Simply Ayzen

First of all, «Teehee, it’s spelled Ayzen».
Secondly, I go to this place pretty often, but it’s to get my Sushi roll fix. Their Sushi rolls always seem to hit the spot and they’re very decently priced.
The rest of the food I don’t care about and it’s actually kind of weird to see all these different cuisines on one menu — it makes me distrust the restaurant. This touting of «Asian Cuisine» gives me the same feeling as when I see a restaurant that specializes in «Latin American Cuisine».
What does either one even mean?

I definitely didn’t expect this place to be as good as it was. We came during a thunderstorm, around 1 on a Saturday and the restaurant was completely empty.
The complementary salad bar was nice and fresh. I also had the Thai Spicy Salad and a Mexican Roll. I really love spicy foods, and these dishes hit the spot. I can’t wait to go back.

My rating is probably closer to a 3.5
I ordered the tom yum gai, spicy crunchy tuna roll, roti canai, thai ice tea, and 4 pieces of salmon nigiri. Everything was delicious and satisfying. It wasn’t the very best I have ever had, but it was above average and I would go here again.

Simply Ayzen is one of those all-​encompassing East/​Southeast Asian restaurants with a little of this and a little of that. The only thing I’ve had here, though, is their sushi. And their free salad bar. It’s a tiny salad bar, but you can make your own Asian-​inspired salad as you like it.
Their sushi is good — not the biggest pieces ever — but their fish tastes fresh and is at room temperature. Their spicy crunchy (pick one) tuna/​salmon/​shrimp/​yellow tail rolls are so good. The spicy sauce doesn’t over power the fish and the roll has a nice crunch due to the panko inside. The specialty rolls are enormous but I’ve never had them since the most adventurous roll I’ll get is the spicy crunchy ones (I like to taste fish and not all of the other stuff). Sadly, I think I saw a «For Sale» sign up last night (they are still open though), so I wonder if they’ll be closing soon…(sad face)

I have had good luck with their Sushi here and so that bit I’m okay with. The Thai dishes I have had from their menu were not very good, but my real problem was with ordering spring rolls. My spring rolls came out and I took a bite only to find that both were completely frozen in the middle. Not cold, frozen. About a minute after I sent them back, the same spring rolls came back to me, clearly having just been popped in the microwave. If I wanted frozen microwave food, I would have just stayed home.

$ 1 sushi happy hr makes this worth it.

This restaraunt is inconsistant with food quality. Service is ok but the place is just a little dirty for my liking.

Bottom line: the service was terrible. We had a surly waitress with whom we tried to interact — to no avail. The pad thai was fine — not sterling. Ditto the green tea. Finally, we couldn’t carry on a conversation because the manager kept bumping into my friend as he adjusted wires and plants right next to her (and the restaurant was virtually empty — couldn’t he have waited?). Am not usually this feisty but, honestly, will probably not be back to give them a second chance. Finally: What’s with the name? Don’t get it. O.K., now I AM being surly.

I enjoyed the atmosphere. Modern lighting and furniture with a hint of Japanese accent.
What impressed me was their green tea. Theirs tasted like a real green tea. I was impressed with that. Most Asian restaurants serve hot water with green tea flavor.
Servers were very friendly.
I had Miso Ramen. It was not the best. I’ve had far superior ramen in Japan. Still, it was good enough for someone who is deprived of ramen for a long time.
I will definitely go back there to try different dishes. At least, they did green tea correctly. I am sure that I can find other dishes that are cooked well. Until then, my rating is 3.5

Simply Amazing should be the name of this place. It’s nice, quiet, and has great Japanese food. The sushi is amazing. Great place to grab lunch or even dinner. Highly recommended for American University students in the area.

The food was actually good.
I came after work and I hit the happy hour special. Beers were like $ 2.50!
I ordered the steamed dumplings and they were nice. It wasnt doughy at all and the filling was very flavorful.
I had the lo mein for my entrée and it was tasty unlike some of the other places in the area.
Service was great even though it seemed there was only one waitress working the entire joint. She kept asking to get more drinks to take advantage of the happy hour. I thought it was hilarious.
I’m definitely going back to try the other items on the menu.

I really wanted to fall in love with this place despite the cheesy spelling of its name. It is, after all, a locally owned, eclectic Asian restaurant with excellent atmosphere and very good service.
Unfortunately, the microscopic portions completely undo everything else that is wonderful about this place. I do love that they offer a complimentary, Japanese-​style salad bar with everyone’s meal (complete with tofu and a nice variety of different vegetables). The prices would be very reasonable if they gave you more food.
I still really hope this place succeeds, though hopefully they will realize that they will get more return customers if they weren’t so stingy with the food (even if it meant charging a couple dollars more per entrée). This is a nice place, after all.

What kind of Asian restaurant has a salad bar?!! Of course, it’s only in D.C., where the people think Thai food is Chinese and Korean kimbop is Japanese sushi. Enough Americans are already ignorant about Asian culture, having a salad bar and spelling Asian as Ayzen just reinforces it.
Aside from the salad bar, this restaurant was mediocre. It’s definitely NOT worth the trip to Tenleytown considering the large selection of Asian restaurants in the district.

Great service. Outstanding sushi chef. Exceptional happy hour deals (530−730pm EVERY day $ 1 sushi).
Have been going their since they opened. Followed the sushi chef from Yosaku located just a few blocks away. My fiancé and I come in 2 – 3 times a month.
Must try — simply roll, tuna avocado salad, spicy crunchy tuna or shrimp rolls, and horse mackerel and super white tuna when they are available.

We ordered delivery. We both ordered Thai food dishes. (Pad see eu, tom kum gee, excuse my spelling) They were just ok. Nothing to write home about. They got to my house in about an hour, as they stated over the phone. But the food was just ok. only ok. Not very flavorful at all.
I wouldn’t go back, unless I ordered non-​thai food. Because, I do believe in second chances.

I’ve had the food from Simply Ayzen 3 times so far and I have never been disappointed. I’m not from DC but I usually eat here whenever I visit the area which is a couple times a year. I plan on going back to eat there next time i visit– I really want to try the sea bass an the duck. I personally always like seeing what dishes other people ordered and enjoyed so I found a menu online and listed what we ordered below:
3 people (1^st time)
vietnamise spring roll (AMAZING)
Tom Yum Chicken Soup
Green Papaya Salad
Thai Spicy Salad
red curry (with chicken)
Chicken Ramen
dessert: green tea crème brûlée (AMAZING!!! i would highly reccomend this if you like the taste of green tea or green tea ice cream)
this was way too much food for 3 people but we decided to order whatever we wanted to try and take home the left overs. The soups and the 2 salads are great if you like spicy food. You can probably ask the chef to make them milder if you dont like things too spicy. The desserts are amazing!!! I’ve never tried anything like the green tea crème brûlée and wish more places served it!
3 people (2^nd time)
Red Curry (with Chicken)
Bangkok Panang Salmon (AMAZING!!)
Pad Thai (with Chicken)
dragon roll
some other sushi roll (raw fish). i think it was tuna
I went with my friends from georgetown this time– its only about a 10 minute drive from campus. Both of them really enjoyed the food and plan on going back during the school year. Regarding the Pad Thai, there must have been something wrong with the dish Jean-​Pierre had because when we ordered the pad thai (with chicken) it was the first dish we finished. I’ve been to a lot of authentic Thai restaurants in california and this pad thai was actually much better or at the very least comparable.
Take Out:
sweet & sour soup
Pineapple fried rice (really really good)
link to menu that i used:

This is a very good casual pan-​Asian restaurant. It has Chinese, Japanese, and Thai influenced options, among others. The food is not, strictly speaking, authentic Chinese, Japanese, or Thai, but virtually nothing you’ll find in the US is anyway. Instead, it’s inspired by those cuisines. So, for example, the spices will be much milder, which is typical for the American version of the dishes. It’s healthy, well prepared, and the quantities are generous.
The best dishes are Japanese. The owner also owns Yosaku and Tono Sushi, two well-​established Japanese restaurants, and the raw fish he has is the best in the city at its price point. (Other than at Makoto, which costs literally twice as much and the closed Japan Inn, it is the best in the city.) They occasionally have specials such as ankimo and clam.
There also are some dishes you might not think would be good, which turn out to be quite tasty. The rice with duck and pineapple is an example.
The service is attentive and friendly.
It’d be a great place for an easygoing first date or a large group. It’s a neighborhood joint.

This is a pretty decent place.
While you may recognize all the dishes, they are not the same old dishes. These folks seem to add a freshness and flavor to something as routine as General Tao’s Chicken.
Add to that reasonable prices, flavorful food, and realistic portions that don’t make you roll your big ass out stinking of guilt from overindulgence, and you have a local winner!
Only caveat, they will try to up-​sell you on sushi and appetizers, so be prepared to say either yes, or no!

Although my husband and I live in the Tenleytown neighborhood, we had overlooked this restaurant until recently. Not anymore! We now have a standing date every week at this restaurant.
While the façade may be unassuming, the food is out of this world: fresh, flavorful and authentic Thai, Japanese and Chinese options. So delicious… I recommend the seared tuna, the unagi roll, and the green tea crème brûlée. There is a fairly extensive wine list and several beer options.

I never had a chance to dine at Jandara Restaurant but sitting down at its successor, Simply Ayzen, is pretty much eating at the same place. The renovations were so recent that you can still see paint splotches on the couches. Although the owner and the menu may have changed, the staff remains the same.
Since opening on February 7, 2008, Simply Ayzen offers a pan-​Asian menu with dishes from Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan. But I suspect most of the dishes are still the same as before. The only real exception is Simply Ayzen’s addition of a sushi bar.
I wouldn’t call the food authentic but I nonetheless found the meal rather pleasant. The portions were filling but not too large or hearty. I’m blown away with its six lunch combinations for $ 10. Lunch Set #4 included a vegetable tom yum soup, a chicken pad thai, and Vietnamese spring roll — all of which was very good. The dishes were light as opposed to being ladled in thick sauces. Again, the portions were very generous without being overwhelming. For $ 10, is such a great bargain for a sit-​down menu that I’m willing to overlook a few pieces of overcooked (dry) chicken.
However, I don’t recommend the sushi bar. The prices are relatively high compared to the quality of the ingredients used. I ordered a Florida Maki, which included tuna and avocado, because these two ingredients make great barometers to evaluate whether its worthwhile to order more expensive pieces of fish (although these two ingredients, when combined together, makes up a rather bland maki). The tuna was edible but not very fresh. The fish was more brown than pink and more elastic than firm.
The avocado tells you how often they prepare the vegetables (California rolls being the most popular sushi requires a lot of avocados) and therefore, a slightly discolored piece tells you that the avocado is old. The tuna is a cheaper cut of meat but it tells you everything you need to know about the quality of all the seafood behind the counter as well as the sushi chef’s skills.
I would also not recommend desserts. Upon asking for recommendations, my waitress suggested either the mango sorbet or the mochi ice cream. It raises questions why she didn’t recommend any of its homemade desserts like the coconut custard or the taro roti. In any case, I’m glad she admitted that they used store bought mochi ice cream.
3 Stars — A good restaurant worthy of a second visit (and a second opinion). Excellent for business lunches during the week.
By the way, «Ayzen»? Who spells «Asian» like that?