KushiBar in Seattle, Washington: For Great Food and a Great Experience

Location: Seattle, WA (Belltown)

2319 Second Ave

Rating: Three and a half stars out of five

Located in the heart of Seattle's crazy Belltown district is this hip little Japanese street food joint called the Kushibar. They serve everything from Osaka's famous okonomiyaki (a pancake generally made with seafood, but served with pork here), to gyoza, yakisoba, takoyaki, and kani croquettes. And of course a whole slew of kushiyaki items (meat on a stick from where "kushi"bar derives it's name). While the fare here is on the pricey side, especially for street food you'd pay a lot less for in China, Japan, and Korea, it's so good, it's worth the money. Not to mention the fun factor Kushibar provides.

Why I rated it three and a half stars:

While this place alone is deserving of five stars, the prices are a big factor in bringing the rating down. Although you can get away with a decent bill munching on kushiyaki and other small items, if you're having a drink too you've just increased your bill significantly. When dining there with three friends we noticed our food bill was only about sixty five buck, great for us since we all have a voracious appetite when it comes to Asian cuisine, especially Kushiyaki. Unfortunately, our drinks totaled nearly the same as our bill! Conveniently, Kushibar's computers break up the bill by food and beverages, so it's easy to compare the two. However, this poses a serious issue. Some of you must be saying, just don't drink when you eat there then. Easy enough. But part of the fun going out, especially here is enjoying a bottle of sake or a cocktail and munching on all the food that starts coming your way. My point is, drinkers beware! The best time to come here is during happy hour which they have both during the day and late night until 1:00am. While the happy hour food menu is extremely limited, drinks are significantly cheaper!

The second reason this place earned only three and a half stars is the service. While I love this place for being as laid back as it is, at some point I want faster, more efficient service, and perhaps someone a little more professional. I've had servers there on several occasions tell me what they were drinking during work, and I'm not talking about diet Coke. This wouldn't be too much of an issue if it didn't seem like these extracurricular activities weren't impacting the service their offering. While in a group of six one night it took our waitress, who was stumbling around from one too many, nearly fifteen minutes to get our drinks. Sadly, there were only about six other people in the restaurant total. Perhaps the timing was also the bartenders fault, but really? Fifteen minutes? Not really cool.

I've also have servers forget to put in complete sections of our order before, which is lame when all the food runs out and you're sitting there not sure whether to re-order or whether your food is just taking a really long time!

The third reason for docking points is, unfortunately, the usual weekend crowd. While I'm always up for a good time, this place gets packed with party people who are clearly enjoying more than just the food and drinks offered at the restaurant. Instead, they've decided to take up the bar stools getting hammered in between bouts of enjoy Belltown's local drug fare. Not exactly the thing I want shoved in my face when I'm standing in line for half and hour waiting to use the bathroom that sadly no one in the line needs to use for its practical purpose. Equally as sad is that management seems completely forgiving of these long lines of people coming out rubbing their noses and sniffing like they need to go blow them. Not to mention they do nothing about the fact that the bartenders are over-serving people to the point where they can't even walk out.

By now you must be thinking this place is a little shop of horrors, and I'll admit, night time hours are best attended by the young or others who don't mind the party scene of Belltown. However, the food here really makes it worthwhile, and frankly, you can leave the party drama behind by coming for lunch or a reasonably timed dinner (between 5:00pm and 8:00pm). In fact, I'd encourage everyone in the Seattle area, as well as visitors to the Seattle area, to give it a try.

Things you simply can't miss are the takoyaki (octopus cakes), the hatsu (chicken heart served kushiyaki style, on a stick), maitake (oyster mushrooms, served kushiyaki style), and scallops served seared and kushiyaki style. Additionally, the best way to order here is to try a little of everything. Order a couple appetizers, and then a vast array of kushiyaki. This makes it easy to share, and you can try a great portion of the menu, which is well worth it.

Despite the hiccups in management and service, the Kushibar really is one of Belltown's little gems. It can be a great place to party at night, or an easy Saturday afternoon lunch spot. Furthermore, if you're up for going out after dinner, there are a number of bars nearby which promise an interesting night!