Kruba DC Thai & Sushi

I feel the need to write a good review for Kruba because I’ve eaten here many times and have never had a bad experience. The reviews here are not an accurate reflection of the restaurant — at least based on the experiences I’ve had. The place is never super busy (due to things another reviewer mentioned — it is tough to know it is there and if it is even open based on the exterior appearance and the very difficult to open front door) and so you’re always seated right away. The food comes quickly and is pretty good too! Not the absolute best I’ve ever had, but really solid sushi & Thai selections. I would definitely recommend checking this place out if you’re in Navy Yard and in the mood for Thai!

Dear Kruba, I’m staging an intervention. I’m really concerned that you aren’t doing enough business. I am fearful that DC might lose one of the best Thai restaurants it has. I’ve now tried quite a few DC Thai joints within city limits and I firmly believe you are the best of the bunch. However, there are some truths you need to hear. First, your windows are so tinted that people don’t realize you are even open. Both of your open signs hanging on the front door are just not catching people’s eye. Second, your front door is so heavy that only athletes training for the American Warrior Ninja can open it. I saw a couple specifically try to eat at your restaurant but walked away because they couldn’t open the door and thought you were closed. Lastly, you have premium patio real estate and yet it never gets used. DC residents like their patio day drinking more than in most cities. If only you added a little flare to your patio situation (ie music, tiki bar, or even plush patio furniture) and advertised a killer happy hour, I just know you’d have more patrons then you’d know what to do with them. This message is written with love as I’m counting on you to be serving that delicious curry and drunken noodles in the Navy Yard for many years to come.

This place is great if you are in the neighborhood, specifically craving Thai food, and willing to wait for it. My party waited close to an hour for our food, despite the fact that the place was maybe one-​eighth full and staff were standing around. Once we got the food it was delicious, but there are plenty of Thai places in DC that offer prompt service.

The food and service is always excellent! I love Thai food.

Kruba is typically a great place to order food from for delivery as well as sit in when in Yards Park. I order food so frequently from Kruba that I don’t even bother to check in and write a review. However tonight takes the cake for terrible terrible service — and it pains me to pen this review. After ordering food, confirming my order, and being told that delivery would take 30 min I started to get concerned after over an hour with no calls or delivery.
I decided to call and check in to see what was happening with the order. When I called in and provided my phone number I was promptly told that it was great I had called back in because they had lost my order due to a computer crashing and no record of my original call and order and no idea what my phone number was. How is this possible that they could instantly identify that I had previously called to place an order but lost the order and still recognize that my number was attributed to the lost order? The whole thing is extremely suspect and reeks of poor service. I have spent hundreds of dollars at Kruba and am extremely not happy with the service today. To the restaurants credit they offers to make my order and deliver it as soon as possible and provide a slight discount — but honestly speaking, what else would they do? Refuse to make the food that I had originally ordered?!
What adds insult to injury is that after reconfirming my order, the restaurant still managed to prepare and deliver the wrong order. I mean really? How poorly managed must the restaurant now be for this to occur? This is not rocket science: a customer politely requests and order, received confirmation — word for word — of that order, then waits over 2x the related wait time to receive the wrong food. This is what drives customers away and spurs them to publicly post regarding the ineptitude of management and restaurant staff. Inexcusable. I will seriously reconsider ordering from here again when Barracks Row is only a few more blocks away.
Updated ²⁄₂₈
I’m not sure where to start with my last experience. After placing a $ 60+ sushi order on the restaurant website and receiving a confirmation email for delivery I decided to call Kruba after over an hour had passed with no call, text, or email. I called three times and each time the call went to voicemail. When I called back, someone answered and then promptly hung up the phone without saying a word. After calling back two more times I was finally able to speak with someone named «Ken». I was told that they had no record of my order. When I politely said that I had ordered on the restaurant website, had a confirmation email, and that my credit card had already been charged (I checked online) I was told «sorry». After being put on a short hold, «Ken» came back to the line and said that my order was found and that it would be delivered in 5 minutes, he promptly hung up the phone on me — I could not even get one word in. It turns out that he was correct, the food was delivered shortly thereafter; the delivery person said one word «sorry», and didn’t speak a single word the entire time I interacted with him.
To top off this terrible experience, the restaurant delivered the wrong food! How does this happen? $ 60+ of shush I ordered online with a crystal clear order summary of what was ordered and the restaurant got the order wrong.
I’m not certain how someone running the front house of a restaurant speaking with a customer who ordered $ 60 sushi feels entitled to tell a customer «sorry» and speak down to the customer expect repeated business in this day and age. I find this unacceptable.
The last two times giving my business to this restaurant I have been treated horribly and received terrible service.
I will never order from Kruba again and strongly advise you not to give them your business. 1 star only because 0 stars is not an option.

Although my sushi was tasty, it took 45 minutes to receive, and my boyfriend’s sizzling beef over about an hour and 15 minutes. During that time, we were checked on maybe once, and never asked if we’d like more drinks. Never reassured that the food was coming. It appeared that they’d staffed the entire restaurant with only two servers, and it’s a pretty large place. Very bad service. Will not return.
Knocked from one to two stars for giving a 20% discount after complaining…

I had the Goong Shrimp. It didn’t have much flavor, tasted more like steamed shrimp and veggies. However, if you wanted a healthier option I’d go with this plate. I’m not sure I’d go back for Thai food, but I’d be willing to go to try out the sushi or another dish.
The place was basically empty when we were there, but the restaurant is huge. I think it would be packed in the warmer months. The décor is pretty unique. The walls, bar and even the menus are made from carved wood. It’s worth stopping by to check out.
We were immediately greeted and seated when we arrived. Our waiter was polite and did not rush us. We were pleased with the service. Our food came out in a decent amount of time as well. That being said, there were only two other tables besides us at the time.
The bottom line is that there are plenty of places in the area to compete with and I’m not sure I’d go back.

Cold night and my husband and I wanted some good Thai soup. Great tom yum goong Thai soup with seafood. Could taste the fresh lemon grass, mushrooms and shrimp. Also tried the Tom yum seafood Thai soup… great little secret here on Water street. Had some sushi to tie it off too! Fresh fish… we will be back.

Been here twice. First time was ok so we decided to give it another shot. Slow service, our app came out with one meal– my wife’s meal didn’t even come until 15 minutes after mine. Sushi is overpriced for quality in relation to somewhere like Nooshi. Chicken satay app was just not tasty.
Pros: enough space where we can bring our daughter in a stroller. It’s nice that there is sushi and Thai on the menu. The madam an curry flavor is very good– though potatoes were not cooked and they offer very little white rice.

Great 11.95 lunch specials. You never leave hungry. The service is great during lunch as they are courteous and quick. I’ve never left there without being satiated.

We stopped into Kruba and got a bunch of sushi and Thai food. It was nice to have options.
Kruba is a huge restaurant located in Navy Yard. We came in on a cold Friday evening and there weren’t many people inside, but there was a steady flow of guests. However, we were able to get seated right away.
We immediately ordered sushi and drinks. Both were pretty good, but not the best I’ve ever had. They were actually out of several items we ordered.
We then ordered soups and split a curry dish. The soup was fine. I got hot and sour soup and my wife ended up with miso. The highlight were some delicious mushrooms that were in the soup.
The curry was good, again nothing super special but it hit the spot.
So all in all, the food was good, not great, so I can’t give them 5-​stars. However it was convenient and super fast to get seated. There were clearly a lot of regulars in the restaurant as well, as evidence of the fact that this place has solid food. I don’t know if this would be a destination restaurant for us, but it was great for the odd night where we could stick close to home in the Navy Yard and enjoy some sushi and Thai!
I guess I should warn that parking can be a hassle in this area. Plan on walking a couple blocks and you will be fine.

It’s OK. Not bad, but not good. The pineapple fried rice was mushy.
There are better restaurants in Navy Yard.

I had a hankering for drunken noodles and stopped by this place, which was nearly empty on a Saturday afternoon. I ordered and food came out surprisingly quick. The taste was OK but nothing to rave about. The quantity was on the low side, and for $ 14 it didn’t come out to a very good bargain.

Full disclosure: Pad see ew is my favorite dish on the PLANET and I work in Navy Yard. Thus, I could really use a good Thai place to shovel my money at too many times a week. The mixed reviews on Unilocal kept me away for a while, but I optimistically gave it a shot today when a hankering for Thai hit.
Meh at BEST. The spring rolls were good, but c’mon: it’s also a really hard dish to screw up. The pad see ew was disturbingly soggy – yet the chicken tasted dry? The broccoli was also super soggy and somewhat inedible. I ate most of it due to sheer hunger, but I will definitely not be coming back, which is a bummer.
I’m sure this place will stay open because of tourists stopping in before a Nats game, but it is not a place I’d ever recommend for someone who wants genuinely good Thai food.

This place is not so terrible if you’re used to eating off the floor. At least that’s what must have happened to our lunch party earlier this week. I wonder which is cleaner: the kitchen at Kruba or the bathroom after several hours of food-​poisoning-​induced vomiting. Never. Again.
The first 10 minutes we were in the restaurant waiting to order and the fire alarm went off so they sat us out on the patio. No apologies, no explanations, and no concern among the staff to communicate whether we should just leave. That would’ve been wiser than sticking around to eat this crap they serve as food.
P. S. Rudest customer service among hosts and wait staff of ANY restaurant in the waterfront/​Navy Yard area.

Food is usually very very oily. The fried rice dishes are better, but things like pad thai or eggplant come floating in oil!
The restroom has a tree trunk for a wash basin — was quite fascinating!

I like their noodle dishes, particularly the pad thai and drunken noodles. The papaya salad is great too. You’ll never have to wait for a table.

Every time we go to this place, it gets better and better with more and more people. My bf and I have been going here for over 8 months and the place has changed for the better. Let’s talk about the changes.
1. The food, definitely more flavorful and fresh now. Maybe a new chef? I don’t know, but whatever it is, keep on rockin’ it Kruba.
2. The wait for the food, much quicker as well.
3. The people. Really. I mean there are actually people sitting down to eat here for dinner. I’m talking about a full house. This was so not the norm back a few months ago, this place was never ever busy! Atleast for dinner.
Now the things that are the same:
1. Service = always been great.
2. Their sushi is reasonably priced and fresh.
3. The décor is really beautiful!!!
Get their drunken noodle, it’s full of flavor here! My bf always gets the miso soup and the sushi rolls which he likes a lot. Also– a note that when you order for pick up it doesn’t taste as flavorful for some reason so I would suggest dinning in.
Another note, for thai food this place is a little on the pricey side. But being that it is the only thai place in the navy yard, I will suck it up for whenever I am having my thai cravings (which is often. I love thai food).

My new Thai Crush… The food and presentation was just as beautiful and appealing as the interior.
Everything I had was full of flavorful and delicious… I’m talking straight down to the garnish! I killed it all. LOL
Somewhat hidden in the new developments of the DC Navy Yard-​Ballpark district is Kruba Thai & Sushi. I stumbled on this place while at a open house event for Vida Fitness. After the event, I was starving and so I decided to walk around the development and see what was available. There were several cool, new restaurants in the development but Thai was on my mind. Lo and behold… Kruba Thai caught my eye and thank God it did! It turned out to be one of the best lunch eats I have had in a while.
THE INTERIOR
Upon entering this place, you can’t help but notice the cool ambiance, modern design and Thailand fixtures throughout. Very clean and well lit. Even more, the space was large, with ample seating for large groups and parties.
THE FOOD
I first started out with the seafood soup. It was amazing. A lively lemongrass broth with a mounds of seafood and semi-​spicy flavor to satisfy the palette. In a decent size bowl… shrimp, calamari, mussels and a array of basil, spring onion, and dried chili pepper… is bathed is a lemongrass broth that was clearly carefully crafted (
). No watered down disappointment here… that’s for sure! I enjoyed the soup so much that actually finished the remainder by slurping the broth directly from the bowl.
As the main entrée, I ordered the Garlic Goong w/​Chicken and Shrimp! Once again, Kruba Thai & Sushi delivered. This dish in its simplicity… exceeds expectation. The entrée is comprised of Chicken and Shrimp stir-​fried with mixed vegetables in a awesome garlic sauce! As a finisher, it is topped off with crispy fried garlic that set the meal off proper… if I should say so myself. The portions were huge and even present a challenge for a big guy like myself (
). The flavors and spices were on point. There was no need for the spice tray or to doctor my meal up with any additional items like soy or fish sauce. I was definitely satisfied and stuffed!
THE SERVICE
The service was good. No complaints here. The server was very attentive and even helped me customize my main dish.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
* Full Lunch Menu — w/​Daily Lunch Specials at $ 11 bucks; includes a soup and Spring Roll. Not bad at all.
* Happy Hour Specials –This immediately caught my eye because they offer up a great deal of: $ 5 Special Drinks; $ 7 Signature Drinks; $ 4 Beer; $ 2 Sushi; and $ 4 Appetizers. I know where I will be for the next group Happy Hour with my peeps… that’s for sure.
Overall, great food, nice ambiance, open-​clean atmosphere and friendly service. I will be back for sure. And, I can’t wait until all the development is finish in the Navy Yard-​BallPark neighborhood because I think this area will be one of the main attractions and hang-​out spots in DC for sure.

I was in the area for a fashion related event and knew I wanted to stop somewhere for lunch. I did a little research online and checked out the Unilocal reviews on some of the neighboring places like BlueJacket/​The Arsenal, Osteria Morini and Agua 301, but decided to settle on Kruba Thai and Sushi.
They open at noon on Saturday’s, so when we went in an hour after, it was almost empty — for a few minutes we even had the restaurant to ourselves. I took my mom to lunch.
For Appetizers we had Spring Rolls (Kruba style). It came with some sweet sauce and it was very good. For Entrée, my mom had Goong Garlic (shrimp with garlic sauce served with steamed mixed vegetables) and she enjoyed her dish. It also came with white rice (my mom said that if she had known it came with rice, she would have gotten brown rice, but she settled because it was jasmine rice). I had the Kruba Thai Cashew Chicken (sautéed with roasted cashew nuts in a special sauce) and it came with rice too. You have the choice to get it with either Chicken or Shrimp. Overall it was good although it was swimming in the sauce, but I was pleased with my order.
This was my first time coming to this area and when I go back, I will try out their restaurant again. To me, it was affordable and they had choices I liked. You can either go Thai or Sushi and we went for Thai on this visit.
Some tips/​notes:
This place was not hard to find — about 2.5 blocks from the Navy Yard Metro (green line) — make sure to take the exit towards the Dept of Transportation by New Jersey Ave exit
If facing the restaurant, there is an open parking lot to the left (within walking distance). Parking sign said $ 2 per hour for the first 4 hours.