Sushi Taro
Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Dupont Circle1503 17th St NW
(between N Church St & N P St)
Washington, DC 20036 (202) 462-8999
- Nearest Transit:
Dupont Circle (Red)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Mon-Thu 5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Fri 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
135 Reviews for Sushi Taro
I went to Sushi Taro with my cousin as I found it from Yelp with popularity and high rating.
The place is very crowded around dinner time, average wait time is 15-30 min. By far, this is the only full house during dinner time among all the sushi restaurants I've visited around country (100+).
Large crowd = slower service, it took about 20 min between ordering to get the food (sashimi plate C + 3 special rolls). But I'd say it's worth the wait. The sashimi plating is among the top 5 on my list.
Large crowd also = fresher meat. The sashimi taste fresher that those slower moving sushi places.
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***3.5 stars***
After thickly coating my stomach with multiple servings of froyo at TangySweet, I headed over to Sushi Taro with Karman L. On this Monday night there was no wait and we were seated immediately.
I had the chirashi and all the fish was fresh. From all the hype, I was expecting fireworks to go off in my mouth but they didn't. There's a lot of good sushi places and this is just one more, but nothing in particular stood out for me. The salmon was remarkable but that was about it.
The service was terribly slow which put a damper on the experience. We were sitting a small room away from the main floor of the restaurant and they had the AC blasting. I was so cold I couldn't wait to get back outside.
I think most people rave about the lunch specials which sound like a great deal for the quality and quantity of food. I'm not so sure I would endure a wait to get in for dinner.
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Two caveats before my review:
1. I am relatively new to Sushi.
2. I am currently involved in a wager with two of my roommates to see who can not eat any meat or fish the longest (2 months next wednesday!). But we are allowed to pick 1 fish, and I picked tuna.
Sushi Taro was great. I really like the setup of the place, The sushi bar is very open so you can see what is being made. There are also a few low tables with tatami mats, which is where we ended up.
It gets pretty crowded most evenings, so I would recommend making a reservation, which they only accept until 7pm. However, they will hold your reservation for 15 minutes, so we made a reservation for 7pm and showed up around 7:05, which worked well.
I ordered off the A La Carte menu, which was great. you can order all kinds of sushi off of it, as well as individual pieces of yakitori and tempura. I tried various tempuras, (no meat) of which the idaho potato was delicious. we also had miso soup, which was good and green tea, which was good and free. i had several various kinds of tuna rolls, all of which were really fresh and tasty, and a few inari rolls, which are hard to mess up, but these ones were good. the food was all delicious.
my friends ordered a variety of things, two of them absolutely raved about the seaweed salad, so much so that one of them got a second order. they tried two daily specials, the baby snapper nagiri and the live octopus sashimi, which apparently were both great and all other sushi eaten was also reportedly delicious.
The final bill was a bit pricy, but totally worth it. The service was a tad slow, but nothing to complain about, the decor is great, it smells great inside (not fishy at all), and all the food was really quite good. as i said, i'm not a sushi expert, but in my mind, this place is worth the hype. I will be going back asap, and hopefully i will be able to eat meat and fish soon and can try the deliciou looking yakitori and shrimp tempura.
Went here last week for sushi, and I tried the Chirashi Sushi. Friends tried another flavor, and it was definitely a very tasty meal.
Would recommend, and pricing was very reaonsasble.
Don't get me wrong. I love Sushi Taro. Even when it's busy, they manage to make the wait more than reasonable. The sushi and the entrees are consistently fresh and delicious, the prices are reasonable considering its location in the heart of Dupont, and it's only a few blocks from my place.
I only have two gripes:
1) The service. Is. Always. So. Slow. So very, very slow. Friendly, attentive, but slow - even when it's not that busy. Then again, I've gotten the same waitress the last three times I went, so maybe she's the problem.
2) If you sit next to the kitchen at the end of the day... it smells. And I like fish - especially fishy-tasting and smelling fish. But honestly, it's just awful. That's a little worriesome.
Still, it's a great spot, I'd recommend it to anyone, and I'll keep coming back.
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I think I had two cherries popped in one go! I can't recall ever having Japanese style curry before, and I know that I've never had tonkatsu before. I'm not quite sure how I lived without them for so long!
We had lunch at Sushi Taro again yesterday, and instead of getting to the croquette box lunch (which is amazingly delicious, and so hard to resist), all three of our party decided to go with the tonkatsu curry. So, I'm not sure whether or not it's an Americanized thing or not, but the serving for this dish was ridiculously huge. Like, "I'm going to have to take a breather part way through if I'm going to finish it in one sitting" huge.
Seriously - how do Japanese people stay short and skinny if this is what they eat frequently?!
The tonkatsu was a generous serving of breaded fried pork. I can't explain how, but it didn't taste greasy at all - it was just crisp, tender, and sliced into pieces that were absolutely perfect in size and shape to scoop up the curry with. The chicken curry itself was a whole other experience! Served over a heaping plateful of steamed rice, this stuff was savory and saucy, with perfectly tender chunks of chicken.
Apparently I looked like enough of a newbie to this that our amazingly friendly and polite waitress volunteered up an explanation of how to mix in the pickled pearl onions and radishes, even making stirring motions with her hand to simulate how I should do it. And for a little while there, I thought I could pass for Asian. Silly me.
Sushi Taro racks up another top notch experience from me. There's a reason why everyone loves this place!
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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04/20/2008
I enjoy my sushi. I was never really big on it until well into my college years, never having… Read more »
As much as I love there sushi, and it is some of the best I've had in DC, what really does it for me at Sushi Taro is the chicken teriyaki. Back home in Seattle a good chicken teriyaki was almost a staple in my weekly diet. Since moving to DC some years ago I've been on a constant hunt for something that matched up. Sadly I had found DC sorely lacking in this department, that is until I found Sushi Taro. For me the best part is that I can order take out, I live a couple blocks away and on nights where I just can't be motivated to cook something at home, I love that I can just call in my order and within 20 minutes it's ready to go.
Of course the sushi and sashimi is great, while it certainly isn't the cheapest you're going to come across in the city, it is reliably fresh and delicious. My only gripe is that they're closed on Sundays...
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Ok - Sushi Taro was my introduction into the wonderful world of sushi. How could I have been shielded from the deliciousness for all of my 24 years?! So - for you first-timers out there - it was a beautiful, not too overwhelming experience. The sushi literally melts in your mouth and they use FRESH ginger - not the nasty pink kind that I've seen at other restaurants. ALSO - the (home-made) ginger ice-cream is to DIE for. (Can you tell I like ginger?) Call ahead b/c the place gets busy, but even if you have to wait - it's worth it! Yum!
Thank goodness for Yelp! My friend knows I love sushi and found this restaurant for us based on searching Yelp, despite her allergy to most fish. Thank you to the reviewers who emphasized their non-fish options!
Finding the entrance was slightly challenging, but now that I know to look for the unassuming door near the back corner of the CVS, I doubt I'll have trouble returning. Up the stairs you enter a very nice, light dining room that just "feels" like the hole-in-the-wall, locals-only, outstanding restaurant that it is. Seating options include standard 2- and 4-top tables and the sushi bar, but also 3 low tables for traditional seating on cushions. (No shoes please!)
Service was quick, friendly, and attentive. Whenever I go for sushi, I always check the nigiri list and specials board to see what options are available that I've never tried. Today, I was torn between the flounder and the grouper, so I asked our server for her recommendation. Problem solved! They're out of grouper! The flounder, however, was very tasty, with a soft texture and mild flavor.
We both got bento boxes, mine with nigiri (3), sashimi (3) and maki (4pc spicy salmon), hers with chicken teriyaki. Both came with good miso soup, 2 gyoza, 4pc mixed tempura, and Japanese pickles. (Yum!) What struck me most, however, was the accompanying salad. Most Japanese restaurants have included the same basic salad with a boring dressing; I've always wondered about that, as salad doesn't seem very Japanese, but ok. Anyway, Sushi Taro used an amazingly good sesame vinaigrette that made me scarf up the entire salad...and I don't even like iceberg lettuce! The overall quality of the food was excellent, and I'd love to go back. The commute from Dupont Circle Metro is easy (3 blocks), but the commute from San Francisco (2600 miles) is sadly prohibitive.
TRIVIA: Taro is one of the earliest cultivated plants (c.5000 BCE), despite being toxic in its raw form. (Cooking and overnight soaking in cold water both render it edible.) In Japan, it is most frequently eaten in slices, much like a potato chip. It has spread throughout the entire Eastern Hemisphere and is consequently known by dozens of names.
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I went here alone to try the sushi everyone seems to rave about on Yelp. It was pretty good. It did not knock my socks off, but I did enjoy the rolls and sushi I tried. I sat at the sushi bar and found the service was efficient and the restaurant was a pleasant environment. Many think this place is reasonable. For two rolls and two pieces of sushi I spent $25. That seems a little more than reasonable for what I ate. Maybe for DC this is reasonable. It was good, but it is not a place that I would go out of my way to experience or wait in line for more than 10 minutes. There was a line when I left. Carryout might be the way to go in the future.
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With over 100 reviews to its credit, there seemingly isn't more I could do to entice the sushi lover to come here. So I won't. What I will do, however, is state that it's the perfect sushi place for non-sushi fans.
That may not sound compelling at first. It's kind of like the Amstel Light slogan: "The Beer Drinker's Light Beer," which translates into "our beer tastes like butt, but it doesn't taste nearly as butt-esque as the competition's." Hardly compelling, but let me explain a bit further.
I steered clear of sushi for years. The taste wasn't anything to make me do backflips. Moreover, the people I knew who liked sushi tended to be those assholes you knew from college who'd do a study-abroad in France and come back bitching about how much the US sucks n' stuff and they're totally moving away from Des Moines to a loft in Soho where they don't have to be exposed to the peasantry any more. Bah humbug. So I was surprised when I got an email from Armenoush who (accurately) noticed that I had all of one review of a sushi restaurant and vowed to correct that. With that in mind, we met for dinner a few days ago at Sushi Taro.
Taro wins points right off the bat for having an attentive, friendly host who immediately got us seated. I like that. I also like the fact that they have a fair amount of window seating available. The seating is a little, ahem, cozy, but they're trying to make the best of the limited space they have.
Armenoush was kind enough to explain the differences among types of sushi, which was really interesting. Someone long ago had tried to explain the various nuances of sushi to me, but I kinda drifted out, like I might be wont to do in the middle of a 10-hour car trip where the driver won't shut up about his softcore lesbian Robotech fanfiction. But since now I'm actually trying to learn something, her knowledge of sushi geared me towards some of the best food I've had in (easily) the past year!
We split an order of approximately 20 pieces of sushi, which included yellowtail, Philadelphia, tuna, and something called the Dragon, which had squid/octopus tempura in it among other things. There wasn't a single piece that wasn't bursting with flavor. I was damn impressed. They have a limited selection of beer available, but they had Asahi for $4.25, so who's complaining? Service was attentive and friendly, which makes a good thing even better.
The verdict: as soon as I got home, I was jonesing for more Sushi Taro! I honestly can't think of a better compliment, a more positive testament to the quality of the food here. So while I'm no sushi gourmand, I can tell you if you (or your friends) have shied away from sushi in the past, stop by and give it a try. You might even see me there!
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absolutely killer sushi place. I've been to some of the best, and am a bit of a snob... this place is absolutely awesome. was on the road and got a solid rec from a buddy of mine. ordered hamachi and maguro sashimi (huge slabs and very very fresh), uni (ordered 2x because it was so good), and agadashi tofu. The sushi and sashimi was absolutely fantastic and passed my rating tool -- if the sashimi isn't there, you know it's no good. The only minus was the 1st sake which was not hot enough. One of the best I've been to in my lifetime. My other top ratings are Sagami in NJ, Tokie's Foster City, CA, Murakami, San Francisco, CA.
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I never eat sushi until i get back home to Japan, which I frequent every xmas and summer. But since I'm out here in DC with my sister all summer, I thought why not try this place out because of its good reviews.
It was quite busy (around 9pm) and it was a Wed., so we put our name on the wait list and the guy told us 15 mins was the estimate. After starting the night out backwards (we got free ice cream at the baskin robbins next door during our wait!) they rang us on my cell phone and said we had seats. Major plus to call us and not make us stick around the front.
We sat at the bar and I checked out the fish meat, looked decent and they had a couple older Japanese guys doing the cuts, so I felt reassured. We ordered steamed shrimp shumai, which was decent...they need to add some more negi and onions for a better zip to the blandish taste. We ordered snapper, hamachi, and hotate (scallops) sushi and then maguro (tuna) maki (roll) sushi. They gave you pretty thick cuts, which is cool. i like my fish thick but not where it suffocates the rice and hangs over the side, touching the plate. Sorry I get a bit crazy with the presentation first and then the taste second when regarding sushi. But the freshness of the fish was great and very good quality for being in the States.
So not bad at all, I'll definitely hit it up again when I feel sushi craves this summer.
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I took a friend from Japan to Sushi-Taro. That's usually my test for a any kind of ethnic food. Sushi-Taro passed the Japanese native test with flying colors. I figure if the natives like it, then it has to be good.
I know that Sushi Taro gets pretty busy in the evening, so I recommend ordering sushi a la carte for take out.
As a final note, Sushi Taro celebrates International Sushi Day with a special. Last year they had an excellent deal: pre-order an 18 piece sushi meal to go for $9 a couple days in advance and pick it up on Sushi Day.
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I used to eat here several years ago when I lived in DC - moved to the west coast and then indulged in some of the best sushi out there. Alas, I find myself back on business in DC and decided to stop by this familiar face to benchmark it against my San Diego competition.
This place was great before, and it's even better now. Sashimi was thickly cut, non-sinewy, and flavorful. And or course, who can neglect the freshness factor? Best of all, I left the establishment with an epicurean sh*t-eating grin - and I was once again reminded how superior Sushi Taro is.
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Just wanted to add that this is one of the better sushi places I've been to in the area. I definitely know where to take my friends when they come visit :). MmmMmm kobe beef rolls!
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Yet another good place that Yelp has led me to! The boy and I were meeting his friends for dinner and I suggested Sushi Taro, knowing that it gets busy I made reservations (only available before 7pm) and we got there early and they promptly sat us right next to windows that overlook the street, excellent table! Then the boy's friends were late, big mistake! The server, was nice but we could definitely tell that he wanted us to order and get out and that the waiting for the friends was not an option that he wanted. This totally sucked for us and we were in an awkward position, anyways we decided to put in our tempura order before they arrived and it all worked out.
So the food... it was great! Sushi was yummy and the tempura was light and crisp, just the way I like it. I think the prices were reasonable but I didn't see the final total so maybe I'm off on this.
True test: We'll be back!
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I'm not a sushi eater, so I'll leave it to the other hundred reviewers to better describe the sushi. However, even I found rolls that I liked and it seems to me that their seaweed isn't as seaweed tasting as some other places. They also had yummy yakitori.
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For whatever reason, I wasn't wowed by my first dining experience here. But I returned on Saturday and am so glad I did. I shared a large sake and 6 or so rolls with a friend and it all came to ... $42. Not bad at all. Fresh and good without being pretentious.
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Sushi Taro is definitely one of the best sushi place in town!
Last night, me and one friend went to Sushi Taro for hot sake, dinner, appetizers and dessert.
Even after being exist here for a long time, Sushi Taro still proving their fame name for their sushi and their excellent service!
Our waiter, Hana was provide us with an excellent service and very attentive serving us with a great smile she had!
We had... three bottles of hot sake, for appetizers we had pork dumpling and tempura, for the entree we had various nigiri, sushi roll, tempura, pork cutlet, and the last best part is our desserts.
My friend had yummy green tea ice cream !
And for me? I had my favorite desserts creme brullee with vanilla ice cream that sweet creamy and smoothly melt in my mouth....mmm...!!!
Marvel!
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I'm pretty new to sushi and still haven't really gotten into the raw fish part of it. So it was great to find a place that had a lot of vegetarian and cooked options for me, while still offering the more adventurous options for my friends.
With over 100 reviews already I don't need to go on and on but everything we ordered was delicious and service was quick and friendly. We went fairly early to avoid the dinner rush. By the time we left all the tables were filled but there were still some of the low tables with floor seating left. If you absolutely want a normal Western style table you should show up early or be prepared to wait!
I tried the Kobe beef roll and the vegetarian roll. The rest of the table ordered various rolls, some yakitori and udon. Everything was wonderfully fresh and tasty but the Kobe roll had quite a bit of beef in it so it was hard to eat in one bite. Next time I go I'll try to be a bit more adventurous and try some fish!
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The fish here is fresh and the cuts are generous.
However, I was hoping the fatty yellowtail and fatty salmon I ordered to be fattier than I ended up getting. The rice on the nigiri was a little off, I thought. It felt dry and a little hard, yet sticky. Perhaps that's the way it's supposed to be. But I like a little more moisture in my nigiri. It was on a friday night, so the turn-around time could not be the issue.
Chicken skin yakitori was good. Maybe it was good because it was overloaded with yakitori sauce. But the skin was crunchy, so it was yummy. It lacked the charcoal flavor that is characteristic of traditional yakitori though.
Lastly, I am disappointed at their uber expensive udon. It was 9.50 for just soup and noodles, and $2 more for chicken OR tempura?!?! You're kidding! Maybe if it was the best udon in the world. But it is far from it. The soup is bland and uncomplex. It's just bonito flavoring and water. The udon itself was on the thin side, but still pretty good. The shrimp tempura was a soggy mess by the time it got to our table. How is that worth 2 bucks?
For the same or less price in the west coast, I can get the most loaded udon ever with egg and veggies and chicken and tempura shrimp and tempura veggies and wild mushrooms, all soaked in a rich mouth-watering broth. And sometimes HANDMADE udon noodles. Cooked and served in iron pots.
But sadly, this looks like the best DC has to offer. DC or Taro should do better.
On the plus side, this place has good atmosphere and good seatings. Lots of peeps, so get reservations or wait 40 minutes for a table. It's not cheap if you eat sushi and drink. My crew and I had a dinner here a few years ago for over 600 bucks for the five of us.
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Checked this place out trying to find a different place in the DC area to get good Sushi.
Mission accomplished.
This place is definitely a cool place. Plenty of sushi bar seating, along with two private rooms and traditional Japanese seating (no chairs and no shoes). The entrance is a bit unassuming, but you should be able to find the place (there is a big sign on the building itself).
The sushi was really quite good. Ordered a variety of items and the Nigri was GREAT. Big pieces of tuna and fatty salmon. A good variety of fresh fish, and the rainbow roll had a spicy kick too it which I enjoyed. Miso was flavorful. Edmame was a bit bland...they dont add salt.
Prices are reasonable. Definitely worth checking out!
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Excellent sushi. Host and servers can benefit from a lesson in hospitality....the older guy host can be plain rude at times...maybe he does not care anymore because the restaurant has enough business as it is...
There's no way I can give Sushi Taro anything less than a 5 when it's now my favorite restaurant in the District. (Thanks, Yelpers!)
* Before I begin, TRY THE A LA CARTE DISHES! *
I finally took the opportunity to go with several other people (3 others) so that we could splurge and try many dishes at once. It's the best Japanese I have had, hands down, on the East Coast. Yes, that includes DC, Miami/South Florida, and NYC. It's telling when my sister (Sabine S., see her earlier review) gave the place 4 stars -- while comparing it to sushi in SF. If she were comparing this place to the East Coast, she would have probably given it a 5 too. I'm sure I could plunk down 2-3x the amount of money and find better in NYC, but um, yeah.
Since I was also present at the meal that Sabine S. reviewed, I will just add my notes to her existing review:
We ordered 3-4 different times because we kept ordering more and more. We ordered some sushi, but mostly ordered a la carte dishes. The waitress was very efficient, friendly, and always had a smile on her face. We were also given complimentary edamame to start.
There were actually some items on the nigiri & maki sushi roll menu than I've not seen anywhere else (at least in DC). And definitely some items that I rarely see on the East Coast in general. However, they seemed to be out of few of the rarer-seen items that we singled out to order. They had rockfish available, though, because that's local to the DelMarVa area.
Other items on the sushi menu not often seen (if it's available): fatty salmon, fatty yellowtail, amberjack, flounder, grouper, boston mackerel, horse mackerel, bonito, sea eel (not just eel), boiled topneck clam, arctic surf clam, orange clam, jumbo clam, abalone, flying fish roe, quail egg, sweetened squash, natto, plum with shiso leaf. They actually did have the boston mackerel, but did not have the horse mackerel.
The amount of uni on the nigiri sushi we ordered was generous. It seemed like the sea urchin was twice as large as usual. It was so so fresh and buttery, too. The boyfriend, who hasn't been too fond of it when he's tried it a couple times before, was like, "Okay, that is good."
The hotate (scallop) also melted in our mouths. They were large too. Mmm.
As far as the best things about the meal -- all the a la carte dishes, Sabine S.'s opinions exactly mirrored mine. The Japanese fried chicken was a great last minute choice; it was the tastiest version I've had since I was in a Tokyo fried chicken restaurant.
The Kotobuki braised pork belly -- each one of us literally took turns laughing out loud and saying "oh my god". It was that scrumptious.
Half of us didn't expect to like the stewed tripe, and were pleasantly surprised. Braised/stewed until really really soft, I really liked the texture that is so unlike usual tripe. But yes, I agree, it reminded me of pizza...we kept on saying "Hot Pocket!" :)
Four of us ate a whole lot of items, plus 3 large bottles of sake...and racked up a bill of about $350. Still, a better price and just as good as a more expensive restaurant's omakase. We had a great time and it was totally worth it. I can't wait to go back and try even more.
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Who would have guessed that this unassuming door leads to a sushi joint?
It's a very nice place, with good food. It's packed in there, so you know they're doing something right. The food is good, and like others have said before, the portions are generous and worth it.
We had a large selection of sushi, and some appetizers. All of the sushi was really good and was really fresh. It's too bad that they had sea urchin on the menu but didn't have any in stock.
Also, I deducted a point because they sat us near the kitchen, and the stench of bleach enveloped me with every open and close of the door. I guess at least we know the kitchen is well cleaned.
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Really good sushi and quite fresh.
After reading all the stellar reviews about Sushi Taro, I decided I had to try it. Sushi is one of my favorite foods and eat it nearly once a week. Wow I was really disappointed.
My friend and I went on a Thursday night, with a wait at about 45 minutes. Fortunately we ended up waiting less time. When we were seated, the first thing I looked at was the specials menu. I couldn't of been happier to see that bluefin tuna sashimi was one of the options on the menu. So, that's what I ordered, along with spicy tuna and soft shell crab rolls and nigiri-style Kobe beef. The rolls and Kobe beef were on point, but when I saw the bluefin tuna I knew it would be terrible. Bluefin tuna should be a very deep red, almost purple. This tuna was pink. Light pink. This usually indicates that the fish will taste like the bottom of the ocean, and it did! It wasn't bluefin tuna, I'm almost positive it was yellowfin, which should not cost $15 for four slices. Anyway, after gagging down the ass-end of the "bluefin" tuna, I told my friend to try it since she's a lot less sensitive to fishy fish than I am. She didn't even have to tell me what she thought after seeing the look on her face. We ended up sending it back.
So bottom line, the rolls are OK, the Kobe beef was very good, the tuna was garbage. It's disappointing that Outback has better tuna than Sushi Taro.
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I was debating between 3 and 4 stars but the spicy tuna roll was so delicious that I have to give it 4. My only complaint? My friend and I had to wait 45 MINUTES for our food. We had been seated for an hour total before it came. Our waitress was nice about it and we didn't make a big deal but we were both starving (after waiting 20 minutes for a table) and it just seemed like a really long time to make a few rolls of sushi.
We split spicy tuna, spider rolls, unagi rolls, salmon and grouper nigiri, and the quail egg over fish roe. Everything was fresh and incredibly tasty. I just don't think I'll be back during peak hours again.
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Thanks to YELP pointing me to this place that I always used to walk by when I lived in the area but never knew existed. I don't want to be too repetitive about the positive things people have said, so I'll try to make this succinct in bullet points:
+My boyfriend is a huge sushi/sashimi eater and he ranks this up there as one of his favorite places. I like how everything always seems fresh and my maki rolls are always wrapped very tight so it's a perfect bite everytime.
+The yakatori skewers and the tempura are perfect ways to satiate your appetite while waiting for your sushi. Plus, I love actually getting to pick which tempura vegetables I get.
+My friend loved her bowl of udon.
+The spicy rolls are actually spicy. The spicy scallop is my favorite.
+The atmosphere is great. I also like the different kinds of seating and rooms available. Makes it like a different experience each time.
+Not bad prices as far as sushi goes.
The one negative of course is the wait since they don't take reservations for anything past 7pm. However, as others have mentioned, head next door for drinks while you wait. They have a patio great for people watching and happy hour specials.
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One of the best sushi joints in the city. Although pricey its worth every penny. Reservations are recommended.
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One of the best sushi place i've been too. Me and my friend went on Yelp to find this place. Sushi Taro has the best Katsudan and Kobe Beef Sushi Roll. We sat at the sushi bar and everytime the sushi chef made something new it made us want to order it. The wait is long but it is worth the wait.
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Thanks to the advice of DC Yelpers, I've been to Sushi Taro twice.
The sushi and sashimi are very good. Everything is very fresh and well prepared. The Japanese tables are a nice touch, and overall the restaurant is more casual than formal. The service is friendly and efficient.
Vegetarians be warned: your choices are fairly limited; however, I still really enjoyed my meal.
I'll be back when I'm in the mood for more sushi!
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Went to Sushi Taro the other night. It was very good. I hesitate to give it 5 stars because I've had some problems with seating in the past. It's so popular that they easily overlook people. Be vigilant about getting a table. Also strange, they say that they don't take reservations after 7 PM, but while we were waiting to be seated, some people walked up and said "we have reservations at 8:15" and they were seated right away.
So the food was great and the service was very good considering we started out as 2 at the bar, ordered, ate and then were joined by friends so we had to move to a table.
Oh and the first time I went there I got lost because I didn't know it was upstairs and I was looking for it on the ground level. So, yeah, it's upstairs.
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Visiting from SF Bay Area and had a business lunch here (thanks to my host, otherwise never would have even seen this place standing right in front of the CVS it sits atop. Yummy sashimi, nice green tea and a good dressing for the house salad, to boot. Level of service was just what we needed, too. Not pressured to get up early that we wanted to, but the bill was on the table mere moments after catching the waiters eyes to ask for it. Highly recommend this for folks from out of town and in the Dupont Circle area looking for lunch. Three of us ate well for just $50. (I hear dinners are great, too)
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I confess: I'm a bit of a sushi snob. I live in San Francisco and have been extremely spoiled by the sushi places there. According to my DC friends, DC sushi is average at best, but they had heard good things about this place, and convinced me to go.
After about an hour wait (they at least take your number and call you when the table is ready so you can go next door and grab a drink), we were seated at our table in a small, private room.
The sushi menu is nothing spectacular--its very basic in terms of selection. You can find all the typical nigiri and sushi roll combos that you'd expect to find anywhere else. They did have abalone (they were out), orange clam (also out), boston mackeral (out again) and rock fish (bingo!) on the menu, so there is some variety. We ended up ordering mackeral, uni, rockfish and scallop nigiri--all were extremely fresh and wonderful. The uni was as buttery as it comes, and melted in our mouths. Yakatori were smaller portions, and while they didn't come out flaming hot, we were happy with the chicken skin, chicken gizzard and quail egg yakatoris that we ordered.
What sets this restaurant apart, however, is its extensive menu of non-sushi items. For this, I was glad to have gone with 3 other people so that we could sample from the appetizer and yakatori menu.
Some things we tried:
Flounders fin meat with grated raddish and ponzu--this is kind of raw but very refreshing. Make sure to eat w/the raddish as it totally accentuates the flavors
Deep fried smelt marinated in sweet vinegar: this was kind of not what i expected. I thought the smelt would have been marinated first, then fried so that it was crisp, however, it was fried first, then marinated in vinegar so that it was soggy. Not bad, not overwhelmingly great
Black cod marinated in sweet sake paste: smaller portion, but very flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth yummy
spanish mackeral marinated in sweet miso paste: I love the firmness of mackeral, and found this more unique and flavorful than the black cod.
japanese fried chicken: at first we thought this chicken was going to be a bit overfried...and where was the hot mustard? However, after biting into the crisp outer shell, the steaming hot chicken juices spilled out. It seems as if the hot mustard flavor was incorporated into the breading for the chicken. So simple, but so good.
beef tripe with vegetables in miso flavor: I ordered this because i was curious. It is surprisingly good--the texture of the tripe is more like fried tofu, and combined w/the miso sauce broth, kind of reminded us of pizza. Strangely satisfying.
agedashi tofu--extremely flavorful broth, and extremely satisfying. Only thing that could have made it better was a fried shiso on the top.
off the specials menu, we had little neck clams with a fresh shitake mushroom and vegetable broth. The clams were good, but we found ourselves using our spoons to drink up the flavorful broth.
The standout of the night was a dish that made us both laugh and have a foodgasm it was that good: Buta Kakuni or Braised Korobuta pork belly in sweet soy sauce with mustard. The fattiness and tenderness of the pork were perfectly accentuated by the spicy hot mustard. Of all the dishes we had, I think we were in agreement that this is the dish we would return to eat time and time again.
Overall, very very good sushi, especially given a town that has apparently limited sushi options. But more than a fresh sushi menu, Sushi Taro goes above and beyond ordinary by offerering up some hard-to-find japanese dishes.
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I can't believe I waited so long to try Sushi Taro! Everything was delicious. The tempura, the yakitori, the sashimi and nigiri, the rolls! Service was also excellent. The best part? It won't break your wallet. =)
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Sushi Taro is my favorite place to devour Japanese food in D.C. Their soba noodles and Yakitori are the best. I've only ever gone on weekend nights, and even then, the service has been very prompt & attentive. The menu is extensive and I consider it somewhat pricey. It's so worth it, though, if you are a sushi lover! If you tend to down more than 12 ozs of beer at time, go on & order the 22 oz bottles since you'll save a few bu