Sake Nomi

Great time and gave me an avenue to introduce friends to good sake!

One of the best Sake places I’ve been to in the US. The guy knows his Sake. A chill place and you can get bottles to go. One of my favorite spots to go in Pioneer Square.

First time to check this bar and it is awesome. I feel in Japan when you see inside. My friend and I figured it out where we can drink sake because Chinatown Japanese restaurant was packed, so I used my google to check good some place to go. I found this bar 9 mins to walk from Chinatown and it was cool. I was glad I found good one. Unfortunately, we hadn’t eat yet that time, so we shocked that they don’t serve food there just sake. Bartender or I don’t know what to call him in Japan way and he was really good customer service. He explained us which one for my friend who was first time to drink and showed to us how make sake. Also, the rice how many percentage they put in the sake and it was awesome. I was glad to check this awesome bar and I might come back here again.

Hands down the best sake you’ll find in seattle, and on top of that a wonderful, welcoming atmosphere. The owner Johnnie is friendly and extremely knowledgable, and will gladly educate you if you’ve an interest. If not, he’s very non-​judgmental, and first-​time sake drinkers will feel welcome.
Come in, have a drink, and find out exactly how good real sake can be.

Kampai !!! Being a sake addict and having lived in Japan for 25 years I highly recommend this Sake Supermarket /​Bar. Great place to hang out and learn even more about sake. Only wish the state of Washington would stop taxing sake like it was an illegal drug, that doubles the price we have to pay compared to the prices in other states and Japan. dewa matta

I’m a beginner of Sake and can’t critique much on the selections or quality of Sake. But I sure had a good experience trying out different beer and Sake with my friend. The ambience is perfect and I liked the display of Sake bottles and arts on the wall. I also like the Sake menu with a brief explanation of the taste for a beginner like me. The place was not busy on Thursday night so we had a good chunk of time to talk with the owner who is knowledgeble and fun to talk with. I’d definitely come back here again with my friends.

4.5 stars
This place is just a touch above a hole-​in-​the-​wall. Its small and cozy in a sweet location, parking was surprisingly easy.
Guys are very friendly and knowledgeable. Good sake, better company. Recommended for beginners who just want to know more about sake.

Awesome selection of Premium Nihon-​Shu (sake)! Extremely knowledgeable owner and very approachable. You don’t have to be an expert, but if you are you’ll be thrilled!

It’s always a pleasure to see a passion project become a successful business. At Sake Nomi, one man’s adventure to Japan has become a long-​standing Pioneer Square sake bar, which to be honest, is not something you see everyday in the U.S., let alone in Seattle.
Sake Nomi is kind of a traditional spot: warm woods, Japanese textiles, simple but elegant atmosphere. It’s not very bar-​like in many ways, except that this is bar, and a bar that serves only sake. The setting is a balance of low-​key, graceful and refined. The hospitality is friendly. You will likely hear the owner’s story of living abroad, teaching English, learning a lot about sake, and coming home with dreams of spreading the gospel. A pioneer in Pioneer Square: spreading a message of sake to the masses.
Beyond graduating to not ordering crappy hot sake in the last decade, many of the finer nuances of sake are outside of my wheelhouse, but its fun trying, and nice to check out an original business, especially one as enjoyable as this one.

Great little place to expand your palate to the world of sake. A friend and I shared their two sake flights and really enjoyed their tasting notes. The owner was very helpful and friendly. It’s a comfortable atmosphere and definitely worth a visit if you have any interest in this interesting spirit. Check them out!

I love this place. It is amazing.
Johnny who runs it is one of the nicest guys in the world. He always has an awesome selection of movies and TV shows on the TV.
He also has a consistent array of very tasty sakes and beers available. There are things from the very cheap up to the very pricy if that is what you’re looking for.
On occasion there are also food trucks available to get some delicious snacks outside. If there isn’t one you’re welcome to buy food from anywhere around and have it delivered or bring it in yourself.

We fortunately stumbled upon this place while exploring Seattle on a nice afternoon. We sat at the bar and had the place to ourselves. What struck me most was how much the owner knew and cared about both sake and the culture surrounding it. I admittedly know very little about sake (maybe a bit more now) so the explanations of the process and the different kinds of sake was enlightening. The store itself is beautiful. Overall just a great experience and definitely worth checking out.
p. s. there’s a great chocolate company upstairs. I’d recommend checking out both while you’re there.

4.5 stars!
Featured in a Manga, the owner has created a great little tasting room that reflects his love for the brewed stuff. And it is most definitely a labor of love. Go for the flights, and enjoy the conversation.
Sumo videos, and appropriate music — service with a smile…
Will you get the highest end Junmai Daiginjo? Nope… but he’s got some great Namazake and a solid collection of great value Ginjo and Daiginjos on sale.
He loves his stuff, and so should you!

Each time I’ve been to Seattle, I’ve stopped by Sake Nomi. It’s a neat little spot tucked away in a corner. They have a very large selection of sake. I recommend trying one of their tastings. It is 3 pours of different sake for around 20 dollars. The selection for the tastings is always changing. Also available is a nice variety of Japanese beer.
There’s a nice bar, TVs showing Japanese shows, and a friendly owner. I just wish the prices were slightly lower. But then again, for a quiet place to have a drink, it’s worth it.

Talk about eclectic !
All the trappings of a wine tasting room, only sake. The owner lived in Japan for 7 years and, besides becoming a big Japanese baseball fan, also became quite knowledgeable about sake. So much so that he knows, properly, this is cold sake season and that is what he served.
Great flight of sakes, all having different tastes in a similar manner a merlot would to a cabernet to a malbec, for example. So it is a great place to start your education — or continue it — on the wonderful drink that is sake. (Sidebar to my family and friends who may read this — I want to be pickled in a barrel of sake when I die. Skip the Viking boat thing.)
And for us Japanophiles, the owner can easily go ashinoyubi to ashinoyubi with you on the crazy world of Japan and them some, All the while wearing a Seattle Sounders jersey! I will cut him some slack because he is a BayStars fan (I am solidly a Hanshin Tiger)
This is added to my «I hate franchises» list of unique owner operated businesses.

Sake Nomi sets the standard for sake selection in Seattle and nationally as well. Although they do not have as many sakes as my Bay Area standby, True Sake, Sake Nomi has something that no other store has — a kick ass tasting bar. For a nominal fee, you can try several different types of sake and learn why one sake might be $ 200 a bottle as opposed to $ 5. Johnie, the owner, is super knowledgeable and is always happy to help out. Definitely a great place to browse and taste :).

Rotating tasting menu weekly = must come back weekly…
Sumo matches on NHK TV = cool to watch when they air; I wonder what else on NHK they can turn on?
A cool, subdued and friendly owner that man Johnnie (Johnny?) is. I stepped out early today and ventured down here for a sake tasting and a crash course basic lesson on sake. The tasting goes well and the rice visual is illustrative. You’re allowed to bring in outside food since they have no menu (perhaps snacks?). Sake boxes make for beautiful wall cover. :) A truly cool shop in Pi Sq and the ambient scent reminds me of something I forgot. Cool background music.
«Hoooii huuuuuh, «Sumo grunts.
P. S. Claims someone broke the men’s room door lock; perhaps a temporary fix is putting a sign on the door.

Don’t know much about Sake? Love it and want to be around others that do? Come to Sake Nomi for a tasting, and maybe walk away with a few bottles!
I was there for a tasting with 15 – 20 Unilocalers, and had a great time. They let us bring some food to munch on and we enjoyed learning about the different types of Sake while sampling five different ones. After I finished sampling them all, I picked my favorite and purchased a big cup of it.
Mmm. Sake.
I am still very inexperienced when it comes to Sake, but I’m pretty sure I like it, and I’m quite sure I’ll have to drop by this pretty-​easy-​to-​stumble-​into spot for more tastings (or just a cup) in the future!

Just happened to be walking through Pioneer Square the other night and decided to drop in. I’ve always been a fan of sake but never really had an opportunity to do a tasting. So here I was at Sake Nomi.
For $ 5 we had 5 tastings. They were all very light pours. No more than 2 sips. But that was enough for us to get a good sense of the sake being served. It’s amazing how much variety there is when you’re given the opportunity to compare and contrast.
The location is very intimate. There are sake bottles all around. A few signs are scattered about providing little bits of education about the world of sake. I found the place to be good for a small group of friends to get together and chat. It’s not very loud inside which makes for a great atmosphere to drink and talk.

Granted a group of rowdy guys already half in the bag isn’t the most ideal of patrons. However, we were all pretty cash flush and eager to drink. The owner handed us a sampling menu that wasn’t quite what we were looking for. He did say that we could probably get a bottle and sample that. It was my friend’s turn to buy the next round so we went with that. The majority of our group had never tasted sake before so it was pretty helpful. He did seem to kind of… um eager to please us so we would leave quickly.
There was a couple down at the bar that seemed to be scared or anxious or something. At any rate he got us a bottle of sake. He offered us a bottle that he had just gotten and gave us 10 shot glasses. He obviously is a connoisseur because he bristled at us shooting sake. I said we should because it was pretty obvious that we weren’t really wanted and should leave as quickly as possible.
The bottle had enough that we each got two rounds of sake shots. We left after that and had a good time at other places. It’s definitely a classier establishment and I’m sure I would have a better impression of it if I had say come with a smaller party but with a large, rowdy devil’s brigade we were not a good place.