Nasime Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Alexandria

Amazing, delicious, filling. A sensory culinary experience.

I visited Nasime for an anniversary dinner in the end of April. Their only option for food is a 6-course fixed tasting menu. According to their menu the courses are adjusted daily based on what the chef can make. I speak from experience that every item we had was delicious and amazing.

Seared Hokkaido Scallop Delicious way to start the tasting. The scallop was cooked perfectly as expected, but the vinaigrette sauce on the vegetables (I believe it was asparagus amongst others) was extremely tasty.

Seared Japanese Wagyu Short Rib w/ Truffle Shoyu This was a very modest amount but the flavor was extraordinary. I asked if this was authentic as many places may advertise something that is comparable and our gracious server pointed out their restaurant's certificate of authenticity. I did not mean to offend but I'm glad I asked so there was no need to question. Even if this had been just an ordinary short rib, the preparation and Truffle Shoyu was absolutely extraordinary. We were soaking up the sauce with our garnishes.

Otsukuri (Sashimi) A more ordinary sampling of sashimi including tuna, salmon, sea urchin, roe, tamago. Some highlights were the toro and yellowtail. Each item was clearly top quality and served correctly at room temperature.

Eel Okowa Spring Roll The spring roll was fried but perfectly so. The unagi was on the inside along with other tasty fillings. Easily the heaviest item eaten so far. Our server said this item was her favorite and I can see why, especially if you like fried rolls.

Crab Cake Stuffed Soft Shell Crab Agedashi This was my favorite course. A hearty crab cake served cut in half, stuffed with soft shell crab. Decadent and delicious. Our stomachs were starting to fill up so this was a nice course to savor and enjoy.

Duck & Snow Pea Leaf Udon A classic Udon with snow peas, served with duck. Noodles were firm but not tough, each surrendered to bite. The broth was full of spices and flavors.

House Made Yuzu Frozen Yogurt The cap on the meal was the house frozen yogurt.

We paired our food with the sake tasting. Each course was accompanied by a sake designed to complement but not overwhelm the dish. The lighter dishes had dryer sakes, and the stronger ones would be paired with sweeter sakes for contrast. I loved the pairing and am glad we did not order a bottle instead.

The restaurant seemed very cozy, probably seating less than 20 people total. We had made a reservation and I overheard our server answering the phone to say there was no availabilities that evening so I knew they had a full night. I did not feel rushed at all, after we finished each course we were given the time to relax and digest and then the next course would come out right as we wanted more.

My only critique would be that the decor was sparse. I would have liked to see some art or anything to decorate the walls. Clearly their focus and passion was on the food and presentation which...

I am unsure what the previous reviewer thought was bad about the food. The food was STUNNING. the Wagyu beef was amazing and an out of body experience. It's helpful to brush up a little on Japanese food etiquette so you don't feel out of place or do something totally inappropriate like stick your chopsticks in the food straight up and down, lol. (always place chopsticks back on rester that they give you when you are not using them. bring small bowls to you to eat and don't bend towards the food. Always replace dishes to their original place they were set when you are done as an indicator that they can pick the food up. and good grief don't actually use the soy sauce for the sashimi course because IT DOESN'T NEED IT. Don't stab food with chopsticks. don't rest chopsticks on the bowl) The food was elegantly and perfectly prepared, but this isn't the restaurant for you if you don't care for Japanese style cuisine. I wouldn't sit anywhere except the bar; it's very interesting watching the chef work and when he's not working very hard and concentrating, sometimes he'll make small talk with you. (p.s. always accept food with both hands if he reaches out and hands you things!) There seemed to be a bit larger portions than three years ago when I ate there, so that's my only complaint that the proportions seemed a bit off in terms of what a reasonable person might be expected to finish eating. I suspect this is because people complained about the portions and so they increased that, which is too bad because I think the overall balance and symmetry was a bit heavy towards the end and reflected very western tastes in terms of portions. We honestly tried to finish all the food because it is very rude not to finish one's food in Japanese culture, but the last noodle course was absolutely impossible to finish with the amount of food it had. This is a perfect "date night" spot. Plan on two hours and make sure to locate parking garages that are open late ahead of time! You probably won't find street parking, lol. If you are coming with your date, plan on at least $150 per person with drinks. That being said, I believe it's...

Be me, be in a hotel room at a place in Alexandria and not too sure of what to get for dinner since I have to catch a flight in the morning.  Look at the typical review apps and see this one glowing, you know what, I don’t like to take too much time and being one of those people so I just go with my gut instinct with Nasime not understanding a thing it except that it’s just supposed to be good sushi.  I went wrong and in the best way.

At first, I couldn’t tell where the door was, I thought it was leading to something upstairs but then I see the sign on the door.  Yep, I’m at the right place and enter in – then I enter in and I’m a little confused again as I’m standing in this nook then I look to the left behind the curtain and see what made me smile.

What I saw is the same feeling you get when you go into the smaller sushi places in Japan.  As soon as I entered, I knew!  With that being said, I was a solo diner, there was one spot at the bar and boy was I in luck.  Right before that, the lovely hostess told me about how it works?  It’s only chef’s tastings and while I’m on a slight diet, I looked over the menu and well dang it, it got me – great price too!

I’ll go through the menu for that night and my thoughts

Skate Cheek & Eggplant Agedashi – A good start to things, not crazy out of this world but enjoyable and great for a cold night.

Otsukuri – Make no doubt, the sashimi is on spot and was excellent and of a high quality.

Kakuni (Pork Belly) – Graduating up?  Well, yep – even better than the last two.  This was my star for the night.  Just a delectable nice portioned size of pork belly with a perfect side of extra wasabi wasabi.

Shrimp Cake & Snow Pea Leaf Noodle Soup – A good way to end the night, I couldn’t eat as much as I’d like but the udon noodles were great, all seasonings were good.

House Made Miso Ice Cream – Again, I’m on a little bit of a diet but, yes! If you like that salted taste to your ice cream, it was delicious.  Not too big but just enough to enjoy it and not...