Sushi Kappo Tamura

"Sushi Kappo Tamura in Eastlake is an ideal sushi restaurant for just about any occasion in between “I did laundry this week” and “marry me.” But to be fair, coming here “because raw fish is rad” works, too. It’s always relatively easy to grab a table here, and the quality is excellent. As a bonus, sustainability is at the forefront—so the restaurant takes particular in where they source their seafood. If a chef’s omakase is your thing, it’s an option you’ll be happy with here. But Sushi Kappo Tamura also succeeds if you go a la carte. The fish shines with few extra touches, like grill marks seared on a piece of black cod nigiri, or sliced jalapeño and golden tobiko topping the (delicious) Rising Salmon roll." - aimee rizzo, kayla sager riley, gabe guarente

"Renowned chef Taichi Kitamura (a 2018 James Beard Award semifinalist) provides a wide variety of fantastic meal options at his Eastlake destination restaurant. It has a full sushi menu, and a nigiri omakase option and brunch on the weekends. Sushi Kappo Tamura sources its seafood from Pacific Northwest producers like Taylor Shellfish and Skagit River Ranch and has a rooftop garden that provides produce for some of its dishes. Of all the sushi chefs in Seattle, Kitamura may know the most about local fish, which could be ascribed to his side hobby as a fly fisherman. All these elements make for a decidedly PNW sushi experience that couldn’t be replicated in any other part of the country." - Harry Cheadle

"Renowned sushi chef Taichi Kitamura provides a wide variety of fantastic meal options at his Eastlake destination restaurant. It sources its seafood from Pacific Northwest producers like Taylor Shellfish and Skagit River Ranch, and has a rooftop garden that provides produce for some of its dishes." - Jade Yamazaki Stewart, Harry Cheadle

"At this lively Eastlake restaurant, the chef will tell you about his travels to Peru as he casually whips up a 12-course meal so life-changing that we've seen guests rip a page out of the menu for him to sign as a souvenir. And we don’t blame them—the meal is worth commemorating. You’ll eat things like buttery otoro dusted with kelp salt and sweet spot prawns from British Columbia. It “ends” with the best unagi in Seattle, but even after 12 courses, you may still get something extra like uni so picturesque that you almost don’t want to eat it. Just plan to be here awhile—the leisurely pace means that dinner can take the length of a Francis Ford Coppola film to get through." - kayla sager riley, aimee rizzo, gabe guarente

"Of all the sushi chefs in Seattle, Taichi Kitamura may know the most about local fish, and at his Eastlake destination, Sushi Kappo Tamura, he provides an experience you couldn’t replicate in any other part of the country. He sources seafood, sometimes exclusive items like bairdi (a.k.a. tanner) crab, from Pacific Northwest producers like Taylor Shellfish and Skagit River Ranch as well as individual fishers, and grows some of the restaurant’s produce in a garden on the roof. You can taste the results by way of a full a la carte menu featuring sushi and hot dishes as well omakase showcasing seasonal specialties, perfect with a seasonal sake flight." - Eater Staff