Ariake - Fairfax

Overall: 5/5

Food: 5/5 - I came here with a friend and we got the toro power roll, ariake roll, florida roll, and the toro nigiri as well as the salmon belly nigiri and they were all delicious! The toro nigiri was listed as market price and we later found out that the one costed $8 but agreed that the toro nigiri tasted the best. The toro power roll and florida roll were also very delicious! The fish tastes very fresh, creamy and the slices are nicely cut ! I would definitely come back even with the higher pricepoint. The ariake was standard taste and would probably not get again.

Value - 4/5 - Although some of the rolls were a bit more highly priced, we both thought that the taste of the rolls justified the price.

Service - 5/5 - Kind server even though the restaurant was busy and packed. We were seated at the bar and the sushi chefs were nice and it was neat seeing them make the rolls. The wait time was a bit long to get our rolls/order and to get a table but that is expected because we came on a friday night and the taste was worth the wait !

I would definitely come back and recommend ! I think the specialty rolls here are what makes this place stand out and I am excited to come back and try new items.

Ariake is the best sushi restaurant I've ever been to! I've been here over 20 times in the last few years and every time the sushi is fresh and super high quality while at a reasonable price. I've been to plenty of fancy sushi places in DC but Ariake beats them all in terms of quality and price. I've taken basically everyone I know here and everyone leaves loving it.

Highly recommend the fatty salmon, fatty tuna, and fatty yellowtail nigiri, they give thick cuts of fish and the fatty tuna literally melts in your mouth. For rolls, the toro power roll and deluxe ariake roll are my favorites and both are so delicious.

Service is always fantastic, and the manager is super friendly. They can get busy, especially on weekends, but the sushi chefs are preparing everything fresh to order. Even on weekdays they can get pretty busy which speaks to the quality of food here.

We came to Ariake off of a friends suggestion that they had great food. We came on a weekday night and the parking was packed.

We were served a miso soup and a salad that's typical of Japanese restaurants. I got the tekadon bowl. Our group's food came almost at once and the food was fresh and delicious. Since it was my birthday, they also were nice to give us a scoop of ice cream with a candle on top.

The price is a bit steep and parking can be challenging. However I do recommend trying out this place.

I will admit I was skeptical when I drove by this location. I mean it is in an old Pizza Hut and visualizing it as a sushi spot was hard. It took realizing there was another in Reston and visiting it with a co-worker on her recommendation that resulted in hubby and I giving it a try. Needless to say I wish we had tried it earlier.

We arrived in the later hours but it was still packed and resulted in us taking sushi bar seats for which I am thankful. Seeing the chefs in action was an added bonus and one we recommend. We got some staple items & tried some that were new or different from past experiences. We will definitely be back and next time I will try to remember to take pictures before we dive in.

We came to Ariaks off of a friends suggestion that they had a great omakase and that was definitely true to the letter. We came on a Saturday night and while the place was packed we were able to be seated pretty quickly for a party of 2. We knew we wanted the omakase so ordered that plus the o-toro hand roll.

We were served a miso soup and a salad that's typical of Japanese restaurants. Nothing too crazy here but a good start to the night. The service was super attentive and while we didn't feel like the wait was too long, they kept coming over to apologize for the delay. They even gave us a complimentary edamame and shishito pepper. Both dishes were pretty good as we were waiting for the omakase.

When the omakase came, it came all at once and each piece was as fresh as the last. The even gave us a free piece of Uni for the wait as well. We heard they get their fish imported fresh from Japan every Friday so Saturdays fish was as fresh as it gets. The only knock some people have is that typical omakases are served piece by piece however it comes out all at once at Ariake. We didn't mind it at all and will probably choose this place over other similar priced places in the city.

10/10 food.
We had a fairly big party of eight and I called ahead of time to make a reservation and they placed us at a table in the front of the restaurant. I told him we had a child who needed a highchair. We were all almost seated down, and then the host decided we needed to move due to safety. It's a small thing but I did reserve a table and I mentioned the highchair so I thought maybe a bit more pre-planing could've been done on their part.
Anyway, once we were all settled, everything was fine. I took a risk and brought all of my sushi lover friends here for the first time, and they loved it.
It is a tad expensive but would come back for a special occasion.

my all time favorite sushi place!! i love both the reston and fairfax location (more fairfax bc i'm local). it was my first time ordering non-sushi items at ariake, and i really enjoyed the fried oyster's the most.

we ordered: katsu curry (pork), fried oysters, 6 salmon nigiri, 2 toro (fatty tuna), 4 yellowtail, 2 of the salmon maki roll (6pcs), maine uni nigiri

the nigiri was very outstanding. always has great thick cuts and tastes super fresh. i didn't enjoy the toro nor the uni this time, in all honesty. the premium is better for a reason, a lot sweeter than the maine one. i only got the toro because they ran out of the fatty salmon :(( hopefully next time i come back there's enough to order!

i don't usually get rolls.. we ordered the maki thinking it was the hand roll like temaki. but nonetheless. it was still delicious !!

the fried oysters were AMAZING. it was piping hot, crunchy on the outside, and soft on on the inside :)) the lemon is a great addition to it. the dark sauce that came with it was a bit too salty for my liking but it still balanced out the natural bitterness of the oyster !!

the katsu curry was a teensy but disappointing but, ariake specializes in sushi so i can't blame them. i was expecting a bit of boiled veggies in the curry like potatoes, carrots, onions, but it was a little plain. the flavor was addicting though, and we finished the whole plate :)

service was 5/5! quick and often came by to check in on my table. surprisingly, the restaurant wasn't too busy on a friday night. it was peaceful and made our meal taste 10x better :3

Sooooo...I was recently discussing Ariake with some friends and while we all agree that Ariake is a quality sushi / Japanese cuisine spot, they disagree on the overall rating. Their opinion was on the 3 star scale, while I deem it worthy of an overall 4 star rating.

And surprisingly, one of their points of contention (if you will) is that Ariake is not an "authentic" Japanese restaurant. "You know, James...this place is Korean owned, so how good can it be?"

Hmmm...that is an odd reason to "ding" a place since my rebuke to them was, "Well, while that may be true, do you think that the majority of cooking occurring at XYZ (famous well regarded French Restaurant in DC) is being done by 'French cooks' in the kitchen???" I can 100% guarantee, it is not. And for that matter, in many of the Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, etc. kitchens, the food preparation/cooking is being done with chefs not native to those cuisines. So in the end, we had to agree to disagree.

Ariake occupies a building that was formerly a Pizza Hut - as evidenced by the telltale hallmarks of slanted multi-level "hat like" roof on the exterior and high ceilinged cavernous interior dining room. But other than these architectural hold-overs, the interior space is very modern with faux marble table tops, a mix of wooden seating, tile and hardwood flooring, and abundant pendant and recessed lighting choices.

My party of four ordered several dishes so as to obtain a wide sampling of flavors. I won't really comment on the miso soup and house salad with ginger dressing, except to say they were forgettable. But the two sushi rolls the table ordered were quite good. Fresh tasting LARGE pieces of salmon and tuna were lightly seasoned with a spicy marinade, and wrapped in not too soggy sushi rice. Unlike at many sushi restaurants, the fish was not chopped up into a mushy paste (which places sometimes do to mask the flavor of fish that is not fresh), which really allows the quality of fish to be evident to the diner.

As for the mains, of late, I've been ordering ramen at sushi joints; and I was especially intrigued since the special of the night was a Truffle Tonkatsu flavor. The broth was hearty, rich, and had a discernable but not overpowering truffle flavor which enhances, as opposed to overpowered the dish. The pieces of char siu pork were tender and again unlike at many places, a good cut and portion size. The noodles were nice and chewy, and the pieces of seasoned nori provided briney flavor notes. The only detraction was the Ajitsuke Tamago or Ajitama. It was waaay too overcooked, since for ramen, this style of egg should be soft-boiled to the point where it's runny when you break it open. But I can live with it.

I tried some of the other dishes, and I thought they were solid. Both the chicken teriyaki and the beef in the bento dinner box, had excellent grilled flavor. The teriyaki sauce was a tad sweeter than I usually like, but my friend and his wife seemed to enjoy the dish. If I hadn't gotten the ramen, I would've definitely ordered the bento dinner box. It had such a nice assortment of dishes, from a California roll, meatballs, grilled beef, and crisply fried shrimp tempura. Honestly, for $29 I think the dinner bento is a good value relative to the portion size and quality.

I've been back to Ariake a few times since my initial visit, and can see this being 2-3/month dining spot. I've found the service to be attentive and most importantly, does not detract from the overall experience.

Regardless of who's preparing the food, Ariake is a four star place to me!

Sushi was great! Very tasty and fresh. Good variety too. Place is very spacious and busy, but the food comes out really quick. Would definitely come back.

Place was very busy during Friday night dinner. Sat at the bar for food and drinks. Karage and sushi were good. Service was good. But would definitely have to wait 30/40 mins for table during busy hours. Overall ok. Would recommend to try once.