Daikaya Reviews

I started to love Ramen due to here!! I strongly recommend here

This place has ramen down to a science. I got a recommendation to eat here while I was in DC for work and it was well worth the 1+ mile walk from my hotel. I lucked out that I was alone because there was a wait for tables but I got seated at the bar right away.

Sitting at the bar is great! You get to watch the chefs assemble the ramen bowls like a choreographed dance. Service is quick and efficient and the food is spectacular. I will definitely come back next time I'm in DC!

Great layout and service. Go for the midnight popups evert 1st Saturday of the month. The chef is great!

Great Ramen shop in the heart of China Town. Always order "with egg" with your ramen this place does it deliciously well.

The service here is one of the best I've ever had at a restaurant. The staff was really casual, really helpful and accommodating, even gave us a free beer because they had "poured one too many". I was somewhat concerned about the wait times for the no-reso ramen bar, but very pleasantly surprised at how quickly we got seated (<15 min). The food itself was very tasty, though next time I will skip the gyoza.

I definitely recommend it!

Lightning fast service and good food. Love the noodles.

I stopped at 7 pm (the peak time according to Google Maps) yesterday and saw a long queue inside. Today at the same time but was seated immediately. I guess if there is no match involving local teams in the nearby Capital One arena, the seats should be available. Service was fast and their Ramen tasted great. Gyoza is a little expensive ($5 for 4 pieces). There were many people and they played music so the dinning environment is not suitable for people who prefer quiet eating.

Interesting to watch how your Ramen was made in front of you.

It s hard to go wrong ... what is there not to like.

The veg ramen was very good with a good spicy kick. Worth the wait. A hot ramen with cold beer made a great combo.

Innovative takes on Japanese small plates. A great catch in town, with good prices ny DC standards

Food was delicious! Appetizers delightful. Atmosphere looked as if it was under construction. But I liked it. Did not like the customer service. Felt rushed and unwelcome... Menu was not user friendly and hard to read. Nowhere to hang coats. 4 star for how delicious everything was. Would give it 5 if issues are met.

On the ground floor of Daikaya sits their ramen bar a few booths and communal tables where diners can enjoy a bowl of noodles, small eats, and a drink. A process that starts and ends in about 45 minutes.

Even as I was ordering the mugi-miso ramen ($14) I had a feeling I should just stick with the shio (where the soup is simply seasoned with salt). But, the description on the miso was so detailed heralding savory aromatics and reassured me that it would be lighter than a traditional miso . Surely, if I was only going to dine at Daikaya once, I d have to sample their signature dish.

The first spoon of broth was good, it was certainly rich in flavours, but wasn t oily like some ramen bases. Then, after a handful of sips, it became too salty by the end, I simply ate the noodles and whatever soup clung to them. The noodles also could be better. At the beginning, it starts off chewy but really softens in ten minutes. They should consider plating them less cooked so that the springy bite continues throughout the meal. To combat the softer noodles, they could have also left the bean sprouts rawer, to add more crunch.

There s plenty of meat in the bowl: slices of tender chashu and also ground pork strewn throughout so they end up working itself into the noodles. Bits of green onion and, strangely, white onion is added for a bit of freshness. Ramen just isn t the same without a soft boiled egg, so it was added ($1.50) and at Daikaya arrives with the lovely lava-like orange molten centre.

The ramen was so substantial we really didn t need the gyozas ($5.50), which incorporates a dark crust, thin wrapper, and plenty of filling. Sampling it after the salty broth does means the dumpling tastes rather bland.

Been coming here every week since moving to DC. Clean well executed ramen that satisfies without the guilt of Toki. Izakaya is an amazing journey into flavor combinations

Both Daikaya and Izakaya are dining experiences, not just delicious food. We had dinner at Izakaya and shared all of our plates with each other. A lot of vegetarian options at Izakaya. The next day we new we needed to stop at Daikaya to try the ramen. All four bowls we ordered were flawless!

I do like the food, it's good. But $17 for a bowl of Ramen plus a few extras is simply too much...quite a rip off to be honest...

LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Get there early and be willing to wait. Noodles are well worth it. It's also fun to watch them make the food.

So, this place is very interesting. Going in there I was hoping to at least get enough food to not be hungry. But the food to price ratio is really crazy. I ordered multiple dishes and was still hungry. So please dont go there if you are looking forward to eat a lot of food.
The drinks on the other hand are amazing. Sake collection is quite amazing. I had some really good sake there.
Overall it's a place where you can go with a bunch of friends and drink and hangout and talk to your heart's content, but not your stomach.

I am not really a ramen person but the food here is not that bad.

I've been coming here for years, their veggie ramen hits the spot every time! Although the cozy shop isn't fancy like it's upstairs Izakaya counterpart, the casual sit-down eatery reminds me of the ramen shops in Tokyo bursting with flavor. Although I was stoked about trying vegetarian ramen in Tokyo, to my disappointment the "vegetarian" concept didn't exist. To my delight, I found Daikaya.

The clear veggie broth is rich in flavor and not soy based. The ramen is stringy and chewy, I scarfed down all of the noodles in my bowl. Instead of tofu, there's a sea of grilled veggies in the broth: brussel sprouts, carrots, scallions, dry seaweed, sprouts, and best of...shiitake mushrooms. I ravenously devoured the ramen bowl, every lick of the veggies, broth, and noodles. Was stuffed afterwards, totally worth it!

To accompany this hearty meal, I ordered the $5 seasonal cocktail, which was grapefruit based. It was too sweet and not well balanced, I would skip it next time and just stick to the ramen. Need to save every last bit of room for those slurpy noodles!

As it gets pretty packed (I waited a 1/2 hour to get ramen solo on a weeknight) and 45 min on the weekends for a table of 2, head upstairs to Izakaya to grab a quick drink. The ramen at Daikaya is well worth the wait!

Awesome spot. I ate upstairs (not ramen) and was blown away by the food. So good. Bring in the umame! The Chewanmushie, Grilled Avocado, Pork belly and Brussels sprouts skewers, be and fried chicken thigh were all excellent. If him ever back in DC, I will hope to visit this unique spot again.

I hit it for lunch on a whim and was thoroughly pleased. I went for the waitress's suggestion and did their favorite Mugi-Misa Ramen. It was great and filled me up.

Super friendly staff. Excellent ramen. Balance of flavors was spot on.

Amazing ramen but wait time is long, show up one hour before you actually want to eat to reserve a seat, otherwise you are in for a long wait.

Price is decent and service was good. I had the miso ramen and it was good. Not too salty like other places. Also, review the add-ons. I like my ramen with corn and it was extra

The service was great, the lady at the front desk, greeted me and said goodbye by my name, I felt so special. The waitress was so funny and made alot of great suggestions. The food was outstanding.

Ate there in March 2015. Veggie noodle soup very good . . . BUT . . . it was $13.25 for the soup and a glass of water only--no extras/toppings. With tax and tip, $17 for lunch, or $20 if you have a soft drink. This is too expensive for lunch, in DC, NYC, Tokyo or anywhere else. I will not be back.

I went for lunch. Lunch boxes are not recommended! There is no such meal in Japan. I think it is from Korea. (I mix the lunch box)
I loved the octopus slice.

Excellent ramen and extremely fast service (once seated of course...the line for a table is long but well worth it!). The place is very loud due to the hard walls and the kitchen being open to the dining area- and it was packed! Enjoyed some sake upstairs afterward.

Be aware that you can only order ramen in the downstairs location. It wasn't clear online when I made the reservation. We wanted ramen and our waiter took care of us and put us in the queue to be seated downstairs. We didnt have to wait that long considering the caps were in town. While we waited, we had some tapas and cocktails. The crab croquettes were delicious. Ramen was decent, but I my favorite ramen spot in DC remains toki underground. I definitely recommend this spot for getting something to eat before an event at the Verizon center.

The ramen broth and noodles are decent, the chashu needs work with little to no flavor.

Awesome!! I see my oodles of noddles differently now. I have to come back for more noodles..

Best ramen in the city, by far, and given the reservation structure (no reservations, only walk-ins), you can always get in.

Awesome bowls of steaming delicious ramen, meet, veggies and delectable broth!

Great tasty ramen :) Izakaya has numerous mouthwatering Japanese tapas! The firefly squid and the beef tongue skewers are a must try

Got seated much faster than they said, and the food was at my table almost before I'd finished making my order. The shoryu ramen was tasty.

Usually there is a wait here. The place is not good for groups bigger than 4. The ramen was good, but the first set of meat I got was a really dry. The waitress, gave us another small plate of it, and it was great. I am going to assume that the ones we got was a dud.

Too salty... and there is a war crime flag(sun rising flag) pattern on the menu in front of the door. The owner should care about this issue more.

Great Japanese ramen noodles. Quick and friendly service

Short wait at 2pm (10 ish mins)on a Tuesday. Not many tables. Good service and great ramen. Super fast service. My son said it was the best meal he had in DC.

One of my favorite places in DC. Food is fantastic and prices are reasonable.

Went to the ramen bar for dinner, and was told there was a one hour wait. Went upstairs to wait for our table and instead discovered a fun izakaya place with interesting drinks and good food. The drinks were a bit over priced, but the food was tasty and a better deal than the drinks so it averaged out in the end.

The ramen downstairs was excellent, and the spicy miso was on point, bringing the perfect amount of heat to the dish.

This was our favorite restaurant in DC when we came on vacation. We ate here twice, and it was wonderful each time. Excellent flavor and I loved the bean sprouts in the ramen. Very generous portions and the price is not bad at all compared to other places in the area.

Our only complaints are the wait times and the wait staff. We ate here on a Tuesday night and Friday night, Tuesday we were seated immediately and Friday we waited for at least 30 minutes. When we walked in, we had no idea who the hostess was because she was dressed in a sweatsuit. All the waiters/waitresses except one were dressed in casual clothes, which made it very hard to tell who worked there.

It's all about the broth. They do it well. Be prepared to wait though. Not alot of seating and usually crowded.

Great drinks! Was pretty packed. Really cool atmosphere.a

Best Ramen that I have had, highly recommend this restaurant. IKUZE

Went to the Izakaya restaurant on the second floor. This place is absolutely amazing! The style of this place is tapas. Everything I tried was delicious especially the avocado and the pork belly brussel sprout skewers. The server was great and entertaining and he had specific recommendations and all were on point! Definitely will he going back. All should try this place!

Great broth, not too heavy (unlike some of the other tonkotsu places). Perfectly chewy ramen. Good prices.

The ramen is awesome and the wait is worth it. Rich broth. If you enjoy ramen and you are the Washington DC area this is the place to go

Very authentic and great atmosphere. Sever was great!

Vegetarian ramen is the best I've ever had. Busy, no reservations. Show up and check in. Casual seating and dining. If you don't want a stool, you probably will have to wait.

Delicious lunch special, pleasant atmosphere and great service.

We were staying in DC to celebrate my birthday. My wife made all the arrangements and wanted something different for brunch before leaving for home. I'd not been to a ramen house yet, and she picked a great one. Their broths are all created in house, and their noodles are made to their own specifications. We both had the spicy broth, which was a great choice. I like very flavorful heat, while my wife has a higher tolerance. We were both happy with that. I added an egg to mine. We complimented the ramen with Sapporo black. There was a wait, but I was happy to see their implementation of community seating. That's a great idea for making the most of a smaller space, and helps create a little buzz in the process. We sat at the bar overlooking the kitchen. The 3 cooks were working in a well coordinated frenzy to keep up with the demand. Loved it.

worth the wait! I recommend a reservation as the restaurant is tiny . The first time we came the wait was 90 min. We came back the next day for lunch and oy had to wait 45 minutes. This ramen was fantastic! You can tell they spend a long time making the broth as the flavor was deep, rich and complex. It ties for first place as the best ramen in my opinion.
The spicy miso ramen had so much garlic and chili flavor too! I can't say enough how good it was!!!

Ramen is okay. Adding sesame oil helped. They don't give you a lot of meat and charge you $3 for "more" meat

Best ramen in DC in my opinion! (Haikan is a close second though.) The food is wonderful and the staff are very friendly. Honestly the only con with Daikaya can be the wait - the place is small and it s very popular. I usually only go in twos because it ll shorten the wait quite a bit. One thing to note: while the wait might seem a little long, once you are at a table the food comes out VERY quickly so don t worry. They have another restaurant upstairs (Izakaya) where you can grab food, snacks, and drinks while you wait; they ll even bring any unfinished drinks downstairs for you if your table is ready! Every broth I ve tried (all but the veggie) is really good, but my personal favorite is the spicy one. Adding an egg and a spice bomb makes it that much better, but you can t go wrong here!

Shio Ramen was excellent. Noodles had a great bite and flavor. Broth was savory and rich. Food was served super fast. But those bar stools are impossibly uncomfortable.

I would recommend getting on the yelp waitlist before arriving. Download the Yelp app and there is an option to join the waitlist. I had heard rave reviews for this place. We got the veggie ramen, and it was delicious, but there was a 35 minute wait and nowhere to sit or stand. It was so crowded and the line never died down (on a Sunday at 2pm), and it was really good food but the wait was crazy. The veggie ramen had a miso base, ramen noodles, nori sheets, brussel sprouts, carrots, amazing marinated shiitake mushrooms, and probably some other stuff that I m forgetting.

We went to the Izakaya House, the upstairs restaurant, not realizing they didn't serve Ramen upstairs. Turned out to be a pleasant surprise of amazing small plates! Definitely try the grilled avocado and the pork and brussels sprouts skewer. Yum! Great service, too.

Great ramen and atmosphere at a reasonable price! Get the Shio ramen, one of the best I've ever had!

Absolutely loved the ramen! I had the vegetable ramen with the veggie spice bomb. The spice bomb is actually spicy, super spicy. I loved the food!

Small cozy place with large dishes, fast service and the people are all in great moods.

Delicious ramen and would definitely go back again.

SERVICE: Very friendly. Great service from hostess and staff.
FOOD: For ramen it's all about the broth and I'm sorry, wasn't even in my top 5. I would say average.
OVERALL: Wouldn't go out of my way to visit but would eat there again if I'm in the area.

They get a one star only because there isn t a negative number. Experienced discrimination by hostess. Two folks were seated right before us. We were told it would be a twenty minute wait for two. As we left to wait in the bar the hostess looked over her shoulder to see where we were and then seated two girls at a table. They came in after us. Never experienced this before. We left and ate somewhere else.

Good food. Worth the wait! Try the gyoza! Also the spicy miso is not too spicy..worth a try. We also love the spice bomb option for additional flavor.

This place is outstanding. I had lunch upstairs today with two friends. We sat at the bar and I had this spicy Cold noodle salad. So good.

Nice staff! Great soup base! Certainly must go if you are a ramen lover!

Great ramen on first floor then get some drinks upstairs.

Holy cow, the ramen is good here. The decor is pretty cool too.

Some of the best ramen in the east coast, great service and bangin' music.

Cozy little ramen spot with nice ambience. The waiting time wasn't too much for a relatively busy Saturday afternoon. Good food and good service. The setup is perfect for groups as well as eating solo.

Tried the Mugi-Miso Ramen and the Gyoza, both were pretty good. Will definitely be coming back to check out the Izakaya on the upper floor.

Ramen broth is rich, satisfying but not exceptional.

This restaurant has two floors (the second is where they accept reservations). The ramen is delicious and the prices are good.

It is located a few steps from the Stadium