Sushi Kashiba is one of the best sushi restaurants in Seattle. Takai apprenticed under Kashiba for over a decade and before that, 10 years in Japan. Takai by Kashiba and opened in September 2022. I wanted to do the chef’s table, which was very hard because there are only 6 seats at the sushi counter (I think they add 2 more at night.) Reservations open up at exactly midnight PST for 31 days out, and I was practicing reserving space for weeks. I was easily able to book weekday reservations, but weeknights always alluded me and I couldn’t figure out why. Then one day, my friend goes, “Why don’t you call them because they say for reservations of 6 or more, call.” So I called and booked all 6 seats at the chef’s counter for an early Saturday dinner. Lesson learned here folks – don’t be afraid to call or email the restaurant directly.
I believe the normal table omakase is $150 and the chef’s table is $180 for 22 courses. I asked Takai what was different and he said while you do get SOME of the same fish, not all items are the same. I also like to be served one piece of sushi at a time versus having 3-5 pieces brought out to me on a plate. Plus, it’s fine to talk to the chef/owner right in front of you. Anyway, I had the wine/sake pairing (6 pours worth) for $75 and my wife had the tea pairing, which she enjoyed. I prefer this over Sushi by Scratch because you do get a mix of cooked items as well as soup. While the second kaiseki course was monkfish liver, which I did NOT ENJOY AT ALL, luckily the rest of the meal was great. I really enjoyed the ebi shrimp and did order another round of that, which came with the fried head too, for a very reasonable $12.
I’d highly recommend this experience if you can get the chef’s table.
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