Issian

Issian is one of my go-to Japanese restaurants in the Wallingford area. They have great sushi, happy hour and Japanese food overall! They are open in the evenings and often have a wait during peak dinner hours and weekend nights. During all of my visits, the staff are very attentive and willing to answer any questions about the menu. They're also very good on helping you when you'd like to add more to your meal and with drinks! There is a good amount of table seating, as well as counter seating too! I've tried a variety of things on their menu, but their mentaiko udon is a staple every visit! The udon texture is perfectly chewy and I love the creaminess of the mentaiko broth. It always hits the spot. I've also ordered their masu sushi (3 sashimi on a small bed of rice), several of their yakitori, sashimi platter and orange roll. Their yakitori is so fresh and well marinated. Their fish quality is great and I've only experienced fishy sushi here once, out of all the times I've been. They have a great roll section and the masu sushi is a good option if you're looking for fish and rice. Also, the food is super reasonably priced for the quality and for Seattle. Would highly recommend!

My friend highly recommended this place and it is one of her usual hang out spot for Izakaya. I agreed with her why is this place so amazing. It is in middle of Wallingford, it's a Lowkey chill place. It's better to go earlier since many people was waiting on Sunday night. They have happy hour and it's definitely worth the price for food and drinks. I tried many new things that I never knew it's that good. I got a couple sushi and sashimi. They are really fresh and buttery, made me ordered the salmon again! The beer were cold and refreshing. I tried chicken heart and wow i actually really liked it. I had a bad experience from somewhere and it tasted like blood and iron, this place doesn't. It tasted like grilled and it did not have any of the bloody or iron taste. The chicken cartilage is so crunchy and I didn't expect it's that big. It's usually a tiny ones. The crispy wings are definitely a must order!! The chicken skin was so crispy. Over I will come back to this place for more food and beer! It's a great place to catch up with your friends. It can be loud tho but it's a personable place.

I've heard lots of good things about the Happy Hour here at Issian, but unfortunately I missed it. That's okay though, because the food was still great and reasonably priced! Between the three of us, we ordered 7 items to share (counting the 3 scallop skewers as 1 order since we ordered 1 per person) and we were very full. We had a pescatarian in our group so we did not try any meat dishes. My favorite was the fried oysters. Perfectly fried and juicy. The seared saba sushi was the star of the show though since I wasn't expecting much but it was delicious! Everything from the fish to the rice was done right. The okonomiyaki was my least favorite. It was somewhat battery and was just not as good compared to everything else. While I enjoyed the scallop kushiyaki skewers, I did think they were a little small. There is only street parking available but we were able to find some relatively easy and close by. The staff are very kind and made sure to let us know when last call was. The store has cute Halloween decorations up to celebrate, but halfway through our dinner, they started deflating and falling on us oh no!

This place is great if you're looking for Japanese food that's not just sushi and ramen. I've tried quite a few things and everything seems to be pretty solid! Love their creamy udon, sushi rolls, yakitori, salmon, and croquette. I personally was disappointed by their okonomiyaki. Service wise, staff is super friendly however the host made my friends and I wait for an extra 30 minutes because she accidentally gave our table away. So I would say, get there around the time it opens if you can, it gets super busy.

Good food and very reasonably priced! Got takeout here and was early for pick up, so sat and had a glass of wine while I waited. Only $6 after tax and it wasn't even happy hour. Got several sushi rolls which were pretty good. Only one I didn't like was the California roll. My favorite item was the Issian salad though! Will definitely get this again. Again, everything was very fairly priced. Restaurants in Seattle have been jacking prices left and right, but this was a great price for the quality of meal we had. Next time I want to eat in and try some other items on the menu. Give this place a try!

I appreciate the diverse menu this place offers, and I think it's the best Japanese restaurant in Wallingford.However, I think the service needs an upgrade. There is no reservation system, so not only did we have to wait for a table but also wait a painfully long time to be on the waitlist and to check in after being called from the waitlist. The front doesn't seem to have a designated receptionist, which is the problem. Then it took 15 mins from the time we sat down before our waitress took our order. The table that sat next to us 10 mins later got their orders first. A call button is much needed, especially for an izekaya restaurant. Our waitress never came back but the busboy did 4 times. So we couldn't order any more food; another big flaw for an izekaya restaurant. I liked everything we got, and even though it feels pricey, it's the average cost of izekaya. None of the items were the best I've had, but it hits the spot.

My tried and true, all around winner for BEST izakaya in town. This is a no-frills, very delicious (and affordable for the quality) TRADITIONAL izakaya. This will forever by my recommendation to friends visiting from out of town. I'll go here for karaage, sushi, skewers, and pretty much everything else. Great vibes, too. Lotsa folks enjoying and drinking, big friend groups and intimate dates (I've done both at this place). This is my favorite Japanese restaurant in Seattle, period. Service is very izakaya-esque as well, you can keep ordering rounds and rounds of food.... I love issian

Super flavorful and fresh sushi! I tried the shrimp nigiri, Seattle roll, and salmon roll all of which were very good. I also had a delicious good grapefruit cocktail I'm still thinking about. Can't wait to go back!

We came for the meat skewers and they did not disappoint! We ordered the Wagyu, pork belly and chicken thigh skewers. They were all delicious but I especially loved the spicy mustard with the Wagyu. We ended up ordering more after our first round.I love sushi but usually am more of a deep fried with cream cheese kind of gal. The Las Vegas roll hit the spot. The masu sushi was different from the nigiri I'm used to, but it was still delicious.Overall, this was a great first time at Issian and we will definitely be back!

Just going by other reviews, maybe the key here is to go for happy hour, because going for dinner didn't quite live up to the hype. Don't worry, I'll end with the good stuff, so maybe skip the middle if you don't want to see the not-so-great part of the review.The one thing I can say I'm a food snob about is sashimi, and the sashimi here just wasn't up to par. It was okay, but for the price I would expect more than ok, esp. when half the plate is tako and pickled saba. I'd definitely skip this one next time around. The wagyu skewer was way too tough, not sure why but it was a good chewy jaw workout when I didn't quite expect one. The bacon wrapped quail eggs were interesting, but I couldn't eat more than 1 egg...it's super rich! If that's your thing, then definitely go for it, but sharing a skewer with friends might be a good start to try it. The okonomiyaki is pretty standard. It's good and will hit the spot if you're craving Okonomiyaki, but nothing out of the ordinary.On to the better stuff! The korokke was quite good. Crispy on the outside, almost creamy on the inside, with good flavor. I do love me a good korokke, so I was really happy that these turned out lovely. The scallop skewer had some nice flavor to it, as did the bacon wrapped asparagus. Would get those again for sure! The uni udon was very nice. I am glad we shared it as a table, because while it tastes great and has a delightful creamy texture to it, its VERY rich (which is expected) and would likely result in a hasty exit and sprint straight home. Overall, it was hit or miss. Would I go again? Sure. Especially for happy hour. Worth trying, just gotta find the things on the menu that really pop for you. Thankfully that's pretty easy to do here!