Kushibar Japanese Bar & Restaurant

This place is quirky and I like it! I had a difficult time deciding between 4 and 5 stars on this one. I think the food is closer to a 4 but the ambiance and staff are a 5. They have a cute, enclosed patio and a long, narrow eating space inside. Very cozy and casual. Karaōke is featured on Thursday nights and it’s obvious there are some regulars that come here religiously to belt it out. They have a nice menu of different noodles, sushi, appetizers, fresh bowls and (my personal favorite] sake! The waitstaff is prompt to take your order and turn around food but then leave you to leisurely enjoy your meal. Great spot for unpretentious sushi and ideal gathering spot for groups in the patio space.

AMAZING FOOD!!! love the ramen!
Great Service!

Great place. Loved the ramen, the skewers were good, loved the chicken hearts and the tongue, the chicken skewers were also well done. My wife had the okonmiyaki and that was excellent too. I live next door to this place, so I will be back

Servers are unresponsive. Skewers are cold and disgusting. Soups are tasteless. It’s NOT Japanese at all!

I’ve been to Kushibar a few times and it’s always been a good experience. I usually order their house ramen. I feel like kushibar is the only place that makes ramen that I enjoy. It’s spicy and hearty and very fragrant. The okonmiyaki is excellent too.
Try to make it for happy hour but if you miss it, don’t fret because this place is really reasonably priced considering its Japanese food in Belltown.
The service is always excellent and staff is super friendly.

It’s narrow inside, but good thing is they still served our big group. There’s a nice place where you can all sit in the way back. Server wasn’t really all there, not sure what happened, she was nice though. I have to be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of the food, compared to what is offered in the area as well. But it was decently good. I probably wouldn’t come here again, but if a friend has a birthday here, I would still come.

Kushibarrr– I’ve been here so many times yet I’ve realized I never left a review.
My friends and I decided to meet up here for some drinks and snacks. Unfortunately we missed the happy hour, but we had some good time.
We ordered agedashi tofu and okonomiyaki– the boys had several rounds of soju (crazy kids) and the ladies had some beers.
We met up at 10pm so everyone was loud and the place was packed, yet they never failed to check up on us several times and refilled our waters and drinks. The staff are friendly and have quick service which is a plus.
The food was DELICIOUS. Agedashi tofu was so good we ordered another batch. The guys had the okonomiyaki pancake but it had meat in it so the girls didn’t touch it (don’t judge us).
Anyways, 5 stars for this place, for always providing great service to their customers. And the food is good as well! And I just found out they had vegetarian ramen… so I might have to come back here for lunch now that I know that!!!

Ramen tasted excellent. Seems to embrace a bold cooking concept in their food design ideas, thus adding me energy to the food they serve. Kinda cool.

I had the chicken Yakisoba. This was very good! The waitress was very nice and the food was brought to our table quickly. Definitely will be coming back!

Great ambiance with authentic food, whether you crave ramen, sushi, or a rice dish. Be sure to try the cucumber daiquiri if you like cocktails. They also have mochi ice cream for dessert. Call ahead for a table; they are often busy.

The food here is reasonably priced and has a great izakaya selection! Our server was really nice which is a plus, the downside was sometimes it got so busy it took a while for us to flag her down. The tonkatsu ramen has more flavor than the shoyu ramen. Will come back here the next time I’m in Seattle! Love the drinks here too :)

This is the kind of place that would do nuts amounts of business on Capitol Hill, where there’s more foot traffic in general, but I’m glad a place like this in Belltown!
You get sat down quickly, order quickly, and get your food quickly. Drinks are reasonably priced, food is a tad expensive, but very good. A large selection should please everyone.
Also a very convenient take out place!

A neighborhood favourite.
Good izakaya selections
Pretty good bar /​drinks — they know how to make drinks I get at izakayas in Tokyo.
Good Ramen
I feel they need more competitive energy. In Tokyo I am use to daily exciting specials at the izakaya to keep people interested.
If I saw more hype in the daily fresh sheets with better drink /​food pairings I will move rating to 5 stars.
Tokyo competitiveness makes Izakaya more cheerful and always surprising for you and your friends. You can sit down and right away see a pictured food /​drink pairing you want and always have fresh offerings to keep you coming back. Seattle Izakayas need that kitchen /​chef /​management a little more.

What a great place for after-​work happy hour! It was very chill and quiet (which is rare in Belltown during happy hour) which makes it an awesome spot for catching up with friends – it’s nice when you can actually hear what people are saying! I had the house ramen and the kaki fry (which is several huge fried oysters and dipping sauce), and my friend had the bad boy roll and the agedashi tofu. I was pretty pleased with the house ramen, which was huge, hearty, and had a little bit of kick – and it was only $ 8! The kaki fry was also awesome and the oysters were perfectly fried. My friend really enjoyed the agedashi tofu as well. Overall a solid spot!

Great tasting food but a little pricey for what you get. I ordered the Salt and Pepper prawns, $ 12. Although very tasty, it isn’t enough as a meal, not worth that price, perhaps a good few more prawns would be adequate to justify the price.
My boyfriend ordered noodles with shrimp, which was the same price as mine, and he liked his and said it was very tasty and the portion size was fine.
I’d go back and order something else next time.

Came here for happy hour on a whim, so we had no expectations about this place at all. It looked nice on the outside, with a covered «outside» area. But when we went in and sat down, it looked and felt dingy, like a cheap BBQ joint. The food was bland, especially their version of fried chicken bits and the agedashi tofu, just lacking flavor. The waiters were nice, so 2.5 stars, but it’s not worth eating here, especially when there are much better restaurants right next door.
Oh, and they play lame cheesy music. Please, Marvin Gaye is NOT good music for happy hour.

Great place if you like accepting the explanation that $ 14/​730mL bottle means $ 14 for a not-​even-​350mL carafe of sake. If your menu is wrong that’s not the customer’s fault. Would not return.

The Ramen n takoyaki weren’t that great. Ramen broth would be better with a little more taste and the takoyaki were a bit too soggy. The curry of the curried potatoes not buta kimchee were reli good thou. Love the atmosphere not would have been better if I get a chance to sit at the outdoor benches area :)

I was craving some ramen, thought to give this place a try.
I have the house ramen and takoyaki. Can’t say that I am impressed. The broth is alright and it does come in decent portion. However the noodle was sub par and the Chashu is rather blend. The Takoyaki is too saucy and the octopus chunk is tasteless.
Price is not particular attractive either. Don’t remember the exact amount but ramen, takoyaki and a beer came to about ~30.
Overall, I expected better and its definitely mediocre.

Hm, so overall, it’s hard to really pinpoint what I do and don’t like – there’s a weird amalgamation of «this is delicious», «this isn’t that great», and «this is not good at all.» I feel as if a restaurant should have a good balance between food, but here, it’s strange. I was first attracted to this place because I heard from a few waitresses at another restaurant that Kushibar has the best takoyaki; this perked my ears because there are hardly any good takoyaki places in the Seattle area. Needless to say, it wasn’t that great…

Pretty normal sushi place with more expensive prices.
Overall this place seems to be really hyped and I’m not sure why. I was staying near to this sushi bar and it was lined up every time I walked by it. Finally one night I tried it and maybe I had my expectations too high, because it was really underwhelming. The sushi was fresh and tasted pretty good, but it seemed pricy.
Not a bad place, but definitely don’t wait in line.

I finally got a chance to try out this restaurant and I had a pretty good experience! The waitress was nice and the food was really good! I ordered the unadon. The only downside was that the portion was kinda small. I was still hungry after finishing it. :c oh, the outdoor seating was nice!
I want to come back and try their happy hour though!

This place has some really great ramen, but considering I graduated university less than a year ago, that might not be saying much, especially given the fact that I ate a lot of crappy $ 1 instant ramen during that period of my life.
I’ve had the Shoyu and the Miso ramen before, and both of them are relatively big for portion sizes. The broths in both dishes are not too greasy and not too light, but the best part is that you probably won’t hate drinking it afterwards because of the fear of it tasting like MSG.
I’ve been here for happy hour as well on a couple of occasions — the yakitori skewers are pretty decent, especially for the price. You can likely get a bunch of the happy hour specials and have a decent meal out of it, without breaking the bank (~$ 14 for a full-​fledged «buffet» of happy hour things). The beer specials around this time are reasonable as well!
As a «Japanese restaurant», these guys don’t fare too badly either. I’ve had the Seattle roll here before (see pictures) — it wasn’t Shiro’s quality (but then again, what is?), but it wasn’t AYCE quality either. The rolls were a little tiny for the price ($ 8), but I can’t complain about the presentation or the quality of the fish in them either — just the portion size being a little underwhelming. It’s good to keep in mind that you shouldn’t come here to fill up on rolls — they’re expensive and not terribly big.
Usually, your «main course» meal is ramen, or one of the other dishes that has some sort of protein (meat /​fish /​tofu) in it.
I would definitely recommend Kushibar for any kind of ramen in Belltown area, partially because they’re hard to find, and partially because anything «better» quality is too inconvenient to get to. In terms of sushi, meh, you can find better close by, but the price is definitely going to be steeper.

Kushibar has a really great ambiance that you wouldn’t expect from the exterior. The food is also pretty good, too. My group all ordered the House Ramen, which is in a spicy miso sauce, and that was delicious. We also tried one of the sushi rolls (the Seattle Roll) which was okay, and the gyoza, which was also okay, but I wouldn’t order either again. I would stick to the ramen, or I’ll probably try one of the katsus or sobas the next time I go.
Service was so-​so; we were seated immediately, but they didn’t seem to have enough wait staff to cover all of the tables well. So I agree with the other reviewers about waiting for a time that’s not too busy.
Overall, this place is good, and I’ll definitely be going back.

They got seafood and land animals on sticks. If that’s not enough, then you have problems. This was the last bar we went to after my last night of bar hopping which started at Frolik with an Elite Event (dope) and a few rounds at Chan’s at Pike Place.
Sit on the picnic style tables on their enclosed white trash deck/​shack. It feels like outside, but not.
The Tonkotsu Ramen was ok. As someone who always stays in Belltown when I travel here, this is the closest Ramen spot. For whatever reason, ramen is not a thing in Seattle like it is in NYC. This ramen was pedestrian at best. The broth lacked a soul. The noodles were overdone by the time it hit the table. The pork was too dry, but edible. I wouldn’t order it again.
The skewer set was a mix of chicken: liver, heart, gizzard, shrimp, beef, quail egg wrapped in bacon, cherry tomatoes … good but nothing fantastic. Shrimp head was still on it, like it should be. Every stick was cooked well and seasoned.
After a bottle of sake we bounced… er, stumbled home satisfied. This joint is good to hit up with friends for drinks but food is just ok. If can be part of a few joints in the night, but probably shouldn’t be the main star.

Came here last night to celebrate my bday. We ordered some sake bombs from the bartender. I really wanted to take a photo with my group so I asked the bartender if he could snap a quick photo for us. His response: «I’m too busy right now»
Wow. What a huge buzz kill. How can you say that to your patron? Even if he was busy, he could have definitely said it in a nicer way.
WORSE CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER. Will not be coming back.

I’m actually surprised at myself that somehow after living in Seattle for 2 years I never wrote a review of Kushibar… Now that I’ve relocated back to Chicago it was one of the first places on my list of visits when I came back… so review time!
Get the Chahan!!! YUMMY! Some of the best fried rice I’ve ever had. This is my go to dish here. While I was living here I would probably get it once a week. There’s just something about their fried rice that knocks all others out of the park for me.
The rest of the menu is tasty as well. There are a ton of great skewers, I really like the Chicken Lung skewers. Beyond that, they have a wide array of other chicken and seafood items as well as numerous veggies if that’s your choice.
It is usually a pretty relaxed atmosphere Sun-​Thursday, but on Fridays and Saturdays it turns into a bit of a dance clubbish atmosphere with a DJ and everything and it gets jam packed!
All in all a super good time with good food. They also restructured the inside recently to turn it all into booths instead of the old super long awkward table structure where every time you stood up you stuck your butt right in someone’s face. I’m a big fan of the new floor plan since I don’t like my face so close to other people’s butts: P.

When I went to visit Seattle, I was looking for something good, filling and possibly warm because it was pretty cold when I came in. I searched and I Unilocaled and texted friends whom have visited the city before. And finally came to a decision to come here. It was a far walk from where I was and cold as well. I ordered the wings and the spicy Nabeyaki udon. And man o man did that hit the spot. Both hunger satisfaction and being warm. My waitress was awesome so that definitely was a plus. Great gem in Belltown. A definite MUST visit!

So ein cooles hippes Restaurant in einem trendigen Viertel !
Die Bedienungen sind echt mega freundlich und erklären gern die komplizierte Speisekarte. Die Leute im Lokal waren teilweise sehr abgespacete people, aber passt zum Restaurant :-)
Es gibt sogar deutsches Weißbier dort zu trinken (Paulaner Hefeweizen)!
Die Hauptspeisen waren allesamt so verdammt lecker !
Wirklich alle.
Bisschen aufpassen muss man nur mit den Spießchen (Yaki), hier könnten Geflügelherzen oder andere Innereien für einen kleinen Schocker sorgen ;-)
Weil mein Essen ein bisschen länger gedauert hat, gab es für unseren Tisch gleich noch zwei verschiedene Vorspeisen aufs Haus. Sehr netter und zuvorkommender Service!
Wer auf trendige neue Sachen steht, der sollte hier auf einen Besuch vorbeischauen!

Die Kushibar war unser letzter Abend in Seattle. Ein unbeschwerter Abend. Das Ambiente in diesel Lokal ist besonders lebendig und besonders liebenswürdig. Ein Blick in die offene Küche weist auf Sauberkeit hin. Wir waren fünf Personen Und haben quer Beet bestellt. Jeder von uns Fünf war sehr zufrieden! Die Portionen waren gross Und Der Preis ok! Ich würde das Lokal wieder besuchen.