Took my husband here for his birthday and he loved it! We chose from the a la carte menu and every bite was phenomenal. Service was impeccable, elite fine dining kind of Service. The atmosphere really tied everything together. From the decor and low lighting to the excellent selection of music, we were really blown away. Highly recommend this spoy
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
katie
Great quality food and fish/sushi. Amazing flavors. Only complaint about the omakese is that it felt a bit rushed and we did not get to savor all the food that was being brought out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Faith Massey
Everything was so tender! Excellent service, very hospitable. Pricey.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Simren Ahluwalia
Got food poisoning from Chicken skewers. Gave us such a small table for 8 people after making us wait for about 30 mins even though we reserved a month in advance. Then yelled at us for taking pics/videos of the birthday party we came in for. Not a good Experience at all.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Jure Grm
The best steak, sushi and deserts in D.C.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Prince Grant
second time visiting from NY/NJ. First time was amazing and we decided to make this our annual DC trip stop. If judging based solely on our first experience, would have been a 5 star rating all around. Unfortunately, the second time was not as pleasant. Had a reservation time of 8:30, ran a tad bit late based on traffic and arrived at 8:40. Checked in with hostess who said we were late and our table was given away. Per the website/booking instructions there is a 15 min grace period, which we raised with the 4 hostess who were at the door upon arrival. Still they stated we needed to wait. Traffic, mishaps happen but if a 15 min grace period is given, it should nonetheless be honored. While we love the food and drinks here, probably will book a different restaurant for our next trip to DC.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
Jupiter Now
My chirashi lunch on Friday took a long time to arrive even though there was only 1 other table of 2 besides me! (A party of 7 or so arrived after I had ordered.)
Disappointed with food and service. Food portion very small. No apologies from service for chirashi taking a long time despite restaurant basically empty.
This is the OPPOSITE of Japanese Kando: exceeding expectations/feeling deep satisfaction/intense excitement. The experience did NOT meet expectations let alone exceeding, I felt deep dissatisfaction, intense disappointment.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Naomi Hernandez
Beautiful space! I definitely need to come back soon. We sat at the bar for a quickie (2 drinks each and an app) WOW the Waygu taco - and the snow crab leg taco was AMAZING. Who knew so much flavor was in such a small bite. The food prices are high especially for the portion - but it felt balanced... with the drink prices, a typically cocktail runs you like $20 now and days there it was like $16.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Macarena Martinez
Amazing service, exceptional food, and nothing tops the ambience here. Nothing but great things to say. Will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
emily raynor
The food and drinks were top-notch. Gabe the bartender was above and beyond! Highly recommend
Mecca of fun, some said it was the best day they've had all year, thanks to all who made it happen!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Farhaan Samnani
Fantastic service! Walked in & got seated quickly at the sushi counter. The nigiri & sashimi was delicious. the interior design is sublime & modern. Perfect combo of food & atmosphere
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Betty
The place is very elegant and aesthetically beautiful. The DJ was really good, the beats were really fluid (1 touch lower volume would have been better). The bar is nice, people are friendly.
The bartenders are nice but not pros. Had the espresso martini, no —don’t know what liqueur they’re using but, no, and the French martini, also no —too sweet.
The omakase is not an omakase it’s a tasting menu. It was a lot of food (it was tasty but not haute). Too much sauce for classical Japanese.
The standouts were the lamb is Excellent (and I make lamb chops, so they get my blessing, they are cooked perfectly and the flavor was a touch heavy but yumyum the salmon teriyaki was also cooked to perfection as a medium rare -nomnom the churros were not warm to the touch (offensive!) but the caramel inside was warm so I got over it quick
Overall everything was pretty basic (sorry) and saucy, (which i love on rice but…) they even had an nice orange sauce on another sashimi (gimme rice)
This is a good intro to a Japanese menu if you are not familiar with the cuisine and this is your city.
But yes I will go chill at the bar there…
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Aimee Hudson
Shoto is one of the best dinner spots in DC. Food and drink options are unique and service is great!
I would not repeat this experience and I wouldn’t recommend it to any friend. It was honestly the most overpriced meal I’ve ever seen in my life — extremely exaggerated for what you get. We ordered the “premium menu,” a chef’s selection of appetizers, main courses, and dessert. The food was poor in quality, portions were tiny (literally the size of a pinky finger), and the dishes were disappointing overall. One of the worst dining experiences I’ve had; you leave feeling unhappy and not satisfied at all.
To be fair, the waiter was very polite and his service was good — but that’s the only positive thing.
Took my husband here for his birthday and he loved it! We chose from the a la carte menu and every bite was phenomenal. Service was impeccable, elite fine dining kind of Service. The atmosphere really tied everything together. From the decor and low lighting to the excellent selection of music, we were really blown away. Highly recommend this spoy
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great quality food and fish/sushi. Amazing flavors. Only complaint about the omakese is that it felt a bit rushed and we did not get to savor all the food that was being brought out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Everything was so tender! Excellent service, very hospitable. Pricey.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Got food poisoning from Chicken skewers. Gave us such a small table for 8 people after making us wait for about 30 mins even though we reserved a month in advance. Then yelled at us for taking pics/videos of the birthday party we came in for. Not a good
Experience at all.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
The best steak, sushi and deserts in D.C.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
second time visiting from NY/NJ. First time was amazing and we decided to make this our annual DC trip stop. If judging based solely on our first experience, would have been a 5 star rating all around. Unfortunately, the second time was not as pleasant. Had a reservation time of 8:30, ran a tad bit late based on traffic and arrived at 8:40. Checked in with hostess who said we were late and our table was given away. Per the website/booking instructions there is a 15 min grace period, which we raised with the 4 hostess who were at the door upon arrival. Still they stated we needed to wait. Traffic, mishaps happen but if a 15 min grace period is given, it should nonetheless be honored. While we love the food and drinks here, probably will book a different restaurant for our next trip to DC.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
My chirashi lunch on Friday took a long time to arrive even though there was only 1 other table of 2 besides me! (A party of 7 or so arrived after I had ordered.)
Disappointed with food and service. Food portion very small. No apologies from service for chirashi taking a long time despite restaurant basically empty.
This is the OPPOSITE of Japanese Kando: exceeding expectations/feeling deep satisfaction/intense excitement. The experience did NOT meet expectations let alone exceeding, I felt deep dissatisfaction, intense disappointment.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Beautiful space! I definitely need to come back soon. We sat at the bar for a quickie (2 drinks each and an app) WOW the Waygu taco - and the snow crab leg taco was AMAZING. Who knew so much flavor was in such a small bite. The food prices are high especially for the portion - but it felt balanced... with the drink prices, a typically cocktail runs you like $20 now and days there it was like $16.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing service, exceptional food, and nothing tops the ambience here. Nothing but great things to say. Will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food and drinks were top-notch. Gabe the bartender was above and beyond! Highly recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Mecca of fun, some said it was the best day they've had all year, thanks to all who made it happen!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fantastic service! Walked in & got seated quickly at the sushi counter. The nigiri & sashimi was delicious. the interior design is sublime & modern. Perfect combo of food & atmosphere
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The place is very elegant and aesthetically beautiful. The DJ was really good, the beats were really fluid (1 touch lower volume would have been better). The bar is nice, people are friendly.
The bartenders are nice but not pros. Had the espresso martini, no —don’t know what liqueur they’re using but, no, and the French martini, also no —too sweet.
The omakase is not an omakase it’s a tasting menu. It was a lot of food (it was tasty but not haute). Too much sauce for classical Japanese.
The standouts were the lamb is Excellent (and I make lamb chops, so they get my blessing, they are cooked perfectly and the flavor was a touch heavy but yumyum the salmon teriyaki was also cooked to perfection as a medium rare -nomnom the churros were not warm to the touch (offensive!) but the caramel inside was warm so I got over it quick
Overall everything was pretty basic (sorry) and saucy, (which i love on rice but…) they even had an nice orange sauce on another sashimi (gimme rice)
This is a good intro to a Japanese menu if you are not familiar with the cuisine and this is your city.
But yes I will go chill at the bar there…
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Shoto is one of the best dinner spots in DC. Food and drink options are unique and service is great!
Recommended dishes: Sushi, Sashimi, Wagyu, Miso Soup
I would not repeat this experience and I wouldn’t recommend it to any friend. It was honestly the most overpriced meal I’ve ever seen in my life — extremely exaggerated for what you get. We ordered the “premium menu,” a chef’s selection of appetizers, main courses, and dessert. The food was poor in quality, portions were tiny (literally the size of a pinky finger), and the dishes were disappointing overall.
One of the worst dining experiences I’ve had; you leave feeling unhappy and not satisfied at all.
To be fair, the waiter was very polite and his service was good — but that’s the only positive thing.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
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