Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Ko Japanese Dining

    4.5 (74 reviews)
    Closed • 11:30 am - 9:00 pm

    Order Ko Japanese Dining Takeout or Delivery

    Ko Japanese Dining Photos

    KO JAPANESE DINING ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?

    You might also consider

    More like Ko Japanese Dining

    Recommended Reviews - Ko Japanese Dining

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Vic
    Christine S.

    Delicious food, cozy atmosphere and great service! When you want good quality sushi, in a quiet and cozy place, Ko Japanese Dining is the place for you. Right when I walked it I felt so welcomed by the staff. They were very attentive and the food was delicious! This place is definitely a place I will come back to!

    Victoria S.

    Elegant and cozy dining space with soft lighting and modern touches. Waitstaff was as professional and courteous as can be. Menu had recognizable sushi and hot entrees but also had some pub grub seen in izakayas. They had an extensive drink menu and reasonable happy hour choices. We shared several small plates (edamame, potato croquettes, chicken karaage). Everything came out piping hot and delicious. For my entree I ordered the sukiyaki. It came with white rice and a Rick vegetable soup. They were great preludes to the sukiyaki stew. The main dish was a sweet and rich broth still bubbling over a burner. Expertly layered clear noodles, spinach, fresh shiitake, king mushrooms, silken tofu and beef filled the pot. The beef was paper thin, rare and so tender. It cooked up well on the hot broth. Was such a nice comfort dinner for a windy evening. For dessert we shared basque burnt cheesecake and matcha chiffon cake. Both were great. The basque cheesecake was rich, but not too heavy. The matcha cake was green tea sponge slices (not too sweet), with ear slice topped with azuki, powdered sugar and whipped cream. A perfect sweet ending to a perfect evening. Tea was refilled often. The food was authentic Japanese.

    Happy Hour specials
    Sophia I.

    Very good traditional Japanese kitchen food. They had nigiri & sashimi on the menu but that's not why we went. It was for dishes like freshly made rolled egg omelet, sunumono, hamachi kama dinner set and more. I'd go just for that tamago appetizer plate, omg so good! I'm kicking myself that I didn't order the chiwanmushi now. It's hard to find authentic Japanese kitchen food (as I call it lol) and this place tasted like home.

    Curry Karagae
    Natalie R.

    Authentic taste and such quality food. Our server told us they ship directly from Japan!! Really cute ambience (warm light and comfy seats), it wasn't too busy on Friday night -- space is limited though. They do have a small 10% tariff fee, but I think for the quality of food you get, it's worth it!

    Katsu Curry Rice
    Tracy D.

    Made reservations in advance. Seated right away when arrived. Superb service. Kind, attentive, quick and overall happy. We had karage chicken, smashed cucumber, tempura roll, beef teriyaki and katsu. Very clean nice space, serene. Space is upstairs. All tasted good. Maybe would've like the steak more well done but get it. Overall nice place.

    Chawamushi (Steamed Egg)
    Ailun H.

    My friend and I wanted Japanese food for her birthday dinner so we decided to venture into DC to give Ko Japanese Dining a try. The interior is pretty simple with not a lot of flair. When we were here last Wednesday around 6:30 PM, maybe half of the tables were full, so you may not need a reservation for a la carte. We got started with a couple appetizers and ordered an entree each. CHAWANMUSHI (STEAMED EGG) - 9 The chawanmushi came in a petite cup, topped with a couple pieces of shiitake (?), okra pieces, imitation crab and a couple others I forgot. The steamed egg had a more solid texture and the flavor was pretty good. Not my favorite chawanmushi, but it was pleasant. KARAAGE (FRIED CHICKEN) (HH) - 7 The HH portion is huge. We got four fat pieces of karaage which was battered and fried well with the mayo dipping sauce on the side. The chicken thigh itself was juicy and flavorful. We enjoyed the little side salad on the side that goes with it. Overall, super solid for the price and the chicken was so tasty. GRILLED FISH (HOKKE MACKEREL) - 29 The grilled fish came with a small bowl of fluffy white rice and miso soup (this one had a lot of stuff in it other than tofu, miso and seaweed). The fish has all the bones on it, but you can peel off the top fried layer to remove most of the bones. The hokke was very flavorful and salted well, and as described by our server, definitely on the fishier side. I enjoyed the fish, but I don't think I would get it again because it wasn't anything too out of the ordinary. MATCHA AFFOGATO Because it was my friend's birthday, they gave us two matcha affogatos on the house. Very nice of them! The vanilla ice cream was good, but the splashes of matcha was hardened by the time we ate it, and it felt like we were eating a hardened bark-like texture for the matcha. It also didn't have a strong matcha flavor, either. Either way, free dessert is always a win! My friend got the TENDON which she loved. She said she doesn't see this entree too often in the Japanese restaurants in the area, so she'd come back again for it. If I come back, I'd like to try it!

    salmon sushi roll
    Sonya H.

    Wonderful spot for outstanding and authentic Japanese food! I visited Ko Japanese Dining with a couple friends for a Saturday morning brunch after another friend told us it was the best Japanese food she ever had in DC. It absolutely lived up to the hype! It was pretty quiet when we arrived, so we had our pick of seats; we selected a spot next to a window where we could overlook the rest of Dupont. It was cozy and simple, and the food was outstanding. I got the grilled mackerel, which included two beautifully grilled fillets with a side of miso soup, rice, and diced radish. The fish was remarkably fresh and super tender, and it was super flavorful on its own but also paired well with the soy sauce and sides of radish or lemon. They offer two different types of mackerel (white and blue), and I ended up getting the saba / blue mackerel at the server's recommendation. My friends sampled their spicy salmon roll, shiromi fry (fried fish), and oyakodon, all of which were outstanding. The spicy salmon roll was simple but well-executed, with super fresh fish and a great kick of spice. The shiromi fry was perfect, with the super tender, flaky fish encased in an addictively crispy and slightly salty shell. The oyakodon was incredibly tender and flavorful, and it both looked and felt like pure comfort in a bowl. The menu is a smidge pricey, but the portions are really generous and the everything is crafted with precision and care.

    Fried Eggplant Cheese
    Maggie L.

    Mixed experience here! Service was very meh. We struggled to get the waiter over to our table to order to the point where it was nearing closing time and hadn't gotten our order in. The offerings here are great, seem pretty traditional. I LOVED the eggplant cheese and the sushi rolls are pretty reasonably priced. We struggled a bit with what to order and probably should have gotten one of the mains rather than splitting some of the smaller dishes. The ambiance is awesome - in an upstairs floor on a row home type building. Just a mixed experience, maybe just an off night and off orders on our part!

    Grilled mackerel

    I went to culinary school. This place imports fresh fish from Japan on a weekly basis. The grilled mackerel was perfect. The skin was so crispy you could eat it like a chip. The miso soup has onion and carrot it in which is uncommon but it worked beautifully.

    Chicken Teriyaki
    Blake H.

    This is a great place for traditional Japanese food! We started with an order of Karrage that was delicious. We incorrectly thought it would be a small order, but it was not. It was very good and we enjoyed, but we couldn't eat it all if we wanted to eat dinner. I would order it again if we had two more people to share it with. Our waitress was great and knew the menu well. We were asking so many questions and she handled them with grace and style. Because of our waitress' recommendations, my wife ordered the Grilled Fish-Hokke Mackerel instead of the Saba Mackerel based on their discussion of the two types. My wife grew up eating mackerel and loves it, if it's done right. Ko definitely did it right. She was so pleased with how it turned out and was grateful for the recommendation. I really wanted noodles. They have two great looking options and by accident I got see both. Our waitress made suggestions between the yakisoba and the yakiudon. I decided on the yakisoba and based on the photo of the yakisoba decided I would add an order of chicken teriyaki because the noodles appeared to come with sauce and noodles. Somehow during our discussions, lines were crossed and an order of yakiudon noodles came out. They looked good, but my first reaction was these are for another table. It wasn't until the meal was over that I found out it was a mistake. I tell you that so I can tell you the staff handled it so smoothly you didn't know it was a mistake until later and our lovely waitress apologized. The chicken teriyaki was amazing! It is different than your typical Americanized teriyaki in that it was definitely not sweet. It had so much flavor and not overrun with sweetness, which I really appreciated. Other notes. The dressings used on the salads and the shaved cabbage were amazing as well. The owners were present and happily checking on diners to make sure their experience was up to their expectations. During one of those conversations we found out they've only been open for 4 months, but it didn't show in how they handled everything. Overall, we loved our meal and the service at Ko. We will gladly come back when we're in town for our next visit.

    Agedashi tofu
    Kylie D.

    A great Japanese restaurant in DC!! The atmosphere was a bit fancy, so dress up a bit when you come. Service was fine. The food was very tasty for the most part. The only thing I disliked was the miso soup, which tasted like it had cooking alcohol in it... which is not how miso soup should be made. I was very disappointed with that. My favorite dish was the agedashitofu, which we got as a starter. It was SO GOOD. Would definitely come again!

    Karaage Fried Chicken
    Candace F.

    My friend and i came in for the first time tonight and had an amazing experience. Everything we tried felt like so much care and effort was put into curating every dish. It was our first time and we weren't that hungry, so we tried some small plates but will be back! Ambiance: the restaurant has nice minimal dining room. It's not too big at all so it also feels super cozy. We came in on a Saturday night and the entire dining room was full 10/10 Customer service : we had a nice server but the star was the owner who made sure to go to every table. He visited our table more than once throughout our meal. He gave recommendations and was super nice. I couldn't believe the restaurant has i my been opened for about 6 months. Wow! 10/10 Food: we must come back because i don't think we ordered enough food. An instagram post recommended the karaage, so we ordered that and it was our favorite food item of the evening. 10/10 We also ordered the yakitamago, which was slightly sweet and had an overall great texture. It almost melts in your mouth. 9/10 Spicy tuna roll was solid. I think they're more know for their sashimi, which we learned is hand cut to order. 8/10 Drinks: i ordered a plum wine sprits and we also ordered sake which paired very well with our food. 8/10 Dessert: we ordered the matcha affogato. Love the idea of this dish. I can't wait to try it at home. The dish was good, but i wish there was a bit more matcha. 8.5/10 Overall: we had such a great dining experience here, and we cannot wait to come back! 9.1/10

    Katsu Sando set

    See all

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    9 months ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 2
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ronald L.
    280
    139
    20

    11 months ago

    Super expensive. Quality and taste of food is not bad but everything costs twice what it should.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 2

    8 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Leslie O.
    73
    40
    26

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of A M.
    0
    1
    0

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Mari S.
    61
    71
    86

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 2
    Love this 2
    Oh no 2
    Photo of Peter G.
    384
    72
    17

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    1 year ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 months ago

    Superb Japanese dining imbued with peaceful ambience and attentive service near Dupont Circle

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Brooklyn N.
    58
    106
    156

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Ko Japanese Dining

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Japanese 5,710 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Love Makoto - Hand rolls

    Love Makoto

    4.5(580 reviews)
    1.9 mi
    •$$$$

    Review for Hiya Izakaya--the cocktail bar option in this "Food Hall" style restaurant…read more Visited for our one year engagement anniversary and it was the Perfect vibe. Loved the creative cocktails and every appetizer we tried was insanely unique and delicious. I am still salivating over their edamame 4 months later! We also took the plunge and ordered the biggest sushi assortment, unknowingly ordering a boat to our table. They were awesome, fresh, and flavorful. Too much for us to finish at dinner so we also had leftovers. Servers were very attentive. Since visiting, we have ordered takeout from Love On The Run and it was VERY good.

    Love Makoto is a cool food hall with different restaurants inside. We tried Dear sushi for a…read morebirthday and the staff was so polite and professional after the group got rambunctious after a few bottles of sake. God bless them. The table got à la cart nigiri and they received large portions of fresh fish. The toro is great here. I ordered the omakase. While it had a cool concept of "old vs new school" methods of preparing the sushi. I ended up liking the simple flavors so next time I'll just go with the à la cart menu. The non sushi dishes were unremarkable. I found the omakase to be of poor value because the non sushi dishes were bland and uninteresting, and I was so hungry after. The thing that I couldn't get over was the rice. The rice was large kernels that tasted kind of like brown rice and had an odd texture. It did not stick together well and was falling apart when you picked it up. It was so distracting. Next time I will only order sashimi.

    Photos
    Love Makoto - Pick up area

    Pick up area

    Love Makoto - Omakase Express Lunch came with these 5 sushi. Otoro, hamachi; bluefin tina, salmon, snapper.

    Omakase Express Lunch came with these 5 sushi. Otoro, hamachi; bluefin tina, salmon, snapper.

    Love Makoto - Emperor butterfly mocktail

    See all

    Emperor butterfly mocktail

    Sushi Nakazawa

    Sushi Nakazawa

    4.4(534 reviews)
    1.6 mi•Federal Triangle
    •$$$$

    My first time having omakase…read more The experience was amazing. If you are thinking about splurging, this is a very safe bet. The fish tasted fresh and was well prepared. The only thing even remotely able to be critisised is that the experience was a little mechanical and assembly line like. The fish was all pre-cut and the experience wasn't personalized like I hear some other places are.

    This was my first omakase where it only featured nigiri sushi and wow, was I impressed with Sushi…read moreNakazawa. We sat at the counter, and the classic omakase was priced at $190 each. We also added the A5 Wagyu Nigiri for $18 additional. If you choose to dine at the dining room, it's $160, but they exclude several items such as their fantastic tiger prawn. The classic omakase consists of 20 items of sushi. I wish I had written notes on each one, but basically from what I recalled, we had chum salmon, soy marinated king salmon, scallops, squid, tiger prawn, mackerel, sea bass, crab w/ tomalley, ⁠⁠Spanish mackerel, hay smoked mackerel and others. The main course was the four different types of tuna. Of course, the best ones were the chutoro and otoro. The A5 Wagyu was really good as well. The omakase ended with some hand rolls (the toro one was my favorite), uni, eel and the tamago. It's hard to pick a favorite dish since they were all so good. I think this was the first time I had sushi rice that was flavored. That was really good. Service was fantastic. I only wish they had a full bar, because I really wanted to drink some Old Fashioned with this meal, but opted for some Japanese beers instead. My water was replenished frequently, and it was fun interacting with the sushi chef. This is a great place to celebrate a special occasion.

    Photos
    Sushi Nakazawa
    Sushi Nakazawa - ? Black Skipjacks

    ? Black Skipjacks

    Sushi Nakazawa - Kama Toro (cheek)

    See all

    Kama Toro (cheek)

    Daikaya the Izakaya - Spicy Miso Ramen

    Daikaya the Izakaya

    3.9(988 reviews)
    1.6 mi
    •$$

    We are here for work and one of my colleagues wanted to come here…read more It's located upstairs so remember to take the stairs on the left side. Super cool looking restaurant. As soon as we reached the top of the stairs, to the right is an amazing bar. Darker warm lighting in the whole restaurant. There are a few tables to the left of the bar, that's where we were seated, and more to the right and there's bar seatings as well We shared all the items ordered and enjoyed it all. Gyozas had wasabi on it so be careful but it was amazing with layers of flavors. The rice pot was more than enough for 4ppl to share with tons of meats and seafood inside. Like a paella but Japanese. Meatballs were underestimated but it delivered. Tasted amazing we had to order another one. Most items are one order, one item so ask before ordering. Service was perfect. Waitress always checked on us and food came out very timely.

    I was excited to try it because I had a craving for ramen and other dishes. Unfortunately, the…read moretonkotsu ramen was mediocre at best. The broth was okay (lacked a lot of flavor). The noodles were good, and the pork belly... puny and tasteless. I also ordered a pork katsudon to eat later; although slightly better, the meat portion was terribly small. The only bright spot was the chicken katsu, which was very good... though everything fried is usually good.

    Photos
    Daikaya the Izakaya - The third sake trio on the menu served like this, strength is weakest to highest left to right. They might substitute if unavailable

    The third sake trio on the menu served like this, strength is weakest to highest left to right. They might substitute if unavailable

    Daikaya the Izakaya - Tsukune Grilled Chicken Meatballs

    Tsukune Grilled Chicken Meatballs

    Daikaya the Izakaya - Pee Wee Potatoes

    See all

    Pee Wee Potatoes

    Shōtō - Pork belly skewers

    Shōtō

    4.0(713 reviews)
    0.8 mi•Downtown

    After walking past this place nearly every day for two years, I finally made it in…read more Overall, I enjoyed the meal. The menu spans a wide variety of Japanese cuisine (or at least, how one might traditionally imagine it), and there were some genuine highlights: the steak (it wasn't billed as wagyu, so I'm not entirely sure what it was), the eggplant taco, and the corn. That said, as someone who's particular about Japanese food, I do feel that restaurants specializing in each of these dishes execute them better -- Uchi's sushi and Izakaya Seki's yakitori both outshine Shoto's versions. The room itself is glamorous in a very Miami way: sleek decor, a showy bathroom, and it takes on a bit of a nightclub vibe as the night goes on. My main gripe was pacing -- service felt rushed at first, then there was a sudden lull, and dessert took forever to arrive.

    My mom & I went Shōtō in DC for an early birthday treat and we had such a great experience! The…read moreservice was immaculate from start to finish. They started us off with warm towels, which was such a nice touch, and everyone was so attentive and welcoming throughout the meal. I started with a martini that came with a shot of sparkling sake, while my mom had a cappuccino. For food, we shared the Wagyu no gyoza and OMG... so good! Definitely an 8/10 and something I'd recommend trying. I also ordered the grilled octopus with potatoes, and that was delicious as well. My only wish is that the portions were a little bigger, but honestly, the excellent service and the fact that we shared several dishes made up for it. My mom ordered the Suzuki yaki, branzino, which was delicious, and the corn was SO good. It's covered in butter and absolutely worth trying! We ended the night with the matcha tiramisu, and they even wrote "Happy Birthday" on the plate for my mom. Such a cute touch and a perfect way to end the meal. They said online that we might leave hungry, but we were actually pretty full! I definitely think sharing several dishes is the way to go. If you're only ordering one entrée for yourself, you may leave wanting more, but with a few dishes to share, we had plenty. Overall, I'd definitely recommend Shōtō. It's definitely a bit pricey but the service really stood out, the food was delicious, and it felt like a special place to celebrate. I'm already looking forward to coming back to try the sushi!

    Photos
    Shōtō - The beautiful bar

    The beautiful bar

    Shōtō - Premium omakase (tempura)

    Premium omakase (tempura)

    Shōtō - Seating area

    See all

    Seating area

    Izakaya Seki - Sashimi platter

    Izakaya Seki

    3.9(525 reviews)
    1.0 mi
    •$$$

    Date night! I was surprised when I was walking up to the place because it was so tiny, and the…read moreentrance is so small. Once I got inside, it was a long L-shaped counter and just a couple of tables along the outer perimeter of the wall. Our server checked on us efficiently, and I definitely have a few highlights from what we tried. Fried oysters: simply delish! I didn't want anything fried, but I was talking to this and didn't regret it haha. Eggplant: if you don't like the texture, don't get this. But the ginger and other flavors going on really make it hit. BBQ eel & cucumber: my favorite dish! It was both refreshing and flavorful, and we enjoyed it so much we got to. The omakase dish had a fun colorful variety of fish on it, and while it was good overall, some fish just tasted so plain compared to others. I would come back here, mainly for the dishes I highlighted and for the daily options that become available. It might take quite a while to get through everything!

    I went with a group of friends to try Izakaya Seki after having it on our list for years. The space…read moreis very small and it can be challenging to get reservations, so you have to make sure to book early (especially for a larger group like ours). We ordered family style and tried a fair bit of the menu. I enjoyed the food enough but wasn't blown away by any of it. It was very expensive with tiny portions, but the flavor and quality wasn't any better than much cheaper restaurants. The croquettes were $18 for just two, but it didn't have as much crab as comparable croquettes I've had for less, and it felt under-seasoned. The standout was the garlic rice, funnily enough, and the eel tamago dish for me. I enjoyed the kakuni and the pork belly in the soba noodles, but it wasn't particularly well-prepared and the serving style was awkward for a group (3 big pieces with no way to cut or portion - they said they had no knives). The other savory dishes were just okay, and really none of them were something I would order again at this price point. The cod in particular disappointed me by being so bland. I did love the ice cream we ordered at the end, although each of us ordered a separate flavor and they confused us a bit by combining them at random in 2 bowls for 5 people. Honestly, I think my views are being colored slightly by the service, which was poor across the board. I would have been more generous with my rating if I felt the service was good or friendly, but to have cold service and high prices and tiny portions and unimpressive flavors made me feel less inclined to return. Still, it wasn't bad food, just mediocre - I wouldn't go back but I wouldn't warn anyone away, if that makes sense. Looking at the other reviews now, it seems we weren't the only ones to receive poor service, so it wasn't just an off night. The prices are one thing, but when you compare the service to an izakaya in Japan it's a pretty stark difference, right?

    Photos
    Izakaya Seki - Interior

    Interior

    Izakaya Seki - Salmon Roe and Yukari Riceball in Nori

    Salmon Roe and Yukari Riceball in Nori

    Izakaya Seki - Outside

    See all

    Outside

    Kyojin DC

    Kyojin DC

    4.4(331 reviews)
    1.2 mi•Georgetown

    Tucked away in the alley behind the Main Street nw in Georgetown, we got there right around 5 when…read morethey open, and watched it turn from a quiet restaurant to a thriving and lively place. Excellent service, the food was great and not outrageously priced (considering the area), and looked amazing inside! The decor and the lighting is makes it a cozy and intimate place but also great for a large party as well We booked our experience during restaurant week, we love trying out new places and their restaurant week menu offered a little bit of everything. We got some champagne to start, ordered some cocktails after, and the food started rolling in. We started with a caviar bump, and moved into the beetroot salad (which was amazing and so flavorful, we both wanted more), had the Tataki/carpaccio style followed by the nigiri/sashimi, then for the main course - the winner/volcano lobster roll. We didn't want our night to end there, there were so many great options in the menu so we opted to hold off on our desert and ordered some more food We got the sushi dinner dish to share along with the lavender smoked salmon Tataki style. Definitely could've eaten more after but decided to end our night after that, and had our ice cream to finish the night (matcha ice cream and raspberry sorbet) The service was 11/10, our waiter was extremely knowledgeable and all of the other waitstaff was extremely kind and was more than willing to help us with any questions or things we needed. The restaurant was very clean and they had nice bathrooms. The quality of the food was amazing and every dish had us hungry for more. This is definitely a place we'll be coming to again and will be recommending to everyone

    Birthday dinner brought us to Kyojin Sushi on a Monday night, and while the food definitely…read moreimpressed, the service kept this from being a five-star experience. We had a reservation for 7:30 p.m. for a party of 12, and I think that was the first issue. A group our size really needed a dedicated server, but instead we had one server covering our entire section. To be fair, he may have been stretched thin, but unfortunately, the service itself also left a lot to be desired. We were seated at 7:30, but our drink orders weren't taken until around 7:50. Then he disappeared for another 20 minutes before returning to take additional drink orders from people who had arrived later. We were ready to order food, but kept hearing, "I'll be right back." Throughout the night, drinks and items were forgotten. One friend finished her first glass of wine, ordered a second, and didn't receive it until we were literally asking for the check. At that point... we're leaving, friend. To make matters worse, several menu items we wanted weren't available. The mochi? Sold out. The Wagyu? Sold out. There were three or four different items people at our table ordered that were unavailable. On a Monday, that was a little surprising. Now for the good part... the sushi was REALLY good. I ordered the Yume Roll and the Tiger Roll, and both were incredibly fresh. The Yume Roll was especially unique and one of my favorite specialty rolls I've had in a while. It was made with spicy tuna, avocado, seared tuna, jalapeño, spicy mayo, eel sauce, and crunchy tempura bits, which gave it the perfect combination of heat, texture, and richness. The Tiger Roll was another standout, made with lump crab, avocado, cucumber, spicy mayo, steamed tiger shrimp, and a mango tobiko sauce. The combination of flavors was fresh, light, and perfectly balanced. I also ordered the edamame with the spicy black garlic sauce, and I absolutely loved that twist. It was a nice change from the usual salted edamame. One dish that completely missed the mark was the Tempura Rice with Chicken, which I shared with the table. Unfortunately, this was the only thing we ordered that I genuinely didn't enjoy. The chicken was dark meat, lacked seasoning, and honestly tasted like it had come straight from a bag of frozen Tyson nuggets. It didn't have the crispy, flavorful bite I was expecting and felt completely out of place compared to how fresh and well-executed the sushi was. I'd definitely skip this one on my next visit. My cocktail was just as impressive as the food. It was made with Ilegal Mezcal, pomegranate, hibiscus yuzu, simple syrup, and egg white, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The egg white gave it a silky, frothy finish, while the pomegranate and hibiscus yuzu added a bright, slightly tart flavor that paired beautifully with the subtle smokiness of the mezcal. It was as pretty as it was delicious. The restaurant itself is gorgeous. It's tucked away in an alley, so it's a little easy to miss, but once you're inside, the space is modern, spacious, and has a really cool stone bar that gives the restaurant a sleek, upscale vibe. I was also pleasantly surprised by the prices. Specialty rolls ranged from about $12-$20, with only a few premium options around $25. The edamame was about $8, so overall I thought the pricing was very fair, especially for Georgetown. Would I come back? Yes... but probably with a much smaller group. The food and ambiance are worth another visit, but I'd definitely be hoping for a better service experience next time. I also hope they have a better handle on inventory because I'd still love to try the Wagyu and finish dinner with the mochi.

    Photos
    Kyojin DC - Inside the restaurant

    Inside the restaurant

    Kyojin DC - Lobster Volcano

    Lobster Volcano

    Kyojin DC - Kamikaze Roll@ Kyojin!

    See all

    Kamikaze Roll@ Kyojin!

    Sakaki Izakaya

    Sakaki Izakaya

    4.4(324 reviews)
    3.3 mi•Clarendon

    When I hear sushi and all you can eat in the same sentence I typically proceed with caution. No…read moreneed for caution here. From the moment I walked in Kay gave prompt, professional service. He walked me through the options and ordering was a breeze. The price point is a little higher than your average all you can eat dining experience, but well worth it. I must've had 15 pieces of nigiri. Having worked in a sushi restaurant I can tell you it was phenomenally well done. Beautifully fresh and buttery and the sushi rice was perfect. The eel kamameshi was a highlight and came with a showing amount of eel. Finished everything off with the matcha tiramisu and a cup of green tea. I won't need to eat for days. Will definitely be coming back! Thank you Kay and team!

    First off, let me just say.... If I'm honest, whenever I…read moreshow up to an AYCE I'm always skeptical with the quality of the food, especially when it comes to sushi but wow, I was blown away how great it was for AYCE. The set- up and the ambiance is very comfortable and sleek/modern with the main sushi chefs in the middle and the tables around them. The tables have waiters and a tablet at the table like most hot pot/kbbq places and you can order everything off of there. I have only been here once and wanted to try to low tier without going "all in" on the top tier option of diamond without knowing how the basics would taste. Let me say if the bottom tier was as good as it was, I'm excited to come back to try the next tier! Anyway, the basic tier already comes with a lot of sushi options and should be enough for those who are craving just sushi. All of the cuts of nigiri was great, all tender with great flavor, but what stood out to me the most was actually the yellowtail, super buttery and great flavor. The eel was also a top choice! All the rolls were good basic to the fancier ones, I would say that most of the bang for the buck would be the nigiri. The rolls are good but a little too much rice for me personally. The appetizers, didn't spend too much time on them but the chicken karaage was solid and the seaweed salad was my two favorite. Overall, super solid for the price and I'd totally want to go again to try more of their options! 100% recommend!

    Photos
    Sakaki Izakaya
    Sakaki Izakaya
    Sakaki Izakaya

    See all

    Ko Japanese Dining - japanese - Updated October 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...