欧博allbetBest Japanese Restaurants Seattle
Diners at this U District hot spot grab a tray and slide along the line, cafeteria-style, to place a noodle order. The next step is to choose some deep-fried delights a la carte, like the excellent tempura chikuwa, a fishcake in the shape of a tube. With two locations (the other is on Capitol Hill), this mini-chain is the first in Seattle to serve udon made on-site, with the cold preparations showing off the chewiness of the al dente noodles best; diners can even watch them being made while they wait to order.
U:Don
Issian Stone Grill
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This izakaya in Wallingford is a perfect place for a group to enjoy drinks and share small plates. Dishes include grilled mackerel, grilled tuna collar, a variety of yakitori, fried chicken cartilage, kushikatsu (tonkatsu on a stick), and even French fries with wasabi mayonnaise. Yaki onigiri (soy-sauce-glazed grilled rice balls) are the perfect dish to fill up at the end of a meal. Right next door is Minato, a great place to get donburi (rice bowls) to go, including chirashi-don that’s topped with a wide variety of sashimi, fatty tuna scrapings, and salmon roe.
Issian
Kamonegi
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The star at Kamonegi is the fresh buckwheat soba noodles made from scratch — even the flour is ground in-house. Preparations run from basic (zaru: cold noodles with dipping sauce) to complex (Kamonegi’s namesake dish: soba with duck, leek, and a duck meatball). The Fremont spot also highlights seasonal tempura, which pairs perfectly with soba, including a classic tensoba combination of soba with vegetable tempura. Make a full night of it by sampling some sake and snacks at next-door sibling bar Hannyatou.
Bill Addison/Eater
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Kobuta & Ookami Katsu and Sake House
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This small Capitol Hill dine-in-only restaurant, now with a branch in Redmond, consistently draws crowds for its katsu dishes. Breaded with panko and deep-fried, the pork cutlets are crispy on the outside (you’ll hear the crunch!) while soft and juicy on the inside. Cuts range from lean to fatty, with upgrades available for Kurobuta or Iberico. Plain and simple (maybe with tonkatsu sauce and/or spicy mustard) shows off the katsu best, but diners can also get it topped with grated daikon radish, drowned in sweet miso sauce (Nagoya-style), or as part of nabe in a clay pot, to name a few. For those who eschew pork, chicken and ebi katsu are available.
Jay Friedman
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Wa'z
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One of Seattle’s only dedicated kaiseki restaurants, located in the shadow of the Space Needle, makes food almost too beautiful to eat. The $185 tasting menu takes diners on a journey that includes small bites, soup, sashimi, a braised dish, a grilled dish, a rice dish, and dessert. In keeping with kaiseki’s emphasis on seasonality, the menu changes monthly, and customers covet the counter seats, where the chef can tell diners the story of each dish, from ingredients to preparation to picturesque plating.
Suzi Pratt/Eater Seattle
Nana’s Green Tea (Seattle)
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Matcha is the heart of the menu at this downtown cafe. Diners can indulge in items like roll cake, cheesecake, tiramisu, and more; the matcha cream puff bursts with a massive amount of matcha custard cream, while the parfaits are monumental masterpieces. Drinks range from lattes to frappes to sodas, though the matcha americano might best show off the quality of Nana’s matcha. (Other featured flavors include hojicha, yuzu, and black sesame.) The Bellevue location has additional pastry offerings, while the Seattle spot serves up savory dishes like curry and tonkatsu.
Jay Friedman
Tamari Bar
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Tamari Bar is a modern izakaya that plays well to the crowds looking to play in the Pike/Pine corridor. Whether drinking whisky, sake, or beer (or more), appetizers like boiled Kurobuta gyoza, furikake Brussels sprouts, and takowasa (octopus flavored with wasabi) are perfect accompaniments. There are sushi rolls and sashimi as well as larger plates like dan dan ramen and “Area 206” curry. For a sweet finish, save room for matcha brulee, yuzu panna cotta, and soft serve with a syrup flight.
Tamari
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Anbai
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You can get your bento “box” to go (as is typical in Japan), but you’ll have a better time hanging out at this counter in Capitol Hill. The bento includes a fish preparation (often salmon) of the day, a miso-marinated egg, and various sides with fermentation elements, such as pickled purple cabbage. Instead of the more typical bed of rice, each bento comes with an onigiri (seaweed-wrapped rice ball) made with either white rice or the house-recommended enzyme brown rice — touted for its nutritional value. At close to $20, each bento is a little precious but perfectly delicious.
Jay Friedman
Katsu Burger
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Now with eight locations in the metro area, Katsu Burger serves a slew of panko-breaded, deep-fried meats for its burgers. While beef, chicken, and even tofu are options, pork is classic for katsu, fantastic with mayo and tonkatsu sauce along with the standard toppings of cabbage, tomato, red onions, and pickles. Add nori fries and a green tea milkshake to round out a satisfying fast-food meal that’s made to order.
Jay Friedman
Onibaba
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Rice is the centerpiece of Onibaba, run by the former Tsukushinbo team in the space where the old restaurant used to be. Onigiri, a popular convenience store snack food in Japan, gets a luxurious treatment here: The rice balls are made with high-quality rice and seaweed wrapping, stuffed generously with a variety of fillings. (Salty salmon and sour plum are especially popular.) Also central to the menu is ochazuke, a traditional Japanese dish made by pouring tea over white rice, akin to porridge. Instead of tea, Onibaba’s ochazuke includes a pour of delicate dashi broth, with toppings like unagi (grilled eel) over a grilled rice ball. The menu also has an assortment of Tsukushinbo’s classic and comforting rice bowls like katsu or pork belly with onions.
Jay Friedman
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Maneki
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Maneki has been a mainstay in Japantown for more than 100 years. Seats are tough to snag and basically require reservations through a text line (no such thing as Resy or Tock here). The menu is comprehensive and affordable, with Japanese classics from agedashi tofu to tempura and sukiyaki to sushi. Among its signature dishes, black cod collar miso is especially popular, perfectly charred on top with an underside that is oily, rich, and delicious.
Suzi Pratt
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Fuji Bakery
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Fuji Bakery, with locations in Interbay and the International District, combines ingredients and techniques from Japan and France to create wonders like the matcha cruffin. Many people visit Fuji for its savory breads and pastries, such as kare-pan (curry bun) and epi (with bacon and English mustard). Others prefer the not-so-sweet sweets, like anpan, yuzu tarts, year-round panettone, and best-selling crunchy cream malasadas.
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Fort St. George
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This Chinatown-International-District staple serves the type of low-brow comfort food that generally doesn’t get much love outside of Japan, but which its citizens can’t live without. This includes Japanese-style pasta (the cod roe version is most recommended), beef curry with a ton of optional toppings, different versions of doria (rice casserole topped with bechamel sauce and grated cheese), or various bento plates, including grilled mackerel. Plus there’s a whole slew of appetizers that pair well with a specialty cocktail or shochu from the bar.
Fort St. George
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Ringo Curry
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Ringo Curry is what happens when a Thai guy falls in love with curry in Japan and wants to share his love of it in Seattle. The classic katsu curry showcases a perfectly fried pork cutlet that’s thick, juicy, and not at all greasy. The menu has a variety of meat and vegetable options, and diners can customize the amounts of rice and curry sauce as well as the spicy level of the curry. Those who want more than rice can get a version with a fluffy omelet. The condiment tray includes pickled ginger and, even better, rakkyo — a pickled allium bulb that’s a crunchy counterpoint to the spicy curry.
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Sandwich House TRES
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Sandwich House TRES in Bellevue focuses primarily on doing one thing and doing it right: beloved crustless sandwiches made with soft and spongy white bread. This sparse spot does bustling to-go business, offering an extensive sandwich menu featuring four “zones”: meat, seafood, vegetable, and fruit/sweet. It’ll take two sandwiches to fill most diners; make one a pork cutlet.
