First off, I want to thank the staff for being so humble, welcoming, and inviting. My daughter…read morerecently earned a promotion to Petty Officer Second Class in the Coast Guard, and I flew in from California to pin her. ​Looking for a great dinner spot to celebrate, we were both craving sushi. The atmosphere is nice and cozy, featuring a lovely brick wall on one side with bench seating, and a small bar on the other side. ​We started with miso soup, edamame, and warm hand towels before the meal, which was a wonderful touch. For main dishes, we ordered the sushi platter, tasting platter, and shrimp tempura. Everything was delicious--the sushi was so soft it practically melted in your mouth. ​Because it gets crowded quickly, we made reservations both nights we ate here. Booking between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM seems to be the sweet spot! We had a fantastic experience and highly recommend it. ENJOY

This restaurant is super cute and chirashi bowl was good. It's perfect for date nights for sure…read more We came here on Sunday evening and were able to sit right away. The servers were very friendly and the food came out pretty quickly. Delux chirashi bowl was so pretty and good. Definitely recommend Chicken karage was little too floury for us. It was not crunch and it was just ok. Ordered rice to eat with karage for my son but it's not regular rice but sushi rice so it was sour for kids. Kids tempura udon was pretty good, recommend it.

Came here to celebrate my birthday, and I'm so glad I did! I was blown away by both the sushi and…read morethe beautifully executed courses. I especially loved the private dining experience, and the staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. The sake pairing was also spot-on! I've been to Sushi Nakazawa before, and personally, I enjoyed my experience at RAW Omakase even more. The sushi was exceptionally fresh, and the noodle dishes were absolutely incredible. I was completely satisfied and full by the end of the meal. At Sushi Nakazawa, I usually find myself ordering extra pieces at the end, but here, every course left me feeling perfectly satisfied. Overall, this was easily one of the best omakase experiences I've had. A fantastic way to celebrate my birthday, and I would absolutely come back (I already have reservations booked for this place next week)!

Great experience, food was amazing. Chef John Yi was knowledgeable and entertaining. We did the…read morepremium sake pairing and it complemented all of our courses well. Relaxing environment and not stuffy at all. I haven't written many reviews in years but this spot deserved me taking some time to do so. Try it, great time for a special evening or just a good time!

This place embodies what every local sushi place should be. Not overly expensive, friendly service,…read moreand feeling very local. I did a pick up order for my two rolls and spent less than expected. It only took 5 minutes to prepare my order, so I decided to wait a bit and appreciate how quaint it felt inside. I'm surprised how little people were inside, so I'd encourage more people to try great quality food at an affordable price point!

Wanted to support a new local spot, but it had a depressing atmosphere. Soup dumplings were firmly…read moreadhered to the paper and resulted in some unpleasant ripping. Probably won't be back :/

There are few handroll places in DC, and I was so excited to see this one hit the scene. It's bar…read moreseating, and there was a small line forming before it even opened, but I believe they have an online waitlist now! When you get seated, you're given a small menu that has pre-selected sets and à la carte options. Their drinks menu is relatively extensive, and there are some food options that aren't handrolls. I ordered the 5 handroll set and will say the highlight is the Acevichado. It's flavorful and was my favorite amongst the five I ate. The others (crab, spicy tuna, hamachi, scallop) were straightforward, but the quality and flavor were still good. The price is reasonable, all things considered, and you leave feeling full. I also enjoyed the matcha lemonade, but I wouldn't say the main draw here is the drinks. I'd definitely come back and recommend Maru San to others!

DC summers aren't for a California girl like me. I was in town for business and couldn't stomach…read moreanything but a light dinner, and Maru San served me well. I landed at DCA and got here when the restaurant opened. There was no line! I even tried to utilize the virtual waiting list - thought I was getting tricked - but there really was no line! Maybe cause it was the day of the world cup final and no one was interested in hand rolls? I think I got lucky. I ordered the set of 3, and ended up adding 3 more - guess I was hungry. My favorite was the acevichado, and least favorite was probably the langosta. I would also skip the passionfruit lemonade since there was nothing special about it. The handrolls have a peruvian twist to it, and I really enjoyed the twist. Its quite dark in there so was hard to take pictures, but great for a first / intimate date setting. My handroll maker wasn't very helpful but the host was around to ask questions. I would come back to the experience!

I made a reservation on Resy to Omakase Room by Tadayoshi where I enjoyed a 20-course omakase for…read more$200. There were only two others at my reservation time, so it was a pretty intimate experience. We all made small talk about the unbearable DC humidity and our weather preferences. Once the meal began, the chatting ceased, which I was fine with. Throughout the courses, the chef would briefly mention what we're eating, but nothing too specific. SHU-SAI We started our omakase with five Japanese-style small dishes: * Kanpachi with sesame sauce - Texture was phenomenal -- soft and practically melted in my mouth. The sesame sauce paired well but overpowered the fish's subtle flavor. * Daikon with miso sauce - Refreshing and flavorful, the daikon soaked up the miso nicely, but the piece was so large that it was hard to get much sauce in each bite. * Spinach & anchovy salad - Anchovies added a pleasant sea flavor, but the dashi dressing leaned saltier than I would've liked. * Pike eel - Just okay. Really didn't like the texture. * Chawanmushi with marinated crab - Warm and packed with lots of crab, but I was hoping for more depth from the dashi. A bit bland. Before we got started with the nigiri, the chef explained that we'd be enjoying two different rice styles throughout the meal. We sampled both modern and traditional-style rice on its own before trying it as nigiri. NIGIRI WITH MODERN-STYLE RICE The rice itself was warm, soft, and slightly more acidic from the blend of two vinegars. * Ika (squid): Fresh with a pleasant chew, the wasabi was balanced nicely. * Kanpachi (amber jack): Smooth and delicate, but I would've preferred it without the pickled turnip. * Kisetsu no sakana (seasonal fish): The seasonal fish was skipjack, which I've never had. It was buttery, fresh, and subtle -- one of my favorites. * Masu Saikyo-Zuke (miso-marinated trout): Ridiculously buttery and smooth, instant melt-in-your-mouth experience. The miso was a bit gritty, but it complimented the trout well. * Mini Donburi (small rice bowl): This was topped with uni, ikura, and scallops. Excellent rice bowl, but small. Uni was velvety, ikura was clean and not overly fishy, and scallops tasted like it just got shucked off the shell. OWAN In between modern and traditional-style nigiri, we enjoyed prawn with dashi broth topped with enoki mushroom. It was simple but comforting, I enjoyed the stronger dashi flavor here. NIGIRI WITH TRADITIONAL-STYLE RICE The rice itself tasted a bit more dry and was the savory end, with the acidity coming through later. * Madai (red snapper): Delicate and pleasant, pretty typical. * Kisetsu no sakana (seasonal fish): The seasonal fish was horse mackerel, which was rich and buttery with a savory finish. Cleaner and less aggressively briny compared to other mackerels. * Akami (lean tuna): This was okay. It had a weird aftertaste that I don't like in most tunas. * Toro (fatty tuna): Soft and rich, but it didn't quite melt in my mouth the way I expected. * Makimono (sushi roll): This was a tuna handroll with some shiso wrapped in. It added a refreshing herbal note that worked well. SOUP The miso soup was nice and warm, slightly acidic from the fermentation. Very clean tasting. WAGASHI For dessert, we were served a pair of Japanese jelly desserts. I peronally preferred the roasted green tea for its deep roasted flavor, while the red bean had an interesting contrast between the smooth jelly and the gritty bean paste. While some of the courses were a bit hit-or-miss for me, the fish quality was good and fresh. However, my biggest issue was the pacing. From my first bite to my last bite was just 55 minutes, which left very little time to appreciate each course. I barely finished the toro before the tuna roll was already in front of me. Instead of savoring each bite, it felt like I was constantly trying to keep up. The chef was fairly quiet throughout the meal, which didn't bother me as much. The server, however, offered very little interaction beyond delivering and clearing dishes and came across disengaged. While the service was efficient, it lacked the warmth and hospitality I'd expect from a $200 omakase experience. Looking over at the counter, many of the pieces had already been sliced in advance. By the time we got to dessert, the chef was already preparing fish for the next seating. At this price point, I expected a more relaxed omakase experience. There were several memorable bites, such as the miso-marinated trout, mini donburi, and horse mackerel. Unfortunately, the misses, rushed pacing, and impersonal service kept the overall experience from living up to the price.

Came here for a belated birthday dinner with my wife, and it was a pretty enjoyable experience. My…read morewife made the reservation on Resy and it was a little challenging to find availability. That's why I went over 2 weeks after my actual birthday. We found parking on the street and walked a couple blocks to get to the restaurant. Having gotten there early, we were led to our seats after waiting in the lobby area for a little bit. The place looked very nice and intimate. There was a private room behind our seats, and we were told they would open that up for private dinners next year. We spoke with the chefs briefly as we waited for guests to arrive. Chef Tadayoshi and the staff were very friendly. I ordered a non alcoholic Yuzu sparkling drink, and that was really refreshing. The meal started with a 5 dish platter that was really delicious. My favorites from this were probably the amberjack and the daikon radish. Next we did the modern take nigiri pieces, and my favorite would have to be the scallop. It was a generous cut and it tasted so good! Then there was a warm dish, with the sea bass, mushroom, and snow pea. The bass and the mushroom were delectable! Later came the classic pieces of nigiri, and I had a lot of favorites from this part of the meal. The gizzard shad is my favorite fish pretty much every place I go to. Also memorable were the uni, and the otoro. The meal finished with a shrimp soup and a barley tea jelly dessert. All in all, it was a pretty good omakase. I will say that if I didn't ask questions, or talk with the chefs and diners, it would have been very quiet. The chef tells us the name of the dish, but not much detail is provided into how the fish are prepared, unless you ask. They play classical music in the background, which is nice. I'm glad I gave this place a try. It was an overall good experience.

My wife and I went for our anniversary dinner. The restaurant is in the basement of a row house…read morebut open to a nice patio. The atmosphere was low key and very pleasant. Most importantly the food was delicious! Everything we ordered was delicious, but especially the fatty tuna, which was amazing! The service was low key and responsive. A wonderful experience!

New place that my daughter and o found walking in Georgetown. Great atmosphere and very…read moreauthenticate. Service was top notch.

I had a wonderful experience with the tasting menu! The staff is very kind and explained each dish…read moreproperly. They also made sure everyone was full which was nice offering some extra rice for those who still had room. Everything was so flavorful with all the different sauces! I loved the different types of meats and being able to watch the chefs cut and prepare everything in front of you. The inside is small and intimate with both counter and table seating. There's no waiting room so you aren't able to show up to your reservation time early. I definitely want to come back to try their omakase experience!

Came to this cozy place for our anniversary. Everything was very thoughtfully done and the elevated…read moreJapanese homestyle courses were delicious. Sitting at the counter is a lot of fun. Would definitely come back,

I visited this place on 12/13/19 to pick up lunch to-go…read more Food and First Impressions Convenient (to me) K Street NW location, not too far from Farragut North and Farragut West, and close to me. I got the Combo Platter and chose a combination the Fresh Salmon Rolls (6), Tuna & Avocado Rolls (6 Pieces), and miso Soup (photos below). The Combo (according to the Ritual app anyway) comes with a side of steamed rice. The cost was $10. The sushi was fine, sized well. I thought this was a good price for a combo that included two sushi rolls; I thought they might come out smaller but they were normal. The miso soup was a tasty plain but plain broth. It had approximately 2 small, small pieces of tofu in it. I looked up miso soup photos online to compare, and others had veggies and such. Oh well. The tuna roll wasn't too fishy. Yay. The soy sauce tasted special, like they made their own...just somehow different from the usual packet soy sauce. It was strong, so I used it sparingly. Pick-up Experience As I am doing often these days, I used the Ritual app to schedule pickup, and it was pretty fast, though it didn't have my side of steamed rice. I wasn't in a rush. I let them know and they added it soon after, so no worries in this case. Ambiance The restaurant is inside a larger office building on the upper level (photos below), and it is on the end of a long-ish corridor. Once you enter the building, you take the escalator to get to the level Sushi Express is on. The seating is mostly on the outside of the restaurant. The space itself nice initimate-ish space. There were people seated in the corridor seating area munching. My Conclusion I would come back if I wanted a sushi lunch, or to try another item on the menu. If I really wanted it, I might get the miso broth soup again--but I'd try other places' miso soups first to see if I get a more filling soup. Convenient location for the work day.

The restaurant is in a building you walk up the stairs through a door and it's on the right. The…read morerestaurant has 6 seats. It gets busy or crowded during lunch but otherwise mainly empty. Suyaki Don was salty but the egg was good. Friend had the California roll and thought it was good for the price - very light. Good prices. Service was really sweet. It says there's food establishment closure 2026, so I guess it will close next year potentially.