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Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Capitol HillTue-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Tue-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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So honestly, we weren't planning to eat here, I really wanted to try Olivar around the corner, but they were having a special event so my hopes were dashed. Anyway... I give them a good solid 3.
The sushi we ordered (salmon skin and spicy scallop) was pretty good and prices very reasonable. But I wasn't really feelin' the main dishes that we ordered... a little on the bland side.
The thing that will keep me coming back for sure is the soft shell crab. Mmmm, so good.
I give it four stars mainly because Aoki introduced me to super-white tuna. This stuff is like butter. Other highlights are the agedashi tofu and the spider roll.
Their prices are moderate, for sushi, but everything is fresh and I have never regretted an order. The last few times I went, we didn't get the spinach salad with sesame dressing automatically plunked down, and I was quite disappointed because it's really good.
I've sat at the bar a couple of times, and the owner was chatty enough - what you want in a sushi chef when you sit at the bar. I go back again and again because it's good sushi for a good price.
The fish was delish!
What I mean is that this place was, when it came to sushi, a VERY pleasant surprise. I was really hungry and, as usual, had a hard time picking something on Broadway. Finally I settled on Aoki and grabbed a seat at the sushi bar.
The first thing they did was pour hot green tea into my cup. Good thing, right? Not so when the tea heated up the cup enough that it took me about 5-10 minutes before it cooled down enough so I could pick it up and drink.
I got the regular sushi dinner (7 pieces + tuna roll?) with salad and miso soup. The salad was a bunch of lettuce with a light dressing. The dressing was perfectly light and it was good to eat some greens first, but it was the iceberg lettuce kind (or something like it) so I was a little bummed. The miso soup was good, but I didn't like whatever they did (or didn't do?) with the tofu. That was odd because I usually enjoy the tofu in miso soup.
So, when my sushi came, I was feeling okay but not super thrilled about the place.
First thing that caught my eye was the amount of tuna in the roll. There was more tuna than I'm used to AND it looked good! I picked it up with my sticks, dipped it into my soy sauce + wasabi, and put it in my mouth. Yum! I finished the rest of the roll and nigiri with pleasure.
Based on some recent reviews, it looks like I came there on a good night... and boy, am I glad! I get pretty upset when I get bad sushi and I dislike paying for bad food even more, so I'm really glad this place met (most of) my needs.
Gah! I can't take it anymore!
I tried so hard to hold out with Aoki. Given my negative review of Hana, I was *desperate* for a place nearby to go and get good sashimi. It had to be Aoki, right? It just had to be!
Well, I can't delude myself any longer. The salmon sashimi has been overly slimy and salty *every time* I've gotten it, to the point that it tastes a lot more like smoked salmon than fresh salmon. Smoked salmon is not what I ordered, and it's certainly not what I paid $25+ for in my sashimi plate.
I long for good sushi close to where I live. In fact, nearby sushi restaurants were major factors in… Read more »
What can I say, Sushi on Broadway..... scarce. Not much to choose from up here but they do have is this nice find; Aoki. Pleasently good and very fresh sushi, wonderful noodle dishes and decent prices. you cant ask for more. I've eaten here in the past but not as often as I would have liked but the limitied times we have dined here it has never dissapointed.
Great hospitality from the waiters to the sushi chefs makes you feel welcomed everytime. Not much more I can say but one thing; do come here. Fresh seafood, good prices and a wonderful staff. Also to mention that the wait is never long. For lunch its perfect! Normally we spend about 20$ and for dinner around 30-40$. Anyone that eats Japanese will tell you that the prices I have mentioned are normally more:)
This would have recieved a 5 star review but there are just a few better ones out there. None the less, still a great place to go. Do enjoy!
Aoki has some pretty good Udon and soba noodles while offering a pretty good japanese fare menu. Serving sizes are pretty decent. Their sushi is ok and the prices are reasonable.
One area they need to work on is service. The wait staff there tend to be either really busy or really slow. In either case, they don't pay that much attention to their patrons and you often have to try and flag one down to get something.
Haven't had sushi here in years, but I did stop in today for a great bowl of Chicken Soba (soup) & loved every $6.50 of it! It was simple but flavorful, esp. after I added exactly as much red pepper flavoring as I wanted AND green tea for free (what a concept, yes I'm talking to you Rikki Rikki).
You can get Udon or Soba noodles in a variety of their soup offerings (beef, chicken or veggies). Soba is $0.50 more.
Service was great, my tea & water glass was always full & the soup appeared quickly.
Aoki is good but not outstanding. The service is great. (I've hit it primarily for lunch.) Their selection is modest, and some of their selections are not the freshest. They generally lack higher-end nigiri options, like toro. They often have a wild salmon nigiri on special. It's great. Their ama-ebi and uni should be avoided. The tail does not pull cleanly with ama-ebi and it doesn't taste fresh. The uni I had there was almost inedible and it was not cheap.
All in all, this is a fine place if you stay basic in your selections (simple nigiri or rolls) or get lucky with a good special. Otherwise, head over to Chiso's in Fremont for better sushi, better ambience for a only a bit more money.
I really like this place. Shared a chef's choice once with a friend, which was great, then went back the other day for maguro nigiri, which totally hit the spot. This last time what I remember is the service. The server was so sweet! She took a personal interest in us, and worked hard to figure out the best dishes for my vegetarian friend. We were all pretty satisfied. Also, the prices are decent.
After a movie at the Harvard Exit we were craving some Japanese and this place is right around the corner. The Udon tasted like it came from a flavor packet and the accompanying tempura was way over breaded...like an inch of tempura batter. I ordered the tonkatsu which tasted fine until I was awoken at 3 am with the worst stomach cramps. You can imagine what followed....too much information?
Their selection of rolls was pretty standard, nothing sexy here. With the coming resurgence of Broadway (Poppy and Olivar), Aoki needs to put a little more effort into it's food.
The sushi here is good (not great) and the prices are reasonable.
The service needs a good kick in the pants but overall- this place is ok.
Serving sizes are decent and they've got some interesting stuff on the menu.
If you've got wheels- go to the International District and try Maneki.
Let me begin by saying I am a sushi snob. I travel a lot for work and my budget allows me to sample quite a few places. I'm also fairly stingy with my stars, so when I give Aoki 4 stars, it's a real compliment.
Their sushi and sashimi choices were not extensive, but what they did have was outstanding. For the same price, you may choose from 2 sushi pieces (with rice), or 3 sashimi pieces (no rice, but served on a bed of seaweed). The yellowtail was amazing. Melted in your mouth and really never "had" to chew. The super-white tuna, which is hard to find to begin with, was also a winner.
The primary driver behind not getting 5 stars is due to Aoki's variety. There was 1 fresh fish special, and it was salmon. Now i'm a sucker for a good copper river salmon or a sockeye, but it was just some coho. Also, if you're a roll person, you won't be assaulted with 20-30 choices and various, wacky combinations of ingredients, but again your normal fish in normal rolls and the option to get them made "spicy." (of note, you can get hand rolls too)
All in all, fantastic sushi, but be prepared for just your staples, albeit extremely well prepared. If you want more flair with your amazing fish, (and a typical 1 hour wait) go to Mashiko in West Seattle.
I came here last week for dinner with my two friends. We were seated imidatly in the corner and virtually ignored for the entire time. Any time we needed something we struggled with flagging down our waitress. That really sucked. We left annoyed at the lack of attention we go the entire time. I twice had to ask for more water.
Also the restaurant seemed to be pretty slow and rather empty too.
I came here as a group of six before heading off to karaoke on a Friday evening.
I ended up ordering…
Read more »
Okay, I've read through some of the previous reviews of Aoki. I can't really comment on the sashimi or much of the sushi. But for plain ol' Japanese food (udon, saba yaki, udonsuki, sukiyaki, etc.) this place is great. The service has been attentive every time I go, which is mostly during the lunch hour. Yoko, the waitress, never complains about doing separate checks, remembers your name pretty much after meeting you one time, and if you tend to order the same thing, she'll remember that, too. This is not super-fancy, high-end Japanese food that's served on delicate little dishes--but it sure hits the spot when I'm craving food indigenous to my peeps.
Good service. Liked the brown rice tea. The age dashi tofu and the gyoza were definitely worth it. Not as into the sushi/sashimi there but it wasn't bad either. Worth a try for sure.
I've only been a few times, but every time it's been nothing short of amazing.
Great sushi for an even better price. I suggest getting the wakame salad and miso soup and saki.
Low key japanese joint on the hill. I'm a big fan of the robata menu here - garlic fried rice, aji fry,agadashi tofu and gyoza are my top faves. Not really a sashimi fan but actually really like the super white tuna here. If you are looking for tempura or a katsu dinner, you'll like it here. Was here for dinner with friends tonight and everyone enjoyed their food. This place has been on the hill forever and it is way better than Hana's down the street. Affordable prices and service is always swift. Definitely on my list when I crave japanese.
After trying Aoki several years ago, I wasn't quite impressed with the atmosphere as I thought it was very stale and too quiet. After much deliberation, a friend in town and the fact it is just 2 blocks from my house, I decided to give it another try. I'm glad I did.
To be honest, anything outside of Oyaji in San Francisco is questionable. However, Aoki has now become my sushi hang. Since I got seated in the front room, I found the atmosphere pleasurable and service to be amiable and responsive. Katsu is bomb for anyone you may take that doesn't dig on the sushi. The sushi is, in my opinion pretty darn good. The selection is pretty awesome and decently priced, not to mention the sake and beer selection. This is now my preferred sushi restaurant in Seattle until further notice.
Super Great Service and food. A bit pricey.
Good sushi, decently priced, close to home...I would have to say this is the place I'd choose first on the hill for sushi because of the prices. Service is friendly, but you may have to wait a while for a table on Saturday nights (unless you make a res). I wouldn't suggest the udon, it's been too sweet both the times I've had it there, but the noodles, katsu, and sushi have been good each time.
Nothing very fancy, but nice to go for sushi. Not very expensive, and it has a nice modern look. The sushi is good.
We stumbled by this place and decided to give it a try a couple weeks ago. We think it's great! They are very prompt about refilling your tea. But not so fast about refilling your water.
I ordered the regular size sushi dinner. It came with 8 pieces of sushi and a tuna roll. It was delicious, all the fish was soft it felt like it melted in my mouth. But it was too much food for me!
We went to Aoki again last night because we were craving sushi and this is good sushi on the hill. It's worth the walk to the far end. We got tempura, spicy tuna roll and yellow fin sushi. Just like last time the fish was soft, I hate when it's chewy. yuck. But at Aoki it is always soft and smooth.
Like the sign in the window says, they need a waitress. We sat in the front at the only table with a window view, It was great fun people watching but I think we got forgotten.
Our sushi came out minutes after ordering, but we waited for a long time for our tempura. We were finished eatting everything else by the time the tempura came.
They seem to be a little short staffed for waitresses but have plenty of cooks standing around waiting to make your dinner.
Overall, it is close to my home, decently priced and pretty yummy.
I will probably be back within the month.
I used to love this place, but after 4 (!) mediocre to frankly weird tasting meals, I will never return. Now, 30 minutes after my last attempt at eating at Aoki, my stomach is upset, and so am I. That being said, the miso is fine and the water is cold. If you are okay with a drive, go to West Seattle at the Junction and try Mashiko - 5 star!
I've tried many a Japanese restaurant in Seattle. But I always come back to Aoki's. This place is consistently good, and the affordable price makes it even better. The staff is friendly, and many have been there for years, so the service is always good.
What I enjoy there: The lil salad that comes with the meal (it's cold, crispy and tangy!), Hamachi Kama, Oyakodon, Sukiyaki and sushi handrolls. There's always a little bit left to take home for later too.
It may not be the best Japanese restaurant, but the most consistent when it comes to a good meal. I have never left there disappointed.
Why oh why do you have to make such good Agedashi Tofu?
Everything else about this place stinks, literally. The Tea tastes like fish, the $4 small bowl of Edamame was cold and mushy, and the backroom we were seated in was worse than a broom closet.
Aoki clean up your act and let the Agedashi Tofu be your guide to greatness.
Simple. Bad service. Large flies. Slow dirty sushi chefs. Bad fish. And poorly constructed rolls (of bad fish served slowly and separately with flies).
This is the place I like to go on Broadway for sushi etc.
They have good agedashi tofu, and good spinach salad, and good green salad.
I am boring when it comes to sushi as I really only eat tuna and cucumber rolls. They are good here.
The tea is excellent.
And service is always stellar.
And they are great with kids. I've been here several times with my niece and nephew (who are both young sushi hounds) and they always get great treatment here.
It's okay...
Years back Aoki was a favorite of mine, but since I educated myself on quality sushi I realized there is better sushi out there for the same pricing. They also use farm raised fish and still have higher prices, another reason I stopped going.
Perhaps I'm a sushi snob? I guess living in San Francisco for the past two years has made me that way, as I have access to quality, fresh, flavorful and beautiful sushi within walking distance on any given day of the week.
Then again, AOKI, perhaps it just wasn't your day when I stopped by for dinner the other night?
Ambiance: good, clean, quaint; lots of Japanese propaganda on the walls for art pieces.
As for the sushi: I hate to say it, but I was less than impressed (though not repulsed). Hell, I was hungry, damnit! So of course I licked my plate clean, but out of satisfying the need of sheer primal hunger. The sashimi pieces weren't as precisely cut or prestinely plated, but I did enjoy the Unagi roll. Not sure I'd come here again, though.
Not bad, not spectacular either. Decent.
The service is kind and courteous, they never let my water cup get empty. The deep fried oysters are pretty tasty, but I was hoping for a more creative dipping sauce than the typical teriyaki sauce.
I ordered the California roll which comes as six pieces. Pay attention to what you order because there are two versions, seaweed inside and seaweed outside. FYI-The seaweed outside is slightly smaller than the seaweed inside. It's a decent California roll, but I've had better. For a little over 4 bucks, you get what you pay for.
I really enjoyed the spinach salad that I had. The spinach is steamed and blanched and covered in a delicious sauce. Also the pickles are tasty, but unfortunately they are overpriced. I can go to Uwajimayas and get jars of daikon and pickles for the price they charge at Aoki.
My friend Nisreen ordered another salad, which name escapes me at the moment, but it was tasty too. Sorry yelpers!
We were seated at a table that was pretty close to our neighbors, so I'm sure they could hear everything that we talked about. It was very healthy and more importantly delicious.
Great selection,
Decent prices,
Great service,
The tempura roll is wonderful and is definitely worth the trip.
The sushi is tasty, but it's overpriced for the experience. Just seemed like the portion sizes were really small and the dining atmosphere was uncomfortable, as in chairs that weren't good for sitting in. I wasn't very impressed and probably won't go back.
As others have said, the Agedashi Tofu is really good. I can't comment on the sushi or anything else really...I just like to go here for the Udon. Nice hot steaming bowl of Udon. The first time I came here was with one of our contractors who was originally from Seattle but had moved to the Bay area. The Tofu was great as was the Udon. I think we ordered a few rolls and they were probably good, but I honestly don't remember. All I remember was that I had a good meal here.
The only reason I don't go back is probably because whenever I get the urge for some noodles, I end up going to Pho.
This is our 'hey, let's go have sushi, no, too lazy to try a new spot' sushi joint. The atmosphere is not so fabulous, but we've never waited for more than a couple of minutes to get seated. It's such a narrow restaurant that the seating is either kind of cheek-by-jowl (one couple was close enough to us that when he began to gesture with his sake cup I started to fear for my hairdo) in the main area or banished to the echo-y back room.
However, the house sake's cheap and perfectly lovely (wish they served a dry house sake, though), the fish has never been anything but totally succulent (order yourself a treat: spicy tuna hand roll - a big cone of toothy goodness), and the genmaicha (green tea with toasted brown rice) they automatically pour you is very tasty and they have never let my cup run dry. It is disappointing that they don't serve fresh salmon, but the white tuna more than makes up for it. Overall, I think this restaurant is more than worth our once-a-month patronage.
My favorite sushi on the Hill.
Perhaps I'm biased from living close to it for a while, or for being a fan of mainly shrimp sushi - but I love Aoki.
Spinach and sesame salad? Awesome!
American roll? Besides having the most embarassing name to order in the sushi industry, it's my old standby! And great every time.
Tea? Always warm and soothing.
It could be that I'm just not a connoisseur of sushi, but I love Aoki - nice staff and tasty sushi. It's all I need.
Lately my husband and I have been coming here for Japanese food on the Hill. I've tried a variety of items off the menu - robata, udon, and sushi. They're all tasty. My husband really likes the Salmon Teriyaki. He orders it everytime we go there.
The service is great too. The waitstaff is really attentive and nice.
I went to dinner here with my boyfriend last night and am kicking myself for not trying this place sooner.
The atmosphere is great. The wait staff was friendly and prompt. The tea was lovely and frequently replenished. Most importantly, the sushi was good and inexpensive. Honestly, the extent of my sushi has experience has been at the expensive sushi restaurants in Belltown (i.e. Saito's, Wasabi Bistro, ect) and I was happy to find delicious and affordable sushi near my home. I was pleasantly surprised by Aoki and will definitely be going back again!
UPDATE: I've been here at least 7 times and it's always great. This is my spot for sushi on The Hill!
Given the (shocking) dearth of sushi -- quality or otherwise -- on Capitol Hill, I'm surprised at how harsh many of the other reviews are.
First, a bit about me. While I've had my share of sushi in my day, I'm by no means the World's Biggest Sushi Eater. I'm still pretty sure that every time I go into a sushi restaurant I do something that would make Mr. Sushi-san himself roll over in his grave ("He's dipping the whole nigiri -- rice and all -- into his soy sauce! NOOOOOOOO!") Still, I do loves me some raw fish, and as an East Coast transplant I'm still surprised by the quality, availability, and relatively low price of durned near everywhere I've tried in Seattle.
Aoki is no exception. I recently had a couple of rolls and a few pieces of nigiri. The rolls were solid -- pretty much what I'd expect. I didn't like the alfalfa sprouts in the Broadway Roll, but, well, that's just my taste. I'll know not to order it next time. The nigiri was generous, my one complaint being that the tuna showed the bright pink of CO2 treatment ... not my favorite, as it's indicative that the fish isn't the freshest, but it's not like that's uncommon, even in Seattle.
It may be a little overpriced, and if you're looking for something Really Good, Aoki ain't it. But if you're on the Hill, don't feel like schlepping to another neighborhood, and can't make it yourself, Aoki's probably your place for sushi. I mean -- what -- you going to go to Hana? Ugh.
Decent prices. I love coming here, but it isn't the best sushi place in town. It IS waaaaay better than the cheap sushi place next to the Rite Aid.
Beware that the salmon sushi will usually be smoked if you don't ask first.
I liked Aoki more when they still served grilled rice balls.
Everyone seems to have a favorite at this place, here's mine:
Superwhite tuna!
It's delicious. It's like white tuna, only fattier and buttery tasting (in a good way). And I've never seen it served anywhere else, so there's definite bonus points for that.
Otherwise, this place is pretty average. If I had a big hankering for sushi and sake, I'd go some place else. But if you're standing right in front of it and you're hungry, it's better than a lot of places in Capitol Hill.
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Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Happy Hour - $3 and Up…
Seattle, WA
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Category: Asian Fusion
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Category: Lounges
Neighborhood: First Hill
Category: Sushi Bars
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