Maneki Seattle: My Review of the City’s Oldest Japanese Restaurant
I first ate at Maneki Seattle on a Thursday evening in 2019, about a year after I moved to Seattle. A coworker told me it was the oldest Japanese restaurant in the city — open since 1904 — and that I needed to text a phone number to get a reservation. No app. No OpenTable. Just a text to 503.662.2814. I thought she was joking. She wasn’t.
Maneki is a Japanese restaurant at 304 6th Ave S in Seattle’s Japantown area of the International District, open since 1904. The restaurant is recognized as one of the oldest sushi restaurants in the United States, has won a James Beard Award (2008), and is currently owned by Jean Nakayama and InterIm CDA. Maneki serves traditional Japanese cuisine including sushi, sashimi, tatami room dining, tempura, teriyaki, and a full bar with sake and shochu. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday, closed Monday.
I’ve eaten at Maneki 8 or 9 times since that first visit. Here’s what the experience is like, what to order, and why this place matters more than most restaurants in Seattle.
The History of Maneki Seattle
Maneki opened in 1904 in Seattle’s Japantown (Nihonmachi) as the city’s first sushi bar, and it has survived wars, internment, economic crises, and a pandemic across 120+ years.
The original Maneki was a 3-story white building shaped like a Japanese castle on 6th Ave S and Main St. Employees wore kimono. The dining rooms seated 500+ customers on weekends. The restaurant served the Japanese community for weddings, funerals, and theatrical performances. Among its early employees, Takeo Miki — a future prime minister of Japan — worked at Maneki while supporting himself as a student.
Tokuji Sato purchased the restaurant in 1923. After the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced the internment of Japanese Americans across the West Coast. The Sato family — along with every other Japanese American in Seattle — was sent to internment camps. Each family could take only 1 suitcase. The restaurant’s belongings went into storage in a space inside the NP Hotel.
During World War II, the original Japanese castle building was looted and vandalized. When the Sato family returned from the camps in 1946, the castle was gone. They reopened Maneki in the storage space — the same building where the restaurant sits today.
In the early 1960s, Sato passed ownership to his daughter, “Shi-chan” Virginia Ichikawa, and her husband Joe Ichikawa. In 1960, Fusae Yokoyama started working at the restaurant as a bartender. Over the decades, customers and staff knew her as “Mom.” In 1978, the Nakayama family purchased the restaurant. When Kozo Nakayama died in 1998, ownership passed to his wife, Jean Nakayama, who had been eating at Maneki since she was 8 years old.
The restaurant received a James Beard Award in 2008. Naomi Tomky wrote about Maneki for Conde Nast Traveler in 2021 as part of a feature on Seattle’s century-old Japantown businesses. Stefan Milne profiled Jean Nakayama for Seattle Met the same year. Eric Riddle covered the restaurant for King 5, and Larry Bleiberg included Maneki in a USA Today feature on historic restaurants across the United States. The Infatuation named Maneki to its 2025 list of the 25 best restaurants in the Chinatown–International District.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Maneki lost 70 to 80 percent of its business, stopped serving raw fish, and started its first website. Customers donated through GoFundMe to keep the restaurant alive. Puget Sound Energy gave a $45,000 makeover grant to improve energy efficiency. The National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded an additional grant.
The restaurant is now officially owned by InterIm CDA, an organization dedicated to preserving Seattle’s International District. Jean Nakayama continues to run the restaurant.
My honest take: This history matters. Maneki isn’t just old — it survived the internment of its owners, the destruction of its original building, decades of neighborhood change in the International District, and a pandemic that nearly closed it permanently. Every time I eat here, I’m aware that 120 years of family stewardship went into keeping the doors open. That context changes the meal.
Maneki Food: What I Order and What You Should Order
Maneki serves traditional home-style Japanese cuisine — sushi, sashimi, teriyaki, tempura, grilled fish, and specialty dishes — in a setting that feels like eating in someone’s home rather than a restaurant.
The menu is extensive. This is not a modern omakase bar with 8 courses. Maneki has a full printed menu with dozens of items — appetizers, sushi rolls, sashimi platters, grilled fish, teriyaki, noodles, rice bowls, and desserts. The food is traditional Japanese, prepared the way it’s been prepared here for decades.
Here’s what I order every time:
- Black cod collar (miso): The single best dish at Maneki. Black cod collar broiled with miso — the fish is fatty, flaky, caramelized on the edges, and so tender it falls apart with chopsticks. I’ve had miso black cod at a dozen Seattle restaurants. Maneki’s is the best.
- Chirashi bowl: A bowl of sushi rice topped with a variety of fresh sashimi — tuna, salmon, yellowtail, shrimp, octopus, tamago, and whatever else is fresh that day. It’s a generous portion at a reasonable price. The fish is always fresh.
- Handmade gyoza: Pan-fried dumplings filled with pork and vegetables. The skins are thicker than most gyoza — clearly handmade, not machine-pressed. The filling is juicy. They run out on busy nights.
- Grilled saba (mackerel): Salt-broiled mackerel with rice. Simple, clean, perfect. This is the kind of dish that shows you what a kitchen can do with 3 ingredients and 120 years of practice.
- Variety ozen (dinner box): If you want a sampler, the ozen comes with nigiri sushi, chicken teriyaki, tempura, salad, rice, and dessert. It’s a huge amount of food at a fair price.
My honest take: Maneki’s food is not trying to impress you. There’s no molecular gastronomy, no Instagram plating, no fusion experiments. The sushi is fresh and well-cut. The grilled fish is seasoned and cooked correctly. The teriyaki tastes like home cooking. The value is outstanding — I’ve eaten full dinners here for $30 to $45 per person, which is half the price of trendy Japanese spots in Capitol Hill or Belltown. This is a restaurant that has served the same community for over a century. The food reflects that — honest, consistent, and deeply satisfying.
Maneki Seattle: Hours, Location, and Reservations
Maneki is open Tuesday through Sunday for dinner. Reservations are made by text only — no app, no website booking.
| Day | Hours |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Thursday | 4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Friday | 4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | 4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | 4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
Hours may vary — confirm when you text for a reservation.
Practical info:
- Address: 304 6th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 (inside the NP Hotel building, Japantown / International District)
- Phone / Reservations: Text 503.662.2814 with your full name, date, time, number of guests, and celebration details. Reservations accepted up to 2 weeks in advance.
- No bar seating. Dine-in reservations only.
- Parking: Street parking on 6th Ave S and surrounding blocks. The International District has metered parking and nearby garage options at Uwajimaya Village.
- Price range: $25 to $50 per person. Cash and cards accepted.
- Tip: Text your reservation request at least 3 to 5 days ahead for Friday and Saturday. Weekend tables fill fast. If your preferred time isn’t available, the restaurant will try to offer alternatives.
The entrance is easy to miss. Maneki sits inside the NP Hotel building at street level. The door is unmarked except for a small sign. Inside, the space is warm and dated — wood paneling, low ceilings, a small sushi bar, and tatami rooms (private matted rooms) in the back. The tatami rooms are what make Maneki special. You remove your shoes, sit on the floor at a low table, and eat behind a sliding door. It feels like a different century.
The Tatami Rooms
Maneki’s tatami rooms are private dining rooms with traditional Japanese matted floors, low tables, and sliding doors — one of the only tatami room experiences in Seattle.
Request a tatami room when you text for your reservation. The rooms seat 4 to 8 people depending on the room. You’ll take your shoes off at the door and sit cross-legged (or with legs tucked under) at a low table. A server slides the door open to take your order and deliver food.
I took visiting friends to a tatami room in 2022 and it changed how they saw the meal. The privacy, the quiet, the act of sitting on the floor and eating together — it turns dinner into an event. If you’ve never had a tatami room experience, Maneki is the place to have your first.
What Makes Maneki Different from Other Japanese Restaurants in Seattle
Maneki is the oldest sushi restaurant in Seattle and one of the oldest in the United States. No other Japanese restaurant in the city carries this kind of history.
Seattle’s food scene has strong Japanese options — omakase spots in Fremont, ramen shops in the University District, izakayas in Capitol Hill. Maneki operates in a different category.
This is a family-owned restaurant that has been in continuous operation through World War II internment, the decline and revitalization of the International District, and a global pandemic. The nearby Panama Hotel — which stored belongings for Japanese Americans during internment — sits blocks away. The Fuji Bakery and Hello Em are other neighborhood institutions within walking distance.
Jean Nakayama runs Maneki the way her family has for decades. The menu doesn’t chase trends. The service is warm and unpretentious. The prices are fair. The food tastes like it was made by someone who has been cooking these dishes for a lifetime — because it was.
Conde Nast Traveler, Seattle Met, King 5, and USA Today have all covered Maneki as a historic landmark. Aileen Imperial wrote the definitive history for Crosscut. The James Beard Award in 2008 recognized what locals already knew: this restaurant is a Seattle institution.
My honest take: I eat at Maneki when I want to remember why restaurants matter. Not for the hype, not for the Instagram moment, but for the thing that happens when a family pours 120 years into feeding a neighborhood. The black cod collar tastes better here because of what this place has survived. That’s not sentimentality — it’s truth. The food is genuinely good. And the history makes it unforgettable.
Maneki Seattle: Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Where is Maneki in Seattle?
Maneki is at 304 6th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104, in the Japantown area of the International District. The restaurant is inside the NP Hotel building at street level.
Q. What are Maneki’s hours?
Tuesday through Sunday, 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Closed Monday. Hours may vary — confirm when you text for a reservation.
Q. How do I make a reservation at Maneki?
Text 503.662.2814 with your full name, date, time, number of guests, and celebration details. Reservations are accepted up to 2 weeks in advance. No online booking. No walk-ins at the bar (no bar seating available).
Q. Who owns Maneki Seattle?
Jean Nakayama and InterIm CDA. The Nakayama family has operated the restaurant since 1978. InterIm CDA, an organization dedicated to preserving Seattle’s International District, holds official ownership.
Q. Does Maneki have tatami rooms?
Yes. Maneki has private tatami rooms (traditional matted rooms with low tables and sliding doors) that seat 4 to 8 people. Request a tatami room when you text for your reservation.
Q. Does Maneki have sushi?
Yes. Maneki is recognized as the first sushi bar in Seattle (since 1904) and one of the oldest sushi restaurants in the United States. The menu includes nigiri, sashimi, chirashi bowls, and sushi rolls.
Q. Is Maneki Seattle closed?
No. Maneki is open Tuesday through Sunday. The restaurant faced potential closure during the COVID-19 pandemic but survived through community donations, grants from Puget Sound Energy and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and its GoFundMe campaign.
Q. What is a maneki-neko?
A maneki-neko is a Japanese “beckoning cat” figurine believed to bring good luck. The restaurant is named after the maneki-neko. You’ll see cat figurines throughout the space.
Final Thoughts
I’ve lived in Seattle since 2018 and eaten at hundreds of restaurants across this city — from Pike Place Market to the waterfront to the Ballard seafood bars. The Seattle food scene is full of new openings, James Beard nominees, and chef-driven concepts. I follow all of it.
But Maneki is the restaurant I come back to most. Not for the hype. Not for a special occasion. For a Thursday evening when I want miso black cod, a chirashi bowl, a cold Asahi, and a quiet tatami room with friends.
This restaurant has been serving Seattle’s Japantown community since 1904. It survived the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the looting of its original Japanese castle building, the decades-long decline of the International District, and a pandemic that nearly shut it down. Jean Nakayama kept the doors open through all of it.
Walk past the unmarked door on 6th Ave S. Take off your shoes. Sit on the tatami. Order the black cod collar and the gyoza. And pay attention to where you are — because you’re sitting in one of the oldest restaurants in Seattle, eating food that a family has been cooking for 120 years, in a room that was once a storage unit for the belongings of people who were forced from their homes. That context is the meal.
