Kisso Asian Bistro — Restaurant in Alexandria

My friend/ client has been to the sister restaurant in Springfield and suggested we meet here for lunch as I only had an hour. The restaurant is on the corner of King Street and there was plenty of street parking at the time. It has 3 levels, but i guess only the middle level is opened during lunch. The main level has about 10-12 half booths, the upper level is where the bathrooms are, and there are mostly 4 seater tables. I didn't go downstairs, but my friend said that's primarily a bar area.

I arrived at 11:30 and only the workers were there. The young lady sat me at a table where there was a blast of air every few minutes. Initially, I thought I should move, but decided to stay as he's generally hot natured.

He arrived a few minutes later, and we started to discuss the menu. I know some things are cultural, and others are just rude. The young lady came over several times while we were discussing what to order as well as the sister location compared to this one. My friend asked for an Aaron roll, something offered at the sister restaurant. The server stated, 'we don't have that, every restaurant calls their rolls something different.' He ordered the Thai mango shrimp and a salmon avocado roll, and I ordered the 2 roll Maki lunch with a spicy tuna roll, yellowtail roll and miso soup, something every sushi restaurant gets right.

The soup came out very quickly as I went to wash my hands and came back with it sitting and waiting. By the time I finished my soup, his mango shrimp was served. For foodies, presentation means a lot, for a chef who knows the owner it means EVERYTHING. So yes, the presentation was a little sloppy as you see the sauce splatter.

The sushi comes out a few minutes later. I don't think I've been anywhere and had spicy tuna as bland as this. I told him to try a piece, and bland is an understatement. He called the server over and explained it wasn't spicy. She offered to bring some spicy mayo. It had the look and appearance of spicy mayo, but had the taste of plain yogurt and paprika. As opposed to sending it back, I just opted to use extra wasabi.

While we were eating, a manager/owner walked in and recognized my friend. As my friend is talking to the owner/manager, all of the servers start to crowd behind our table to eavesdrop on their conversation, in which he's asking why the spicy tuna or mayo aren't spicy. As soon as the gentleman walks away, the 3 servers follow him and began talking to him, turning back every now and then to look at us.

After I was done eating, I had to leave. However, my friend was still finishing, yet the server was trying to take his plates and give him the check. They did give him a 20% discount. Not for any condescending behavior or bad service, but due to the relationship with the owner.

Based on where this location is, I don't think they get a lot of black patrons. With that, the prejudices are allowed to flourish. The one thing about the DMV is you never know who knows who. Treat everyone the way you'd like to be treated, especially in the hospitality industry.

No, I will not be back...

TL;DR: The food, ambiance, and service is good. The pieces of the fried sushi rolls are too big for a single bite. The udon noodles were appropriately chewy. It's not a destination location, but is acceptable.

The Context: I was on a double date on a Saturday night. Our intention was to show up to the Alexandria waterfront and make an impromptu restaurant choice. We chose Kissu Asian Bistro based on it appearing less busy than surrounding restaurants due to not having outdoor dining while also having solid ratings online.

The Rolls: We ordered several rolls, tempura udon, a garden salad, and miso soup.

The rolls we ordered are listed below. Mermaid Roll Fantasy Roll Kisso Roll Alaskan Roll Sweet Heart Roll

All of them had good flavor profiles, texture contrasts, and used quality ingredients. I wish two things were different.

The rolls that did not include cooked ingredients (tuna on the Sweet Heart Roll and the Alaskan Roll) did not have the appropriate contrast in temperature between ingredients. The fish should have been colder than the other components, and it bothered me. I don't know if this indicates that the rolls are not completely made to order, but I believe complex, layered foods should have this kind of contrast to enhance the dish.

The tempura fried rolls were too big. I eat sushi with chopsticks. It falls apart if it is not bite-sized. Make them smaller and longer. It detracted from the experience to have to eat each piece in two bites or stuff it in my mouth like a greedy kid.

Tempura Udon: The tempura portion was excellent. I was so happy that they included kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), which is my favorite. The texture, flavor, etc. was very good. The udon noodles were appropriately chewy and enjoyable. I would come here if I was in the area to have the udon again.

Garden Salad: It is unremarkable. Iceberg lettuce and ginger dressing. Meh.

Miso Soup: It's acceptable miso soup.

The Service: It was very busy inside, but they turned tables quickly and we were seated after a short wait despite not having a reservation. The server was efficient and knew the menu well. Our food came more quickly than I anticipated. I was very pleased with the service.

Overall: I was happy with my experience here. It was overall a good meal. I think that (despite my essay above) it was not a memorable experience. I used to live in Japan, and I don't get upset when Japanese restaurants in the States don't adhere to the traditional, authentic offerings in the mother country of the cuisine. I appreciate good food on its own merit and love excellent food. This was good food at an acceptable price. It is not memorable because I've had better for the same money. Everything was good, but...

I had passed this place multiple times in the past but never stopped in. Visited for lunch recently. My boyfriend grew up in Asia so he’s extremely picky when it comes to asian food and out of the dozen or so Asian restaurants that we’ve tried in this area he has only liked one. Convinced him we should try Kisso based on ratings, and it was 100% worth it. He had the lunch 3 roll sushi special. Everything was prepared wonderfully, presentation is 10/10. He also had the Thai tea and loved it. I’m not a huge fan of sushi, so I had the general tso chicken and fried rice lunch special. It was more than enough, and it was genuinely the best Chinese food I’ve ever eaten. It was fantastic. The fried rice was so moist and the chicken had a clean taste. It was definitely fresh, unlike any other Chinese restaurant I’ve been to. It’s our new go-to restaurant in the area and I already have plans to take someone else there soon. It’s great quality for the price and the atmosphere is fantastic. Service was also very good. If you’re in the area, def...