Hikari Sushi & Sake Bar, Japanese on 7th and H Street NE

[Mark Dedrick]

It's come to my attention that this place doesn't have a thread, so I'm starting one. I don't to be honest, have a ton to say about it. The food is better than Sticky Rice most of the time, which I suppose makes it the best sushi restaurant on H Street. Which isn't the highest bar to clear.  I've never had any real complaints about a meal here.

[Josh]

I am filled with irrational hatred for this place.  After suffering in a sushi desert, we were really thrilled about a place opening within a block of our house.

Awful.

We will make the trek to Sushi Ko, or for cheap takeout, hit up Nooshi on Barrack's Row.

[Mark Dedrick]

Interesting. I found the place completely unobjectionable, but then again I've only been twice.  What about your experiences was so bad?

[Josh]

Well, as I said, my hatred is irrational.

My main issue with the place is just that it isn't good.  It's passable, and if I got their sushi from a takeout container in Whole Foods, I'd be fine with it, but for a sit down sushi restaurant on a strip that only has Sticky Rice, I should've hoped they would aim higher.

I also find the setup to be beyond strange.  Why give up an entire floor to a dimly lit "lounge" setting?  That setup leads to issues with flow as well, seeing as they have no dedicated host/hostess area to direct people where to sit.  Same thing once you get upstairs...stand awkwardly for several minutes, unless you're lucky and one of the waiters sees you to direct you to a seat.

I expected much more, given the fact that this isn't the owners' first sushi place.  I feel the same burn I felt when I realized how minimally Vendetta was going to be focused on putting out good food, but Hikari doesn't have the strong bar program/bocce court draw to fall back on.

[Mark Dedrick]

Yeah, the space is very strange, no doubt about that. And I was just happy because they topped Sticky Rice, at least most of the time, but that's a very low bar.

On Vendetta, I had extremely low expectations going in, and they've actually beaten them as well.

[Josh]

It really bums me out that low expectations are the name of the game when opening a new restaurant in our hood.  Makes me love gems like Boundary Road and Toki that much more.

In my selfish worldview, I'd rather you just not open a place than open a poor one.  I'd really hate for H St. to be seen as a place to dump mediocre restaurants that will survive because they meet the same level as the other mediocre places on the strip.

[Mark Dedrick]

I had such low expectations from Vendetta because every other place by that owner has bad food. The exception to that is Granville's, but looking at Argonaut, H Street Country Club, Capitol Lounge, Pour House, etc, I expect him to put together a nice bar, that happens to produce food.  Hence my low expectations. And actually, my last meal at Vendetta was quite nice, I enjoyed it. It's still in my rotation for now.

Agree with you 100%, however, in that I want good places to open, not just places in general. My hopes are high for Impala.

[dcandohio]

I am filled with irrational hatred for this place.

This describes how I *occasionally* feel about a place, so thank you for putting words to it. I have never eaten at this place, but I know EXACTLY how you feel!

[DonRocks]

I am filled with irrational hatred for this place. 

This is how I feel about Momiji in Chinatown.

I expected much more, given the fact that this isn't the owners' first sushi place. 

I'm sorry to be dim, but what was?

I do agree that H Street is becoming a graveyard for mediocrity.

[Josh]

I'm sorry to be dim, but what was?

I do agree that H Street is becoming a graveyard for mediocrity.

I believe it's the same folks who own Matsutake in DCA...which despite its airport setting, is not bad.

[DonRocks]

I believe it's the same folks who own Matsutake in DCA...which despite its airport setting, is not bad.

Yes.