Hooked

Overall, my experience was average. I don’t think I would return even though I did have a pleasant evening (good company and good wine). We ordered a few cocktails at the bar and they were OK, nothing to write home about. Food was average, had the sushi, tried the scallops and a few appetizers and wasn’t impressed. Too pricey for what it’s worth. My favorite part of the evening was the waiter’s sense of humor, the ambience and décor of the restaurant. Our waiter’s name was Alby and he was very personable and funny; service was above average.

This place is already closed down, but I happened to be discussing it with a coworker today. Everyone I have spoken to that has gone to Hooked has contracted food poisoning. Not just 1 or 2 people, Im talking 10 – 15 people at least. Everyone who went there got sick.

Hooked is a hidden strip mall gem in Sterling, Virginia. The sheer size of the establishment makes it the perfect place to host private parties either in their back room or on their beautiful patio complete with twinkling lights.
I was here to catch the tail end of an engagement party (running on Asian time, per usual) and was impressed with the décor of the restaurant. It almost borders on cheesy but for location’s sake let’s say it’s actually pretty hip and sexy in here. Completely different from the chain restaurants that dot this area.
The bartenders were very friendly and heavy handed with their pours which was unexpected and welcome. I did not get to try much of the food but our Japanese fried chicken and shrimp tempura sushi was gobbled up by our table quickly.
If I lived in the area I would definitely put this in my rotation for girl’s night out!

I’m really surprised to read some of the reviews citing bad service. We live nearby and visit this restaurant once or twice a month, and we’ve always had stellar service. Especially if Tatiana is waiting our table; she is fantastic!
I’m not sure if there is a new GM, but he is very attentive and very eager to please. He has personally checked on us the last three times we’ve visited.
The food has always been solid. We’ve had no misses. I love sushi, and am pretty picky about it. And this place has never disappointed me. My husband loves the teriyaki chicken immensely. I also recommend trying the Lobster pot, a New England style boil feast. Eat it out on the beautiful patio and enjoy a cold beverage. Perfect summer evening!

I’ll start by saying that when Hooked was at the old location in Great Falls I went there at least twice a week until they moved, the menu was small but superb, the place was small and quaint but it was just perfect, so they move to this new spot and its huge and the Décor is really something special! BUT the old Executive Chef Jason was fired b4 they moved, at this time they had a new larger menu that sucked, but I stayed loyal and kept going
For the first year (I stopped visiting midway thru) they lost old employees, some regulars and went thru 2 to 3 Managers, and at least 3 Executive Chef’s
After all of this I can finally say that they have it right and that I am a customer again, the quality of the menu has caught up with the Décor — the food matches the look of the place, happy hour is good like b4, the Sushi has always been on point, a lot of my old favorite dishes are gone but I’m sure I’ll have some new ones
Hats off to Doug and the Hooked Team for making a strong come back!!!

Be prepared to have an expensive meal.
I’ve come here a couple times, and what I found out was the hand rolled sushi is mediocre. The seafood is way better. It may be an upwards of 18 a plate but with what I’ve been ordering, it hasn’t disappoint me.
I ordered the seafood gumbo on my recent visit, others in my party ordered crab cakes and various other dishes that I can’t recall at the moment ;were wiped clean.
Maybe we were starving because we waited forever for the rest of our party to arrive, but when all orders were in, the cocktails and food dishes were all enjoyed. There was even a special printed desert menu for the birthday girl, which I thought was very nice sweet touch to show their hospitality.

Food was great but service was horrible and very slow.
It took an hour to receive appetizers and another 45mins to receive entrees. The server seemed to lack knowledge with the menu and was scattered. Our table took turns trying to locate her throughout the restaurant to fill drinks and remove dishes from our table.
The grand finale ended with the server accidentally charging the bill onto 1 card of $ 311. She immediately voided the transaction and apologized but it delayed another 20mins or so to leave.

Overall star rating ***4.5***.
So I’ve had this place bookmarked for quite sometime and wanted to try this place out well before joining Unilocal and I finally got the chance on (01÷17÷14).
Our server/​service was very good. Outside of the fact that he would disappear at the wrong times (right when we wanted to ask him something), however since it wasn’t for very long times we didn’t hold it against him.
After looking over the menu for a while my wife and I decided to get the «Crab Deviled Eggs» for our starter and the «Shrimp Stuffed Tilapia» for our entrée.
Although deviled eggs itself aren’t really anything to talk about, but add some bacon and crabmeat to it and now we’re talking a delicious twist to deviled eggs. My wife and I enjoyed every bite.
As for the Shrimp Stuffed Tilapia, the first word that pops in my head to describe this dish is «SCRUMPTIOUS». Because this dish was so delicious it made me feel as though the chefs really do care about their craft. I say that because all the ingredients meshed so well together. Not one bite had a taste discrepancy. And not only did it taste good but the presentation of the dish was pretty good. The only gripe was the limited amount of shrimp they put in the Tilapia. If it had a few more pieces of shrimp in the Tilapia it would have been that much better.
We LOVED our meal and our experience. We will most definitely be back to HOOKED again.

I’ve enjoyed Hooked a number of times, and I’m surprised more people haven’t discovered this gem that has won quite a few awards from ratings/​reviews from Open Table, Trip Advisor, and some local VA/​DC magazines. My most recent visit was brought to me by a 4-​course prix-​fixe meal for two I had purchased from Groupon, which allowed me to sample more of the newer (to me) items on the menu. It included some very nice surprises…
First course: Shrimp Miso Soup and Caesar Salad — the shrimp miso was beautifully presented, and I did like how the server poured the miso broth over the shrimp, seaweed and tofu. Very flavorful and not too salty. The Caesar Salad was surprisingly good, with fresh-​tasting croutons and a not-​too-​heavy dressing.
Appetizer: Shrimp Tempura Roll and Seared Tuna — the shrimp tempura roll had a very nice presentation (plus we loved the sterling silver chopsticks, rather than the disposable and often splintery throw-​away ones), but the heaviness of the roll’s contents meant that it fell apart while eating; this could be remedied by not slicing the roll so thinly. Taste was great and tempura batter was well-​executed. The seared tuna was 7 thin slices of delicious seared tuna, fanned out around a centerpiece of seaweed salad, so that was a nice surprise!
Entrée: Shrimp and Mussel Thai Hot Pot and Inner Harbor Wakame Roll — the presentation of the Hot Pot was awesome, and the red curry-​style broth was delicately flavored from the mussels and shrimp. The hot pot was served with a side of sticky white rice, perfect for pouring the curry sauce and shrimp/​mussels/​vegetables over, definitely the most fun dish of the night. I was very happy with the Inner Harbor Wakame roll, which was a bit of shrimp tempura, maki-​style, topped with a big chunk of lump crab meat and then topped with a mayo-​based Old Bay sauce. I generally don’t care for anything with mayo, so I would have preferred just the Old Bay seasoning on the crab and no mayo, but at least there was another helping of seaweed salad on the plate!
Dessert: here are those «nice surprises» I hinted about earlier. Normally I shy away from desserts at restaurants, and save myself for ice cream elsewhere, but since the Groupon included dessert, I was exposed to two really awesome treats — the Tempura Crusted Fried Gelato and the Chocolate Mousse Cup (served in an edible and delectable dark chocolate cup). Both desserts were accented by fresh whipped cream and a raspberry coulis-​style sauce. Wow.
Why no 5-​stars? I wish there was less reliance on tempura in the «cooked» sushi rolls — not everyone wants fried food just because they’re opting for cooked sushi rolls; however I do recall the sashimi here being top-​notch. Also, our service was pretty slow, but just towards the end, and we weren’t in a hurry.

Decent meal, but the price really takes it down a notch
The miso soup was cold, which was not good as the restaurant was freezing. My entrée was pretty good — the wasabi crusted ahi tuna. The tuna itself was ok, I did like the wasabi pea crust. The tomatoes and beans tasted a little weird but ok. The lobster risotto was the best part of it, I would’ve loved to just have that as an entrée with more lobster. The dish as a whole was just ok, and for over $ 30 it was a tad pricey.
Service was good

My wife is always the litmus test. If she walks away happy, then the experience was special. She eats so little that even the slightest off kilter experience will ruin the dining experience for her. She wasn’t even upset that I wrote this review half way through our last course. I hope the restaurant does this groupon deal again. Prefixe 4 course meal for $ 43 bucks for two! You can spend $ 20 bucks at a fast food joint nowadays. Why not spend a little more and get elegant and fresh seafood at a brilliant price in a wonderful ambiance. The appetizers and main dish were served hot! off the grill and fresh and fresh out of the oven.
Appetizers:
Crispy spicy shrimp
Tempura calamari
House salad and Caesar salad
Main dishes:
New England lobster roll
Jumbo lump crab cake
Both served with fries and both completely demolished!
Dessert:
Tempura gelato
Chocolate mousse
I’m diabetic but I just had to have some. I will need to put in additional time to work off the sweet bliss. Just the right amount of sweet to cap off a wonderful meal!

Hooked is one my most favorite restaurants in Loudoun County. As a sushi lover, this is my type of place. In addition, the entrees never disappoint.
Most recently, I went on a Saturday early afternoon for brunch. This experience was simply amazing. First off, no one is in the restaurant so this is the best time to get together with old friends so you can laugh and cackle without disturbing others. Add stellar service and fantastic food, and Hooked provides the ingredients for an memorable meal.
In general, I have been here for private functions, group functions, date night, happy hour, and community party. Everytime, I have enjoyed my overall experience. Hooked is definitely a venue to explore for your next event.

First time patronizing Hooked last evening! We had an organized event there that extended from the bar to the patio. The patio appeared to nice and perfect for the spring and summer however not on a cold winter night. If it is open during the winter months, I highly recommend several standing hearing lamps for your visitors. I only saw one and it was near the food. The food was tasty, the drinks were good and the restaurant is nice. Kudos to the staff whom were prepared to handle a large crowd. Will give it a try on the inside next time.

I came here with my friend and used my gift card I won at the NoVA elite event. We decided to come on Saturday night to indulge on Hook’s yummy goodness. I made a reservation before we showed and we’re sat immediately on the patio right as the sun was setting. It was perfect night for patio weather.
We had $ 100 to spend. After scanning the menu for a solid ten minutes, our server Jackie got our drink orders. My friend got the spring sangria which he enjoyed, and I got the rain forest drink which I got at the Unilocal event, but isn’t on the drink menu yet. They are in the process of adding it.
As far as our orders — my friend got the crab cakes for $ 26 that comes with asparagus. I ordered a whole bunch of sushi. I got the volcano roll which was absolutely amazing tasting and the creation of it was very appeasing as well. Since it was roughly $ 16, I opted to order the other rolls that you can get at every sushi restaurant — the maki rolls. This was a huge mistake on my part. I went against the whole idea of quality vs. quantity because quality of these rolls were not up to par. They have the signature roll down to an art, but the maki rolls really didn’t hit it right for me.
The miso soup that I got for free with my Unilocal check in was decent. The presentation is different than your standard miso. They bring out the items in the miso separate from the broth of the soup and they pour the broth over the stuff in the bowl in front of you. Cute, necessary? Probably not, but I think it adds to the presentation which I think is what they strive to go for.
The back patio is awesome. We sat out there to enjoy the sunset. I’d suggest coming here right when it is going down so you can get the full effect of a romantic dinner and sunset.
Overall experience at Hooked was solid. Our server was great and so was most of the meal!

Last night a friend and I went for some as usual amazing sushi. We ordered the Volcano Roll, PGA Roll, Rainbow Roll, Spicy Yellowtail Roll, California Roll, and Alaska Roll (yes, we were hungry!).
Not only were each artfully plated, but they are some of the most copious in the area. You can taste the freshness of the fish. The volcano roll came out last and my friend laughed when she saw me pop in the first one and my eyes rolled-​it was a true explosion of different flavors perfectly married. Ever see Remi in «Ratatouille» when he combines the flavors and there’s fireworks?-THAT’S what it tastes like. She then took one and her entire face lit up. Her next words, «What is in this?! It’s awesome!»
–Everything was delicious, service was great and place is immaculately clean. It’s truly worth the visit.

Borrowing a line from Guy Fieri, my husband said the food here is «off the hook».
After we attended the elite event here 2 weeks ago and got to sample some of their food, we both agreed that we wanted to try dining here. Some of the food that we sampled here was so memorable that we were eager to return.
We were here on a Saturday night just before 5 p.m. Business was slow then with a couple of occupied tables and a few people at the bar. Dining here early on a weekend night is a good time as reservations are not required that early. However, if you wanted to eat a later meal, reservations are advised.
Our server was prompt, efficient, very friendly and polite. We started off with our drink orders. My husband had a Kirin Ichiban beer while I had one of their specialty drinks, a lemon drop martini. My drink was both spicy and sweet at the same time. Sweet, due to the sugar rim on the glass, spicy due to the jalapeño slice in the drink. I ended up taking out the jalapeño which was good as the drink still retained some spice but not too much of it.
For a starter, we decided to share a sushi roll. We opted for the ragin’ Cajun which consists of «spicy cooked crawfish, cucumber and scallion topped with tempura Cajun spiced white fish». This was a tasty roll with good flavors. We were expecting something extremely spicy but found it to be rather tame. The roll had 8 pieces in it. Most sushi rolls have 6 pieces.
For my main course, I decided to try something that we didn’t get to sample at the elite event. I opted for wasabi crusted ahi tuna. This dish is described like this on the menu, «served sizzling on a hot lava stone with ginger soy dressing, lobster risotto, split cherry tomatoes and green beans». Our server first brought out the sides for this dish, then told us she was going back for the tuna. The tuna had wasabi crust on the top. It was interesting to watch the tuna cook on the lava stone. The idea is to keep it on the lava stone until it was cooked to your liking. I took it off when it was rare. My husband sampled it and thought that I should have let it cook a bit longer as the center was still cold. The wasabi crust was rather tame and the ginger soy dressing was served on the side in a small cup. It, too, was mildly flavored. The lobster risotto was perfectly prepared — very creamy and flavorful, although I felt it should have had a bit more lobster in it. The green beans were cooked tender crisp.
My husband had the jumbo lump crabcakes. After he sampled them at the elite event, he was wowed — and that’s saying a lot as he isn’t a big fan of crabcakes. I, too, found them memorable. They are described this way on the menu, «2 sautéed crabcakes served with Old Bay mustard aioli and grilled asparagus». They were moist and flavorful with the aioli adding a distinctive flavor to them. I’ve had crabcakes many times in the past, but none as good as the ones at Hooked.
Much to our surprise, we still had some room for dessert. I forget the exact names of the desserts and Hook’s online menu doesn’t list their desserts. For my dessert, I got a vanilla bean gelato served with a cinnamon tempura crust and a blackberry syrup. My husband got a chocolate mousse that was served in a chocolate shell. As our server was bringing our desserts to our table, she passed another table where the occupants were oohing and aahing over them. I bet they ordered some dessert later LOL!
We both enjoyed the desserts. My husband found his mousse to be very light and flavorful. I thought the cinnamon tempura crust was a nice touch and complemented the vanilla gelato very well.
Right before the Unilocal elite event, we got a package of coupons in the mail and coincidentally, one of them was for Hooked! We used it today and saved $ 20 on our meal. For some reason, with the coupon, the 20% gratuity gets added to the check. We didn’t mind this. In fact, we tipped our server slightly over 20% as she did a great job. All totaled, it came to (after the coupon was deducted and the gratuity added) $ 103 + change. A splurge of a meal, to be sure, but well worth it, we thought! We will be back!

I frequent this part of town at least once a week. I’ve always passed Hooked in my travels. I was so excited to hear that we finally had a chance to sample the cuisine and check out the place!
Thankfully, Unilocal held a special event at Hooked. We had a chance to check out the venue, taste their libations, and nibble on their food. The drink masters were the bomb! I had the lemondrop martinis and definitely had my fair share– all 2 of them brought me to my knees! That’s what I call a real drink! My better half loved their sake, and the operations mgr told us that the sake at their bar is like ‘draft’ sake. We sampled a bunch of sushi, too. Our fav were the ones made with shrimp tempura. My better half also had the chicken tacos and said they were simply ‘amazing’. I ordered the tempura appetizer and enjoyed the variety but they were really too oily. Either the batch of oil needed cleaning or they fried them too long. It was not ‘tempura’ but more like vegetables fried in grease. Hopefully, that’s not the norm.
They have a fun looking patio with a giant fire pit. There are a few patio games laid out next to the pit. They also have an extensive happy hour menu that includes cooked food, sushi, and many libation choices.
We will definitely come back, and hope to try the other menu items! This is definitely a fun place in the middle of suburbia!

I actually came into Hooked about a year ago for a dinner, and I just came back yesterday for the Unilocal event. I’m confident in recommending Hooked for anyone looking for excellent sushi and service in the area.
The staff is friendly and helpful when it comes to explaining the dishes they have on the menu. The décor is modern-​industrial-​lounge, with painted concrete floors, swanky lounge-​bar seating, and some interesting lighting throughout. The long sushi-​bar at the back is a great backdrop for the dining room. There is also a stone patio area for the warmer months that looks like a great time with patio seating, a fire pit, and cornhole.
The sushi rolls here actually match some sushi out in California, so that’s saying a lot. Their ingredients are fresh fresh (double) — we witnessed the chef pull out a side of tuna and started to break it down into usable steaks. We also saw fresh diver scallops and sea urchins that were to be used in some specials they had for the weekend. The Volcano Roll is probably their most popular selection — cream cheese, cucumber, and tuna topped with avocado and arranged with a steaming bunch of oven-​baked fish in the middle. It’s quite delicious.
They also have a selection of sake on hand, and the staff does know the difference in types of sake and what flavors you should or should not pair with them.
Hooked has pushed their standards higher, and it shows in the service and quality.

For months, and almost years now, I’ve driven by Hooked and always seen the signs that say «Best Seafood in Virginia» or «Best Sushi in Virginia». And everytime I’ve thought that the awards and accolades sound pretty impressive, but honestly what restaurant isn’t going to claim that they have the best food? And during this whole time, I’ve heard from other critics or friends of mine that yes, indeed, Hooked is quite good.
So why did it take me so long to go visit this gem? I have no idea. All I know is that my roommate and I went there on a Thursday with a couple friends. The food was so amazing, that we decided to come back on Monday to take advantage of a sushi special they were having. And then I almost returned for a third time in 8 days for Valentine’s Day. That’s how great this place is. Needless to say, less than a week later, I was once again hooked on Hooked.
If you’ve never been to Hooked, and you enjoy sushi, then I must recommend that you try the sushi here as opposed to some of the regular seafood dishes. The Volcano Roll is quite possibly the best sushi roll I’ve ever had in my life. The Ragin’ Cajun, Inner Harbor, and Waikiki rolls are also good. And of course, you can’t go wrong with something like the Spider Roll (soft shelled crab) or the Tempura Lobster Tail roll (if you aren’t hooked by the words Tempura Lobster Tail, then you’re reading the wrong review).
Aside from the orgasmic sushi, my friends and I have discovered several appetizers and desserts that are now on our must-​order list. In particular, the crab deviled eggs which have caramelized bacon and crab meat on top of the traditional deviled eggs is our favorite. The Wagyu (aka Kobe style) beef carpaccio is also amazing and just melts in your mouth. I order both of these every time I go to Hooked now. And last but not least, after your meal, I highly recommend the tempura gelato. Gelato is like ice cream, but creamier and more delicious in my opinion. Ball that up and batter it with tempura then fry it and you get the amazing dessert offered at Hooked.
To put all of this into perspective… writing about Hooked in this review has made me hungry and craving Hooked for dinner tonight. If you like seafood and sushi, you need to check out Hooked now. See you guys there tonight.

We came here about a year ago and weren’t very impressed but about a week ago came to try it again and had a much better time! I got the lobster roll but I wasn’t very excited about it. Will have to try another dish I had my eye on. All the appetizers were really good, and we even got free edamame for checking in on Unilocal!Our server was very nice and attentive, and the hostesses were very apologetic for Open Table having lost my reservation but no matter! Great time. Thanks!