Went during HH (5-7pm), had the Sake for $20, and then had chicken thigh, fried garlic, fries, and brussel 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 read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Fried garlic and chicken thigh - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

We are here for work and one of my colleagues wanted to come here. 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. read more

See all

We came here during Restaurant Week and experienced their set menu which was a mix of flavors from several Asian cuisines. We made reservations but due to some unforeseen circumstances we were late. We had sent the restaurant a message though but after all the rushing and walking into the first floor restaurant which was really the ramen place and climbing the stairs with our computer bags to get to this place, thr hostess told us we lost our table and can get seated at the bar or this very small high table. As we struggled, a very pleasant staff member- Cape, came up to us and reassured us that they will find us a table. We instantly felt relieved. We were seated at a table fit for our party with a place for our stuff. The manager, Joe came up to apologize for the confusion. That's going the extra mile! Our server, Rashid, was very attentive and helpful. We decided to order different things on the restaurant week menu so we can share and we were glad we did. My favorite is the DIY Handroll which was a serving of sushi rice, tartare of seasoned fish, wasabi and a side of nori in a paper bag. Creative presentation, shareable, and wasabi was not overpowering. My second favorite is the Grilled Shiitake Skewer which was 3 slices skewered and flavored with brown butter, soy sauce and maple syrup and served with a dollop of labneh. It was a fun experience! read more

See all

This place is located upstairs of a sister restaurant of daiikaya. Some skewers are half off if you order a drink at the bar. Portions are small for Hapoy Hour appetizers, my group ordered many plates. I loved the spicy tuna sushi. Place is clean and female bartender was knowledgeable o the dishes. She recommended was great ideas. My hat off to Mo. read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Happy hour menu at the bar - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

Great small dishes and drinks, awesome ambiance, friendly staff. Cool bathrooms ;3 Discount for Otakon guests when you bring your con badge. You can get a drink and appetizer here while you wait for your ramen reservation for downstairs. read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Booth seating - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

This is one of my favorite places in dc! I've never dined at the first floor one because they don't have a lot of first floor options. I have dined at the 2nd floor one a few times and it's fantastic. They offer tapas still dishes that are great to share with a friend with similar taste. We ordered several items suggested by our waitress and everything. We especially loved the skewers and fried avocado. The dessert wasn't the best, but there were plenty of dessert options around this area. The ambiance is typical of a fancy place in dc - dark and mood lighting. I definitely suggest coming here. It does get crowded so perhaps come here early to opening if possible. read more

See all

Vibes: Dark vibes, not too crowded or loud on a sunday night Wagyu donburi ($14): This had a good flavor. Presentation needs work. Very werid this was a plate instead of a bowl. No spoon given so was hard to eat. Labneh was a very weird choice and it did not fit at all for me. Cucumber ($6): Good cucumber dish. Has chili strings. Soy sauce vinaigrette was really good. Nice knife work for small chunks of cucumbers but cut to let the sauce in Yakitori was excellent ($5). This was the best dish. It was tender and slightly sweet inside. Salty with spice dip. Also charred well. Sushi ($12): Did not give soy sauce so I had to ask. The fish was cut up into small pieces which is a bit suspect because I don't think it said that on the menu. Anyways, It was good though. I really liked the wasabi stem inside and the shiso had a nice fresh taste. When the soy sauce came it tasted very good, almost custom made or something. Service: Slightly slow for a slow day... Restaurant added a 4% surcharge which you can take off by asking (this is really evil. Restaurants SHOULD NOT DO THIS...) It's extremely misleading and probably makes me not want to come back ever. I'm taking off a star just for this. read more

See all

The skewers, takoyaki, and DIY handrolls were good. I would say that they need longer skewer picks because they left no room for me to grab the picks with my napkin to not get greasy hands. The bartenders are great at conversations. The decor is nice and supposedly they have DJ's on Friday and Saturday nights. I may have missed the DJ's because I came at early dinner on a Saturday. This spot is upstairs through a separate door from their downstairs ramen shop. Would I recommend either? No. I find that there are better alternatives, but their food and drinks are still good though. One more thing, the restroom is quite interesting with some art and I guess the Terminator and other audio in Japanese? read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Bottom: Takoyaki, Top: DIY hand roll beef tartare - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

The Tuna Poke from the special menu was the perfect blend of refreshing and spicy! Thank you for acknowledging the birthdays of Hello Kitty and Godzilla! read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Spicy Tuna Roll - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

Loved trying the variety of foods and drinks, especially during the cherry blossom season when they have a cherry blossom themed cocktail. Particularly loved the soft tofu and custard dessert. Service was fantastic and overall ambiance was cozy. read more

See all

I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to Japanese cuisines so I was a bit skeptical. First off, the place is divided with two restaurants in both floors. The 2nd floor is more of your upscale time dining with dimmed lights and a nice bar area. The menu is expansive, but you can't order any items from the restaurant downstairs. The restaurant on the 2F food was really good. The potatoes, chicken skewers, and gyozas were my favorite. The fried chicken wings not so much. The bartender and hostess were nice and it was great energy. The restaurant in the first floor went with your traditional Japanese decor. Wood tables and benches. Self serve water. And a limited menu of ramen, gyozas, etc. I wasn't a fan of my miso ramen as both the pork and pork belly were cold, and the broth lacked flavor. My advice is to stick to the second floor restaurant. More bang for your buck and better food options. read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - 2F - Bar Area - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

We tried Daikaya Izakaya's Restaurant Week, and it was alright. The portions were small, the fixed menu seemed more of a lunch option rather than dinner. We expected more food. I also opted for the paired cocktail drinks, and in wasn't really impressed. The server was very nice and knowledgeable about the menu, encouraging us to try special items that aren't regularly available. I liked that I was able to taste most of the items on the menu, and they were delicious. A few of my favorites were the fried garlic, grilled avocado, keema curry donburi, and the black sesame panna cotta. However, the tako wasabi and the edamame al ajillo were too spicy for my liking and I couldn't really enjoy them. I really liked the vibes of Daikaya Izakaya. I would try and go back for happy hour or dinner, perhaps the portions are more filling. read more

See all

We came for restaurant week; we left fulfilled & warm inside. What a fantastic tasting menu with choices for every course. Each course offered a different flavor profile and left us talking about what we were eating at every bite. My Favorite: Keema Curry Donburi My husbands favorite: Nigiri Plate Service was incredible and our server was so accommodating for our 8 year old. He loved the kid friendly chopsticks! read more

See all

TSUKUNE GRILLED CHICKEN MEATBALLS (Yakitori sauce, togarashi) - well seasoned flavor glazed on grilled chicken meatballs... I'd say it was delicious but I think other place served this better though. ROCKY BALBOA (Beaver Creek Farm, VA quail egg, sea urchin, marinated salmon roe, shiso, wasabi, sweet shoyu dashi Inspired by the movie Rocky, scene where he begins his training. You can chug it like the Rock or eat it with a spoon to savor the luxurious "eggs") - this is THE BEST. I'd order this again as it was very savory and some surprises of salmon roes and finishing up with urchin! If you're a foodie adventurist, then this is it! No more further argument! WAGYU KEEMA KARE DONBURI (Wagyu beef, labne, pickles, Koshihikari rice) - surprisingly filling and delicious! I loved how they make it seem so simple but really flavor bursting dish with a few ingredients. I'd order this again next time. The service overall was very great! Quick and efficient then they were very attainable as we were waiting for food! Not too long and not too bad! The vibe there was awesome with a hint of Japanese feeling and cool decors around the place. read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Rocky Balboa - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Ambience and service are excellent here. Really great looking place thats dark and moody for a great looking bar spot. Throughout our meal both the host and server were super attentive to ensure all our needs were met! Where it kind of falls off was the food. While it wasn't necesarily bad, it doesn't come close to meeting the definition of a Japanese style izakaya other than the small portion dishes. While the food looked good on paper, nothing ordered tasted as Asian-inspired as Daikaya aspires to be. The tuna poke was good but lacked many pieces of tuna at all and was very tart. It almost seemed more of a tropical mango salsa than anything. The curry fries were ok, the curry flavor had light seasoning sprinkles onto it. The edamame had a certainly different approach being cooked and steamed in a spicy broth but wasn't my favorite. The uni was a bit on the fishy side but seemed fresh. Sausage and meatball skewers were good, again no Asian flavors. And finally the matcha soft serve, while tasted good had many large grains of matcha powder mixed in. Texturally, it felt weird since it was so grainy. All in all, food wasn't bad, it just fooled our expectations and really doesn't seem in line with being called an izakaya. read more

See all

I did not like the ramen from Daikaya when I tried it in 2019 so I was hesitant to go back to try the izakaya. My DC local friend raves about Daikaya and comes here frequently for happy hours, so three of us stopped by for dinner this past Thursday dinner. I admit, I was impressed with most of the plates we ordered. The interior is dim with the street food, yet elegant ambiance. Our server was attentive and made sure we had enough water and food. SKEWERS: TSUKUNE GRILLED CHICKEN MEATBALLS - 4 (x2) Each order comes with three meatballs, and we got two. Chicken meatballs were flavorful and one of my friend's favorites. Pretty good. SKEWERS: YAKITORI CHICKEN SKEWER - 5 Tastes like regular grilled chicken with only five small pieces (not even bite-sized). Nothing special and I would not recommend. SKEWERS: CHICKEN GIZZARD - 4 Super crunchy texture that I loved and the flavors were good. My friend's never had gizzards before and he ended up enjoying this a lot. I would definitely recommend it! TAKOYAKI - 9 Each order comes with 5 that had a good amount of octopus per sphere -- ratio was decent. The sauce and flakes were delicious and I would recommend these if you're a takoyaki fan. It's one of the better ones I've had in the DMV. MENTAIKO PASTA - 14 So good!!! The sauce was super creamy and flavorful, with a nice smoky flavor. The udon texture was perfect and it was mixed generously with lots of garlic and scallions. They also give you a piece of toast for you to enjoy with the extra sauce they give you. We also dipped our potatoes and chicken wings in the sauce to eat all of it -- definitely not letting it go to waste. The mentaiko pasta was one of our favorites and we would highly recommend. TAKO WASABI - 7 Small, but super yummy!! The raw octopus was not too slimy and had hints of fresh wasabi spice. There's some apple and celery pieces mixed in too that gives some bites a sweet kick. Definitely one of the more unique options here and I would highly recommend! PEE WEE POTATOES - 8.50 Good way to load yourself up with carbs to get you closer to full. They were seasoned lightly with salt and butter, topped with lots of scallions to give it more flavor. Nothing special, but a good and cheap carb option. CHICKEN WINGS - 10 Chicken wings were freshly deep-fried and each order comes with 4 fat and juicy drumettes. The seasoning on the breading was light and filled with umami. The meat was juicy and flavorful. These were good, and again, dip them in the mentaiko udon sauce if you have some. COCKTAIL: BEE'S KNEES - 14 I usually don't get drinks at restaurants, but both of my friends got drinks so I did too, lol. The bee's knees here was pretty solid but mine wasn't mixed that well. The first half of my drink tasted like fresh lemonade that's lightly spiked with minimal amount of sugar. Once I got to the bottom, that's when the alcohol really kicked in and the honey lavender syrup. I wish it was mixed a bit better, but otherwise it's a solid drink option that even I enjoyed (and I don't like most alcoholic drinks). WAGYU KEEMA CURRY - 14 Good option to get yourself a bit full, but we were a bit disappointed that the wagyu was more like ground beef than anything. The curry was good and they give you a fair amount of meat and rice. PORK AND BRUSSELS - 8.50 This came in the style of two skewers. The pork belly was seared nicely and the brussel sprouts were seasoned well. Everything was drizzled with takoyaki sauce and topped with the bonito flakes and furikake. One of my friends really liked the pork belly. We would definitely recommend these! Surprisingly, not as pricy as I thought. The three of us were reasonably full from the 11 plates we ordered and we got a cocktail each. The total including tax and tip was less than 60pp. We enjoyed our food and drinks and I would totally come back again to try other options and order some of my favorites. read more

See all

Came here to wait for my seat at Daikaya Ramen Shop next door. Super cute and dark ambiance with welcoming employees. I didn't get anything to eat, but I was recommended the Ringo Manzana drink & it was good! Very refreshing, and comes in a small/short glass. I'll definitely be returning to try out meals & more cocktails! You are able to take your drink next door to the ramen shop if you want. TikTok: @abidaremii IG: @eatgoodtx read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Ringo Manzana - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I LOVE IT. GO THERE. ADD THE SPICE BOMB. You're welcome. SERVICE?! 10/10 . The food came out so fast. Its small af in there and we sitting on stools but the food is so good I didn't even care. The ambience was a lil loud but its a nice friends catch up/quick bite to eat place. Great for hangovers or to sober up. read more

Originally, we wanted a table at the ramen shop downstairs. With a group of six and no table large enough to accommodate us, we decided to come upstairs for some izakaya bites. Having just returned from a trip to Japan recently, I am actually relieved that this izakaya is spacious and comfortable enough for our group size of six. When it comes to the food, the restaurant takes a fusion approach to the izakaya food. The burrata is not an usual item found at an izakaya, but I loved their version of it. The chicken wings were crispy but not too remarkable. The tuna poke was solid and the wonton tostada gave the dish an airy and crunchy texture in contrast to the tuna and avocado bites. The takoyaki were just okay. The happy hour bar food items were only available at the bar or the long table across from the bar. However, they were nice enough to make the happy hour drinks available for the table. read more

See all

My wife and I went for my birthday, we made reservations for the izakaya not the ramen restaurant. I was incredibly disappointed with this restaurant, we made reservations and mentioned that it was for a birthday (we received no mention or anything about my birthday the night of). Our first order of food and drinks was fine, however about 20-25 minutes of us being there someone sat next to us that knew the staff of the restaurant. We proceeded to be ignored for the remainder of the night while this table next to us requested food and items off menu backing the kitchen up. Our server proceeded to not serve us, we waited about 20-25 minutes to order our second order of food and drinks, (no water/ table cleared) after our second order. After receiving and eating our server took an additional 30 minutes for our bill, we had to wave down our server to get our bill because he was fulfilling special request from the table next to us. The food itself was exceptionally average and we ordered cacio e pepe udon, it was not seasoned at all compared to what the menu said. It tasted just like hot cream sauce, there was no pepper or Parmesan flavor at all. The catfish karaage wasn't breaded properly, the breading was soft and wet not crunchy like typical karaage items I've had at different restaurants. While the whole concept of an izakaya is small dishes those small dishes need to be good and filling and priced well. Do not come here, we had mediocre service / food for a $200 bill for 8 food items and 4 drinks is abysmal from reading other reviews it seems they charge %20 service charge or something without telling you. While the atmosphere matches and izakaya the service/food does not. read more

Everything was just fine but it's definitely far from a real izakaya: I'm half Japanese and I can vouch for real Japanese spots, and this isn't one of em. BUT, if you're just looking for a dark vibes bar runs or group dinners, it's not bad. It's a good attempt at being more authentic and I appreciate that. I also appreciate the price point! Twas amazing for what we paid for. I'll give service 5 stars tho- it makes up for any other lackluster parts (i.e., the food). They were so nice and fun! read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

My wife and I have enjoyed Daikaya. We went to the ramen shop on the first floor. Then we tried the izakaya upstairs (with a separate entrance). Although we likely were the oldest people in the place, by a wide margin, meaning the target demographic is young, hip, with disposable income, I would be enthusiastic to return. It is not a sedate venue for a second date; it might be a boisterous one for a first date to test the enthusiasm of the other party for a new relationship. My wife ordered the zucchini and the onigiri, as well as the chicken for her main course. I had the corn, with the lamb; we also had the house sake. (I wanted to try the Rocky Balboa. I will do that on a return trip. Those shooters are great. The description makes it sound terrific.) The zucchini was the best of tht vegetable I have ever had at a restaurant. It is not intrinsically that flavorful. In this case, however, it was seasoned and grilled such that it was robust. Even if you do not care this type of squash, you could enjoy this preparation. The onigiri was simple. It is rice. Like the zucchini, the rice has been grilled. It is chewy and smoky, both desirable characteristics. The chicken was fine. The only reason I would have less to say, relative to the other dishes, is those were superlative. The corn was how I liked it. My wife was not interested. It is corn on the cob. It was slathered in Kewpie mayonnaise. The lamb was two ounces. That is plenty. I am not a vegetarian. But I like the concept of small portions of animal protein. The service was brisk. It was so fast, we had ample time before our theatre performance nearby, and we went to a nearby drugstore so my wife could purchase a few necessities. Based on our experience, I would go again. Perhaps we will be able to bring family or a group. That would be the best means to experience it. Something festive. read more

This is a restaurant I've been wanting to try and I was able to check it out for restaurant week. However, I do think for $40 it wasn't a lot of food. I also think we might have been overcharged for what we ordered. I didn't have a chance to look at the check (which is my own fault). A few things I liked: the waygu keema donburi was delicious and so was the grilled avocado. We devoured the Panna cotta and Japanese custard - I liked how it wasn't too sweet. Dislike: the sashimi didn't taste as fresh as I thought it would and I received pieces with the skin still on it which tasted very chewy and fishy. I informed the server and he said it was normal to have skin, but I've never seen that before and I eat a lot of sashimi. read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

A very hip place, dark/moody, slightly loud with music. We didn't make a reservation, but they sat as the ledge which eventually we moved over to the bar. Reservations highly recommended as this place is usually packed. We ordered 9 dishes and 2 desserts and plenty for us. They're small Japanese tapas style. I missed the chicken meatballs and grilled shiitake pictures. everything tasted perfect and the bartender was attentive. Would come again. (Maybe would recommend lowering the volume of the ) read more

See all

They've changed the menu and it seems to have gone downhill from there. It's a classic case of don't fix what's not broken. Found the new food items pretty ordinary overall. Their ramen place downstairs is a much better investment of your time/money read more

Upstairs above the ramen shop, love the ambiance and the look of the bar right when you walk up. I went for restaurant week in January and they had a slew of items both on their regular menu and specialty items for restaurant week. They also offered a drink pairing which I did. The food was good and service was fast for the food but the bar was super busy the the drink pairings lagged behind the food. I was glad they still served the food so it wasn't colder due to waiting on the drinks. Very cool spot overall read more

See all

One of my favorite places to grab a bite. I love that the menu always has something new to try!

When we went here, the whole experience felt off. The lights were so dim that we could barely read the menu or our bill. It honestly seemed intentional, like they wanted to make it hard to notice the fine print. They spilled our food all over the table because it was so dark and tried gaslighting us when they brought us dishes we did not order. We were surprised by a big, unexpected service fee that they failed to mention at all, a likely violation of the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA). The food value was terrible, and we left feeling taken advantage of. We just want to share our experience so others know what to expect. read more

We celebrated our daughter's birthday last night and the waitress, heard that. She remembered and brought over a dessert with a candle! So sweet of her! The food was excellent! Fish was very fresh & ordered an assortment of food, unfortunately, we forgot to take pics of some of the last few dishes. The ambiance was cultural and personal, so nice place to go with friends & family. read more

See all

Had a great experience here pre-pandemic so came back to try it out again and was sadly disappointed. Pre-pandemic menu had very bold menu items like fish eye soup and unique japanese dishes. However, their menu now is just generic and geared towards a tourist's palate. Pros: great upstairs atmosphere with cool interior japanese izakaya design. They used to have the front entrance in a speakeasy fashion where you have to "find" the hidden metal door. Now they made it a normal entrance. The service was quick. Food-wise, the chicken wings and gyoza were great. Cons: the food items have definitely lost the unique factor post-pandemic. The items are now a dime-a-dozen. The takoyaki was too salty and the lamb chops were too chewy. Used to be an amazingly unique speakeasy japanese bar izakaya but they lost their identity and became another average izakaya with basic food. Ramen shop downstairs is much better. read more

See all

I love izakaya. This one, with some fun fusion dishes on the menu, is a good time. It was all very tasty, but my two favorites: 1) my drink, Full of Shishito: vodka, strawberry, lemon and shishito pepper. Spicy! 2) burrata. Burrata at an izakaya, really? Burrata with mentaiko, nori and citrus shouldn't work, but it does and it's SO good. Lots of traditional plates and lots of new experimental twists. I liked both. The service is quick and friendly, and the ambiance is great. Japanese music and posters, lots of fun little touches. read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Full of Shishito: vodka, strawberry, lemon and shishito. Spicy! - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

The restaurant itself definitely gives off izakaya vibes and i really liked the bar area, but the food itself misses the mark. Service was good, our waitress kept checking in every few minutes. We ordered a few dishes to share but none of them were impressive at all. I thought the Uni sushi was a little weird with no seaweed, soysauce or ginger. It was fresh and the pricing was not bad considering you get 2 pieces. The sausage was more of a grilled hotdog from an american bbq? It was good but not really japanese flavored. And the matcha ice cream was very grainy. The matcha powder didnt really mix in well with the ice cream. read more

See all

I had high hopes for this place Ans was not disappointed! The service was good. (We did get there at an off time closer to 2pm) we got sat right away. My hubs and I both got a shoyu ramen. I had an extra poached egg to mine. Everything was delicious. I think the broth was very favorfull. The poached eggs were perfect. The pork was delicious. Plenty of noodles. We were both full when we finished. 10 out 10. read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Shorty ramen with an extra egg - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Started my weekend off on a good note. This restaurant is right above a ramen place which is also great. The inside is so cool and well decorated. We had a few dishes but some really stood out. The first was the agedashi tofu. Super great. I only wish there was more. My favorite was a surprise winner which was the tako wasabi. Perfectly spicy and savory. I would have eaten two orders of these no problem. These plates are tiny so be prepared to order 3-4 plates per person. read more

See all

The location and the ambiance is great. The food and especially sushi upstairs is a bit on the expensive side - with respect to both quality and quantity. We ended up going downstairs to fill ourselves up with ramen - which is very good. For DC it is a good Izakaya but if you're used to Izakayas from Japan, you won''t be that impressed. read more

Came in for a flash sale on sushi. The service was a little slow on getting out the food. However, all the sushi was fresh and delicious. The star of the show was the eel. Note that wasabi paste is a dollar and change extra but it blows your face off! There's quite a few stairs to the 2nd level but the decor is tasteful and moody. read more

Walked in without a reservation because the ramen restaurant downstairs was booked and nobody was able to help us. The service was frankly atrocious. Our waiter was nice, but we didn't get the full menu (something we learned after we left), the servers bought us other people's food twice and was awkward (made even more awkward by it being a guy attending a party with 3 AFAB's), the service was slow despite it not being busy, and we got food before even getting chopsticks. The food was good, but portions were tiny and were definitely overpriced as a result. In addition, we got charged for an extra portion of fries that we did not order. Would not come back again. read more

This is an excellent ramen restaurant in DC that I highly recommend. The ramen dishes are delicious, and the noodles' texture is chewy. The broth is also quite tasty, making it the perfect meal for cold days. The restaurant is relatively small, and when my friend and I went there, all the tables were taken, so we had to sit at the bar. However, the service was still decent overall. read more

Daikaya the Izakaya - Izakaya Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

Now I've been to both the downstairs ramen spot and the upstairs izakaya. The ramen is always really solid and flavorful. I went to the Izakaya for dinner with a friend before a show at Capital One. We ordered the specialty drink which was called the Snow Angel with sake, creme de cassis, vodka, and bubbles. It was flavorful but not too sweet, really enjoyable. We ordered several small plates: -burrata: it was good but not the best burrata I've ever had. It was almost too soft, and not as flavorful as I would have thought. It needed more bread as well. -miso salmon: this was really good, a little subtle on the miso but well prepared and the carrot purée was great -menitako pasta: 10/10, the best dish we had. It had such a complex flavor, as it was salty, spicy, and chewy all at the same time. Great umami dish, my only comment is I needed like 3 of them. -eggplant rice wrap: I really enjoyed this, although I found it a touch too sweet. The pickles that came alongside it helped cut that sweetness -cucumber salad: tasty and refreshing, definitely recommend -grilled avocado: this was just okay. It was hard to serve with the ponzu poured in the middle, and it needed some kind of bread or rice with it to help soak up the flavor. The service was really great. I loved the table fixtures and how dark and cozy the restaurant is. read more

My first restaurant week experience at the popular Daikaya the Izakaya - I actually don't want to whine as someone who has worked in the restaurant industry before but I was bummed to have to wait 25 minutes after my reservation time to be sat and to be ignored after asking the host (who said they'd check on it) if we could order the first round of restaurant meal food at the bar seats we were waiting at - thank god for the female waitress who took care of us after that, she was incredibly sweet and made up for the host and his other male coworker avoiding eye contact with (or answering) me .... - the fried oysters were hot and delicious - the eggplant was the star of the show, the sauce was drinkable and the eggplant was so tender and perfectly cooked to absorb the sauce - the udon was good only because udon noodles are delicious. broth was nothing special and the fried topping was nice but very the whole dish was very plain - the tomato fourth dish was fab. I had no idea what to expect, it was like a tomato paste curry with potatoes, I didn't want the rice like o just wanted to eat a pile of that unique curry - I ordered the zenzai dessert solely bc I had no idea what it was and it is best described as like a sweet red bean stew with floating mochi. it was unlike anything I'd had before - the restaurant itself has great ambiance, lovely attention to detail in decoration, super fun seating read more

See all