Daikaya the Izakaya

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.

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.

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!

Vibes: Dark vibes, not too crowded or loud on a sunday nightWagyu 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 inYakitori 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.

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.

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.

I did not regret ordering the super spicy ramen. That is too bad. Permit me to explain. Whenever I see something such as that on a menu, suggesting it is extreme, I want to try it, and I yearn for it to be so strong I will regret the choice. So this verged on meeting the test. It did not. That is just as well. I was sweating plenty. A young family sat down opposite us, and the man said to the woman in Mandarin, that he would try the super spicy ramen. I felt compelled to warn him, using my limited Mandarin, it was very hot. Of course, that is as advertised. But I could taste the creaminess of the onsen egg. So it was not scorching on the Scoville scale. It also had sophistication. Some hot sauce is nothing but overwhelming, so much so that all other flavors are obliterated.My wife ordered the vegetarian ramen. She complimented it as well. She gave me mushrooms, the small portobello, and a few wood ears. Those were flavorful. She also shared some brussel sprouts. They seem to grill the vegetables before they put them into the broth, a rich yet subtle liquid. The noodles also deserve praise. They had an al dente quality. These are nothing like the cheap packaged counterparts with a seasoning packet, enjoyed by college students. This is for graduates.Ramen, like sushi before it, has become very popular. We can hope, however, that it will not become too much of a commodity. Daikaya is not just another business trying to cash in on a trend.We had visited the National Building Museum on Labor Day. They had a special exhibit about Brutalism, the architectural style that is reviled for its lack of any humanity, or even any sense the designers wished to engage with people, or, for that matter, ants. We then strolled over to Chinatown for lunch. It is terrific to see restaurants continuing to open in a neighborhood that has had its ups and downs, and which once again is facing the threat if the arena does not flourish with sports teams. Daikaya is a place I would travel to eat at. It is casual, not fancy. I am looking forward to trying the izakaya offerings upstairs. They have great word of mouth. The clientele inside was happy to be there.

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.

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 DonburiMy husbands favorite: Nigiri Plate Service was incredible and our server was so accommodating for our 8 year old. He loved the kid friendly chopsticks!

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.