Izakaya Nana - Virginia — Restaurant in Chantilly

Promising izakaya - even at the soft start

The TL/DR: Iz Nana is a restaurant that shows promise in all aspects, with tasty food, friendly staff, and welcoming atmosphere, and is well worth revisiting when they've fully opened and are serving yakitori, the true soul of a neighborhood izakaya.

Decor: Tasteful decorations and thoughtful interior design from the bar to the special rooms were very well done. The owners clearly put thought into creating an authentic, warm, welcoming, and fun space. We felt comfortable as soon as we entered. Being a nice day, the four of us sat at a window high table.

FOOD - preview: As you can see from the pictures we included, a substantial portion of the the menu items were not available, presumably due to the soft open stage. Mostly notable was the complete lack of yakitori, the true measure of a good izakaya. The Signature Sampler, also not available.

Our initial feeling was one of disappointment. However, we trooped on and selected other items that we wanted to try. Note that we first made just a few selections but as the food was good, we ordered several more dishes.

SUSHI ROLLS: We ordered the Fantastic and Spicy Island Rolls. Both were beautifully constructed, ample in portion, and delicious. They were different from the usual rolls one might find on a typical menu and were satisfying in their fresh, creative blend of flavors. * Recommended! *

RAMEN: We tried their Spicy Miso and Tonkotsu Ramen. Both are standards and often provide a good judge of the broth-making care of the chefs. Both bowls were basic, but solid. A unique touch was the inclusion of three seasoned quail eggs for the half or whole salted egg. For the beginner or experienced ramen slurper, this was a surprising but successful touch.

The char siu was especially notable because the edge was charred either by torch or roasting. This was a masterful flourish that gave the plump and juicy meat a fantastic savory character that you normally do not find in the soft pork slices that typically come with ramen.

Both the spicy miso and rich tonkotsu broth were worth drinking. Moderately salty, rich in body and flavor, one could tell that there was care, time, and effort spent on this foundational aspect of good ramen. The noodles were appropriately medium firm and fresh. Recommended! *

FRIED FOODS: We had their karaage chicken, shrimp tempura, and Kaki oyster fry. The Kaki was a superior dish. The oysters were fresh and sweet. The breading was light and not oily. Sometimes the simplest dishes done well are the most satisfying. The karaage had a curious breading that looked like KFC, to be honest. But the taste and crunch were fabulous. The meat was well marinated, flavorful, and succulent.

The shrimp emi tempura was the disappointment of the meal. The coating was hard, like a shell, stiff and flavorless, dense and unpleasant to bite into. It was more like beer battered coating on a fish filet...but a day old. This was not traditional and I hope that they ditch whatever experiment this was and revert to a dipped, dredged, panko coating in the future, especially for the small and delicate ebi, which was overwhelmed. Recommended, but choose carefully *

SQUID: A real staple is the whole squid. Grilled is most common while the squid here is sautéed and sauced thus arriving wet instead of dry with flat top or charcoal sear on the surface. Even so, we all found it to be tender and delicious. Recommended *

OVERALL: Everything about our meal at Izakaya Nana left us hopeful that when they are fully online with the complete menu, this will be a place we will enjoy coming to again and again. Even though we could only sample a portion of their food that day, we left full, happy, and bellies well satisfied. So, to all the good folks at Izakaya Nana, we wish you the best, Ganbare! See...

The finest authentic izakaya in Nova!

Brought our family of four for a milestone birthday and splurge. The experience was superlative in every way from the comforting atmosphere, attentive server, but most of all the absolutely top notch food. Brought back fond memories of our travels and izakaya adventures in Tokyo!

• Yakitori * This is what you go to an izakaya for and Nana delivered delicious, perfectly grilled, perfectly seasoned yaki skewers with a 100% hit rate. They got it completely right! The Yaki Platter is a perfect intro to which we added baby scallop, king mushroom, bacon-wrapped quail eggs, tiger prawn, and chicken gizzard sticks. Every one a winner. It was a bit of a wait for their yaki grill to open but they are delivering the best experience in NoVa in our judgment.

• Sushi and Sashimi * The Sashimi Platter was a treat for the eyes and the palate. The fish was fresh and clean, slices were massively thick, and the variety was premium and well rounded. One of the best sashimi selections we've had in a long time.

The Spicy Island Roll was tasty but the construction was just a bit on the soft and loose side. A minor oversight that pulled it back from perfection.

• Others * Spicy Miso Ramen - very respectable ramen with excellent richness and springy noodles. Great broth! Ika-Sugata - the grilled whole squid was tender and delicious. The sauce was a soft ginger and soy, I believe, and suited the succulent meat well. A comforting dish indeed. Agedashi Tofu - a light and cleansing broth dish to start the meal. A class above the typical miso tofu soup. They provided white rice on request...satisfied our Asian bellies.

• Desserts * The Strawberry Daifuku was delightfully refreshing and the Dango Tango was so much fun as you dipped and grilled it yourself over an open flame. The server heard us mention that it was a birthday and they brought us ice cream in a cake cone waffle to share. Thoughtful and delicious!

OVERALL EXPERIENCE Izakay Nana is, in our opinion, the highest quality total izakaya experience in all of NoVa. The food, especially the yaki skewers, is truly authentic and worthy. If you've done izakaya crawls in the heart of Tokyo, taking a meal at Nana will transport you back but with one difference only...the chatter and conversation will be in English. Go, book ahead, splurge, and enjoy yourselves. It was hopping early Sunday evening and you owe it to yourself to...

Walked in during lunch for a quick bite to eat. Was expecting a ‘Hello’, or ‘いらっしゃいませ’, or at least some tiny acknowledgment of our presence. Female hostess? Server? walked past and ignored our party for beyond a few more minutes. We were left awkwardly standing by the door for far too long before being seated during a completely dead weekday. Service felt cold and informal, a bit rude and inefficient like we were burdening her. Male server came by to take orders but quickly just took down the menu items without any greeting either and left. No name introductions were given and I wasn’t sure if I could ask. Generally felt somewhat ignored as patrons.

The attention to detail with the plating is visually slick and appealing. The space was also surprisingly incredibly well kept and comfortable. Tables, dishes, decor, and especially the seat cushions are super clean, which gets the most biggest points for atmosphere. It seems like you can trust that everything is seemingly sanitary as well which is a pleasant contrast to the maximalist all-frills interior design.

Meal was unfortunately lukewarm. Tonkatsu Ramen is mediocre with rubbery noodles and other dishes seem to be street food quality. Price is solely paying for the ambience. Been looking forwards to more attentive, friendlier, and interactive service on a very slow and nearly empty weekday. Decided not to stay and get drinks. Servers don’t speak Japanese if you need accommodation either. As an East Asian also working as a server in the restaurant industry, absolutely was sad to say that we left disappointed after having high hopes of finally checking out Nana.

It’ll maybe be alright to come just for the vibes between a group of friends without expecting interruption from servers constantly checking up on your table like at most other establishments. Was hoping to make the bar here our regular meet-up spot in the neighborhood but there was no mention of any ‘Happy Hour’ promotions nor was the drink menu even brought up by any of the servers. I’d rather take my friends and...