Dim Sum at TanakaSan

TanakaSan (spelled different ways on the website) is one of the latest Tom Douglas restaurants. He has a habit of opening multiple new places within a few days of each other and this time was no different. TanakaSan is one of four new places located on the ground floor of the new Via6 apartment building just north of the main downtown core on Sixth Ave. A coffee shop, a market/take-out counter combo, and a florist shop round out the other new places. There are also a couple of non-Tom Douglas businesses like a bike shop, barber and bank in the Via6 complex.

It’s a great set-up – one that has me thinking about what it would be like to live there…

But back to TanakaSan. They call Happy Hour Dim Sum, although it’s not the traditional dim sum with rolling carts delivering small plates to your table. It is an interesting collection of small plates, sake slushies and a few other beverages all offered for $5. The day we visited was a little cool and we were sitting on the outdoor patio, so a sake slushie didn’t sound appealing but the Buffalo Trace bourbon did! My dining companion chose a traditional lemondrop, which is not one of the Happy Hour menu items.

 
 

After we ordered our drinks it was hard to make a decision about the food. So many delicious sounding little plates! We finally decided to go with several, assuming they’d be small portions. We chose shrimp lumpia, smoked duck sausage, twice-fried chicken wings (there are two different preparations), Osaka pancake, and soy cooked eggs. You can see that the menu leans heavily Asian but it also combines other elements from Executive Chef Erik Tanaka’s background.

We loved it all. And my friend pronounced the Osaka pancake nearly as good as her Japanese mother’s version. All of the happy hour items are also on the main menu. I’m not sure if the main menu portions are the same size as the happy hour versions but our plates were generous for $5.

I love the patio seating and with the overhead heaters it should provide an outdoor option for several months. Indoors the dining room is two levels with lots of seating. There’s a handsome bar on the first level.

I think Tom Douglas and crew have another winner on their hands!

Tanakasan
2121 6th Ave (6th & Lenora)
Seattle
206.812.8412