Rikki Rikki A Japanese Restaurant
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
35 Reviews for Rikki Rikki A Japanese Restaurant
When I am craving for sushi and do not want to travel, I will go to this restaurant. Otherwise, I won't miss much.
Not just another sushi place in Seattle. Okay fine, it really is just another sushi place in Seattle, but it's really good. It's big and spacious which is near slanderous considering the best sushi is always served in cramped places. The "big" restaurant feel is at first surprising, but very welcoming. The food is not mind blowing, but it's confident and tasty. Lunch specials are generously portion, but more expensive than a typical lunch special, about 9.99 and up. Its late evening operating hours is a truly welcomed novelty for the Eastside. After all, when that 9pm craving for sushi hits few things in life are harder ignore.
I was a bit thrown off from the soft jazz that was playing...Sure, there was a time I enjoyed listening to Kenny G. But that was before I realized that I actually wanted friends and wanted girls to like me.
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This place has alright sushi; food is good, quality is good, but nothing that made me craving to go back for more.
Parking is always a pain; it's a tiny parking lot that shares with several other stores. You fight traffic to get there, then be prepared to fight for parking.
Atmosphere is good, food is good, but for all the trouble it's worth there are other places I'd prefer to go for better sushi.
I luv sushi and this is just okay... Izumi's rocks, this place is for those that need a sushi fix and need it now... close to where they are. Not bad but definitely not great or cheap!!
By far one of my favorite sushi restaurants, and I eat A LOT of sushi. Not sure why some people don't like it-- but I guess everyone has different tastes!
This place is close to me, which is a plus, but I would definitely choose it over many restaurants in Seattle as well. I usually go on a Friday or Saturday, and it is busy, but we've never had to wait too long. I always order the same thing, and it is always just filling enough to keep me satisfied, but not STUFFED. They do use more fish than normal, and it is delicious! It's also nice that the rolls look different depending on who makes them, etc. It's not the same fish to rice ratio every single time, but I sort of appreciate that. It's not cookie cutter.
Love their green tea as well. I really have nothing bad to say about this place, but yet, I do order the same thing every time!
Also-- The Rikki roll is AMAZING! (All veggies, and avocado, yum!)
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so we wanted sushi and a movie....the movie was a bust...but the sushi it was just OKAY.
i actually think maybe i set my expectations too high. I feel like i'm missing out with this sushi thing...i just haven't found a place that i LOVE yet....help, yelp!
anyways the 'happy hour' discount was nice..we ate before 6pm and our waitress was too cute...super friendly and very quick...
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Went here a couple weeks ago with somewhat high expectations but I might have set it too high, having heard all the rave reviews. Plainly put, it was just OK. Everything was fresh and well made but like one reviewer mentioned, there was just no taste in the dishes at all. The sushi was average, nothing to rave about for me. I did like the cali rolls though because they had fresh snow crabs.
The place itself is kind of reminiscent of a diner a la japanese accents. Service was fine. Good for casual, reasonably priced simple sushi dining. Some deals on specific days too.
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I'm never fond of restaurants in a mall but this one is a must for sushi lovers! If you can get past the 'Nagel-esque' you'll be fine. Maybe someone should suggest they play Duran Duran to match the decor.
Decor is rather.... 80's but just get your sushi fix out of the way then go somewhere else for drinks or catch a movie afterward next door or hit the gym around the corner.
Every bite melts in your mouth. Price is fair as well.
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I am giving Rikki Rikki 4 stars b/c good sushi on the eastside is hard to find. I went last night and ordered 4 rolls and was stuffed beyond belief...I have no concept of what I can eat! Anyway the rolls were good and the waitress was nice and super fast. The bigger tables or booths are nice and behind a rice paper barrier which I thought was cool. However there was a hobbit sitting next to me that I could have killed b/c apparently this grown man didn't take his ADD meds! Making fart sounds with his mouth, whistling and using his chop sticks as drum sticks against the table. Seriously. If that little man is reading this beware b/c you are on my list!
Other then being delicious you must beware that you will smell like fried food when leaving. Weird for a sushi place but whatever.
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One word: uninspired.
On the website's sushi menu, they proudly claim that "your sushi dollars go farther at Rikki Rikki! We use a higher-than-average fish to rice ratio!" I can't help but think that they've missed the mark with their goals.
Yeah, the cuts of fish are generous. They don't taste or smell weird. The rolls are well-made and there's a good variety. But everything was just okay, and the fish didn't really have any flavor, which was just bizarre.
But this place did save me when I was driving around all of Redmond looking for a place that served sushi after 9pm and ended up going to Kirkland instead. $2.95 drinks, $3.95 gyoza, $4.95 rolls, and other good stuff. I got enough food for 2 meals for less than $20.
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This place is decent for fullfilling your sushi craving. The decor is kind of suggests it could be apart of a chain.. but the service is good. The place is busy but not crowded.
I tried their ankimo (because I love it). It's a standard appetizer and you definetely get a big bang for your buck. It's $8 for a heap. I also tried two of their rolls.. spicy yellowtail roll and paradise roll. Both were pretty good.. not totally innovative.. but solid.
I would definetely go here again if I was looking to fill my sushi cravings cheaply. And you get a 20% discount if you have a special card.
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My favorite sushi restaurant in Kirkland. The ratio of fish to rice on the sushi is especially large, so if that bugs you you might not like it. I've always found them to be very friendly and helpful.
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First time I ate here was on a blind date which ended in sex in their parking lot, standing up. But that's another story. I recently returned with my wife last week. The food is still good (I ordered all the sushi available, and a few cooked items) but not extraordinary. Portions by some's standards maybe large, I found them average. Staff are efficient but not overly outgoing or friendly. Honey shrimp are good. Everything's fresh. Not a bad place to go if you're in Kirkland and crave sushi. I prefer I Love Sushi on Lake Union.
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I went to Rikki Rikki on a recent trip to the Seattle area & fell in love. The service was warm, friendly & the sushi was phenominal.
I particularly loved the scallop & crab maki & nearly exploded after stuffing my face long past being full. I look forward to eating there again on my next visit.
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Okay, I've never really been to a Japanese restaurant where you have family style dinners. I mean you either order sushi or a bento box. Even in a hibachi type its individual plates. So I was taken by surprise when I saw Honey Glazed Walnut Shrimp and Steak & Shrimp dinner to share with a group of people. It was nice to try different kinds of food and just share. This was a different kind of Japanese restaurant and you knew it when you walked in and the desserts??? Mini eclairs with mochi and whip cream - very different! Okay, I deducted one star for two reasons, first the sushi prices were really expense and second because the manager was obsessed with the menu, I mean we asked one menu to keep at the table just in case we wanted to order more food and every couple of minutes she tries to snatch it away from me - when I finally gave it to her after we ordered the dessert, I thought she was going to have an orgasm!
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Can't beat the location, especially if you are seeing a movie. More parking than your average Kirkland restaurant, since you're at Parkplace. We used to go here quite a bit, mostly for the sushi rolls and sashimi. Nothing stellar, but good fresh fish. Last two visits have been pretty mediocre, especially if we veer off from our standard orders. The last few non-sushi entrees we've had were not good...perhaps the difference between dishes prepared in the kitchen vs. those prepped by the sushi chefs? I had a cooked fish that was ...way too fishy for me. Daughter had a thai chicken entree that was either just too middle of the road, or perhaps not good. Safer to stick to the sushi rolls!
I try not to minimize life on the Eastside, but if Rikki Rikki is the sushi highlight, I won't be able to resist much longer.
We wandered from the familiar due to a request for "someplace new", with the added need for a tatami room. They do have 3, but they'll need more than that to get me in the door very often.
I will say that the service was great (but isn't that like saying: "Great Costumes!" to your actor friend about her performance?). The server came in with a couple of comp deserts, apologizing for slower than usual service. I don't think any of us had noticed anything particularly irregular. It was a nice gesture though.
Not that the food was bad, but it didn't have that ecstasy producing edge I get in my favorite sushi places. There were a few dishes I'd highly recommend, however. The grilled mackerel was scrumptious, but it is entirely possible that this is due more to Mackerels than their prep. The Smoked Salmon, Paradise and Devil rolls were terrific, but kinda spendy. They served Monk Fish liver more like sashimi, and it was quite good. A couple of people tried it in spite of "name resistance" and were surprised at how mild and tasty it was.
We weren't particularly extravagant in our ordering as there were a couple of folks who stuck to tempura & chicken, but were surprised that the bill for 7 people was $250. My son's microsoft prime card was a boon in that it got us 20% off, which decreased it to $200, but it still seemed a bit more expensive than we expected for what we ate.
All in all, it was pleasant, tasty & fun, but I think I'm sticking to the city for my habit maintenance.
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A friend of mine has the fun pleasure of being located on the wrong side of the bridges when happy hour time rolls around- so for once we made the trek to her. For sushi happy hour we located Rikki Rikki. It was pretty empty when we arrived at 5 and we had our choice of seats- we of course located ourselves in the best people watching location. The happy hour menu was 2.95 mixed, sake, wine, and beer drinks- reasonable enough- and the food was 3.95 with 4.95 rolls. More than a few variations to choose from makes for happy eaters. Using advice we all ordered the Tuna Poke. Result= I now dream of the Tuna Poke and I am plotting to go back and order the dish ever half hour. It was that good. Melt in your mouth good with a kick of spice and tongue dancing flavors. The spicy tuna rolls was also a winner along with the crunch roll- though the carrot in it had a weird taste we could not identify. Cute interior and nice enough staff. Pretty crowded as we left. Noticed the Yelp sticker on the entrance as we excited and it all made sense :)
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Rikki Rikki popped my sushi cherry, and they were gentle about it.
The service was spectacular: we were seated right away, the waitress was kind and helpful, and the staff was more than happy to wait patiently for us to finish our debate (on the current age of consent) before we ordered dessert.
As a sushi n00b, I can highly recommend the sake (salmon) and maguro (tuna) nigiri (laid on rice - not a roll). They're easy on the palate. The unagi (eel) roll was also delicious, and the tobiko (flying fish eggs) were hilarious and strange as they popped in my mouth. For dessert, try the ice cream (mango, strawberry and/or chocolate, with rice paper) or the green tea and ginger creme brule. Yum!
This place is somewhat pricey: the bill for three of us was about $80, which included a la carte items, a sushi platter, three drinks and two desserts, but an "Entertainment card" gets you a twenty percent discount.
Whether you've never had a "sushi experience" or are an old pro, Rikki Rikki is friendly, helpful, and non-judgmental. I'll definitely go there again with my sushi-loving friends!
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Good sushi. There are two Happy Hour specials and they don't mix & match: one is valid only at the bar & the other is valid for sit-down food. Spicy Hamachi Roll was good. Hamachi Nigiri was o.k. Wait times can be a little longer when they get busy but service was friendly.
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Great sushi.
You must try the Honey Walnut Shrimp Appetizer (Amazing)
The Devil roll is also quite tasty.
I usually get the salmon sashimi which is always fresh.
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Rikki Rikki is my favorite Sushi restaurant on the Eastside. The salmon and yellowtail tuna are their best fish -- very very fresh and large portions. The best appetizer is the honey walnut butterfly shrimp -- my family and I sometimes come here just for that! The flying fish eggs are also good (if you're into that).
I think the menu is somewhat limited compared to some other local sushi places, not much variation among the sushi rolls, and the decor is fine, but the food quality really puts it on top.
And hey, if you have a Prime Card, they'll give you a free bottle of Rikki Rikki sauce/dressing.
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Fresh fish, recently expanded, not so cheap though - but it's worth it.
Fun fact - they opened almost 20 years ago, and nailed their decor on the first try. The place looks both the same for 20 years and fresh & modern? What is this pixellated manga magicss?!
..oh yeah - tempura ice cream. Not like the tempura on the veggies, but more cake like, surrounding a chilled earth-like-core of ice cream. good.
.....and they've been selling their salad dressings in all the grocery stores in the area for at least 15 years, though they recently changed the branding to something independent. (and their main flavor title: used to be Wasabi dressing, now "Asian Ranch". Pure marketing genius I tell you)
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The misses wanted to grab a nice meal before catching a red eye to Louisiana shortly after Apocalyptic Disaster 2006 - but, of course, our first three picks along the 405 corridor were closed. Running short on time and desperate for something better than airplane food after three days without power, we even considered a couple chains that happened to be open, but the gods spared us by intervening with hour long waits and half-stocked kitchens at TGI Fridays. And then, just as airplane food was starting to sound acceptable we passed Rikki Rikki and decided to give it a shot. Completely random.
The sushi was of an expected quality. The unfiltered saki recommendation was superb. But what made Rikki Rikki memorable was the wait staff. Despite the stresses of irritable masses worn ragged by days without power and desperate for a seat in one of the few open restaraunts, the waitress was friendly, helpful and accomodating. We told her we had twenty minutes to eat and she made a point of providing exceptional service. We enjoyed three rolls of sushi, two glasses of saki and the welcome warmth of miso soup and were out the door in record time - and yet, thanks to the service, it felt completely relaxed and comfortable without the worries of being rushed.
Next time I'm in Kirkland I'll definitely stop by and spend a proper amount of time enjoying their food. I am certainly sold on their service.
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Rikki Rikki is one of the better East Side Sushi restaurants. It has a modern look to the inside with some good specialty rolls.
My coworker and I normally frequent this place on Friday's for a weekly lunch. The Mariner roll is always on order for us. The California Rolls are made with real crab meat. A great alternative to the California is the Crab and Scallop Roll.
The biggest downside is the high prices and the hit and miss staff. Some days we get great service, others, it's a little questionable.
If you are looking for a nice place to go have Sushi in Kirkland, then Rikki Rikki is probably the best choice.
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You know, I was underwhelmed. I recently started working in Kirkland, and when a friend came to have lunch with me we went across to Park Place and deciided on Japanese.
My friend had the lunch bento, I had the lunch sushi combination. While the sushi was nice enough, my 3 pieces of cucumber roll, 2 prawn sushi and 4 pieces of tempura prawn roll really didn't cut it for the $10 price. Seriously: I expected more to eat! The quality was all right for being on the Eastside, but nothing that had my tastebuds singing. Service was perfunctory. The dining room was very loud too and distracting -- and there weren't a lot of people there, so it wasn't a volume thing, it was an empty drum thing if you know what I mean.
I expected more, especially for the price. We'll try something else the next time.
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In the past few years, Kirkland has exploded with new sushi restaurants. In Juanita, within one block, there are three. Seriously... why? In the past 5 years I have lived in Kirkland, the one standard is Rikki Rikki. I love this place. The staff is super friendly, the place is always packed, and it's definitely a controlled chaos. I have never had a sushi roll there that I didn't like. They have dressing there for their salads that are tasty and unique, and they sell them at QFC too! This is a great place for big groups too. I reserved one of the back rooms (which are awesome.. quiet, private, etc) for both a birthday and Valentine's day, and it was a hit with everyone there. They have great non-sushi items too for those who may not like sushi (which I will never understand). They get 5 stars for being very kid friendly..they brought my then two year old nephew training chopsticks and he ate like a champ (he is a chopstick master). The kids meal selections are great and the portions are huge. The sushi is always tasty, and I always know when I go to Rikki Rikki I will enjoy my experience. :)
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Always yummy! Not a quick in and out type place so be prepared to linger if it's busy. BUT, you can get an order 'to go' in the time it takes you to walk over to Parkplace Books, browse some magazines and walk back. Call ahead for the cool rooms enclosed by shoji screens.
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I hate Kirkland, but I do like this restaurant. The atmosphere in this place is great... a really fun modern design. The staff is friendly and both times I've been there the things I've ordered have been good.
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Fresh fish, unique rolls and large selection of fruity cocktails with some that come with a plastic monkey on the rim. The dim lights and bar by the entrance gives this sushi place a very hip club feel to it. Downside is the crowd, pricey sushi and fighting for parking space with 24hr fitness.
I went for lunch, and ordered a spicy tuna roll, the pec 'n roll, and an order of unagi. I thought a teriyaki chicken roll was unique, but it wasn't the best (dry and boring - maybe better with avocado). The unagi and spicy tuna was ok but not the best I've tried.
The atmosphere was interesting.
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Jeez, is this the best the East side can do? It's crowded, noisy, cramped and rushed. Not exactly my idea of how you should have sushi. The rolls were OK and drinks took forever.
An excellent Japanse restaurant. The food is plentiful and good if a little bit overpriced. It's a little cramped for my tastes but still serves a good dinner.
Food is great, ambiance is cool, but the prices are pretty high. Still a great place hang, I always go for one of the Bento boxes. This is a good spot if you are hitting a movie in Park Place. ...an alternative to this one is Blue Fish in downtown Kirkland
ADDED 06/10/2008
Don't like it as much, had terrible service in the bar this week and the prices are still higher than many other choices nearby....I'm taking away a star!
I've been going to Rikki Rikki for years and they never disappoint. It's 3 minutes off of I-405 in downtown Kirkland. They've newly renovated/expanded (within the last year) and have added a hip little bar, where they offer a "Sushi Hour" M-F, 3-6pm and Su-Th, 9-10pm, Fri-Sa, 10-midnight. $2.95 drink specials and $1.50/pc nigiri sushi (limited menu). -A quick bite before a movie next door. Dinners are a bit pricey, but your belly will leave happy. :)
www.rikkirikki.com
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