Garden Sushi

I have tried coming here 3 times in the past 2 months and it has been closed during business hours every time. I have even tried calling ahead to make sure they are open but I get the same voice message indicating they are closed for lunch and will be back tomorrow.

Such great service and so affordable! When I asked for hamachi, he told me it wasn’t good that day and recommended red snapper which is similar but would be better quality. It was delicious, and still he took a few dollars off for the inconvenience of changing my order.
This place is tiny and there isn’t much seating but I will absolutely be back in the near future.

Being closed during business hours is apparently not uncommon here. Last Friday around 3−4pm, the place was closed… Oh well.

Good sushi at a decent price. I ordered a tuna roll and a salmon nigiri. Total was $ 8.25 after tax. That’s still cheaper than nasty Safeway sushi. Lol. The owner is nice and helpful. I asked for yellowtail nigiri but he said the fish wasn’t that good that day so he recommended the salmon nigiri. Glad I listened to him. It was fresh and good. I love the ambiance of the little shack attached to the food truck. It felt cozy and home-​like in there. Definitely will go here more often for lunch.

With limited choices in Ballard for decent sushi, my coworker and I decided that we needed to go pay a visit to Garden Sushi, located across from the old wing of Swedish. It shares a cozy triangle with a hot beverage stand and a crêpe food truck. The space is small but inviting, and there is even 2 tables outside (with umbrellas) to sit at. Though it was a chilly fall day, we opted to sit outside and enjoy our food.
Garden Sushi is part food truck, and part wood hut — super cute and unusual. Their menu is posted outside the little hut, and upon looking at it I opted for the philly roll and miso soup — because who doesn’t want to warm up from the inside out on a chilly day?
I placed my order and we waited less than 10 minutes for our rolls and nigiri to be made. And you ask why I didn’t receive miso soup? Well, upon placing my order I was told they didn’t have miso soup. Like a fellow Unilocaler, I was definitely disappointed. He offered me other options, one of which I thought was shrimp tempura, and I asked how many pieces and he said 5 or 6. I thought great! I love shrimp tempura. It was a reasonable $ 10.50 for my philly roll and shrimp tempura, and he let us each grab a bottle of water for free.
I opened up my eco-​friendly compostable to-​go container to find two rolls inside. I obviously misunderstood, as when he said «shrimp tempura» he meant shrimp tempura ROLL. I wasn’t disappointed, though, because it was so tasty. The freshly fried shrimp, in a classic light-​and-​crispy tempura batter were rolled with, cucumber slices, avocado and fresh sushi rice. The roll was also drizzled in a sweet teriyaki sauce. The philly roll was described as smoked salmon rolled with cream cheese, avocado and cucumber, but it looked like lox (cured, but not smoked salmon). As it turns out, it was just regular raw salmon which was a bit of a disappointment, so I so longed for that deliciously smoky salmon flavor. That said, the roll was also scrumptious and filling. I finished the meal with a few tangy bites of picked ginger.
I am giving ⁴⁄₅ stars because of the no miso (boo!) and the not-​smoked-​salmon in my philly roll. Definitely not enough to complain about, but enough for me to bump a star off my review.
Will I be back? You bet — cheap, fresh sushi in Ballard is hard to find, and the owner of Garden Sushi could not be any nicer.

Stopped here on a Monday to pick up lunch for the fam, got the platter for 3 and it was delicious! Very fresh, high-​quality fish. Plenty of food for the three of us, with a little seaweed salad as well. The spider roll was especially good, and one of the types of nigiri (yellowtail, I think) had thin slices of lime on top, a nice touch which I’d never seen before (don’t eat the lime :). One white-​fish nigiri was new to me, I believe it was hirame — that was our favorite. Took the chef 15 minutes to make up a fairly large platter; we waited outside where there are tables & chairs. Next time I’m going to order a la carte and try some different things. Recommended!

Nothing aggravates me more than driving to a business and there being advertised hours only to see they’re not open. I arrived today on August 15^th at 4pm when they were supposed to be open until 9 but were closed. If you don’t have Saturday hours than update this site and your store sign…

Quick and cheap! Outdoor seating is casual and comfortable, especially if the weather is nice. Ordered:
Pot stickers
Seattle Roll
Red Mango roll (favorite)
Shrimp Tempura (par)
Service is good, atmosphere is nice and food is good.

Nothing too complex. Picked up to go right before closing. The man working was very efficient and sweet. The sushi, while simple, was really good. You could tell it was made fresh and with good ingredients.
It’s not your deep-​fried-​tempura-​spicy-​mayo-​crazy sushi that you’re used to, but it’s really good!

This place is such a hidden treasure in the Ballard area! You can’t beat his price
and the rolls are so amazing!!! Owner is very nice and will often throws in free drinks for customers!!! His fish is really fresh and seaweed is refreshing!!! You won’t regard going there! Will be going back for sure!

The idea of this place is great and the prices are right, but only if the have what you order. I asked for miso soup, they were out. At 7pm. F’realz? I ordered a spicy tuna and a seaweed salad. I was given spicy tuna and… something else. I asked for the seaweed salad and he provided me with a dollop the size of a gum ball. I thought $ 3 was great until I saw that measly portion. By this point I had already paid, and when I asked for more he was «out». Seriously dude? If you’re out, tell me that when you take my damn order, and don’t try to pass off this wimpy portion. Not cool. You know when you just really want good sushi, and it just isn’t happening for you? GAH!

I’m all about supporting small business and after seeing all these wonderful Unilocal reviews, I could only have high expectations of the place .
Let’s start with price, place is cheap. Down right thrift shop cheap for a sushi joint. However, that usually happens because of one of two things. They do enough quantity whereas they are able to secure volume discounts or the quality of ingredients is slightly lower. Unfortunately, the latter applies to the sushi here.
The owner/​sushi chef of this place is courteous and nice as heck, but that can’t make up for the quality of food.
So I’ve eaten here twice, one we dined at the food truck at the small tables that are out there and once I picked up an order to go. Both times, the rice was a debacle. I’m not trying to be overly harsh, it’s just the absolute truth. The rice used to make the nigiri and rolls for both occasions seemed like it had been the previous day’s rice that wasn’t properly stored overnight. It was cold, mushy and tasted stagnant.
While the fish quality itself was much better than that of the rice’s, that doesn’t really give anyone a clear picture. The quality of the fish isn’t bad, but certainly nothing you would find at a Nishino’s or Shiro’s and rightfully so as you aren’t paying those prices. However, after years of eating sushi, one develops a minimum acceptable threshold for the quality and taste of fish served. Unfortunately, this place didn’t satisfy the minimum standards that I set for sushi places.
I sincerely wished that my second go around at this place would change the initial opinion I had, but all it did was to reinforce it. I will not be going back.

This is a wonderful and quick little sushi spot! We had the California, Seattle and Spicy tuna rolls!!! Simple, fresh and delicious!

If you’re looking for a take out sushi joint in Ballard then you have to check this place out. The menu is not big but it is very solid in terms of the basics offered. The owner is always friendly when you pick up your order. The only downside is it can be a little pricey for what it is and if you order during a busy time you may have to wait a half hour so. But the sushi is always top notch

To begin, this isn’t your average run of the mill sushi restaurant. In face this isn’t even a restaurant by tight definition. It’s a converted shed, standing next to a food truck, in which the owner and chef operates in. Leaving you in a quaintly decorated shed.
This is quite the experience. There are several heaters littered throughout the shed, as it isn’t exactly insulated, and it is a barebones charismatic quick eat. I don’t even think the term «hole in the wall» applies to this, given that it’s it’s own entity separate from other place.
The novelty of a sushi food truck is quite a new one, as this one will leave you lasting impressions long after you’ve had your last bite.
While this concept is still strange, I can’t help but note that this sushi joint is entirely representative of Japanese culture. Yes, there are decorations and knick knacks a strew, but the core concept of this still stands: minimalism. There doesn’t need to be anymore than what there is. There are three seats and a bench seat that stows items. The chef is right in front of you as per sushi norms, but they’re in an entirely different section themselves, seeing as they aren’t actually connected to the shed. Every inch of this space is accommodated for and adequately used. There isn’t a pinch of excess anywhere throughout this place. It’s as though a Kei Car and a taco truck fornicated to make a quick bite all the more efficient. In fact as I was walking up to the shack, the chef was absent. But a minute later he had pulled up in his car, which he parked right next to the shack, and revealed some supplies for the truck.
This is a low stress, low cost (most rolls are only $ 4!!!) quick bite that’ll satisfy your immediate sushi cravings within its humble walls.
I highly recommend this place for anyone that’s craving sushi, but doesn’t want to commit to an expensive high dining experience.
Honestly if this place was closer to me, it would be my new favorite bite.
As a plus for all of you «Jiro Dreams of Sushi» fans, the rice is served at body temperature and the fish is served at room temperature. Eat on.

I loved this place! The prices were very reasonable and the quality was excellent. The menu had a pretty good selection, especially when considering the size of the truck. Glad to have a quick sushi option!
I’ll be back soon.

Been here a few times. The guy is the homie! Great food ! Awesome atmosphere ! Definitely coming back a bunch of times!

I recently worked at a store less than a block away and always saw this place when parking for work. To be honest, I was slightly sketched out by sushi from a food truck but decided to try it based on the great reviews. I placed a to-​go order with the guy and he didn’t even need to write it down! I got a specialty roll, some California rolls, inari, salmon, and seaweed salad. It was all very fresh and tasty! Quick service and excellent customer service. Unfortunately, don’t work next door anymore but will come whenever I’m in Ballard next.

I was pretty excited to check this out based on the reviews, but wasn’t what I thought it would be.
This is definitely good for pick up only. The «seating» is really just for 3 people total and is not heated, so not so good for cold weather. Prices are pretty low and decently priced for the quality of the sushi/​sashimi. $ 35 omakase for 3 people. If you want super good quality this isn’t really it. The owner is very nice though as others have mentioned.

Maybe I seem generous with my star rating. If you are expecting a comparison to other sushi restaurants you will not get that from my review.
I have never heard of this place until my bf planned a surprise date: Golden Gardens and some Garden Sushi.
He only ordered nigiri (yay) so we had saba, unagi, tuna, salmon and yellowtail. Everything tasted fresh and the rice was perfect: slighty warmed and lightly seasoned. I also heard they sometimes serve uni so I will have to come back for that. So far, I have heard of 2 sushi trucks in the Seattle area and this one is a lot better.