Tsukushinbo

I made a 7pm reservation as suggested in the reviews and the place just got packed as we started ordering.
I had their Chirashi bowl which was excellent. All fresh seafood. We also ordered 8 pieces of shrimp tempura and agedashi tofu. We also had some sparkling sake.
Need to come back & try their omakase. And also the famous ramen that they only serve on Friday. Great place to drink sake & fresh sushi. I love that this place is hidden from tourist & only locals know it.

Had a mix of food. Sushi nigiri, sashimi, soba, sake. The uni sushi was not fresh. They ran out of local uni and only had the Hokkaido uni. The best sushi was the amber jack. Fresh and had very good texture. In general, the other sushi and sashimi were fresh with the exception of the salmon sashimi and uni sushi. The salmon sashimi tasted bland without any flavor. The soba was over cooked. The noodles were too soft. The sake was good. The California rolls was good. The spider and crunchy roll was ok.

Starting in June 2016, will be Open on Friday and Saturday until midnight.

When it comes to value and quality, this place cannot be beat in Seattle. This hidden gem is literally hidden. So don’t come here so that I don’t have to worry about not getting a table lol. Just kidding…
I would give it a 4.5 only because I’ve had a part of my order forgotten and sometimes service is slow.
But seriously, the food is great!

This place deservedly gets a lot of hype. I enjoy the whole experience of eating here. Which is why its one of my favorite Seattle joints.
Make sure to call in advance and expect a wait even with a reservation– this happens to me often. They should improve on getting clients to their table speedily but make up for it with quality meals.
I enjoy their donburi’s — the egg one in particular. And the soba is excellent.

I can’t believe i haven’t heard or tried this place until now. This place is amazing! They have a wide range of food from sushi, to hot plates, to appetizers. Food is delicious and comes out fairly quick.
Definitely MAKE A RESERVATION, if you don’t want to wait. The place fairly small and can get busy, but the servers are always attentive!

We had such a great experience! Great sushi and service.

Let me just say… Tsukushinbo is truly a hidden gem, literally. There are no signs outside of the restaurant, so just make sure you find the address «517» and go right next door. My friend and I made a reservation to the restaurant for dinner on a Friday evening, and making a reservation alone was a hassle (my only criticism). I tried calling MANY times during lunch hours the same day, and no one picked up the phone (trust me, I called 10+ times…). In their answering machine message, they say to leave them a voicemail if you’d like to make a reservation and they will call you later in the afternoon to confirm. Luckily they called me at 4pm the same day to confirm our reservation. When we got there, we were able to put in our order fairly quickly, even though we were being really indecisive about what to get! We ended up getting gyoza, 2 orders of sashimi rolls (I forgot which fish we got…), the marine roll, white kabuto roll, and seattle roll — ALL delicious!!! In each of the sashimi and sushi rolls, they gave us a generous amount of fish, which definitely was surprising since most other Japanese restaurants are… not so generous when it comes to the fish. We had trouble finishing all of the dishes we ordered and ended up having a couple of pieces of rolls remaining. I also ordered the Chirashi Bowl to go and each piece of sashimi included in the bowl was GINORMOUS!
Yes, this restaurant is hard to get to, hard to find, and insanely small. If you do plan on coming here for dinner, you MUST make a reservation or I guarantee you will be waiting in a long line (even though the wait would definitely be worth it!). I can’t wait to come here again!

This place is tiny! And there were no signs anywhere, so my friend and I just walked in and hoped it was the right restaurant. Luckily, I spotted a menu on a table and could read the Japanese «つくしんぼ» on it. Saved us from awkwardly asking «Are we in the right restaurant??».
I had heard this place was super popular, but surprisingly we were able to snag the last empty table there (without reservations!) around dinnertime. My friend and I wanted to try the Katsu Curry Donbori, but that was the only thing not available on the menu that night (sadface)! We opted for the Katsu Donbori instead. The portion was pretty big, but it was mostly rice. We also ordered the Caterpillar Roll, the Rainbow Roll, and Sake Nigiri. Everything tasted good (didn’t really «wow» me though), and the service was fantastic, even though it was busy. I do still want to try their curry and ramen special sometime!
NOTE: Reservations recommended!

We couldn’t find a place since it didn’t have a sign outside and is sort of hidden inside the building. But luckily we did! The food was very good and what a great service. Would definitely go back again!

The food here is creative, fresh, and delicious!
I really enjoyed a cozy, quiet dinner with a friend. The menu was a little overwhelming, but I liked every single thing I ordered.
The agedashi tofu was very tasty. We ordered 3 different rolls — all were absolutely brimming with delicious fish. Be warned that the spicy rolls have a respectable amount of heat!

I could probably eat sushi everyday and never get tired of it. Do yourself a favor and make a reservation at Tsukushinbo for some delicious sushi! It’s a casual but friendly place that’s a must try if you’re in the International District.
Small and unassuming from the outside, it’s a great way to chill with some good friends.
We ordered the following, and I would recommend it all!
–Braised mackeral (~$ 7): Tender fish with a lot of savory flavors! Definitely a new way of eating mackeral for me and though I liked the broiled method, this way was so much better!
–Spicy Tuna Roll (~$ 6.50): Good quality tuna that was yummy in my tummy.
–Sashimi Plate ($ 28): My fave of the night! The seafood was so fresh and clean. The cut of the fish was fairly thick (though the pieces were small/​bite size), and paired nicely with the included bowl of rice and miso soup.
Overall, I’m two thumbs up to this place, and when I come back, I’ll have to try their Katsu and curry!
Taste: 4.5 stars
Customer Service: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Cost: 3.5 stars

Setup: visit with old and new friends
The good: FOOD was awesome. Seriously, I think everything we had was fantastic. We tried some of everything — omakase sushi, salad, cooked items, perfectly fried things, 3 bottles of sake…
The bad: difficult to make reservations since it’s so small. They were out of uni :(
Observations: no sign outside, but everyone apparently knows where it is. Since we were there later on a Monday night, we didn’t encounter any crazy lines (made a rsvp a week before), but I hear they can wrap around the corner.

Came back for the katsu don. One of the rare places around here that seems to make it according to my research. Apparently it’s a modern ritual for Japanese students to enjoy this the night before exams because katsu sounds like «to be victorious!» (Thanks Wikipedia). So naturally I sought it out for future use prior to my Board exams. So simple, homey, and delicious. The sauce was a good amount of sweetness and it came with a bowl of miso to warm the soul. It also came with your choice of chicken or pork. Definitely coming back for it before my next exams.

Been meaning to try this place out several times but each time the wait was too much. Luckily we came in super early for dinner and was able to get a table. Highly recommend that you reserve ahead of time to get in here. This place is tiny but homey.
Service was nice and attentive. We ordered umi, creamy scallop roll, and a combo of saba and Agedashi Tofu and curry soba noodles The food was delicious and fresh. The scallops roll actually contained small whole scallops. Seating is a little bit uncomfortable because the place is packed and tiny.
Love it and will definitely come back again.

Like any other hidden gems, they only remain a gem so long as they’re hidden.
I actually had no idea it was as popular as it was when I got there until this huge line started forming behind me. I happened to be the first in line and got a table when they opened, but everyone else was turned away or asked to return hours later as they were completely filled up with reservations.
Their food was very delicious and decently priced, but the location was very cramped and tight.
I would definitely recommend you come here if you get the chance, but don’t forget to make a reservation! (Apparently you can do that)
Also, there are NO SIGNS that says Tsukushinbo. It was just a door in a black building, so keep your eyes out !
TIP: Go 30 minutes before opening if you don’t have a reservation!

From the moment you walk through their inconspicuous doors, you know it’s going to be one of the best sushi restaurants you will eat at in Seattle. As expected, the restaurant is tiny and probably seats no more than 35 people so reservations are highly encouraged.
It was a full house so as our party of 5 was ordering, we were told it was going to take a while for the chef to accommodate our order. We ordered a few things off the cooked menu while we waited: vegetable tempura, soft shell crab karaage (pretty good but would only share with two other people), and broiled salmon belly. The broiled salmon belly is SOO GOOD and would recommend if you like the more common, broiled salmon collar. The texture just melts in your mouth.
After 45 mins, we saw the chef pull out this longg wooden board and knew it had to be our order. We got a few orders of their otoro/​fatty tuna (part of their special menu), tuna, yellowtail, salmon, sweet shrimp, eel, and uni. We were impressed with the texture and consistency of the fish here. The otoro did not disappoint and simply fell apart in your mouth. My second favorite was the eel but the salmon and sweet shrimp were also really exceptional. The fried shrimp heads that follow came out hot, crispy, but not greasy. The fish to rice portion is also good compared to the more Americanized Japanese restaurants here.
The service was good considering how busy they are. One negative is only street parking in the area. If you’re in the ID, I’d choose Tsukushinbo over Maneki’s as long as we get reservations.

This review is strictly for the sushi rolls and service since I got too full to try out the infamous nigiri and other sushi items.
Overall, eating here was a pleasant experience. The waitstaff were quick and attentive, the atmosphere was warm and cozy and food is pretty good. A friend and I made reservations for a late night dinner at 830pm and even by then, this place was packed.
We ordered 4 types of sushi rolls (Tskushinbo, Seattle, plus two others I can’t remember the name of) and an order of katsu for the appetizer. For the sushi itself, it was around a 40 – 50 min wait due to the orders of people in front of us. In the time that we waited for the main food, we had some miso soup and katsu. The chicken katsu itself was done well, with it’s light and flaky tempura batter and the salad that came with this was interesting with its mayo sauce.
Being a huge sushi roll fan, the sushi rolls we ordered from here were pretty good but not fantastically good in comparison to the many sushi joints in Seattle. Of the 4 rolls we ordered, I really do enjoy the Tsukushinbo roll with its fresh spicy tuna. This left a nice zingy aftertaste when eaten. As for the other rolls, it was the standard of multiple ingredients stacked onto each other (imagine salmon, eel, tuna on each other and various sauces etc etc) and proved to be quite filling. In addition, the sushi roll didn’t seem as fresh since it looked like it sat on the counter for some time, but given how busy the restaurant was, it was understandable that food wouldn’t arrive as quickly when it was done.
Overall, this place is pretty good for sushi and making advanced reservations is highly recommended due to the popularity and small size of this place. When trying to find this restaurant, simply walk on Main street and look for a super packed Japanese restaurant that has no sign on the front door. :)

Absolutely delicious melt in your mouth cuts of sashimi! Yes!
Located in International District, Tsukushinbo seats a small number of people inside but continues to create smiles as customers leave. You can make a reservation here which I highly recommend because it can get busy. There aren’t that many tables here and it isn’t the most ideal place for big parties. There is also limited bar seating as well where you can see the sushi chefs making their delicacies.
For their sashimi, nigiri and sushi rolls they have a piece of paper where you can check off the quantity for each thing you want. They also have a menu that goes over what is in the rolls, as well as some appetizers and other Japanese entrees. Tonight, my friend and I decided on an order of tuna sashimi, salmon sashimi, a caterpillar roll, a crunchy roll, and an order of yakko.
Tuna sashimi — The tuna was fatty and thick and melted in your mouth. It was literally like tasting the sea. This is the best tuna sashimi I have tasted.
Salmon sashimi — SO good. I am a huge salmon fan and this was so creamy and fat. I liked adding a squeeze of lemon to it.
Caterpillar roll — If you’re a lover of unagi and avocado then this roll will make you smile. It had the ripest and creamiest avocado I have ever had on a sushi roll and the chunks of unagi were not skimped out on.
Crunchy roll — Lover of shrimp tempura? This one is for you. The roll itself is covered in those crunchy little flakes and there are plump pieces of perfectly tempuraed shrimp.
Yakko — This reminds me of like a cold version of agadashi tofu. It’s soft tofu that is chilled in ice and comes with sauce in a separate bowl. Really refreshing appetizer.
Service was excellent here. The waiters are really attentive and they want to make sure that you’re enjoying every part of your meal. Water and tea was constantly refilled, even when the glasses were not empty. Edamame is given complimentary here as well.
Overall, really enjoyed the quality of sashimi and rolls here. Service made me feel very taken care of and I had a wonderful dinner here. Price wise, it is a bit pricey but the quality makes up for it. The total without tip was a little over $ 60 for what was ordered.
Would recommend as a dinner date spot that isn’t too fancy but not casual.

70 minute wait for omakase when the server tells you 15 – 20 is unacceptable. Sure the sashimi was delicious and fresh*, but seeing tables around us get served before us even though they were seated after us is insulting. At least the Asahi filled us up and I was thankful for the great company. Our server was cool, kept apologizing (at least 10 times) for the two chefs’ poor organizational abilities, and he gave us some complimentary edamame and seaweed salad. It was only a Wednesday night and they seemed slow and needed reminders for everything– sauce dishes, water, the damn bill. I won’t be returning, and there are better fishes in the Sea.
*amazing horse mackerel, tuna, scallops w/​roe