Saki

This place doesn’t even deserve a star.
The happy hour is great, but this place is racist as hell.
Me, along with about 40 Howard Alum went one week for their Open Bar. When we arrived and the management saw they could make a lot of money off us, the charged each person $ 10 for the open bar. When asked about the sudden change, the door guy said «Oh yeah, we just had a meeting this morning and now we are charging». FOH!
Anyways, after that, the door guy was giving the white people back their money, who had also come for the open bar. Witnessed it with my own two eyes.
It’s since changed management, and probably for the better, but that event left a lasting impression with me.

The food was great. The sushi was super fresh and the cucumber salad was far better than I would have guessed. I was with my mom and her friend and it was my last meal before surgery. We only walked in because apparently North Sea (two doors down) doesn’t have a liquor license.
While the food was great the print on the menu was very small. May sound like a small deal but the place is dark and it was pretty hard to read. The service was attentive but it was our waiter’s first night. He was cool but ya know…

The 1^st time I went to Saki it was by accident. Some friends and I were going to go to Tryst and when we got out of the cab, a guy walked up to us and invited us to a party. It was at Tryst. When we left, he gave us his card and told us that if we wanted to come back the next week, give him a call. He got us in every Friday night with no wait and we always had a good time!
There is a nice mix of people here and you’ll always meet someone new. The music is a nice mix of hip-​hop and pop and the drinks are decently priced. People are always dancing and having a good time and there is a more private section up near the bar.
I’ve never been there for the food, but someday I probably should!

I went for the Unilocal event a while ago and it piqued my interest. I went for my friend’s birthday and we had a great time. We got there for happy hour and picked 2 rolls off the happy hour menu and then a speciality roll. I would suggest the EAST COAST ROLL! Amazing! They torch it and add a wasabi sauce that is just a bit spicy.
We sat at the counter (and yes the stools are wobbly) but we could see them prepare all of the sushi. All of the sushi was prepared well and tasted delicious. Our waitress was also really nice and gave us free shots for my friend’s birthday :)
I will be back!

Besides the broken stool that kept my husband sitting at 2 ft shorter than the rest of the people at the counter; besides the wobbly stool I was left with; besides the server that had to be flagged down after a short while just sitting there trying to figure out what to do; besides finding an open table, sitting down and then being told we needed to move back to the broken stool… the happy hour sushi tasted pretty decent at a pretty decent price. I liked the heaping bowl of edamame topped with flavorful flakes (bonito?) as well.
But I was so put off by the stools and the servers, I doubt I will ever be back again. Please, at least have functional seats.

Because we had quite a bit to drink, and were extremely disappointed by the amount of food that was provided by Saki at the Elite event (
), we decided to hang around upstairs and order a few rolls before heading home for the night. We really liked the atmosphere of the place, and the sushi counter was one of the more appealing ones we’ve seen lately.
The menu here is pretty fantastic, it’s a shame they didn’t show off more of it at the event downstairs. However, the same problem we faced earlier in the night here reared it’s ugly head again, a complete lack of care for customers and an even more unforgiveable lack of food.
Upon sitting down we perused the menu and asked for a couple glasses of water while we made up our minds. We spotted a handful of fantastic sounding, very original rolls, and ordered 3 of them. I was pretty buzzed at the time, so I easily lost track of how long we were sitting there, until Nicole reminded me after 30 minutes of waiting that we still hadn’t even gotten any water. We waited another 15 minutes without seeing our server, or hearing from anyone what the status of our items was. Keep in mind we’re sitting AT the sushi counter where we can see it being made, and none of the rolls we ordered required any sort of cooked items, they were all raw.
So, for the first time that I can recall, we decided to just walk out and find food elsewhere. I’m sorry Saki, but no matter how good your sushi may sound, you aren’t worth an hour wait just to get some food that doesn’t even require cooking. Fortunately in AdMo there’s no shortage of food vendors, and greatness (
) was just around the corner.

Why would you go to Adams Morgan and pay for cover? Why would you go to Adams Morgan and go to a place where they enforce a dress code? Do people think that there is only one bar/​club in Adams Morgan?
For a place thats crowded and for a DJ that suffers from ADD (switching songs every 30 seconds), I really find it hard to believe that my friend’s want to come here a lot of the time. Nothing is more annoying like… Oh I really like this song! *starts dancing because you’re starting to feel the groove*…then they change to another song b/​c they’ve played once round of the chorus.

On the way to meeting up with some friends for dinner, Saki’s happy hour specials caught my eye. $ 3 beers — I think they were Miller Lite, Amstel Light, and Heineken — and ½ price sushi. Since we had half an hour before the agreed meeting time, we stopped in for a quick bite. Most of the rolls were around $ 3.5 and the nigiri were $ 1 per piece. Pretty nifty deal, I thought.
It’s a very cute place, the color scheme is white and black with a very trendy feel. When you walk in you can sit in a lounge area off to the back right or you can head straight for the bar. We opted to sit at the bar where you can see your sushi being made. The service was prompt (they weren’t busy at 6:00pm) and friendly.
We ordered a california roll, a spicy tuna roll, and a yellowtail and scallion roll and a couple of Amstel Lights. The beer was icy cold and delicious, as expected and the sushi was good beyond my expectations. The yellowtail tasted fresh, the california roll was packed with lots of avocado, and the spicy tuna was FABULOUS. I’ve had spicy tuna rolls at a hundred million places (not really, but a lot… you know what I mean), and this was one of the bestest. I feel that a lot of places don’t chop/​ground the tuna finely enough so you get big chunks of tuna, but Saki’s spicy tuna mix was perfect! It was spicy and tuna-​ey and sooooo yummy. We regretted not getting two of the spicy tuna rolls, but it left us wanting more, and that’s always good. I’m so planning on going back for those, and you should come! Tasty tasty!!!

If you like to dance… until you sweat… like a maniac… Saki is a great place to go late night and not get dirty looks for doing the running man in the corner.
This past year or so, Saki’s owners and management changed and the the new owners run a fun and professional business. If you want to buy a table, they offer some extremely reasonable deals and are always friendly and willing to help. The bounce staff is also very professional and on top of things, even though the crowd is usually more intent on having fun… not starting problems.
The crowd is diverse, and well dressed although still semi-​casual. It’s a nice balance for someone that wants to go out in Adams Morgan and not have their shoes stuck to the floor. The music is usually an upbeat mix, with some hip hop and remixed mainstream.
Although I’ve never actually eaten here, many of my friends have and claim that the sushi is pretty solid as well!
The ONLY downside… parking. Unless you’re cabbing or walking, parking is annoying and you will most likely be forced to park in the expensive public garage down the street.

This place mixes a mean drink, and always has a cool vibe.
Definitely worth a visit, and you’ll know immediately if it is the kind of place you want to stay… All depends on your mood.

The food was really good– I recommend the Lasagna roll and the Jalapeño roll. It was delicious. If you order a side of spicy mayo its even better.
The drinks are good and made strong so you get your $$ worth.

Ugh.
I went back to Saki the other night for a friend’s birthday. The music was awful, the people were even more sketchy than before, and the drinks were expensive and watered down.
Why my friends consider this «one of our regular spots» I don’t know and I absolutely refuse to return here ever again.

I’ve never eaten here before but the food looks decent. I’ve only been here to party.
I like the décor in here and the different lights. It sorta reminds you of lotus in a way, but its slightly different. I’d say this is one of the better spots in Adam’s Morgan were it isnt grimey inside. People are dressed reasonably well and the music is pretty decent.
Upstairs its not as noisy so if you want to talk you can stay up there. It’s also wise to get something at the bar up here if the bar downstairs is crowded. Downstairs is where the main dancing area is and it’s relatively spacious. It gets crowded but I havent ever been totally annoyed and bumped into ever 5 seconds. I’ve usually had a good time coming here so I’d say its A-​ok.

After having dinner at Pasta Mia just around the corner, we came here to kill some time and had a couple of rolls at the sushi bar before the Meetup event on a Saturday night. I thought that the sushi was too thinly sliced. Aside from that it was just a-​ok.
Later we went down to the lounge to wait for people to get there, but as it turned out we were too tired to stay around for the Meetup event and mingle with folks so we left just as people were arriving. The atmosphere was okay. I like the lighting. I’m not ready to write this place off yet, but probably won’t go there again, unless we have a reason to.

Some of the best sushi I have ever had. Great Happy hour prices.
HIGHLY Recommend the Lasagna Roll!
Club @ night with bottle service and bar service.

The happy hour prices and lounge-​y feel are great. The sushi is above average.
I won’t be rushing back, though. The servers were negligent, the house sake did not impress, and worst of all the audio of the TV was playing in the entire restaurant. I love the Simpsons, but not with spicy tuna. Finally, if you have long legs, your choices are to either straddle the tiny table or sit at a 90-​degree angle.
I can’t imagine going outside of happy hour.

The word is OUT (consider yourself told):
Wednesday night from 10−11pm is open bar.
Yes. O-​P-​E-​N B-​A-​R. (as in free drinks) Why? Because! No greygoose or absolute, but you can get beers and rail drinks… for free. My suggestion is to show up to grab a table and order a bunch of sushi around 9:30pm or 9:45pm. place your drink orders once you’ve settled and know that your food is on the way. The service on a Wednesday night is good because it’s not busy. The sushi rolls were good though my expectations weren’t high. My spider roll was like a mini-​feast.
Music was cheesy and fun… from Cyndi Lauper to Rihanna. Afterwards we went downstairs and danced. It’s not pretentious. It’s a relaxed spacious place to feel free, silly and have fun with a crowd of friends.

One of the best sushi bars in the city for two simple reasons:
1) half-​priced sushi from 5 – 7:30 (weekdays)
2) awesome tempura shrimp rolls
The seating may be cramped, but it’s very charming to sit near the open window and people watch, even better when friends duck in to join you…
have had many fun time here, and hope to again soon…

I’m on my way to happy hour at Saki in the next fifteen minutes of this writing, so I figured I’d write about all my many past Saki experiences, as I have sushi on the brain.
4 stars for the restaurant (1.5 stars for the club)
5 days a week from 5pm — 7:30 it is happy hour done right:
$ 1 miso soup
$ 1 edamame
$ 1 saki shots
half-​priced rolls (select ones, but most of my favs are on the list)
$ 1 pieces of nigiri
half-​priced rail drinks
half-​priced beers
i think there are half-​priced hot dishes, too
now, the sushi quality is not that of sushi taro’s…but you can’t beat the prices. and i really love the way they spice up their tuna.
plus, after stuffing (or drinking) myself silly, it’s close enough to walk home :)

When I first moved to Washington, D.C., I became aware of Saki through the Washingtonienne’s notorious blog. She talked about how her and her friends would wait in line for about an hour and a half to get into this place on Wednesday nights.
So after the scandal broke, my friends and I visited Saki a few times when we discovered an acquaintance from college who worked here. I was a bit skeptical about Saki, but since it is at the top of 18^th St. in Adams Morgan, I knew if I didn’t like it I could bail out and go somewhere else.
I didn’t have a terrible time here, I actually had fun for about an hour or so. I enjoyed the décor, which seems inspired partly by the 1980s and partly by spaceships. There is a lot of sensual dancing that goes on here, and I feel like a lot of drinks get spilled because of this. If you are lucky enough to score a seat, there are couches in some of the corners. After an hour of running around the bar like a chicken with its head cut off, I was able to just relax on a couch and watch my friends get really drunk. :-)
This place is nice, and I feel like it’s a good place to go if you want to class your night up a bit. If it’s a bit *too* much, there’s always Asylum right next door. During earlier hours of the day, Saki offers Asian staples such as sushi.