Sakana Sushi & Kitchen — Restaurant in Seattle

I know that most of my reviews tend to be five star reviews, but I like to believe that I just have really good luck when picking restaurants. I also tend to not review places that are disappointing, so please believe that I’m objective.

Sakuna is far from disappointing.

Atmosphere: While it’s not super cozy, it’s very clean and the lighting is nice and dim, but not so dark you can’t see.

Menu: The menu is huge. Normally, this would be a negative thing for me (and we did use a virtual note to keep track of our order), but every dish we ordered was incredible and I couldn’t believe how quickly our order was delivered to the table.

Service: The service was great! As soon as we sat down, they gave us chips and an edamame puree that blew our minds. They were very friendly and hospitable to our sizable group of six!

Food: The food was great- they seem to fry their own shallots, the fish was very fresh tasting (the salmon was buttery and rich), and I look forward to going back to try their sashimi.

Price: When all was said and done, we spent about $45 per person. Collectively, we ordered four sushi rolls, two appetizers, a non-sushi dish (creamy chicken katsu) for our seafood averse friend, and two hot sake’s. The portions were huge- we ordered way too much for the four of us that were eating and had to make our other friends who were just there to visit eat some of it with us.

My boyfriend and I ordered the crispy spicy salmon, baked scallop roll, fire dragon roll, and the fried enoki mushrooms.

I can’t wait to go back and try their sashimi. I normally just order sashimi and nigiri, but I was looking for crispy comfort food when I went here. I highly...

Disappointing Experience Despite High Hopes

I had high hopes for this restaurant given its good reviews, but unfortunately, my experience was quite disappointing.

First, the drinks menu was very limited, offering only bottled and canned options. I would have loved to see more variety beyond just sake and beer, perhaps some canned Japanese cocktails to broaden the selection.

Second, the service was noticeably slow, even though the restaurant didn't appear to be busy. I also found it a bit distracting to see the server loudly tossing leftover food into the trash within the dining area.

Finally, the sushi itself was a letdown. The baked sushi was oddly prepared; it wasn't pressed enough and fell apart easily, making it difficult to eat. The standard rolls also suffered from overcooked rice, and the overall quality was just "okay." Compared to other sushi restaurants in the neighborhood, like Momiji, the sushi here simply didn't measure up. Additionally, the miso soup was served with a large silver spoon, which felt out of place for a Japanese restaurant.

It seems like they're still working out some kinks, and unfortunately, the experience didn't meet my...

With Momiji being very hit or miss on any given night, we decided to try something new and got takeout from Sakana. Order took longer than expected, but the staff was apologetic and very friendly. I sat in the totally empty restaurant for 20 minutes and not a single person came in. Probably not somewhere I’d choose to dine-in given the total absence of vibe.

Ordered 4 rolls, karage, chicken katsu, spicy salmon on crispy rice, gyoza, green beans, and an assortment of sushi/sashimi. First off, the food is tasty and the fish quality is good. As were some of the preparations. Namely… everything without a sauce or relish on it: chicken, gyoza, sushi/sashimi, etc. However, all the rolls and the salmon on crispy rice came drenched rather than drizzled with various sauces. It was excessive really, and it took away from enjoying the quality ingredients. I’ll probably try Sakana again, but I’ll be more carefull about what I order and will keep in mind their sauce...