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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you been here too? Don't let me be the only one to review this great Seattle hot spot. Let everyone know what you thought by leaving a comment.