Blue Fish
166 Lake Street South
Kirkland WA 98033
Ph:425-822-8245
1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.... for Lunch
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While the Dr. Seuss references stop at the name, this downtown Kirkland restaurant offers up a much needed option for Japanese food. As you walk through the door, you'll instantly notice what we did: It's pretty bare. Aside from the large sushi bar there's a few sporadic tables and booths for customers. A few plasmas are tuned into ESPN making me feel like the best seats in the house reside right next to the sushi bar with the two chefs eager to spark up conversation with the patrons.
On the menu, Blue fish offers a diverse sushi menu with sashimi, combo plates, and a wide assortment of specialty rolls. The entrees are all served with miso soup, salad and a small serving of rice. You'll find many of the staple Japanese dishes such as teriyaki, tempura, multiple types of udon, ramen, and yakisoba.
I ordered the Beef Teriyaki Bento Box which came with teriyaki, six pieces of California roll, gyoza and a salad. Bryan went with the Salmon Shioyaki served with mixed vegetables and Grant picked the Chicken Katsu Curry with a Lotto Roll on the side.
If you want the most bang for your buck, the bento boxes are the best deal in Blue Fish. The teriyaki wasn't as great as I would have liked as the beef was a little tough, but with so many other items packed in with the bento box you'll have to have a mighty appetite to feel unsatisfied.
The shioyaki was made with quality cut of salmon and broiled in just the right way to keep a lot of the moisture in. The fish by itself tasted a bit repetitive and it would have been great if the dish had some sort of sauce to break up the monotony. Surprising as it sounds the dish doesn't come with a side of rice, which we expected to be served with it. Adding some more contrasting tastes and maybe some rice would really make this dish complete.
The katsu curry was very thick and quite tasty. Grant was surprised that they didn't used a lot of MSG in the curry as they do in other places. Nice chunks of vegetables were mixed in with the tender chunks of meat and the chicken was breaded to perfection. The lotto roll consisted of fresh albacore and a nice aioli sauce and some diced green onions.
There were no service problems as we dined at Blue fish as the orders were promptly taken and all of our needs, such as refills, were handled quickly. The prices are a tad bit higher than what you would expect at similar Japanese restaurants, but certain items like the bento box are worth the price.
