Taneda - Seattle - April 2026
Managed to secure the notoriously difficult (at least by Seattle standards, that is) reservation for Taneda this spring. Head chef Hideaki Taneda opened this kaiseki-omakase spot in 2019 in the back alley of an area you would not expect to find such a restaurant, but since then it has arguably become one of Seattle's best. This was my first time dining here, and I went in with enormously high expectations.
Dishes are not exactly in order, but are as follows (favorites are asterisked!):
Ichigoni - steamed Hokkaido abalone, Hokkaido uni, shiso flower, seawater
**Hotaru-ika, Hokkaido octopus, taro stem, yuzu miso sauce
Shirauo from Shizuoka, wasabi, egg-yolk ponzu
Chawanmushi with Alaskan snow crab & shrimp, Seattle oyster pâté, yuzu kosho
Shirasu temaki, sesame, shiso leaf
***Young ayu from Miyazaki (karaage-style), hotaru-ika tempura
***Surume-ika, stuffed with its own shirako & eggs, tsubugai (whelk) from Hokkaido, wasabi
*Bafun uni, spot prawn
Kasugodai
Smoked saba
Horse mackerel from Kyushu
Meji-maguro
Sakura masu (cherry salmon)
Tiger prawn
**Shima aji
9-day dry-aged otoro from Spain, with binchotan sear, Washington apple sauce
Hassun - Sunomono, Hokkaido scallop, cucumber, yuzu rind
Hassun - A5 gyukatsu from Miyazaki, strawberry miso
Hassun - black cod saikyo-yaki
Same dry-aged bluefin, this time akami
Tuna cheek maki, uni, shiso leaf, sesame
Madai chazuke, sesame, wasabi, tempura batter
*Tamago, Kyushu-style
***Matcha pudding, strawberry, azuki, warabimochi with kuromitsu
Was overall extremely impressed with the consistent quality and the sheer amount of different seafood on the menu – only two dishes (the shirauo and the shirasu temaki) didn't do it for me. I'm definitely less familiar with kaiseki than sushi, but most of the standouts for me definitely lean towards the former. Service was excellent, the sake pairing was solid, and Taneda-san is extremely personable and enthusiastic in discussing his craft. Would love to visit in a different season (winter, perhaps) to try a completely different menu, if I can snag another seat!