Bamboo Sushi — Restaurant in Seattle

Are Seattle prices worth paying for sustainable sushi? A question for the ages.

(Okay who am I kidding, if you care about the "sustainable" part then you clearly have enough money to do this. =D)

So then, good sirs and gentlewomen, let us address each other like the proper elites we are and forgo any discussion of the prices. Let us also, in the spirit of trusting the good USDA to do their job for once, assume that the sourcing of the fish is swift, accurate, and of course, sustainable. Let us just consider the taste of the sashimi served, as I would normally do.

And to that I say: This restaurant chain is not only dedicated to sustainable seafood. They are also dedicated to utilizing the salt of the entire Pacific, and it SHOWS!

I mostly identify as a temporarily-embarrassed Fort Wayner, so let me use some Fort Wayne terms for a moment: Honestly, this place reminded me a lot of Tolon. There is great food in here, but the sheer amount of salt ruins it. In contrast, their yakumi (nigiri & sashimi condiments) is super in-the-background, to the point where I question if it was ever really there. Some may say that is the point. I say Haru is rolling in its... money. Rolling in its money. The yakumi is what makes that joint so much more alive and well.

Speaking of Haru, the kara-age at Bamboo Sushi also makes a great contender to the tatsuta-age from the FW place. That is to say, it is really great... if not for the sauce that tastes like not enough mustard dunked in too much mayo, where the mustard is constantly trying to make itself known in the most obnoxious way possible, yet the mayo's sourness is the only taste that lingers around. Yeah, you get the pattern by this point.

Still, the silver lining is that Bamboo Sushi knows enough not to put salt on EVERYTHING (unlike a certain joint mentioned in this very review). Being a fresh-fish joint - and the fish is very fresh - you can still have a great meal if you know what to avoid. As a bonus, they also guarantee that all of their catch is free of gluten! Go figure!

Really, Bamboo Seattle's only fault is that it is in dire need of a saucier. However, I don't remember seeing any fish that was sourced from the vicinity of France, so maybe they're just revolting against that system in their own little way.

To end on a positive note, that matcha panna cotta - served with raspberry and pure milk powder crumbles - was one of the best Japanese-inspired desserts I've ever had.

TL;DR Avoid anything...

Bamboo sushi was my favorite sushi restaurant when I lived in Portland. When I was visiting Washington, the first thing I did it was to Google bamboo sushi. It had been 8 years since I last had it the last time I had it . I used to go to the couple of locations in Portland at least twice a week. I loved it . I would tell people it's the best sushi I ever had , didn't matter which location I went to. It was always excellent. But the thing I used to tell my friends is that the best burger I ever had was at bamboo sushi. They wouldn't believe me because who would go to a sushi restaurant for a burger??. I tried it after talking to the bartender and told me that his favorite thing on the menu was the burger, "sumo style" and the told me if I don't like it he would pay for it. So I decided to try it. And he was not wrong ! So, this last time I went to bamboo sushi in Seattle, I ordered 3 items that I always used to get . Ahi poke , the green machine roll, and of course the burger . The ahi poke , the flavors were not balanced, had some strong pepper /spicy taste. The green machine, still to this day, is my favorite sushi roll from any sushi restaurant, still tastes amazing, I can't remember exactly but I think it used to have asparagus instead of green beans but still amazing. But , the biggest disappointment of all was the burger , the one thing I was really looking forward to. I ordered the burger medium, and sadly, it was cooked well done. That changed my experience. It tasted just like a plain under seasoned burger. People might say it's ridiculous to expect a good burger from a sushi place . It does sound silly, but I had it numerous times before, and it was amazing every single time. And going back after 8 years , that was not what I was expecting. Maybe I need to go back to the ones in Portland?. I would still go back, but just...

It was just getting busy and the host looked awkwardly like they didn’t want to seat me and my friend. It was quite noisy juxtaposed against white paneled wood. We were seated at the bar as a best option which I enjoy because I love it as a watch tower. I saw the head chef frustrated and scold another chef. Seems like this place opened very recently.

Happy hour menus were suggested to us. They were a disappointment. But what saved the entire meal was the ribeye steak w fried onions and mushrooms. It was cooked perfectly and divine. I ordered poke and ceviche and two orders of the chef hand rolls. There was almost no fish in any of those dishes. And the flavor wasn’t waking up any of my senses. I hate how poke is a hot trending word but know one understands what it is. That was not poke it was a cucumber salad w 5 tiny cubes of fish. That’s was not ceviche but a cilantro salads 5 cubes of fish on it. They both tasted yummy but just weren’t the thing that the menu lead me to believe.

This restaurant is called a sustainable sushi restaurant. The thing that’s sustainable was that they really don’t use fish in their fish dishes.

I grew up in Hawaii and Japan so if you are looking for a Japanese sushi spot I would not recommend this place. If you are looking for a fun place to get drinks and rib eye then this place is great!

It’s noisy so I wouldn’t take a date here either.

Best wishes bamboo sushi, I think there is room for some customer service training and some updates on the menu/ kitchen staff needed to survive the competitive restaurant industry.

If you want to know what poke is go to the food land grocery in Hawaii and get a 1/4 lbs of each of the pokes.

Also poke is not sustainable. It’s a treat in Hawaii and that’s where it should stay. Using words like poke to sell salads...