Daikaya Reviews

Pretty authentic and delicious. But the space is limited, better prepare to leave after you finished the meal.

Seems popular on Yelp so I went there. Haven't seen a native Japanese in this Japanese style ramen store. Staffs are nice. But this store has nothing special and I think the ramen is really different compared to the traditional ramen I eat before.

Great atmosphere with greatmusic and awesome Ramen! We went for lunch on labor day. The place was full (34 seats). We had to wait 15 minutes. Sat at the bar which we love because we could see all the action going into making the Ramen bowls! Highly recommend.

I had a great experience here! The staff said it would be a half hour wait, and that we could go upstairs to their sister location to have drinks or small bites. So we did! Our table was ready after 20 mins and they brought our appetizers downstairs for us to enjoy with our ramen. My only small complaint was that I had a few too many bean sprouts (next time I'll ask for light on the sprouts). But the service was great and the food was delicious!

Cool decor. I love their spicy miso, add extra pork! Not really a fan of the other flavors (too smokey for me).

Daikaya- delicious ramen! I keep coming back for more. Friendly and efficient staff. This place is 10/10 in my book. They don't take reservations, but the wait is well worth it.

Great service and great food. Nothing better than a warm bowel of yummy ramen on a cold night.

The wait was an hour and a half. The entryway is very small, so the crowd of people waiting to see about a table was packed in. Obvious line jumping and favoritism occurred; a couple people came in several minutes after us, squeezed past us with a 'sorry', and were seated after a quick chat with the hostess. When we made it up front to ask about seats the hostess barely glanced at us as she said it would be an hour and a half wait. Despite having been very excited to try this place, we were glad that we didn't have 90 minutes to wait once we'd made it past the front door. It was very crowded, and the loud music being played over the full dining room would have distracted from the dining experience. We went to another ramen place a couple of blocks away instead.

Ramen was well worth the 1hr wait, got the Spicy Miso with the egg, nigiri, chosu pork, and bamboo shoots. Bowl was perfectly seasoned, the spicy level was just right, and my God the BROTHH. The broth on its own was amazing. Had to order extra noodles.

My go to ramen spot in dc. It s everything you look for in a good ramen. Always crowded but the wait is well worth it. They message you once your table/seats are open so you can walk around Chinatown in the meantime.

It was good, but not great. We have had better in SF and in Portland. Very wait, but we were tired so did not mind too much.

I was a bit intimidated by the menu of Izakaya when we first arrived because there were many ingredients I wasn't familiar with. But our waiter was incredibly helpful in picking an array of dishes to suite our tastes. He even left the last course as a surprise because we trusted him to pick something we would enjoy. In the end, I was stuffed and satisfied with a meal full of unique flavors and ingredients... And the price was very reasonable. I will definitely be back.

Wow. I cannot recommend Daikaya highly enough. I went there on a recent trip. One minor critique would be the booking system; it is no reservations, which is fine, but you can't give an international cell number, you can only check back at a specific time. Luckily, one of my colleagues had a US number, and we used that. They told us an hr, but it was only around 20 mins, which was annoying as we had just sat down for drinks.

The food however, is outstanding. I have eaten ramen all over, and this was, without a doubt the best I have ever tasted. Prices are low, quality is high. We were with someone who lived in Japan for many years, and she agreed that the standard was that of local ramen joints in Japan. I wish I lived in DC and could go back!

Came here for some late nights and quality izakaya. Beers are on tap here are great and they have a wide selection of sakes. My friend and I ordered the fried garlic, grilled chicken skins, chicken butts, avocado and zucchini. All the grilled vegetables are a must order especially the avocado. Grilled perfectly and the addition of sea salt and lime were amazing. The ambience and aesthetics here are great. Feels like an authentic izakaya. I'll definitely be back to try their other sakes and skewers. This location does not serve ramen and I highly recommend making reservations prior to coming.

Delicious on both floors and great customer service!

My favorite ramen in DC! The space is small but things move quickly and efficiently. Staff has always been super friendly and despite the fast pace, I've never felt rushed. The noodles and nitamago (soft boiled egg) are the absolute best I've had in this city. Everything else is super flavorful and delicious as well. Definitely worth the wait if there is one, plenty of places nearby to grab a drink while you do.

Shio Ramen was excellent, as was the Shoyu and Spicy Miso Ramen. Highly recommended!

The best ramen I have had in DC so far.

Get a spot at the bar if you want to see the kitchen!

Great place to unwind. Fun interesting tapas and drinks and a general good vibe. Our bartender was cool and full of useful info. Thanks dood!

So this was hands down THE best ramen I've had. My bf and I had it for dinner and I'm still thinking about it. The noodles were on point, the broth was delicious and full of flavor. We had the vegetarian ramen. The bowl was more than filling, my bf had to finish my bowl. Most Definitely planning our next trip to dc now for another bowl. Highly recommended!

Some of the best ramen I've ever had. We go every time we come into town. Prepare to wait, but there are bars nearby to waste time exile you wait. OpenTable app can get you in early too.

Very good ramen for this part of town. I still favor Toki Underground, but they get very close to the flavor and quality here and it's a tad less pretentious.

Always feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @joerazz

Ramen downstairs is delicious. Get the pork belly and goopy egg. Helpful bartenders upstairs.

Wouldn't recommend for groups as the wait can be long.

Some of the best Ramen I've had in ages! I highly recommend the super spicy shoyu. Great ambience and a incredible place to go with friends.

Daikaya is one of my favorite place in town. The first floor serves only ramen and does not accpet reservation. There is always a line there because of its popularity. Both the miso ramen and shoyu ramen are delicious and authentically Japanese. The second floor serves izakaya style small dishes. The food is absolutely amazing. Great service, romantic ambience, and unbelievable food. Highly recommend

There's a reason the lines are long. There's nothing negative that can be said about daikaya. Extremely good food and easily one of the top ramen spots in DC. The only thing I wished they'd change is having more space so you don't have to wait as long!

I was originally trepidatious about a Japanese restaurant calling itself an izakaya in D.C., but the ability of the chefs to recreate many of the traditional small plates with enough of an additional twist was quite good. While I wouldn't compare this to a traditional izakaya in Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Daikaya does good work at re-orienting it for the D.C. market.

Drink selections were good, and a nice Kirin beer along with some edamame proved a grand gateway to the rest of the meal. Additional small plates challenged my thoughts on what izakaya grub could be, though the prices also consistently made me double check my wallet. This is not a bar food type place. This is a full tapas restaurant masquerading as high class bar food - in a good way.

Authentic ramen and worth the wait, I got the spicy miso and gyoza

A shop of miso ramen with fried bean sprouts.
It's like a local ramen shop in Japan came to DC.
The reproducibility of Japanese ramen shops is quite large.
A menu with a ballpoint pen printed in Japanese, a wooden box for receipts, and a Japanese leaflet.
The staff is almost American, but the taste is Japanese ramen.
It is crowded during the day, but it calls you with your mobile SMS.

Delicious ramen at a decent price. Be mindful of the long wait on Friday and Saturday nights. Expect to be on the list for an hour or two.

Unbelievable Ramen!! They cook it in front of you at the bar A must when going to DC!!!

This is a great little place to stop by for some ramen when you're checking out the National Portrait Gallery or Building Museum. The bar type seating and quick service also makes it very solo dining friendly experience. I went with the spicy miso ramen which had a great broth and just the right amount of kick. One star taken away for the slightly disappointing chasu, lack of a soft egg and siding on skimpy portions for the price.

Very good.
Bench/family seating, so if it's a smaller party, expect to sit with others

Tokyo inspired ramen joint, with all the charm of rubbing elbows with your neighbor-patrons and countertop style seating. I tried the spicy-miso ramen and it exceeded expectations by balancing the salt, spicy, and fundamental flavors well. Try the house sake for an inexpensive and hipster friendly (served in Japanese Mason jar) beverage.

A great little hole-in-the-wall Japanese place in DC. The drinks and ramen were phenomenal, would definitely go back.

Love their ramen. Better than most other ramen places in DC.

Excellent ramen with a decently long wait -- Put in your phone # for a quick reservation.

Broth was good so we're the egg but the pork had not flavor and the noodles were grossly under cooked. I love al dente but those weren't cooked. Also the loud rap music was pretty jarring when you're trying to enjoy a traditional japanese dish.

Absolutely love this place, best food, great happy hour and wonderful staff!

Interesting combinations, tasty, good portions and for a reasonable price. We came on a day that had a 45 minute wait, but they take your phone number and text you when your table is ready, so you can go elsewhere for a drink beforehand.

Best Ramen ever. Employees are so nice. The broth was so flavorful. Definitely, coming back to this place.

Don't believe the hype. The soup was lukewarm and the meat was cold. Average at best. There's always a wait and I can't get why. Location I guess.

This ramen restaurant takes an excellent strategy for attracting customers and enjoying dishes. It seems to be a professional restaurant that has a specialty for making ramen. However, from my many years' visitings for many other Japanese ramen restaurants, it does not take a challenging game to compete for apple to apple competition. The real challenging game for Japanese ramen business is to HAVE AN ABILITY WHETHER it can make a Tonkatsu soup requiring many hours preparation/ boiling to meet customers' expectation who know well for ramen. On the menu, however, I do not see any game challenging part. For customers who do not have any specialized knowledge for Japanese ramen can quickly think of it as a great dish. Overall, it's a great place to squish your hunger and pretending, showing off your friends that you had a great meal. However, I would put a question mark whether I had great ramen that is compatible with the one you can eat from Japan.

Unique Ramen experience you can have. Try this place you won't regret.

Excellent ramen! If your getting the vegetarian ramen I recommend opting for some extras in your bowl.

Great portions, I split gyoza and a bow with a friend and we were really quite full. The broth is rich and warms the spirit. Awesome decor, atmosphere, and soundtrack.

I went this past Saturday with a friend before a Capitals game and had a special evening. The Sake selection is fun and pretty extensive; definitely a bottle for everyone. Customer service was top notch and the ambiance was relaxing.

Be prepared to order at least 4 dishes for two people as the dishes are fairly small!

Highly recommend before an event or as an outing itself.

Absolutely fantastic. First time there and it is filling and absolutely delicious. Highly recommend.

Probably the best ramen I've ever had and the bar upstairs has a lot of drinks native to Japan I've never seen before. Definitely worth a try.

Great ramen, worth the wait to get seated. Run across the street or go upstairs to grab a drink while you wait for your table.

Amazing ramen! They offer spice bombs, egg and other toppings a la cart. We had to wait about 1.5 hours on a Monday night. They are on the no wait app.

Definitely try one of beef tongue, grilled octopus, onigiri, or miso salmon. Pair with a Sake and beer is highly recommend.

Great ambiance, friendly staff, amazing food and drinks! Will definitely be back!

The special was extremely salty, it was difficult to taste any of the broth besides salt. The tonkatsu and shoyu are great though.

Yea, if you show up 10 minutes after your group, they won t let you order.

This review is for the ramen setup on 1F. A friend of mine highly recommended stopping here on a trip to DC. It was a bit out of my way, but we'll worth the trip. I must have stopped at a great time, around 6pm on a Wednesday as I sat down immediately upon arriving. There didn't appear to be much of a wait my entire time there. Food came out quickly and it was incredible to watch the teamwork in their open kitchen as they put out bowl after bowl of ramen with incredible efficiency. I had the spicy miso ramen and the heat level was perfect. I would gladly return again if I'm ever in the area.

Great ramen. Authentic. I got the spicy miso and cant recommend it highly enough. The broth is to die for. The sake is also top notch.

Down in DC for a conference. And sometimes you just get one of those Ramen cravings. Looked around the area for any decent Japanese place and I think what sold me on this place was no reservations. So I have kind of a high expectation for Ramen, but the menu was got everything you're looking for. The options and toppings pretty standard. Usually I like to order the salt broth Ramen, but also had a sodium craving. The soy sauce Ramen. That's what I got and very pleasantly surprised. The soup was not too heavy, had a nice clean flavor. The stir fry vegetables and the garlic that was in the Ramen was very delicious. The softball egg cooked just right. Overall excellent experience. If you have a Ramen craving, can't go wrong here. Lastly, the staff was pleasant and attentive. Also I like the fact that I had an open kitchen where you can see your meal being prepared.

Tasty food and great service!
Small plates but really good!

Food was good..but if you want to leave here full...be prepared to spend $$$$ my boyfriend and I spend close to $80 and left hungry.

Great place, I wish there were more options though.

Very trendy and our server Laura was excellent. We enjoyed the happy hour food.

We thoroughly enjoyed this place. The vibe, the energy, the food, the ambient, everything was spot on.

Special mention to our server, (Bryan?) being a superb host.

The food here was amazing. No wonder the queues are long.

Music is so loud (rap) that you literally can't hear anything.

The ramen was average. The presentation was average. They can step up their recipes with better ingredients and more involved flavors.

Although there is always a wait, the service and food is ALWAYS 5 stars. This time, I brought a friend who has been to Japan before, who said "this is the best ramen I've ever had, second only to ramen in Japan"

Absolutely amazing 10 stars if I could. I got the Mugi-Miso base and they had PORK BELLY (gotta ask if they have it). The Gyoza are stuffed to perfection and compliment your ramen. Definitely will be back just have to time it perfectly again because shortly after I was seated the space filled up.

The food was really good. I really loved the depth of the flavor in the ramen.

This place was amazing. Living in the San Francisco area, we have a lot of good spots, but this blew most of them out of the water. Traditional Saporro style ramen, and reasonably priced. It's a little noisy, but I think the quality more than makes up for it. Staff is very friendly too!

Delicious ramen! I got the vegetable ramen add egg and corn. My friend got the Shio ramen. We both loved ours. Mine was full of flavor and packed with veggies. I was only able to eat half of mine, so I took the rest to go for another lunch. Only cons are that the space is really small (we got there at 11:40 on a Tuesday and snagged the last 2 seats) and that it's pretty pricey, with tip, I paid $20 for just my bowl (drank water).

Great atmosphere, helpful staff. Good food, but portions are smaller than expected at this price.

Trust me when I say that a 45 minute wait is perfectly worth it. It was my first time having traditional in-house ramen, and I left more than satisfied. I was absolutely exhilarated! If I was in the city for more time I would most definitely go again. The staff was amazing and super friendly, the ambiance was perfect, and the establishment was clean. I have now found a new love for ramen because of Daikaya. Would HIGHLY suggest!!