Sansei stakes out territory near iconic public market

SEATTLE >> The seafood bounty of the Pacific Northwest represents fresh territory for Scott Lutey, chef in charge at the newest Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar, and the group’s first location outside Hawaii.

The salmon is exceptional, the crab amazing, the butterfish caught locally.

On the other hand, “Believe it or not, I can’t get my hands on chow fun noodles,” Lutey said.

The wide rice noodles are the base of Sansei’s seafood and and seasonal vegetable pastas. Lutey said he can find small packages for home use, but nothing on the scale he needs. “Right now we’re using fettuccine.”

It’s all part of the adventure of exporting Sansei’s born-in-Hawaii menu to the city where founder Dave “D.K.” Kodama got his start as a bartender in 1979.

Kodama, in an interview in Honolulu, said he searched for eight years for the right Seattle location — a high-traffic spot in a good neighborhood with high visibility — finally finding it on the ground floor of an apartment tower called Premiere on Pine. It’s downtown, a straight shot from the iconic Pike Place Market, near the busy Paramount Theatre and just across the street from the Carlile Room, the latest venture by legendary hometown chef Tom Douglas.

Lutey said his initial customers were those who’d been to a Hawaii Sansei, and they helped spread the word. Numbers have been growing, he said, although not to the level of his last posting, at Sansei in Waikoloa on Hawaii island. Half-hour happy hours on Sundays and Mondays draw 150 to 250 people, he said. He’s used to 350.

“But it’s better than the numbers we projected,” Kodama said. “We’re 80 percent there.”

Seattle is Kodama’s fifth Sansei. His DK Restaurant Group also owns d.k Steak House in Waikiki and Vino Italian Tapas & Wine Bar in Honolulu. He’s not talking about further mainland expansion, though. “Let’s focus on one and make sure it goes well,” he said.

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As Seattle diners get used to Sansei’s whimsical sushi rolls and fusion menu of “big plates,” executive chef Scott Lutey and sushi chef Andy Lewis face a bit of a learning curve with the local seafood. In a good way.

Feeling crabby: Fresh Dungeness and king crab go into a Sansei classic, crab ramen with truffle broth, rather than the lesser snow crab used in Hawaii. Lutey says he’ll serve 30 bowls a night.

The ramen is a clear favorite with the citizen reviewers on Yelp. “The broth was amazing and we ate it all … every … little … bit!” raved one.

He can also get fresh day boat scallops, Penn Cove mussels and geoduck (the supersize mollusk also called gooey duck, or mirugai in Japanese).

Fishy discoveries: Local fish — halibut, golden trout, cobia (black kingfish) and butterfish (black cod) — offer lots of inspiration, and Lutey is still working his way through the possibilities.

“The local fish is more mild than what I’m used to in Hawaii. I can put stronger flavors with it,” he said. Cobia, for example, is like kampachi but firmer, with a high oil content. He’s tried it as torched sashimi and as a Thai curry.

He’s also done peppered halibut with roasted yams and fennel, scallops with a kale-apple-walnut salad, mussels with chorizo and tomato. Butterfish is used in the traditional Japanese miso preparation as in Hawaii, “but it’s a whole different product being fresh, not frozen.”

Select salmon: “The salmon for sushi has been awesome,” Lutey said. It’s not your average pink salmon, but king, sockeye and, in season, Copper River. “The fat content is off the charts.”

Also available is steelhead trout, which can be served raw like salmon.

Lutey also orders yellowfin and bigeye tuna, as he did in Hawaii, but also has access to coveted Atlantic bluefin.

Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar, Seattle, 815 Pine St., 206-402-4414; sanseiseattle.com