Yes :-) Jennifer's review (Apr 30th 2006)

Thanks to Sarah of The Delicious Life I had a legitimate reason to take off work early Friday afternoon and enjoy a few sunny hours mulling around downtown. Remi, never one to pass up a chance to eat at a great restaurant, eagerly joined me at Mizuna for a leisurely lunch.

Tucked away in a turn of the century building on Howard, Mizuna resides in the core of Spokane. The restaurant features hard wood floors, tall brick walls, and a high ceiling. A few wrought iron cafe tables welcome diners out front, while a tree shaded alley to the side of the building boasts even more alfresco dining. Co-owners Sylvia Wilson and Tonia Buckmiller opened the restaurant and wine bar in 1996 and it has since been featured in Bon Appetit magazine and Northwest’s Best Places. It has also consistently been rated one of Spokane’s top five restaurants in both The Spokesman-Review and The Inlander.What started as a quiet vegetarian and vegan restaurant has turned into a fresh and light food refuge for herbivores and carnivores alike. Seafood was gradually added to the menu. Australian organic beef was eventually added as well. Mizuna utilizes separate cooking stations and tools to keep dishes entirely vegetarian or vegan. These dishes are also noted on the menu. In the evenings the wine bar hosts local musical acts.

On this particular afternoon I treated myself to a cool, crisp ahi tuna salad. The sesame-miso dressing perfectly balanced the seared tuna and mixed greens. Finely julienned snow pea pods added crunch and were a brilliant touch. Remi enjoyed a summer grilled sandwich of eggplant, peppers, and extremely fresh mozzarella cheese. The eggplant was grilled to perfection.

Yes :-) Remi's review (Jan 12th 2004)

Mizuna has gone from being “that vegetarian restaurant” to the best restaurant in town.

The food is continental inspired, but with a good touch of creative twists to make everything that much more interesting. Try something as simple as the steak for example; always cooked to perfection, and served with seasonal vegetables, honey, shallots, and figs. Sure, it’s hard to mess up a steak (short of overcooking it,) but being creative with it is equally difficult, so kudos to Mizuna there.

Other highlights include the pasta with duck confit, and a good old fashioned classic cheese platter. For lunch I recommend the tofu tacos—they are not (and this should surprise no-one) traditional tacos, but highly flavorful.

Note that the vegetarian and vegan meals are prepared in a separate area from the meat based ones.

Yes :-) Stefan's review (Jun 6th 2006)

Mizuna used to be the sole vegetarian restaurant in Spokane. I imagine that it didnt take long to realize that the population of Spokane probably only has 10 or 12 people who would frequent such an establishment on a regular basis.

Not too long ago (a few years) Mizuna decided that they had enough of that elitist vegetarian crowd and started to carry some meat. Now their menu consists of about two real vegetarian dishes.

So Mizuna is that ambitious restaurant in Spokane that really pushed the envelope as far as our local scene goes. Theyve got some pretty amazing items and their duck is pretty fantastic.

The thing about Mizuna is that they are pretty spendy. Im not saying you are going to need a second mortgage to go there just be ready to spend about 35 to 40 dollars a person. I do, however, have a hard time saying that it’s not worth it. Mizuna offers some pretty tasty stuff.

No :-( beth's review (Oct 31st 2006)

I thought that when I went to the famous Mizuna, that I would have been delighted with the service. The food was great, when we actually got it. It was the service that was in bad taste. We felt that because of our attire, (which we wear on purpose to test out the Classist theory) we were paid very little attention…sad.

Yes :-) Alex's review (Jan 5th 2007)

I have eaten twice at Mizuna, both times on dates. The food was exquisite, the service was excellent, friendly, and knowledgeable. I would recommend Mizuna to anyone looking for something healthy and good.

Yes :-) DJ's review (Jul 16th 2007)

Mizuna’s wait staff is very pleasant, and the food is better than anything I’ve had in Spokane. By the way, I am a chef so I know good food when I taste it.

Yes :-) Ashley's review (May 8th 2008)

This used to be my favorite restaurant in Spokane but last time the service was not-so-great. The food is outstanding though so I will probably be back. Very expensive.

Yes :-) jenifer's review (Jun 24th 2008)

Even from a confessed food snob and a complete meat lover, Mizuna’s is my favorite downtown spot. Great old city atmosphere. Creative dishes, good choices for vegans, diabetics, Celiac sufferers. I wouldn’t ordet the steak again, but everything else is always great! One wish; I wish they would put ice in their water glasses, warm water is very unappetizing.