Kappo

Kappo… oh kappo. Can you believe I actually took a trip to Seattle just to eat here? Can you believe I offered to photograph my friends wedding in exchange for 1 dinner here? Can you believe you’re closed? Without a doubt this was one of the best omakase places I’ve ever seen.
«Tamura Sushi Kappo» is the new place; due to be open in July of 2010:
I’ll book a flight back to Seattle soon.

Amazing Sushi
probably my favorite Sushi place to go
Would recommend

I go to Kappo approximately once a month, the food is so good. I’ve eaten at restaurants all across the country (and the world!) and I haven’t found a place that is so consistently great.
Taichi is a sweetheart who remembered speaking to me the first time I came, and recalled parts of our conversation on my second visit.
If you get the head of a snapper on your visit, you’re extremely lucky. Also, the black cod that he makes is phenomenal. I’ve tried an amazing number of dishes over the course of my visits and only the best are repeated. But all of them are still great!
I recommend Kappo to everyone I talk about food to. I go back for holidays and just because. I would eat here even more, except he’s closed until the new location opens…

The food gets five stars hands down. Every dish is extraordinary and prepared and presented with great care and attention to detail. The whole steamed ocean perch with ginger, onions and peanut oil was off the charts good. The oysters were phenom! Every single dish was a delight.
However, the experience could have been better. The wooden stools at the sushi bar have small seats, which means for a tall guy like me half of my thigh is hanging off the chair the entire 2 hour meal. The only place to rest your feet is on the rungs of the chair so by the time the meal was over I felt like I had bruises on my hamstrings. What a shame that I had to endure discomfort the entire time I was enjoying such great food.
I was also disappointed at the relatively small amount of actual sushi. I was under the impression this dinner was going to be mostly sushi. It was not. I think we had a total of 5 pieces (singles) of sushi each. The rest was cooked food and a tiny salad.
The only other issue I had with the dinner was the price. Sure, it was exceptional, but it simply was not worth $ 100 per person. With the sake we had (which we had to trust our chef to choose without seeing a menu or prices) our meal was $ 360 with tip. I’m all about a great meal but value has to be considered. At that price the meal was not a good value. It was an amazing meal though.

Amazing. One of the most unique and enjoyable dining experiences I’ve ever had. Kappo takes omakase to the next level.
Everything is unbelievably delicious, and the service matches up. Top-​notch saké menu, too.
You gotta love a place that shows you your food alive and crawling before it meets it’s death-​by-​boiling for your tastebuds’ enjoyment :)

Easily the best meal I have had in Seattle… by far.
Taichi does an amazing job of balancing flavors and textures and his Nigiri is the best I’ve had (better than Shiro’s). He makes everything right in front of you.
Kappo is small– only seats 9 and he has two seatings on Fridays and Saturdays (at 6 & 8).
It is Omakase style and there is no menu. Taichi serves whatever is fresh and available. Our meal featured oysters, two dishes with Geoduck, natural slow cooked pork ribs, scallops and a fantastic kumquat desert that I could’ve eaten about a dozen of. All in all– it was 7 courses including desert.
Have some fantastic Shochu on the menu (sweet potato or barley liquor ~25% alcohol) as well as many excellent sakes (although I didn’t try any– the other people at dinner seemed to be digging it)
Taichi is closing his location at the end of the month but will re-​open on Eastlake Ave in May. I will be one of his first Clients at the new location as I cannot wait to get back to Kappo.
Honestly the best meal I have had in Seattle.

This is the finest sushi I have ever eaten in my life, bar none, and my colleague dining with me heartily agreed. Fresh fish and produce, carefully chosen and imaginatively prepared.
Kitamura is an artist, and brings a rare level of care and attention to detail to this upstairs speakeasy of sorts. There are no menus here, even for beverages. You are in his hands.
Be prepared to spend a lot of money. It’s worth it though for a special occasion.

I took my husband out for a birthday splurge, and it was well worth it. We chose the cheapest dinner option ($ 60 per person), but never once we were treated by any of the staff or chef with any less respect or attentiveness. In fact, we were seated directly in front of the chef and he chatted with us throughout the evening. He was very friendly and informative, and gave great descriptions of each dish.
The restaurant is tucked away upstairs, very elegant and simple. The pottery dishes are beautiful, everything looks lovely.
And the SUSHI. I have never had such delicious fish in my life. Each piece felt like it was literally melting on my tongue. I was blow away.

Wow! This is probably one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in a Seattle and believe me I’ve been to quite a few.
Not only is the food, beautifully & elegantly presented, but it is also absolutely delicious. A clear sign for me is when I am not only eating fish I don’t normally like (Maguro), but loving it to boot! Every course was a new adventure and I wasn’t disappointed.
The word cache definitely comes to mind. This place is a total hidden treasure and I would definitely go back!
Highlights for me were:
Tofu & snapper wrapped in bean curd with dashi butter sauce
Tile fish nigiri sushi that was marinated in Kelp
Seared toro nigiri sushi, which was the best I’ve ever had (it was served at the perfect temperature) I am always leary of seared fish sushi, but just melted in your mouth like butter.
Almond custard with goji berries and longan

This is absolutely the best sushi/​japanese food you will ever eat. It is definitely a splurge meal but the chef Taichi is amazing. You don’t order in the restaurant, the chef prepares everything for you. This is a small sushi bar, probably 6 – 8 people at the bar and a couple tables. If you like Japanese food you can’t miss this place. Go for the sake pairing if you want to really splurge. We will definitely be back.

Fabulous meal! Gorgeous presentation, fresh ingredients, nice atmosphere and great drinks. The only downside for me was that I’m not a huge shaved ice fan and that was what we had for dessert. But I’d definitely go back for another special occasion. I like having all the components of the meal selected for me.

Definitely one of the best meals of my life was had here. This place took me by surprise since I thought these types of omakase-​style meals were only mastered in established Japanese restaurants in Vancouver or New York.
Chef Taichi Kitamura served us at the bar personally and chatted with us about his ingredients and thinking that went behind the food. I thoroughly enjoyed the steamed live shrimp (a simple Chinese-​style preparation) and Shigoku oysters (Kitamura suggested they were better that week than the Kumamotos). Each piece of fish that came in the sushi portion of the omakase were perfect and the cooked fish in mirin was a beautiful sight to behold.
This is what a meal should be. A certain foul-​mouthed New York travel channel show host once said «if cooking is about control, eating is about submitting to someone else’s control». This is the essence of omakase meals and in Seattle it doesn’t get better than Kappo. Rest assured you’re in good hands with chef Kitamura.

Japanese in Seattle does not get any better than this.
Kappo is located right around the corner and just above the main Chiso restaurant. I felt like I’d discovered some kind of exclusive secret hideaway for those who truly love the Japanese dining experience. The atmosphere is elegant and intimate. We’ve been to Kappo several times, and always sit across from chef/​owner Taichi, so we can watch him work. He really is very good at what he does and what he does is serve up the finest omakase I have ever had.
The meal is well-​prepared, and very very fresh. Watching Taichi work, and listening to him as he talks about the food he is serving and the organic ingredients he uses, you sense a chef who takes great pride in the meals he creates. You taste this in every bite. Subtle delicious flavors are evident in everything he serves.
I’ve never had a Japanese dining experience this good in the States. Kappo is a cut above anything I have experienced here. Highly recommended.

Toss up for my best meal in Seattle. An amazing and very Japanese experience. Small, intimate, somewhat hidden space with warm woods and clean lines. The dinner was a set menu of several dishes created by the chef around seasonal ingredients. From a scallop salad through the sushi course and the dessert of a Japanese style panna cotta, each dish was artfully arranged and delicious. My sushi comparisons would be Shiro’s and Nishino’s– Kappo is a solid rung up.
Among the memorable dishes was a soup that was set before us on a clay base with a burner underneath. We added different seafood to the vegetables and mushrooms in a miso base, while we talked and ate slowly the soup cooked down and took on the seafood flavors– delicious and perfect.

hi Unilocalers, its been a while. did you miss me?
here goes.
there should be more than 5 stars for this place.
its upstairs above chiso– which is delicious in its own right, as noted in a previous review.
there were 8 of us there for dinner and had the restaurant seemingly to ourselves. that wasnt the case at all actually, but the space is so well designed that it feels as if its all yours.
the chef brought us amazing dish after amazing dish– most of which he caught himself. being from ohio, some of them made me a little hesitant, but none of them made me gag. they were all amazing. amazing isnt even the right word.
the price point is high, but there are lower priced options– but i f i were you, id save up and treat yourself, and a date. in fact, im always willing to go! call me.

Taichi, the chef, knows what he is doing. You will be amazed as he whips up a wonderful dish after dish, feeding your stomach and soul. He creates creative Japanese dishes using only high quality seasonal ingredients. Some fish are flown straight from Tsukiji Market in Tokyo! He doesn’t mess around!!!
Just look at those photos that I took. YUM!!!
Taichi designed the elegant and yet simple interior of Kappo himself. I love the beautiful wooden doors and beams. Wait staff is always professional and provides impeccable services.
I can’t get enough of this place.

After a few months of saying we should try Kappo, my (now ex) boyfriend took me here for my birthday dinner.
When we arrived there was a small mix up in our reservation. Some couple had walked in off the street thinking it was Chiso and had been seated under our reservation. They cleared it up in just a few moments and we were seated around the bar next to some older Japanese men deep in their conversation drinking beer.
The meal was really wonderful. I cant for the life of me remember all the courses. I do remember the shrimp course. Im not a fan of cleaning the shrimp from their shells myself, but im game to try anything. I enjoyed everything but the shrimp to be honest. But thats just me.
By the time the last course rolled around i was stuffed and almost couldn’t finish! Thank god there was no more courses or I wouldn’t have made it.
The hostess was very attentive and polite. Always cleared our dishes very fast and made sure we had everything we needed.
The chef was also funny and attentive, and shared stories about growing up in Japan with us.
I will defiantly be coming back.
You do need to make reservations ahead of time!

It feels like I’m back in Japan sitting at a small (ish) sushi bar having a nice omakase dinner; except this is nicer ‘coz no one is smoking into my food and everyone is speaking English lol!
Taichi is not only talented and creative, he certainly has the personality to play the one man show behind the sushi bar. My first experience at Kappo was very nice. Even though it was my first time meeting Taichi, he made me feel comfortable and it’s great that he makes small talk with all his customers.
Check out Taichi’s photo in the bathroom :) I reckon he’s right about it being a conversational piece. …‘cept the other customers were all talking about it before I’d checked it out and I was expecting the guy’s mug shot in my face lol! But no, it’s pretty cool.
Food is excellent. It’s A LOT of food and for even for me, the bottomless pit I am, couldn’t go through with the entire meal. Maybe it was all the drinking and the heavy Indonesian lunch I had earlier that day lol! My advice, go hungry! You won’t be disappointed for the money you spend. That Japanese beef wow’d me for sure! The matsutake mushroom soup beats even the one I had at Nishino the night before… the pumpkin cooked in sea eel sauce (i’m sure I have it wrong… cooked, braised, steamed… something) was absolutely delicious but a little heavy for all the food that was coming my way. Like I said, go hungry :)
When we were there, walk-​ins were turned away (it was already fully booked) and people were calling to make reservations for nights that were already fully booked. Definitely plan weeks ahead if you’re thinking of weekends and without a doubt, always make reservations. There are only ten seats around the table so don’t come with a party of 11 lol!

I had the opportunity to dine at Chiso Kappo a few days after they opened and I was thoroughly impressed. I’m surprised by some of the other reviews; the seared kobe beef was spectacular, the eel was succulent and the rest of the food all held up to the high standard Taichi is striving to achieve with this new endeavor. If you’re looking for a fun, memorable evening Chiso Kappo should be high on your list.

Living in a metropolitan center on the Pacific rim doesn’t suck. One reason it doesn’t suck is that we have so many great Japanese restaurants stocked with marvelous ingredients and fantastic talent. We have affordable workaday neighborhood spots like Musashi’s and I Love Sushi. We have bastions of quality and tradition like Shiro’s and Saito and we even have the polished, up-​market brilliance of Nishino. One thing we didn’t even know we were missing is Kappo.
Kappo is a gorgeous, swank, private (ish) annex just upstairs from Chiso in Fremont. A friend and I had the pleasure of dining there last week on their «official» opening night and I’m telling you the experience ROCKED from start to finish. First, entering the nearly hidden space makes you feel like a super-​savvy insider. Once inside, you’re greeted by a series of beautifully spare hallways and chambers that add to the feeling of mystery and more than a little exclusivity. Behind a curtain is the compact kitchen and bar which is where we and 6 others spent our evening of gastronomic delight. This room feels much more like a home than a restaurant and that impression is reinforced by the casual friendliness of proprietor/​host/​chef Taichi Kitamura.
Dining at Kappo is omakase only which means that, rather than ordering from a menu, you simply put yourself in Taichi’s very capable hands. The service, coursing and pacing were casual and effortless. The ingredients had been sourced and selected with the passion and attention of an orchid hunter and the preparations were beautifully simple, amplifying but never competing with the magic of the ingredients. The Monkfish and white chantrelles in clear broth was heavenly. The fresh razor clams were like butter. The seared Kobe beef (yes, from Kobe) was transcendental. The various fishes and bivalves served as sashimi and nigiri immediately trumped any that I had ever eaten and for dessert, Taichi produced a marvel of fresh ripe mellon sorbet, fresh figs and vanilla custard.
Part of me was reluctant to write about Kappo because I don’t want it to be «discovered» but, of course, that’s inevitable and I trust Taichi to manage the reservation book and sustain the intimate magic he has created.