Georgetown’s Revered, Low-Key Japanese Restaurant Cutting Board Has Quietly Closed

Sad news for the Georgetown dining scene. Well-loved Japanese restaurant Cutting Board — a neighborhood mainstay for more than a decade — quietly closed recently. Though there has been no official announcement and calls to the restaurant weren’t returned, several tipsters alerted Eater Seattle to the news, the Yelp page reports it as closed, and a recent visit to the location during what would be regular business hours showed the interior completely gutted out.

Cutting Board was known for its excellent, wide selection of sushi (more than 60 different rolls to choose from) in a no-frills atmosphere, at affordable prices. When it first arrived, Crosscut called it a “sushi game-changer” and said “the cut and quality of fish was as good as any in town.” That quality had not seemed to wane in recent years, and the restaurant even gained a strong reputation for non-sushi items, including hambaagu, omu-rice, Napolitan spaghetti, and some katsu curry options.

A sign on the window outside Cutting Board indicated that Donburi Station, a second outpost of popular donburi specialist Fremont Bowl, would be moving in soon. When contacted, a spokesperson for Fremont Bowl confirmed the news to Eater Seattle, saying, “We’re hoping to launch in early spring, possibly in March.”

Though details on Donburi Station are still unclear at this time, if it follows in the footsteps in Fremont Bowl, it should hold some interest to Cutting Board fans (both have been on Eater’s list of top Japanese restaurants that go beyond sushi and ramen). The main draw at Fremont Bowl is the reasonably priced chirashi-don, which features a generous portion of tuna, yellowtail, albacore, and flying fish roe. The sibling to South Lake Union restaurant I Love Sushi also makes soy sauce on-site and uses real wasabi.

• All coverage of Cutting Board [ESEA]
• Top Japanese Restaurants That Go Beyond Sushi and Ramen [ESEA]
• Donburi Station [Official]