Crystal Bonsai Sushi in Arlington, VA

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Telephone:	+1 703-553-7723
Website:	crystalbonsaisushi.com
Address:	553 23rd St S, Arlington, VA, 22202 Crystal City
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:	0.4 miCrystal City 0.5 miCrystal City VRE 0.6 miPentagon City
Categories:	Sushi Bars Japanese

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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations	Yes
Delivery	No
Take-out	Yes
Accepts Credit Cards	Yes
Good For	Lunch
Parking	Street
Bike Parking	Yes
Wheelchair Accessible	No
Good for Kids	Yes
Good for Groups	Yes

Attire	Casual
Ambience	Casual
Noise Level	Average
Alcohol	Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating	Yes
Wi-Fi	No
Has TV	Yes
Waiter Service	Yes
Caters	No

Today

Today	11:00 am – 3:00 pm 4:30 pm – 11:00 pm Closed now
Local time (Arlington)	00:31 Friday, 29 November 2024

Business hours

Monday	11:00 am – 3:00 pm 4:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Tuesday	11:00 am – 3:00 pm 4:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Wednesday	11:00 am – 3:00 pm 4:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Thursday	11:00 am – 3:00 pm 4:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Friday	11:00 am – 3:00 pm 4:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Saturday	11:00 am – 3:00 pm 4:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Sunday	11:00 am – 3:00 pm 4:30 pm – 11:00 pm

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20 reviews of Crystal Bonsai Sushi

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Alyssa T.

Place rating: 3
Sykesville, MD

Solidly 3 stars. We ordered the Suzuki roll, spicy tuna, Alaska roll, and the Vegas roll. Overall the sushi was solidly average. The prices were lower than other local sushi options but so was the quality. The service was fantastic. I loved that they give you free miso soup with every order.
Overall, I probably wouldn’t return based on the other local options (pentagon row) but the sushi certainly wasn’t bad! The prices were great for the area. Average sushi. :)

Aaron S.

Place rating: 4
Glastonbury, CT

Here with my son and stopped in for a late dinner. Surprisingly excellent sushi with high fish to rice ratio. Prices are also comparable to high end sushi restaurants although this is definitely not that. $ 8.95 for the best blue fin toro I have had in a long time was a pleasant surprise. No dessert. Service is swift and a bit rushed but not annoyingly so. Restaurant is small, 6 tables and small sushi bar.
Overall this was a good dinner spot but the quality is offset by the high prices. In all fairness, perhaps this is normal for this area as I have not sampled other restaurants. Based on the fresh, tasty fish and nice selection, I would come here again.

Anne R.

Place rating: 4
Silver Spring, MD

I have been here twice as it is conveniently located close to work. I can’t say it’s the best but definitely one of the great sushi places that I’ve been to. The portions are big compared to other places which is a plus. Place is kinda tight though. It might be pricey for others which I think is reasonable due to it’s location. Servers are attentive and are very nice.
Will definitely eat here again especially if I’m having mad sushi cravings and as long as I’m not feeling lazy to cross the street. Lol

Corey G.

Place rating: 5
Pittsburgh, PA

This is one of the best sushi places I have been too. My girlfriend lives on South Arlington Ridge Rd., so this was a very convenient place to go on a Friday night. The service is excellent and the food seems to get to your table within minutes. All of the rolls that I tried were fantastic (I’m a big spicy tuna/salmon fan). They refill your water literally every time you take a sip. All in all, this is a fantastic sushi restaurant and I would highly recommend it to anyone near Crystal City.

Jim S.

Place rating: 1
Henderson, NV

Ouch. The food was mediocre. For example, the egg custard sushi tasted like something prepared in a factory and shipped to the restaurant. The miso soup was freeze dried. Not recommended.

Sonia P.

Place rating: 3
Washington, DC

Food is decent and they have all kind of japanese food. Service was good as well. We ordered the beef teriyaki meal that comes with soup and salad. Their food is huge so it can be share with another person or two. The highlight of this restaurant is that their sushi size is larger then average and of course worth the price :)

Santita N.

Place rating: 4
Centreville, VA

Hey, this place is actually pretty good!
A friend who lives locally suggested that we visit this spot during a late dinner sushi search, and my first impression when walking in: «wow, this place looks old.» So I didn’t have a high expectation going on. But my friend insisted on good sushi. I obliged.
I got my usual: spicy tuna rolls, sushi nigiri, and a spicy tuna hand roll. I dig into the hand roll first, and it was so so so good. The spicy tuna has the perfect blend of spices and mayo, the rice tastes great, and the seaweed tops it all off. The rest of the meal was satisfying too — the rolls and nigiri was much more delicious than I had initially anticipated. They even did the nigiri correctly — with the wasabi in the center!
They do squeeze their rolls a bit hard, so you’ll see the rice squished. Poor poor rice — maybe next time I’ll ask them to not take on such a strong grip when constructing the sushi. The rice is good, but would’ve been great if it weren’t squished!
The service is probably the biggest winner here. They are quick. I mean, Chinese restaurant quick. Food was on our table within minutes of ordering, and they were attentive to our drinks. Our table was cleared timely, and they made sure we got everything that we needed.
Once again, the places looks old — but don’t be fooled. Behind the dark décor, the old tables, and dark hallway that leads to the kitchen, this spot is pretty good. Not perfect, but definitely satisfied my sushi craving for the night!

Sandy b.

Place rating: 4
Scottsdale, AZ

We’ve been here 3x, mainly because of its close proximity. We dine here between noon — 5 on the weekend due to their good deal. The food is fresh, tasty and plentiful. The service is quick. Stopped by a 4^th time and very disappointed that the only waitress there can’t acknowledge her repeat customers, too me that’s important. I think they deserve only 3 stars.

Marie L.

Place rating: 1
New York, NY

The restaurant is clean.
The tuna is tasteless and I WILL NOT recommend my friends to go here. The people in the restaurant are nice but the food is just no worth the money. If you are looking for good sushi, please DO NOT come here. This is my every first time trying tasteless tuna, and I really did not enjoy it. It’s below average. I am disappointed.

Dyonna H.

Place rating: 5
Arlington, VA

Fresh, Fast, great service. Loved it!

Katie W.

Place rating: 2
Arlington, VA

My mom was in town visiting and we decided to get sushi — I really wish we hadn’t.
The service was good — there were multiple waitresses and they were all very nice. I ordered the sushi deluxe (one California roll plus maybe 10 pieces of sushi). The California roll was okay — kind of tasteless but not outright bad.
But the sushi. Oh, the sushi.
Even though there were multiple different kinds, I can’t tell you much about any of them because every roll had SO much wasabi inside that I couldn’t taste anything else. I understand that wasabi is often used to keep the fish in place on top of the rice, but this was way too much.
The worst part about the experience was how I felt later that night and especially the next day — it seems my stomach disliked the sushi even more than my tastebuds.
Even just looking at the menu, almost everything seemed overprice. I love sushi and wish I could report otherwise, but I don’t think I’ll ever be going back.

Maya W.

Place rating: 4
Washington, DC

We stopped in randomly on a Friday night and the place was packed. They have a few outdoor patio tables and a few indoor tables. We sat at the sushi bar which was tucked into the back corner so that we wouldn’t have to wait. The service was quick and efficient, the people waiting for tables we. We arrived were seated shortly after us. We ordered the shrimp dumplings and miso soup as an appetizer. The sushi was fresh and reasonably priced, we had a specialty roll, a tuna roll and a 3^rd roll which was enough to share. This place is definitely a place to keep in your back pocket for days when you want to grab a quick meal and are in the neighborhood.

Ravindran M.

Place rating: 3
Washington, DC

Food– Was average, I had the sushi. sashimi and California rolls platter. It wasnt bad but it wasn’t great either. The price was average too.
Ambience/restaurant style– This is place has good sushi, but i wouldn’t recommend this place as a first preference. The restaurant is located at the strip of restaurants at crystal city and is the only sushi restaurant here, that is the reason why i visited the restaurant because there was no other option. It’s a small place and the sushi isn’t great.
Overall– I wouldn’t go back to this restaurant.

Courtney C.

Place rating: 4
Falls Church, VA

Went for lunch and ordered the sushi and sashimi combo. It came with miso soup, salad, four nigiri, a California roll and 12 pcs of sashimi. The sushi was fresh and were good cuts. The California roll was not the typical crab salad, it had avocado in it too. Would def recommend this place for lunch. Price was reasonable for that much food. The reason for no five stars is because the salad was drenched in a peanut dressing that wasn’t that good.

Hazem E.

Place rating: 2
Alexandria, VA

Great location with rare dedicated parking nearby. It even has some outdoor seating. We were seated immediately but that’s where the positive critique ends. Eating setup came piecemeal and took forever to take our order. Other than that service was good. Food was average at best. Right next to a karaōke bar so if you’re sitting outside don’t expect a romantic sushi dinner. You’ll be dining on mediocre sushi to the pedestrian take of «torn» by Natalie Imbruglia.

Lauryn S.

Place rating: 4
Alexandria, VA

I work nearby this restaurant and have to say it was convenient, the staff was super friendly and the sushi was delicious. Great place, not super pricey and everything was fresh.

Billy E.

Place rating: 3
Arlington, VA

I’m not a huge sushi person, but I thought the food here was ok. I tried a combo lunch meal to have several samples; none of the pieces had much flavor. My coworker who’s tried a lot more sushi than me also said his rolls were just ok. Not a bad place to go, but not very exciting either.

Angelo R.

Place rating: 3
Miami, FL

Was here during my DC visit. We were looking for a quick bite to eat near the hotel. We ran into this sushi joint while walking back and forth along the strip of restaurants on 23^rd st. This place is tiny so keep your eyes open cause you might pass it. The restaurant itself had just about 10 seats inside, narrow but not claustrophobic.
We ordered Dragon Roll and Suzuki Roll. Dragon had good amount of eel, nice and chunky. Suzuki was a little on the gooey side… maybe because of the cream cheese filling & spicy mayo but it was pretty tasty. We just wished they had more descriptions on the menu but the pictures were quite substantial. Overall, it was decent but nothing to jump about. The service was very attentive, swift but polite. Plenty of metered street parking outside.

Cody Y.

Place rating: 4
Haverford, PA

The sushi is a little overpriced for sushi whose quality isn’t on-par with other places around DC, but as a small independent neighborhood sushi place it totally works.
I came for the box combination, which includes Miso soup, a side salad, and your choice of one Teriyaki, Tempura, and Sushi, all for around $ 20-$ 25 per person. I can attest that the Miso Soup was delicious. The sushi was well prepared and stayed together when picked up with chopsticks (a pet-peeve of mine). I thought the sushi was well prepared and tasty, but ultimately not as memorable as other sushi I’ve had in the area. Solid teriyaki and tempura also. Also, be sure to order their Japanese Tea (which I’m pretty sure is just green tea) — for a $ 1 you can drink as much as you want.
Overall, it firmly deserves the four stars, adjusted for location and size. I did not have the unpleasant experience the other reviewers had here, and I plan on going back and sampling some more of their offerings.

Nadine F.

Place rating: 3
McLean, VA

Crystal Bonsai Sushi is pretty much what I expected for sushi in Crystal City. Their early bird special (until 6:30pm on weekdays) is a decent deal. It includes a pretty large miso soup, a light salad, a fish appetizer, and then you choose one item off the sushi menu and one item off the dinner menu.
From the sushi menu, I got tuna rolls and sashimi. The fish wasn’t like what you’d expect at a nicer restaurant, but maybe a step above what you might get from the Whole Foods prepared foods section. From the «dinner» menu, I got the shu mai (dumplings), which I think were the best part of the meal.
The quality of food didn’t blow me away, but it was satisfying, and service was super fast and friendly. I’ll probably be back when I’m craving quick sushi, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

Crystal Bonsai Sushi

Arlington, United States