Kiyomi Sushi

Surprised I haven't reviewed Kiyomi, I'm here at least once a month. Chef Uchi and his team have created an incredible omakase counter in this food hall.The 7 course lunch is one of the best deals you can find, so is dinner. A lot of focus on sustainability, so expect fish that you sometimes won't expect with other omakases.Definitely worth a visit.

Kiyomi sushi is part of the International Square food hall, and is headed up by Chef Uchi. My boyfriend and I came here on a Saturday and were able to park for free in the building, as they offer complimentary parking after 11 AM on Saturdays. The place itself is all bar seating, so you get to watch Chef Uchi make each piece. There isn't much decor but the plates and the tea pots are all very nicely made. My personal favorites were the golden eye snapper nigiri (which was buttery, and melted in your mouth, but wasn't as oily as the mackerel), Negitoro taku (which had a thin sweet cracker and amazing chopped tuna and pickled onions on top) and the yellowtail hand roll (fresh, filling and easy to eat). When we went, there was a heavy emphasis on mackerel and tuna, and I wish there was more variety in the pieces presented. As for beverages, they offer a limited selection of wine, non-alcoholic beverages like tea, beer and sake. I had their sparkling sake while my boyfriend had their beer. The chef explained to us that they go through the building for orders, hence the limited menu. Excited to see their beverages menu expand!

Chef's special creation... every single one of his well prepared work of art is delicious. You just sit there and admire him preparing his food for each and every one of us. Limited seating and sells out every day. Some days he's opened for a single session and some days are 2 sessions. There was only 12 of us. You can't be late so get there on reserved time of the session.Great Omakase - The complete fate of your meal is in the hands of the chef and he can make mine anytime.

Came here last year when it was a pop-up and now made my way here for a 2nd time. They have a great 7-piece omakase for only $40 which includes miso soup, a hand roll and made-to-order nigiri. I came during the week so it wouldn't be so crowded, and the lunch patrons' places dispersed. I was excited to try this place once again, however the head chef was not there. Yes, I was disappointed, but it didn't take away from the overall experience. I had also wanted to get a roll that they offer as a lunch takeout, but they said I could not order it and add it to my meal. I was still a little hungry so that would have sealed the deal for me, and I could way away satisfied. But unfortunately, they were sticking the rules. I don't understand why when they are getting more $$ plus the tip is already calculated. My favorites were the fatty tuna, blue crab and the various salmon nigiri. Overall, a great place and fresh sushi. My only regret is that I didn't order for 2 so I could get all the deliciousness 2X. Also, my recommendation would be to allow people to add a roll or create another omakase for 10-courses and charge $100 or $120 for 12 courses. People will pay to try more of this amazing sushi:)

This was my very first omakase experience and ended up being a great introduction to it! I did my research before I decided to try this spot and it received a lot of positivity! I read that it's best to arrive early since there are no reservations for the express omakase lunch option. Unfortunately, I arrived at the time listed online only to find out that it wouldn't open for another 30 minutes or so. I was on my lunch break, so that wasn't very appeasing to me. However, the freshness of the fish and the service made up for the delay! I can't remember everything that was in my order but everything was fresh and my chef was very knowledgeable about each piece that he presented to me. I enjoyed the element of surprise, especially being someone that can get a bit overwhelmed when I'm new to a spot. I will say that this was my first time having uni and I won't eat it ever again! That is a very acquired taste, for sure! I probably should have taken a small bite before eating the whole piece. Lessons learned! Haha! Still happy to try something new! I liked that the location is inside of a sort of food hall. The ambiance is relaxed and social. Parking is DC street and can be difficult to find. I feel my experience was very worth the price and I would definitely return again, minus the sea urchin! Lol.

KenScale: 8.0/10Visit: May 2024In an age of extravagant sushi omakase (where it would not be out of the ordinary to see sushi counters in New York City charge around $400 or more per person), it is always refreshing to see sushi chefs swim against the tide and offer more affordable alternatives with still high-quality sushi offerings. DC's sushi scene hasn't thankfully quite caught up to NYC in terms of price, and the DC outpost of the acclaimed Sushi Nakazawa still charges below $200 per person. We visited Nakazawa DC a while ago for my birthday, and really liked the experience and hoped to visit in the future. Not too long after our visit, however, I learned that the restaurant's top chef, Masaaki "Uchi" Uchino departed. Chef Uchi later announced an opening of a new project inside an ambitious food hall, The Square. What caught my eyes was the price, with dinner omakase starting at $100 per person and "quick omakase" lunch options (with seven pieces of nigiri, a hand roll and miso soup) at $40 per person. One catch is that the restaurant is not open on Saturday and Sunday, so we had to make a trip along with rush hour traffic to DC from our Maryland home on Friday to try the dinner omakase, which turned out to be more than just solid.Chef Uchi's new project, KIYOMI Sushi by Uchi, is more a stall located in the center of the food hall than a formal restaurant. We were exposed to the loud and busy scene of visitors to the food hall (there was a live music "concert" and as soon as we sat down, there was even fire alarm!). Despite the distractions, there was no denying that the food coming from Chef Uchi's dexterous hands was quite delicious, starting with lovely fatty tuna and smoked salmon on top of rice cracker, followed by Sakura steamed striped bass that you wouldn't be surprised encountering at another high-end Japanese restaurant. The series of nigiris that followed were also delicious. As it was a sea bream season, chef Uchi brought two versions, an adult sea bream and a baby piece with yuzu pepper (the latter was one of the best pieces from our meal). Some of my other favorites included skillfully torched goldeneye snapper, smoked skipjack and cherry salmon, all displaying top-level freshness and enhanced by optimal rice texture. Jun generally agreed with my assessment, except perhaps for firefly squid with shiso flower which she found to be a little too strong (although I did enjoy its crunchy texture). After a tuna hand roll and tamago, we conclude our meal with matcha sweet tofu that was a surprise hit. KIYOMI Sushi takes reservations only for dinner, and the stall has only a dozen seats so getting a reservation in advance is highly recommended. There is a variety of sake, beer and wine options to pair with the dishes. As noted above, if you are visiting the stall on Fridays, you will likely have to face some distractions from the wider food hall. Chef Uchi was friendly and approachable when explaining his dishes or introducing sake glasses we ordered. It was hard to tell whether he will keep preparing nigiris at KIYOMI or move on to a more formal restaurant project. In any event, we both appreciated his bold experiment with bringing high-end sushi at a more approachable price point. We will certainly be back in the future to see how KIYOMI evolves over time.

A friend suggested Kiyomi for lunch, and I'm so glad she did! They have an amazing lunch special: a 7-piece omakase for just $40, which also includes miso soup and a hand roll. This special was hard to pass up. Seating is limited and first come, first served, so we decided to go during the week and arrived early to avoid any crowds. There's only counter seating, and they serve each piece of sushi one at a time, which really lets you take in the the flavors of the meal. Every piece of sushi was fresh, filling, and full of flavor, and the miso soup was the perfect complement to the meal.If you're looking for excellent sushi at a great price, check out Kiyomi! It's definitely worth the price.

Amazing and beautiful pop up at the Square. Chef Uchi handles all of the preparation and service, putting each piece with care. I came for dinner to celebrate my partner's birthday and was treated with the utmost care.

Hot take- this place is overrated. I left hungry and the service left more to be desired. 3 stars is only bc the sushi tasted good. (Review based on December 2023 experience)Came here for a solo lunch mid week. Most of the clientele was either tourists or regulars who looked to be office workers in the building or nearby. Wait was long since every seat was taken but they give you a buzzer and there's plenty of seating options and a bar at the square. Overall decor is open and modern but the kitchen looked at bit barren. Service: Table wasn't fully set for me when I got seated at the counter which I had to point out after a while to be corrected. For some reason, everyone else was attended by Chef Uchi but I seemed to have gotten his sous chef. Chef Uchi stroke up conversation with literally every other person except me. Getting the check also took a while. I almost started to wonder if my poor experience was bc I was the only solo female diner? Not going to jump to conclusions but service was disappointing. Food: Sushi itself was good but for the hype and wait I had expected a filling meal and more creativity on the menu. It seems like they were playing it safe with pieces that are well known and liked. I ended up getting a 2nd lunch after bc I was hungry. Do not recommend.Tldr - Disappointing. If you're willing to pay for good sushi and service, just go to Sushi Nakazawa

I came on a weekday to try the Quick Omakase (M-F 11-3pm): $40 per person for 7 pieces of sushi, 1 handroll and miso soup. Everything was delicious, fresh and melts in your mouth. The quality is great, and at such a great price too. The staff were also very attentive.Unfortunately, Chef Uchi was not present when I was there, but I hope to catch him another time.Kiyomi Sushi is located in The Square. If the seats are full, you can get a restaurant buzzer from a staff member. They offer a dinner omakase that is $100 per person by reservation only. The Square offers complimentary parking for 3 hours, after 5pm M-F. There is a 22% service charge already included on the bill.