Imo

My friend and I had a great experience sitting at the bar at Imo on a Saturday night. The bartender was a friendly conversationalist who introduced us to the Imo Punch by offering us free samples and gave us two free dishes of bar food, chicken katsui and bar fries (the food after I mentioned that I’m a Unilocaler). The food was only okay but I was happy with the drinks and service.
We specifically went there to get soju (Korean hard alcohol) after discovering that Kaname only has Japanese alcohol, and Imo pleasantly surprised us by serving soju mixed with yogurt. This was something both my friend and I were looking for (and a common option at Korean bars in Beijing). Another plus is the soju-​yogurt mix costs a little less than a dollar per shot on average.
Imo was very dead for a restaurant/​bar on a Saturday night when I was there. I agree with Quinn C. that the layout is a little weird. It’s deceivingly large and seems like a hodge-​podge of different former spaces.
The music was strangely specific without being current or amazing. However, the DJ was very open to requests. Almost all the music was of a specific genre resembling hip hop and R&B five years ago and Usher any time, but the DJ played all my friend’s and my requests, including Lady GaGa. The music got better as the night went on.
Imo isn’t one of those places that will be intimidating if you’re brand new to Korean drinking culture. The bartender explained the basics of soju to us before he knew that we had drunk it before.

Imo has good food, good value, and fine service. No complaints here!
The Korean food is better than some others I’ve tried in Seattle. Plus, the kimchi and denjang remind me of my Ma’s, which is a plus :)
For $ 15 (with tip) I walked out STUFFED! Rice, soup, bulgogi, kimchi pancake, more kimchi. Good deal :)

I recently went back for my friend’s b-​day evening.
I always go to the back upstairs bar sitting area, well me and my girlfriend are told to head on back and seat ourselves, so we head up to the booths and sit down. After about 10 minutes of sitting we are informed the 3 upper booths are reserved… ok you don’t have any signs or just some paper stating this… so we head down low, to a small table.
So now we are sitting down for a good 30 mins total now, with all the musical tables.
Big Negative!
Well I have a feeling that the 3 tables are for my friend’s b-​day! 1 star
Well we order, the food is great, the drinks are nice and strong! 1 star
So this place definitely needs to get there act together!

I came here for a friend of a friend of a friend’s birthday celebration. Drinks are about average price. Actually it’s quite cheap compared to LA. 4 drinks for $ 25! Unheard of in LA! However, the drinks were very weak and sweet. The DJ played some nice hits, but poor guy, I guess no one dances in Seattle. We ended up dancing later on, but the sucky thing was he played all the good music too early. The crowded is predominately Asian, actually everyone was Asian. I didn’t try the food though.

Ok, I’m sick of it. I went there 2 years ago and had a long hair deep-​fried into my tempura roll. Too bad I found it after it had gone into my mouth.
The last time I went, I spent $ 9 on salmon sashimi with BONES IN IT. I told them but they didn’t do anything about it and charged me full price. I’m sick of being grossed out by IMO

Hopefully IMO’s best days are not behind them, but I ordered:
— Eel Sushi
— Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl
— Sushi with Fried Tofu
— $ 2 Rice Box
— Pitcher of Coors Light
— Hite Draft
Everything was fine, except for the $ 2.00 Rice Box. Can you say, «Rip Off»? I do not remember paying $ 2.00 for rice, because most of the dishes I order come with it. I have a pet peeve being charged for rice.

This place has awesome atmosphere and attitude! Not fine dining. More snacks with your drink. Super cheap and big portions make this fun place a winner! One tip for the yogurt soju: start with one order and see how big it is…
Our waiter Chris seems to get a lot of praise and he deserves it. *golf claps*

The service is really nice (4 stars) but the food is mediocre (2 stars). The $ 8.95 lunch special had decent portions but not very palatable. I ended up packing my lunch to go because I didn’t have the determination finish it then, in spite of the taste. I did eat the leftover the next day and it tasted slightly better than I remembered the day before; so I am giving it three stars.

Definately an asian hang out place. Good place to come for late night food and some drinks.
Didn’t really eat much here so can’t really comment on the food quality but their drinks aren’t that great. Service was pretty slow as they were very busy when we went there. Music was wayyyyyy too loud! This is not a club you do not need music that loud!

I’m not sure if I like this place or not. I like the interesting menu and the fun atmosphere. The okomiyaki was good, but the tako was a little tough.
Our waiter, Chris, was attentive and super affable. He actually seemed pleased to wait on us. Maybe he was high? Nah. He was just a good guy. +1 to Chris.
On the other hand, the music was way too effing loud. I know they like to bring the noise on weekend nights but no one was dancing so why turn it up to 11? –1 to the DJ.
It’s also feels like a club in that it’s a little dirty — not filthy, but just not clean like a regular restaurant, if you know what I mean.
It’s definitely an Asian-​friendly place. Most (if not all) the staff are young and hip Asians. The customers are mostly (if not all) Asian. So if you’re Asian (like me), you’ll feel at home here.
I could see why people would like to hang out here with friends. I could see me coming back if I was with a big group of people and we wanted drinks and small plates.

Love the happy hour here! The rolls are priced appropriately and the portions of the rolls were definitely a plus. They have a good variety of foods on the happy hour menu: rolls, french fries (long skinny ones with a dash of seasoning), spicy chicken wings, bulgogi (not the typical bulgogi as it is just cooked in a pan, not a hot plate), kim chi pancake, teriyaki… etc. Lots of things to choose from as well as some drink specials. I would definitely suggest this happy hour to those seasoned asian diners!
Added plus– good variety of background music played here: D N.E.R.D. was played (several of their songs on separate occasions) and they happen to be my favorite group. Definitely added points to my score :)

Been to this place twice. Food was ok. Décor was ok. Bartender’s cool. Server’s a bit quiet…
Maybe next time I get drunk and full enough I’ll rate this place higher. First impressions not so great.

You can’t really go wrong here.
I always go for happy hour, it’s best.
The food is delicious and def affordable. The flavored Soju is only 14 bucks and you get 14 shots.
Waiters/​waitresses: incredibly cool. I remember one night I came in with a bunch of drunk friends and we were HUNGRY and UNDECISIVE, where we could have been really annoying. They didn’t show it. They were awesome. :)

Not the best sushi I’ve had. Average. Average prices.
Notes:
— I got a kick out of the brightly colored menu with pictures of flip-​flops and other summery things on it.
— The dim lighting and the booths were great for our group.
— The waitor was not very attentive at all. Items took a long time to arrive and my water was never refilled.
— Parking garage is located about 25 yards north of the restuarant. In the evening, I think it is about $ 7 for parking a couple of hours.

Stopped by here last night and they were OPEN when they’re supposed to be! Apparently this is not always the case with this place…
It was a tad bit weird that the place was empty besides the staff… and the people watching (or playing?) something on the big screen in the other room. The waitress stopped by now and again to check on us, but that was about it there.
The happy hour selection was pretty solid. The miso soup (not on menu) was pretty good and so were the ~4 rolls we tried. The nigiri set was decent, but I was a little bummed that one of the 3 pieces was the shrimp (ebi?). I’m always underwhelmed by that one and wish the chefs didn’t include it in just about every nigiri sampler I’ve ever had anywhere. Ah well.
It was Wednesday which is apparently «ladies night» and so the cosmo was on special ($ 4??). It was the most flavorful cosmo I’ve ever had… I don’t think it packed much of a punch, but it sure was tasty!
I got some weird vibes off the women’s bathroom. Something about it felt a little ‘haunted or something of that variety. But… eh… old buildings. What do I expect?
I’d give it a 3.5 if I could, but… since I can’t… I think I’ll stick to the 3-​stars that means it’s a-​ok by me!
Fyi:
+ Apparently a current Washington state student ID gets you 10% off regular menu items!
+ As a happy hour, it’s… a-​ok. Plenty of choices on the HH menu!

Imo is a cute japanese/​korean restuarant in the Pioneer Square area and is a good place to check out for food before clubbing down there. The food isn’t that authentic, however has good taste. The bartenders can pour a decent drink and the Imo Punch definitely has a kick and isn’t for the weak hearted.
Staff are ok… nothing wow-​ing although have their moments of greatness and moments of WTH?
Layout is weird and parking sucks down there… Nice feel and good atmosphere though.

I’m not sure whether to like IMO or not. There are definitely positives and negatives to the place.
Positives:
*The space is actually quite large, and is kind of a maze at some points… plenty of room for a large group!
*Big comfy leather couches to sit in, with lots of seating around the karaōke screen, which is huge!
*Cool lighting
*We ordered the french fries and the portion size was huge — perfect for that late night drunken food craving…
Negatives:
*They only appeared to have 1 bartender for such a large place. I would stand at the bar for sometimes 2 – 3 minutes before I could helped, simply b/​c he was too busy making drinks for all waitresses to deliver to tables.
*Even though he makes a mean martini and took a lot of time/​care to curl long lemon peels for them, he was very slow at making the drinks.
*The wait staff (bartender included) weren’t very attentive… they would often just walk right by you and nobody would ask you if you had been served or needed help.
*They karaōke book is huge, but it is probably 75% korean songs… the english section is really small, which is really only a negative for us white people wanting to sing :D
Oh yeah, and as far as drinks go, my recommendation is either to get a beer or get the martini. I ordered a gin and tonic for my first drink, and it tasted like it barely had any gin in it at all… my boyfriend ordered a tequila and lemonade, and again, it tasted like it was almost all lemonade. Definitely if you’re looking to drink, I suggest being cautious with what you order, otherwise you’ll feel like you’re paying for not a lot of alcohol content in your drinks.
Overall though, IMO is a cool atmosphere — very large, w/​good lighting and has a good menu. As far as karaōke bars go, I’d give it a thumbs up. The only thing I think it’s missing is the Rickshaw’s Chinese Donuts… Hhhhhhmmmmm

FYI, don’t be a moron and come here for dinner. This is a bar/​karaōke/​late-​night-​snack joint. A good place to drink, mingle and sing.
There are only handful of places to go enjoy Korean food in a relaxed environment in Seattle and if you are craving «dduk bok ki» or «soju», this is the place for you.
Been here 5 – 6 times and I enjoyed it every single time and ended up making new friends (and met cute girls there too)

Well. Um. If you’re hungry and looking for a place to eat sushi quickly, this is definitely not the place you want to go.
If you don’t want to be bothered by drunk ass-​hats singing karaōke, this is not the place you want to go.
That being said, if you’ve found a good parking spot and you’re lazy and/​or unmotivated to go anywhere else, AND you’re already in Pioneer Square looking for a place to have sushi and you don’t mind waiting forever to get served, then go here.
I won’t join you, though.

I went in expecting horrible service based on some of the reviews. I’ve read the horror stories and knew what I was getting myself into so if the service was bad I couldn’t complain really. I walk in and am amazed at how big the place is and soon realized how people could get forgotten in this place there are so many nooks and crannies around one could get lost if they don’t leave a trail of bread crumbs or in this case rice.
We take a seat and are soon provided menus. Water shows up and I order a cocktail, one green tea adult beverage thingie for me, it was very green but very refreshing and tasty too. For food I went with the Las Vegas roll I’m tasting them around town to find the best. Imo’s wasn’t the best but it wasn’t bad. I also shared something that sounded like Obi-​Wan Kenobi but I know that’s not it’s name you’ll have to ask Michael what it’s really called. It was an omelet like thing with veggies on the inside and delicious sauces on the outside it was yummy.
So over all my happy hour experience was a good one, food was good, drinks were good, and service was good so either I’m special to have not been ignored or I just went on a good day. I’d for sure go back to Imo’s for happy hour again and to have another Obi-​Wan Kenobi.
Michael let me know it’s called Oknonomiyaki (O-​ko-​no-​mee-​yak) not Obi-​Wan Kenobi though I think I like the sound of Obi-​Wan Kenobi better than Oknonomiyaki.