Shiro Kashiba learned Edomae sushi under Jiro Ono in Tokyo, moved to Seattle in 1966, and spent the next sixty years teaching a cold-water city how to eat raw fish. That teacher-and-student lineage is why Seattle, a mid-sized market on the wrong ocean for tuna, punches so far above its weight at the sushi counter. Below are the four counters worth booking in 2026, from a James Beard legend beside Pike Place to a hidden ten-seat room on Capitol Hill, plus the kaiseki table to know. Prices are verified for the season and every pick is individually reviewed in our guide.
How Seattle actually does sushi
Seattle sushi runs on two things: the Kashiba lineage and the Pacific Northwest larder. The best chefs pair Toyosu-flown tuna and Hokkaido uni with local geoduck, spot prawn and king salmon, so a Seattle counter tastes of two oceans at once. The Seattle dining guide maps the city by occasion, our definitive sushi guide explains the Edomae discipline these chefs work in, and the Japanese restaurants guide sets Seattle against Tokyo and Los Angeles.
The counters that matter, ranked
1. Sushi Kashiba — Pike Place Market
Shiro Kashiba, a three-time James Beard nominee for Outstanding Chef, opened Sushi Kashiba beside Pike Place Market in 2015 as the summation of a fifty-year career, and it remains the city's defining counter. Sit in front of Kashiba and let him lead: the black cod kasuzuke that The New York Times singled out, albacore belly torched to order, geoduck cut at the counter. A prix fixe runs $120 to $150; a full counter sitting can reach $250. The room takes some tables but holds counter seats for walk-ins. Not for a planned quiet dinner unless you book — the counter line runs long on weekends, so reserve a table or arrive at opening.
2. Sushi Kappo Tamura — Eastlake
Taichi Kitamura trained under Kashiba before opening Sushi Kappo Tamura with partner Steve Tamura on Eastlake Avenue in 2010, and his kappo counter is the most serious booked omakase in town. The $185 seat runs roughly eighteen to twenty courses across two hours, classic Edomae structure drawing on a Toyosu-and-Pacific rotation, much of the produce from the restaurant's own rooftop garden. Twelve stools face Kitamura, four-tops line the wall behind. Not for a large group chasing the counter — only twelve seats face the chef, so a party lands at the tables and misses his hands entirely.
3. Sushi by Scratch — Capitol Hill
Phillip Frankland Lee, whose Montecito flagship holds a Michelin star, runs a hidden ten-seat hinoki counter on Capitol Hill under the Sushi by Scratch name, reached through an unmarked door. The format is a single $185 nightly tasting, a serious Edomae sequence spiked with Lee's signature playfulness — a smoked-and-torched nigiri, house-aged fish, a wagyu bite. It is the most theatrical sushi seat in the city and the hardest to walk into. Not for a traditionalist purist — the counter is a set tasting with no à la carte, and Lee is chasing surprise as much as orthodoxy.
4. Maneki — Chinatown-International District
Open since 1904, Maneki is America's oldest Japanese restaurant and a James Beard America's Classic, a century-old room in the Chinatown-International District that predates most of the country's sushi entirely. This is not a chef-led nigiri flight; it is cooked Japanese comfort at a fair price, the miso black cod, the agedashi tofu, and tatami rooms you book for a birthday. Everyday spend lands around $35 to $60 a head. Not for an omakase night — come for the history, the sake list and the tatami room, not a counter progression.
The kaiseki table worth knowing
One more room belongs on any Seattle Japanese shortlist, though it is not sushi. wa'z, Chef Hiro Tawara's kaiseki room near Tilikum Place, has served a changing, ceremony-driven set menu since 2018, and our editors score it 8 for food and 9 for ambience. Book the counter for a quiet, seasonal dinner for two when you want the discipline of a Japanese tasting without the nigiri focus. Not for a spontaneous walk-in — the kaiseki is a booked, set-menu occasion, planned in advance.
Booking notes
Seattle's serious counters split into booked and walk-in. Sushi Kappo Tamura and Sushi by Scratch sell timed counter seats in advance, released two to four weeks out and gone fast on weekends; our guide to booking Sushi Kappo Tamura walks through the release. Sushi Kashiba holds counter seats for walk-ins, so the play there is timing rather than a reservation. For the occasion maths on when a solo counter beats a table, our solo-dining guide and birthday-dinner guide do the reasoning.
Keep reading
The same editors rank Seattle's true omakase counters in full, plus the best sushi in Tokyo and the best sushi counters in Los Angeles when the trip takes you south.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the best sushi in Seattle?
Sushi Kashiba beside Pike Place Market is the best sushi in Seattle, the counter of Shiro Kashiba, who trained under Jiro Ono and is a three-time James Beard nominee for Outstanding Chef. For a booked omakase, Sushi Kappo Tamura on Eastlake runs a serious $185 counter. Both are reviewed in full in our Seattle dining guide, along with Sushi by Scratch and Maneki.
How much does omakase cost in Seattle?
A serious Seattle omakase runs about $150 to $250 a person. Sushi Kappo Tamura's counter is $185 for roughly eighteen to twenty courses; Sushi by Scratch is a $185 nightly tasting at a ten-seat hinoki counter. At Sushi Kashiba, a prix fixe runs $120 to $150 while a full counter sitting can reach $250. Maneki is the value pick, a cooked-Japanese institution rather than an omakase.
Is Sushi Kashiba worth the wait?
Yes, if you want the counter and the fish that made Shiro Kashiba's name. The room takes some reservations but holds counter seats for walk-ins, so the wait can run long on weekends. Order the black cod kasuzuke and let Kashiba lead. If you cannot wait, book a table or go to Sushi Kappo Tamura, whose reservations open more predictably.
What is the oldest sushi restaurant in Seattle?
Maneki in the Chinatown-International District, open since 1904, is America's oldest Japanese restaurant and a James Beard America's Classic. It is not an omakase counter; it is a century-old neighbourhood room for cooked Japanese food, the miso black cod, and tatami-room celebrations. Book a tatami room for a birthday and order broadly rather than expecting a chef-led nigiri flight.
Who trained the Seattle sushi chefs?
The lineage runs through Shiro Kashiba, who learned Edomae sushi under Jiro Ono in Tokyo before building Seattle's modern sushi scene. Taichi Kitamura of Sushi Kappo Tamura trained under Kashiba before opening his own Eastlake counter in 2010. That teacher-and-student line is why Seattle punches above its size for sushi; our Seattle guide maps the full roster.