Stopped into this quaint and non-descript place on a weekday evening. It's located inside a Days Inn motel in the corner so be on the lookout for it. There were a few other tables but the service was quick and the atmosphere was quiet. The food was pretty delicious and the menu had a good selection. The sushi was fresh and had some creative pairings and they all worked well together. The fries were pretty basic and wouldn't order again but overall would come back. Until next time! read more

Ryu Izakaya - Crunchy spicy tuna roll and Green Roll - Japanese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Cutesy and modest decor and friendly quick service. Enjoyed some light ube tempura and yakitori before ordering sushi. I was incredibly impressed by the amount and quality of the tuna and salmon that was stuffed in my maki rolls. Thoroughly enjoyed my time at this hidden gem and will soon become a regular! read more

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Food is good. Service kind of slow. Like the yakitori selection but wish they came out on the grill to stay warm. Been here twice and definitely recommend read more

Ryu Izakaya - Lunch bento box!! - Japanese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Decent food, but not amazing. I had the edamame, and a special roll. Service was good.

I didn't feel like I was anywhere near Columbia Pike! Ryu Izakaya has THE food menu, there are so many dishes and they are super affordable. Bo was our server and she was on it, she checked in often and even recommended a few items. She also let us know about them extending happy hour to Saturday's beginning next week (12/18). I opted for the tempura shrimp and veggies, along with an order of hot sake, everything was exactly what I was looking for. I'll definitely be back for some sushi and cocktails soon! read more

Ryu Izakaya - Happy Hour menu - Japanese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Exactly what I was hoping for, a bustling izakaya serving all the requisites and more. Good sake selections and delicious sushi and appetizers. Cool sunset view! read more

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Initial impression: not great, though because they opened recently I'm also willing to give the benefit of a doubt and try again at a later date. The good: Decor and table style feels like it's trying to capture the spirit of an izakaya. Gyoza was tasty, as was the soft boiled egg I had in my ramen. There were some more authentic touches, such as the box for the sake glass and the yakitori options. The bad: Ramen was extremely bland. I'm not sure if I actually received the red miso ramen I ordered, or the tonkatsu (I've never seen a red miso ramen that isn't more red in color, but judge for yourself in the pic below) but regardless, it was flavorless. Service was friendly but very slow, though I'm willing to chalk that up to them working out the kinks from their recent opening. Music was too loud for an izakaya vibe IMO. Overall I was were really hoping to find a place with a good izakaya food and a vibe that reminded me of Japan. First impression wasn't the best, but they did just open so to be fair I think it's worth another shot after some time has passed. read more

Ryu Izakaya - "Red miso" ramen, allegedly - Japanese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Good service and the food is fine. Good selection, cheap happy hour sushi and small plates. Nothing amazing or special, but one of the best in the area. read more

Spot! Mouth water perfect texture sushi and pad Thai! Hands down hidden gem!!!! Great parking! Great service! Amy is so helpful!

The avocado and tuna tartar was delicious!!! My daughter had the noddle stir fry and she loved it. Great service and fast. Definitely coming back!!! read more

A hidden gem in the Columbia Pike corridor! It was our first time here, and everything was so great. Started with the crunch spicy tuna roll, the Rainbow Roll and the Black Dragon. So good and very reasonably priced. Wife and I had sushi and our 11-year old had the yakitori beef and chicken and asked for more! We'll be back! read more

Sake!Sake! I was hooked on the hot sake this past weekend.. They have a weekday happy hour that's great and also was told it will be extending to the Saturday soon. Our waitress didn't miss a heartbeat when it came to serving us.. the food was a great temperature unlike a lot of other sushi spots I've been to. The also had Yakitori! I was so excited for this.. good meats on a stick with a bbq style to it!!! The lay out of the restaurant was dope! It has 2 sections and some booths to sit in with sky lantern lights. read more

We tried these rolls and Kimchi ramen. Everything great but the egg on ramen is still cold. Nice service read more

Ryu Izakaya - Cozy rolls+ Ryu Izakaya rolls - Japanese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Sometimes when a new place opens up in your neighborhood, you get a sense of anticipation and excitement, and that's how I felt about Ryu Izakaya, thinking, "Wow! An izakaya place in the Columbia Pike / South Arlington area." And yet, as much as I wanted to like it, Ryu was a bit disappointing. At the end of the day, it's not truly an izakaya-style restaurant; rather, it is mainly a general Japanese restaurant with an added 焼き鳥 (yakitori) section to the menu. Other sections to the menu include まき(maki) and にぎり(nigiri) as well as らめん (ramen) and 丼 (donburi). Again, not really an izakaya menu per se but a more general Japanese restaurant menu. The red miso ramen was fine enough, though it came to the table somewhat lukewarm and was not accompanied by 七味唐がらし (7-spice pepper) until specifically asked for. The flavor was fine enough. The sweet potato tempura maki was different than the usual maki roll one finds in usual Japanese restaurants in the DMV - crunchy, sweet, and lightly battered - that was one of the best dishes. The 焼き鳥 (yakitori) was the disappointment, which is too bad since an izakaya place should stand or fall based on its grilled chicken on skewers. Here, it was fine, served on a fake mini grill that was unfortunately not lit at all and thus failed in keeping the skewers warm. The yakitori assortment consisted of different chicken parts including heart, gizzard, and thigh, as well as bacon wrapped enoki mushroom. They were fine, but just not up to par with what an izakaya restaurant should be doing. For a restaurant with the "feel" of an izakaya, this is fine, but it's just not close to the real thing, especially with a 9:30pm closing time vs izakaya establishments which are primarily drinking places with great snack foods like 焼き鳥 (yakitori / grilled chicken). I wanted to like this place, but in the end, it's another "Japanese-style" restaurant with a number of "Americanisms" that mar the menu. read more

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Food was good and great happy hour specials. Fast service too. Parking was a challenge due to road construction.

So yum! Service was good, place was hardly busy on a Friday night. The area on Columbia Pike is a bit sketch and it's in the same parking as a motel but once inside you forget all of that. The place is very cute. The bar area is separated from dining room with a cut out wall and the entrance foyer area but both areas are well decorated and look like a place to bring a date or group of friends to hang out. We got Takoyaki (fried octopus balls) Bulgogi Udon Soup, a Hawaiian roll, spicy crunchy tuna roll and a yellowtail avocado. My kids got fresh homemade lemonade and I got a Thai tea. Fried octopus appetizer was amazing. Rolls were all amazing Udon had a good flavor broth, meat was good and noodles. It wasn't huge but was enough. read more

Ryu Izakaya - Hawaiian roll - Japanese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Amazing hidden gem! Great food, service and atmosphere! Staff was super sweet and very attentive! Everything tasted fresh and full of flavor! read more

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Amazing authentic Japanese food! My fiancé and I were craving Japanese food after visiting Japan, and stumbled upon this izakaya in our neighborhood! The food was wonderful and they make phenomenal craft cocktails. Now our favorite restaurant on the Pike! read more

Food was very nice but I can not say same thing for service. But it was cozy ambiance! read more

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Food was great, hard to find the place , finding parking was another difficult issue . Overall good place and affordable too read more

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The apps were our favorites! Loved the octopus legs. The ramen was good and so was the bulgogi its on the sweeter side. The service was great. She was quick and attentive. I loved the art and xmas theme they had. We went around 1pm and was empty other than another group which i enjoyed. Ill def come back with a bigger group to try their sushi. read more

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We got a very warm welcome when we finally arrived to this place , food is delicious *Yakitori assortment is a bomb*. 100% recommended RYU IZAKAYA. read more

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LOVE this place def qualifies as a hidden gem! Food was good ambiance was good service was good read more

Ryu Izakaya - Kawaii Blossom, Fuji-San, LA Roll and hobbakko roll - Japanese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Ryu Izakaya is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Arlington, VA. Very nice atmosphere on the inside of the restaurant. Price reasonable, Food are delicious and excellent service. Recommend everyone to come and try. You won't be disappointed read more

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Incredible! Service was a little bit slowed down in that newly open working out how to handle a bigger crowd. However, everyone was hussling ! All in all still less than 90 mins from start to finish. Now the food!!!! Delicious ! There are so many options on the menu I'm excited to come back and try more. Thank yall for opening up such a beautiful spot on Columbia pike ! :) read more

We just had an incredible dinner experience at Ryu Izakaya! Wow! Excellent service! Sat at the bar which is beautiful! Fun decor! Super clean! Food was out of this world! Can't wait to come back! read more

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The menu has a lot of options. Typically drinks at Asian restaurants are terrible. This place has some good cocktail options. For families, there are tables with booths. Adults can also sit in the bar area. The sushi is great. Overall, a great addition to the pike. read more

Def have good food and the restaurant is pretty uniquely decorated. We went around 130 so there weren't many servers there but the service was still decent and the waiter was accommodating even tho my kids made a mess. I appreciate it when they're understanding. Super surprised by the food - it was delicious! We got the rice in the pot, various sashimi and sushi, and the noodles. Would def come again! read more

Cute tiny place. It is located right on the street however parking can be a pain as it is shared with the Days Inn. Food is a hit or miss. Depending on what you order. Tako wasabi was great but the fried oysters weren't. The skewers were good but nothing else on the menu scream it's a must have. To me it's like another sushi place. Service was extremely slow and the waitresses do not communicate with one another as our bill was not correct and we had to sort things out ourselves as it can take another 20 min to get our waitress. If you are to go here I suggest you order everything at once because it does take time for the orders to come out. read more

The food was great and the atmosphere was great as well. I highly recommend the yakitori sticks. This is a must if you are looking for good izakaya. read more

This place is a hidden gem. We went during the holiday break, and the place was slow since everyone is out of town, which at first made us nervous. But dayum every thing we tried was delicious. The staff were very attentive and the place was very relaxing. Will def be back. read more

Went here for a late valentines date and honestly got way more than we expected :) the food was amazing, the drinks were wonderful and the people running the place were super sweet. They even told us that there's happy hour on the weekends which isn't on their menu but was a wonderful surprise! Highly recommend the karage and the katsu curry read more

I guess Ryu Izakaya opened quite recently, like a month ago. And I can feel that this place can be a new local gem. The nigiri sushi was unexpectedly better than some serious sushi places. My salmon and yellowtail were fresh, fatty, juicy, and rich in flavors. Yakitori was like half of the price that other places ask for, and welp, they were smaller in size! But the flavors were big :) I tried the chicken stuff (thighs, gizzards, and hearts), and all of them were just prepared right and cooked right. I was afraid they could be gamy and greasy, but nope, they tasted super clean, smoky, and just yummy. I appreciate the fact that Ryu made them small and cheap so I can try out more stuff. Will be coming back for more. read more

I enjoyed dinner here once in the restaurant and twice to go. The food is excellent and the service was friendly. Reasonable cost for the quality. The interior is attractive. Will return and try other items on the menu. Like the variety too. read more

It's located on the ground floor of the No Tell motel Days Inn, but don't let that discourage you. This is a fun little spot. Good drinks and nice atmosphere. The service was good and the sushi was exceptional. I probably wouldn't get the ramen again. It wasn't bad, but with one of the best ramen restaurants in the DC area across the street, it was hard not to compare the two. If you want ramen go to Boru , if you want sushi come here. I'm looking forward to trying the other items on the menu. read more

We used to love coming here when it was Rincome. Alas, they closed. 6 months later, they reopened and it's Japanese fusion. The cocktails are great. The sushi is the best in town. The curry is to die for. Wish we had come last week when they opened up for the first day. read more

We have been here multiple times in the last month. Loved everything we've tried! My sis lived in Japan 5 years and is picky about Japanese food. She found dishes that she loved and had not had since living in Japan. Everyone is friendly and the service is efficient! We definitely will be back! read more

Restaurant is clean, with easy free parking at the neighboring hotel. Ambiance is casual. Service was polite and quick, and prices were low for the area. Food was ok, but not the best. Any fried items were on the oily side (maybe fried at wrong temp, or fried more than once?). The place was also nearly empty (Saturday lunch), so really no waiting for anything. If you're looking for cheap and quick service, then you've come to the right place. If you're looking for gourmet, you may not find it here. read more

Fantastic sushi. Fast service. Reasonably priced. My favorite is the Mexican roll. Very creative rolls

The food was great! Staff was also friendly and helpful. I am glad this spot opened up around the Columbia pike community read more

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