Adana, Seattle, Washington, U.S. – Restaurant Review | Condé Nast Traveler

cuisine

Japanese

Tell us about your first impressions when you arrived.
It’s two restaurants in one, really. Walk through the lounge‚ home to a hungry happy hour crowd indulging in pork-cutlet sandwiches, oil-slicked shishito peppers, and regionally raised fried chicken‚ to a serene stretch of dining room where Chef Shota Nakajima offers a three-course menu every day of the week.
What was the crowd like?
Skyrocketing rents have forced artists and musicians to cede this dense stretch of Capitol Hill restaurants and apartment buildings to the tech crowd. Note the smartphone-focused solo diner, scrolling Slack as she dips a nori-topped fry into kewpie mayo. Or the two biz dev dudes debating “monetization strategy” as they dig into ikura-topped octopus in the dining room.
What should we be drinking?
Given Adana’s collection of Japanese whiskeys, a belt of something brown feels very right here. Take your favorite classic‚ Manhattan, say, or a sazerac or an old fashioned, and ask the bartender to make it with a tasty spirit from Hibiki or Suntory.
Main event: the food. Give us the lowdown—especially what not to miss.
Nakajima says his mother’s cooking inspires the delicate dishes on his three course menu. From clams in a subtly complex dashi to fried-and-pickled smelt, the Iron Chef alum approaches every dish with such care, it almost feels wrong paying just $37 to experience it.
How did the front-of-house folks treat you?
Friendly bartenders chat with solo diners in the lounge and the dining room staff have a polite, breezy approach.
What’s the real-real on why we’re coming here?
Adana is the Japanese spot when you want to avoid shouting over a crowd. With its golden lighting and subtle wood accents, the window-lined dining room offers a super-relaxed atmosphere in which to enjoy Nakajima’s delicate dishes.