Hikaru Sushi

How I heard of this place: My friend and fellow sushi-​lover, Seraj, had purchased a Groupon and invited a bunch of us to enjoy the value with him.
Type of cuisine: From a la carte sushi, to miso soup and seaweed salad, from edamame, gyoza and shumai, to yakitori, oshitashi and takosu, from bento boxes to teriyaki, noodle soup and sauteed noodles, yaki meshi and tempura, Hikaru has something for everyone.
Ambiance: Patio seating on the sidewalk, minimal seating indoors, with our party of eight taking up one-​third of the establishment, we were warmly welcomed and squished into our seats near the partition separating the front door from the dining area. A sushi bar directly ahead of the entryway houses three sushi chefs, while several young, healthy, Japanese men offer us beverages, menus and assistance with our orders. The yellow-​colored walls sometimes look orange in the light, large, hollowed out, dried bamboo asymmetrically cover the bottom half of the floor-​to-​ceiling windows along the front of the establishment, and red, oblong, paper lanterns hang from the tops. We are seated on black, wooden chairs set against pink-​toned granite-​topped tables, with table settings (including a napkin, upside-​down dipping bowl and chopsticks laid askew) enough for our party.
What I ordered: Eight of us selected an array of options from which to sample the ample a la carte menu. From the maki sushi (hand rolls) we chose the California Roll ($ 4.75) with crabstick, avocado and cucumber and the Crispy Spicy Tuna Roll ($ 6.75) with spicy tuna, cucumber, tempura flakes, topped roe. From the maki sushi specials, we selected one Crunchy Roll ($ 6.95) made with eel, cucumber, avocado, topped with tempura flakes, two Caterpillar Rolls ($ 8.50 each) with barbeque eel, cucumber, roe and avocado atop, one Dynamite Roll ($ 10.95) with spicy yellow tail, avocado, topped with tempura flakes, one Rainbow Roll ($ 10.95), the inside of which contained crabstick, cucumber and tuna, the outside layered with salon and red snapper, one Crispy Fire Roll ($ 11.50) with crab meat, avocado and spicy tuna, topped with tempura flakes, one Maryland Roll ($ 11.50) deep fried with crab meat and shrimp seasoning with old bay, one Red Bull Roll ($ 11.50), shrimp tempura topped with spicy tuna, one Salmon River Roll ($ 11.50), grilled salmon, tempura flakes, hot sauce, eel sauce and avocado, topped with a thin slice of bright, ripe mango, one Pink Panther Roll ($ 10.95), fresh crab meat, shrimp and avocado, with salmon laid atop, one Spider Roll ($ 11.50), deep fried soft shell crab with scallions, topped with mini roe, and two Dragon Rolls ($ 14.95 each), shrimp tempura and barbeque eel, avocado and mini roe on top.
What I loved: It’s hard to select a favorite, after having had so many maki! I was most intrigued and pleasantly surprised by the Salmon River Roll and the mango on top.
Why I loved it: Quick service, freshly prepared food and very friendly and happy staff made for a great evening out with friends.
Cost: Average to high ($ 3.50 — $ 14.95 per hand roll, cut into 6 or 8 pieces)

So I don’t know what happened since the last time I went but we had a very odd dining experience. Even though it’s on the menu, they did not have ANY beer! I couldn’t quite follow the explanation but it was something like…“it’s getting cold out… we’re going with only sake and wine… you want sake not beer”. ??? When we tried to order some appetizers they also didn’t have any calamari or edamame — pretty standard staples I think.
What it really seems like is that the end is near for this restaurant and they are selling off all their stock before shuttering the place.
I got the Bento and was unimpressed (180 out from previous experience). The chicken terriyaki was tough as rubber and the salmon in my salmon roll was not the freshest — blegh. The rest of the party got sushi rolls and they didn’t have anything bad to say about it.
The Garden Roll is still one of my faves — stop by just for one of those while you still can…

We had a boatload of sushi, literally, a boat displaying our 6 rolls. It was busy on sunday night, with families and couples. Staff was friendly– refilling water and ice tea. While not speedy, we expected a bit of a wait when you order a bunch of rolls. We did have to order miso soup and salad as rolls were a la carte.
Note: This faces on Clarendon, not Wilson! It’s where they come together at Veitch street. It is next to Verizon and down a block rom Rays the Steaks.

I really enjoyed it. I got the bento box with beef, avocado rolls, and swine dumplings and they were great. Service was excellent, and prices were also in line with expectations. Tables are a bit close to each other, but they’ll space you out if they have the room.

Decided to try a local spot and see what we thought, based on previous reviews it seemed the biggest concern was potentially slow service, which we avoided by doing carry-​out. Initially I was encouraged by the slightly lower prices but alas this was not a decent trade-​off. Ordered chirashi (which is one of our standbys) and two types of rolls (spicy scallop and a nama roll — which at a whopping $ 11 — while 8 pieces was unremarkable).
The chirashi portion was smaller which is ok given the price is $ 17 compared to a usual of $ 20 but it was a lunch portion which I’ve gotten elsewhere for $ 13. It included NO white tuna and no pickled vegetables. Some of the fish looked a little dry (an earlier reviewer mentioned they’d seen pre-​sliced pieces of sashimi, which may be the reason) The seasoned rice was not very well seasoned and in general this was one of the saddest chirashis I’ve ever seen. Very disappointing.
My spicy scallop roll was ok, too many tempura flakes, rice seemed a little stale (not as moist as I’d expect). The nama roll was spicy white tuna w/​mango and I felt like I got suckered into novelty because while it sounded good the execution was lacking. There were 8 pieces but it was hardly worth the $ 11 price tag.
While it wasn’t a horrible meal there were a collection of criticisms I have that will send me elsewhere the next time I feel like sushi (Endo in Clarendon, Tachibana in McLean, Yama in Vienna are all standbys for us).

Service varies depending on how busy they are. Sushi is sub-​par. I guess it’s easily accessible so people kind of just settle for it. However, I’ve had better. We all got the miso soup and it was just funky. It wasn’t bad –but it was weird. I’ve never had a sweet miso soup. I kept asking my friends if theirs were off as well and they agreed.
One of my friends ordered an appetizer and he got his right away. Then we all just waited 30 minutes for our meal. My 2 friends ordered a variety of rolls. I got the sashimi chef special. 4 of the 5 rolls came first. And we had no idea which was which. We also didn’t know which of the rolls we were still missing. The waitress was lost herself and couldn’t tell us how long it’d take to get the missing roll. Awesome. The rolls were nothing to write home about. Filling didn’t have much flavor .
My sashimi chef special came towards the end of my friends finishing their meal. It was only a few pieces and very small. For almost $ 25 I felt a bit ripped off. I asked for rice and I didn’t see her till the end.
In all, service was a 3. The waitress when she did come around was super nice – but it would have been nice to see her more often. I ended up paying close to $ 40 once you figure in soup, drinks and tip. Not worth it. I’ve had better, and I never had to flag down a waitress. I have a car, so I won’t be coming back here anytime soon.

I got a great deal on a Groupon for Hikaru, so my husband and I went there earlier this week.
Firstly, if you’re driving — keep an eye out for the parking garage almost directly across the street, because street parking can be difficult to find in this part of Ballston/​Arlington.
The food was pretty good. We both ordered miso soup, which was very well done. My husband ordered a seaweed salad that we both enjoyed, and some sort of hot noodle dish that he liked but I only found so-​so. I got a small selection of sushi.
The biggest issue I had with this place was that the service was sloooow. While they were fairly busy, I was surprised by how long it took our food to arrive, especially considering they brought the soup out immediately and the salad out before the soup was done. All told, I think it was about half an hour between the time we finished our soups and when our entrees arrived, which is just… too long for me. Then, they brought half of my sushi without giving us any indication of when the rest could be expected — which was another five minutes, at least, and only showed up after I pulled our waitress aside to ask about it.
So: good enough food, poor location, and somewhat indifferent service. If I lived closer, it might be worth going again, but as it stands right now, I don’t think I’ll be back unless I’m in the area and hungry (but not TOO hungry) for another reason.

This is probably the best bang for buck sushi that you can get in an easily metro-​accessible area.
The spicy tuna roll melts in your mouth and for $ 5 it’s totally worth it.
I don’t recommend going when the restaurant is packed as service gets slower then.

I came here with a Groupon I bought on my phone (they accept phone-​based Groupon deals. It was $ 15 for $ 30 of food).
So to start, finding this place is a chore considering the address shows up wrong on Google Maps. It is listed as being on Wilson Boulevard (2200 to be exact), however, «technically» it is not on Wilson, it is on Clarendon. The building itself is addressed 2200 Wilson, but Hikaru Sushi is on the Clarendon side of this block-​sized building. Put this into Google Maps (on your phone if you are walking around) to see the exact location: 38.890 633, –77.86 111.
The food, I would rate it at 5 stars, no doubt. We got the sushi boat, which came with soup. Sushi was super fresh and super delicious. Rice was good. Miso soup was great.
Service I would rate as a 3. It was hard to get a waitress to serve the table, whether to refill the tea, remove empty bowls, or even deliver the check! Let me note it was a Thursday night at 6:30PM, and the place was not packed at all — maybe 40% full (including the 2 – 3 outdoor tables). Of course as the place became a bit more populated, service declined.
Value I would rate as a 3. The Sushi Boat was $ 38.50, and it had maybe 10 pieces of sushi, and maybe 20 pieces of sashimi. At $ 38.50 I would have felt like I got a bad deal considering some of the piece shapes were smaller than I would expect, not to mention the fact that imitation crab meat was one of the sushi pieces, so I was happy to get it for $ 23.50 (considering the Groupon). Just so you know, if it was priced at $ 35 – 36, I would have given it a value of 3.5, $ 33 – 35 I would put the value at a 4, if it was priced at $ 30 – 33, a 4.5. Anything under $ 30 would warrant a 5.
Décor I would rate a 3.5 to a 4. I felt like I was at a hole in the wall, frankly, like a side street deli. I mean everything was clean and I was pleased with my visit, but I have been to better sushi joints which have left me impressed with the décor. Seating is limited so I wouldn’t plan on a big group. There is limited outdoor seating if you like that sort of thing.
Overall it was an «ok» visit. If the service was better I would give it a 3.5 overall, but I just was not pleased in that regard. I know better of better joints that offer a better value in the area. Going back? Probably not since I have my preferred restaurants.

I come here regularly for the maki roll lunch special… for $ 7.50 (+tax), you get miso soup and two kinds of maki rolls (one veggie, one fish). There’s something off about whatever sauce they use for their ‘spicy’ rolls, so I avoid it, but otherwise, the sushi is pretty decent given the price.
Around Arlington, it’s not a bad deal, and service is always quick — 10 minutes in-​and-​out for take out. Dining-​in can can be fast or slow, depending on the day, but for lunch, come early — there aren’t a whole lot of tables, so it gets crowded quickly come high Noon…

We felt a little rushed to order through the whole process, cuz we came in real close to closing time. However, once we had placed the order, we were left in peace with some REAL good food!
Highly recommend the vegetable udon bowl. a BIG bowl of yummy goodness! Warm and hearty, it was perfect for the chilly weather today! :) The noodles were perfectly cooked, the veggies were awesome, the the funky chilli pepper powder that came with it. da bomb!
We ordered 3 rolls —
Virginia Roll — Not a fan :(The deep frying of a sushi roll is not my thing. But then, the menu clearly specified it was deep fried, so I got what I asked for!
Salmon River roll — my FAV! Loved the mango flavor on it and the Salmon was SUPER fresh!
Crispy Fire roll — The Tempura flakes on top were red color! Loved it! The cran tasted yummmyyy!!!
According to my Asian friend, the smaller and dingier the asian place, the better food is likely to be! :p Hiraku was by no means small and dingy, BUT I loved how they felt SO authentic. their kitchen and sushi bar especially.
I will be back for some sashimi next time :)

I love that Hikaru often has instant deals on living social, and I was excited to snag one for lunch recently. The service was very attentive and I was excited to try out some interesting roll combinations but the fish tasted a little «off», as if it had been sitting out too long. I really wanted to like my lunch because I love sushi, but would have been really disappointed if I hadn’t had a deal.
I went back for dinner this weekend because I had a Groupon that was going to expire (I’m a discount fiend), and ordered five basic rolls (salmon, spicy tuna, scallop, eel and yellowtail) all of which I added avocado to. This time the rolls were amazingly fresh and delicious — perhaps the best sushi I’ve had in Virginia. My date isn’t too big on sushi and ordered a beef bento box with a cali roll. We also ordered the fried tofu which I wouldn’t recommend because it was far too soft and fell apart all over the table. I’m definitely going to make a third trip to Hikaru to see which impression is more accurate — and I sure hope it’s the latter :)

Went here about a month ago on a non spectacular Wednesday night. This place was nothing special but works for a «convenience» dinner if you’re in the area.
My roomie and I shared the crispy spicy tuna roll (not great), baked volcano roll (weird, not like the usual baked volcano rolls. why? oh yeah because it wasn’t actually baked), and the decent rolls were the clarendon roll and the dc roll. if you had to try one roll, try the dc roll, its got shrimp, avocado, cream cheese, flakes, crabmeat, and wasabiko. pretty good but pricey at $ 11.50.
as for the ambiance, again, nothing spectacular. i was more entertained with my roomate eating sushi with a fork than anything else around me.
this place is not bad, but its not great either. if you’re in the area, asahi in courthouse is a little better.

Maybe it was an off night but my sushi partner and I found it to be rather ‘meh’ all around.
The soft shell crab app was overcooked and completely dried out.
The Escolar sashimi was a bit discolored. Did not finish it.
The rolls were ‘meh’

Went here on a Groupon deal last night. Best sushi in the Arlington-​Falls Church-​Alexandria area, no question.
Started with the seaweed salad — big, good, fresh. Had four different kinds of tuna, as well as eel, mackerel and a couple of others (all sushi) and three or four different rolls. Tuna was melt-​in-​your-​mouth good; the others were very, very good as well. Rolls were huge, delicious and creative.
We are fans and we’ll be back!

Giving a solid 4 stars to this place…
I had a groupon and I went here with my wife last night. The first time we went here my wife and I were turned away because they were too busy so I got here early this time and waited for my wife to get off work (played games on my Ipad). I felt the miso soup offered to us before the meal was pretty damn good. The service was above average because the place was busy with a lot of people who had groupons. I didn’t like the tables being so close together, we had an annoying couple next to us who kept on staring at my wife and I and are food. Also, before their meal they got out their calculator and started adding up prices of a la carte sushi to go just «slightly» above their $ 50 groupon. Maybe they were idiots?
We had the Sushi party platter and my wife had a glass of red wine. I just had water because I was thirsty after just working out at the gym for 2+ hours. The sushi was fantastic, and I’m glad I bought that second groupon. I will be going back, next time I’ll ask for more room in between our table. They bropught us out Marukawa gum as a post meal palate cleanser which was fantastic. If I wouldn’t have had the Groupon, I would have to say their prices would have been a bit high.
A good but not great sushi addition to the DMV area…

I got a Groupon for this place and gave it a try. My husband and I ordered a a soft shell crab for appetizer, sashimi deluxe, one seafood sobe, and a special roll that I can’t recall the name right now.
The food was good. The sashimi pieces were big and tasted fresh. There were only 2 servers and they had a full house. The service for us was a bit slow, but I felt like they were doing the best that they could. The sobe broth was especially well-​seasoned.
We’ll definitely visit them again if we’re in the area.

I had a Specialicious deal so we decided try it out this past Saturday. It’s a small place and we missed it at first, but it’s got a decent feel to it and is decorated slightly above fast-​food level. The greeting we received was very friendly. We got seated right away and the server was extremely efficient and very polite. I guess we lucked out that we went there for lunch and not during some evening rush.
Now, on to the food. Don’t worry, we tried a lot for you guys.
SEAWEED SALAD — Good. Same as anywhere else. I don’t think you can mess this one up.
EDAMAME — Steamed well and with the perfect amount of salt. Beware, they give you a huge portion.
BEEF KUSHIYAKI — Meh. The meat was tender, but it was kind of bland even though there was sauce all over it. Skip this app.
Then the sushi:
FRESH CRAB ROLL — I’m from Murlind, so I expected fresh, flavorful crab. That’s not what I got. Yes, it was real crab, but it just wasn’t really flavorful and didn’t look appetizing. It looked gray.
EEL NIGIRI — As good as any I’ve had.
SALMON ROE — Got this because they were out of sea urchin :(It was good, but we wanted some uni!
SOFT SHELL CRAB ROLL — Good flavor and nice and crunchy. They definitely used good crab in this one.
CLAM — Good.
So, there you have it. Great service, just OK sushi. If you’re in the area and want sushi, stop on in, but this is definitely not a «destination» restaurant. At least I got to browse through the little flea market across the street afterwards.

I am SO disappointed after going here last night. The food was good… definitely not the best sushi I’ve had, but I’d eat their food again. We came here because we had bought a Groupon and I was excited to try out a new place.
The low rating is based on the service we had. We were seated immediately upon arriving and after we inquired about an outdoor table we were told one would open up in 15 minutes or so. The hostess insisted that we order our food first then we would be moved outside and wouldn’t have to wait for our food as long if we did it that way. Within a few minutes we were moved outside; however, after being outside we had to continually come back inside for drinks and the server never came to check on us. We waited well over an hour for our food to come (watching people finish and leave who had come after us), only to have them bring us some of the wrong rolls. If it weren’t for the fact that it was nice out and we were enjoying some beers and each others company we wouldn’t have waited that long.
Overall…the food was decent. I’ve had better sushi, but also much worse. The service was HORRIBLE. They only ended up charging us for 2 beers of the many we sat and drank; however, it was not worth the experience.

Poor planning after the The Town showed that most of the dining establishments surrounding the theatres had already shut down for the night. We ducked in here 15 minutes before close and they were happy to accommodate us for the half-​hour we took for a quick bite. There was a bit of a language barrier with the waitress when Tom asked for his usual green tea over ice, which is the nicer way of saying that she wasn’t sure if she should agree to the request or not. I found the warm version pleasant enough. The remaining staff were discreetly wrapping up for the night, glancing over occasionally from The Apprentice on the small telly to make sure we had everything we needed.
We split an order of vegetable tempura and a sushi regular, both of which came out in good time since we were the only customers there. Miso soup was typical fare, a bit on the grittier side. Sushi was cut nicely to average size and assembled on good rice. Tempura was very filling since each bite was rather oily. The Marukawa gum offered to us as a post-​meal palate cleanser was a nice touch, and took me back to my childhood. I vastly prefer strawberry over the orange and grape handed to us, but beggars can’t be choosers! Service was friendly but I can’t see making it my go-​to sushi joint under any circumstance with so many more impressionable places to choose from in the vicinity.