It was sufficient…read more Ko is centrally located by Dupont Circle as a second floor restaurant (next to Zorba's). Interior is simple and open. A/C was nice and cool which I appreciated but found the place to be too loud for me once it filled out with more people. Service is courteous. I ordered the tomato salad and two sushi rolls. Yes I committed the sin of ordering just sushi at a kaiseki restaurant, gasp! So I guess I did this to myself since I found the food to be just ok. The spicy tuna roll was just not happening since all they did was drizzle hot sauce over the roll. I've been noticing this more at places, can we just say tuna roll with spicy dipping sauce instead? It's a bit misleading... but I guess I'll have to make sure to ask everywhere whenever I order spicy tuna. I am a believer in that if you're eating at a good restaurant and you ordered their less popular menu item that it should still be good but in this case, Ko didn't deliver. Anyways, I didn't have much of an appetite because of the hot weather so take this review with a grain of salt but I don't plan on returning unless someone can convince me otherwise and if I do, I'm not ordering sushi here.

I have had this restaurant bookmarked for the last two years since they opened and finally got a…read morechance to eat dinner there. I was impressed and by the experience and would definitely come back for a Japanese meal that did not focus solely on ramen or sushi. The ambiance is well done, and the service was excellent. Our waiter was very attentive and able to answer any of our questions. To share, we got the spicy salmon roll, Karaage appetizer, and eggplant cheese appetizer. The spicy tuna roll was the most lackluster of the dishes, but the fish was fresh and the portion was decent for $12. The karaage appetizer was excellent. The chicken was moist and the coating was crunchy and super hot. The eggplant cheese was a surprise highlight of the meal. Pieces of eggplant in a melted cheese bowl made of eggplant was a simple combination. That was a very pleasant mix of textures. The pork Katsu was a highlight of the meal. Unfortunately forgot to take a picture, but the coding was super crispy and the portion size was pretty solid. The Unagidon or grilled eel bowl was also very well made and tasted great with the pickled ginger and seasoning on the side. The set came with miso soup which was very nice as well. My companions also got drinks which they said were well priced and good quality. Our overall meal cost somewhere in the range of $160 before tip which was reasonable given all of the items that we got. I look forward to my next visit!

It is so hard to give this a rating because the food is good but the service is bad and I would not…read morego back! I do NOT recommend for dine in but the food was yummy so maybe opt for takeout...We had a reservation and upon checking in they offered bartop instead of a table unless we wanted to wait which isn't a huge deal so we waited and got sat at a table after a short wait. Then someone was sat after us (next table over) and got greeted, waters, and placed orders before we were so much as greeted. After less than an hour (most of which involved waiting to be greeted and served) we were handed the check and essentially nudged out while still eating our food. They seemed to want to close early. The drinks also didn't match their descriptions, missing key ingredients that were listed. We were barely tended to or checked on at all. We also had a bug buzzing around us that eventually flew into my drink. The staff was very nice but overall the service and quality did not match the cost at all.

Upon entering, you are greeted by a multi-level establishment with sushi bar and small dining area…read moredownstairs and a larger dining room upstairs all laid out in subdued, modern chic, Asian vibe. The staff is amazing, attentive, friendly and efficient! Thank you Kay, for taking such good care of us! We started off with the Kara-age Lollipop chicken, which was finger lickin' delicious. For our entrees we shared the 6 Set Umai Temaki and Sashimi Nori. Super fresh, flavorful and beautifully presented. I got a kick out of the canned sake and maybe over indulged...but so much fun! We felt the value was very good, 27 pieces of generously portioned and fresh sashimi for under $60! We'll make this a regular stop when in DC. Cheers!

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.

An enjoyable omakase for lunch - a quicker pace with fewer dishes - that still requires a few…read moreadd-ons (pushing the price up) to really wow. It's a solid one-star Japanese place sourcing ingredients from around the world, but there was nothing too surprising or impressive about the experience, other than this was "very good." I enjoyed lunch - it allows a look without the full three-hour commitment.

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.

Went during HH (5-7pm), had the Sake for $20, and then had chicken thigh, fried garlic, fries, and…read morebrussel sprouts with pork! Would definitely fried garlic again, and the brussel sprouts! Fries were filling but nothing massively special. Just a good bang for the buck

Amazing food Amazing service…read more Amazing ambiance I had the sake tacos which was salmon small bite size tacos. Definitely recommend getting two or three for your appetizer. The beef tenderloin (forgot what they called it) with the potatoes on the side. The beef tenderloin was cooked medium well and tasted so good, don't let it it sit because it can get a little cold quickly. The potatoes were soft fried and had a nice kick with the sauce. I want to try the spicy lamb next time. Paired it with the kemuri cocktail, a mezcal that hints of smokiness but sweet. Ended with one scoop of mango sorbet. My date got the chicken skewers and the grilled salmon well done, it was good but a little dry. Ended with the chocolate fondue with vanilla bean that just melted in your mouth. Parked it all with a Long Island ice tea top shelf. Thank you TJ for serving us and being attentive. It's located right y the street so you can't miss it. You walk in and they have a display of all their whisky. It's intimate but they have plenty room for group settings. Loved the decor especially the fire windows. Can't wait to come back!

We had such a great time exploring Shōtō. We started with sushi and California maki rolls. The…read moresashimi was very fresh, and the hamachi was my favorite. From there, we moved on to the skewers, chicken and pork, then grilled steak and scallops. And of course, there's nothing quite like the feeling of Wagyu beef melting in your mouth. It was a lot of food, but everything tasted so good that at some point, you just stopped setting boundaries and kept exploring. You can tell how adventurous everyone was by the variety of desserts we ordered. Some had a perfect Japanese twist, especially the matcha tiramisu and yuzu cheesecake. The interior and ambiance are nice, stylish without being over the top. I think it's a great place for team building or business dinner.

I had pretty authentic eating experience here. Food quality was good and the price was reasonable…read morefor DC. I liked how they fixed up little townhome and made it a cozy restaurant. The owner served us and she was nice.

We were looking forward to a mildly adventurous night out and approached this open to trying and…read morelearning about new things. Unfortunately, the restaurant staff wasn't particularly helpful or supportive in this endeavor. Asking for details on the menu and suggestions seemed like either a burden eliciting sighs and slight eyerolls or an inability to offer any meaningful suggestions; so, alas, we were left to ourselves. The space, at least on the first floor, is tiny - just counter bar seats in front of the kitchen in a narrow rectangular room. We were excited to use this as an opportunity to learn more by watching and interacting with the cooks, but that did not occur. Without guidance, we ordered hamachi, salmon, and kampachi sashimi. The portions were generous - 5 slices of each. The salmon was buttery and the kampachi fantastic - rich and interesting flavor. The hamachi was not liked - it was streaked with some sinewy type substance that didn't help the otherwise unflavorful fish. The soba noodles came with a rich, smoky/strong fish-flavored broth that was interesting. Unfortunately, there is no gluten-free option for the broth. The yakatori skewers (only ordered because they were the only gluten-free skewers) were nothing interesting. The wine list is quite small (understandable considering the tiny size of the restaurant) and the chilled red and the Italian rose were both quite good. The pricing was reasonable in general and considering the quality of the meal and the overall experience.

I went actively searching for this restaurant, yet still found it easy to miss. It's tucked away…read moreand for good reason. It's a secret that you wish never got out. I went alone and sat at the sushi bar and did the premium omakase. Non traditional in that it was all served on one plate, but worth it. Nice presentation. I even watched a fish delivery from a vendor. It strikes you as too trendy to be good, but that's not the case.

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.

Walked in and immediately LOVED the vibe. Very welcoming and just completely cool. Fantastic…read moreservice from the wait staff -- especially Q. He was terrific. Wonderful recommendations. Non-alcoholic drinks were on point. Make sure you ask for Q to make yours. Oh and do get that cauliflower. -- Your welcome.

I had such a wonderful time visiting O-Ku. It's one of my favorite sushi spots in Washington DC…read more This time, a bartender named Adam stood out for being exceptionally attentive. He had a great knowledge of the menu and encouraged me to try new dishes, which turned out to be fantastic. The customer service was excellent, and I really enjoyed my experience. Keep up the good work, and I wish you all the best.