Domo Shiro for the Sushi

Seattle, WA

Belltown

Want to try the best sushi in the world?  It may be hard if you can't get reservations at Jiro's Michelin three star restaurant in Tokyo, but you can settle for his apprentice Shiro!  Shiro's is the closest that Markus and I will ever get to Jiro's dream of sushi, but we will survive.  

If you are in for an adventure, get in line at Shiro's early and wait to sit at the bar.  The bar has limited space, but you will have one of the sushi chef's and possibly even Shiro himself preparing your dinner.  If you aren't sure what to order, try omakase where the chefs will choose what sushi you will eat.  Just tell them what you don't like or what you can't eat, and they will cater you to a delicious experience.  It is a bit pricey, but it is definitely worth it.  

Shiro himself making my sushi!

Be ready to have to wait.  There are only 11 seats at the bar and there are roughly three rounds of seatings at the sushi bar starting at 5:30 PM.  The first seating is at open, the second is roughly about an hour and a half after that, and the final seating is around 9PM.  Make sure that you get in line early if you want to eat at the bar.  There are always reservations available at the tables, but we definitely recommend the bar for a foodie adventure.

Waiting for the sushi bar!

All the sushi was prepared in front of us with the freshest ingredients.  Everything tasted amazing.  If you have never had sushi before, don't be timid to try it.  The idea of raw fish turns a lot of people off but, sushi is not very fishy tasting if you use the freshest ingredients. There may be some textures that are foreign, but give it a chance and you will be surprised at what you may end up liking.  Most of the sushi we got was nigiri, where the meat was served on top of a ball of rice.  Maki is your normal California style roll that you are probably more familiar with; just remember sushi etiquette and only take one bite and don't add wasabi since the chef will add it in already if you need it.  Here is a list of the items that Shiro picked out for us to enjoy:

• Binnaga maguro or Ablacore Tuna (local)
• Pretty much your standard tuna but it was nice to eat local

• Kumamoto oyster
• Raw oysters are always a must when on the west coast.

• Spain Bluefin Toro, another tuna variety made with special sauce in the restaurant, Ecuador Tuna
• More tuna varieties.  Toro is very fatty and creamy.  The special sauce was just that...special.  It was savory, a little sweet and sour all at the same time.

Sorry for the blurry picture!

• Kani or King crab and Amaebi or raw shrimp
• King crab is a must while in Seattle!  The meat is so sweet.  

•  Tai or Sea bream Snapper which is like red snapper and Yellowtail
• very mild flavor

• Citrus flavored Salmon and Salted Salmon
• these were definitely a notch up from your normal salmon

• Uni or sea urchin hand roll
• Sea Urchin is definitely an acquired taste.  It tasted a bit sulfur-y to me but the flavor can change depending on the waters that they live.  

• Mirugai or Geoduck, Hotate or scallops
• Geoduck is a clam.  The texture was a bit chewier than fish but still very tender.  The scallops were also served raw and was a bit slimier than raw fish.  

• King Mackerel slightly smoked and Spanish Mackerel
• The lightly smoked mackerel was so flavorful.  It was amazing how much you could flavor it while not cooking it through all the way.  

• Ika or Squid
• This squid is raw and julienne.  It is a bit slimy like the scallops, but it was a nice change from rubber calamari.  

Once we started feeling full, we told Shiro and he stopped making sushi and offered us dessert.  We finished the amazing meal with a dessert roll filled with tempura and sweet egg

What can I say about this experience? Probably the best I've ever had.  Hopefully the rest of my sushi days will be just as awesome.

Overall, How Nuts Are We about Shiro's Sushi?

Food: 5 coconuts. If you like sushi, you will love Shiro's.

Service: 4 coconuts. Can't really say what the rest of the restaurant was like, but Shiro himself was a great chef and knew what to offer you. Maybe it would have been nice to have more conversation, but it was totally understandable.  We were kind of starstruck anyway. 

Repeatability: 4 coconuts. We aren't really sure what was on the menu but if it was anything like what we got at the bar, it will be delicious.