Aji Sushi & Grill

I recommend the sushi combo. Nigiri sushi pieces are fresh and thick. It comes with big serving of crunchy roll. The price is affordable. The servers are friendly and pleasant. Love the fact that the restaurant is so close to my house.

Good ambience and great service. Food was mediocre. Maybe it’s what we ordered, but everything had too much avocado and too much mayo. The servings were not bite sized. Didn’t enjoy the food much. It was packed, so others must love it.

I am surprised that there was a decent sushi place in the middle of the Issaquah’s new shiny community. It’s quite refreshing that they provide everyone warm towels to wash your hands prior to your meal. The food was definitely tasty and fresh. I do happen to noticed that their rolls had this reoccurring theme of being on the spicy side. That was a little unexpected and interesting. The lighting inside during the evening time was super dark. I would actually prefer it if they brighten up the place just a bit so I can see what I’m eating better. Service was friendly and attentive.

love their food! sushi is very good quality and their bento boxes are excellent! service is pretty good as well.

Consistent, delightful and classy. A great place for fresh-​from-​the-​ocean sushi whether you’re on a date or just looking to enjoy succulent sashimi solo.
Once seated, you’re greeted with a hot hand towel like you’ve just been upgraded to first class on your favorite airline, and a cup of warm miso soup. Nice touch.
My three usual dishes are:
— Hamachi sashimi — buttery, silky, beautifully carved sections of hamachi that melt in your mouth. I like mine with a little soy and wasabi mix.
— Tuna Tataki — beautifully stacked slices of lightly-​seared tuna forming a pretty pinwheel mountain capped by green onion confetti and swimming in a wonderful citrus sauce.
— Tempura Mix — light, golden, and sliced into manageable pieces, unlike some places that give you one shrimp and an entire head of broccoli. I love that they include green beans and squash in every order. The sauce is much thicker and tangier than normal tempura sauce; it’s more like ponzu-​soy.
The three dishes above take me on a voyage of flavors that promises not to bore or massacre the palette with sodium.
I’ve also had quite a few of their rolls, which are excellent:
— Dragon Roll — simple and one of my favorites
— Sex on the Beach — I could do without wasabi mayo
— Hawaiian Roll — sweet mango sauce gives it a different flavor than traditional rolls
— Baked Scallop Roll — sinful, creamy, goodness
— Lollipop Roll — wrapped with cucumber instead of rice
My only criticism (and I’m not even sure it’s an Aji «thing») is that their drinking water reeks of chlorine. I love water with every meal, but I pass on the water option at Aji for this reason.
While finding decent sushi on the east side isn’t that difficult, finding a place that is consistently excellent with daily fresh options, fantastic service and a relaxing ambience is like finding a unicorn. I love this place.

We were seated immediately. The music is pretty good. We ordered bento and chicken bowl, pretty good.

Mediocre food. Poor service. Ordered a chicken plate that was not edible (no one at the table could eat it) — they insisted we need to pay for it. Waiters barely speak English. Asked about their Kobe beef special (13.95) go a totally plate from what described. It was basically Nigiri with a small piece of think beer on top.
Never going there again

Where do I even begin with how amazing this is.
So I’m the person who craves sushi 24/7,/and I’ve had my fair share of sushi. This is… the best fresh sushi I have ever had.
Service: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Quality of food: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Ambiance: ¹⁰⁄₁₀ (nice jazz music)
Price: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
They bring you damp, clean, fragrant towels, to wash your hands with.
The miso soup is the BEST I’ve ever had, it doesn’t taste «bacon-​y» and is consistently good (and complimentary).
My boyfriend and I have tried 6 rolls in total and all have been great. The apple tuna roll was new for us, and ¹⁰⁄₁₀.
AND, I left my glasses on the table and the cute lil waitress ran out in the 36° weather to deliver them to me through the window of my car. An ANGEL.
Lifetime customers right here!

The moment you step in you are welcomed and seated promptly. I was delighted when they gave us all each warm hand towel with some miso soup. Atmosphere is very calming as well. We didn’t know what to order so we got the Gyoza and also the shrimp tempura as a starter and then the head sushi chef recommended us 4 types of rolls. One was the fire roll which was my personal favorite. If you guys are in the mood for some great quality sushi. This is the place to check out so worth driving all the way from Seattle!

Came here on a Saturday night, looking for something new and this place exceeded my expectations! I love how fresh and yummy everything tasted, the food was aesthetically beautiful, and the menu has something for everyone :) they also have happy hour from 3−5pm as well!
I tried the monkey brains, salmon nigiri, and exit 18 roll! Definitely would come again and try other things!

My family and I have been here a handful of times. It does not disappoint! The ambiance is casual, yet the food is elegant.
Favorites:
My 2 year old loves their kids meal and devours it each time.
The poke salad is a favorite appetizer for us.
My husband and I have enjoyed most rolls — Lion King is a staple, and their specials are usually worth trying.
My only complaint is the high price, but it certainly doesn’t stop us from returning :)

After coming here for a year it’s still one of our favorites. Complimentary miso soup. Hot towels when you walk in. Classy music. Great lighting. Convenient location. Daniel the owner is great. Staff is very personable.
The rolls are great we have yet to have a bad one. The lion king and fire role are our favorites. The bulgogi is also great. All in all I have to say this is a great dinner out, date night, or stop in after a movie location.

Has it really been two years since I’ve visited? I’m not sure how much has changed but it was a much more enjoyable experience.
My boyfriend and I ate lunch here last week. There was a mild crowd. We were greeted and seated right away. They served us hot, fragrant towels to wipe our hands and miso soup while we looked at the menu.
I ordered the tempera udon and my boyfriend ordered the beef bowl. While still a bit pricey, the portions were decent. The udon broth tasted a bit off so probably wouldn’t order again. The beef bowl was much better so I’d recommend it instead. They serve a generous size of beef (which turned out quite flavorful) on top of lettuce and rice.
Thank goodness they eliminated edm and replaced it with elevator music.

My experience was ok here, but it is overpriced. I came during happy hour and was the second party in the restaurant. I ordered from the sushi bar and was served quickly. The staff was friendly and fast (though my water was never refilled)
I had the Excalibur roll ($ 12) which was good, but I felt the tempura was not necessarily fresh. I also had the spicy salmon ($ 6) off the happy hour menu which was ok.
I might be back.

We’ve been here several times (dine-​in and carry-​out). I normally get their Caterpillar roll but decided to try the Tiger Eye (special of the day), which consisted of smoked salmon, cream cheese, jalapeño, deep fried, topped with unagi sauce and wasabi mayo. It was probably the best sushi roll I’ve ever had in my life! Everything about it was perfect, and it absolutely had a nice crunch. Presentation and taste were excellent! Love that it was cut into small bite size pieces. You won’t believe how content because of that!
I also ordered the Avocado salad. It came with a sweet dressing — perfect for my sweet tooth. Avocados were fresh and just ripe.
My date had the Chicken katsu and it’s always very consistent. Nice golden brown color and crunch. Cooked just right.
Check out the photos!

Aji is great when it comes to the food, service and atmosphere, but the prices are higher than what I would expect. Between two of us, we shared three dishes and the bill totaled about $ 32.
We ordered a Shrimp Tempura Roll ($ 6.5), Dragon Roll ($ 11) and a Chicken Katsu plate w/​rice and salad ($ 11.5). Both sushi items were good, tasted fresh and had a substantial amount of fillings. However, they seemed a bit overpriced, specifically the Shrimp Tempura roll which only came with 6 pieces. The Chicken Katsu plate did contain a generous portion… katsu is one of my go-​to dishes and this serving could have easily doubled that of other restaurants. The breading was thin and perfectly crisp!
The service here is exceptional. We went on a Sunday at 2:30 and the restaurant was not busy at all. Partly because of this, the waitresses were extremely attentive and checked on us frequently. (TIP) The menu is really extensive — there are SO many sushi options… it’s probably a good idea to skim through the descriptions online first if you’re interested in the specialty sushi.
Finally, you’re greeted with warm towels and miso soup while browsing the menu. The towels used to be pretty common at Japanese restaurants, but these days I’m seeing it less and less… I’m glad Aji still makes it part of their routine.

Needs more staff to creat better service. Felt pretty rushed frantic atmosphere. Only two girls waiting and hosting the entire restaurant.
It was busy for a Thursday and was a little disappointed based off the 4 star review.
Sushi rolls run between 11 and 15 bucks — decent price but the quality didn’t back the price. Crunch roll tasted old and had no crunch.
Got the teriyaki chicken plate and came with decent amount of chicken, scoop of rice, and salad. It was just OK.
Appetizers were very standard, got the tempura vegetables. A little more greasy than normal.
Probably won’t make this place a frequent stop. Needs some service help and fresher ingredients.

I was pretty excited to try this place. Unpleasantly surprised…
We walked in and it was pretty busy. Almost all tables were taken but no one at the sushi bar. The hostess/​waitress/​busgirl showed us toward the sushi bar. We then told her we’d rather have a table and she turned around and threw the menus on a table. And then started to walk away when she said «here.» Ok, bad attitude.
We then ordered appetizer tempura and two ‘kitchen’ plates. They were OK. Chinoise down the street is way better for sushi and tempura.
We also ordered the Crunch Roll which really was BAD. It tasted blatantly like old oil. The shrimp wasn’t crispy at all. Probably fried some time before us arriving.
The outside also wasn’t crunch, like they rolled it in panko breadcrumbs in the raw. Ultimately disappointing.
Overall experience was a let-​down I’m sad to say. We were excited for the 4 star reviews they have but I don’t feel they deserve but maybe 3 MAX

Overall, Aji is a decent place for sushi in Issaquah,
We stopped by on a Friday night, and it was packed. We entered in the front entrance, and someone took our name down. Luckily, we only waited about 10 minutes for a table at the sushi bar. Once we were seated, I saw that they actually had people waiting from the back entrance. Not the most efficient way to have people waiting in two locations, which caused confusion.
We ordered a sashimi platter, and the fish was pretty good. I wish they had more variety, though: it come with 15 pieces, but it is really 3 pieces of 5 different kinds. I also ordered the tempura: while decent, the tempura came out about 15 minutes before my sashimi. My wife ordered seafood udon (ok), and some salmon sashimi, which was good. Again, her sashimi came out way before my sashimi plate.
One thing that can be improved on is the service. While friendly, the wait staff seemed overwhelmed by the dinner rush. As I mentioned before, two waiting areas caused a lot of confusion. Finally, the timing of the dishes could be improved.
However, the most important thing at a restaurant is the food, and the sashimi was fresh.

Casual ambience, plenty of seating space, and fresh food. We were offered warm towels to wipe our hands on sitting down. Service was a little slow despite going at 5 pm but nothing too bad.
We were planning to order off the happy hour menu, but there are a limited number of items on it and there is almost nothing vegetarian except seaweed salad.
We ordered a few vegetarian rolls and a fire roll from the special menu. The roll was nicely presented and well-​made.
Some other reviewers have commented that they were offered complementary items like miso soup or seaweed salad or a dessert, but that did not happen in our case.
Their prices are similar to Umi Sake House in Seattle downtown but it’s not as cool or fun. The food is pretty good but I do miss the extensive happy hour menu at some downtown spots. However, I do appreciate a good sushi place on the Eastside. 3.5 stars.