I Love Teriyaki — Restaurant in Seattle

I got the Chicken Teriyaki and Gyoza combo meal here

Starting off, I have to mention the incredible portion size here - the amount of chicken is wild. As I was taking them out to mix in with the rice, I kept pulling out more and more pieces of chicken from what seemed like a never-ending part of the takeout container. This chicken was cooked perfectly, and more importantly, each piece was very meaty. There was a ton of juiciness present, and each bite really felt like you were getting a full mouthful of chicken. Additionally, there were a good amount of char marks on the chicken - which indicates that they were grilled to a high quality. I got a nice smoky flavor from that I did feel a lack of sauce from the chicken pieces, though. I really didn't get that 'teriyaki' sweet flavor at all, and each chicken piece didn't really feel coated enough with sauce in general. This became a problem when I was mixing it with the rice - as there really wasn't enough to coat the rice that much, and this resulted in the rice experience being drier than I'd like There was sauce given as a side, but it was a pretty small cup, and most of it was used to dip the gyoza in. Two cups - one for the gyoza and one for the teriyaki - would've been better

The rice was cooked pretty well - I thought the grains were soft but not mushy The gyoza was alright - it was crispy only in a few parts, but i thought the filling tasted pretty good The side salad was also about average - the dressing was an interesting combination of ranch and vinegar that was decent

The price was on the expensive side for teriyaki (around 20 bucks), but the portion size was pretty massive. I get that rice is pretty cheap, but the amount of chicken certainly was impressive. This lasted me two full meals.

Overall, pretty solid chicken that was lacking a bit on the sauce, at a great...

A friend told me that a gentlemen had previously visited The Emerald City and reviewed all teriyaki places in Seattle, that I Love Teriyaki won his best rating, and I ought to give it a visit over my usual stop. I crossed town to get there -- poorly managed roads, bad traffic and all. Close to arrival in the Stone Way area, I found that people driving luxury cars can't drive, soy hipsters standing in the street indicating that they are crossing can't cross the street, and construction near the restaurant gave me a healthy 5 block-away walk. Once in the restaurant, I found the interior as plain and disengaging as most takeaway teriyaki places -- not to mention the outdated giant and impersonal plastic COVID shield between myself and the register. I placed my order with what I thought to be exact change and got change back; when I politely took this up with the cashier, as to help keep her till correct, she shrewdly snapped that I was wrong ... thank you and you're welcome. When my hot to-go package was ready, the 'thank you for your business' felt handed to me as though 'here's your hat, GTH out!'. To which I did, passing outside through several locals in pajama pants hanging out outside like COVID was ever a thing and still is. Getting home, I found that there was a bit more meat than my usual place (which helped offset the bit-more cost), moderate flavour, and an extra wee cup of teriyaki. ULTIMATELY, was my I Love Teriyaki food and experience worth the hassle over just going to my usual place? No -- and I think I've had better. So if it's close, sure go there .... but I wouldn't cross the bumpy-road California-traffic to get the bad-parking...

Hotdog and bun issue. Like they’re so smart. They give you not enough sauce for the katsu only to have you order more for 50 cents per small container. Be smart and just go to your local Asian market and buy katsu sauce if you plan to give this establishment your money at all. This place tries to nickel and dime the good people of this neighborhood.

They do provide a fair amount of food but the quality of that abundance is a hit and miss. I hope you get the good parts rather than the gristle I got in my meal. I guess that reflects life where it’s a roll of the dice on what you get these days.

Conclusion. So many options. So many people that would show you respect. I’m disappointed that with generations of culture in quality of work and pride in helping your community, that this place still exists in the amazing district we call Fremont. Where their literal neighbors are providing pretzels for free, sending out fun postcards for free, and integrating with the Fremont community, here’s this place that sticks out like a greedy sponge (thumb).

I hope they close so a real establishment that deserves this location opens...