Sushi Taro

DC is full of neighborhood gem type sushi restaurants, but none stand out in the Dupont Circle area quite like Sushi Taro.

Well, not in the physical sense, at least. The restaurant can barely be seen by pedestrians on the street, its sign dwarfed by the CVS pharmacy that makes up the majority of the building it shares. With a short walk up a flight of stairs, however, and you’re transported to a landing of dark wood floors, dim lighting, and a sense of the extraordinary, leaving the world DC below.

Sushi Taro is unique in more than a few ways, including their Kaiseki tasting menu and the ability to personalize your a la carte menu.  The Kaiseki tasting menu gives you an opportunity to meet the chef, who will be your sea sherpa through a multi course meal prepared through traditional Japanese techniques.  It’s an excellent opportunity to really explore textures and tastes at the hands of a stranger, but definitely an option for only those who can go into a meal with an open mind and an open-er-er palette.

The ability to readily add or change your a la carte sushi is also a bit of a novelty, with options including adding raw quail egg yolks, tempura batter bits, spicy mayo, or having your roll turned inside out.  It’s the little touches that make a restaurant unique and the willingness to appease patrons does not go unnoticed.

To start, I ordered the seaweed salad, which didn’t arrive at my table quite like I had expected, which is not to be taken as a bad thing.  If you’ve ordered a seaweed salad before, you probably have a small bowl of green seaweed in mind, served in a mildly sweet dressing with sesame seeds.  Not quite the case here.  A large bowl of two fresh seaweeds arrived, served with sliced radish and lettuce, and easily enough for two.  It’s a very simple dish, but utterly refreshing on a hot summer day.  I’m sure you could ask your waitress for the Nemo special and have some clownfish sushi scattered throughout, but let’s save ruining your children’s childhood for another day.

The urchin* sea snail umami was by and large my favorite order here.  Served rather unexpectedly still in the shell, the preparation and freshness of the urchin made for soft rather than chewy morsels.  This isn’t going to be a big hit with everybody, but if you’re doing yourself a disservice by passing on this dish.

For my main course, I asked for the chef’s choice sashimi  dish- a wide assortment of raw sealife, from octopus, tuna, scallop, and shrimp, to some more unidentifiable but equally delicious meats on my plate.  The presentation is top notch, and once again, I was floored by the freshness of the fish.

Sushi Taro may not win the people’s choice of the best sushi restaurant in DC, but it certainly deserves a distinction of being one of the better establishments in the District.  The service was excellent, with rarely a moment passing that I did not have my drink refilled, or another dish arriving at the table.  The recent renovations have taken Sushi Taro much more upscale, and you can always pick up a movie at the Blockbuster downstairs after your meal (which is still somehow in business at the time of writing).  Best of all?  The entire meal is 100% paleo.

Recommended For:

• Fishicianados
• Paleoheads
• Pescatarians
• First Dates

Not Recommended For:

• PETA Monthly Meetings
• Pounding Sakebombs
• Committing Seppuku
• Texture phobes

* I could have sworn it was urchin on the menu, but a reader informed me that these were actually sea snails.