8. Sake Club

Nice, sophisticated decor -- much better than what you see at most sushi or Asian restaurants. Very good food, although the prices are on the steep side.

Sake club looks unlike any other Japanese restaurant in the city. It's stunning decor and contemporary menu elevates Woodley Park's dining scene. They serve fresh sushi and lots of new style small dishes. Try the long list of name brand sake too!

Move on. This restaurant is not worth anybody's time or money. There are many better and cheaper sushi places around this town, with better service. My husband and I went there one Friday evening in June. We were seated outside (a little noisy because of the metro running under). The restaurant was busy, but not too much. First off, our waiter did not even have a smile for us; he was very, very arrogant, and not pleasant at all. All he wanted to do was take our order and be rid of us. At least that's the impression he was giving. We tried the teas which were nothing exceptional that would justify their price for a few dried leaves and some hot water. The appetizers took about 30 minutes to arrive and nobody even bothered to check if we had utensils or not. My monkfish liver was not fresh and tasted too fishy and oily. Our waiter kept walking by our table NOT ONCE checking if we were OK. My husband ordered their warm sobe noodle soup which at first arrived cold ("The kitchen made a mistake"), and then when we finally got the warm version, it was full of seaweed which he doesn't like. The waiter explained, in a very condescending tone, that all Japanese food comes with seaweed (not my entree, but I guess that was beside the point). My husband had picked this particular soup because it was the only one in the menu without seaweed listed. The waiter just turned around, did not even offer to replace the dish or give us credit for it, since my husband had literally only a taste of it. Basically, it was "eat it or leave it". Of course we were charged for the soup and I should've argued with the manager, but didn't. My mistake. After leaving we looked for someplace else to actually eat something. They don't even deserve one star.