May Island

What a surprising find … Doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the dishes are not only great … They look like works of art. Will be back!

It took me a while to build up the courage to find out what was behind the odd façade of this restaurant nestled in net to the 7 – 11. Once I looked it up, it took even longer to get my wife to agree to give it a try. Now I’d say we order take out or eat in once every couple weeks or so. It’s pretty good and not bad for the money. It must be decent because we choose to pick up from here rather than get delivery from other Chinese options in the area. Plus, it’s the closest sushi to the house. The people that work here are great too. Always nice and pleasant.

shockingly, Amazing !!! it is, what it is!!! great Fresh Fish…

Don’t let the outside fool you! It’s a small place next to a convenience store, looks old and unnoticeable. However, it’s a cute, nice and clean little restaurant with friendly people and good sushi.
*Gyoza — fried dumplings were very good here. Not too oily and not too soggy. Had a little crisp to it on the outside and great seasoning.
*Miso/​Salad — this came with our sushi order. The typical works.
*Rolls/​Nigiri — we ordered a variety of rolls and nigiri. I must say, it was actually on point. You eat it as is, without the need to use any extra soy sauce. Fresh and tasty!
We look forward to coming back.

Came back here for lunch today :) Ordered the Sushi Sashimi Platter. The miso soup was NOT watered down this time, it tasted great! The salad was fantastic, it comes with miso ginger dressing. The Sashmi slices of fish were fresh and good cuts, the spicy tuna roll was decent, and the nigiri sushi were also decent. I say decent because I’m not a huge fan of tuna, it generally lacks in flavor, but it was fresh and I still devoured everything.
My coworker ordered the any 3 rolls lunch special, and they allowed her to pick an eel roll that isn’t on the «lunch special menu». Great job for being flexible +1 for service.
All 3 of us enjoyed our meal here and have added this spot into our lunch rotation :) 4.5 star this time around!

Loved it. Excellent food with very pretty presentation. Yummy vanilla fried ice cream & really nice and attentive staff :) I’ll be back!

Really fresh sushi presented on beautiful wooden boats, sign me up any day!!!
Loved the food and service. The Sakura and Hot Dragon rolls are phenomenal! A must go spot.

It’s an odd location sitting right next to a gas station, but the sushi is actually pretty good. I would give it a 3.5 stars overall. There are definitely better places in Alexandria but the sushi is fresh and not badly priced. Definitely worth stopping by if you can ignore the ambiance.

The food was good. Not great but good enough. Average about sums it up.

Dined here last night with my boyfriend and we both left very happy! I drive past May Island on my way to and from work and wanted to stop by after reading positive reviews. The place is small (maybe 8 – 10 tables) but the food and service were amazing! I ordered a house green salad, shrimp tempura roll with cream cheese, and the Godzilla roll. He ordered the tri color threat which had tuna, salmon, yellow tail, a spicy roll, miso soup, and a house green salad. The presentation, food, and service all exceeded my expectations. We will definitely be back in the near future!

Bonsai! No, really, we got a sweet little bonsai tree garnishing the plate… Oh and the coolest butterfly-​radish and carved duck made from a carrot.
As someone clinically diagnosed having a «sushi-​tapeworm», I’ve had my fair share of sushi… And May Island is now right up there for freshness and taste.
Some sushi joints try to wow you with décor and such, May Island let’s the sushi speak for itself.
Only a few tables but also has a sushi bar. Parking is shared with a 7 – 11.
A phoned in order picked up their «fried oysters» and I’m totally trying that next time.

fat slabs of sashimi? this is officially my go-​to spot for Japanese.
don’t come here. I’m going to #eatallthefood

It was GREAT until I found an identifiable bug in my chicken fried rice. It was covered in oil so it obviously did not come from my home.
That’s all.

Went to May Island a few days ago, even though its small and next to a 7 – 11, don’t be fooled, this place knows its sushi.
My friend and I are avid sushi consumers. We decided to order 2 Scallion Yellowtail sushi rolls and the Sushi/​Sashimi Combo which came with 9 pieces of sashimi and (fatty white tuna, tuna and yellowtail) and a Godzilla Fusion Roll. The presentation of the sushi was amazing! Since we were sharing, all the rolls came out on a huge sushi boat, decorated with pickled ginger, wasabi, a carrot dragon, fanned out cucumbers and fresh orchids. Not only was the presentation on point, but the sushi was so fresh and delicious! The fatty white tuna melted in my mouth and the sashimi was so fresh, you can taste the quality. The scallion yellowtail had that perfect crunch and the scallions did not over power the yellowtail. The Godzilla fusion roll essentially is a spicy tuna roll on steriods! It has avocado, spicy tuna, fried and had the right amount of sauce drizzled over it. DELICIOUS!
The service here was great and everyone working was really nice. The décor of the place was inviting and gave me a nice atmospheric feeling once I walked in. They also provide take out which is a great option to get sushi on the go. Prices were very reasonable for the quality of sushi that I was getting.
I’ve now found a sushi place close to my house and will come back here again!!!

Awesome! This place surprised me. I will defiantly come back again

Secret spot for sushi! Good quality ingredients and great service. Definitely try the Godzilla Roll. Pretty good prices for what you get as well. Looks strange from the outside, especially because it’s next to a gas station, but very clean and nice on the inside.

This place is so cute on the inside with great service. It’s located next to a 7 – 11. I got the bento box which was a great deal with soup, the seafood salad, and 2 rolls. Im really glad i found my new sushi place!

Mr Chen has been serving my wife and I sushi for about 4 months now. What started as a diversionary tactic to avoid driving to DC turned into finding May Island– a small Chinese/​Japanese spot in Shirlington right next to a 7 – 11. The building is understated, the parking lot is small, and no– it’s not in a town center. But what lies inside is GREAT.
May island is family run and the staff is super helpful & friendly. We always go between 5−8PM and never have to wait for a table to open up. Mr Chen (Sushi chef) is a man of few words, but always welcomes patrons with a smile.
The sushi & sashimi are always fresh and well-​made. Though all of the sushi and sashimi have been yummy, our favorites are the Salmon Lover and the May Island Hako Sushi. The Salmon Lover includes salmon several ways (including sashimi) and the Hako is a unique pressed style that I’ve not had anywhere else in the DMV area. May Island’s sashimi is served warmer than other restaurants, but I appreciate the different texture it brings about in the fish. You’ll also note with each sushi order is a carved carrot figure. Mr Chen apparently puts a lot of love into his craft as the figurines get more and more complex with each visit. Our last one was a bird in a tree!
Beer selection is good, but sake selection is better. For beers, the Echigo is a great choice. Snow Beauty is a great sake choice for all of the sashimi.
Parking is limited in the lot, but street parking is available on the left side of the restaurant.
Short of going to New York, LA, or Boston– May Island has become our go-​to Sushi spot. If you’re in the area, give it a try!

Ambience: 1.5
Food: 1.5
Service: 2
Cost/​Performance Ratio: 2
Overall: 1.5
Short version: slippery floor, warm sashimi, spotty service and unforgettably bad food.
By a popular vote, dinner theme for last night (Wednesday) was Japanese. After seeing their 4-​star rating on 72 reviews, we (a party of 3) decided to give it a chance. That was mistake no. 1.
The interior: a combination of bar stools, tables, and booth made this place look fitting for a fast-​food grab-​and-​go place in SE DC instead of straight off the mansions on Quaker Ln. Coupled with bad weather, the grease on the tile floor provided extra balancing fitness exercise at no additional cost.
The exterior: Next to 7 – 11. Parking could be tough. But you can get some beer to drink to forget your dining experience easily.
Food: for $ 17, you can get the sushi deluxe (8 pieces of assorted sushi and spicy tuna roll). Price may not seem high for the area but wait until you get:
(a) a miso soup that lacks the taste of … miso! Often I find in Japanese restaurant that the miso soup is over seasoned with miso and salt. But this is the first experience in DC that I don’t taste much of miso in my soup. At the very least, put in some salt for sub.
(b) No one asked to put our orders together… But here comes a big boat of food where everyone’s sushi’s are all mushed together with pieces of carrot dragon made from a mold.
© Onto the sushi itself. Surprise! Every single piece of fish tasted warm, that is, warmer than room temperature. New fusion? Me think not. It rather tasted unfresh. Mackerel was chewy. The only thing in that deluxe I found marginally okay was the few small pieces of spicy tuna. The number one rule of good sushi is using good rice and fresh ingredients. I have commented for fish. As for the rice, they are easily detachable without any external force. Soon, my shoyu tray became a sea of rice refugees.
(d) And please do yourself a favor and do NOT order the sushi special called «Nobu». They tried to aim for a crunchy taste but stick to the name «No, boo!» Just not successful and possibly a date breaker…
(e) Gyoza ($ 5): I won’t blame if they purchase these frozen packages from grocery store. At least pick a better brand.
The bottom line is: I probably should’ve stayed away from this place when I saw no authentic Chinese entrees from a Chinese owned «Japanese Chinese restaurant». If you are looking for a quick takeout, this could be a hole in the wall place. But certainly not worth driving 20 minutes based on some of these other reviews.
Service: You will be fine not expecting it.
Alas, I rest my disappointment and round up the 1.5 star for not giving me a food poisoning.
Best of luck to you.

Okay so I was skeptical at first because it’s next to a 711 in a hole in the wall property… But I haven’t been disappointed yet; yes they may do some of their rolls different, but always having it the same way is lame!
I love their spicy crunch rolls (tuna, salmon and yellowtail are all bomb!!) I’ve had the unagi (eel) and I thought it was a little to sweet for my liking (others may have a different opinion). –And my go-​to Alaskan roll was made with cream cheese (a big no-​no for me) but it hasn’t discouraged me for trying other menu items!
I will continue to order from here because it’s not only convenient, the service is great and the rolls are delicious! Give them a chance (especially their lunch prices), I guarantee you will make this your new sushi stop!