Kotobuki

In a city with few to no hidden gems, Kotobuki is a great local’s sushi joint. Hidden in an attic above Makoto, they get the same quality and selection fish as their much more expensive sister restaurant below. If you are looking for a no frills, just about the food sushi restaurant this is the place for you. The one thing that Kotobuki has that other pure play sushi restaurants don’t is their Kamameshi. Kamameshi is kind of like a Japanese version of clay pot rice or Korean stone bowl. Its delicious on its own, but also very helpful if someone in your party doesn’t really do the raw fish thing.
Kotobuki is small, but given that it is pretty far from any metro or public transport does not usually have a very long wait, if any.

This place is a gem! very cosy environment, authentic sushi, reasonable price and very good quality! it deserves the 5-​star

Came back after 4 years and I am reminded why I stopped coming here. The fish is very bland and taste like it’s been frozen for a few weeks. Please see my photo of sashimi deluxe, quite disappointing. Ordered uni which they don’t have. This place is way over-​hyped. Oh and the place isn’t clean, found hair in the side dish. If you want to eat real sushi (sashimi not California rolls or spicy tuna rolls) don’t Waste your time and money here.

Still my favorite place for Chirashi bowls in the DMV area. I love how fresh their fish is, how fatty their tuna is, and how amazing their mackerel is. It’s all well-​prepared and their miso doesn’t feel artificial like it normally would elsewhere. Tiny space but I dig the vibe.

Never had a bad experience here. It’s small, but they’re super efficient, and the food’s excellent.

I was very impressed with the sushi. They don’t have signature rolls but very fresh fish. It’s a small restaurant, like 5 tables. Don’t expect a nice fine dine in. Perfect for week night dinner and sitting at the bar. Service was good.

Kotobuki was delicious and speedy, but the effort required to make it all the way over to their location and the curt service and tiny space made it a less than optimally comfortable experience.
I had the Sushi Deluxe lunch, which was eight pieces and one roll, served with miso soup. Everything was delicious. The yellowtail was a little underflavored, but still very fresh. Service was very fast which was fortunate because there were several people hovering waiting for seats. The salmon was so good that I ordered an additional two pieces. Sometimes it’s really interesting to order off the regular menu to compare the size/​quality to the lunch special fish, and this proved interesting here — the portion size was the same, but the salmon was a bit fresher when not in the special.
The space is really tiny — my legs were really cramped and uncomfortable the whole time I was there, but they definitely turn their tables quickly and are making the most possible of the space they have.
For the amount of time that it took to grab a bus out here, I’d probably just go to Sushi Taro instead.

Their spicy tuna roll and soft shell crab roll are UNREAL! The staff is very nice, and the prices are great.

No frills sushi by Makoto’s crew. I love the spicy rolls because they gain their heat from dry spices and not spicy mayo. I order them without scallions (they come with by default) because I feel the scallions overpower the taste of the fish, which is very fresh here. My favorite is the spicy scallop roll. The uni and tako are both great here. The clam miso soup is my favorite thing to start with. The kushiyaki is worth ordering too. I also find that for the high grade of the fish the prices are very reasonable. I always pig it here and when the bill comes, I am pleasantly surprised.
Service is friendly. I recommend choosing a time to come here very strategically because the restaurant is rather small, and there are long waits at peak times.

Dinner at Kotobuki was an absolute treat! After wandering around DC all day, we wanted to settle down somewhere comfortable and tasty. Fortunately, their small space was heightened by friendly service and comfortable atmosphere.
I ordered the unagi clay pot teishoku, which came with different sides (including slices of sashimi). The unagi was quite tasty, although it was nearly cooked into the hot clay pot itself. Some of the pieces were difficult to remove, but combined with the fragrant rice, it was a great meal. The sashimi was good as well, and I was slowly tempted to order some more pieces of sushi to compliment the entire meal.
The real kicker here was overhearing this pretentious White guy talking to his Asian female friend about people of color in America, and being an unreasonable bigot when she tried defending her points. It was hard not to judge some of these folks that live and work in DC huh!
Overall, service was friendly and attentive, food was great, and you’ll be sure to get a show from some of these patrons that stop on by.

Had their Chirashi bowl and the sushi. They were all fresh and yummy. Small restaurant, like many other sushi restaurants; therefore, if you don’t want to wait, come during non-​peak hours.

Excellent! Best sushi in DMV and especially for the price. Cute small and tucked away, you might have to wait for a seat but it’s worth it. Highly recommend the white tuna, the chirashi bowl is a perfect sampler. Green tea Mochi was a delicious ending!

I dropped by yesterday based on the reviews. Honestly, one of the worst sushis that I had in a while. I ordered 6 piece of nigiri Uni sushis along a plate full of other items, and flounder and fatty tuna sashimis. When it came served, I saw only three pieces of Uni and waitress said that they were the last three. What was just simply unacceptable, was the fact the sea urchins were just bits and crumbs, left overs, there was not even a single piece of a whole uni in the three sushi pieces. If they are charging $ 4.25 or $ 4.75 per piece, they should not be serving the bits and pieces of sea urchins that were just scraps. I should have rejected but don’t bothered hoping for at least flavor. Not the freshest thing I have tasted, obviously they were remnants of once a fresh UNI.
The only rescuable pieces were the Cho Toro, or fatty tuna sashimi that we ordered. But, the sushis were underwhelming, tiny pieces of fish on all nigiri sushi. The rice was just mushy. You can tell by the rice whether they know what they are doing. It appears that there are many apprentice sushi chefs.
The rolls (salmon skin, spicy tuna, and yellow tail) nothing impressive. Gen Sushi and Noshi Sushi in Los Angeles know what they are doing. Even my local sushi Passion Fin is far better than this alleged «gem.» Well, judge on your own. Either I was on the wrong day or they are who they are.

This is my favorite sushi place in DC. It’s a casual spot good for a small group. I’d recommend the tempura roll, salmon and cream cheese and standard California roll. (Not very adventurous but its subjective)! The shumai is also excellent. Protip: Street parking is free after 630pm.

Food good service not good. Waitress added mysterious rolls to our order and when it came time to pay we realized we had additional rolls added to our bill. We thought maybe the chef had added a few because they do that sometimes. Then when they charged us for them we were like wtf? They were expensive and everything we had ordered was «normal’ simple rolls. Plus the ones they added my husband was allergic to so I knew we did not order them bc I was the only one who ate them. Again we thought they were on the house because this happens a lot at good sushi places.
Be cautious of what you order and what is served your bill could double! $$$$$$

After visiting Japan, I was really missing fresh fish.
Ordered the deluxe chirashi and the regular eel bento box.
I wasn’t very impressed with the eel bento box because I thought they could have been more generous with the eel portion, especially after the fact that they give you a huge densely packed rice underneath it. I barely made a dent into the rice because there was not enough fish. The side dishes that it came with were nice, but could provided more dishes (Note: I think I just miss kaiseki in Japan too much). It tasted like a very light meal after spending $ 20+ for this entrée.
The chirashi was good. Amazing? Not really. I’m not sure if it was worth paying extra for the deluxe, but it was definitely kept me full. Would I trek back here again? Probably not since Sushi Capitol is closer to me and offers the same, if not better, quality of fish and offers omakase! The interior at Kotobuki is very simple and looked a bit fatigued.
I was also surprised to see the amount of sushi chefs crammed in the back of the sushi bar. They have a decent number of take-​out orders from people in the neighborhood.

I absolutely love this place and have been coming here for years, so I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to write a review. The sushi and sashimi are amazing and melt-​in-​your mouth (highly recommend the mackerel and salmon). The miso soup is one of the tastiest I’ve ever had (ask for refills!). The eel rice is delicious as well.
The restaurant is small and cozy and they play the Beatles here on repeat ²⁴⁄₇ (love it). Definitely check it out if you’re in the area. One of the best Japanese restaurant in DC if you ask me!

I went to Kotobuki for a solo lunch today after doing business at GWU.
I showed right when it opened (noon), and was the first one seated. Sometimes when you walk in right at opening, a restaurant is a bit slow to get rolling, but that was not the case here. They were ready to rumble. Service was great, food was great, and parking was easy.
I ended up getting the sashimi lunch special and seaweed salad. The sashimi tasted fresh and was presented beautifully (It gives me the creeps when sushi restaurants serve food that looks like it has already been chewed. Seaweed salad was predictably good. Price point was about what I expected.
If you are popping in for a nice casual lunch… you won’t be disappointed. I have no reason to suspect that dinner won’t be great as well, though it is worth pointing out that it doesn’t quite have the «date night» ambiance that some would want. It wouldn’t stop me though.

I had been wanting to try this highly touted sushi joint for a while, and this evening seemed like a good time for a road trip into DC. Found parking on Reservoir Road just around the corner, checking the signs carefully.
Small, practically unadorned space on the second floor of a townhouse, about 10 tables and six seats at the bar, at one of which I was immediately seated. No Kirin, so I went for Sapporo and sprang for the Chirashi Deluxe.
Miso soup was full bodied but a bit salty. The chirashi was served in a narrow bowl, stacked high but with no regard to the order in which the fish ought to be eaten. That would be from delicate to robust in flavor (much like tasting wines), and the mackerel (most robust) was on top and I was half way through before uncovering the scallops (most delicate). And what the hell are tomago (over sweetened, no caramelization) and surimai (which I ate only because it was a long trip and I was hungry) doing in a «Deluxe»? Rice was seasoned, albeit mildly, and decorated with salmon roe and slices of pickled shiitake. Good variety of fish, snapper, albacore, yellowtail, salmon, eel, but no octopus or cuttlefish. Quality was very good but not mind blowing. The tab was $ 28 + $ 5 for the beer.
Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I cannot get to the fourth ****. High noise level due to the bare walls, a steady stream of people placing and picking up takeout orders two seats away, no wa (harmony, serenity, balance, tranquility) to the room, and the price/​value. Sushi Capitol charges less for better fish. I think the headline on the City Paper review on the wall said it perfectly: «a bargain at half the price». I may try Makoto (very upscale prix fixe downstairs) some time, but I’ll leave Kotobuki to the maki munching Millennials.

Best sushi I’ve had in the area, by far. Sashimi is so fresh and everything tastes so good.
ordered chirashi deluxe, tako, unagi, uni, a few rolls and an order of dumplings and loved all of it. Will be back when I need my sushi fix

Wonderful sushi! So fresh it melts in your mouth! It is not in the most convenient location for public transportation, and it s very small, so the line can be long. But the freshness of the sushi is well worth it. This is a great low key date spot. This is not a place to go for frills or ambiance. Go for the food. You will not be disappointed.