Hit or Misso? Momiji Sushi

Since opening its first location in Capitol Hill in 2011, Momiji has grown to three locations across Seattle and has become a local staple. I have been curious to see what the hype was about, so this weekend, I stopped by Momiji in South Lake Union for dinner to try both their specialty rolls and their standard omakase offering.

The vibe was nice, but still casual—perfect for an easy date night or grabbing dinner with friends.

Rolls:

We ordered four rolls: the Seattle Roll, Geisha Roll, Street Fighter Roll, and Rainbow Roll. The rolls were good overall. At around $22–23 each for the specialty rolls, I thought they were well priced given their size. Three rolls could comfortably feed two people with standard appetites.

The Spicy Rainbow Roll (spicy snow crab mix and cucumber topped with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, shrimp, avocado, tobiko, and spicy aioli) and the Geisha Roll (spicy yellowtail, avocado, and cucumber topped with salmon, mango, tobiko, habanero-citrus-truffle oil, and yuzu citrus ponzu) surprisingly tasted very similar despite having noticeably different ingredients on paper. I suspect the heavy use of sauces and layered ingredients caused many of the flavors to blend together, making both rolls land in a similar flavor profile. That said, both were enjoyable and well-executed.

The Street Fighter Roll stood out a bit more. The jalapeño came through as the dominant flavor, adding a nice brightness and subtle heat that paired well with the seared tuna and spicy crab mixture.

Top: Rainbow roll, Middle: Geisha roll, Bottom: Street Fighter

Omakase:

We ordered the standard $60 omakase, which included 11 pieces of nigiri. The omakase included salmon, seared squid, surf clam, ama ebi, akami, chutoro, shima aji, hamachi, scallop, and uni.

With the simplicity of nigiri compared to the specialty rolls, the rice became much more noticeable. It leaned far too sweet for my preference, which I think overpowered some of the more delicate flavors of the fish. The uni also had an unpleasant bitterness.

The standout pieces for me were the bluefin tuna (akami and chutoro), which pleasantly surprised me. The tuna had a soft, smooth texture with a rich savory flavor and the classic iron notes you want from quality maguro.

Overall, I felt the omakase was slightly overpriced for the quality of both the fish (particularly, the surf clam, squid, and uni. Everything else was very good) and rice. That said, I still enjoyed the variety and appreciated getting to taste a broad range of fish. I’d definitely return for the tuna sashimi alone.

$60, 11 pc Omakase

Final Thoughts:

The roll portions felt generous for the price point, and the fish quality was consistently good. There were a few things I would have done differently, but overall, not bad. I think this could have easily been a 9/10 with a few small changes: dialing back the sweetness of the rice, using higher-quality uni (or leaving it off altogether), and replacing the (more affordable) surf clam with another piece of fish. For a $60 nigiri set, I was expecting a bit more attention to those details. The rolls were enjoyable as well, but again, the rice held them back from being truly exceptional.

Food: 6/10 - needed some adjustments

Atmosphere: 8/10 - clean, casual

Service: 9/10 - great, no complaints (I save my 10/10s for a place like Eleven Madison)

As always, these are simply my personal opinions, shared with the hope of offering constructive feedback. Every dining experience is unique, and I'd be happy to revisit in the future—especially to compare it with the original Capitol Hill location.

What do you think—does Momiji live up to the hype? And more importantly, where should I review next? Drop your favorite omakase or sushi spot below!

Watch the full review on Instagram →