Miso

Everybody always talks about Miso being the hotspot in Annandale. So I thought I’d give it a try. They have a nice little patio in front of the restaurant before you walk in. I like the booths, it is very comfortable. Atmosphere is relaxing during the night time. I hear it gets pretty crowded during lunch though. Service was fine and dandy. Food was on point; love the way the food was set up. Try their curry with rice… very good!

My dude and I came here after bowling at the lanes next door and we were hungry, which is good, because Miso delivered.
To start, we had the potato and shrimp appetizer. I was not entirely sure how this was going to work out (never tried this combo before), but I was pleasantly surprised when our appetizer arrived. The shrimp are super large and wrapped in little potato threads and come with a creamy dipping sauce. It was really good!
I ordered the pork katsu combination with udong. To start, you get a salad with ginger dressing (yum) with a steamed egg custard with a little chopped radish on top. I haven’t eaten a ton of Japanese or Korean food, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this was really good! The pork katsu is really good, very tender and the breading is just right (not too much, not too little). It came with kim chee, pickles, and Bull Dog sauce, as well as a large bowl of udong (yum, so good on a cold night). I was pretty full by this point, but our waiter asked what we wanted for dessert, ice cream or a yogurt drink, so I went with ice cream. It was a really delightful meal at a great price! I would definitely come here again

The food was really good. I got the big Udong noodles with the small pork katsu. Normally I can’t eat too much fried food because I get sick of it quickly but I actually enjoyed the katsu a lot and thought the small portion size was just right. I really like the ginger sauce that you dip with the katsu as well. The Udong was good too. It was good for a cold day.
The combination comes with small sides of kimchi, radish, and simple cabbage salad. I thought the amount of side dishes were a bit too small and that the cabbage salad was drenched in dressing.
The combination also comes with dessert at the end. You get the option of a vanilla snowcone or coffee and we chose the snow cones. I think the amount was just right and I was definitely full when finished. So yummmmyyy

We came here strictly for ramen and was disappointed. The presentation was pretty, the broth was tasteless, noodles tasted like instant shin ramen, and egg was half a boiled egg. We will give them another try next time but only on the other items on the menu.

Since leaving Nyc for dc I’ve felt the lack of good Japanese food… Well it’s kinda true … After hearing about this place from some other friends that have lived here for a while I decided to give it a try.
Nestled in a little shopping center in Annandale I’d never really guess to try this place from the outside .
Their menu structure is as follows. Udon and katsu. Rice bowls and katsu. Soba and katsu lol. They have everything ranging from traditional pork katsu. Chicken. Fish… Beef. Lobster. They also have Japanese ramen on the menu.
Since I’m a curry fanatic I got curry rice and pork katsu. I wish they had different spicy levels of the curry but whatever. Curry was a little bland but potions were filling .
Katsu was cooked and fried To a nice crisp. No soggy stuff here ! Comes bento style with radish, kimchi and steamed egg with salad. Oh at the end there’s ice cream too!
All in all its not superb, but it’s not mediocre. If I ever get that hankering for katsu one will probably find me here.

Been here a few times for their combo meals. You can get either a donkatsu or udon or rice. It comes with a small salad and egg soufflé as an appetizer. The main dishes come with banchan like kimchi. For dessert you can get coffee or yogurt. The server was helpful and gave good suggestions as well. Great meal for a good price! Will definitely be back again!

soo… i really wanted to give them a 3.5 stars.
We had the miso combo of pork katsu + udong combo and the tonkatsu mussel ramen. The ramen was definitely not good nor worth the $ 16 (dinner). The ramen the soup base lacked the signature rich tonkatsu flavor, and the ½ soft boiled egg lacked flavor (still good, creamy yolk, i just prefer to be able to taste the marinade) but maybe I’m comparing it to japanese ramen and korean is a little different? =P The udong (fat noodles similar to udon, in a clear mushroom based broth) was delicious and the pork katsu was good too (katsu was crispy and the pork was thin. my piece was too thin. the ratio of fried batter to pork in majority of my piece was not so great and too oily, but other parts were perfect. hence good but nothing more). The combo also came with a side cabbage slaw, which was not bad. The katsu came with kimchi, pickled daikon, and a savory sweet plum (i think) sauce. While the ramen only came with some pickled daikon. Both the combo and the ramen came with a small salad and steamed egg appetizer and ended with a single vanilla ice cream cone (they said we normally would have a choice between ice cream and yogurt drink but they were out of the yogurt drink). We all washed it down with tea (no extra cost for tea).
Overall, I’d say come here for the katsu or katsu combo with curry or udong ($ 14 for dinner). Some friends had the combo with the curry rice, and it was good too. Although they do say some times there’s a good ratio of curry to rice, and some times too little rice. Regardless, that’s easily remedied by asking for more rice (which i forgot whether they costed more or not). Oh, and the curry + katsu combo comes with miso soup and the 3 small banchan sides but no slaw.
Service was good, atmosphere seemed clean and friendly, nothing too special but very comfortable. overall, i’d definitely come here again, especially since manoa is in the next plaza.

The katsu is amazing. Not too crispy, a lot of meat!
The portion on the Ramen is pretty big. The staffs are very friendly. Very satisfied.
Cant wait until I come back to try other food!

Came here for dinner with the boyfriend P. we’ve been wanting to try this place since he accidentally found it on Unilocal.The waiter was super friendly and really funny haha. Our meal started out with a complimentary salad and steamed egg. For the main dish, P got the chicken Katsu and udon. I got the curry rice and pork tender Katsu. They also gave us complimentary ice cream or yakult for dessert. I was pleasantly surprised by this place. The food was good and the décor was very cozy and cute. Can’t wait to come back and try the ramen!!!

Food was delicious! Great atmosphere and service was wonderful! Very authentic being that I lived in Korea for a year! Love the egg appetizer! Free coffee or Korean dessert at end! A little hidden gem! Ordered Udong and Bulgogi Donbiri beef.

Mi-​so hungry! I like this place so much better than Yechon or whatever you can come up with in Annandale, Korean town. I like that I can choose two different entrees for the combo cause I’m so indecisive, this gave me the benefit of trying two things at once! Compliments to the chef, I’ve been here a total of three times, and every time that I’ve been here the food was on point.
Some of the servers are nice and some of them are very oblivious. I had to walk up twice to ask for the check and then pay. I don’t understand why the server could not approach my table. It wasn’t like he was busy with other tables or couldn’t see me. That fool was in my peripheral vision and I could see him glancing over, but yet I had to get up and do his job for him?
But the complimentary coffee or yogurt at the end is bomb, so I forgive him.

Place is pretty good. Very different from restaurants I normally go to but I liked it. I think they are known for their different katsu’s and udon combos.
I had the Hawaiian katsu and that was really good. I liked the concept. One of the shrimps fell on the floor and they wouldn’t replace it so that part sucked but overall it was still a good experience and nice place to eat
If I’m in the area, I’ll come back for more to try different things and for some soju

Thank you so much Unilocal friends for convincing me to try Miso! Being weary of Asian fusion places, particularly one called Miso, I had no desire to try this place (pass by it all the time when I’m in Annandale) until I saw all the complimentary postings on Unilocal.
Miso offers a Korean take on everyday Japanese restaurant fare and succeeds with most dishes. I ordered the shrimp and flounder katsu and udong combo. The breaded items had this perfect crunch and were super flavorful. Loved the creamy dipping sauce, too. The udon was also just perfect, just salty enough and homey.
My meal was similar to something I could find inside a Japanese subway station, only the offerings in the Japanese subway stations are probably a fraction of the cost and don’t include small dishes like kimchee. Also, the chawanmushi is a noble effort here, but it no way compares to the chawanmushi I had in Tokyo. The katsu and udon are on par, with similar offerings from their country of origin.
Service was okay, most friendly, though my friend’s request for a napkin kept getting forgotten. Miso also provides complimentary ice cream on a cone (vanilla is one of two available flavors) as a dessert.
I am a fan, and I can’t wait to come back to try other dishes on their menu.

I haven’t been to Miso in a while, but my recent double-​date here reminded me of how much I’ve missed it! :D This little Korean-​Japanese restaurant, nestled in the Safeway plaza off of Little River Turnpike, offers a variety of appetizers, ramen, udon, katsu entrees, sushi/​maki rolls, and desserts. We tried their Fried Shrimp with Potato, which were large-​sized shrimp, covered with thinly-​stringed potatoes, deep-​fried, and comes with a Thousand Island-​esque dipping sauce — very crispy and yummy!!! For the entrees, I am a fan of their combos, as you get a nice sampling of two dishes (from their list of selections; it is short and limited, so I do wish they offer more of a variety!). Both the hubs and I had the Curry Rice and the Pork Katsu combination; all of your entrees come with a complimentary house salad with ginger dressing and a little cup of steamed egg, topped with finely-​chopped imitation crab. The combo meal comes with a perfectly-​fried donkatsu (very crispy and cooked perfectly), with a tangy thick donkatsu sauce, dahkkwang (yellow pickled radish), sliced cabbage with a thick creamy mayo sauce (YUM!), and some kimchi (do not be afraid in asking for more kimchi, as it’s complimentary! It is perfectly ripened and delicious!). The curry rice was also delicious — the sauce was a little thin, but still savory, and filled with large chunks of perfectly-​cooked carrots, potatoes, and Asian pumpkin. You also receive a cup of their yummy miso soup, filled with small cubes of tofu. At the end of your meal, you get a choice of a mini bottle of yogurt or a vanilla ice cream cone (which are of generous size!). I only wished they had other ice cream flavor options (such as green tea or sweet red bean). Service is very friendly and sweet, and they’re pretty efficient, even though the place is usually packed to the brim.
+Korean-​Japanese fare
+Fried Shrimp with Potato appetizer: D
+katsu combos: D
+complimentary kimchi: D
+friendly staff: D
+plenty of free parking!

Service can be shifty and inconsistent but I come here for the food. You get generous portions for decent prices. I’ve tried most of their appetizers and they’re all pretty good. I love the katsu and mini udong combos. The katsu is perfectly fried crispy but tender and juicy on the inside. The dipping sauce is good and overall better katsu than most places around. They also give complimentary mini desserts or coffee at the end of every meal which is a «sweet» ending to the dining experience! You always leave full and satisfied. I will definitely venture out and try different things on the menu.

3.5
We’ve been wanting to try a place with udon since our trip to Japan. This place was ok. Most of our group got a combo with udon and a protein. The pork cutlet was pretty tasty and I liked it with both the dipping sauce and with the salad and dressing. The udon was also ok for me. I wouldn’t necessarily seek it out again. I thought the price was fair for the amount of food.
Was a little disappointed in the service — it was two guys who were quick to greet but then after that you had to grab them for anything. The table settings were also really haphazard. Does it matter? I guess not but it shows the level of care for the restaurant. Also they ran out of ice cream.

We happened to be in the area and thought of this place for dinner. Recalling our positive experience years ago we never gave it a second thought. We ordered pork katsu and somehow we felt that our order wasn’t freshly cooked, It tasted hard and dry like it had been sitting out under a warmer for awhile. Dry inside. It was like chewing on cardboard.
In short I think quality has gone down.

**Food = 3.5 stars, the boost of .5 is for friendly service!**
My friend finally took me to one of his favorite spots in Annandale after having to cancel the first two times. I really wanted to like this place, but it just didn’t leave an impression on me. Entrees are affordable and food seemed standard, some type of katsu with rice, meat with rice, or udon noodles.
We came here on a weekday for dinner, I ordered the pork katsu & udon noodle platter and my friend ordered the sashimi bibim. The menu items are budget friendly and you even get free ice cream after your meal! I would like to come back and try the sashimi bibim, which looked really appetizing and to give this place another shot. Other than that, there’s not much else pulling me back here.

I love their combinations. You can pick and pair up two dishes. Today I got the pork katsu with the morisoba. The pork was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Whenever I order pork katsu at other places, I find that there’s too much batter and not enough pork, but I never had a problem with Miso.
My sister always gets the soft shell crab and mini udon and all I have to say about that is… DELICIOUS!
The complimentary vanilla ice cream is he perfect little dessert at the end too.

I was craving some ramen on a rainy afternoon and decided to give Miso a chance to satisfy my needs, unfortunately I was greatly disappointed.
The ramen just wasn’t very good, all I tasted was salt, the overall flavor was seriously lacking. The noodles were bland and dry. The pork was there meaning a decent portion size but left a lot to be desired in the flavor department as well. The entire bowl just didn’t pack any punch as I might as well have slurped down a bowl of salt water for all it did to satisfy my tastes.
While the ramen was bad, there are some pluses to Miso, the staff is very friendly and helpful. They more than met my needs. I also am a big fan of the «free» ice cream you receive at the end of your meal. It picked my spirits up a little after the disappointing meal.
Miso has a host of other options besides ramen so perhaps I will give them a chance in the future to sway me in other ways but the ramen is a never again.