By
Seattle Times food writer
This capsule restaurant review is part of our ongoing Seattle’s 50 Essential Restaurants project. Find more at seattletimes.com/tag/restaurant-news and in print on Nov. 15, in a special edition of The Mix.
No. 6: Ltd Edition Sushi
Sushi
1641 Nagle Place, Suite 006, Seattle (Capitol Hill); no phone; ltdeditionsushi.com
Can high-end sushi truly be a transformative experience? Explore the outer limits of the form at Ltd Edition on Capitol Hill, where the pristine fish is so good, a given bite might make you momentarily teary-eyed.
The small, intentionally spare room sets the stage for chef/owner Keiji Tsukasaki’s work, course after course of an omakase menu that shifts with the season, showcasing the ocean’s best from the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
His marvelous Dungeness crab gunkan, topped with jewel-like housemade crab-fat gel, earned highest honors from The New York Times; his otoro — tasting like a fluffy pink cloud over the ocean at sunset — has made me quietly, briefly cry.
Tsukasaki’s manner, meanwhile, makes time spent at his white-oak counter truly fun — he’s got a sly sense of humor, slipping in marine science while keeping cups full with an eclectic sake-and-beyond pairing. He says he keeps his sushi simple, hewing largely to Edomae tradition, but in his hands and under his knife, simple is stellar.
With the wild fish served here an ever-more-precious commodity, a $195 seat at Ltd Edition’s sushi bar is the most worth-it splurge in town by far.
Bethany Jean Clement: 206-464-2050 or bclement@seattletimes.com. On Facebook at bethany.jean.clement and on Instagram @bethanyjeanclement. Clement has written about food, restaurants and the people and cultures intrinsic to them for The Seattle Times since 2014.
Dining and Cooking