Kyoto Japanese Restaurant

+ decent fish quality
— super tiny for the rolls/​cuts of fish
The nigiri happy hour has been increased from $ 1 a piece to $ 1.50 a piece.
I ordered the salmon, tuna, red snapper. Fish was fine, salmon was my favorite, but the meager cuts of fish were disappointing at 1.50 each. Might as well go a place like Sushi Capital and get regular order of nigiri that cost 2X as much, but contains 2−3X as much fish.
Also ordered 2 specialty rolls, each roll ranging costing around ~$ 10. Again the fish and fillings and roll overall were super tiny. You barely get a slither of fish. I was shocked that it cost $ 10. Even at Momiji in Chinatown their specialty rolls cost a few bucks more, but are 2X larger.
I did like the fact that do not densely pack the rice, and it was a good ratio even if the rice was a bit wet. Although the prices appear reasonable, the actual quantity of fish is not, and makes you wanting more. Order at least 2 or more specialty rolls per person to be full.
PS: Tea is not free here, neither is miso soup. Is it just me or should Japanese restaurants always offer free green tea and/​or miso soup?

Come for the soba, stay for the sushi. I tried this place for lunch years ago and come by from time to time, but the key is the sushi. Not an enormous sushi menu, but what they do is very solid. They have a nigiri happy hour, and the kitchen prepared stuff is surprisingly good. And ya know, the prices are good for large portions. I’ll be a repeat offender here.

Great price for simple rolls and some interesting «big» rolls too.

Had lunch here and I was not impressed. I bought the tempura combo and it came with 3 shrimp tempura, and gigantic vegetable tempura (onion, broc, sweet potato). All of this was flavorless. My Philadelphia roll was the only thing I enjoyed, despite having to pay extra for spicy mayo. I won’t be returning.

I’m so impressed with the sushi options! The moment I had my miso I knew the food was going to be good. Fresh fish, amazing varieties and delicious rolls! So happy to finally find a legit sushi spot in DC! The staff is super friendly and thoughtful. I’ll definitely be coming back!

Great sushi when you want it quick, but made when ordered!!!

Not the worst sushi you’ve ever had but certainly not the best. They use imitation crab in their California rolls and the selection is pretty limited. That being said I think they devote their energies more toward the lunch crowd so maybe I’ll go back and try that one day.

stayed just a few blocks away from Kyoto while in DC for a week — ended up going 3 times! I’ve been on a bit of a sushi kick lately but still. Quality for the price on the rolls beat out another much higher end sushi joint I also hit up during my visit.
I only took in sushi but the rest of the menu looked good. Laid back and homey atmosphere. the staff and cooks are extremely courteous. Service was prompt even in off hours. Great prices.

Been going here for years at lunchtime, maybe 2 times per month… everything is really great, however the music they play is too loud and NEVER changes… they must have a CD from a karaōke CD from Asia… it is so bad it is actually funny, but gets old after a few lunches

I have been coming here while on lunch with coworkers for about a year now. The staff is always friendly, the lunch specials are a really good deal, and the food is good for the price.
The sushi is slightly above average, but the teriyaki chicken tastes much better than most Asian restaurants in the area. I highly recommend it.
Great place, especially for a quick lunch!

I LOVE this place for lunch! Their daily specials are tasty, fast and inexpensive. On the other hand, the sushi is great too, but this is definitely where they make up for the lunch special price. All options are good tho. I’m there at least once a week.

Snuck in right before closing time and the staff was still courteous and service was fast. Huge portions for reasonable prices. The salmon teriyaki was seasoned nicely and came with veggies, rice, and salad. The dinner portion was enough for 3 servings. It was amazing cold for leftovers. Gyoza was crispy on the outside and savory and juicy on the inside. As a Californian dying for some real Asian food, this just might be my new favorite Asian restaurant in DC.

Love this place! This is small no frills Sushi place with great fresh nigiri and maki without the over embellishments that many other DC sushi places have.
All the staff is super friendly and the chef will always make special orders based on your preferences and the freshest fish.

I will be living off the amazing 99 cent Nigiri (5 – 7, Mon.-Fri.) happy hour until I graduate law school. It’s so fresh and delicious. I haven’t experimented too much with their other food, but I like their hot sake too.
I also like the atmosphere. It’s cozy and casual, and they play great old school pop music. One of the best places to eat for the price on the Senate side of the Hill.

I’m always on the lookout for good sushi! My sister and I came here for dinner last night and were very happy with everything; friendly, attentive service, HUGE portions, and great value for fairly low prices. The sushi menu isn’t as large as some of the other places in town, but they still offer a great variety and everything is fresh and delicious– my favorites are the Fire Roll and the Spicy California Roll The inside is kind of small, so dining space is a tad tight, but if that’s the worst thing I can say then this place is still highly recommended

Bento box lunch A was meh for me. Handed over quickly and it’s a huge amount of food for $ 11 to be sure, really feeds 2 peeps: sliced teriyaki chicken breast, bit of salad, rice scoop, 4 pcs tempura including a shrimp, plus 6 pcs of a basic avocado-​crab roll, with all the necessary sides like dipping sauce, soy, fresh ginger and wasabi. No seaweed salad tho.
But speed trumps all at lunch I guess. The chicken had to be ready, prolly they just sliced and served it, bland at best. Veggies under the chicken were more limp than I prefer. Too much orange dressing on salad. I absolutely hate wasting protein but couldn’t eat more.
The rolls were fine. Maybe sticking to those is the better option here. And i bet dinner is much better. So I suppose 2.5 stars at lunch. I just can’t report «a-​ok» sorry.

This place has decent lunch specials and the prices are relatively good for what you get, but I would add that you get what you pay for. It’s definitely not the best sushi I have ever had but is it terrible no.

The star rating for this place depends on when you go and what you get.
Lunchtime, for the $ 7 lunch box specials? Four stars for the portions, flavors, and the hyper-​speed with which you get your food.
Dinnertime? 2.5−3 stars for tiny portions of sushi and slow service. Ordered nigiri off the sushi menu and got some major judgement from our waitress — «you know these are two pieces each, right, not one?!» Apparently I’m the first person at Kyoto to order 12 total pieces of nigiri for dinner. Given the pricing and the size of the pieces, I can kind of understand why.
It’s a solid neighborhood place, but not exceptional, so «A-​OK» seems about right for a rating. It’ll satisfy a sushi craving and it totally hits the spot for lunch, but it’s not the kind of place you’d make a point to revisit or recommend if you weren’t already in the area.

Went there for sushi by myself before a meeting near the capitol. The spicy tuna rolls and tomago were great, and the hot tea — perfect.
It’s a great little place, and will certainly go back!

As other Unilocalers have said, Kyoto sushi is not good or fresh. Nor does it try to be. The place is here as a quick and affordable sushi meal in Capitol Hill.
I had the ginger salad which was alright. The asparagus roll I got was not good. It was premade. they just chopped it up. I hope they don’t do that to the fish rolls…