Seattle Reviews | Kisaku Sushi Restaurant

Two nights ago (in the freezing cold and with about three inches of snow on the ground), my wife, brother-in-law and his girlfriend, ventured out to Kisaku Sushi Restaurant in the Meridian Neighborhood of Seattle. Ryan (the brother-in-law) had heard some good things about it, and we all love sushi, so we decided to give it a shot. Because, once again, this site is devoted to reviewing everything Seattle, I thought I'd let you know how it turned out.

Located at 2101 N. 55th St in Seattle in a multi-purpose retail type of building, Kisaku Sushi Restaurant is not going to blow your socks off with a high end type of dining experience. The interior, like the exterior, serve only to provide a functional dining experience. When we entered we were greeted by a very nice hostess (who asked if we had reservations, even though a winter storm had just blown through essentially shutting down the city, and the restaurant was empty - a pretty entertaining experience for us) who led us to a table for four. The place probably seats 30-40 max, and it is worth noting they have created a bar style area where you can sit and eat and watch the sushi chefs prepare your dinner.

One thing we immediately noticed was the lack of a full bar. The four of us, being late twenties early thirty-somethings, love to have a nice drink (or drinks) with dinner). But Kisaku has failed to get a liquor license, making it likely one of the only sushi restaurants in Seattle where you cannot have a Saki-bomb with your meal. They do serve beer and wine, however, so we made due.

Kisaku Sushi Restaurant provides what can best be described as a bare bones style of sushi. They have all the old favorites, a couple of signature rolls, named aptly the Wallingford Roll and the Greenlake Roll both of which were tasty, sashimi, and a variety of hot, non-sushi dishes. You won't find a James Bond themed selection like you will at Umi Sake House (a Seattle giant when it comes to sushi), and they don't have the creative rolls some others might have, but the selection is fair.

As I mentioned, we ordered the greenlake roll, the wallingford roll, a Spicy Tuna Roll, and several pieces of sashimi. Because I was so cold, I asked them to make me a bowl of soup, which they did, with shrimp tempura. The soup came out hot and was pretty tasty (it included octopus, which I'd never had outside calamari - it wasn't too bad). When the rolls came out although they looked delicious, one thing was clear, they were small. I think each roll had maybe six pieces with it, which is significantly smaller than we are used to getting. They tasted fantastic, but were gone as quickly as they came.

Atmosphere-wise, don't be prepared to be blown out of the water with Kisaku. Bring along some good company and you should be fine (this should probably be expected out of an out of the way sushi restaurant nestled in a Seattle neighborhood, but maybe not). It wasn't too loud or too quiet, the service was relatively fast and very attentive, and the decor was adequate.

After two half-bottles of wine, two kiran ichiban pints of beer, a few sushi rolls, and some soup, our bill totaled about $100. Not bad for four people eating dinner in Seattle. As for recommendations, if you are a die hard sushi fan looking to get back to your roots, I'd highly recommend Kisaku Sushi Restaurant. The quality of everything was great, even if the helpings were a little on the short side. So, if you are ever in the Wallingford, Greenlake, Meridian, Freemont, or Phinney neighborhoods, stop by and check it out.

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Seattle Bar Nightclub Reviews | Barca

Under some strange circumstances (my brother-in-law wanted to go somewhere he was sure not to see his ex-girlfriend) a couple of nights ago we made our way to Barca, a Seattle nightclub and bar for some great drinks and some fun times. Both ended up being had for all - here is my review of Barca.

Barca is a Seattle bar and nightclub located at 1510 11th Ave, Seattle, Washington. Located on Capitol Hill, it is a great place to go and have more a chill, relaxed night with friends. With a map, it is easy to get to.

This bar is a lot more like Murphy's Irish Pub than Havana, which I reviewed earlier. The reason is that it does not bill itself as a Seattle dance club, but more of a Seattle night club. There is a lot of alcohol and a lot of places to mingle, but you probably won't find a dance floor here. The pictures I've included (courtesy of the Barca Gallery - the last one is the ladies room, something I guess they are proud of) show you what I'm talking about.

Finally, on to the review. When we first walk in, it is immediately apparent that this is a pretty cool bar, but with a definitely different vibe than you will find at a lot of the other hot night spots in Seattle. The lighting is soft, the people are moderately dressed, and the beer and wine are flowing like water. On a Saturday night the place was packed but didn't necessarily feel like it. We moseyed up to the bar and ordered drinks with no problem. Captain and seven (my signature drink) and a couple of martinis were made to perfection, and we settled in with the crowd.

The waitstaff (the place has both bartenders and waitresses) were courteous and conversational. They made great drinks, kept the place clean, and blended in with the crowd, just like you'd like in a great Seattle bar. Overall it was a great experience.

If you are ever in downtown Seattle and want a great change of pace, check out Barca. It will not disappoint.

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Seattle Reviews | Havana Social Club

My next Seattle review is of Havana Social Club, a hot spot located in downtown Seattle, Washington at 1010 E Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122.

I made my way to Havana on a Saturday night for a buddies 30th birthday party, and I must say the experience was fantastic. Located on Pike Street downtown, Havana Social Club screams fun from the moment you enter the door (the entrance, by the way, is through a gate and a parking lot - it isn't right off the street and might be easy to miss if you've never been there before). The space is amazing. High ceilings, soft lighting, great music, and pretty people highlight this nightclub.

Because it was my buddies birthday, and because they like to have a plan, we reserved the only private space at Havana - a fairly small upstairs room that looks out on the rest of the club. You can see from the picture the view you get not only of the D.J., but of the entire bar. I will mention, though, that even though it was supposed to be private upstairs, there wasn't anyone with a list or anything - if you ever want to party crash upstairs you could probably do it. But if you ever want a more intimate gathering, try the upstairs here.

As for service, the drinks were served quickly and poured strong. I ordered from the waitresses running around upstairs and from the bartenders down that the main bar and wasn't disappointed. We got our drinks in minutes no matter who we ordered from, and they were very tasty. There was one run in with a waitress that I wasn't crazy about - she pushed my friend, spilling her entire drink - but I let it go because it was crazy packed and I don't think the waitress was trying to be rude.

In the end, if you want to have a good time, enjoy a downtown Seattle nightclub, dance the night away, look at pretty people, and drink great drinks, Havana Social Club is a great place to check out. I'd highly recommend dancing the night away here. But make sure you catch a cab home. You don't need to fork over the dough for a Seattle DUI attorney.

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PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... Rank: wait... Traffic: wait... Price: wait... C: wait...

Seattle Washington Bowling Alley and Bar Review | The Garage

By the title of this post you are probably asking yourself, how can you put bowling alley and bar in the same Seattle bar and nightclub review? Well, if you've ever been to the Garage, Seattle's hottest bowling alley slash bar slash pool room, you will know exactly why. As this initial picture suggests, the Garage is a great place to have some beers and throw a heavy ball at some pins.

We decided to rock out the Garage on a Saturday night after watching the Huskies lose yet another game. After going to Murphy's Irish Pub in Wallingford a few days earlier, we needed something to get the heart racing a little. What better to get you all pumped up than to do a little bowling? Little did I know the Garage would provide just what the doctor ordered.


Located at 1134 Broadway Ave in Seattle, just east of what I would consider to be downtown Seattle (east of I-5), the Garage is a beast of a place teeming with pool tables, bowling alleys, food, drinks, and tons of fun people. From the outside it looks pretty cool - like a bowling alley should look, and though the inside is clean, it looks the way the lead guitarist from an alternative/rock band would decorate it (Mike McCready, the lead guitarist of Pearl Jam, owns the place - if you don't consider what they do to be alternative/rock music, don't get mad, I was just doing my best on the fly). It's a little beat up, casual but with an air of "I meant to do this on purpose." I thought it was great.

Once we got inside we immediately wanted to start bowling... and found out there was a 3 1/2 hour wait! As with almost everything in life, however, money talks. Fifty bucks got us literally to the front of the line (I highly recommend trying this - when they say three and a half hours, they are not kidding). Once in an alley, though, you can bowl to your hearts content. There were four of us, and we bowled for about two hours. While bowling there was a waitress coming around all the time. She brought us all the food and drinks we could handle, and if that wasn't enough, there was a bar just kitty corner to our alley. I was in heaven.

One of my primary indications of how good a Seattle bar is (aside from how much fun I actually have) is how long it takes to get a drink. It isn't good for the bar or the patrons if it takes forever to get a drink. Thankfully, the Garage had beverages out quickly, cold and ready to drink.

And one other thing I wanted to mention about this place - the music. It wasn't live, but while we were bowling at least 15 songs came on where all my friends and I looked at each other and said "this song is amazing!" We are late 20s early 30 somethings to give you some context, and the jams were coming from all genres of music.

If you couldn't tell, my review of Seattle bar and bowling alley the Garage is a favorable one. If you don't have anything to do on any night of the week, don't hesitate to head down there and get a couple frames in. It won't disappoint!

*All images on this site come from the Garage website.

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Seattle Washington Bar Review | Murphy's Irish Pub

Murphy's Irish Pub - Seattle Washington Bars

I finally made it up to Seattle for good last Thursday. And with no day job, a looming weekend, and a University of Washington football game over with (another loss) it was out to the bars. Because my new place is in Wallingford, it only made sense to check out what the local bars had to offer. Since I review Seattle bars and nightclubs here, I thought I'd let you know what I thought of the place.

Murphy's Irish Pub , located at 1928 N. 45th St, is a neat little bar located at N 45th and Meridian. As the name suggests, Murphy's is decked out as an Irish pub. You can get a Guinness on tap with no problem and then throw a game of darts - the real kind, not those plastic jobs that always break.

When you walk in the door you are likely going to be greeted by the bartender, who on this particular night was a younger guy who invited us in like old friends. After ordering a couple of pitchers of beer and getting some darts, we settled in. On a Saturday night around midnight the place was pretty busy but not packed. The crowd had a "towny" feel - very laid back.

Murphy's sells food too. We didn't have any this night, but I've heard it's pretty good. I've inserted a link if you want to take a look at the menu. As you'd suspect, it's generally Irish fare. The prices are decent. I'll let you know when I get up there for lunch or dinner.

Another great thing about Murphy's is it's live music. Although they didn't have any the night I was there, it looks like they have a pretty diverse lineup. And a good beer and a good band are always a great combination. They have a calendar with the lineups of their shows - I highly recommend checking it out.

As for my overall rating, I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. If you are looking for a place to have a couple beers and sit and talk with friends (or make some new friends), this is the place for you. It doesn't have the flair and energy of a dance club, but that's because it's an Irish Pub. At Irish Pubs you drink beer and tell outlandish tales. Next time you need a Seattle Pub to hand out in, try Murphy's Irish Pub, it will not disappoint.

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Seattle Washington Florist Review | Johnny's Flower Shop

For every Seattle man, knowing a good flower shop is a must. I was in the need of a Seattle flower shop the other day and ended up using Johnny's Flower Shop. Since I review everything Seattle on here I thought I'd tell you about my experiences and review a Seattle florist.

Like many other Seattle men, I needed the use of a flower shop to cheer up my wife. I hadn't done anything wrong necessarily, she was just in need of one of those spontaneous "I love you" reminders. Being new to Seattle I had no idea where to go to find a Seattle florist. I started where I usually start with everything - Google. I went to google maps and searched florists to try to find someone close to my wife's place of business. Johnny's was relatively close so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I called the number listed at 8:00 a.m. sharp - and nobody answered. No problem, I'll just call back later. I think about 9:00 a.m. I called and was greeted by a very nice lady. Upon telling her I needed an arrangement for my wife, she immediately offered a dozen roses for $60.00. Even though that wasn't exactly what I was looking for I thought the price was decent for Seattle flowers.

I told her I wanted something a little smaller, maybe a half dozen roses arrangement. She said she could do it no problem, took down what I wanted the card to say, took my credit card information (the half-dozen roses was $35.00 plus $8.00 delivery fee), and told me to have a lovely day.

Toward the middle of the afternoon I got the call I was waiting for - the call of a happy Seattle wife. She said the flowers were beautiful and that she really liked them. I prodded her a little more to make sure that she actually did like them and it turned out she actually did (since I knew I was going to write the Seattle flower shop review I knew I should make sure she actually liked them).

In the end my experience with Johnny's Flower Shop of Seattle, Washington was a good one. The customer service was good, the price was good, and the end product was good. I think I'd highly recommend trying Johnny's Flower Shop the next time you need some flowers for that loved one.

Welcome to Emerald City Hot Spot!

Welcome to Emerald City Hot Spot, the newest and best source of information on Seattle, Washington. To give you an idea of what we are going to have on here, why don't I tell you a little about myself. First, I don't even live in Seattle. Not yet, at least. I am moving up there in two weeks and thought what better way to chronicle what I do in Seattle, what I see in Seattle, and what there is to do in Seattle than to write it all down here.

So, there will be plenty of Seattle bar reviews and Seattle restaurant reviews, and I plan on letting everyone know when a great concert happens in Seattle. I am only 28 after all. But there will also be other relevant information like where to find a great Seattle dentist, where to find a great car mechanic, where to get a great milkshake, and who NOT to see if you want great service in Seattle.

So please, come with me, enjoy the ride, and please leave comments. The more information out there about Seattle the better.