Sushi Ogawa

Ogawa offered great sushi for a very reasonable price. Wife and I dined a la carte at Ogawa and enjoyed their sushi platter offering. Portion size was very generous and both of us left very full, having paid less than $200 for the table. Ambiance was meh - felt like a neighborhood sushi joint. Felt a little dusty even. That said, if you only care about food quality, Ogawa is a fine place to swing by some decent sushi. We didn't do omakase, so I can't speak to that experience. But, if it offers the same quality sushi, I honestly don't think it's worth it.

I ordered take out (via UberEats) from Sushi Ogawa earlier today for lunch since I was craving sushi and wanted to try somewhere new. The packaging arrived nicely with all the sushi packed neatly.TAKE SUSHI ASSORTMENT - 48It's 57.00 off the UberEats app, but fortunately, I had a lot of coupons, lol. This came with 11 nigiri and 1 maki roll. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures, so I don't remember which nigiris I ate, but the fish were pretty high quality and I enjoyed all of them. The rice was a bit too vinegary. The maki roll I got was a salmon, tuna, and cucumber roll that was pretty big. I'm not a huge cucumber fan, so I just took those out.I don't think I would get take out from Sushi Ogawa again, but I would like to dine-in in the future to enjoy the sushi while it's as fresh as possible. Sushi quality can be hard to maintain, and to-go orders might not be the best way to enjoy them. The pricing is on the higher end, but the quality is good, and the variety of fish is quite extensive. Maybe I'll be back for the omakase, but that's later down the line.

My fiancé and I visited to celebrate our anniversary with the omakase experience at the bar, but it didn't quite meet our expectations (especially for $240/person).Service: The service left a lot to be desired. The chef and his assistant were a bit cold and unengaging: they provided minimal explanation about the dishes and seemed unreceptive to our comments. The pacing of the meal was erratic, sometimes we felt rushed and other times we waited uncomfortably long. The fruit fly buzzing around did not help the atmosphere.Food: I appreciated the variety in the menu, from classics like chutoro to more adventurous bites like monkfish liver, cod sperm, and also a selection of warm dishes (nice on a cold night, but a few too many for my personal preference). The fish was mostly very good, but: some of the tuna tasted overly fishy, the rice texture and seasoning was not our favorite, the pickled ginger was inconsistently sliced (some were way too chunky) and my fiancé even had to spit out a fish bone.The dessert was particularly disappointing: a scoop of bitter, low-flavor matcha ice cream and two cubes of flavorless watermelon. We expected more refinement for this price.That said, we did enjoy several dishes. The textures and flavors of the scallop, monkfish liver, cuttlefish, lobster, and chawanmushi were excellent.

4 stars only because you have the a la carte option and their sushi platters are pretty great (bang for buck). If I paid the omakase price, I would give this place 3 stars.We went to dine at Sushi Ogawa on a Wednesday (lunch), and we were the only people in the restaurant. Suffice to say, it's probably easy to score a reservation or walk in.Like you read in other reviews, they have Zero ambiance. A little bummed, because their sushi is not cheap, but I tend to prefer good food over good ambiance & service, so this was fine for me.Ogawa's sushi was okay. It wasn't the best I ever had -- I would say it was definitely mediocre given the price. We really like their Arctic char sashimi, but everything else was felt a bit bland. Their ikura and Uni was definitely on the lower end quality, so don't pay the extra to get those. Their eel especially was pretty bad. Their toro is definitely not O-toro (best grade toro). Sushi overall didn't feel fresh at all - it was on the mushier end (and I know even for Japanese sushi, this was probably a couple days old -- felt stale).All of this said.... their a la carte price is INSANELY reasonable. My husband and I left full having ordered the amount in the photos, and spent less than $200 (including tip).So -- Ogawa feels like a bougier sushi joint if you are in the area and want to spend a little more than usual to eat fine sushi. I definitely would NOT think this is the top DC sushi spot. Personally thought Sushi Capitol offered a MUCH higher quality sushi, granted, a little bit pricier.Make sure you set your expectations right -- then you'll have a great time!

Honestly, this is the best sushi place I've been to in DC. They really don't skimp out on the fish quality-- the slices of fish are thick and juicy, and the rice is well seasoned.Ambiance is very cozy and service was great. Definitely coming back!!

We came here on a Friday evening for the 4 course omakese and were the only people in the restaurant. They didn't even ask for our drink orders before they started to bring dishes out. The pace of the omakese was extremely rushed. We could tell the wait staff were watching us and waiting impatiently to bring the next course out. In terms of the quality of the food, it was pretty underwhelming. A few pieces of the nigiri were exceptional (maybe 3 out of the whole night), but others tasted as if they had been sitting out for a while. The hot dishes were boring and flavorless. Especially considering how expensive this meal was (and that they mandate a 20% service charge), it was one of the worst restaurant experiences we've ever had. Safe to say we will never return.

100/100I enjoyed every bites and appreciate how nice and fresh the experience was. Sushi were special and delicious, the atmosphere and ambience was amazing.100% Satisfied!!!

If you are going to Ogawa, you are going because you are a sushi lover - maybe even aficionado. So you will appreciate a comparison to the other top sushi place in town, Nakazawa. They both offer genuinely excellent Omakase experiences but are very different. Ogawa is much more laid back. It has a low key dining room where the service is not exceptional, but you can order a la carte or order a smaller omakase offering. This is fine. There is nothing wrong with this experience. There is no stress and it's nice to have an Omakase experience in this price range. But it would be nice if the staff on this side of the restaurant knew a bit more about the fish that was being served. They really do not know anything... and sometimes this is frustrating.Then there is the sushi bar. This is significantly more expensive, but also a much finer experience. At least in cost, this is fairly similar to Nakazawa, but the experience is much less formal. The room is warmer and cozier. The chef (Kevin) and his apprentice (Peter) are friendly and talkative, but only talkative if you want to engage with them, not in an intrusive way. On this side, the service is much more personal and intimate, necessarily. The quality of the fish was top notch, and the offerings were on par but different from Nakazawa's.Ogawa did not have a wine list that I recall; but their sake list was good. The Ken Katsuyama sake was maybe $125 and outstanding. A splurge but it was for a special occasion. I feel as though a similar quality sake at Nakazawa would probably be marked up a bit more.Overall, Ogawa is a wonderful sushi establishment. On par with Nakazaw, just different. Despite similar pricing at a base level, Nakazawa feels more like a special occasion restaurant and Ogawa feels like the type of place you could just swing by on a free evening. If you sit at the bar, talk with Kevin.

Cyndy's Bottom Line: ok sushi*Reservations on TOCK for prepaid omakase orSushi A La Carte in dining room. $25.00 deposit non refundable*Street parking if you are lucky otherwise use car serviceThis is what we ate/drank:*Kirin beer and sake were complimentary since the $25.00 deposit is non refundable, kanpai! Mahalo.*Shrimp tempura (2) piecesThe shrimp was cooked perfectly. The tempura batter was light and flat with no crispiness.*Extra Special Sushi Assortment 30 Chef selection pieces of nigiri sushi; including salmon roe (ikura) and sea urchin (uni) with two rolls.We enjoyed most of the sushi. The standouts were the hamachi, sake, and toro nigiri. Surprised to be served the knifejaw fish which is a fish that I normally do not have a desire to eat raw. The dining room is comfortable except forthe black gnats flying around. Makes for an entertaining challenge of catching a gnat with your chopsticks.

Good for a quick sushi option. I placed and order online, the person was very polite when I came to pick up my food. It's a decent decor, I wouldn't mind coming here for a sit down meal.