Sushi Kashiba

The omakase lives up to the hype and is worth doing once for sushi enthusiasts.
I got here at 6pm on a Sunday shortly after opening. They don’t let you leave to wait and the bar and waiting area are tiny so that’s a pain. The wait was about 2.5 hours BUT we did get prime seating right in front of Shiro!
Highlights of the omakase included:
–2 different types of salmon
–Toro hand roll
–Uni hand roll: the only uni hand roll in town I believe
–Shrimp head
–Sweet tomago: a Shiro signature. It’s Tokyo-​style and unlike the other tomagos in town. He serves this at the end as a dessert.
Everything is super fresh and nicely dressed with the soy sauce glaze. Shiro is very interactive, chatty, great at educating his patrons on the food and HILARIOUS. I said I didn’t like unagi and he really wanted me to try his. He insisted I try a small piece on-​the-​house just to get the experience.
It was about $ 120 for approx. 20 pieces. You can keep going for a few more courses if you want.
If you want a sushi experience to remember, Shiro is definitely your man!

What I liked most about Sushi Kashiba is it’s location and service. The area is super cute and the staff were very attentive. I had to change the time for the reservation on the day of and they were very accommodating.
The food, unfortunately, is way overhyped. We ordered the Omakase and everything on the «Hot» menu for small plates. They are NOT all small plates. There were definitely more than enough food to feed 2 people, we were so full by the end of the meal that I wanted to just roll over. For the price, I’ve had better. Especially since there are so many other wonderful food spots in Seattle.
Shiro was not there on the day we showed up :(
Will not be returning, but this is a great date night spot for a special night out and you’re willing to spend some $$$$. The bill came out to be around $ 230 for two.

OMG this place is amazing. The reservation system is a bit weird, where you wait in line to get into a seating wave, but that’s the only part that I could even quibble a bit about. I don’t need to go into too much detail, because good fish is still good fish, but the service was impeccable, the sushi chef we chatted with and ordered from was learning English but having fun practicing with us, and I will definitely remember the experience for quite some time. Yumm!

My first impression when I opened the door, «Sushi Kashiba» and flipped through it was that it was a beautiful place.
Pretty, well-​lit, gorgeous pictures graced every page and they all looked appropriate for the subject matter.

What is there not to like? Ambiance, location, service and food was amazing. I did the omakase and was so full by the end. It is about 7 sets, which includes three huge plates of sushi. The hand rolls were so fresh, my favorite was her huge chunks of crab, the toro wasn’t bad either.
It is a more refreshing experience Than shiros due to the location and interior, and menus are similar.
Tips: wait for the bar seating if you don’t have a reservation. We were lucky that someone canceled and we got a table seating :) ask for more wasabi, it’s fresh.

One of the BEST dining experiences I’ve ever had — Sushi Kashiba and Chef Hiro made my night!
Definitely go for the sushi bar. No reservations, but you can either go early to wait in line (before they open), or go in, put your name down, and wander around Pike Place. I put my name down for the 6:30 seating at around 5:30, and was seated at 7:15.
At the sushi bar, you need to get the omakase. Your chef will ask you what you like/​dislike, and based on that (and your yummy noises from what he’s feeding you) he will create a menu for you, one to two pieces at a time. You just need to let him know when you’re 80% full so he knows to slow down and prep the dessert sushi.
Anyways — this experience was absolutely amazing. Everything was incredible… beyond fresh. My favorites were definitely the fatty tuna, hokaido scallops, and amaebi. Chef Hiro was also hilarious, and knew exactly what to feed me!
Great service, great food, what more can you ask for!

Having always had excellent sushi at Shiro’s, I couldn’t wait to try Sushi Kashiba. After all, it’s Chef Shiro Kashiba from Shiro’s. Happy to order their Omakase: Chef’s choice including appetizer and dessert. Why would I want it any other way?
Was happy to find parking at the Market parking. I have to admit it’s stressful trying to park in this area. Greeted by a nice gentleman and after checking it, we were seated at a nice open bar area while we waited for the rest of the party (stuck in traffic). Surprised that the water served had no ice and given temperature outside was in the mid-80’s, ice would have been nice. Asked if we wanted a cocktail but we declined since we wanted to wait. I didn’t feel pressure until a hostess asked us again whether we would want a cocktail.
We were seated next to the window. Tables are close, this is a small restaurant. Cigarette smoking from the street eventually wafted through the window.
We ordered ankimo: it must be the most flavorful I’ve ever had in my life. It was soft and delicious — not like some compressed liver like at some places. Served with thin lemon wedges and ponzu. Would order this again!
Appetizer: salad. Bits of something in mayonnaise, grapefruit on some shredded iceberg lettuce. Uninspiring and I was looking forward to some good fish!
4 individual servings to get through the omakase. Fish was generally very fresh but a few unexpected pieces of sinew. Some pieces did not appear to be clean cuts and in fact were crudely cut. Ending with miso soup was a little strange. Egg dessert was hard and a little dry.
After the check came, the host came over and said that a group had been waiting about 20 minutes for our table and could we please leave. Shock, surprise and disbelief all rolled into one hit me. I’d never experienced this in my life. If they had seating «etiquette», it would have been polite for them to have conveyed this when the reservation was made, and perhaps again when we checked in. I think this could have been handled better.
Our table’s bill was close to $ 600 — I’ll take our $ elsewhere.

Acclaimed Seattle sushi chef Shiro Kashiba retired very briefly and sold his highly rated restaurant, Shiro’s, in 2014. In Fall 2015, Sushi Kashiba opened to the public.
I had been a longtime fan of Shiro’s, the other restaurant, having gone there a few times for omakase at the sushi bar. I try not to spend too much on eating out but Shiro’s was always a worthy splurge. When he left for retirement, I kind of panicked so when I heard this place had opened, I immediately felt the need to check it out/​I REALLY wanted non-​mediocre uni and had missed the smell of freshly roasted nori.
This place is more chic than his older establishment. While his older restaurant is in a simply-​adorned nondescript spot and is indistinguishable from many family-​owned Japanese restaurants, Sushi Kashiba is quite the departure from ordinary simplicity. There is a dapper cocktail bar stocked with many good spirits when you walk in. Sharply dressed hosts and servers who are effusively polite both greet and seat you while swiftly managing and calming many parts of what appears to be a very busy machine.
The meal itself was amazing. My friend and I did the omakase at the sushi bar (!) for $ 95/​person to start. You are served a course tailored to the chef’s preference/​knowledge. The meal is crafted to showcase the best things the house has to offer. When you’re almost full, you’re supposed to signal that to the chef. Otherwise, they will continue feeding you and you get charged piecemeal for every piece you have outside of the usual set.
I can wax poetic about it all, but it’s really best experienced rather than just described. The rice had the perfect chew and seasoning, the cuts of fish were fantastic (in freshness, grade, knife work and seasoning) and prepared exquisitely. I did away with the soy sauce/​wasabi slurry — the pieces are perfect as they are.
Overall, the meal was amazing and service was clearly trying, but it felt a tad overwhelming to fully enjoy everything and for the price you pay, you do expect and hope for better. Maybe it’s the newness of it. We went a month after they opened. Maybe someday I’ll come back and will only remember the food and the great service and none of the bustle. For now, it’s a 4.5.

I would give it actually a 4.5. It was good, obviously, it’s good quality sushi.
However, as much as people may want to shoot me for saying this, I just wasn’t really that impressed. I think ppl hyped it up too much for me. But then again people hella hyped up shiros and shiros blew my world away each time haha. Left me speechless. I dunno. Kashiba’s fish was just eh. And their salmon was farmed AF. My toro piece was soooo stringy. But it makes sense. Bill was significantly cheaper than shiros. So you get what you pay for.
Service from the staff was fantastic, despite the nearly 2 hour wait, great service.
I probably won’t be back again. It was good but not worth a 2 hour wait good. And tbh id rather spend my money on going to shiro’s again… Which is weird I know Bc shiro actually works at kashiba… But it is what it is!!!

All I can say is Wow! Heard about Sushi Kashiba from a client and decided to make reservations for my SO’s birthday.
From the time we walked in 30 minutes early, to when we paid the bill and walked out, we had an outstanding experience. The host (whom I believed took my reservation) seated us immediately at the sushi bar. YAY!!! Win!!!
Sadly Shiro-​san was not present on the day we showed up, but our sushi chef did not disappoint. We immediately ordered the omakase and our culinary odyssey began. I could go through every piece of fish we were presented with, but so many others before me have already highlighted the quality and taste of their offerings. I will say that the Thai Snapper which was one of the first things he gave us was off the charts… and it just went on from there.
They have an expansive sake list and the service is impeccable. Our sushi chef just kept loading us up and finally I had to scream uncle. My husband kept going for another half an hour and I was utterly jealous that I just didn’t have the space in my happy belly to go on.
My recommendation… make a resie and show up 30 minutes early. They will definitely give you priority for the sushi bar over those who just showed up hoping to get a spot. In my opinion, the sushi bar is the ONLY place to sit in a spot like Kashiba.

What can I say? This is as good as it gets.
Particular favorites:
— the sautéed geoduck (geoduck, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms)
— the unagi (freshwater eel)
— the sawara (one of three kinds of mackerel)
— the uni (sea urchin)
— the sunomono (pickles and more)
— the maguro (tuna)
— the hamachi (yellow tail)
— the sake (salmon nigiri)
This is a destination restaurant — intimate, expensive, wonderful. Be sure to make a reservation.

Absolutely exquisite experience.
Sushi Kashiba won the honor of being the dinner of my choice for my birthday.
I recommend coming early if you want a seat at the bar for the authentic omakase experience. There’s reservations for tables but the bar seating is what you really want if you are a sushi connoisseur.
I came around 4:20pm and there were already 7 people ahead of me. Unfortunately I did not have Shiro as my chef but I was still content with sitting at the bar regardless. There are a total of 12 seats. I believe each round of omakase at the bar takes 2 hours. The next seating for the bar was at 7pm after the 5pm filled up.
Also note that even if you came early you still may not get to have Shiro as your chef. There was a girl who was waiting since 3:30 and she did not get to sit with Shiro because she was dining alone and the person ahead of her had a party of 4 and the group after her was a party of 2. Given the layout there are only 6 seats for Shiro and the host decided that it would awkward to split the party of 2 that was after all and that it made more sense to have the groups together. I definitely sympathized with this woman since she was traveling along from San Francisco. I guess the lesser of 2 evils is to screw up 1 person rather than 2 people? Or it’s better to not split up groups, overall. This is just a heads up for anyone who plans to dine here with Shiro.
Now, onwards to my meal.
My first was 4 types of tuna ranging from lean to fat. I was surprised that I was offered so many pieces as my first course. As I ate the nigiri it got better and better.
Next was a trio of flounder, the last piece was my favorite, it was fatty and it was lightly seared.
A duo of mackerel — spanish mackerel and sawa mackerel, both were quite savory from being seared.
Amberjack and hamachi — I’ve really grown to love these types of fish from all the omakase experiences I’ve had. The amberjack might appear briny but it’s far from it!
Geoduck — our chef said this was apparently one of the best sashimi Seattle has to offer. The geoduck was very chewy and I would say it falls more toward shellfish rather than fish.
Uni from the East Coast — I wasn’t too blown away by this piece since I find Hokkaido Uni to be better (it has a sweeter aftertaste) nonetheless it wasn’t shabby.
Scallop from Hokkaido — It was indefinitely one of the best scallops I’ve had in my life. It was so soft and it melts in your mouth!
Duo of Salmon — this set came with King salmon and Scottish salmon. I liked how it was topped with a slice of onion for kick.
Botan Ebi — sweet sweet botan ebi, I always love this one for the texture. I’m not a huge fan of the fried shrimp head but maybe I’ll grow to like it.
Seared otoro — absolutely divine, it’s seared fatty tuna, guys!
Ika with Uni — very unique piece! I loved how the Uni was «piggybacking» on the ika! There was a lot of textures in this one, soft and smooth from the Uni and chewy from the ika.
Kindome — I believe this one is the golden eye snapper.
Alaska King Crab — this ain’t your average Kani nigiri folks! The size and texture of this almost reminded me of lobster.
Geoduck — another breed of geoduck, it was hard to distinguish from the earlier piece.
Unago — I was a bit hesitant about this. Eel and I are not friends. I always find it too briny for me. But the chef reassured me there’s no briny aftertaste at all and he was right! It was one of the easiest eels I’ve eaten! It was lightly seared without any sauce.
Unagi — this one has a sweet and savory sauce on top, again it wasn’t briny. My only issue were the tiny bones. While I ate I felt there were pieces of fish bone in it. My partner reassured me there wasn’t any but it felt safe enough to swallow.
Uni hand roll — The absolute best hand roll I’ve had! There was generous amounts of uni throughout the roll and every bite was filled with uni! Most handrolls are filled with rice with just the sashimi as a topping but not at Sushi Kashiba.
Tamago — The chef wanted us to have it without rice, it was a nice fluffy cake like texture just as it should be.
A new milestone from this meal for me was that I ate my entire meal without any soy sauce!!! The chef said to not use it and it was great to taste all the fish without added seasoning!
I had about 29 pieces and 1 handroll during my omakase. The damages weren’t too bad (I’ve paid way way more in New York and this is Shiro Kashiba we’re talking about!!)
There’s one thing that I found odd while dining here, the way omakase works is that it’s a seafood journey. The chef carefully selects what fish you’ll eat and what order you’ll eat it in. I noticed the other diners around me ate different things at different times. Isn’t it suppose to all be at the same time?
Overall I enjoyed my meal and now I wonder where I should go next, now that I’ve had the best in town? Would Shiro’s be as worthwhile? I guess I’ll find out on my next birthday!

Thank you Chef Shiro for Sushi Kashiba! I just wished I had the privilege of meeting you, but Chef James made sure our experience was a memorable one. We were taken on a magical journey, of 22 pieces to be exact. They were all delicious, and I had to think long and hard in selecting my absolute favorite pieces:
— marinated tuna
— toro — because who doesn’t love toro?
— seared toro — melt-​in-​your-​mouth buttery goodness
— uni
— anago — sea eel, different from the well-​known unagi
— flounder
— seared marinated scallop — the chef had these bad boys marinating for who knows how long, but it was such a wonderful surprise as he fished them out to prepare!
— seared king mackerel
Service was great, everyone was nice and expressed how grateful they were to be able to work for Chef Shiro. A very humble bunch. Definitely coming back here when I visit Seattle again, hopefully on a day that Chef Shiro is working!

Sushi Kashiba is an amazing Japanese restaurant in Seattle near Pike Public Market. In a city with numerous seafood and sushi options, what sets Kashiba apart is its master Chef: Shiro Kashiba. With a true Japanese master, Sushi Kashiba throws its hat in the ring as one of the best Japanese restaurants in Seattle. I take that back — one of the best anywhere.
My Overall Rating — 5 Stars (Atmosphere, Service, Food, Return)
Atmosphere — The address says Pine street, but you’ll find Sushi Kashiba’s entrance a little off the street in a small courtyard. The restaurant is beautiful and upscale inside. But what makes it special is the fact that Chef Kashiba mans a station on the bar, and if you’re lucky enough you can grab a seat there. 1 Star.
Service — Exemplary. The staff are all wonderful. Upon entering the Host checked us in and took our wet coats from the Seattle rain. Our server was an expert on describing each selection, making recommendations, and ensuring we were satisfied after each selection. It doesn’t get much better than this. 1 Star.
Food — When you visit a restaurant of a true Japanese master, you must order the omesake or chef’s choice. To me, the mark of a truly great sushi restaurant is in its simplicity. You won’t find over the top rice and sauce based rolls here. Instead, each piece of sushi is delicately prepared in a simple yet elegant form. As a result, you taste what a Japanese master intends: Perfectly placed pieces of the freshest ahi, Hamachi, tamago, salmon, ebi, uni, and more. You don’t just eat it; you experience how the sushi was truly meant to be. As a bonus, if you bring along children you can order karaage (fried chicken cutlets and they will happily eat it. I recommend you do it, because you’re not going to share your meal. 2 Stars.
Will I Return? — Yes. Sushi Kashiba is not just the best Japanese restaurants in Seattle, but one of the best that I’ve been too. I would put Koiso in Kihei, HI (Maui) on this list too. If you like sushi in its purest from, make your reservation now. 1 Star.
My Unilocal Rating Scale (Sum of all parts):
1 Star — Atmosphere — Is it a cool dive? Perhaps an upscale place? No matter the type, atmosphere plays a big part and I’ll give a star if I like it or thinks it has great charm.
1 Star — Service — You can have a great meal with bad service. But that’s also what can make a five-​star joint drop to four. It’s important to the dining experience that service is great and on point.
2 Stars — Food — I’ll award up to two stars for the food, since this is the main reason we dine out. Sometimes the extra star is given for value, but it’s really all about the food.
1 Star — Will I come back? — If I know for a fact I’ll return, I’ll give this a star. A place has to make an impression for me to return.
Each Category can be given up to 1 star except food (2 stars) because I consider all these categories important to the overall dining experience. I will sum them up to provide my final Unilocal score.

A friend and I were talking about coming here and checking this place out since it opened last year. We finally had the opportunity of coming here right after they opened and getting to sit at the bar with the famous Shiro making our food! The sushi bar is first come, first served, and the first six seats at the bar are with the infamous Shiro.
We did the omakase style dinner. The fish was absolutely delicious and fresh, with the fish getting bought right next door to the Pike Place market. There was no need to dip it in soy sauce or wasabi, as Shiro would put it on each piece. He also said the best way to eat the sushi was with our hands, so we did as Shiro said. My favorite pieces of the night were yellowtail, albacore tuna and the toro. It’s definitely a great experience overall and it was a pleasure having to talk to Shiro and watching him make our sushi. I will definitely be coming back here when I am able to as it is pretty pricey, but well worth the experience.

What an amazing dinner. Expensive, but worth one foray for the experience. And for such a high-​end omakase, it didn’t do as much damage as we’d anticipated. You can eat here and pretty much retire from ever eating sushi again.
RESERVATIONS: Made over the phone about a month in advance at 6:45pm on a Friday, for two. They were ready just on time, but we asked for a seat at the sushi bar itself and just had to wait about 10 additional minutes.
SERVICE: Extremely professional and accommodating. Little details like them pulling out your chair for you, both at the bar (where you can wait for your table) and at your seat. It’s a little awkward getting in and out if your seats are in the middle as there’s a divider between the bar seating area and the rest of the entrance, but the host helps you out by asking other diners to give you space (incredibly politely I might add).
Our chef was Hiroshi and he was great. He chatted with us, was funny, and made note of what we liked. His descriptions and recommendations were spot on (he seemed almost apologetic about the Geoduck, mentioning that it was quite hard).
COST: $ 217.17 for omakase, 18 pieces each. Plus 2 drinks, 1 starter.
MUST-​HAVES: Toro with truffle! See my pics for additional details.
* Poke — 4 stars
Good but save your room for the Omakase!
5 star pieces from Omakase:
Toro (tuna belly)
Toro with truffle. BEST piece we had!
4.5 star pieces from Omakase:
Marinated blue fin tuna
Flounder (surprisingly chewy & fatty)
Salmon
Not worth getting:
Geoduck (almost crunchy)

You can fill in the blanks with the superlatives already heaped upon this place – the quality, tradition, authenticity, décor, and service were all remarkable.
I greatly appreciate the attention to details, such as the server telling people the chefs’ recommendations on the order in which things about be eaten and what should or shouldn’t get extra soy… the small plate of sea salt with green tea for dipping tempura… the slim tree trunks over the windows, recalling an alder forest. Virtually everything here has been carefully thought through and is of exceptional quality.
BUT!
One of the things served with the nigiri assortments and the omakase was referred to by our earnest young server as «Scottish king salmon,» a.k.a., farm-​reared Atlantic salmon, a.k.a., the warmed-​over baloney sandwich of the seafood world. When we asked about it, our server said something about it being «free range» farmed Atlantic salmon, which is preposterous. This is likely the best sushi place in a city at the epicenter of all things Pacific salmon, and they’re serving this stuff? Inexcusable!
All of my whining aside, it’s not enough to drop a star from an exquisite (and expensive!) dining experience.

Tip: shiro’s off day is Tuesday
Tip: there are 14 seats at the bar. you have to be the first six person in each segment (5pm, 7pm, 9pm) to get served by Shiro-​San. They open at 5 pm sharp.
Tip: I got to the restaurant at 3:20 pm on a Saturday and was able to snag the #5 and #6 slot and got served by Shiro
Tip: your entire party has to be present in order to get seated at the bar.
******
First of all, I would like to say I am pregnant and this is the one thing I absolutely had to eat in Seattle. I had zero qualms about eating raw fish because I knew the quality here would be good.
Second of all, I’m not the type of person that ever waits at restaurants. But I did it. For an entire one hour and forty minutes. In the cold wet cold. I hate the cold. It was so so so cold. But the moment it hit 5pm and they opened up the doors, Shiro-San’s warm smiling eyes instantly warmed me up. Just kidding. I was frozen the entire dinner and didn’t thaw off until I came home and took a hot shower.
Despite all of that, it was… Worth it!!!
«Omakase means no complaining.» — Shiro San
My husband and I ended up eating 28 pieces. I highly recommend the omakase. Even though you’re not going to love every piece, you will appreciate the variety.
My absolutely OMG favorites (in order):
Belly tuna
Yellowtail
Amberjack
Norwegian mackerel
Uni handroll
King crab
After ordering one glass of sake, miso soup and 56 sushi pieces, our bill came out to $ 322.22. Worthhhhhhh ittttttttttt!!!

Prettiness all around!
Chef Shiro~ yes! Stunning décor~ like a gallery! Amazing quality of fresh seafood? Double yeses. Eeeeee!!! So much fresh seafood! Many different kinds of toro, Uni, amazing sumono! Tomago! Heaven on earth!!!
Service ~ great!
Ambiance ~ romantic
Sashimi, nigiri and chirashi ~amazing!
A la carte items~ even better! Yes!
We went with the peak menu~ 13 pieces of nigiri, a roll, a starter, a salad and delish egg dessert with miso. There was few different kinds of toro, yellow tail, salmon, raw shrimp with deep fried shrimp head, Uni, scallops and so on! So much food!
I’ve yet to sit at the sushi bar for the whole meal (only a short while) but with such great views from every table, I’m not complaining. It came out around 150 ish per person but you’re getting such fresh seafood! I didn’t mind one bit. Each piece is carefully slice, cut and brushed with wasabi/​soy, you don’t need anything else! And the best part~ Shiro San posed for a selfie with me! Toodles beaches!!! Can’t wait to return very soon! Did I mention how incredibly tasty ever single piece of fish was!!! I want moreeeeee! Like everyday!

A pleasure for the palette. Sushi that is well cut, so much that it melts in your mouth.
Similar menu to original shiros, but I did miss shiros print outs saying «daily special». This place looks like a gallery. For convenience, call in to book your reservation. Unless you must sit at the bar. We were seated quickly super bowl night, and it wasn’t as packed.
(Side note: Chef Shiro was there!)
We ordered a lot of a la carte and made sure to ask for non-​Atlantic salmon (which they will as service opt for wild caught). My favorite was the ebi, fried shrimp head included.
Service was spectacular. Restaurant was clean. In Seattle, something old became something new again. Can’t wait to go back!