Aji-Nippon Restaurant

Love this place. Food is great, the people who work there (I believe they own the place) are super nice! Great for carry out because they are really fast!

I would say, it is not bad for a sushi place in bethesda. We had a lunch box and the nabeyaki udon. The lunch box was a good price for a lot of food. The udon was fine, but too salty for me. I like my broth lighter. Lots of tempura came with the udon instead of just one shrimp which seems to be the norm. The sushi was fine too but nothing amazing. We both felt a little sick afterwards but nothing terrible happened.

This is a no-​frills, solid option for sushi in Bethesda. If you want fresh, high quality sushi, Aji will fulfill your needs. I have tried a variety of their nigiri and sashimi, special rolls, and their nabeyaki udon. Also, one time we accidentally ordered the baked green mussels (don’t ask how it happened) but those were also very good.
I worked in a sushi restaurant for over 5 years so I know good sushi when I see it. This is a small family-​owned and operated restaurant literally run by a couple and their son. Very nice people, great service, and great food. It’s more traditional than trendy, but if I had a choice between here and Raku (also in downtown Bethesda), I’d come here almost every time.

This is my favorite restaurant in Bethesda. The food is delicious, well-​priced, and the owners are extremely nice. In a town full of chain restaurants with little character, this restaurant is a breath of fresh air! I enjoy eating in, but it seems that most get take-​out. No need for reservations, there is usually plenty of room.

There are nine other sushi spots in the downtown Bethesda area, and their strongest edge is in friendly service and tea; on fish quality and location, they aren’t quite able to compete. A little warm inside after dark, but we stopped in with just enough time left to dine in. Miso soup was okay, but the salad was pretty wilted on the bottom. Japanese chirashi is a little limited for the price: less than a centimeter layer of rice under five sushi types and a twirl of seaweed salad. Salmon was freshest, and the subtly sweet tamago was my next favorite. White tuna was okay. Tuna was cut extremely thin, and yellowtail was a little chewy. I guess they no longer include snapper in their chirashi! Spicy Mindy roll showcased an aggressive level of sriracha mayo, so thankfully a slice of cantaloupe was served with our check. I don’t think I’ll be back to try their Korean chirashi.

There’s an old saying that a rotten apple spoils the whole barrel which best explains my experience with this restaurant… So disappointed with one dish that I would not want to visit again.
Everything was nice or not bad except for its «Ramen.» Such a disappointment. Especially when it costs $ 10 per bowl… Though it didn’t taste bad, but I felt deceived…
Full review with more photos and information:

I tried this place to see if I could find another sushi place I really liked in Bethesda. Well, I tried a variety of rolls and while it’s ok, this isn’t going to be my go-​to place. Sigh.

Our next door neighbors recommended. Have seen this place for years but never went in. My take out order was fast and was some of the best sushi/​sashimi I have ever had anywhere. Fresh and good portions.

Serene, small space with framed prints on the walls. Very nice service.
As usual, Kirin and chirashi. Miso soup was standard, a bit salty. Salad was mostly iceberg, but I tasted toasted sesame oil in the dressing, and it did not have the usual cloying sweetness and ginger overlaod.
Best surimai ever — there wasn’t any!
Tomago properly sweet and firm. I wonder if anyone but Jiro gets that little caramelized edge I saw in the PBS show.
Rice correct in flavor and temperature.
The only vegetable was a healthy dollop of shredded seaweed salad.
Snapper, white tuna, yellow tail, salmon, tuna all excellent in texture and flavor. Very good portions, especially at a reasonable $ 17.95.
The house made green tea ice cream was better than Häagen-​Dazs.
Five stars for excellence of fish, despite my quibbles on the accompaniments.
On Sundays, the church bells drive Betheelzebub, the parking demon, back into its lair. Otherwise, see the photo of the sign on the front door for the location of validated parking. Also, it’s a short walk to the Elm Street municipal garage.

Someone dear to us brought us to this place for the first time, so it holds a special place in my heart. That lady and friend lived in Japan for a while and told us the food was good. And she’s right! Their miso and salad dressing are delicious. We usually take their dinner box which includes a little bit of everything. Perfect! The ice cream is pretty good too. Very cheap and delicious, a good address. Location easy to miss though since it’s squashed between two other buildings.

Excellent sushi in a relaxing environment. I have been coming here for years and it never disappoints. The sukiyaki, prepared fresh at your table, is also delicious. Attentive, quick service. Good desserts: including ice cream in flavors such as green tea, red bean and ginger. I have ordered several sushi party platters here and been told by guests it was the best sushi ever.

Aww this place deserves more stars. Come on people… I’m giving them 5 stars. I would’ve said 4.5, but I’m gonna give them the boost because their sushi is fresh (authentic with that little dot of wasabi under the sashimi), their service is welcoming, and their prices are super affordable… it’s not flashy, that is the only thing… but this is one of those times where you don’t need all the fuss because they have that cute mom’n’pop feel. This was seriously a neighborhood gem that I cannot believe I didn’t find the past two and a half years, until today… three days before moving. Please pass the word on, because I bet people just don’t know about it. It’s diagonal across from Euro Motor Cars and tiny… find it and enjoy!

Best Sushi in Bethesda!
Not to mention the tastiest ginger salad dressing, ever.
While we generally pick it up as take out, every few weeks we dine in and always receive very attentive and kind service.

Yuzu tea! Hot water, sweet syrup, little bits of yuzu (a citrus fruit) peel in the bottom and a spoon to eat this with … never had this anywhere else. I’m sure it’s not everyone’s ‘cup of,’ and literally it isn’t that at all (tea, that is), but it sure is mine! Vegetarian bento box, respectful staff, the décor seems to be undergoing some kind of construction, with writing on the walls that makes me think something such as a picture will be put up there — but I have no idea if this is true. The food came surprisingly quickly, was pretty and filling, and it was easy to peruse the menu, order, be served, eat, pay and leave within the one-​hour limit for free validated parking in the hidden garage at the corner of the adjoining lot. Incidentally, when the garage is filled to capacity you can still get in with free valet parking.
For dessert, I asked if they had mochi ice cream and yes, they did. Mochi is a pounded, very sticky rice yumminess and the ice cream comes wrapped in it. It’s served on a plate with a stick to be stuck through the rice-​layer and inner frozen treat. It’s easy to eat, not messy and not too big or filling.
The only thing to know, as far as I’m concerned, is if you want something Japanese drink-​wise you might have to ask for it a couple of times. Otherwise you’ll only be offered boring American stuff like sodas which to me is a big turn-​off yuck. But it only takes seconds of persistence to break through that barrier, much like the mochi ice cream!
And … if you’ve never had edamame (soybeans served here in salted skins), don’t eat the outer layer. It’s kinda tough.
Oh, yeah. And they close between three and five weekdays, much like almost every single authentic and truly Japanese restaurant in the area will.
I guess other than the strangeness of the literal writing on the walls, the only reason I give it a four and not five star rating is I felt a bit lonely in there, dining all alone. I’d rather see at least another customer! I know it’s not because they’re not popular, but I just happened to hit a slow time. Please, come in and keep me company!

Cute and reminds us of NY. Like Gary said, it’s old school. In a good way.
Sushi is very good, but I have a couple problems. $ 10 special roll I got wasn’t much bigger than regular $ 5 hand roll. It was more intricate, and delicious, but give me some more bang for my buck here. Also, only shrimp tempura roll on the menu is a special roll. Where’s the plain $ 5 shrimp tempura roll?
Maybe best sushi in town tho.

My boss took me to lunch here, and it was overall quite good. I really liked the dressing on their salad. The edamame was salted, which I didn’t like. The aged tofu was really good and was my favorite dish. It’s amazing how they fry the tofu so that it’s a thin, perfect layer of crispy on the outside but very soft on the inside. My udon entrée was okay, nothing special.
You don’t have to pay for parking at the garage next door if you bring your parking receipt to the restaurant.

This place is old school, but the sushi is TOP NOTCH.
By old school, I mean it isn’t trendy. It’s not hip, doesn’t have dimmed lights and cool music pumping through the speaker system.
But the sushi cannot be beat, and the folks who work there take real pride in their food and service.
Also great for carryout.
Next time Raku tells you that you have to wait 30 mins, skip it. Just walk the few blocks to Aji Nippon. Trust me. I don’t like many things about Bethesda, but this place is good stuff.
Go Bulls.

To be honest, I don’t know why my mother and I ended up here when we could tell just by looking at the outside that it may not be a favorite. But we were sick of driving around on a Saturday looking for a restaurant that we wanted to try — Ren’s Ramen that ended up being closed. And then driving around some more looking for parking. We drove by this so many times that we thought why not give it a try — might be fate.
We sat down and ordered cha soba (green tea soba) in soup, seaweed salad, age tofu and some maki rolls. The food wasn’t bad, yet wasn’t worth returning. Everything seemed standard and a tad overpriced for the quality of the food. The service was pretty good and efficient but it didn’t do anything for me. I’ll continue my search for more great Japanese joints in the area.

A co-​worker and I visited this charming little spot for a Japanese lunch, after discovering (and not having done the research to realize) that Ren’s Ramen is closed on Mondays.
There was actually a decent crowd seated in the small dining area — several booths on the right and tables on the left. The lighting is dim and there is minimal décor but there is still a cozy feeling about the place. A single server quickly attended to the dining room and immediately seated us in the far booth.
Upon entering, we noted the specials board and my co-​worker took full advantage by ordering the spicy pork rice bowl (
). Wanting something more, I opted for the shrimp tempura bento box (
). Both of our selections came with miso soup and a salad with a gingery dressing.
My bento box was filled with crab shumai, california roll and the shrimp and vegetable tempura. It was tasty enough but if we’re doing a price/​quantity comparison to the bento boxes up the street at Raku, it doesn’t seem like it’s enough for the cost. My lunch companion seemed pretty satisfied with his lunch choice, however so it really kind of varies dish to dish.
Would I return? Possibly. But it is far from the top of my list for Japanese in Bethesda.

While trying to go to Ren’s Ramen last night, I discovered that they close at 7. To make up for it, I decided to try Aji-​Nippon. I used to live a couple blocks away and would pass it every single day on my way to the metro, yet I never stopped in.
The restaurant, like Juliana C. said, is very small and cozy. There aren’t that many tables and is in fact only one waitress. She was very friendly and attentive.
I ended up getting a bento style box for my main course which featured marinated steak with onions, a california roll (not very impressive), shrimp dumplings (excellent) and started with a miso soup and salad. Overall, I wasn’t all that impressed with the steak, however, the salad, soup, and dumpings made up for it. If I were to go back here, I would stick to sushi, and only sushi. That was my mistake. I didn’t have a chance to read through the Unilocal reviews before I ordered.
Regardless, this place is very homey, however, I have had better Japanese meals closer to my apartment. It is unlikely that I would go out of my way to come here, but if you stick to sushi, I think you’ll be alright.