Visited for my birthday dinner with a reservation for 4 and was greeted by the hostess and seated…read moreright away. However, it took a while for our server to acknowledge us, even though she had passed our table several times. We decided on the AYCE menu, which allowed us to order up to 5 rounds, with premium items limited to one order. Our group only made it through 2 rounds. The food came out relatively fast, and the standouts were the chicken hibachi, popcorn shrimp, and premium sushi. The restaurant itself was pretty, trendy, and seemed like a cool place to visit, but the food was nothing too special, especially for the price. I would definitely come back and give it another try for a better experience.

If you want to take aesthetically pleasing instagram photos that makes it look like you're in an…read moreizakaya in Japan this is your place. But if you want actually good food RUN AWAY. We went and got the AYCE premium menu (which is ridiculous that you have to choose the premium for nigiri and sashimi but whatever), and upon seating they give you a paper menu to write down your order. We got their premium box which is like $25 or $26 off of their à la cart menu and while it's super pretty to look at it was disgusting. The Wagyu was thick, slimy, and chewy and made me want to throw up. The toro had wayyyyy too much wasabi in it and felt like torture to eat. The other two pieces were ok but if I paid à la for it I'd be PISSED. The rolls and nigiri and sashimi were a mixed bag, some were okay, some were slimy, and some were just dry. The cooked food was decent but not very flavorful, my siblings favorite dish of the night was the cooked bulgogi which I found to be chewy and you guessed it, flavorless. Service left much to be desired, there's an hour 30 minute time limit on AYCE and you get four rounds total. They take your paper in the back to put in your order and don't bring it back out until all of your order has come out(which fair), but it takes about 30ish minutes per round and having to flag someone down to take your paper back is a pain. I think if they had tablets or maybe a call button that would be better? Unsure. Regardless the food quality needs a major upgrade to make it worth the price.

After a pretty disappointing dinner with friends, we decided we weren't satisfied and wanted dinner…read morepart 2! We actually stumbled in here because it was the only thing open around 10. (Which I love by the way, more places in NOVA should be open later at night!) We ordered a Seafood Ramen and a Spicy Ramen. Both were scrumptious honestly. My friend's seafood ramen was super flavorful, and we requested something to make it extra spicy and they brought us chili oil which made it even better! I got the Spicy Ramen which was honestly perfect for my liking of heat and flavorful. The pork was also very nice and tender. I got a white peach beer here that I also enjoyed a lot! This place was the perfect vibe for a chill girls night. The server accidentally forgot to bring out my friends miso soup but they took it off our bill at the end so all good. I know this location is closing soon and I'm sad it took me this long to try it, but glad that I did.

Stopped here while in the area for a convention weekend…read more Usually Friday night is ramen, which we went with here. Located in a small strip mall - this is on the corner and seems like it would be small based on the front facade, yet there was plenty of space inside - tables, and a bar to sit at. We ordered several appetizers: gyoza, buns, karaage, and takyoki. Buns was good - the meat was a little thin for my liking. Gyoza was standard and over fried and crispy. The takiyakk was good - standard. And the karaage was very good - tender white meat inside and the spicy mayo was a nice compliment. The ramen was also good - nothing over the top or trying to be anything it isn't. Just good solid ramen. Would recommend. And will return.

Loved the vibe here. Came here for a nice date without breaking the bank. Our server Sabrina was…read moregreat and the food was amazing.

The server, Sabrina, was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and made excellent recommendations…read more From the shrimp and pork belly skewers and torched Sea Fatty Salmon to the Super Foi Gras and the Suoer Waygu specialty rolls everything was delicious. We will be back for sure and will hopefully have Sabrina for our server because she made the experience even better.

Yummy cocktails. Can't taste the alcohol at all - don't know if that's cuz there isn't enough or if…read moreit's masked well enough... Anyways - Food is very yummy. Came here with a large group of friends and we ate very well!! All the dishes were yummy, so can't complain. Army stew, kimchi pancake, corn cheese, etc. Many shareables and perfect for big groups to split. Also they have somaek towers which is pretty cool and niche! Service was great too. They were playing country music but we asked for it to be changed and they were very accommodating! BTW at night, the lighting in the restaurant is a bit dark and food looks very contrasted dark. Idk if this matters to anyone but makes reds look extremely pigmented in the light.

Pochas are the one place where ambiance matters more than food. We went for drinks late evening on…read morea saturday and walked into... country music. There only seemed to be one or two waiters in the whole restaurant and we were checked up on maybe once after receiving our food, even though it was shockingly empty. The food itself was good, rosè tteokbokki was spicy and texture was perfect. Kimchi pancake was also crispy and had a good ratio of batter to kimchi, but it was pretty bland and definitely needed the sauce. Kkanpungi was decent as well as the buddaejiggae and prices were fair. Drink pictures may be misleading so make sure to look at the description! Anyways the whole experience felt like we were just eating in the dark with quiet background music. Don't expect anything for birthdays either. Anyways would go back for the food but extremely lacking ambiance wise.

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!

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?

We came here for happy hour and it was delicious! Their happy hour cocktails were $8 and they were…read moreall very refreshing and yummy. My favorite was the lychee tini. For food we did salmon nigiri, salmon rose, fried octopus, takoyaki, ube fries, coconut shrimp, and karage chicken. My not complaint is that they had the same sauce for the fried foods. If they had done a sweet and sour sauce for the coconut shrimp and like a soy based for the octopus, that would have been nice. Their sushi was very good though. Service and good and quick but we were the only ones in the restaurant. Their AC was broken though and they only had fans so it was super hot

They have really good flavors and a good happy hour. Attached to a motel, the bathroom situation is…read moreinteresting in that you have to leave the restaurant and go upstairs into the motel bathroom. The food and service were.l generally good but nothing stood out. I enjoyed their inari flight. The fried oysters were nice. Definitely go for their instagrammable drinks. Lychee martini was the star of the meal.

We came to Toryumon on a Saturday afternoon because of its lofty Yelp rating and then were…read morepleasantly surprised to discover they had an all-you-can-eat option. Toryumon wasn't crowded and there was inexpensive street parking close by. We quickly realized that Toryumon's all-you-can eat is head and shoulders above your usual Asian buffet restaurants for three reasons: your food is cooked to order, Toryumon has great recipes, and lastly, they use quality ingredients. Service was fabulous. Lots of options on the all-you-can eat memu. We started out with miso soup that was rich, delicious and had just the right amount of seaweed and finely diced tofu. The kanji salad was outstanding, the best I've ever come across. We loved the pork gyoza, ceviche and shumai. I also loved the beef hibachi, which came with vegetables, fried rice, and a most delicious dipping sauce. I'm not sure how they prepared it, but the endamame was especially tasty. The agu dashi was different than we expected. Usually it comes in broth, but Toryumon's agu dashi was fried tofu squares with an excellent dipping sauce. The spider and double spicy rolls were decent, but were shaped too large and in a little rough around the edges in appearance. Flavorwise, they were still good. We were a bit disappointed that they had run out of the chocolate and vanilla mochi dessert, but we settled for the matcha motchi which was good.

Efficient and friendly service; my dish came quickly with no wait. I came on a Tuesday for lunch,…read moreand ordered their Tokyo Ramen which was delicious. It came with a half lava egg (but somehow that egg is cold; I wish it were warm). There was only one table of guests dining outside on the patio. I dined inside (which was empty).

The ambiance is spacious and lovely. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, serene lightning, and…read morewindows that overlook Fairfax. When I came in for Tuesday lunch, I wondered why this place wasn't teeming with more young professionals?! I mean, Ballston Quarter serves up $14 platters, which is the same lunch special here. And with tip screens so ubiquitous... you get the point. Anyhow, the server for my table was gracious. She exuded a very kind energy. And now onto the food... I was hungry so ordered the spring rolls appetizer AND one of the lunch specials (choose 2 sushi rolls + salad/soup) Spring Rolls - 6/10 They are actually fried and hot to the touch so be careful! I cut mine before eating. At $6, they are pretty decent value. Lunch Special Salad - 8/10 I loved the carrot miso vinagraitte on the iceberg lettuce. The only thing that would have made it better would be a nice crunch (toasted sesame seeds/wonton crisps) Shrimp Tempura Roll - 7.5/10 This is an elevated tempura roll with orange roe and eel sauce. Very filling as far as sushi rolls go. Salmon/Mango/Avocado Roll - 5/10 The rice layer on this roll was paper thin and the salmon tasted flat and flavorless, instead of that rich, buttery taste that high quality fresh salmon should have. On this visit, I noticed that the fillings are generous here but the rice is sparse/underseasoned on vinegar. I'd love to better appreciate the fine balance of the ingredients. Overall though, I enjoyed my meal. It is a strong spot and one that I would return to.

This restaurant is so cute! We absolutely loved the vibes inside and service was fast and friendly…read more We tried a bunch of different rolls including the salmon mango avocado, yellowtail, and tuna avocado and all of them were great. We also tried the Tokyo Tonkotsu Shoyu ramen which was good. The punch and sweet mocktail was all of our favorites!

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