Aji-Nippon Restaurant

My wife and I saw Aji-Nippon. We lived in DC from 1995 to 2010 (she lived there longer than that), and we have occasion to return regularly now due to my elderly father living on his own past a time when he ought to be doing so. That means we are in the vicinity; we stay a bit more than a mile away. When we were running errands, stopping into Strosnider's Hardware across the street, we spotted Aji-Nippon. We had not dined there before, despite having shopped at the long gone Japanese grocery in the same little complex. Here is a summary. When we finished our dinner, my wife said, I hope they have more patrons. For a Friday night, it was awfully quiet. I love places like this. It is mom and pop. I assume it is a team of husband and wife. I infer, from the review on the wall, it is not the same as the original pair. They are either of Korean ancestry or like Korean food (I make no assumptions, even if ostensibly benign). I had the chirashi Korean style (with lettuce and hot sauce, which may have been home made; the proper term is hoe-deopbap, though the Anglicization can include the hyphen or not). We also got the seafood pancake to go. My wife had the bento box with salmon teriyaki. Everything was fine. The decor is modest, but not cheap or plain; it feels as if you have been welcomed into an intimate space. Service was friendly and warm.Given where we spend our nights in the area, I am sure we will be back. There are fancier venues, to be sure, more expensive, too. But if you are looking for casual, easygoing, high quality, fairly priced, you won't do much better.

Perfect lunch. Totally solid sushi. Beyond lovely service and ambiance. Coming here really made my day

I lived in Japan in the service for three years in my late 20s. This place brings me back. The Sushi is great! The ambiance is unforced and authentic.

Took my elderly parents for dinner. The location is good and there's parking garage behind the restaurant. Food was delicious and I believe priced just right. Soup was the right temp. Tempura was crunchy, lightly battered to perfection. Shrimp siomai was tasty. Not very elderly or disabled friendly place for drop off or parking. However it's worth a try if you don't have problems with waking. The service was quick and the server was attentive. Small but cozy. It's ok overall but I don't know if I will return.

My family and I were in town and we're craving sushi. We decided to come here because we wanted a place that offered sushi, udon, and other options. My son and daughter ordered the udon and they ate it up. I had to order another bowl because my son wanted more. My husband and I shared the sushi and sashimi special, and since they had uni, I ordered that as well. The fish was fresh, but I was a little disappointed because they put a lot of red snappers. I would've wanted a few hamachi sushi. Since it was "special" I was expecting either more variety or a few special pieces. The uni wasn't as sweet as I would like it to be. It had a bad aftertaste, not sure if it was going bad or just the type. The main thing is that the sushi was fresh, which is a big deal for us. My cousin ordered kalbi, which came boneless on a sizzling platter. She said it wasn't as flavorful as she hoped. Overall, the service was great and our server was very sweet. It looked like there was only our server and the sushi chef. We arrived around 6:30 pm, and we were the only dine-in customers, but they had about 4 take-out orders during the time we were there. We are glad to have tried this restaurant and love supporting small businesses especially one that has been in business since 1986.

S-L-O-W service with a snarl. This cozy little restaurant offered the perfect setting for our extended family get-together and the menu offers a nice variety of Japanese and Korean choices. Unfortunately, the service was unbearably slow and inefficient and our server was in a horrible mood. One member of our party started to ask whether a different roll could be substituted for the California roll that came with the bento box. The waitress cut her off in mid-sentence with a harsh, "No!" We all laughed about it, but when we were waiting forever for food to show up, no one was laughing anymore. When food finally arrived, it was for only a few members of our party of 10. More than half of our party was left waiting for an inordinate amount of time. One of the young people finally gave up. He left, picked up a to-go order from Cava and brought it back with him--half our party was still waiting for their food when he returned! Our angry waitress bluntly informed another member of our party that her order was canceled because the kitchen had run out of an ingredient. No menu was offered, so she requested a shrimp dinner. A while later, a plate was delivered with exactly two pieces of shrimp on it (see photo). Two shrimp hardly constitute a dinner! I had ordered a teriyaki salmon bento box. The salmon was delicious and the box included a nice variety of tempura items but never in my life have I seen such a tiny California roll! Truly, a stingy portion for the price. Adding insult to injury, the avocado was either overripe or not fresh. Greenish-brown mush. Our family enjoyed the cozy atmosphere, but the food and service were definitely a disappointment. We were a large party, but I had made the reservation 3 weeks earlier, so they had plenty of advance notice. If you have a small group, this restaurant might offer a better experience, but if you have a large party, I recommend looking elsewhere.

Always guaranteed fresh food! Great food and great service. We've been coming here for years!

Came to this place for the first time because it was located near me. I got a togo order ... I asked if they could replace the rice for my teriyaki chicken meal with extra veggies. Upon leaving I noticed my container felt empty... when I opened it I had 1 carrot and 1 broccoli... I was told that was considered "extra" ... the chicken wasn't even cooked all the way. Wouldn't recommend this place if it were a LAST RESORT. Eat else where.

Treading lightly, DMV. DC is a (good) sushi desert. Aji-Nippon is one of only two Sushi restaurants in the Washington area #DCGourmet approves of.The owners work very hard and produce and do everything as a team of two. Very high quality sushi ingredients. Sushi pieces in the small side. It's a Chevy Chase food institution, inside of which is frozen in time, but it's comfortable. Nice cold Japanese beers. Limited Korean items on menu.Note: Korean execution of sushi, in my opinion, is more robust and flavorful than Japanese traditional. You will find the former at this restaurant.

Excellent serviceHad the shrimp tempura appetizer and unagidon which was delicious! I enjoyed the softshell crab the best. The fried tofu was tasty as well. Will return again.