Bush Garden

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Bush Garden was a Japanese restaurant and karaoke bar on Maynard Avenue South in Seattle’s Chinatown–International District. It opened in 1953 and became a popular spot for locals, celebrities, and politicians. In the 1950s, tatami rooms were added, letting diners sit on the floor with a hidden leg pit. In the 1970s, it helped popularize karaoke in the United States, though another Seattle restaurant, Maneki, also claimed the first karaoke. The venue closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with plans to reopen in 2026. Thrillist says it’s still a fun place with nonstop sing-alongs, affordable Asian food, and strong, inexpensive drinks.