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Daikaya Ramen, Chef Katsuya Fukushima and Owners Daisuke Utagawa and Yama Jewayni in Chinatown


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What time did the crowds arrive? (Planning to go there for lunch in the next week or two)

If going for lunch on a weekend, I would suggest getting there at 11:30 when they open. I have been once on a Saturday and once on a Sunday (yesterday), and it has gotten crowded not long after that.

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Things I learned at lunch today:

1) No matter how frequently I use chopsticks, I will never develop facility with them. Ramen with poor chopstick skills will ruin a shirt and tie.

...

I gave up trying to eat with chopsticks a long, long time ago. I always get a fork to eat any kind of Asian noodle soup (or any other kind of Asian food) and have never been given any attitude about it. Can't deal with slurping the noodles, either, so sue me.

Using chopsticks generally, and for noodles more than solid food, takes some real practice and experience. Especially true if you didn't grow up using them. I managed to learn how to use them reasonably well as an adult but I don't think it matters here whether someone does or doesn't use them. To each his or her own.

What time did the crowds arrive? (Planning to go there for lunch in the next week or two)

For lunch on a weekday, you'll almost certainly wait if not there when they open at 11:30. It's very popular and the place has limited seating. I've heard some others say they waited half an hour or more but both times I went for lunch at noon or 12:30, the wait was less than 15 min simply because tables and seats turn very quickly. Earlier better but I wouldn't worry too much unless you really have limited time.

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Lunched here yesterday. I agree with the reviews above - the noodles are so good. Two had the vegan option, one colleague had the shio with pork and I had the shoyu ramen (also with pork.) To quote one colleague, "I am so full and know I should stop but I just can't." The broths were delicious, the soft boiled eggs two of us had were a bit over soft-boiled but still a great addition, and those noodles were like nothing I had ever had in DC. We arrived around 12:15 and were seated within minutes. I think we were just fortunate but most parties seemed to be seated fairly quickly. Service was gracious (fork provided to one in our party without question or smirk) and the menu explained very clearly.

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Lunched here yesterday. I agree with the reviews above - the noodles are so good. Two had the vegan option, one colleague had the shio with pork and I had the shoyu ramen (also with pork.) To quote one colleague, "I am so full and know I should stop but I just can't." The broths were delicious, the soft boiled eggs two of us had were a bit over soft-boiled but still a great addition, and those noodles were like nothing I had ever had in DC. We arrived around 12:15 and were seated within minutes. I think we were just fortunate but most parties seemed to be seated fairly quickly. Service was gracious (fork provided to one in our party without question or smirk) and the menu explained very clearly.

^ what she said. I made it to Ren's today for the first time since a few very successful visits to Daikaya. Have always loved and appreciated Ren's and I still do. They make a fine ramen there. However, despite both spots buying their noodles from Nishiyama, I think they're different. The Ren's version seem a bit thicker and softer (the later of which could just be the cooking time or temp of course) than the springy and firmer noodles at Daikaya. I'm glad Daikaya is getting a lot of love here. Feels very deserved.

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I am now ready to go on record as believing that shoyu is the best of the three non-vegetarian options. All are good. Shio is more subtle and delicate. Miso is miso-y. Both are very good. But if you are looking for intensity of experience, shoyu. This is not a brilliant insight, as all are well-described on the menu itself.

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Typically I agree with Sam. But I actually prefer shoyu least of the four -- a bit too strong in soy for my taste, too intense. Just had the vegetarian for the first time -- surprisingly hearty and tasty. And shio is the "purest." But if I could only have one more bowl . . . miso.

I am now ready to go on record as believing that shoyu is the best of the three non-vegetarian options. All are good. Shio is more subtle and delicate. Miso is miso-y. Both are very good. But if you are looking for intensity of experience, shoyu. This is not a brilliant insight, as all are well-described on the menu itself.

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bean sprouts in ramen :blink: ?

I don't think this is uncommon. The standard toppings at Ren's include bean sprouts, and I'm pretty sure I've seen it used in other ramen places in NYC and Japan.

Of course, you're correct. I see now my comment was written misleadingly. Athough a common topping, toppings like bean sprouts and cabbage (raw or cooked) are not my preference. I'm sure the shop would omit the bean sprouts if asked. I still haven't been to Daikaya Ramen, but I'm looking forward to trying their ramen.

20110903122537b66.jpg

the above is an extreme version of Jiro ramen posted for amusement, not something from Daikaya Ramen

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Had my first ever non-college-packaged ramen here. Absolu-freaking-lutely delicious. I had the miso and added the egg, and had the gyoza on the side. Way too much food for one person (well, for me), but I did want to try the gyoza too, and I'm glad they did, as they were much richer (darker? earthier? smokier?) flavored than any dumplings I've had. Perfect sear on one side of each, a little translucent on the other side, great tasting pork filling.

The ramen was fabulous. I had the muri-miso, which was deep and rich tasting, not too salty, and very complex. Thanks for the tip to eat the noodles first. They were springy and flavorful and I loved the texture. Also thanks for the tip to let the egg heat up -- I forgot to do that for the first half-egg, which I ate when it was cool (still delicious but slightly disconcerting), but let the other half soak in the broth until I was almost done, and then it was warm and even better.

I ate with my jacket on, zipped up to protect my clothes from splashing broth as I ate the noodles with chopsticks -- all well and good but I was sitting at the counter right by the vat of cooking soup, and it was like being in a steam bath wearing fleece. :) Very cool to sit there and watch the chefs, who were intent and worked smoothly as a team and once gave each other high-fives and grinned.

Edit: forgot to say that service was GREAT. Informative and warm/friendly and efficient.

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What is the table wait process? Do you put your name in and they text you like Toki? Or do you have to hover? We are hoping to go tonight and don't really know what to expect for getting a table for two on a Friday night.

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What is the table wait process? Do you put your name in and they text you like Toki? Or do you have to hover? We are hoping to go tonight and don't really know what to expect for getting a table for two on a Friday night.

A couple of Fridays ago we walked right in at around 7:00.

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Went last night. Had I read properly, I would have realized that Ramen part has no reservations, while Izakaya does. I made reservations, but wanted noodles. It's a very pretty space. Outside is really beautiful, too. I really can't stand going to this part of town, especially when there is an event at Verizon (there was a Caps game). There are these cut out fan shapes along the facade of the building and it just shimmers and looks gorgeous when you walk up to it.

So had a reservation for 8p ... Got there at 750p and was told this. They said it would be about 25 minutes, so the young hostess said go upstairs and have a drink while you wait. I felt that was a suitable compromise. My PhD economist friend and I went outside and up the stairs to the Izakaya. Gorgeous inside, felt spacious, bar was beautiful, lots of shochu, sakes, etc. I had a Brewer's Art Sublimation on draft. She got the Yoho Aooni IPA in a bottle. There was a time when the best beers in the world were from the Czech Republic. Then Germany. Then Belgium. Then America and we've had them for a long time. But, every time I try one of these small batch Japanese beers my mind is blown. Very hard to find out, but if y'all see a Yoho or Hitochino available, give it a try. At less than 25 minutes, got the phone call to come down. I hadn't finished, and it was obvious, waved bye to the barman and went down to get our spot at the communal table.

So, this is the one negative of the night. We get in, and the young woman sees the beer. She makes a face and then says, "I don't want to scold, but ..." and then scolds me for bringing the beer down. I said to her nicely that the guy upstairs saw me with it and didn't say a word. She said, "Well, I don't know what they are doing up there, but.." But, the thing was, it clearly wasn't a big deal, because I sat down at the table with it and finished it. I'm sure it's some city regulation, but there is a nice way to handle it and a rude way to handle it. She chose the latter. The beer selection at the Ramen table is limited - just Sapporo Draft or Kirin Free (N/A), so if you want something nicer, get it upstairs first, but finish it and don't bring any of it down. The ramen room is communal, and high energy, and loud but you can still hear your tablemates. I love seeing the guys work the kitchen, excited, smiling, high fiving. It is a very cool scene, out of a movie almost (if there was a movie about Latin American noodle-istas at a Japanese-style Ramen shop; I think George Lopez would have to be in it as the wisened noodle expert who studied in Tokyo and maybe Paz Vega as the trainee that falls in love with George). Anyway ...

We ordered the gyoza because we were very hungry and needed something to gnosh on. Pork and cabbage filling. The sauce is soy mixed with rice vinegar. I had the very sweet hipster waitress mix up the sauce for us with sesame chili oil and a cumin-esque spice, because I had no idea what the proportions should be. After we ordered that, we had her go over what she liked from the ramen choices. She preferred the Shoyu and the Spicy. We were both in the mood for Spicy. As for toppings, I got the soft boiled egg and she got the roast pork. Unfortunately, the gyoza and noodles came out all at once. I don't know if it is supposed to happen like that (I guess at Chinese and Vietnamese and other Asian places the appetizer vs entree separation is not appreciated). So, we had a few gyozas. I really liked them, and the sauce was pretty tasty.

The noodle soups were fantastic. I'm not a ramen guy (yet, but I want to be one). I loved the flavor, but it wasn't as complex as at Toki's or Sakuramen's broth (granted, I only tried one here and a few at those places) and it wasn't nearly as spicy as the extra spicy at Tanpopo. The noodles are really good, though, I liked them better than the one's at the other places, thicker, fuller, more flavorful. The soft-boiled egg was cooked perfectly to my tasting, with some runniness and a great texture. Marinated in soy, I think. She had a half an egg in hers, too, and I had roast pork in mine. So, do they all come with a little and more toppings are extra? I have no idea. The roast pork was great and tender and fatty and delicious. I nearly finished the whole bowl, as did my friend.

I liked the meal a lot. I didn't appreciate the scolding. It appears that the few places we do have are all very good, and all have different specialties/high points. I still need to make it to Ren's, but it's so far away from me! I think I like: Toki, Sakuramen, Tanpopo, and Daikaya in that order, but I think Sakuramen didn't have beer when I went (or am I wrong?) and Tanpopo ends up being more expensive (or maybe as much as), but because of lack of ambience, I feel like I'm getting a bit shortchanged. Daikaya is visually most appealing, both downstairs and upstairs.

Simul

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The beer scolding seems very odd to me, since I thought these places were just arms of the same umbrella establishment.  More than a few times, I've brought (with explicit permission) my unfinished beer from The Pug upstairs to Toki.  I wonder now if that is a true policy, or a gentlemen's agreement between the joints.

I would've done the same thing you did, and probably wouldn't have reacted as nicely to the "scold."

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...

We ordered the gyoza because we were very hungry and needed something to gnosh on. Pork and cabbage filling. The sauce is soy mixed with rice vinegar. I had the very sweet hipster waitress mix up the sauce for us with sesame chili oil and a cumin-esque spice, because I had no idea what the proportions should be. After we ordered that, we had her go over what she liked from the ramen choices. She preferred the Shoyu and the Spicy. We were both in the mood for Spicy. As for toppings, I got the soft boiled egg and she got the roast pork. Unfortunately, the gyoza and noodles came out all at once. I don't know if it is supposed to happen like that ...

Thanks for the report, Simul.  Very cool!

Two minor things related to the above excerpt for any who haven't yet been to the ramen shop since I think I've been more than a dozen times by now.  Usually, the server will automatically pour the gyoza dipping sauce and then ask how much heat as (s)he adds a few drops of the chili oil.  It's their standard process. And, ramens will normally come out faster than gyoza.  When you order gyoza, the server will usually tell you it'll take 10 or so minutes.  Like an authentic ramen shop in Japan, they're all about turning tables so spacing dishes isn't something they try to do.  Best to order two dishes separately to ensure spacing.

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...So had a reservation for 8p ... Got there at 750p and was told this. They said it would be about 25 minutes, so the young hostess said go upstairs and have a drink while you wait. I felt that was a suitable compromise. My PhD economist friend and I went outside and up the stairs to the Izakaya. Gorgeous inside, felt spacious, bar was beautiful, lots of shochu, sakes, etc. I had a Brewer's Art Sublimation on draft. She got the Yoho Aooni IPA in a bottle. There was a time when the best beers in the world were from the Czech Republic. Then Germany. Then Belgium. Then America and we've had them for a long time. But, every time I try one of these small batch Japanese beers my mind is blown. Very hard to find out, but if y'all see a Yoho or Hitochino available, give it a try. At less than 25 minutes, got the phone call to come down. I hadn't finished, and it was obvious, waved bye to the barman and went down to get our spot at the communal table.

So, this is the one negative of the night. We get in, and the young woman sees the beer. She makes a face and then says, "I don't want to scold, but ..." and then scolds me for bringing the beer down. I said to her nicely that the guy upstairs saw me with it and didn't say a word. She said, "Well, I don't know what they are doing up there, but.." But, the thing was, it clearly wasn't a big deal, because I sat down at the table with it and finished it. I'm sure it's some city regulation, but there is a nice way to handle it and a rude way to handle it. She chose the latter. The beer selection at the Ramen table is limited - just Sapporo Draft or Kirin Free (N/A), so if you want something nicer, get it upstairs first, but finish it and don't bring any of it down.

...

The beer scolding seems very odd to me, since I thought these places were just arms of the same umbrella establishment.  More than a few times, I've brought (with explicit permission) my unfinished beer from The Pug upstairs to Toki.  I wonder now if that is a true policy, or a gentlemen's agreement between the joints.

I would've done the same thing you did, and probably wouldn't have reacted as nicely to the "scold."

I agree that scolding was not the right way to handle this. I think the issue is that for a customer to take a beer from the Izakaya upstairs to the ramen restaurant downstairs, he/she has to walk outside with an open container of an alcoholic beverage.

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More than a few times, I've brought (with explicit permission) my unfinished beer from The Pug upstairs to Toki.  I wonder now if that is a true policy, or a gentlemen's agreement between the joints.

My understanding is that the Pug and Toki share the Pug's liquor license. And since you never actually leave the building this is no different from taking your beer from the first floor to the second floor of any restaurant.

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We went to Daikaya for lunch on Mon (Dec. 23).  I had the spicy miso ramen.  Flavorful broth (not very spicy, but I have a high spice tolerance).  The noodles were still as good as the times I had ramen here earlier this year.

We sat at the counter and watched them cook and assemble the ramens.  Very impressive in their coordination and efficiency.

We got there around 11:35 am (they open at 11:30am).  There were already people seated in the restaurant.  We didn't have to wait to be seated, but the place filled up very soon thereafter with folks waiting.

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Your beverages can be transported from the izakaya upstairs to the ramen shop downstairs. You just can't be the one doing the transporting. That is what happened last night as my boyfriend and I grabbed drinks upstairs while waiting for seats to open up in the ramen shop. Since our drinks were only half finished we asked if they could skip over us and call us when the next two seats open up but were helpfully informed that a host at the izakaya can bring our drinks downstairs. There is a way for staff to go between the two places without going outside so the beverages never leave the building. So we paid our tab at the bar, brought our drinks to the host, and were reunited with our drinks a few minutes later at the ramen shop.

Daikaya Ramen now has spice balls you can add to your ramen to make it spicy (or spicier). Part of me thinks this is happening because people want their ramen to be spicy rather than appreciating the broth for what it is. I'm not sure how I feel about this even though I did add a spice ball to my shio ramen with egg and menma. The spice ball definitely added heat but the heat comes at the end rather than up front. I really enjoyed the ramen and drank as much broth as I could short of putting the bowl up to my mouth and slurping it all down. My boyfriend had the shoyu ramen with canned corn, his go to order. Even though I like to switch it up with my ramen selection, I think the shoyu broth is the best of the offerings.

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I really didn't like the vegetable ramen I had at lunch yesterday.  The broth did have good depth of flavor (if not clarity or subtlety), especially for a vegetable broth, and the noodles were fine.  But the balance of the dish was overwhelmed by the sheer mess of wok-fried vegetables thrown on top, which felt like they belonged in a Chinese stir-fried dish, not a bowl of ramen.  No sense of balance, no sense of composition, no sense of a harmonious whole.  I was also astonished by the amount of bean sprouts being heaped on top of the other ramen preparations I saw going out.  I sensed a "more is better" philosophy that goes against much of what I love about ramen, and Japanese cuisine in general.  

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Cool!

(May I safely assume you're glad you took on the project?)

A couple weeks of ramen & izakaya research in Tokyo with that team was, by a wide margin, the best work trip I've ever taken. And Daikaya would have have been a far different restaurant without it.

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I really didn't like the vegetable ramen I had at lunch yesterday.  The broth did have good depth of flavor (if not clarity or subtlety), especially for a vegetable broth, and the noodles were fine.  But the balance of the dish was overwhelmed by the sheer mess of wok-fried vegetables thrown on top, which felt like they belonged in a Chinese stir-fried dish, not a bowl of ramen.  No sense of balance, no sense of composition, no sense of a harmonious whole.  I was also astonished by the amount of bean sprouts being heaped on top of the other ramen preparations I saw going out.  I sensed a "more is better" philosophy that goes against much of what I love about ramen, and Japanese cuisine in general.  

Funny this thread should pop up today. We were just there tonight.  Though semi-regular there, we have never ordered the veggie but, tonight, sat next to someone who did and thought exactly the same thing you've written about here.  There was no way the woman who ordered it was going to finish it and, despite valiant efforts, she wasn't close.

A couple weeks of ramen & izakaya research in Tokyo with that team was, by a wide margin, the best work trip I've ever taken. And Daikaya would have have been a far different restaurant without it.

That is a very cool (and no doubt uber useful) trip.  It's a great space up and down.

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Though semi-regular there, we have never ordered the veggie but, tonight, sat next to someone who did and thought exactly the same thing you've written about here.  There was no way the woman who ordered it was going to finish it and, despite valiant efforts, she wasn't close.

The vegan ramen has overtaken the Shoyu as my favorite at Daikaya.  Today's bowl was perfectly balanced with respect to the amount of roughage on top of the ramen.  I still didn't finish all the broth, but I was damn close.  The broth was fantastic, a bit fuller in flavor today than I've noticed the other 2 times I've had it.  I would recommend it to any carnivore.  Definitely add menma, and if you need some animal protein, an egg.

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I'd be remiss if I didn't add that I've had several good experiences with the Shio and Mugi-Miso ramens ordered without the bean sprouts.  I do think that the onions and scallions, which can get burnt in the wok, sometimes add an unpleasant note of bitterness.  But the broths have been very good, and the noodles and pork belly outstanding.

I really didn't like the vegetable ramen I had at lunch yesterday.  The broth did have good depth of flavor (if not clarity or subtlety), especially for a vegetable broth, and the noodles were fine.  But the balance of the dish was overwhelmed by the sheer mess of wok-fried vegetables thrown on top, which felt like they belonged in a Chinese stir-fried dish, not a bowl of ramen.  No sense of balance, no sense of composition, no sense of a harmonious whole.  I was also astonished by the amount of bean sprouts being heaped on top of the other ramen preparations I saw going out.  I sensed a "more is better" philosophy that goes against much of what I love about ramen, and Japanese cuisine in general.  

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I'd be remiss if I didn't add that I've had several good experiences with the Shio and Mugi-Miso ramens ordered without the bean sprouts.  I do think that the onions and scallions, which can get burnt in the wok, sometimes add an unpleasant note of bitterness.  But the broths have been very good, and the noodles and pork belly outstanding.

The vegan ramen has overtaken the Shoyu as my favorite at Daikaya.  Today's bowl was perfectly balanced with respect to the amount of roughage on top of the ramen.  I still didn't finish all the broth, but I was damn close.  The broth was fantastic, a bit fuller in flavor today than I've noticed the other 2 times I've had it.  I would recommend it to any carnivore.  Definitely add menma, and if you need some animal protein, an egg.

Interesting though not surprising that we have fans of all four or five options here. Normally, I'll try anything anywhere but, after a couple of shoyu versions soon after Daikay opened, I switched to the shio and haven't looked back over dozens of visits. For me, that's the winner be she's the broth is lighter, yet nuanced, perfumed and complex, allowing all the other great components to come through. Have tried the miso; just ok for me. Have never ordered the veggie since I'm not and proteins and nitimago are central to my own concept of what a great bowl of ramen includes.

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Have never ordered the veggie since I'm not and proteins and nitimago are central to my own concept of what a great bowl of ramen includes.

I would suggest treating the vegan version as simply another broth like the shio, miso, or shoyu versions.  With the level of customization available at Daikaya, you can definitely design a bowl to your liking...I admit waiting a long time before ordering it myself given that I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm glad I ultimately did.  It may not be the platonic ideal of "Ramen," but then, nothing is anymore.  Everyone everywhere is giving their own spin on what ramen means (except maybe Taro and Ren's who tend to hew closer to the classic style, I think).

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I would suggest treating the vegan version as simply another broth like the shio, miso, or shoyu versions.  With the level of customization available at Daikaya, you can definitely design a bowl to your liking...I admit waiting a long time before ordering it myself given that I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm glad I ultimately did.  It may not be the platonic ideal of "Ramen," but then, nothing is anymore.  Everyone everywhere is giving their own spin on what ramen means (except maybe Taro and Ren's who tend to hew closer to the classic style, I think).

Great advice, Josh. Thanks. Nothing has to be the "platonic ideal" of anything if it's really freakin' good. Guessing that's the case here.

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I would suggest treating the vegan version as simply another broth like the shio, miso, or shoyu versions.  With the level of customization available at Daikaya, you can definitely design a bowl to your liking...I admit waiting a long time before ordering it myself given that I'm not a vegetarian, but I

The vegan ramen has overtaken the Shoyu as my favorite at Daikaya.  Today's bowl was perfectly balanced with respect to the amount of roughage on top of the ramen.  I still didn't finish all the broth, but I was damn close.  The broth was fantastic, a bit fuller in flavor today than I've noticed the other 2 times I've had it.  I would recommend it to any carnivore.  Definitely add menma, and if you need some animal protein, an egg.

I hadn't thought to order the vegetarian ramen until reading JoshNE's comments. I ordered the veggie ramen with a spice ball Saturday night and was glad I did. The broth was indeed fantastic, very flavorful and with a lot of depth but at the same time light and delicate. It was a great change of pace from my usual spicy miso, which is less subtle. I also enjoyed the various veggies, though in hindsight should have added menma.

Thanks for the recommendation Josh!

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Funny the veggie ramen is popping up here. We were in here yesterday before heading to the baseball game.  My +1, who like me never orders the veggie ramen, asked for some extra bean sprouts. The server misheard her and, when her shio with pork belly and egg additions arrived, it had a mystery bright green vegetable in it we'd never before seen in dozens of visits.

Sure enough, brussel sprouts.  I asked about them since had never even seen a veggie ramen there.  They were near raw and not seasoned in any way so not so great an addition but was a mistake and the shio was as great as always.

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You should go, they put your name on the list and text you when it's ready, so you can walk around. Upstairs brunch is very good too, rarely a wait there. 2 people at 1pm will probably be 30-45 minutes.

Thanks! That helps for planning. I'm going with my Japanese friend, who approves the ramen but isn't impressed with the upstairs. It's too bad, because I thought the izakaya menu looked interesting and they have lots of availability for reservations via Open Table.

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I'm going with my Japanese friend, who approves the ramen but isn't impressed with the upstairs. It's too bad, because I thought the izakaya menu looked interesting and they have lots of availability for reservations via Open Table.

Pretty much reflects our experience with the upstairs.  Nothing stood out, nothing spectacular, just pseudo-Japanese bar food.  Lots of OpenTable availability should tell you something.

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My repeated sightings of Morimoto and Andres upstairs also tells me something, as well as countless other industry people who invariably show up there.  I don't think izakayas are on people's radars for Sunday brunches, and they don't do an endless mimosa special to boot, but the menu there is actually very good. The french toast places well among the city's best.   

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We grabbed drinks upstairs while waiting to get in downstairs. It was quiet, but the groups that were there looked happy. We got mimosas, which were delicious, and they brought them downstairs for us when our spot opened up. Our wait was about 20 mins for 2 at about 1 PM on a Sunday. We almost had 3 in our party, which would have been tougher, as the group of 3 in front of us was quoted a 50-minute wait.

We both had the mugi-miso ramen and thought it was wonderful, albeit a bit salty.The broth had so much character but wasn't too heavy, even for a hot summer day, and the toppings were balanced. I was happy to have given up an opportunity to visit one of my old haunts during my very brief visit to DC to try it!

We did not, however, get into the Beach exhibit at the building museum. In retrospect, the 1st weekend after national media covered it was probably the worst time to try. The first line for tix was pretty long, but no one could given me an estimate of how long it would take to get through the secondary line to actually enter the exhibit. Since the tickets aren't timed, you have to wait for people inside the exhibit to come out so you can go in. From what we could see and hear, it sounded really neat, and by now it's probably easier to get in,

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Interesting though not surprising that we have fans of all four or five options here. Normally, I'll try anything anywhere but, after a couple of shoyu versions soon after Daikay opened, I switched to the shio and haven't looked back over dozens of visits. For me, that's the winner be she's the broth is lighter, yet nuanced, perfumed and complex, allowing all the other great components to come through. Have tried the miso; just ok for me. Have never ordered the veggie since I'm not and proteins and nitimago are central to my own concept of what a great bowl of ramen includes.

After several visits over the past few months, I've arrived at the ideal--for me--order: the shio ramen, minus the sprouts, with pork belly and an egg -- and extra noodles halfway through, if I'm feeling especially ambitious.  Everything was good at lunch today, but the noodles are the star.

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After a very long day-trip to Pennsylvania for work yesterday, I dropped my rental car off and hopped on the metro in Tysons and texted the wife, simply, "Ramen?". She immediately replied with "YES!!!!!" and we slipped easily back into the routine. She got to Daikaya first, put our name on the list and we met across the street at Penn Commons for a beer ($5 all-night happy hour for any one of 40 draft beers) and waited for the text to come.  Normally, we can have two beers each during the wait, but we ended up having to chug the last third of our first as it was only 15 minutes after she put our name in that the phone buzzed.

We got seats at the bar at the ramen shop, the best place to sit as you can watch the three cooks perform their dance in a tight space. The wife and I actually don't talk to each other that much when we sit there, as we're transfixed at the ramen assembly. I ordered the shio with extra veggies and the spice bomb, she went with the shoyu with pork belly. I normally get the shoyu, but for whatever reason I didn't feel like as rich of a broth this time. The shio is so nicely balanced, and as the spice bomb dissolved, it became incrementally spicier over time, but never overwhelming.  I saw some complaints above about the veggies, but I usually get them and while not always perfectly cooked, I still like them because psychologically I feel like I am being a good boy and eating my veggies... they may not add much flavor wise, but I wouldn't say they detract at all either. The wife earned major bonus points for sharing some of her pork belly.

I've never been to Japan, so I couldn't compare how Daikaya stacks up to "real" ramen. What I do know is that in the dozen or so times we've been here in the past couple of years, we leave happy and full (sometimes over-full) for under $50. There are many other places in the city that I can't say that about for twice that price point.

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On 12/2/2017 at 10:42 AM, Marty L. said:

This is all, sadly, true.  Other than Daikaya and Ren's, all of the now gazillions of ramen shops I've tried here have been  . . .  eh.  And at much higher prices than in New York, for some reason.

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Ramen 42 (weezy)

Was at Daikaya again today, after many months away and too many bowls of overpriced, mediocre ramen elsewhere.  Confirmed that Daikaya is the best in DC, principally because the noodles and the "char" are, IMHO, always perfect.  [EDITED to be a bit less categorical.  There are, of course, other good bowls of ramen in the area--e.g., at Bantam King and Haikan (sisters of Daikaya); at Reren and Gaijin and Marumen and Toki.  And, especially, at Ren's, which I'd rate as No.2 (although it's a lot less fun than Daikaya).  But Daikaya is distinctly the best, at least if you like the sort of noodles they use there (as I do).]

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I know this is getting to be an old thread, and I use to have this opinion as well, but today I went to Daikaya after a number of disappointing NoVa ramen experiences (tanpopo, kimen, takohachi, takeshi, all at least pretty good at various times but bland and/or salty more recently), and it was not that good. Shio broth was very salty, and while my own noodles were cooked enough, barely, one of my companions’ were not even really cooked.

 

Off topic, I guess, but I’ve heard good things about Hanabi. Anyplace else (NoVa ideally, maybe DC) that I should check out?
 

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On 10/22/2023 at 10:11 PM, noamb said:

I know this is getting to be an old thread, and I use to have this opinion as well, but today I went to Daikaya after a number of disappointing NoVa ramen experiences (tanpopo, kimen, takohachi, takeshi, all at least pretty good at various times but bland and/or salty more recently), and it was not that good. Shio broth was very salty, and while my own noodles were cooked enough, barely, one of my companions’ were not even really cooked.

 

Off topic, I guess, but I’ve heard good things about Hanabi. Anyplace else (NoVa ideally, maybe DC) that I should check out?
 

I haven't been to Daikaya in a long while, but I'm fairly confident that Menya Hosaki (where I dine frequently) is the best ramen in the area by a far stretch.  Open only for dinner W-F and lunch on Tuesdays.

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13 hours ago, Marty L. said:

I haven't been to Daikaya in a long while, but I'm fairly confident that Menya Hosaki (where I dine frequently) is the best ramen in the area by a far stretch.  Open only for dinner W-F and lunch on Tuesdays.

How does a restaurant serve four meals a week and make a profit?

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