Genki Sushi

One of the best fish in Seattle. Fresh, generous, fairy priced. Sushi chef and owner is an awesome and authentic guy. Crab, salmon, amazing.

Genki is still good for cheap conveyor belt sushi. But now, we know they are also good for decent cheap takoyaki! Also, some of their new specialty rolls are fantastic!
I’m taking back one star though as the tempura shrimp are just meh these days. Also, the hand rolls have gone up to $ 2.50 for the tuna ones.
For the takoyaki and new rolls though, they get to keep that star at the end of the day.

Its a good place for quick and cheap sushi. Lots of different rolls. Great if you wanna try a ton on unique rolls, not necessarily authentic. But something you can also take non sushi lovers too. Sometimes a little slow on changing the sushi out on the conveyer belt. But overall great p[lace for a cheap and easy sushi night.

We went here after a long day of flag football. The pluses? Fast service, they were able to seat 7 people quickly, and the conveyor belt meant it was so easy to pay with separate checks.
On the downside, the sushi was not very fresh. As was stated in another review, there was a lot of it going around for how few people were there, making you wonder how long the same rolls had been in circulation.
The «meh, I’ve experienced better» encompasses my feelings perfectly. I might eat there again, but more for convenience than anything.

We were there on a Friday night.
Well, the place felt kind of too big and empty for me. The sushi looked very colorful and appetizing.
It’s a plus that they got noodles (ramen, etc.) at reasonable price. I ordered a ramen. The broth was shoyu and it came with a large amount of bean sprout on the top.

There were plates stacked fairly high on the conveyor belt that were there when I arrived, and still going around-​and-​around when I left — which makes me wonder about the freshness!

My first trip here I wasn’t happy with the cooked rolls. BUT my second try was amazing when I tried the raw fish rolls and I am not one that has ever liked raw fish. I am so glad I decided to give this place a try and be adventurous. I think this is my new sushi spot. The prices are a steal, facilities are clean, wait staff is very helpful, the fish is fresh, the service is prompt, and their rolls were very flavorful. The combinations of the types of rolls they make are like a symphony for my taste buds, hitting every portion of my palate with beauty. I had been avoiding sushi for a few months now, but I will no longer avoid it because Genki Sushi is so mouth-​wateringly delish!!!

AMBIENCE — B– - (bathrooms are quite a walk through a long maze)
SERVICE — B — (they don’t have UNI all the time)
FOOD — B– (different and newer menu selections)
PRICE — C (wah!!! — price increase)
This experience happened sometime right after prices were raised back in May/​June 2012.
Prices are now 1.35, 1.85, 2.45, 2.95, and 3.95. Still good deal. But gone are the cheap deals! 1 — 3.
TIP!!! — So — I understand that the conveyor belt is pretty daunting and most items that I want are not going around, so I ALWAYS use the «write your own» order forms to get all my nigiri and fried hot items to come out fresh.
I get disappointed most times as they seem never seem to have UNI (sea urchin) when I show up sometimes (I go down to «SushiLand» down the street — they never seem to run out and they charge $ 3.00 for 2 pieces!) … But, Genki charges $ 3 also — if they had some in stock!
More rolls introduced. New menu.
Seems they’re trying a new by opening later hours until 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. on Thurs — Sat.
Presentation were lots prettier. Hope they stay up with quality of presentation.

We stopped in for dinner after the Opera. They’re open late, they have a bar and they were a screaming deal. Though they had a sign on the door about their prices going up a little, so I am not sure they will stay a great deal. I loved the California rolls, and the rainbow roll. My husband loved petty much everything he ate. They made what we wanted to order, since it is a belt place and it was kinda slow when we went in.
It’s not world class, its belt sushi. Its fresh, and tastes great. But they are the kind of place that has a hot-​dog roll not like super authentic, but still pretty decent, wont make you sick. If you want a drink and some more american style rolls, with cream cheese, or fried shrimp this is your place.
It’s up-​stairs from the QFC. They also have mochi for dessert, Yum! The bathroom is clean but down this long scary hallway.

Honestly… not bad! Pretty good actually, considering the prices. My friend and I went about an hour before closing and to our surprise, there were a good number of people there and the belt wasn’t super bare! It didn’t matter though because we special ordered 5 or 6 plates and they were all prepared in a timely manner. Sometimes they can go overboard with the sauces but for $ 1-​$ 2 for most plates, how can I complain?
The service was generally attentive and good, too. Will come back and try some more items!

I didn’t think this place was any good. But it was! and cheap!
Salmon with onions, spicy tuna, Las Vegas roll, Salmon hand roll
and Japanese pudding were amongst my favorite. We had much more but I forgot .
the only downfall was that we saw the same kind of sushi over and over and at one point we were sitting food less eyeing the conveyer belt. And also, we didn’t get our waters refilled
With all that said, I will definitely come back when I’m in Seattle.

This one is my favorite location. I don’t like the other locations as much. but I love this sushi. I love their 2 different sauces, their tasty ginger, and their wasabi. I never go to anywhere else really except for Genki.
I think they’re cheaper and way better. I recommend this place for cheap, fast sushi. Mmmm to their special rolls like Ninja rolls and the dynamite. i recommend those both!

It’s not bad. I actually prefer Genki to the sushiland down the street, although the sushiland in bellevue is probably better.
It’s cheap conveyor belt sushi but I feel like the quality and cleanliness is better than other places.
I’ve had the luck of coming here on twice on their $ 1 plate days, which definitely makes it worth it. It can get packed though, so I try and go a bit after the peak lunch rush. The fatty salmon is probably my favorite here.
There’s also a garage parking which makes it easy to get to.
Tip: Always order from the sushi chef or the waitress instead of taking plates off the belt, this way, you’ll get a fresher plate than the ones that may have been sitting for a while.

2.5 stars
I think last time I went was before this huge drop in quality everyone is referring to. I don’t think my experience was quite the 1 star experience some others had.
It was mediocre. The selection is mostly dull and weird Americanized things that aren’t real sushi. I am giving it 1.5 stars for the ok food and the fact they are the only place I’ve seen with kitsune udon.
1 star for the prices. Unless you’re on a budget though, I would say hop down the street to Sushiland.

I like their $ 1 sushi days!
The experience itself tends to vary a lot, which is something that seems to be a common thing for me with Genki.
Visit I: The conveyor belt moved way too fast, they were understaffed, I didn’t like the options, and I was really unhappy about the unlabeled sausage/“hot dog” sushi roll. I don’t want no stinking sausage in my sushi! DISLIKE!
Visit II: Absolutely fantastic customer service. I enjoyed my tea and several of the items I tried. Definitely a better cheap sushi option than Sushiland. LIKE!
Visit III: One of the wonderful $ 1 sushi plate days. The sushi was pretty good, but it was hard to get their attention to order some nigiri because the belt had mostly rolls, as usual. Kind of an «OKAY» day.
I kind of wish Genki could be more consistent. I frequently don’t end up going here for lunch because I don’t know what kind of service or quality I’ll find.

My first revolving sushi experience! Very exciting at first. Very frightening after the 40^th time that spicy tuna roll went around…
We showed up at 9:30, they close at 10. They happily let us sit and eat as much of their soon-​too-​be-​leftovers we could in 30 mins. They even made some fresh ones off the menu for us. The CHEAP prices are the real incentive here, — don’t expect beautiful presentation or high quality cuts of fish. Just good basic sushi when the craving hits, at crazy low prices. If I don’t get sick tomorrow, I am definitely making a habit of this place — we paid $ 14 for sake, 4 rolls, and edamame. Their «rolls» are only 3 pieces, but it’s still a steal! Even the beers are cheap.
Note: they have NO wine, except sake. So don’t come expecting to pair your rainbow roll with a nice Sauv Blanc — they’ve never heard of it.
They go heavy on the rice, and it’s hard to tell which roll is which as it passes by you (perhaps you could just grab, inspect, then put it back if you don’t like the look of it… just an idea’). But I was quite pleased with the variety and being spontaneous when some mystery roll cruises by… just grab and guess what you’re eating. It’s fun!

Hey, can we please eat sushi? How about that place? Well, ok. Enter Genki Sushi. Oh, go through the QFC supermarket door, then head upstairs, then you’ll see the door.
We walk in, and wait to be seated, and I really liked the display behind the counter. Very cool.
Unfortunately, this was the best part of my experience, because then I saw the conveyor belt. A sushi conveyor belt. In full disclosure, I have a bias against sushi stores that serve their food spinning around and around on the conveyor belt. I feel compelled to order special items just so I don’t have to pick up items off the conveyor belt. Even that did not help me today.
Well, after getting seated, I went to go wash up before eating. I should have taken a water bottle with me. You go around the restaurant, out the back door, into the common access hallway to the end, turn, and go down the length of that access hallway, and somewhere next to the freight elevator, you will finally find… the bathroom.
Well, after the hike, I am cautiously ready to eat. First I prepare some soy sauce and wasabi. Wasabi in a heathly sized container. Open the lid, and I see, … a butter knife? Really? Well, that’s not a taste issue, but more of an oddity.
I tried different items off the conveyor belt, and they were really average to below average in taste. For example, I figured the shrimp tempura roll was reasonably safe to eat. Well, that tempura was soggy all the way through, no crunch, just mushy.
I saw on the menu what I thought was clearly a mistake: a Hot Dog Roll. Who would make, let alone eat, one of these things? Apparently the answer is Genki Sushi and my dining partner, respectively. Well, even my indiscriminate diner could only choke down a bite of this dish and wished they had listened to my warnings.
The second most incredible thing I saw on the menu was the Tuna Salad Roll. Again, really? No one pushed their luck, but I did manage to see this gem circling around endlessly. It looks kind of like what you might imagine, but here it is for reference:
I needed to order something that was not making the circuit trip. I ordered Tuna, Salmon, Albacore, Yellowtail, and Eel sushi. The best piece was at most average, and I really decided not to eat any more raw items after this. However, particularly special was my Albacore Sushi. This has to be the worst butchered piece of sushi I have ever been served. And the fish was mushy. I ate one bite, and figured I already pushed my luck with it, and pushed it aside.
There were other items I tried, and I tried quite a few, so I know I wasn’t just unlucky, or that I didn’t give it a chance (there was around 30 of those little dishes piled up). Yes, I know that the individual servings are very easy on your wallet, but I don’t think they are very easy on your palate or your stomach.

I’ll admit it. I was kind of scared of Genki. Especially considering I was trying it for the first time on a $ 1 day.
However, those rolls are good — the five spice on the spicy tuna roll is genius and makes me want more! The fish quality was fresh, and the service was friendly. Plus, free green tea!
I also liked the layout of Genki. They have full tables at the conveyer belt, instead of being single chairs all around it. It looks like it would be a good place for a small group.
Even when the plates aren’t all a dollar though, Genki is still the cheapest kaiten sushi around — and the best. $ 1 – 3 a plate. I’ll be back!

First off, I would lo thank Unilocal for alerting me to their $ 1 Sushi night that began at 6pm on Wednesday, 23 November at the Mercer Street location, which apparently, is inside the QFC Grocery Store (Kroger on the eastern side of the US).
Second, I would like to thank the nice lady who gave me ½ of her spider roll. She is also a Unilocal’er! The Spider Roll was pretty good so I ended up ordering two more plates of it.
Third, I would like to thank Google Maps for showing me that I could take the King County Metro #16 from the Washington State Ferry Terminal so I did not have to return home, then drive back.
Fourth, I would like to thank the staff for finding that one seat in front of the conveyor belt which magically was located where all the plates entered the conveyor belt. There was an hour wait but because I was alone, I got super lucky.
As already mentioned above, I did have 2 and ½ spider rolls. I also had 2 places of the Genki Roll, Spicy California Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, Tuna Roll, and some roll whose name I never did figure out but it was good. I had 17 plates in all for a grand total of $ 18.70 including tax. I unfortunately forgot to take a menu list with descriptions of each roll; I will ask for one next time.
Normally, most of the sushi plates normally range in price from $ 1 to $ 2 (so meaning the most I would have paid would have been $ 36 + tax assuming all plates were normally $ 2 but many of mine were normally $ 1 or $ 1.50). This is much cheaper than Blue C Sushi as I think was already mentioned and the quality is just under Blue C but for about ¹⁄₃ to ¼ the price of Blue C Sushi. The other popular conveyor belt sushi that I know about is Sushiland. In my opinion, Genki is above that. Every plate I ordered or removed from the conveyor belt was fresh!
I did not order any drinks but it appears to have a full bar (which was also busy).
Additionally, the atmosphere was bright, friendly, and fun. I have several people strike up conversations as they waited and/​or ordered food. For me, this was a first in my 3 years in Seattle. It made me feel like I was in Austin again.
I know there will a similar night at the other locations in the coming weeks. I, of course, will attend and I hope the ambiance is similar to this location.
Thanks to everyone there including the patrons and staff for making my first experience at Genki a positive one!

What the??? I thought I wrote a review for this place… I guess not!
I came here with my food adventure partner-​in-​crime, Brian M., early January. It’s safe to say we enjoyed ourselves and gained a few pounds.
I’d been here before about a year ago, by myself, despite my loyalty and nostalgic attachment to Sushi Land up the street. But Genki has some interesting things on the menu that Sushi Land doesn’t offer.
* What Genki has that S.L. doesn’t:
— a more unique variety of rolls
— chawanmushi (a steamed egg custard nestling shitakes, krab, and shrimp… for $ 3, this was a great kick-​off before getting down to sushi business
— different sauces you can help yourself to, like the Sriracha-​based mayo
— better service (ok, so it was slow when we went, but still friendlier than Sushi Land on their slow hours)
— more alcoholic drinks
— better-​tasting uni
— other funky things on the menu
— free parking in the QFC lot
Now, Genki will NEVER replace Sushi Land, for some very important reasons. What Sushi Land has that Genki does NOT:
— takoyaki (Genki took it off the menu because ppl weren’t ordering it. FOOLS!)
— more sharable calamari (Genki’s is really interesting, but you only get a couple giant, very chewy chunks of legs… they reminded me of the dried squid tentacles you get in snack bags in Japan)
— a few cheaper items (although Genki has plenty of $ 1.50 dishes, too)
— more items on the belt (ordering fresh is nice, but i prefer to have the eye-​candy going around and around)
— a bathroom in the restaurant (at Genki, you have to walk down this long, rapist-​y hallway deep in the building’s back area)
Anyway, they are both great. I don’t see why sushi has to be $ 40 a person if you’re just in the mood for some simple stuff (I can’t do Musashi’s every month, ya know!). I could probably go here every day and never get tired of it.
*joy