Every time I have sushi I end up comparing it the Sushi Zone in San Francisco, the place where I fell in love with sushi.  But that was quite a few years ago and I decided I needed to find a new place to use as a base line when comparing sushi restaurants.  My friends and I recently took a trip to the Wallingford district of Seattle and found ourselves seated inside Kisaku, ready to devour some seafood and enjoy a couple of beers.

We didn’t make reservations, not expecting that it would be quite busy on a Wednesday night, which it was.  But we were seated almost immediately at a table near the front with an excellent view of the sushi bar as well as the street.  Our wait staff provided excellent service initially, which remained consistent throughout our visit, which was pleasantly surprising.  He was able to answer our questions about the food and the types of sea creatures that we would soon be devouring.  My friends are not avid sushi enjoyers, and I don’t eat it often enough to be completely familiar and completely comfortable with all the varieties and variations on the menu.

While perusing the menu and engaging in some small talk, we noticed that all the tables around us were receiving some really beautiful, really delicious-looking plates and rolls, which made us even more eager to place our orders and thereby get our grub on that much quicker.  Atmosphere wise, Kisaku is clean, inviting, and organized.  There is an excellent blend of traditional Japanese restaurant kitsch and modern American flavor here, eventually complimenting our dining experience and adding to the reasons why all of us will be dining here for as long as they can remain on top of their game.

We decided on a plethora of different combinations, so that we all could share and experience the sushi together.  As an appetizer we had the octopus and a bowl of miso soup.  Both were quite good and served as excellent segues into our meals.  For our main course we enjoyed the sashimi combination, the tempura combination, and one other combination, the sushi combo, which provided ten pieces of sushi.  Each roll was masterfully balanced, as if I had been able to create them myself, based on my own flavor preferences.  I quite enjoyed the fact that each piece of fish, each mouthful of rice was perfectly complimenting each other as I ate.  Kisaku provided us some of the freshest, most flavorful sushi anyone had ever been lucky enough to consume.  For a small, out of the way establishment, this restaurant really does a great job.

For the price, the service, and food were very reasonable.  Kisaku has a pretty decent selection of Japanese beers and desserts as well.  We didn’t choose to eat dessert since we were so full and satisfied from our wonderful meals, but I would hope that their sweet dishes had just as much character and flavor as their entrée’s.  This restaurant is a real Wallingford gem, and I’ve since been back to try and expose other friends to its excellence.