Ishoni Bellevue was fantastic—but Ishoni Seattle was a letdown. The food quality has noticeably declined. The signature Ishoni rice, once packed with flavor, now tastes bland and uninspired. What’s worse, we were automatically charged an 18% tip for a table of four—without any option to adjust. To add insult to injury, that 18% was calculated after tax, which is simply unacceptable. Sadly, I won’t be returning to Ishoni Seattle.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Ouye Xie
Fourth time having dinner here. The service was so bad compared to previous experiences. The waitress cut beef tongue in an inexperienced way , it took her about 5 mins and all other beef steaks on the grill were overcooked. She then burned my hand while I was trying to manage the grill. Another waitress simply brought complimentary sorbets while there are still meat on the grill and plates. We had to finish the dinner within less than 50 minutes and 18% gratuity was added to us (4 people table).
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 2
David
Wasn't busy so we got seated quick. Good food and nice place, but the portion felt small.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Grant Hwang
This is a legit place, very high quality meat. It is obviously not a cheap place but honestly I was surprised with the prices, it is reasonable. Again not cheap, but very responsible considering the high quality.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yudi Wang
👍👍👍
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ian w
We had dinner here as a group of three. Unfortunately, one of us had diarrhea afterwards, two experienced stomachaches, and another had watery stools — definitely concerning from a food safety standpoint.
On top of that, the service left a lot to be desired. The staff kept bringing out the wrong dishes multiple times, and there was no apology. The servers also seemed unprofessional — exchanging glances and even rolling their eyes at each other during service.
I first visited this restaurant back in 2015 when it was still in Bellevue. Back then, they used real charcoal grills, and the food had a distinct flavor. Now, the charcoal grilling is gone, and so is the taste that once made this place special.
Overall, the experience was disappointing — overpriced food, poor service, and questionable hygiene. Sadly, it no longer lives up to its past reputation.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Sharon Frances
Had to wait for 30 mins even though we had a reservation.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Wear Amerta
Our friend had been waiting 20 mins for their table even though a reservation was set for 6:30pm. She came over and sat at our table to chat and one of the servers accused us for ordering in her stead and decided to cancel our order without updating us. When we inquired about our additional order they told us that our table was up and couldn’t process it even though they accepted our order when we had 20 minutes. After voicing our complaint, they ended up serving us our order. Thus the 2 stars, not one. Their food was good. But their utensils were dirty
Wagyu and mentaiko yam (山藥) is a must. Owner is Taiwanese so we chatted a bit, and he is super attentive and nice!! The service overall was really great and fast as well.
I love how they marinate their meats, and all the cuts were high quality and fresh! 😋
Will definitely come back!! 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Derek Xiao
Every meat I got, as well as the ochazuke (tea rice), and limited seasonal seafood udon was very good and high quality. No off tastes. If you are looking to spend around 50 to 70 a person, and eat some really good meats, then this is the place to go.
GREAT EXPERIENCE . COOL MODERN ATMOSPHERE . FRIENDLY STAFF . NICE MENU FOR LOVERS IF MEAT . GREAT INTERACTION FOR A SMALL GROUPS
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Casey Dunn
Won't remove the pentagram and "666" graffiti damage from their windows. Really blights the neighborhood.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Danny L
My favorite yakiniku, ever! No more charcoal like they used to do in Bellevue location, but you can't tell the difference.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Laura
Good Japanese bbq place. We ended up not needing to order as much as we thought for 2 of us.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rachel Han
Great Japanese bbq place with high quality meats. Ordered the beef variety plate, duck breast, pork jowl, and salmon ochazuke. Duck can be a bit gamey in general and that’s why most restaurants douse it in sauce, but this place served good quality duck so even with just salt, it was tender and yummy. The beef variety plate had different cuts of marinated beef and non-marinated, so it was nice to have a mix. Pork jowl was on the lean side and it was decent (but only because I like my jowl a bit fatty). Salmon ochazuke was nice; fishy, flavorful broth with small amount of salmon on top. And to top it all off, service was pretty spectacular. All of the servers were attentive, friendly, and welcoming. I’d highly recommend this place, especially if you want to try Japanese bbq for the first time!
Ishoni Bellevue was fantastic—but Ishoni Seattle was a letdown. The food quality has noticeably declined. The signature Ishoni rice, once packed with flavor, now tastes bland and uninspired. What’s worse, we were automatically charged an 18% tip for a table of four—without any option to adjust. To add insult to injury, that 18% was calculated after tax, which is simply unacceptable. Sadly, I won’t be returning to Ishoni Seattle.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Fourth time having dinner here. The service was so bad compared to previous experiences. The waitress cut beef tongue in an inexperienced way , it took her about 5 mins and all other beef steaks on the grill were overcooked. She then burned my hand while I was trying to manage the grill. Another waitress simply brought complimentary sorbets while there are still meat on the grill and plates. We had to finish the dinner within less than 50 minutes and 18% gratuity was added to us (4 people table).
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 2
Wasn't busy so we got seated quick. Good food and nice place, but the portion felt small.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
This is a legit place, very high quality meat. It is obviously not a cheap place but honestly I was surprised with the prices, it is reasonable. Again not cheap, but very responsible considering the high quality.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
👍👍👍
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had dinner here as a group of three. Unfortunately, one of us had diarrhea afterwards, two experienced stomachaches, and another had watery stools — definitely concerning from a food safety standpoint.
On top of that, the service left a lot to be desired. The staff kept bringing out the wrong dishes multiple times, and there was no apology. The servers also seemed unprofessional — exchanging glances and even rolling their eyes at each other during service.
I first visited this restaurant back in 2015 when it was still in Bellevue. Back then, they used real charcoal grills, and the food had a distinct flavor. Now, the charcoal grilling is gone, and so is the taste that once made this place special.
Overall, the experience was disappointing — overpriced food, poor service, and questionable hygiene. Sadly, it no longer lives up to its past reputation.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Had to wait for 30 mins even though we had a reservation.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Our friend had been waiting 20 mins for their table even though a reservation was set for 6:30pm. She came over and sat at our table to chat and one of the servers accused us for ordering in her stead and decided to cancel our order without updating us. When we inquired about our additional order they told us that our table was up and couldn’t process it even though they accepted our order when we had 20 minutes. After voicing our complaint, they ended up serving us our order. Thus the 2 stars, not one. Their food was good. But their utensils were dirty
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Fried Ice Cream, A5 Wagyu Nigiri
10/10 experience all around!!!
Wagyu and mentaiko yam (山藥) is a must. Owner is Taiwanese so we chatted a bit, and he is super attentive and nice!! The service overall was really great and fast as well.
I love how they marinate their meats, and all the cuts were high quality and fresh! 😋
Will definitely come back!! 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Every meat I got, as well as the ochazuke (tea rice), and limited seasonal seafood udon was very good and high quality. No off tastes. If you are looking to spend around 50 to 70 a person, and eat some really good meats, then this is the place to go.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
GREAT EXPERIENCE . COOL MODERN ATMOSPHERE . FRIENDLY STAFF . NICE MENU FOR LOVERS IF MEAT . GREAT INTERACTION FOR A SMALL GROUPS
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Won't remove the pentagram and "666" graffiti damage from their windows. Really blights the neighborhood.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
My favorite yakiniku, ever! No more charcoal like they used to do in Bellevue location, but you can't tell the difference.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good Japanese bbq place. We ended up not needing to order as much as we thought for 2 of us.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great Japanese bbq place with high quality meats. Ordered the beef variety plate, duck breast, pork jowl, and salmon ochazuke. Duck can be a bit gamey in general and that’s why most restaurants douse it in sauce, but this place served good quality duck so even with just salt, it was tender and yummy. The beef variety plate had different cuts of marinated beef and non-marinated, so it was nice to have a mix. Pork jowl was on the lean side and it was decent (but only because I like my jowl a bit fatty). Salmon ochazuke was nice; fishy, flavorful broth with small amount of salmon on top. And to top it all off, service was pretty spectacular. All of the servers were attentive, friendly, and welcoming. I’d highly recommend this place, especially if you want to try Japanese bbq for the first time!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ishoni Beef Combo
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