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Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
13206 Bothell Everett HwyMon-Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Mon-Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Aside from the fact that it's not such a big space, I love the ambience and setting of the restaurant.
Not to mention the service is great, they're all really friendly.
It's a lower class version of Wasabi Bistro, because it's not as expensive but the quality and portion sizes of the rolls are very similar. I tried Uni (Sea Urchin) for the first time, let's just say it was an interesting experience. Definitely, better than I was expecting and a lot more appealing, lol.
And not to mention, they're Sake is pretty delicious as well.
I've been here at least 4 or 5 times, I also don't know how the hell this place has such high ratings. The sushi was good seriously like 6 yrs ago or something.
The last 2 times I've been there have sucked. 2 yrs ago I stopped by and was very disappointed, but a few days ago the man had a hankering for sushi and it was the only place close by that was opened until 10, so really I had no choice. I was really hoping that this time after a nice long hiatus the food would be better, nope- just as bad as before.
The sushi rice was too soggy, and seemed like it wasn't even prepared correctly-like they used soggy, mushy plain white rice cooked in the rice cooker. Also, the worse part-the rolls came out warm. All the fish in and on the rolls were really, really warm, like it was sitting out for 15 to 20 mins warm. Not a pleasant experience.
The good thing is that the rolls were easy to eat because they weren't huge, but they weren't special or anything. The Medusa sucked. The negi hama roll inside was lackin the negi part (green onion), and it just was blah.
The only roll I enjoyed was the dynamite, and I don't like cooked fish- but compared to everything else, it was the best.
You would hope that one of the only actual "Japanese" owned and ran restaurant would have good sushi & rolls, but no. I guess I'm stuck eating sushi prepared by koreans & mexicans, who compared to this place have not let me down as much.
I will never go back there, but then again I shouldn't be expecting it to be on par with nishinos & shiros. Still no excuse to be serving warm fish, and using plain white rice (that's soggy to be the least!) to roll rolls.
I have been here 2-3 times. The ambiance is nice, updated decor and nice earth tone colors. The servers are nice and attentive. The sushi is above average and the Udon soup is good.
I don't understand how this restaurant gets so high rating.
My wife and I have been to Sushi Zen three times. The first time, we had some sushi and rolls. The rolls are okay; they make more Americanized rolls (aka Korean rolls) which put a lot of stuff and sauce, and basically erase the fish taste. So, the rolls are fine (still not that great). Sushi pieces are too big and also tasted very fishy. Ika (squid) was like rubber, and Uni (sea urchin) was uneatable.
We went there two more times (over the years) because they usually receive such a high rating here and other online restaurant review sites. We thought maybe we went on a bad day or ordered wrong stuff. Thought we should give another chance (twice).
Well, we were wrong (to give two more chances). We ordered some sushi and rolls, and the quality were basically the same as the first visit. I ordered some cooked food like Sukiyaki which was nothing like authentic Sukiyaki. The meat was so thick (it should be very thin sliced) and put wrong vegetables like carrots that don't go with Sukiyaki. It was also too sweet (too much sugar in it). Tempura was so soggy (it should be crispy). Every thing else we had was very bland and nothing memorable.
Well, I may be a little picky and critical for Japanese food because I'm Japanese (born and raised in Tokyo), but I've been living in U.S. for almost 18 years (lived Miami, Chicago and NYC before). So, I'm used to having Americanized Japanese food. I love Korean sushi places. Sushi Zen reminds me of Japanese restaurants in Miami back in the early 90's (which means nothing really Japanese about it). My wife is American (from NYC) and she didn't like any of their dishes either.
Shiro's Sushi and Nishino are the only restaurants that serve excellent sushi in Seattle metro. Fuji Sushi in International District is decent (but the service is not so great). For the Korean sushi rolls, I'd recommend Rolls & Roll in Bellevue, which offers more variety of unique rolls (about 100 of them) and better quality than Sushi Zen.
We love this place, I would go here once a week if I could! The Las Vegas roll is delicious, can't find another roll like it anywhere else. The service is very friendly, and they recognize you after the first visit. They are very kid friendly, the chefs always make it a point to give my nephew a hard time everytime we bring him. Highly recommend this place.
I thought the sushi here was good. There are other places that are better in the area but not much up north. If you live in the Mill Creek or Everett area your Sushi choices are limited. I can tell you there are three other Sushi places in the immediate area near Mill Creek. Hana is very good, Wasabi Bay and N'Joy are garbage. But overall the place is pretty good. Its packed often so its hard to get a seat but again the rolls are interesting and they have a wide variety.
Reviews were great, sort of tuck away across Safeway
Service = Decent,
Ambiance = Plasma had a game going, my bad
Food = Fried oyster was a big disappointment, sashimi definitely wasn't impressive.
Price = $$$
Crowd = quite popular, which surprised me considering Njoy is down the street
Personal Favorite = Sake!
Worst = n/a
Meal for two = 70
Final Say = Njoy baby!
OH. MY. GAWD. Who would have thought the absolute best sushi in the greater Seattle area would be in a Safeway strip mall in Mill Creek!?!
No Kidding, this place is off the charts fresh. If I didn't know any better, I would say that they are catching the fish, cutting and serving it right off the boat!
The presentation was fabulous! The fish all melted in your mouth, not just the Hamachi! And even the salmon which I usually can do without, was mouth watering delicious!
They had a modest selection of nigiri/sashimi and a huge selection of different rolls. They have a whole section just on their signature rolls, which all seem to all be a tempura fried roll of some sort. My friend and I tried the Seattle Tempura roll and it was yummy!!
Usually I like a large selection of rolls, but the fish was so fresh, I felt like I was wasting my time ordering the rolls when I can be enjoying such exquisite fish. This is not to say that the rolls were at all bad either! They were yummy... Well except for the seafood bake one. Not so much of a fan of that one.
What I love most about this place is how you can get a fresh, exquisite meal with friendly service and all for a reasonable price.
This is my new found love. I will treasure it always! I will definitely be back for more!
Five stars for FAB-U-LOUS!
I've eaten here several times. Best place to be is at the sushi bar, especially if the chef from Okinawa is working. Sushi is great. I'll keep going back now and then.
Sushi is good but not the world's best..
the feng shui and art design of the place is really inviting.. including the big flat screen tv on the back.
everytime i've gone there with family or dates they were busy..
their tereyaki seemed bland and their yakisoba chicken was very so so..
very popular place. i'm thinking because its a nice lookin restaurant; friendly service and very clean!
WHAT I DO LOVE so everly much is the FRIED ICE CREAM! it's to die for! I want to make it at home so bad.. since this place is all the way up in the boonies..
prices are a little yaya.. but your paying for the experience as well..
nice atmosphere. just needs better food..
but the ice cream.. oh yeah! delicious..
I did read these reviews today before going to dinner here tonight. I'm not sure if folks went here on a bad night or when they were in a hurry, but I was pleasantly surprised and happy with the crew tonight. I was almost swayed by some of the not-so-great reviews and I almost went somewhere else, but I'm glad I kept an open mind on this one. Being part Japanese and having grown up on this stuff, I think I feel pretty confident in my judgment here.
I had several nigirisushi - ikura w/quail egg, sake, saba, hamachi, amaebi w/heads - and the ume boshi/shiso roll, and the natto roll. All were absolutely excellent! The sashimi pieces were ample, and I was quite impressed with the fact this place had natto! It was well prepared - if you're into natto!! LOL
My boyfriend had the maguro, ika, Mill Creek roll, the California roll, and the Spicy Tuna roll. He was very pleased with all, although the spicy tuna roll could have been spicier. I did try the Mill Creek roll, and it was unusual and quite good, despite the fact it didn't have much raw fish in it - when I go to have sushi and sashimi, I'm not going for the cooked stuff.
It is dimly lit and it's part of the atmosphere. I didn't find anything unfavorable about that or the whole place. The service was good and I didn't get anything I didn't expect or accept in that regard. I've been to two other sushi places within a 3 mile radius of this place, and this one is the best thus far. Comparing the three though, it's really all in what you are looking for, and how much you are willing to pay for it. I wouldn't label this place as super expensive or super cheap. The prices were pretty much what you would expect at most decent sushi bars.
Also, the more exotic your choice on the menu, the more expensive it is.
Sushi Zen is open on Sundays for dinner, if you're jonesin' for sushi on a Sunday night. Not many sushi places are open on Sundays.
I was very impressed and they will definitely see me there again!
Went on Halloween - the staff was all dressed up. Not a lot of people were there, probably out drinking it up in bars. The vibe was laidback and our server was very nice. My friend and I ordered a few different rolls and liked them all. The prices were quite good too! I'm happy that I know of this place because I was wondering if there were any decent sushi restaurants up north. Whoopie!
Another one of my son's favorite restaurants... and one of mine. We love this place. This was my son's choice for his birthday dinner. It was originally recommended to us when we were scouting out a decent sushi place to provide sushi for our wedding. It took us nearly three years to finally try it out. I wish we had tried it sooner!
We've never had a bad experience here. I LOVE their baked seafood over their California roll. It's a bit spicy... even my son loves it! We also order the Seattle roll, their tempura and the chicken salad. We stay away from raw fish because of the kids... so I can't really comment on the quality of their sushi grade fish. But I look forward to a night out just so I can try it.
The kid's meals are great... we order one between the two kids and they get a good size bowl of Udon, Tempura (including one shrimp), and 3 California rolls all for around $5.
I also like the relaxed atmosphere and that it is rarely difficult to get seated. I do wish they had child friendly cups... but we just bring our own when we know we are going to dine here.
Oh and the bonus is that it's about five minutes from our house... before we had to drive all the way to Seattle to enjoy sushi.
I have to give Sushi Zen 5 stars - it's my first time reviewing it and it's been my favorite for years! And every time I take a friend there, they're very impressed.
Besides traditional sushi offerings, their menu has some very interesting rolls that other restaurants try to mimick with little success. My favorites include the baked seafood over cali roll, las vegas roll, and stuffed tomato.
In addition, before they bring your sushi out to you, they serve you free apps, such as seaweed salad, goma ae, and/or edamame.
This is a very clean restaurant and I've never experienced bad service here.
Sushi Zen is my favorite place to have lunch in the North End. I was nervous taking a job in Bothell, because of my perceived lack of good ethnic restaurants up here, but have thus far been pleasantly surprised.
Although Sushi Zen is a bit of a drive from Bothell for a lunch-break excursion, it is always worth the trip for me. The sushi is always delicious and fresh, but what I really come for are their lunch bentos. They're only $7.95!! And delicious!! OMG!1!!1
Sushi Zen is cute, clean and the staff is always friendly and attentive. I'm not 100% sold on their dinner menu (a bit on the pricey side and not enough variety IMO) but their lunch is what keeps me coming back.
When I found out we were moving up north, my first thought was "but what about the restaurants?!" I, too, thought that to live in Snoho would mean giving up quick and tasty access to fun food. We've found some places on our own, but it took a friend living in Bellevue to tell us about Sushi Zen.
You can't go wrong with this little strip mall gem. There's decent variety on the menu, the rolls have entertaining names and were delicious, and we also enjoyed the complimentary seaweed salad and edamame. I loved the Medusa Roll and my friend favored the White Christmas (??) Roll.
In my efforts to not drive down to Seattle every time I feel a bit restaurant deprived, I'm very happy to have Sushi Zen in my backyard!
Just okay...
It started off nicely as we were seated promptly and served our beverage and complimentary edamame. We order three items off the menu and in a normal amount of time, they arrived. Not too impressed with the presentation and I notice that my stuffed pumpkin wasn't orange but rather pink. After poking at it a bit to make sure it wasn't my eyes, I asked the server and he confirmed it was tuna, thus being a stuffed tomato. He say that they'll make the right one and bring it out. So we started on our rolls which were okay. 5 pieces per roll, rice was good but the wasn't must substance to the inside. Halfway through our rolls, they came and took our food away saying the chef wanted it back. How weird. We were left with a puzzled look. They brought it back with the new stuffed pumpkin but now the wrong one was gone. I'm guessing they must have saved it for themselves later. The food was so so overall and the price was fair. But I'm not sure I would go back any time soon.
Good sushi in Mill Creek? Yup, it's true! I used to live around the corner, and Zen was a favorite, especially when they used to have their happy hour special. There's nothing too crazy here, but solid spicy tuna, philly, etc all with great service. It isn't the fanciest, but it's clean and overall pretty nice looking.
My friends never believe me when I tell them I have good sushi at my doorstep. I hear "but Everett?". It's great to take them and show them that yes it's really good and fresh. The best day is after market day of course but I never fear eating here. I've been a regular for 5 or 6 six years and it's been a staple. Other places try to come close but for Everett it reigns as the best. Someone mentioned the staff and they really add to the place. Always friendly, welcoming and helpful.
Found this place through an Entertainment book coupon. Service is good/friendly and the restaurant is clean and tastefully decorated.
They first brought out a bowl of edamame and small dishes of cucumber salad, which were nice freebie appetizers.
Both my mom and I ordered the bento boxes (she got salmon teriyaki and I got beef teriyaki) for dinner. At roughly $18 and $19, respectively, we were kind of expecting a litte more meat. My mom got a tiny chunk of salmon and I got about 8 small slices of beef. Still, it comes with miso soup, 3 gyozas, 6 (!) California rolls, a ball of rice, and tempura, which was actually a lot. I couldn't finish mine...
I also ordered unagi (freshwater eel sushi) which was tasty, but a little pricey at $4.75 for two pieces.
In conclusion, it was pretty expensive but the food was still tasty and the service was good.
Good quality fish, a warm atmosphere, very attractive presentation and prompt and consistent service made my experience deserving of a repeat. I like elaborate rolls and plenty of nigiri, so i dropped about 70 bucks for two people after tip. the ONLY thing i have to complain about was the size of the cuts of fish on the nigiri. I'm just used to bigger cuts where the fish actually covers the rice and at least touches the plate. Overall though, a very worthy little sushi place.
This is a very good place for sushi. The other dishes I have tried are also very good. They have a "Mill Creek Roll" which is fun, and they have nice and big, fresh cuts that you can experience properly if you like Nigiri. If you live up north, definitely make the short drive to try it out.
They deserve 5 stars for their service. The sushi itself is decent but not as good as everyone suggests, but then again, we did not try any of their house specials. The decor is nice for a strip mall location. The best thing about our dinner was our waitor. It was enjoyable to speak to him because he was so polite.
Special!
Mill Creek, WA
All You Can Eat
Everett, WA
Mill Creek, WA
Category: Sushi Bars
Mill Creek, WA
Category: Sushi Bars
Bothell, WA
Category: Sushi Bars
Mill Creek, WA
Category: Mexican
Bothell, WA
Category: Restaurants
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