Kushi

Came here a few years ago, the sushi was mediocre. Disappointing.

The sushi, sashimi and Robatas here are amazing! Fish is always fresh and the meats are grilled to perfection!

Executive Chef dropped raw pork belly on the floor
And then proceeded to wash it in the ice cream sink over the I cream
Scoops in water and then back in the mix. never been back

Three and a half stars. A ton of people idling at the bar, but personally I would have come back for more izakaya instead of cocktails (really regretting not trying onigiri, day boat sea scallops, ceviche, bara chirashi, chicken liver yaki, pork stuffed shishito pepper, niku dofu, sticky yam, kawa, geso, nankotsu, kamonegi, mahogany quail stuffed with duck sausage). Hell’s Kitchen and Hum & Rum cocktails were unbalanced enough that no one at our table opted for a second round. My conversation with our polite server should have been the tip-​off:
«For lady-​drink, lychee martini is very popular, we use real lychee…»
«Canned?»
“Yes.“
Oysters were fresh. Mini donburi with beautifully textured pork belly and seasoned rice was my favorite, closely followed by wild boar sausage skewer and the tender eringi mushrooms. Crispy duck thigh was nicely rendered, with the leg bone trimmed for presentation alongside a moderately dressed shredded house salad. Chicken breast was moist but couldn’t dream of catching my palate’s fancy without the plum sauce. Yakitori served with shichimi, mustard, and salt. Kara age had a nice exterior texture, but tasted more like the oil it was fried in than chicken. Grilled squid body was lightly dressed and cooked through. Duck fat pork ribs were tender and flavorful, if dimunitive. Desserts hit the spot– I was surprised that I liked the warm honey banana a bit more than the black sesame and sea salt gelatos.

I’m still not sure how this place has survived all these years. To me it’s such a waste of space. I wish we had a better restuarant in this locaton.
The food is always mediocore and not that exciting and it’s definitely over priced for their portions and taste. Maybe that’s how they have been able to survive.
I do like the idea of The Robata grill and Modern Japanese Izakaya but the food is just not that exciting and neither is the ambiance. Such a big spot and always empty and unless you order at least 10 things on the menu it won’t fill you up.
I also have heard horrible things about how the owner doesn’t pay their employees.
SO unfortunately I don’t have great things to say about this place.

Space is pretty and the food is incredibly fresh. My friend and I, sushi lovers and pursuers, agreed the chirashi was probably the freshest we’ve had in DC. The salad that accompanied the chirashi was also seasoned perfectly.

Disappointing visit after two enjoyable visits more than a year ago. Menu has shrunk considerably. No more raw bar, very limited sashimi and maki rolls. Best dishes we had were the wood grilled mushrooms and the mackerel sashimi. Wood grilled scallops are more poached, and sauce wasn’t great, age dashi tofu was gelatinous (good broth), and the sushi rolls were poorly made. Shrimp tempura roll was just one piece of shrimp and some cucumber, while menu mentioned a sauce, sprouts, and lime zest. When we pointed this out, a manager came over and said the sauce was by request (?), and did we need anything from him. Shouldn’t have to ask… Didn’t apologize, or offer to comp or replace.
Quite a slide downhill from when it opened. And i agree with others that prices seem to have gone up.

It is somewhat foreboding that Asian customers seem to have vacated Kushi. In their place are the type of adults who play with their chopsticks on the dishware like they’re drumsticks (as several unrelated customers demonstrated). Even those people are few and far between as I spotted many open tables where once nary an empty seat could be found.
Other signs of dereliction are pretty obvious. The fascinating sushi bar has been dismantled in favor of an awkward and bulky communal table with enough seating for the entire cast of GoT. Paint is chipped and peeling in areas where tables and chairs are too close to the wall. The menu itself has been retooled to extract a few extra dollars from customers per each item — most of the adventurous dishes are gone but the tired standbys remain. The word «scallop» was misspelled.
The only thing that has remained the same is the service, which is still as maddeningly slow as it ever was, which is ironic because food runners bring all your dishes and waiters still manage to disappear into thin air precisely when you need them.
It’s hard to tell whether management doesn’t know what they’re doing or they don’t care. I would guess the latter. They seemed greedy and annoying when Kushi first opened and now they seem greedy and complacent. Unfortunately for Kushi, it’s not the only izakaya in town anymore.

My Japanese department at school did a group dinner here, hosted by the department. I was excited to go because hey, FREE FOOD.
It’s in a strip of really nice trendy businesses, but to get there, you have to walk through some shadier blocks. As a lone girl in the afternoon, I did somewhat of a speed walk between the metro and the restaurant.
The restaurant itself is very trendy looking, somewhat different from the Izakayas I’m used to when I was a student in Tokyo. The food was very fancy looking, and it did taste good. I took a peek at the menu (since we weren’t paying) and was shocked when I looked at the prices of what we were eating. It is EXPENSIVE. The food was good, but not enough that I’d have gone back and PAID.
I guess it’s my own preferences that deter me, because it seems too ritzy.

Great Tapas-​style food, that’s a given, enough reviews about the food, etc.
But here’s a tip:
— Steer clear from sitting across from the bar area because the air conditioning overhead is very loud, disruptively loud.
I sat outside on a Sat. night and it was perfectly beautiful. I went inside at about 11pm and sat in a window booth across from the bar. The acoustics are challenging because of the exposed ceiling.
–The Vanilla Sea Salt dessert: One spoonful and I was already thinking…“Ahh…addicting.”
— Carlos, the waiter outside that night was very thoughtful and attentive. Thank you again!

5 stars for the Salmon Oyako Don.
2 stars for the over cooked Robata — both the Duck Breast and ChickenLivers were way overdone. I should have specified when I ordered.
Excellent home-​made tamago.
El kiddo loved her red crab Cali roll.
DH was not thrilled with the tiny (and slightly fishy tasting) rainbow roll.
Service was good — friendly female server and several expediters. We sat outside on a lovely Sunday Night.
If we come back to this nabe — I would visit again.
$ 7 chocolate cake for dessert (kiddo wanted that) was less than remarkable.

Stopped in Kushi on a early Sunday afternoon in between errands. The restaurant was pretty dead, but I had been wanting to try it for the longest time.
The sake list is pretty extensive. Their presentation was very unique. I didn’t see a drink list, but I’m assuming it was because it was pretty early on in the day. Had a couple orders of yakitori. It was ok. I’ve had better. For lunch we shared a few rolls and a donburi bowl; neither of which I was super impressed by.
Service wasn’t bad, but nothing remarkable or memorable about it. I would eat here again in a pinch, but definitely wouldn’t plan a night out here.

My friend invited me here for drinks.
I went with my standard order at any sushi place of edamamme and a spicy tuna roll. I usually get the rainbow roll too, but my friend ordered it so I just had one of his.
The spicy tuna roll was good, but it was topped with green onions and a red sauce. I had already started drinking my ginger lychee martini before I ordered so I could have missed those details from the menu. Next time I would ask for the spicy tuna roll without the onions and the sauce.
My friend had the rainbow roll which looked much different than the standard rainbow roll. Usually the rainbow roll has the raw fish on the outside and this roll had the raw fish on the inside. It still tasted good, but I prefer it the standard way. The fish on the inside made it seem like we received less fish.
We sat at the bar and our bartender took great care of us. We ended up staying for a private party & had a great time. They also had some music playing which was nice.
I’d come back here for a drink & some sushi.

Finally, over a year later, I returned to give Kushi a chance to redeem itself from my prior experience. To recap, I went in for dinner with the Captain and, after not even being acknowledged in the least for quite some time, we walked out. The service was highly disappointing.
Fast forward, nearly 2 years later, and the service is just as bad as before. However, this time I came with my BFFL, who is much more forgiving than the Captain. This didn’t prove to serve as too much of a difference, since she, too, complained about the slow service.
Our waiter seemed quite laid back. Shuffling his feet, walking slowly, not one I would consider a restaurant should hire as wait staff. Customer service just wasn’t his priority that evening. Case in point?
My friend: «What kind of wine is the Cabernet Sauvignon?»
Waiter: «Grape.»
Yes. That was his actual answer. She pushed for a better answer, in the kindest way possible. He said he’d go to the bar to check. About 15 minutes later he returned and announced, «The wine is from California.» So she went to the bar after he left, talked to a bartender, got a sample of it, and ordered a glass when our waiter returned.
We only ordered sushi, which I later regret because I think I would have liked to try the skewers, but even so, our order took quite some time to make its way to our table. How can I be sure? Well, we were there for 2 hours and NO, we did not sit there and chat. We were starving. When our food showed up we wolfed it down. I ordered the 7 piece nigiri with one roll and my friend ordered 2 rolls. There was nothing wrong with the food — it was fine. But the service was disappointing and now I know, for sure, that I will not be returning.

3.5 stars
The bf and I really liked this place because it reminded us of being in Japan. Unfortunately the prices were not what we paid in Japan, which is why it goes down a half star.
The restaurant is located among a line of restaurants that were a great addition when I moved into DC two years ago. The interior is an interesting minimalist and concrete-​based concept. The noise wasn’t too loud which was also nice and they had a nice looking bar that would be good for people eating alone (or in groups).
We started out with the sweet omelette (which is actually (I’m guessing) very similar to the tomago) except that it was heated. It was excellent and exactly what we remembered from Japan. The only problem was that it was ~8x as expensive as Japan :(
Then the bf got the «mystery box» nigiri. For the price we paid, I would have to say that the fish weren’t worth it. They sounded very interesting on the menu and we like trying new things, but it didn’t justify the cost. Each piece of fish was $ 5, which seems slightly crazy.
Next dish was the Miso Fish, which was a black cod. This was excellent. The skin was nicely seared and tasted even better than the cod, which tasted good. It was well seasoned and was a good portion size.
We finished the meal with the wood-​grilled mushrooms and the broccolini (recommended by the waitresss). The mushrooms were good. They were well salted and you could definitely taste the wood grilling. The broccolini was excellent. They were cooked enough to be almost crisp, but not burnt at all. They were also very well salted. It was an extremely well executed dish.
All in all, we’d go back if we’re looking for a Japan fix, but probably only for the sweet egg omelette– we’ll try to do broccolini at home.

For some reason I never noticed this restaurant. Just a few blocks from the Chinatown strip, on an unassuming but up and coming part of K street, you will find Kushi Izakaya and Sushi!
Still quite chilly outside so I started with a pot of Genmaicha. A pleasant blend of roasted brown rice and green tea. Light to medium bodied with a roasted rice aroma. We started with an Asian version of a ham croquette. Loosely mashed potatoes were mix with lean diced pork tenderloin, dipped in an egg wash and coated with Panko breadcrumbs. The only difference between this and what I have eaten in Latin American restaurants was the absence of cheese and the addition of onions and red wine. Before the final cooking process, this version adds onions and red wine then the components are simmered. Nice twist! We grabbed a bit of sushi and marched forward to entrees.
We grabbed a couple of the house favorite salads. My favorite was the Pork belly Shabu Shabu salad. Thin slices of pork belly simmered in a dashi broth and chilled. served over what I think was bib lettuce with shaved daikon and topped with its sprouts. Great texture and nice flavor from the Ponzu vinaigrette. I has hoping that the pork would be hot or at-​least warm but it was served cold. No problem! Even cold the sliced pork was very tender. Next up was the warm beef tenderloin and Napa cabbage salad with cherry tomatoes, snap peas and I believe tempura potato or daikon. Crisp and crunchy vegetables and cabbage tossed with the beef and soy sauce based viniargrette. Great texture and a great surprise from what I have seen in other restaurants during lunch.
Beautiful side bar area and a HUGE open kitchen with a sushi bar. The staff is sexy and super polite! I will definitely return!

The taste def wasn’t lacking. I just wish portions were bigger. We had to order so much food… Pork belly skewers and fried ginger chicken were probably my favorite of the dishes. Other good dishes included the duck fat pork ribs, pork chop loins, and 2 different beef dishes that I can’t find on the menu right now (it’s not updated on the website). I wouldn’t recommend the duck thigh (nothing special about it at all), the scallops (TINY!), or the eel rolls (I’ve had much better).
Waiter made quit a few good recommendations. Multiple people helped us out, and food came out quickly.

The salads (Green Salad and Seaweed Salad) were very good and the pork belly was nice and tender and juicy as usual but the Negima and Mini Donburi with Chicken Thighs were lacking flavor. It is the sauce that they use for these dishes. It is dark and it looks the same as what is used in Japan for Yakitori but tastes totally different. Doesn’t taste much at all. The Japanese owner should check the taste of the sauce regularly and correct it. Otherwise, I feel sorry for the chickens.
I also tried some nigiri sushi — Maguro and Aji. Aji was okay but I did not like the quality of the Maguro (Tuna). The black sesame gelato was very good though.
I found out that Chef Wakayama was gone. They told me he had left Kushi as of yesterday. Too bad.

Kushi has been around for a few years and specializes on the Yakitori concept of grilling meats and vegetables on a special grill. Everything they offer as far as yakitori is delicious. If only I could afford it all. It’s generally $ 3-​$ 10 per skewer and each skewer has 3 pieces of meat. Most of their appetizers and sushi offerings are pretty good, as I would recommend getting 1 – 2 of them to share.
There are usually many LivingSocial/​Groupon deals for Kushi, but it can get pretty expensive as each person will have at least 3 skewers by themselves.
I would recommend it, but not if you’re looking for super authentic Japanese cuisine. The place is modern with a «New Japanese» concept.
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I don’t get it. The hype I mean. What’s it all for?
The venue is very trendy. After trying to enjoy the mediocre meal I had just had, the only thing that made any sense about Kushi being a four-​star establishment on Unilocal was the crowd there. Well-​meaning urban dwellers who love things because a food blog once told them they should.
I read a lot of other reviews before writing mine and it seems you can only enjoy Kushi if you try everything on the menu and learn what sucks less than the other. And once you do, you’ll still end up spending roughly $ 50. Is this really the standard we’re holding restaurants to now?
And the service. Nothing to write home about. Literally. I’m not even going to write about it.
I’ve had much better sushi from Harris Tetter. I recommend you try their prepared food section rather than this hyped up failure.