E. coli outbreak linked to Bellevue teriyaki restaurant, 5 people sick
Dec 22, 2025, 4:00 PM
Chicken Teriyaki over steamed rice with vegetables. (Photo: @mosespreciado via Flickr Creative Commons)
(Photo: @mosespreciado via Flickr Creative Commons)
King County Public Health is investigating an E. coli outbreak linked to a teriyaki restaurant in Bellevue.
Five people have fallen sick — four of them seriously enough to be hospitalized. All of them ate at Tokyo Teriyaki Stop at 1504 145th Place S.E., on either Nov. 24 or 25.
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Lab testing revealed all five people tested positive for the same type of bacteria, which produces Shiga toxin (STEC) and can make people very sick.
Symptoms range from nausea and vomiting to stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea, and fever. This particular strain of E. coli can also cause life-threatening complications in 5 to 10% of people.
According to Public Health, STEC infections can happen when someone eats raw or undercooked beef or other foods contaminated with animal feces. Food can also come into contact with bacteria through raw beef or beef juices in a kitchen.
People can spread the infection, too, through their poop even after they are sick.
Health inspectors shut down the restaurant on Dec. 12, and an inspection found two problems: sinks for washing raw meat and vegetables were placed too close together, and tools and surfaces weren’t sanitized properly.
A King County Public Health news release revealed that inspectors worked with the restaurant to improve food safety practices. After a full cleaning and a second inspection, Toyko Teriyaki Stop was allowed to reopen.
All four people who were hospitalized have recovered. A sixth person tested positive for the same Shiga toxin-causing E. coli bacteria, but did not eat at Tokyo Teriyaki Stop. That means there could be a second, separate source of contamination or a contaminated food product that was served in multiple places.
If you ate at Tokyo Teriyaki Stop during the week of Thanksgiving and got sick, Public Health wants to hear from you.
Calls to the restaurant for comment were not returned.
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