edmonds! read more

Loved this place! I had the bracketts landing roll as well as the miso soup and it was excellent. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff. Will definitely be back. read more

We were incredibly excited to go here after hearing hat it was opened by the same chef who opened Kisaku. We went on the grand opening and all the experience was a grand disappointment. When we made a reservation, we asked for a seat at the bar with the master chef, but when we arrived this wasn't honored and we were sat at the table. We asked if the omakase would still be made by the head chef or in the back of the kitchen and were told the master chef would prepare it. There is absolutely no way that our omakase was made by the master chef, unless the master chef is an amateur sushi chef. There was too much wasabi masking the taste of the fish, the fish was not very fresh, and the tamago was pretty poor (tamago is usually a good indicator of the quality of a sushi restaurant). The service apologized for not accommodating us on the bar and indicated that they cannot accommodate at the bar when a reservation is made through Open Table - we never used it, we called to make a reservation (and mentioned this to the waiter). I don't recommend this restaurant. Overall, for this pricing we have tried plenty of better sushi options - and so should others! read more

SanKai Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

Came here on a week day night. It was busy. It's on the pricy side.Small place very nice and calm more high end atmosphere. This place is definitely boujee I brought my girlfriend here and so should you! I would not come here if you're the type of person to just order a lot of rolls. This place is all about their fish. Fish very high quality even their Otoro is actually otoro if you know you know. Only downside is it's a tight squeeze so if you want privacy this isn't it it does get pretty loud. read more

One of the best futomaki I have ever had, the rice was heavenly! This one had eel in it which was a very very good addition. Very clean and very attentive wait staff and sushi staff. Also they were very good with the distancing and the cleaning before and after each customer. There menu is extensive and very delicious. Will be back read more

SanKai Sushi - Futomaki - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

See all

New sushi restaurant in Edmonds. The restaurant is a small, intimate place and the food is absolutely delicious. Making reservations is your best bet. It gets crowded fast. Sitting at the sushi bar allows you to watch every creation being made as long as you sit in the area closest to the door. The downside - this time of year every time the door opens it's quite chilly. Highly recommend this new gem of a restaurant. read more

SanKai Sushi - Bar area - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

See all

We were successfully booked sushi bar in front of chef Nakano San and enjoyed our dinner. San Kai is located very close to the Edmonds ferry terminal. Next to my favorite restaurant "Salt and iron". Might be same building. We had some sushi and kitchen foods. We knows chef Nakano san is great chef but I was so surprised again about his skill. Sardine was so fresh and prepared perfectly. I'm very picky about blue skin fishes but it has so rich flavor and lightly vinegar and salt. The sardine from Japan was the best one of the dinner for me. Other rare items were Cooked cherry clam, herring, firefly squid... so many varieties! Kitchen foods were good too. Shio Koji Chicken was tasty but I loved the eggplants in the side of the plate. Sautéed with garlic oil or something. Homemade gyoza, grilled Kuromutsu color, agedashi dofu... wow all dishes were good. Their sake selections are unique and wide variety. We had chef's recommendation. Medium dry and smooth and little bit larger bottle than others. We liked the sake and nice label. Clean bland new restaurant, modern decor, great sushi and kitchen foods, friendly servers, reasonable price. Will be coming back soon after my tax things done! read more

See all

A bit disappointed about their Nigiri quality. The price of Nigiri is similar to Shiro but the quality is lower.. e.g. Salmon in Shiro is $2.75 vs Salmon in SanKai is $3.. We spent over $200 for a dinner but it wasn't worth it. read more

SanKai Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

Great place. Its a small cozy place and they have 2 high chair, so plan accordingly. I called to make reservation and they plan it well for us to sit by the windows. The happy hr selection is pretty good and regular menu was great as well. We ordered several rolls, udon and bowls. This was a great date night place. Need to make reservation ahead of time as it is really busy even on week days. Looking forward to come back and definitely recommend this place to others. read more

Reservations were easy to get online and they were great in allowing us to expand our party from 2 to 3 a couple of hours before the reservation time. They placed curtains between the tables and were asked to keep our masks on when not actively eating or drinking. We felt safe and comfortable throughout dinner. The sushi was good. Although it took a lilting to get our order and they gave me the wrong sushi roll. However, they did not take it back nor charge us for it, so extra sushi for the table was a bonus. Wait staff was friendly and welcoming. This was our first time and will likely be back again. read more

See all

Came here with a friend for dinner on a Monday night. It was relatively busy, which was nice to see. We only had to wait a few minutes and we were seated. I really enjoyed the potato salad and the tempura shrimp roll that I got, and my friend really enjoyed her roll as well. The only con I have about this place is the limited menu. Most sushi places have tons of rolls to choose from, which is nice for those who are limited on what they can eat, as there tends to be more options. Overall, a great option! read more

Mostly enjoyed our first experience here. This location used to be a classic Edmonds book store... sad to see things go, but always excited to try something new. Having lived with a Japanese family when I was in graduate school, I have since acquired a insatiable hunger for sushi. Back to the review... Great ambiance and the gentleman that greeted my wife and I was Perfectly welcoming. As far as the food goes, the rolls were a little loose and the sashimi cuts were a bit off. They did taste great but the otoro had brown lines through it (fresh?) The only negative part of the evening was the server we had. You could tell she was unhappy and she did not hide it well. She gave off a very exclusive vibe. I need a more welcoming presence in Edmonds. Overall: Value + Service + Quality = might go back sometime. read more

Don't go to this place, at least for OMAKASE. The fish quality is terrible, tried their OMAKASE nigiri and sashimi. The only taste of the fish is either none, or fishy (the bad way). If you are expecting fresh and sweet, you will be completely disappointed:( The rice of nigiris also feels like it has been cooked for a LOOOONG time. I am a man who enjoy Japanese food, but the experience at this place made me sick. read more

I've been here 3 times this past 5-6 months and it has always been an amazing experience. The last two times I've sat in the outdoor section and finally got a spot at the bar. This place is top notch, freshest pieces of sushi and the uni is some of the best I've ever had. So glad to find a great sushi spot outside of Seattle. I didn't realize the owner previously was also the owner and sushi chef of Kisaku in green lake which we frequented back 2015-2017ish and now it makes sense. Make a reservation and a get a spot at the bar! read more

This quaint and charming restaurant located just off the main drag in Edmonds made my 40th birthday incredibly memorable and wonderful, even in the time of COVID-19. My girlfriend surprised me with a dinner reservation at my favorite Japanese restaurant; I was excited because I love the food at San Kai, but the omakase that chef Nakano San prepared for this special occasion was above and beyond. My expectations were blown out of the water. San Kai serves a wonderful meal on a normal night, but if you're looking for something really special, the call ahead omakase is amazing. Thank you so much for a dinner and experience I'll never forget! read more

See all

We had heard great things about this restaurant so we were excited to try it for our anniversary. My husband is allergic to crab (but not any other shellfish or fish that we know of). At higher end places the crab in rolls is usually real and not imitation so we always ask. They said it real so we told our server that he is allergic. He only had sashimi and chicken karage, but later that night he was having an allergic reaction. So now we are wondering if he has some cross contamination with some crab or if it's an allergy to something else. Kind of dampened our impression of a place if it was cross contaminated since we told our server about the allergy. The place is small and cute, classic looking. Lots of variety for sashimi/nigiri but not a whole of different rolls. It was kind of pricey. So overall I'd say it was ok. read more