Sake Club

Dater’s paradise! My friends and I eat here routinely to get away form the standard hotel fare across the street. We always comment that this is a great place for dates. It’s intimate– not a gigantic overwhelming plaza style restaurant, but a place where you can really get to know your date.
The food is stellar and diverse. I bring my picky friend who does not like sushi here, and she enjoys it, too. The selection of non-​sushi items keeps her happy, as does the constant passing by of pedestrians. Great people watching.
I enjoy the artistic presentation of the food, the Japanese serving platters, the creative mixed sake drinks, and the grilled items. I look forward to my next visit here, and hope it is in the summer so we can sit outside. Of course, the décor inside is awesome — complete with buddhist art and Asian textiles.

If you want to have ambiance only– this place works. The menu is SO limited. The sushi was small, and average. The service was horrible. Slow. The waiter told us that the reason the sushi took so long was that the sushi rice fell– so they had to make all new rice! On a positive note, they do allow children, and have high chairs– and the backroom was great and secluded. Our party of 25 was very comfortable. The Udon soup for $ 11 was reasonable– but quite average. They made almost $ 1K off of our group tonight, I would say we kinda got ripped off.

Expensive! Even when you are not hungry!
I look at the photo on Unilocal of the sushi/​sashimi platter and can only wonder if they broke the bank… although more likely they ate on an expense account. (It’s located across from the Marriott Hotel & Conf Center.) We chose to come here because it was late and we wanted something light after munching on sliders and assorted hors d’eouvres til 9pm. A few of us ordered entrees and a few ordered appetizers. But we had to add to our order because it was almost non-​existent. I had the agedashi tofu appetizer and that was fine. However, someone ordered the sashimi appetizer ($ 12) which had 3 – 4 pieces of fish. So we added the sushi deluxe to share. It had a good array but the pieces were tiny. The rice was small to make the slices of fish look bigger!

This place is NOT to be confused with an actual club. Maybe they wanted to distinguish themselves from Saki, a few blocks down in Adams Morgan.
I’ve been here a couple of times, and everytime the sushi’s been on the mark.
A recent trip I tried the seaweed salad– which was nice an refreshing on a humid summer day. I also got the standard California rolls which were; ok. I really liked the wasabi tobiko nigiri– which just had enough kick to it, but not overpowering.
The best part is that I can walk from my apt to this place.

We ordered a couple of rolls, some nigiri and miso soup.
I thought the miso was pretty good, but bf found it too watery. The bottom of his bowl was completely missing its color from spoon scrapes.
The rainbow roll had in it everything but the kitchen sink, with not one single distinguishable flavor.
The nigiri cuts were thin. The mackerel was good but falling apart, and the the eel sauce had too much soy.

This is the sort of place where people get suckered in because of the signage, outdoor seating, and otherwise faux-​fancy atmosphere of the place. I’ll let you in on a little secret: the fish isn’t that great. Would it be a surprise if I told you that nearly all the raw fish (purposefully raw fish) I have had in DC was much closer to «grill grade» rather than «sashimi grade»?
Maybe its because I am from Hawaii, where all sorts of beautiful fish run nearly all year around, but I’m not really that picky – I just know good fish when I see it. However, when I want raw fish, I want raw fish. Its a terrible addiction, really. So when I am having a hankering, and I know that no matter where I go in DC, all the fish will be so-​so, I’ll tend to avoid this place for its price and unnecessary atmosphere and fancy plates and all the other schmaltz.
You think you can fool me with spicy sauces and plating and a moderate sake list? You’re wrong Sake Club, so wrong. But my addiction might lead me back here someday, so you never know. And for that I give you a «3».

I went to Sake for lunch today and had the Chirashi. Um — underneath the fish — there was PINK SUGAR. Who the heck puts PINK SUGAR on chirashi??? It was sooo weird.
But — that was the only negative I would say. The quality of the fish was excellent, and tasty. Quite fresh. The service was good for me — but admittedly, it was a late lunch and there were only a few tables there. I sat outside on the patio and that was a big bonus for me since it was a pretty day and that was my primary goal for lunch. Plus there was a street musician, a violinist playing across the way, by the metro station, which made for a lovely lunch enviro! The décor inside was well done — i would love to sit inside sometime — very cozy and hip at the same time. Prices were reasonable — for lunch I paid $ 15 for a nice sized chirashi with a salad and miso.
The Sake menu was quite impressive — pages and pages of options. That’s a huge plus for me!
So just beware of the pink sugar on your chirashi rice (kinda ruined the whole thing for me!) and you’re golden at this place. I will be sure to ask for NO SUGAR next time I go to this place!
Worth a visit if you’re in the area…

The menu has shrunk considerably over the past couple of years. But I’m still a loyal customer when I feel like I a) deserve a treat and b) have the money to pay for it. It has the best sake selection in D.C., which is the main reason why I go. However, most of the really enjoyable sakes are only available by the bottle and not by the tokuri. I really enjoy the kobe beef satay and definitely go by the chef recommendation of the fish.
I’ve had a great experience with the staff and great service. The sushi chefs are friendly and are accomodating.

This place is really cute. The décor is nice, really good atmosphere for a date. It’s very intimate.
The food was ok. The spring roll appetizer that we wanted to order was out. We ordered 3 rolls. The waitress had messed up our order and brought out 1 wrong roll. She asked us if she wanted to take it if not she would have them bring us another one and use it for another table that ordered the same dish. That was kinda ehh. When she finally brought out the roll that we ordered, it was clear that she had used the same plate as the roll she had mistaken.
Service was kinda slow and it took us forever to get the bill when it was apparent that the crowd had died down. Overall, cute for dates but everything is just ok.

It’s pretty bad when the best thing about your meal is the butterscotch candy from the jar on the way out. I mean wow, was this place disappointing, especially since I had been told by two fellow sushi lovers how good it was. My friend and I split one of the special rolls (fugi maki) which were good but the rolls were way too big to eat in one bite, which I think defeats the purpose. It was an interesting mix of ingredients (crab stick salad, sweet gourd, egg and spinach), but it was kind of ruined by the fact that I couldn’t really eat them all together because the roll was too large.
We decided to split the veggie roll platter as our entrée which was a big mistake. I know that vegetarian rolls are sort of beside the point to sushi purists, but my friend isn’t a seafood person and I am, and I don’t eat the raw stuff and she does, so we thought this would be a good compromise. I’ve had excellent veggie rolls elsewhere (Sakana for example) so I wasn’t expecting these would be so bland and frankly a couple of them were not even really editable (the carrots were hard as rocks and sour, and I have no idea what one of them was, but it tasted like feet). And $ 18 for a plate of veggie rolls is ridiculous. This place is very expensive compared to other, better sushi joints in the city.
I will say the atmosphere seemed pretty cool inside. We sat outside which was very pleasant, but the inside is dark and romantic and full of little cozy corners, so it would probably be a good date place provided your date was into mediocre sushi.

Had dinner here last night… and LOVED it!
The décor inside was very nice, the staff were attentive, and the sushi was delicious!
We ordered the smoked salmon skin salad (which was pretty huge!) and the beef satay. Both were very tasty. We ordered a couple of rolls, tuna sashimi, and tuna tartar nigiri. If you like spicy food… try the fiesta roll! It has spicy tuna, jalapenos, and jalapeño masago. Since we liked this roll, we tried a similar roll with rock shrimp instead of the spicy tuna. Definitely skip this one! But the tuna sashimi was fresh, and the tuna tartar nigiri was fantastic!
Wash your meal down with their Emerald Greentini. =) I thought their beers were kind of expensive ($ 9 for a large bottle of Sapporo), so I’d stick with a $ 7 Saketini. They were rather strong, so you’ll get your $s worth.
I would definitely recommend this place to sushi lovers!

Wow. This experience was completely… whelming.
Love: The space. The décor is a little kitschy, but it is pretty cute. Heavy clay teapots and teacups that feel great in the hand. Cloth-​covered seats. Pictures of various Asian mythological entities on the walls. Lots of reds and golds. Yep. Can’t mistake this for an Italian or Indian restaurant, that’s for sure.
Don’t love: The food. There’s not much getting around it. It’s not an active dislike. It’s the absence of like. Although they –are– offering a Restaurant Week menu, we both opted to order off their regular menu, since it seemed like a better value.
The $ 15 nigiri sushi platter came with miso soup (fine), a lightly dressed salad (fine), and about five or six pieces of sushi. One piece of fish was super tough to chew through. The unagi had a bone in it. I’m not sure if this stuff is imported already cut up… or if that’s up to the sushi chef, but one way or another, I was unimpressed.
Oh. And apparently when you order the nigiri set, the soup and salad come –with– your fish. Not as a starter. This wasn’t bad. It was just unexpected.
Service was polite and prompt — perhaps a function of the fact that we were one of three tables (and two of four people) dining here for lunch. Bad timing? Perhaps. But not-​good sushi just doesn’t float my boat, y’know?

I went here with a friend on Christmas eve. The crowd was light. The décor was hip and welcoming. Drum and bass renditions of Silent Night and Frosty the Snowman played quietly in the background (for real). Candles gave the room a warm hue. Very nice.
Neither of us knew (knows) anything about sake so we decided to stay away from expensive, potentially terrible, potentially knock-​you-​on-​your-​ass alcoholic beverages but we did marvel at the pages and pages of the sake menu. Wow. So we ordered froo-​froo mixed drinks instead. They were delicious and well presented.
Next we looked at the sushi. We spent a long time savoring our drinks and debating our order and chatting. And about three seconds after we closed our menus our waiter appeared out of nowhere.
The sushi was very fresh and very nicely presented. The rolls incorporated carrots more than I’ve ever seen in sushi before, but it worked well and gave the bite a nice crunch and texture. Don’t knock it ’till ya try it.
We skipped the dessert, although whatever the people at the table next to us ordered was certainly impressive looking.
I’m sure I will go back to this place. I was delivered exactly what I was expecting and paid precisely what we anticipated. My water glass was never empty and my conversation was never interrupted.

Sooooo… I obviously have a small obsession w/​sushi & martinis.
Which is exactly what I had here.
Fabulous sushi and a yummy martini!
I’m finding this to be a regular occurence… hmm…
In any case, Sake Club is a beautiful space, kinda spendy, but so so worth it. Service is really friendly, and the the food… SWEET GOD… so good.
I will definitely go there again when I’m back in DC for a visit!

Sake Club continues to be my favorite go-​to spot for sushi. I came here twice in the last week.
I somehow lucked out of having to work at the restaurant Saturday night and was able to attend my friend’s going-​away dinner. We scored a long table in the low-​lit back room which is so simply and wonderfully decorated with little candles on the wall.
Mojitos are quite delicious here and are garnished with a thick sugar cane stick. I had only one but some of my friends had several more. I also recommend the peachee cocktail as it also goes down quite easily.
Some of us had miso soup to start while others (like myself) had the mushroom soup. Wonderfully hot (not spicy) and steamy. We also chowed down on edamame.
For sushi, we ordered:
Tamago Sashimi
California Roll
Spicy Scallop Roll
Spicy Tuna Roll
Jakarta Roll (tamago /​spinach /​quail egg /​peanut sauce)
Soft Shell Crab Roll
Shrimp Tempura Roll
Caliente Roll
Salmon Creamcheese Roll
Dragon Roll (california roll /​eel /​avocado)
Once all of the food was placed before us, it seemed like it was too much. But it wasn’t long before the wooden trays covered in flat green leaves were bare. It was gone. And we were stuffed.
Not too stuffed to order more mojitos, sake and sake bombs though… and then some apple spring rolls with green tea ice cream.
Our server was very friendly and efficient. He was also serving another large party in the backroom but managed to keep all of our beverages sufficiently filled at all times. Bravo, Artie!
I highly recommend Sake Club to those fans of rice and fish… it won’t disappoint!
Also — they have a special right now — «calamari salsa» and chips. Very tasty — try it before they take it off the menu!

I thought the words would come easy, but I honestly do not know how else to describe the melt-​in-​your-​mouth sushi served here. I’ve had sushi plenty of times before and no where else compares. It’s a shame I cannot afford to come more often.

D-​E-​L-​I-​C-​I-​O-​U-​S!!! And not to mention classy yet surprisingly not stuck up! Conveniently located directly across the street from the Adams Morgan/​Woodley Park metro, Sake Club looks pretty inconspicuous. We actually did not spot it right away.
The décor is stylish and modern, with a somewhat moody and relaxed atmosphere. The tables are interestingly designed and they have definitely made the most of their rather limited space.
The service is excellent. The staff is friendly and very accommodating, I was very impressed!
I was here for this year’s restaurant week. The dinner menu offered a varied selection for each course. Seafood tomato miso soup (simply divine), some type of lightly seared salmon (mmmmm) and I forget what else. For entrees, there was a sushi or sashimi plate, as well as a vegetarian option.
I must take a moment here to discuss the sushi. I am a sushi maniac and I happen to be especially picky. I conduct extensive research when it comes to selecting a sushi restaurant. Sake Club was an excellent choice and has replaced Sushi Taro as my favorite D.C. sushi restaurant.
The california roll (which I do not usually order) was well-​made and had an obvious unique ingredient (perhaps the spicy mayo) added by the chef. My all-​time favorite, spicy tuna, was exquisite. The sashimi was fresh and delectable. I peaked at the maki/​nigiri menu and cannot wait to return and sample some of their specialty rolls. I should also point out that the omakase (chef’s tasting menu) is well priced and offered as 6-​course or 10-​course (?).
Moving on to dessert. I decided to try something new and different as I’ve had green tea and red bean ice cream several times. I opted for the goma pudding, which is apparently a black sesame pudding. It was light, not overly sweet and had just the slightest chocolate flavor.
If like me, you’ve moved to D.C. and are still searching for the best sushi, look no further. I will be returning to Sake Club very very soon!
Oh and don’t forget to order a bottle of plum wine! Or even sake from their EXTENSIVE and rather pricey menu (I’m sure it’s worth it).

Having lived in San Francisco, Marin and Oakland, I’m pretty spoiled by good sushi. Sushi-​Ran in Sausalito still reigns supreme as the best sushi I have ever had, but I was surprised to find that this place ranks a very close second.
I was on a business trip and staying around the corner, so we stumbled into Sake Club because of its proximity to our hotel.
The atmo in here is of the general trendy/​hip vibe often found in SF. And the menu contained a lot of really interesting rolls, of which we ordered four or so.
The Sake selection was fairly impressive, and I was happy to see the Sho Chiku Bai organic sake on the menu. Sho Chiku Bai is in Berkeley, and having had a fundraiser there last year I’m very familiar with the sake menu. Their organic sake is crisp, sweet and delicious, and we have a theory that you can drink more without risk of a hangover due to it being organic. We may be fooling ourselves. Shh. We like this theory.
Anyway, the highlights of the night were:
Wakame salad (delicious)
Kamikaze roll (with a major disclaimer)
Whatever roll we had that contained a shiso leaf on the top
The Kamikaze roll was labeled as «spicy.» The waiter warned us that it was very spicy, but as Japanese food isn’t Thai or Vietnamese food and we all consider ourselves to be pretty adventurous, we we weren’t concerned. The manager happened to overhear and also noted that it was really spicy. We ordered it anyway.
When the waiter brought the food, he warned us again about the Kamikaze roll. Again, we told him that we like spicy food.
The bright red roe on top might have been a warning indicator, but two of my cohorts dug in enthusiastically anyway. And then the heat hit, and they both turned red and grabbed water (yes, we know it spreads the oil, but sake wasn’t helping) and had to wait 10 minutes to eat anything else, as their tastebuds were «dead.» It’s worth noting that one of these so addled is actually Japanese.
I bravely tried this roll anyway, and it was goddamned delicious. And it was pretty spicy, but nothing that was going to kill me. Until I ate another piece, and another, and realized that it was only getting hotter. And wasn’t. Going. Away.
I call this Creeper Burn, and Oh. My. God. This was the hottest goddamned thing I’ve eaten in a long time, and while it was delicious I actually had to summon over the manager (who had warned us about the spiciness the first time) and ask him for a splash of Nigori sake. My theory: being unfiltered and therefore starchy, this sake would help rid my mouth of all the chili oil.
My theory proved correct, and I felt better in a few minutes.
Turns out that this roll has habanero in the roe, *and spicy jalapenos inside. Habaneros are demon Mexican chilis and one of the most spicy chilis in the world, so it’s no wonder that we were warned so diligently by the staff.
I would eat this roll again, but I’d eat it with unfiltered sake and/​or green tea ice cream on-​hand to counteract the chili oil.
The other standout was a roll — toro, maybe — that had a shiso leaf on top. This tastes like something between basil and eucalyptus, and we all loved this roll.
All and all, two Asians and two whities from the Bay Area with a lot of sushi experience were really impressed with the food here, and I’d go out of my way to eat here again on my next trip to D.C.

This is by far the best sushi in DC. They get thumbs up for having creative rolls, good sake and yummy tapas. I have been there so much, that the owner knows me by name and always starts our meal with complimentary glasses of sake. He throws in appetizers here and there too. The fish is fresh and if you order smartly, two people can eat (a lot), drink and only have a bill of $ 80 with tax and tip. Not bad for an amazing, fun meal.

A surprisingly great little Japanese restaurant and Sake bar with both traditional and modern dishes at very reasonable prices. (Note that it’s not a dance club at all, in spite of the name, and is not the same place as «Saki» on 18^th street, which actually is a club.)
At first the décor of this place made it look like another modern-​style, trying-​too-​hard-​to-​be-​hip joint, and after being seated in the back next to speakers playing house music I didn’t have high hopes for the food. But both times I’ve been here I’ve really liked everything I’ve ordered, from the sushi to the donburi (rice bowls with meat or fish). Last time I went with a friend during happy hour (which I think is 6 to 9) and we got sushi plates for $ 6 each, some other food, and split a sake flight. Altogether we had a good meal PLUS drinks for $ 20 a person, not at all bad for food of this quality. No complaints about the service either, the waitstaff are friendly and helpful.
Of course sake can be expensive, but in my experience even the cheap stuff is quite drinkable, and if you come here early during happy hour you can get good deals on sake samplers. But of course sake costs more per pound than rice (in response to another reviewer here), just like wine costs more than grapes and designer jeans cost more than cotton!