Rakuya (Formerly Raku), A Rebranding for the Dupont Circle Branch of Raku at 19th and Q Street

[cheezepowder]

On 1/12/2016 at 9:04 PM, DonRocks said:

Just when I think I've seen every mathematical permutation, now there's this one. This thread will remain "Raku" for Bethesda and Cleveland Heights, and a new thread for Rakuya will be opened for the rebranding of the Dupont location; had there not been multiple locations, this same thread would have been used for Rakuya.

PoPville reports that Rakuya (concept change for Dupont Raku) has opened.  Rakuya's Facebook page lists the Raku website.  Neither the Facebook page nor the Raku website have been updated to reflect Rakuya's opening. 

[mthe]

Hello, it's Marcel here over at Rakuya-Japanese Kitchen + Bar.  We have just started our soft opening stage this past weekend.   Although we have gone through training and a week of serving friends and family, we were still hoping that we would be able to quietly soft open and utilize this time to continue training our staff, and improve our operations.  As much as we'd like to fly under the radar during this stage, we realize this is difficult to do, since there are quiet a few internet sites and publications which focus on restaurant opening announcements.  Having said that, I do appreciate Cheezepowder for the posting above regarding our opening.  As indicated by Cheezepowder, we have not gone live with Rakuya website yet.  This will happen some time this week.  At the moment we are only open 6 dinners (closed on Monday).  We may start serving lunch in the next 2 weeks.  

A brief description of our menu by Chefs Masaru Homma & Ken Yamashiro Ballogdajan: 

Kitchen menu for dinner consists of Japanese small to mid size dishes that are both contemporary and traditional.  There are sashimi, sushi rolls, and ramen as well. Bar menu focuses on a nice selection of Premium Sake, Shochu, and fine Japanese Whiskeys and Craft Beers. 

Please, come and enjoy our new food and drinks in our newly renovated space.

Marcel The

 

[DonRocks]

Folks, I've talked with Marcel The, and he's going to make a special offer to all DR members. He asked me if it was okay that he did this, and I said as long as:

1) The offer benefits all our members equally
2) I do not receive any benefit from the offer

then whatever he comes up with is fine - he should be posting here within the next day or so, and everything is on the up-and-up. There are no expectations to write a review (you certainly can if you wish); it's merely a gesture of respect for our members - a group of informed, respected diners - that allows them to become acquainted with Rakuya.

I encourage you to take advantage of this, and enjoy your meal at Rakuya.

I also encourage you to write about it - not as any type of "payback," but because I want to know what this place is like, and I suspect others do, too - I really have no idea what to expect.

Interestingly, Marcel thanked me when I told him that I plan to open the DC Forum back up to the public in October - that was the first time it occurred to me that it might be important to restaurateurs that our posts are visible to everyone. It also has me thinking that it might be unfair to our members to have their posts behind a sign-in wall. I wonder if it's the same with the Dining Guide, which I've always viewed as a reward to our members for being active, and if only ten people in the world can access it, then so be it (I hope that tells you how little I care about notoriety, and how *much* I care about our active members.)

[mthe]

I apologize for posting this late.  The week has gone by too quickly for us during this soft opening time.  But here it is, as Don posted above:

RAKUYA's Soft Opening Special Offer Only for DR Members

We would like  to extend the following offer to all DR Members:

For each dish ordered, Get a 2nd dish of equal or lesser value free.

The above offer is good during dinner hours only until August 31, 2016. 

As Don mentioned above, there is no exchange of benefit between Rakuya and DR for offering members this deal.   This is a very important point to Don and myself.  I offer this because I feel that I am a part and member of this DR.com community and simply want to have other fellow members try us without having to pay full price during soft opening period.  And I do not expect to receive any write-ups either.  

To take advantage of this offer, reservation is required by emailing me directly at mthe@rakuasiandining.com.  Please, state in the email that you are a DR member.  I can be a little flexible if there are some who are not able to make it during this vacation period.  Just email me and let me know when you would like to come, I will do my best to accommodate.

Best to all,

Marcel

Rakuya

 

 

[schulju]

Had dinner last evening with friends at Rakuya.  We ate at a high-top in the bar as we had not made reservations.  We likely could have gotten dining room seating, but the bar tables are nice for a small group of three.  

We tried a number of things and they were all very good.  My companions each got sushi, which I just cannot get into, so I didn't try any.  It was very fresh and they both enjoyed their selections.  Any fish selection is likely a winner here, but the miso marinated black cod was fantastic.  The heritage farm pork belly was served in a large, meaty square.  Very tender, but not as flavorful as I would have expected.  An order of the gyoza was also well received.  Washed it all down with a glass of whispering angels rose, perfect for a summer evening.

The wait staff could not have been nicer or more accommodating. All this and a two-block walk from my companions' front door...Rakuya will be in heavy rotation.  

[funkyfood]

Three friends and I were lucky enough to be hosted by Marcel last night on the patio at the new Rakuya.  Full disclosure: we did receive the discount he offered above.

Marcel graciously introduced himself to the table and explained that the change from Raku to Rakuya was motivated by a desire to change from a fusion concept to a more pure Japanese concept, though many non-traditional rolls remain on the menu.  We excitedly tried much of the menu, including (but not exclusively) tuna tartare, sashimi, seaweed salad, tofu, a number of inventive rolls, some traditional sashimi, black cod and dessert.  I wanted to order the ramen too, but decided we had enough food as it was.  Marcel was even gracious enough to send over some treats from the kitchen, including some fantastic salmon belly and tuna and some skewers of simply prepared chicken (skins, livers, etc.). 

We particularly loved the tofu, black cod (which was a large piece of fresh, flavorful fish for quite a reasonable price), the chicken skewers, and pretty much all the raw fish. 

The rolls--which came on a massive board that made us wonder if we could finish it all--were I remember them at Raku: creative and delicious.  Unfortunately, the menu on the website (which didn't come up on a Google search btw, had to find it on Yelp) is a bit outdated, so I can't walk through what we had.  Some had truffle oil, which most of my table loved, but I thought was a bit overpowering for the fish.  I also thought the seaweed salad wouldbe better off without the iceberg lettuce added in.

We ordered all four desserts.  The croissant bread pudding was one of the better versions I can recall having, while I didn't enjoy the traditional Japanese dessert as much, though that may just be a lack of familiarity with some of the ingredients.

The service was perfect from start to finish .  I'm not sure if we got "special" treatment, but I don't doubt that the service is always good.

My friends live nearby and used to order takeout from Raku all the time.  Marcel said they expect to start takeout again in the future, but want to get running on all cylinders first.  To my eye, they're not far off that now.

[ktmoomau]

Can't make it in for the soft opening, but looking forward to trying it out! Thanks for the reports.