Tamari Bar – Izakaya in Capitol Hill

Tamari Bar

Recommended by: After a reader read our post about Kokkaku they suggested another upscale Japanese restaurant, Tamari Bar.  Took us a year to get out there, but we finally tried it.

Description on the Tamari Bar’s website:  No comments, but their Instagram says, “Capitol Hill’s IZAKAYA, “Japanese Tavern &Eats”

Neighborhood/Type:  Capitol Hill

Address: 500 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122

What we ate/drank: Shokado Bento Box, The Rockin’ Wagyu Beef, Sashimi 7 Sampler, Seafood Bibimbap, Sapporo Beers.

Comments:  The presentation of the dishes that we ordered at Tamari Bar are so beautiful that it’s almost as if the owner said, “Let’s create some dishes that will be plastered all over Instagram!”

Tamari Bar is right down the street from their sister restaurant, Suika, on Pine Street in Capitol Hill. The space is rather oddly shaped. It has a patio in front, a huge bar area and some tables and a couple seating compartments on a second level.

We started out with the The Rockin’ Wagyu Beef, which is served with a smooth hot rock that you put the pieces of raw thin zabuton on to cook. The thin pieces of wagyu beef cook very quickly, so no worries about the rock cooling down before you can cook all of it. The beef is served with a Japanese bbq sauce, garlic flakes, wasabi.  This is a fun dish with the novelty of cooking on a sizzling rock. Be careful not to overcook which will keep the beef tender and tasty.

Next up was the Shoka-do Bento Box, which is limited to a certain count every evening. This was surely the highlight of the night. There are a total of nine squares with each being the perfect size for two bites, making it the perfect date night dish. You get nine different dishes, nine different flavors.  It’s fun having so many choices at once and then discussing which are your favorites. Or both of you can try each grid at the same time and discuss after each tasting.

From the top and left to right with scores out of 5:

• Fried Crispy Salmon(4.25), Wagyu Beef Tataki(4.5) , Potato Salad (4.0)
• Aburi Scallop Carpaccio(4.5), Tamari Bar Sushi Roll(4.5), Aburi Salmon(4.5)
• Fried Oyster(5.0), Zuke Maguro(marinated)-(3.0), Tuna Tatsuta(fried)-(5.0)

Each appetizer was beautifully presented and each had at least 5 different ingredients and it was a good mixture of fried and raw.  We just really enjoyed this concept.

On the way to our table we saw another table had the Seafood Bibimbap with seared salmon, salmon caviar, salmon flakes, umami soy, sea urchin(uni), butter on rice and knew we had to try it. Like traditional bibimbap, it’s served in a hot stone bowl and was mixed on our behalf by the server.  It turned into more of a fried rice than a bibimbap but we were surprised even after all the mixing of the ingredients you could really taste the uni, one of our favorites.

The Sashimi 7 Sampler is the most photogenic of the dishes. It’s presented on a wooden staircase with garnishes of ikura, tobiko, cucumber and onion. What can you say about fresh sushi? You can’t beat it. If I could change one thing, I’d swap out the octopus for another fish sashimi. Just a personal preference.

From bottom to the top -Mackerel, Shrimp(Ama Ebi),Tako, Hamachi, Scallop, Tuna, Salmon.

It appears they put just as much effort into their cocktails, but we just had pints of Sapporo.  Their sake list is extensive as you might have guessed.

Our server told us we got 3 of the 4 most popular dishes. The only one we didn’t get was the Aburi Wagyu+Uni Nigiri Sushi, nicknamed the The Best Bite, which we’ll be sure to get on our return visit.  Some other interesting dishes we’d like to order on our next trip to Tamari Bar are Crazy Journey, which is their spicy fried chicken and the Dan Dan Ramen, which they call, The Living Legend. Got to give Tamari Bar credit for over-the-top dish names.

The proof is in the pudding when it comes to Tamari Bar dish presentations. Instagram is littered with photos of the 7 Tier Sashimi, the Shoka-Do Bento Box and Rockin’ Marinated Wagyu Beef. But the dishes are just not pretty pictures, there’s substance behind it. All are tasty, the Rockin’ Marinated Wagyu Beef is fun, we love the variety the Shoka-Do Bento Box provides and the 7 Tier Sashimi is memorable for it’s unique presentation.

Ratings:

Atmosphere: 4.25

Service: 4.50

Food/Drinks: 4.75

Bang for the Buck: 4.25

Overall: 4.40

Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.

• • Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
  • Most locals know about it
  • Locals “in the know” know about it
  • Only those who live close by know about it.
  • You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!

Servers recommendations to visit in the future:   

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