Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi in Downtown Bellevue.
Thirty-one floors above Bellevue Way, on the entire top floor of Lincoln Square South — dry-aged Prime, a sushi counter, and the widest view any dining room downtown can offer.
Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi occupies the entire 31st floor of Lincoln Square South, and the height is the whole premise: floor-to-ceiling glass on every side, the floor stepped so the back tables still see over the front ones, and a view that runs from Bellevue Downtown Park across Lake Washington to the Seattle skyline, with Mount Rainier off the patio on a clear day. What arrives at the table is split down the middle — Pat LaFrieda beef dry-aged at least 50 days over a custom wood-fired grill on one side, a full sushi counter working bluefin, uni and A5 Wagyu nigiri on the other.
DBN found it in city permits in February 2017, more than a year before it opened, and walked the room in June 2018: root sculptures suspended from the double-height ceiling, a quartz wall behind the sushi bar cut to resemble tree rings, a gold-tiled grill in the display kitchen. Since then it has been named one of the world’s most romantic restaurants by Architectural Digest, held a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence on a 750-bottle list, taken a DiRoNA Award of Excellence, and hosted the Seahawks’ rookie dinner and its $38,000 bill.
It is the most expensive room downtown and it knows it. For the rest of the field, see our guide to the best steakhouses in downtown Bellevue.
What to Order at Ascend Prime
A steakhouse and a sushi bar sharing one floor; these five are how to eat across both halves.
Spicy Tuna & Prosciutto Roll
The house roll since opening night in 2018 — bubu arare, avocado, tomato relish and bottarga. The one dish that appears in every outside review of the room.
Dry-Aged Prime Bone-In Ribeye
Pat LaFrieda beef, dry-aged a minimum of 50 days, cooked over the custom wood-fired grill that was craned in before the tower was finished around it.
“Kuroge Purebreed” A5 Wagyu
Japanese A5 filet sold by the ounce with a three-ounce minimum. The Miyazaki A5 beside it is availability-based; this is the one that is reliably there.
Premium Omakase
Seven pieces of seasonal premium nigiri with contemporary and traditional garnish — the sushi bar’s full argument, and why the room lands on best-sushi lists as well as steak lists.
Magic Mushroom
White chocolate cherry mousse, mocha crumb, matcha shortbread, chocolate pot de crème and a honey meringue mushroom, plated as a forest in a jar. Eight years on, still the most photographed thing here.
Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi Through the Years on DBN
DBN has reported on downtown Bellevue since 2005. This is Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi’s story as we covered it, as it happened.
Top Floor Restaurant Planned at Lincoln Square: Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi
DBN found the restaurant in City of Bellevue permits more than a year before it opened — top floor, outdoor seating, fireplaces and a wood-fired grill.
Bellevue’s Sky-High Restaurant, Ascend Prime, Now Open
Our opening-week walkthrough: the suspended root sculptures, the tree-ring quartz wall behind the sushi bar, the gold-tiled grill, and the two window tables that beat every other seat.
In the Kitchen With Ascend Prime Steak and Sushi
The founding interview on why a restaurant this size belonged on top of a Bellevue office tower rather than at street level.
Architectural Digest Names Ascend One of the Most Romantic Restaurants in the World
The only Pacific Northwest room on a 16-restaurant world list.
Seahawks Rookies Rack Up a $38,000 Dinner Bill at Ascend
The Seahawks’ annual rookie dinner landed here — the bill ran to $38,015, up from El Gaucho’s $22,203 the year before.
Ascend Prime Launches Its 2025 Summer Social Series
The lounge-patio party series grew to an eight-part summer lineup, and is still running in its third year.
Browse all Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi coverage in the DBN archive.
Getting There & When to Go
Everything about the visit is vertical: park below, take the elevator to 31, and give yourself a minute at the window before you sit.
Getting There & Parking
- Drive: The Lincoln Square South garage sits under the building. Ascend validates for three hours, and parking is free later in the evening; valet runs through the W Bellevue in the same complex. Bellevue Square’s free garages are across Bellevue Way if the garage below is full.
- Light rail: 2 Line to Bellevue Downtown Station, then a roughly 12-minute walk west along NE 6th to Bellevue Way — see our light rail guide
- On foot: The entrance is at street level on NE 4th; take the tower elevators to the 31st floor. From Bellevue Square it is a five-minute walk south, or the sky bridges most of the way.
Best Times to Go
Sunset is the reservation everyone wants, and in summer that runs late — book well ahead if the view is the occasion, and ask for the guaranteed window seating if it matters. Weeknights in the lounge are the easiest way in without a long-lead reservation, and the patios are first-come.
Make It a Night
You are on top of Lincoln Square South, so the rest of the night is downstairs: W Bellevue in the same complex, and where the valet runs, Downtown Park the green rectangle you were looking down at all night, or Wild Ginger on the ground floor of the same block for a shorter night.
Good to Know
As of August 2026: reservations through SevenRooms or by phone; the Aburi-Robata Experience at the sushi bar books separately on Tock. Business casual dress. Corkage is $50 per 750ml with a two-bottle limit. Three private dining suites — Vertigo, Virtu and Vista — seat up to 80, 16 and 40, and Vista has its own terrace. There are plant-based and children’s menus.
Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi FAQ
Where is Ascend Prime in Bellevue?
On the 31st floor of Lincoln Square South at 10400 NE 4th Street, Suite 3100. The restaurant spans the entire top floor of the office tower, so the only way in is the elevator. Some older listings still call the building the Lincoln Square Expansion.
Do you need a reservation at Ascend Prime, and can you request a window table?
Reservations run through SevenRooms from the restaurant’s own site, or by phone. Window tables can be guaranteed for a $50 table fee, which secures the seat and is not a credit toward the meal. The restaurant notes that the floor is stepped so that every table has a view, window or not. The patios are walk-in only.
Where do you park for Ascend Prime?
The Lincoln Square South garage. Ascend validates for three hours, and parking is free later in the evening. Valet is available through the W Bellevue in the same complex.
What should you order at Ascend Prime?
The spicy tuna and prosciutto roll and the dry-aged bone-in ribeye are the two the room was built on. For the splurge, the Kuroge A5 Wagyu by the ounce; at the counter, the premium omakase. Finish with the Magic Mushroom, which is a dessert plated as a forest in a jar.
Is there a dress code at Ascend Prime?
Business casual, which the restaurant defines as collared shirts, dress pants or dark jeans, dresses, skirts or blouses. Well-behaved children under 12 are welcome and there is a children’s menu.