[Kirkland, WA] Izumi Restaurant

In a quiet strip mall just less than half an hour away from downtown Seattle is a little gem - Izumi. Inside, just beyond the curtain that says いづみ, the decor is very minimalist and simple. Their website says you can make a reservation if you have over 5 people, but I have always just shown up. When it's our family eating there, we just wait patiently for a seat. It can get pretty busy on Friday and Saturday. 

This time in particular though, I went with the intention of just sitting at the sushi bar and ordering the omakase. The last time I went, I ordered the beef teriyaki, which is not like it sounds. It's a NY strip steak cooked medium and has a terrific homemade teriyaki sauce drizzled on it. Can you say umami? It is the only place that I order beef teriyaki. Anything teriyaki, actually. That said, I also ordered their king crab nigiri and wondered why I had never actually sat down to eat just their sushi. So, this trip, I made it a priority. It was quite the odd feeling, taking a bus from downtown Seattle to Kirkland. I spent a good amount of my youth in Kirkland and Bothell, so it felt a bit like life was going in reverse, but that is neither here nor there. Bus number 255 stops next to a Taco Time, which is right across the street from Izumi. 

When we got inside, it looked like it wasn't going to be a long wait. That is, until we heard the obnoxious middle aged man complain to the waitress that his party needed to sit at the sushi bar and by the way can you just ask someone to move over so they can all fit? She was very polite and told him that since they have a group of 4, it'll take longer for the seats to empty. So, even though it was just the two of us, we waited an hour for dinner. It was a painful wait, with the middle aged guy asking the waitress each time she came by if there were seats for them yet. She would come by and ask if anyone was willing to eat at one of the tables, and he would reply, "sushi bar? We have four very hungry people waiting for the sushi bar." It was, without fail, excruciatingly tiresome to hear him repeat this.

Finally, we were seated. Further, I was pleased to be seated in front of this chef in particular: 

I am not sure what his name is (that's on me, I definitely should have asked by now), but I always see him acknowledge every patron with a hearty "いらっしゃい!" It was really cool to see him work up close and chat. He noticed my camera and made a comment about when DSLRs and the like were developed by FujiFilm and laughed because he said he gave away his age.

Our first set was snapper (left) and fluke (right). I love snapper and it did not disappoint. It was my first time trying fluke. The fluke had a slightly sweet taste but was a bit hard to chew for me. 

The second set was another good combo - scallop (left) and geoduck (right). The scallops were tender and sweet, while the geoduck had its typical crisp initial bite. They were both fresh and did not disappoint.

Next came the spot prawn. Sweet and perfect.

To be honest, there were two pieces of fish in this set, hamachi and the loin. I was so excited that I ate the loin before remembering to document it. I guess that gives you a reason to go to Izumi and try the omakase for yourself ;)

My favorite part of the shrimp! Fried so it's crispy and provides a good textural contrast to everything else eaten so far.

He got swamped with orders from the people seated at the tables so I got to enjoy my surroundings and enjoy the ambiance: 

While enjoying my surroundings, I noticed the woman next to me ordering something that looked amazing. I didn't know what it was, but I knew I had to have it. How could I have come here so many times and not know about this amazing bowl of awesome? Behold, the kani sunomono (かに酢の物)! It has a big king crab claw, a healthy portion of scallops, two shrimp tails, some sliced octopus, avocado, baby daikon sprouts, wakame, iceberg lettuce, shredded red cabbage, and ponzu dressing. It tasted so amazing, that I was kicking myself for never having known about it, or thought to try every single item on the menu. You live and you learn.

Our next set was hamachi belly, otoro, and extremely creamy uni. Each one was delicious and if I could eat this everyday, I assure you, I would.

At this point, we were done with our omakase. The chef asked how full we were. Felt pretty good and knew not to eat over 80% of capacity. Then, knowing that I hadn't had any silver fish yet, I had to order some. I went with gizzard shad. I love the name because it's pretty memorable, and because again, I really love my silver fish. It was, all in all, a great way to finish my meal. Now if only our wait hadn't been so long and so close to closing (aka they had technically already closed as we were nearing the end of the omakase, but were still serving a few tables and two other parties at the sushi bar), I would've ordered a coffee jello.

Address: 

12539 116th Ave N.E.

Kirkland WA 98034

Phone #: 425-821-1959

Hours:

**Monday Closed**

Lunch : 11:30 am - 1:30 pm (Tue-Fri)

Dinner: 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm  (Tue-Sun)