Issian Reviews

4:30- 6:30 what a great happy hour! Great service, good food and a Pikes Place IPA. So many good small restaurants in Wallingford but, I would highly recommend this one, the prices were great as was the variety - enjoy !

Smaller facility but seems to still hold a lot of people. We sat and waited quite a while for any kind of service. We finally got menus and ordered the a pitcher of the local beer they had on tap. Very good lager. We ordered oysters, pork skewers, cut up chicken and spare ribs. All the meet was prepare almost perfect if the ribs had been a little less crisp I would call them excellent but to my palate very close. The oysters were slightly seasoned and yummy fresh. Very good meal, reasonably priced. Just could have used a little quicker, friendlier service. But only a little complaint, the most important part the food was excellent.

This is a great, casual setting with great japanese pub fare (Izakaya). The yakitori, sushi, robatayaki and other dishes use local seafood, vegetables and other ingredients that are exquisitely prepared.

A great new "Izakaya"-style restaurant (Japanese Tapas) in the Wallingford area. Try the koroke!

Phenomenal sushi and sides. Very casual, took me back to the crowded restaurants of Japan. I loved this place! We had quite a wait on a Saturday night. Make a reservation if you've got more than four people, they primarily have tables for 2. The restaurant was packed with young Japanese 20 somethings. If you're a hesitant restaurant goer, this is a great place to relax and enjoy authentic food and atmosphere: English speaking servers and items like teriyaki chicken skewers will keep it easy.

Best Happy Hour In Town...Love going here with a friend 7 days a week to enjoy the amazing very long happy hour menu. Beer, Sake, short ribs, tuna tar tar.... SO GOOD! Going back tomorrow.

Love it.

We were actually heading out for noodles but wondered in because of the fantastic aroma that was coming from the restaurant. Everything was worth the stop, fantastic small plates, great sake and exceptional service. Can't wait till my next visit!

Tonight we tried out a favorite Japanese restaurant, Issian, which is right next door to Molly Moon’s ice cream on 45th Ave. They specialize in the small grilled bites, just like the street food carts of Japan. We had chicken “spare parts” which included wings, gizzards and skin. Also had edamame and a pair of skewers of pork belly. My favorite was the one dollar shooters of a prawn in a raw quail egg, Bonita flakes and some jelly glutinous crumbles. The salmon collar was huge, good luck in catching something that big, these days.

The perfect TGIF or any day. Great food and drink at prices that are shockingly reasonable. $3 glasses of wine, small plates from $1 - $4. Whats not to love? And the food is excellent, so good in fact that I hesitate to make it even more popular by writing this review. Go early or get a reservation. The happy hour menu includes all the classics of Japanese bar food like edamame and gyoza. We liked the age tofu, the sushi roll with eel and avocado, the chicken wings. The stuff from the main menu is also excellent including great tempura. Noise level is pleasantly bubbly without being deafening. Great place for families with little and not so little children.

I love Japanese food of all kinds. Issian was a great surprise! its a little small but we got there early enough to get a table. Our party was 3 adults and 3 children. We ordered right away and did not have to wait long for our first bites! The crispy chicken wings were my favorite and we ended up ordering them twice! They were crispy and had some a bit of spice. We ordered sashimi, very good, some baby octopus which had a mild smoky flavor. Short ribs, the kids especially loved those. I m planning another trip very soon. Can't wait!

I don't need to say much...amazing atmosphere, great service and fantastic Japanese street food! Ok, I will add this. In addition to what you may already expect you should also sample their sake selection. What they offer pairs very well with the food they serve.

We went here recently and were excited to try it out as we had heard some great things. It may have been that we didn't order the right things but we weren't wowwed like we expected. The food tasted pretty good and was fresh but just not amazing.

Great yellow fin tina!! Really fresh tuna from the sea. I have been there the second time. The waitress is really nice and would love to come back again

Issian is another one of my “go-to” places. We’re ovo-pesco vegetarians, but started eating fish a few years ago in advance to our trip to Japan. The thing that I love best about Issian is that they have the feel, tastes, creativity, presentation and demeanor of a traditional Japanese restaurant. When you step foot in the door, all of the staff will look up to greet you, even if they’re busy preparing food for other customers (it’s the same when you leave). This happens all the time in Japan – so that’s the first sign that you’re in for an amazing experience. Issian offers large platters of assorted sashimi and sushi, tempura, fried dumpling, stone grill options (tofu dengaku OMGOMG YUM!!), gyoza, various fish steak options, traditional mayo-heavy gratins and sushi rolls. The options are amazing, and most of the dishes are low priced because they arrive as a tapa – so it’s extremely easy to mix and match for a great variety of options. Their specials and happy hour are great, and they have an extensive list of Japanese beers and sake. I highly recommend Issian to anyone looking for a great all around Japanese restaurant experience in Seattle!

The tuna collar is huge and very good! Great value too! Will absolutely come back next time I'm in Seattle.

Disclosure: my daughter waited tables there so we got a discount. That said, the happy hour was great: on the $1 oyster days or every day they have tuna or salmon collars...large meaty, fatty cuts that are inexpensive and meals in themselves. Run by a true Japanese ownership, it carries some of the traditional feel.

We came by for a really decently priced happy hour meal. The $1 skewers were great as were the korroke. I also really enjoyed the avocado tuna tartare. There were 7 of us and we had everything on the list twice, plus some other skewers. We made sure we ordered our second round before their last call, so by the time our supper was over, it was 7:30. For $17 including taxes and tips per person, we had a really decent meal that even included sake. The food is grilled, so expect lots of greasy food, it is an izakaya after all.

This place was just OK in my opinion. The food taste like just every other Japanese restaurant that I have been to. I also ordered the tofu bowl not the tuna bowl, which is what they gave me. There was way too much tuna and I couldn’t eat it because it wasn’t cooked enough. And my new husband didn’t really like his food either. Overall, I don’t think we will eat here again but if we had to I guess we would.

Following up on a recommendation we dropped into this cozy little restaurant located in the Wallingford neighborhood for dinner. Plenty of choices on the menu, although they were a little worn and tattered. Selection is predominantly small plate format, with LOTS of choices! We enjoyed 7 items plus a couple of sushi rolls. Everything was incredibly tasty, and the JFC (Japanese Fried Chicken) must not be missed! Add in a couple of beers and we all felt like we had enough to eat! three people, ate for $55 + tip. So why only (4) starts? The tables were very sticky!

I was taken to Issian based on a friend's previous great experiences here. We lucked out by catching their happy hour which has a bunch of dishes and potential share plates for $2, $3, $4. Every dish was expertly prepared and with great skill and presentation. The dishes were served promptly, with the necessary accompaniments. Very highly recommended and great service staff

Sun 11/20/11 5:10pm: Issian/Seattle WA/Wallingford: We heard about it, didn’t check out reviews, but tried it anyway. Quiet & roomy space, friendly staff. Most dishes are well flavored, not too salty nor sweet. Exceptions: baby octopus – too sweet & over grilled; pork belly – chewy; fries – not enough even at HH price. Small dishes with small prices, but it can add up quickly if you don’t complement with something hardy like rice or potato. The Happy Hour selections are at good prices and tasty, but only has a few items. Our taste buds dried out after a second order of the same item, we had to venture on with the specials on the board and the full menu. Also, when you’re in a grill joint, you’ll come out smelling like grilled. Not sure we’ll come back, unless the HH menu is expanded or extend to lunch hour or offer coupon/groupon/restaurant-certificate. For dinner, price is on the high range for us. 3 stars.

My husband and I eat here frequently and are never disappointed. Sushi and sashimi are always excellent plus there are many great side dishes (seaweed salad) and specials to choose from. The atmosphere is casual and welcoming and the service is attentive and efficient.

What a cool menu at this funky Japanese restaurant in the Wallingford section of Seattle! As someone who enjoys sashimi at least once a week in my native New Jersey, while visiting Seattle, I stumbled across this cool restaurant & was amazed at the menu selections. I tried several dishes which I shared with my friends but none were sushi rolls or sashimi, and several were dishes that I had not tried before. The Okonomiyaki (pancake) was simply the best dish I've ever tried in a Japanese restaurant & I can't wait to find it in my native NJ! I recommend making reservations as this place gets crowded very quickly. Limited street parking, so be ready to walk a few blocks to get to this fantastic restaurant. Nice sake menu as well and several wines and beers on the menu. Our group enjoyed: crispy chicken wings which were quite spicy and good, harumaki and gyoza (as expected), tofu and nasu (eggplant) dengaku, grilled to perfection and yummy, as well as the pork okonomiyaki completed our meal and we left quite satisfied. The house sake was good as well. Can't wait to return on my next visit to Seattle!

Happy Hour at Issian A Day After new year Arrive 30 minutes after happy hour started Staff was attentive and resourceful as we didn't have reservations but was still accommodated even as a big group(6 people)\ very long wait time happy hour got Pike kilt lifter scotch ale - amber hazy big off white foam that disappear slowly, not a lot of aroma, very bitter, long follow through bitter aftertaste, overall very good red wine Food: yakidon and yakitori- tasty, in small servings oysters- japanese oysters were good seaweed salad- takoyaki overall food was ok