January 10, 2018 | Food & Drink
It used to be slim pickings for DC sushi but several highprofile entrants and an old-school standby are turning heads with omakase.
This omakase experience is luxurious and intimate. Diners sit at a marble-top bar that accommodates 10 or at one of 30 seats in the dimly-lit dining room. It starts with lighter cuts, like smoked salmon, and nishes heavy, including bluen tuna sourced from North Carolina. You can also opt to pair your courses with Japanese sake, selected by beverage director Dean Fuerth.
1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 202.695.1100, sushinakazawa.com
Skip the see-and-be-seen tables in the main dining room and settle into a bar stool at the chef’s counter. Start with the warm miso-glazed cod which has a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth avor. Then, move on to yellowtail sashimi accentuated with the heat of jalapeño peppers. Save room for the big bang— a trio of tuna, served lean, medium and fatty in a housemade soy glaze.
2525 M St. NW, 202.871.6565, noburestaurants.com
Guests are encouraged to enter the omakase counter at Sushi Taro with an open mind. The experience can last upwards of three hours and goes way beyond sushi. Michelin-starred chefs Nobu Yamazaki and Masaya Kitayama entertain diners with a six-seat experience that features fresh cuts of sashimi as well as small plates, including savory Japanese Kobe and housemade soba noodles.
1503 17th St. NW, 202.462.8999, sushitaro.com
Yoshihisa “Yoshi” Ota is at it again with a playful omakase experience that pairs sushi with sake. Try the restaurant’s most instagrammable dish, pressed mosaic sushi presented in a tiny cedar jewel box. Diners in a hurry can sample an abbreviated experience with a la carte options.
1420 New York Ave. NW, 202.849.3686, gakyudc.com
PHOTOS BY STEVEN FREEMAN (MISO COD), EVAN SUNG (SUSHI) AND DANIEL KRIEGER (CHEF NAKAZAWA)
