09/29/09

The best Japanese restaurant

by mochibaby

Yummy!

• Pros: everything on the menu
• Cons: long wait if u don't have reservation

07/13/09

homestyle

by jheitzeb

awesome -- go there today.

• Pros: cheap
• Cons: none

10/23/08

Impressive Sushi - Friendly People - Fun Seattle Experience

by jollyasalways

Enjoy this tried-and-true Seattle mainstay. Maneki has got to be one of the oldest sushi restaurants in the city, still family owned and booming. Warm, friendly staff greet you as you arrive. There's a sizable seating area in the front with two private rooms farther back and at the very back, a secret sushi bar awaits for up to 3 couples to sit at. Some might think it's not formal enough, back by the tea and drink station...but for us, it was a perfect little hidey-hole away from the din of the dining room. The sushi was excellent. The salads were creative. Ala Carte ingredients. Definitely recommend it!

10/08/08

Japanese food for the ages

by montyhouse

At the end of the last millenium, sushi suddenly became really trendy. This trendiness has diluted the sushi experience, and has been detrimental to Japanese cuisine as a whole. There are half-baked "sushi joints" all over the city now, masking their mediocrity by being trying to be hip or stylish or overpriced (see: Wasabi bistro, Liberty, Oasis, etc.). A few years ago, while deciding where to go for dinner, I told some Japanese friends I wanted some "REAL Japanese food!". They chose Maneki, and before I knew it, we were treated to a steady parade of izakaya style platefuls, some of the most delicious I've had, with nary a sushi roll in the bunch. This is how the Japanese really eat, sharing plates and talking fast and drinking beers and having a ball. As one of the original establishments of Seattle's long forgotten "NihonMachi", it only makes sense that Maneki's would get REAL Japanese food right, with panache. Sugoku oishikatta desu yo!

• Pros: authenticity, opportunity to experience Japanese cuisine beyond mere sushi
• Cons: sometimes crowded, long waits

07/31/08

Best Japanaese Restaurant

by MontlakeMan

I have gone to Maneki countless times and it continues to be the best Japanese restaurant I have ever visited. Excellent food, great service and a incredibly friendly atmosphere is what you can expect from this place. I have never been to Japan, but I do have many close friends who are from Japan, some of them sushi restaurant owners. They say that Maneki's sushi quality is at least as good and often better than any found in Japan. Until I visit Japan and try for myself I will have to believe what they say. As with any incredibly good restaurant, make sure you make a reservation first.

• Pros: The food, the service, the price, everything ..
• Cons: none

05/05/08

good food but make reservations or go before it opens!

by berg9201

I got to try this place that my friend was raving about. We didn't make reservation but was able to be seated within 10 minutes of opening. The service was prompt and friendly. I had the Sakana dinner set which came with salted broiled mackeral, tempura, sashimi, cucumber & shrimp salad. It was tasty and very good portion. My husband had the sushi which was also fresh and big. They also have a bar for those who need to wait and drink. I would recommend this place if you like the more traditional japanese cuisine!

• Pros: good traditional cuisine, prompt service even when it was packed.
• Cons: can be long wait if you don't make reservations

04/09/08

Undoubtably the best sushi restaurant in Seattle.

by hyzenthlay

Maneki is not a place for people looking for an Americanized experience - it's not a Belltown restaurant. It's an ID place with ID prices, and, yes, ID service. You will likely need to flag a server down (which is simple as they are all very sweet young ladies). Additionally, your food will come out in the order it's prepared and ready, rather than all at once on a giant serving tray. Like most Japanese meals, you plan for a longer meal of small bites (a bowl of rice with tuna bata yaki, or a small salad with rice vinegar, or a bite of a jojo roll...) rather than a giant single portion. It's a small restaurant, which means a reservation is a necessity (I'm not sure what the other reviewer below me meant by saying that it doesn't take reservations; I have a reservation there for tonight, in fact). Maneki's sushi is some of the best in Seattle. The regular Japanese fare is equally amazing. I've fallen in love with the generous portions, the unbelievable freshness, and the artful presentations. Every time I go there I stuff myself silly, and I've never in my life managed to make it cost more than about $40 a head. Maneki is unbeatable value, and overall the best Japanese restaurant in Seattle, hands down.

• Pros: Best food for the price in Seattle
• Cons: ID service

03/24/08

Pretty Darn Good Sushi

by SeattleBubbles

Attended a lovely dinner in one of their private rooms a few weeks back. The service was impeccable, the sushi was spot on and the sake was priced affordably. The only negative was the tempura. Yes, I know it is fried, but it was overly greasy. If you haven?t been, go!

• Cons: Can't get a taxi at 1:30AM

A friendly, no-frills restaurant serving lovingly crafted, home-style Japanese cooking and some of the freshest sushi in town.

by Contributor

In Short
Traditional Japanese cuisine includes izakaya, smaller-sized plates of rice, fried dishes that make the perfect accompaniment to a night of drinking. Maneki's extensive menu specializes in this sort of comfort food--tonkatsu, tempura, and much more. If the restaurant is packed (and it usually is), look for seats in the bar upfront--the same menu is served, and conversation flows between the patrons sitting on stools.

02/23/08

Maneki is my favourite Japanese place in Seattle.

by oonaoneal

It is a traditional place with personality in the heart of the ID. The owner is an old-world lady who is kind but at times a bit gruff with the line of customers who are often late. She tries to accomodate everyone.

The food at Maneki is wonderful. The blue fin tuna sashimi is out of this world. It melts in your mouth and for $12, I almost don't want to mention it in case it becomes too discovered and changes. This place is not the best to have a million adventuroues rolls. it is more traditional Japanese. Both cooked food and Sushi are outstanding and the quality of the fish has always been super-fresh.