Sure, Seattle has market-fresh seafood and probably the greatest espresso scenes within the nation, and is residence to the Seattle canine. However there isn’t any denying: Seattle is teriyaki city. Within the late Nineteen Seventies, Toshi Kasahara began serving the lots chargrilled hen slathered along with his signature sauce atop a mattress of steaming rice, popularizing the dish and pioneering a wave of teriyaki retailers all around the metropolis. High quality, portion measurement, proximity to your home, and even salad dressing are all contributing components to what may be thought-about town’s “finest” teriyaki, so listed below are simply a few of our favorites.
Grillbird
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As a lifelong vegetarian and Seattleite, I’m extraordinarily skeptical of the tofu teriyaki on this metropolis. Most teriyaki eating places don’t provide non-meat dishes, and in the event that they do, it’s normally a tragic slab of uncooked tofu with a bit facet of sauce. So far as I can inform, West Seattle’s Grillbird is the one restaurant that’s filling this hole. Grillbird makes marinated sesame tofu and fried cauliflower that’s crispy, flavorful, and saucy sufficient to seep down and coat your rice. Plus, they provide mouthwatering sides, together with a tart cucumber salad and, for my part, the world’s finest macaroni salad. The store does not have indoor eating, however you may take it to go for a nourishing, moderately priced meal to eat in entrance of the TV. AUDREY VANN
West Seattle
Ichi Bento
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A good friend introduced me to this unassuming gap within the wall with the promise that it was one in all her most cherished native spots, resulting from frequenting it as a hungry, stoned teen in the hunt for low-cost meals with beneficiant parts. It additionally got here extremely really useful by famed TikTok meals reviewer Keith Lee, so I used to be all in. Positive sufficient, it did not disappoint: A modest $14.99 procured me a hen teriyaki bento set full with a mound of rice, a crisp salad, 4 California roll items, and a alternative of tempura or seven items of gyoza, making it some of the spectacular eating offers within the higher Seattle space. The teriyaki was well-charred and slathered in an abundance of sticky sauce that stored me coming again for an additional chew, and the service was heat and pleasant. Whereas the spot has minimal seating, there are a handful of tables and comfy cubicles good for hunkering down with a comforting meal. JULIANNE BELL
Shoreline
Okinawa Teriyaki
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This humble neighborhood joint situated a stone’s throw from Pike Place Market may simply be the crème de la crème of teriyaki. Plump, juicy poultry is totally seared on a scorching grill and coated in a sauce that is barely much less candy than the norm and comes heaped in a takeout field with a crunchy romaine salad, white rice, 4 golden-crusted deep-fried gyoza, and a bit cup of tangy dumpling sauce. I particularly favored the spicy model of the teriyaki, which left behind a delicate, lingering burn. As I ate, the teriyaki sauce and creamy salad dressing mingled and soaked into the rice, creating an irresistible mixture. JB
Downtown
Rainier Teriyaki
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After Rainier Teriyaki proprietor Hansoo Kim was tragically killed by a gunshot throughout an armed theft in 2023, his son, the South Korean singer-songwriter Sam Kim, took over the household enterprise. Not solely is the employees the sweetest, however the teriyaki is a reduce above the remaining: Tender, caramelized morsels of hen are hugged by a shiny sauce, nestled subsequent to 2 tennis-ball-sized scoops of completely steamed rice, whereas the salad comes individually packaged in a plastic clamshell with a well-balanced white dressing. It is no shock that many locals take into account this to be the platonic preferrred of Seattle teriyaki. JB
Mount Baker
