Japonessa Sushi Cocina

ORDER THE SPANISH LOVER. You’ll thank me later — it was one of the most delicious and interesting sushi rolls I’ve ever had. The Spanish Lover was surprisingly creamy from the scallops with a vibrant yet mild flavor from the avocado and cilantro. The other rolls we tried included the Last Samurai, Spider Roll, and Love Hunter — all solid choices, flavorful and filling (the fish was good, but more watery than what we expected fresh Puget Sound fish to be). We also ordered the Seattle Crunch roll; we saw a lot people mentioning it in their reviews, but felt it was over-hyped (the breading was doughier than we would’ve liked). You can skip this one. Also of note, some of the rolls weren’t particularly tight and on several occasions the pieces fell apart as we tried to eat them — it’s an inevitable outcome when eating sushi, but we still thought it happened more than usual. The restaurant’s best feature is its location, close to Pike’s Place and near a lot of hotels. The restaurant is very clean, but the decor is a bit tacky — the black chandeliers and striped wallpapers creates a gothic/art-deco feel, which doesn’t exactly match the modern Mexican-Japanese-fusion fare. The service was okay, although we waited about fifteen minutes past our reservation before being seated. The host and waitress were both professional but cold — you could feel the staff was stressed behind the scenes, so we did our best not to make things more difficult for them. All-in-all, this would’ve been a 3/5 for me were it not for the Spanish Lover roll — it was seriously that good. I’d brave the negative aspects again in a heartbeat for another taste of that delicious creation!

Japonessa is a great option for a diverse menu and quality food. The service is impeccable and the atmosphere is ambient and has a good vibe to it. The actual sushi was very flavorful and had a good combination of flavors. The sushi rice was lacking in flavor a bit and the cocktails were kind of bitter. Overall, I would come back to this place and recommend it to other people.

INCREDIBLE. Sushi was the most unique and some of the most delicious I've ever had. We did take out and saved a lot of money and they were very haste with our food, despite it being sushi. We took it to the pier and got to eat it, adding a great taste to a beautiful sunset. Staff was also very calm, knew what they were doing, and friendly.

It was very busy, but I was able to get a seat at the bar. The salmon sampler sushi was delicious, the sake sangria was alright, the tempura brie was very good, and the spider roll was just average. The bar staff were awesome though!

Absolutely love. I had the salmon poke and the Seattle Crunch, which has now become my all-time favourite sushi roll. Vibrant atmosphere, delicious food, sensible prices.

We were in Seattle for the NHL Winter Classic game and stopped into Japonessa for an early dinner. It was very busy but the hostess asked some questions about our seating preferences and did a great job making sure we had a seat in a fairly quick time. We ended up seated in the bar and the bar tender was our server. He was fantastic - friendly and helpful. They did a shift change in the middle of our meal and our second server was just as great. Our drinks were amazing, right balance of strength and flavor. Our food was good but a little less impressive than the service and atmosphere. Our sushi rolls kept falling apart and my chicken yakisoba didn't have very much flavor. The chicken and vegetables were perfectly cooked and perfect texture, I just wish it had a little more seasoning/sauce to bring out the flavor some more. Over all, we would go again!

We went for a late night sushi date & they didn’t disappoint. The calamari salad was so delicious. I’ve never had calamari paired with a salad & dressing like that and it was soooo good! Next the seaweed salad was phenomenal. I’ve never had seaweed salad taste so fresh before. If you love seaweed salad GET THIS! The sushi was ok! But the appetizers is where it’s at!

Very fresh fish and sushi. Food is so delicious. Omakase is a great choice if you don’t have particular meat to choose. There’s a little waiting during dinner time, but it is worthwhile. The waitress is very friendly to answer all questions. I wish to know this place earlier.