Wataru Reviews

I am not a great fan of sushi so can't comment on the omakase at the sushi counter, but don't let the fact that it's a sushi restaurant put you off if you don't eat raw fish. This was the best meal of any cuisine that I've had in at least a month. It's very traditional -- no mayonnaise. I love Japanese vegetable dishes and ordered 5 of them to share. The quantities are generous so my friend and I both had good amounts of all. To go with them we had the cod and top-of-the-line rice. And sake, of course. I can't wait to go back! It's a very small restaurant so do be sure you make a reservation. And keep your eye out for it because the sign out front is very small and easy to miss.

It was me and my wife's very first omakase and we were blown away by the flavour, freshness and mastery of chef Kotaru. First we had a booking at a table but luckly a reservation for two at the bar was cancelled and we were asked by the friendly and polite waiter, whose name I forgot (tall, blonde and wearing glasses) if we wanted to move to the bar. We accepted without a thought! Chef Kotaru was friendly, talkative and taught us so many things about fish and sushi to us ignorant foreigners that the 2 hrs spent there went flying by. Our bar companions were much more experienced than us in omakase dinning and they also were very pleased with what was offered. Thank you for such a wonderfull experience chef Kotaru! it was the highlight of our short stay in Seattle.

To start, I am half Japanese, have lived in Japan for 4 years, and have eaten Japanese food all of my 57 years of living. We came to this restaurant having read the reviews and watching the Youtube video of the chef. I took my Japanese mother and my son for something special that you can't get in TN where we are from. The space was quaint and of course you have to have reservations in advance. Hostess was pleasant, and as we are seated the chef was just 15 feet away, but he did not acknowledge or welcome us as he seemed busy doing an omakase. When trying to figure out the order, they were out of a lot of things that what I would have thought would have been core items such as ika and hamachi kama. They did have the Geoduck which was good since we wanted to try something from this region. We ordered a variety of appetizers and sushi. What was outstanding was the Geoduck both sauteed and in nigiri. The rest of the sushi items had good fish. What was very poorly done was a very basic item...the rice. We first got a bowl of rice for to have with the black cod cheek. The rice was gooey and mush with no separation. We asked the waitress to replace it with good rice (maybe this was an uncharacteristically overcooked batch?). She came back and told us that the rice was prepared according to the chef's specifications and could not replace it but she could bring some sushi rice. We did get some sushi rice, but I am sorry, I have never in my 57 years seen or heard a Japanese restaurant of any caliber serve rice like that and felt that was okay. Additionally, the sushi rice itself had a similar lack of separation and was too overly vinegared, overpowering more subtle tasting fish. Additionally, the "broiled" Alaskan King Salmon was very underdone and a soft texture...not what I would expect from a broiled fish item but perhaps it was their style. So while the Geoduck was the highlight, everything else was downhill from there and when you are paying nearly $300 for a party of 3, you would expect a lot better. By the way the $300 bill included an automatic 20% service charge whether the service was good or not, which also is disappointing because I would not have given the waitress/chef a 20% tip for what they accomplished that night.

The food here is really outstanding. Pleasant service, nice atmosphere but it's all about the food - wow! Looking forward to a return visit. The best Japanese restaurant in Seattle.

This review is for omasake at the sushi bar. I would give the place 4 stars for non bar sitting omasake. Chef Kotaro prepares the omasake sushi for guests seated at the bar. For regular diners, the apprentice prepares the sushi (I think this is the biggest variable in ratings for those who have omasake at the bar vs table seating). Reservations must be made in advance for omasake (due to popularity of omasake at the bar, at least one month in advance). Chef Kotaro expertly prepares sushi for guests at the bar. He is amiable and interacts with the guests and explains the taste/texture/background of the various sushi selections. Best edomae style sushi in Seattle unless you can reserve a spot at Kashiba with Shiro.

This was the best sushi ever. We were not able to get a bar seat, however, we could not have had a bad seat. Any seat is a great one. This is a relatively small restaurant. So make a reservation. The sushi was so fresh it just melted in your mouth. We will definitely go again.

Visited Wataru for dinner in May 2018. There are six seats for Omakase sushi dinner at the sushi bar. You can still have nice sushi at the tables, but for sushi bar is for Omakase only. The head sushi chef, Kotaro-san, serves the best fish available for the day. So fish can be different every day. He asks if we have any allergies and accommodate our requests. It’s not cheap, but considering the quality, service, and experience, it isn’t unreasonable. We brought a bottle of wine and paid for corking fee, $25. A good way for some cost saving.

We made reservations too late to enjoy the sushi bar (at a higher price but with a larger portion) and now we know we need to book about 3 months in advance Sushi was great and we loved the ambiance and the selection of sake without having to commit to a full bottle. The omakase worked out fine until the end. The hand roll needs a lot of work as we took our first bite, half the content spilled out the other end, partially because the seaweed was not the right type of dry seaweed for this type of roll. Hopefully the owner will get this right for our next visit

We went here for dinner. Food was excellent. Highlights were: sunomono salad with tako, miso soup with nameko, miso soup with tsumire, negi toro, saba shiso, and Black Cod cheek sakekasu. Our waiter, Ben was fantastic; attentive but not smothering (or telling us his life story as some waitstaff do "Well, I work here nights, but I'm working on my Master's and just got back from a trip to Argentina..." Nobody cares.). The intimate atmosphere is very nice. About 25 seats (including sushi bar, where everyone was having Omakase). Which is why we found it strange that someone brought a whiny toddler in (thankfully at the end of our meal). Up until that group came in, the volume was nice an low in the dining room. This is not a family restaurant atmosphere. It's a high-end sushi restaurant. Get a sitter. Bathroom was nice and clean. Only downside to the experience was that the female waitress with the dyed hair violently crop-dusted our table, well really the entire dining room. And it seemed intentional. She was smirking while people were clearly disgusted. However, no fault of the restaurant. Could happen anywhere. We will definitely go back.

My wife took me here for our anniversary last year. We love sushi/sashimi and the interesting combination of very fresh dishes were really good. However, it seemed to us that it is a bit over the top, particularly the price.

The omakase menu is quite delicious. We enjoyed the braised tuna and eggplant appetizers. Wataru has a variety of different miso soups-including tomato-flavored miso and tofu miso. Some of the miso has fish balls in it, which are quite tasty. The sushi at Wataru is edomae (Tokyo-style). The tuna roll, the salmon roll, and the king crab (kani) sushi are all excellent. Wataru has a tremendous selection of fish and other seafood-all highly fresh. For example, there are many varieties of tuna, crab, and salmon. Wataru also has a fine selection of beers and wines. The service is great.

I visited Wataru in March 2018. Instead of Omakase at the sushi bar, I opted for ordering from the menu at the table. I ordered chef's choice for the table, which is different from Omakase at the sushi bar. It's not as elaborate and top quality as the Omakase at the sushi bar. Nonetheless, it was still pretty good and I was a happy camper at the end of the evening.

An article from Seattle Magazine, Our Favorite Sushi Spots, reviewed Wataru favorably and it being newly opened were excited to try. Even better was that the article said, "no-frills sushi and delightfully little else" except for our family's favorite chawanmushi. No-frills sushi just means they're not focused on the popular, and creative sushi rolls. Wataru has all of what we want in fresh nigiri. We also ordered miso soup, which was rich and delicious with our sushi meal. The restaurant is small, so reservations are recommended and there's only street parking. The place is in the same building as Salare (another restaurant) so look for their window name and not a billboard. We loved how fresh and traditional (perfect size) it was. Enjoy!

We enjoyed the Wataru Omakase. It was excellent. The various seafood/fish sushi were all very fresh and light. The menu is mainly sushi, so don't expect to find the usual Japanese staples. The restaurant is a little on the small side, so reservations are recommended. The wait staff was good and nice. I met the owner before, and he seemed very nice. We did not sit at the sushi bar, so we did not have any interaction with him (other than a friendly greeting). Street parking only.

The menu at Wataru is very straightforward - a few appetizers, miso soup, and sushi. But the wow factor is not to be underestimated. Among the 4 of us who had dinner there, we ordered seaweed salad, miso soup, an eggplant appetizer, and mainly the chef's recommendations for sushi, which included king mackerel, salmon, yellowtail, and tuna. Whoa! Every bite was perfect. The flash fried eggplant was marinated in a ponzu sauce and was so tender and delicious that I would go back just for that. The sushi just could not have been better. The king mackerel was smoky and especially delicious. Yellowtail is also one of my favorites and I always order it; this might have been the best I have ever had. We had dinner at Sushi Kashiba last week and it was wonderful. But the sushi at Wataru was just as good to my mind..I think it's a tribute to Shiro's teaching skill that his students are now formidable competition.

If you don't like sushi don't come because that is what they do and they do it well. It's a small place with 6 sushi bar seats and 7 two tops. Though to get a seat at the bar. The staff is efficient and know what they are doing. What makes this special is the owner/sushi chef. You just might think you are in Japan. His skill and attention to detail is exceptional. The fish comes from all over the world and is sooo fresh and delish.

Visited Wataru in October 2019. Wataru continues to gain popularity and it was so difficult to reserve seats in the sushi bar. It took more than six months to make this reservation, but definitely worth waiting. Started with appetizers, Kotaro-San served the best fish available that day. After series of nigiri and one hand roll, he created matsutake mushroom rice with sea urchin, octopus, and salmon rae. It was delicious. Sushi bar Omakase is not cheap, but worth every penny. Currently Wataru serves the best sushi in Seattle, IMHO.

Good: authentic Japanese sushi, friendly service Bad: difficult parking. Disappointed with quality of rice in sushi. Too wet rice.

The best sushi restaurant in Seattle - no contest! The sushi is fresh, delicious, and the service is exceptional. Yes, the price is premium, but the service, food and overall experience reflects the price you pay. I travel to Japan for work and fun quite regularly and I would say that this is the closest quality you can get next to travelling to Tokyo for a premium sushi experience.

We decided to splurge on the omakase menu at the sushi bar as this was a celebration dinner. The sushi was all just incredibly good - every bite was perfection. Don't expect anything like soup or California rolls - it was primarily straight-up high quality raw fish with rice, seasoned just perfectly. The chef was a wonder to watch and lovely to talk to. He told us where every fish came from (they come from all over the world). The atmosphere is very peaceful - we were facing away from the window and I really felt like I was back in Japan. A real gem in Ravenna.

So we were in Seattle for a little R&R and to see the schools here. We were looking for a special sushi place that would tickle our fancy. This place is known for their Omakase and we dove right in to it. The presentation was very good and the flavors, like the fish, very fresh. Overall it was a good meal, however, we walked away hungry. The omakase was more of a tasting menu portion size than one intended to fill you. Eat before hand or plan on ordering more. It’s pricy.

I couldn’t reserve a sushi counter so I ordered “omakase” at the table. I’m not sure if I received identical “omakase” menu as if I were seated at the counter. Sushi and sashimi were B/B+ range. Service was great. If you are visiting University of Washington and looking for a good sushi, I can recommend this place.

Good quality sushi and reasonably priced. The best seat is the chef's table which apparently has a different (or more expanded) menu, but alas, we couldn't get a reservation. We ended up sitting at a table and ordered the omakase. It was a nice selection and included a really nice piece of Japanese uni - yum! We also ordered the black sea bass which started off tasty but was a bit too chewy in the end. Skip that dish

It was okay sushi if you’ve never had anything better than all you can eat. We went here and got the Wataru (table) Omakase. Note, Sushi counter Omakase may differ. Counter Omakase is only served two times a night. The Omakase menu was short with small portions. Another let down was the lack of “experience” which I believe is an important part of an Omakase menu. As I mentioned, the food was okay but definitely not as great as Sushi Kashiba which is also located in Seattle. I highly recommend going to Sushi Kashiba instead if you want a true Omakase experience. We tried to like this place but unfortunately, they failed to meet our expectations. I’ll admit the price point is fairly cheaper than Sushi Kashiba but I don’t think it was worth it. Service was better than the food quality. It was a little slow to receive our extra orders of nigiri after the Omakase but that might be the kitchen’s fault. I also shouldn’t have to order more food after an Omakase menu.

We were unable to get a seat at the Sushi bar so settled for a table instead, but it was still great. Someday I'll go back for the bar experience. We had the Omakase and everything was great. The service was very good, and for fine sushi dining the price was extremely reasonable. Excellent overall.

I expected more from Wataru, based on rave reviews in the press and from prior customers on-line. We found the sushi to be very good but not exceptional. Perhaps that was because we had just returned from eating incredible sushi for two weeks in Japan and were not seated at the sushi bar, which is omakase only. We had reserved one of the 10 tables in the small dining room and ordered off the menu. Our most memorable dish proved to be a non-fish item -- a starter eggplant. Marinated in special sauces, the vegetable tasted like pure ambrosia; it was beyond delicious. The king salmon arrived overcooked, a miss that should never occur in Seattle, where salmon reigns supreme. As for the sushi, we thought the unagi was the best we had that night with nothing else truly outstanding. In the end, we did not consider the high price that we paid for dinner to be good value. Service was slow with two extremely pleasant staff members looking after us with apparently no effective communication between them. We sat for so long after our two starters that one server came and wanted to know if we planned to order anything else. She did not seem to know that we still awaited our original order. The restaurant itself has a simple, soothing Japanese design. Though the room was mostly full with vacant tables reserved, the noise level was not high. Both the dining area and the restroom were immaculate. Parking can be hard to find in the neighborhood. We had to park three blocks away. Reservations way in advance are usually required for a seat at the sushi bar. We managed to reserve a regular table two days before our visit.

There are really two restaurants here. If you make a reservation or walk in and sit at a table, I'm sure it's an excellent sushi restaurant. But if you reserve in advance to sit at the sushi bar (a splurge, to be sure), there are two seatings (5:30 and 7:30), you'll have the best sushi meal of your life. For two hours the chef will serve 6 of you over 20 pieces of perfect, heavenly, sushi. No silly rolls with spicy mayo; this is traditional Tokyo style sushi. It's mostly nigiri with a few hand rolls. The chef is a true master.

This is a small space with a limited "foodie" menu. Don't go expecting your regular sushi. Don't get me wrong, the food is great. They should post a sign saying reservations only on the window. This is a downhome neighborhood. People walk by, see open tables, and come in. In the time we were there, there were always 2-3 open tables "waiting" for their next reservation. The whole experience felt very pretentious for Ravenna.

My wife and I love sushi and, living in both Seattle and Hawaii, we are rather spoiled by the variety of fantastic sushi restaurants and chefs surrounding us. With that said, neither of us have ever had a better experience with Japanese cuisine. The chef is a genius and the staff appeared to be feel privileged to serve his food. We decided to let the chef decide our dishes and it was the best decision possible. Every single thing brought to our table (with the possible exception of the miso soup*) was an entirely new sushi experience for us and it was all astoundingly good. From straw-smoked black snapper to a friend part of the tuna that the waiter could only translate to "bloodline," (which was either an artery or a part of the heart, we do not know) every bite was an experience and a joy. *The miso soup was augmented with fishballs - these were made with ground pieces of every fish the restaurant served. Fascinating and fantastic. If you are in Seattle and willing to discover just how amazing sushi can be, go here. Let the chef serve you his choices. You won't regret it.

IMHO, Wataru offers currently the best sushi in Seattle. In order to enjoy it, you need to make a reservation at sushi bar, either at 5:30 PM or 7 PM. You can make a reservation at their web site, except for those two time slots. You need to call the restaurant for reserving the spot for Omakase sushi.

It is a greater privilege for me to dine here than at Shiro's. I say that not because the food is better - on average, Shiro's nigiri still wins - but I had a better overall experience here, which is what I believe you should care about. (Shiro's/Sushi Kashiba is also a great experience so this is saying something.) Wataru's sushi chef-proprietor Kotaro Kumita apprenticed under Shiro for ten years and has been making sushi much longer. This is his first independent restaurant. Let me tell you why you should go: 1. Kotaro is great to chat with. He has many stories to tell, and you can ask him all about the fish, how he prepares it: he'll tell you everything and more. 2. Observing Kotaro at work is a real pleasure. He does everything at lightning speed. This is not showmanship - this is mastery. If you really follow him, you'll notice him trimming and cutting away at the fish just to give you the best parts. 3. Even at 9PM on a Sunday night, me and my pal walked in, sat at the bar, and Kotaro was graceful enough to do omakase. We were the last customers of the night and he chatted with us until 10:30 or so. 4. This restaurant makes me feel like I'm actually in Japan (even though I've never been there). Sushi Kashiba does not. 5. The sushi is at least 90% as good as Shiro's. Kotaro also has relatively exotic pieces like abalone which Shiro does not, and has created a few original pieces that move sushi forward while paying deep homage to edomae traditions. I have no doubt that he will be recognized as the next great itamae. Although, one suggestion: after customers are full, please ask them if they'd like some green tea :)

Really love this place and we enjoyed a delicious Omakase experience with delicious cured, marinated fish with fresh and subtle flavors. Warmly lit and excellent atmosphere.

Our meal at Wataru consisted of a miso soup, a couple of rolls, a large variety of nigiri, black cod, yellow tail collar, and marinated egg plant. Simply put each of the dishes were as good or better than all four of us remember being served anywhere. The black cod and the yellow tail collar were rich, lush, melt in your mouth bites of wonder. If I had a complaint it was that there was only one of the collars left by the time we got there. I would assume that if you wanted a real taste of Japan that going for one of the sushi bar set menus would be a good bet to try. Wataru is a case of you get what you pay for what you get is worth the price

I try to have a new omakase experience frequently, which living in New York City is no cheap task. With prices ranging from $50-300+ it's hard to say what's the best, but it's always clear when something is good. After looking at reviews, talking to native Seattle-ites and reading forums it appeared that Wataru was the best sushi place in Seattle. I went about the arduous task of getting a reservation at the sushi bar which was not possible unfortunately, however I was told there was a shorter omakase at the tables. If I wanted more pieces I was told I could order them. So naturally we booked a reservation. The first thing that struck me as odd was that less than half the tables were utilized, yet when someone would come in and ask for a table, the waitress kept telling them the restaurant was fully booked. At the very least it was wildly inefficient, at the very worst it was mean. Having traveled extensively in Japan this seemed extremely anti-Japanese. The beer, wine, and sake list was great, I had amazing sake and my girlfriend has great beer. this was a real winner. The omakase came with miso soup and some appetizers. The miso soup was fine, but the appetizers were fried and over seasoned, and did not help get my palette ready for sushi at all. Then came our sashimi. The sashimi was all too cold. Every piece was very cold, and a lot of the textures were weird. Many pieces had been marinated to "enhance" some flavor, but nothing tasted fresh. Even the King Salmon which I was really looking forward to wasn't fresh tasting. The Octopus was horribly overcooked and bland, when it could have been served raw and wonderful. The best part was the crab, which was sweet and tasty. The waitress then reappears with nigiri, all very basic pieces, maybe the most exciting being a hokkaido sweet scallop. The scallop wasn't very sweet though. We made it through all the pieces and I decided to try some of the stuff that was being ordered at the bar, maybe that would be much better. Unfortunately it wasn't, for example the Uni ("just in from Maine") was unlike any Maine uni I had tried previously in that it tasted somewhat chlorinated, and was more in line with Santa Barbara Uni than Maine Uni. Additionally there was so much rice for the amount of sushi i was terribly disappointed. Needless to say our $200+ was not well spent, and while it was cheaper than some of the nicer NYC omakases like Nakazawa or Sushi Zo, it certainly didn't even live up to the Sushi by Bou's of the world. Also, I nearly forgot, they use disposable wooden chopsticks, which seems so wrong for a fancy omakase place.

Visited Wataru in December 2019 for Omakase sushi dinner at sushi bar. Now reservation is via tock, and it seems it’s a bit easier to make a reservation since $100 deposit scares some people off. Kotaro-San served what I’d consider the best sushi Seattle has to offer. I was totally full when the last piece was served. It’s not cheap for sure (about $200/person with tip and tax), but if you want to try the quality, I’d highly recommend Wataru sushi.

Excellent food, excellent service especially for a couple of sushi novices like my husband and myself. A friend recommended this place and we were very impressed. Next time we visit Seattle this one will be on our repeat list