during a recent visit to seattle we met an old friend and a new friend for dinner at mashiko. we had made a reservation, but quickly discovered how busy the restaurant was when we could not be seated on arrival. we visited thebaracross the road for a half an hour to chat; which wasn't so bad in our circumstances, but could have been quite annoying. when we returned, we were seated and comped a drink for our trouble, which was nice. to make things easy, we ordered one of the tasting menus consisting of a mix of sashimi, nigiri, and other very yummy things. the food was delicious, although we all found the deep-fried shrimp head a bit too challenging for our tastes: we are more used to throwing that part away. the prices were ever-so-slightly on the high side of what i would expect. the service was friendly and efficient, despite how busy they were. to their credit, the staff did not rush us as we talked and talked. we were the last to leave that night and we are looking forward to visiting again.