DAIKAYA 2F THE IZAKAYA

Great whiskey list

Since the pandemic, this place has gone downhill. I’ve eaten at this restaurant 5 or 6 times prior to the pandemic and they used to have a robust menu with grilled skewers of various kinds, lots of different options…and now it’s a significantly paired down menu. Expensive, small portions = poor value. I’m not coming back to this place.

I appreciated the allergen menu! It’s extremely hard ordering at restaurants with an allergy and your team was incredibly accommodating.

Fantastic experience, delicious food, a home run.

Delicious and fun food! Ya selection of sake too.

The menu seems to have changed post covid. Not as good as I remember

They have reduced so many popular items on their menu. No yakitori, grilled beef tongue or steamed egg, Dassai, etc. I hope these items will come back soon.

Our second visit to this restaurant. The service and food were just like we remembered from our last trip to DC - great! The grilled avocado and grilled okra were both amazing. So simple and yet delicious. The shishito peppers, beef tartare and tuna-rice crisps were all flavorful and well thought out dishes. The strawberry sake was a good recommendation and worked well with our meal. We then went to the 1F to have bowls of spicy miso ramen that hit the right spot with extra ground pork and a second egg. Our server and and the host did a great job coordinating our 2F Izakaya reservation to be followed by a table for ramen downstairs. Thanks for a wonderful evening!

We miss the old menu

Amazing fried chicken. Good portion for some dishes are jokes. Awesome warm service. Some dishes too salty.

Always a hit--love the variety, inventive cocktails, specials, and service.

Food tasted mediocre and portions are very small for the price that you pay. After Covid, it seems they reduced amount of food in order to cut costs….They even charge for a dime size of wasabi…$20 for not even one full octopus tentacle…more like half a tentacle. $8 for one small lamb chop, just one. This is how you lose customers. Unfortunately not coming back.

What a delight of a tasting experience. Thank you!

Food is mediocre. Great place to grab drinks and few bites. I would not recommend it as a dinner spot. This really is for happy hour and drinks+snacks

EXCELLENT. FIVE STARS!!!!!

Reservation was supposed to be for Dakaiya however we were seated at Izakaya and were unable to order ramen which was what we were there to order.

Great service. Really nice environment. Incredible ramen.

Our table order 3 different ramens, all were amazing, everyone was very pleased. The waiter was very knowledgeable and attentive. Atmosphere is very cool. Menu is small which is good.

Ramen is very good and dumplings too!

The best vegan ramen in DC, hands down. The fact that the sake, service, and ambience are top notch too makes it one of the best dining experiences in the city.

Server (Carl) was spectacular !! Offered lots of options for my picky guests. Very pleased with the overall experience

We’ve been to Daikaya a bunch of times before and always enjoyed the ambiance/service, which were both top quality. Unfortunately we love Daikaya for their izakaya plates and that menu was severely limited due to COVID. Although the ramen was very good, we ultimately come here for their excellent small plates and probably won’t be back for dinner until/if that menu returns.

Our second visit to Daikaya was somewhat of a disappointment. Food was delicious, but service bordered on atrocious. After being seated, we were ignored for 25 minutes. Only after we brought this to the busser's attention did a waiter arrive with water and utensils. Again, after the meal when we asked for the check, there was another delay. The restaurant had a dated feel: sticky table-top, marred wooden furnishings, leaky sink in restroom. Seemed to have been a big change since our first meal there several years ago.

Great food and great atmosphere. A minor thing was the speed of service. But it is a pandemic so very understandable.

We were there for our wedding Anniversary, and from the moment we walked in the staff was quick to acknowledge our special date and went above and beyond to celebrate with us. Everyone we meet acknowledged our anniversary and really made us feel special. The food was excellent. If we are ever back in the DC area, we will definitely be back!!!

Appetizer gyoza came out after we finished our ramen. Other than that everything was great.

Definitely a great spot, the ramen is dang good and the staff are super friendly. Some issues though were waiting 30 min with a reservation (covid related, sent Gyoza on the house) and being out of Shochu and Spicy Shoyu Ramen, the two things I planned on enjoying. Still enjoyed and would recommend, these are only temporary issues!

Awesome food bit pricey awesome ambience and would def return again

Great food and service. Love eating here when I’m downtown.

Awesome! Been here over 10 times. Great place to celebrate our anniversary.

We enjoyed the shoyu ramen and gyoza along with the happy hour drink specials!

Went on a Sunday (Mother's Day) - wasn't that busy. Pretty good ramen. Nice server. Atmosphere was dark and moody, very club-like. Tables were far apart. The best thing though was the only dessert they had, the purin. We would go back just for the purin! So very good. Would go back. Want to try their other place. There's a steep flight of stairs to negotiate and the other place (Bantam King) is on the street level around the corner - no stairs. It is also more brightly lit. Daikaya is very dark. Would recommend.

loved the food and people who work there. one of our favorite ramens.

Ramen shops are popping up all over the DMZ, but if you want noodles with integrity and traditional broths and top-notch toppings, Daikaya and its sister property Haikan are the places to go. Sadly, COVID-19 shuttered the lively and authentic first-floor restaurant, and now you have to choose between eating outside on a gritty street or the dark and forlorn-feeling upstairs bar. Service is fine but perfunctory. It's a downbeat vibe, but the noodles make up for it. Traditional shoyu broth is excellent; also try the rich spicy miso broth. Some good apps here too.

Always a favorite, whether their Ramen menu or hopefully their small bites coming back soon! Everything here is AMAZING!

We made reservations for the nice restaurant on the second story. When we got there, they moved us downstairs to the noodle shop. We sat at the table right next to the kitchen refrigerator, where the door was within 12 inches of our back when it was opened. We sat about 6 ft from the open kitchen, where steam would waft to the table along with the smells of all the meals that every other table had. I understand that COVID has required restaurants to make changes to space people out, but when you make a reservation at a nice restaurant you don't expect to be seated at a McDonalds.

We actually booked our table for Izakaya but we’re shuttled down to Daikaya. The waiter explained that due to Covid, they are one restaurant. This should have been explained on the booking site, as we wanted the wider range of menu items that Izakaya offered. Very disappointed.

Exceeded all expectations! Best meal I had all weekend!

Our waitress Laura was amazing and accommodating. It was a Raman first for our 9 year old. He loved it!

Menu keeps changing around, we checked Daikaya’s website when booking and it seemed like they had a decent number of small plates available. However, the day of it was ramen only which was a little disappointing. It seems like they’ve changed to advertising it as ramen only now.