SHō Sushi & Izakaya — Restaurant in McLean

I visited SHō Sushi & Izakaya last night (7pm dinner) and left impressed. This spot strikes a lovely balance between elevated Japanese cuisine and approachable izakaya vibes. Here’s what stood out.

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🏮 Atmosphere & Service • The space is beautifully done: modern design with warm lighting, clean lines, and an intimate feel. Even at 7pm it was lively, comfortable, inviting. • Staff were attentive and friendly without being overbearing. They answered questions about menu items, offered recommendations, and the pacing of service was good (not rushed, not waiting forever).

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🍣 What We Ate (Highlights)

We ordered omakase, the salmon set, karaage, pork belly yakitori, a few hand rolls, dessert (black sesame cream & crème brûlée). • Omakase: A standout. Each piece felt fresh, well-composed, and thoughtfully plated. • Salmon set: Gorgeous salmon — rich flavor, nice texture — paired with rice that struck a good degree of stickiness vs fluff. • Karaage: Crispy, moist inside, good seasoning. Great start to the meal. • Pork belly yakitori: Juicy, caramelized glaze, wonderful balance of flavor. • Hand rolls: Fresh, creative, fun — rolling and eating them adds a casual interactive touch. • Desserts: The black sesame cream had a deep, toasty flavor without being too heavy; the crème brûlée’s crust was crisp and crackled well, the custard beneath silky-smooth. ⸻

👍 Final Thoughts

If you love sushi, creative Japanese small plates, and an upscale-but-not-pretentious dining experience, SHō Sushi & Izakaya is absolutely worth trying. It hits high marks for quality, atmosphere, and service. I’ll be back — maybe try a different set of dishes and bring a friend so we can share more items.

Highly...

This recently opened Japanese restaurant may be tucked away in an old shopping center, but don't let the exterior fool you—it's a hidden gem! Upon stepping inside, we were immediately immersed in a stunning, upscale environment. The black and gold decor exudes elegance, and the contemporary Japanese design creates a clean and inviting atmosphere. The service was exceptional, with the staff attending to our needs flawlessly. Every aspect of this dining experience was superb!

While the portions were smaller than we anticipated, the food quality was outstanding, making every bite a delight. We thoroughly enjoyed this exquisite Japanese dining experience and highly recommend the following dishes:

Salmon Flight Platter: This delectable assortment of king salmon sushi and maki features outstanding quality king salmon from New Zealand—truly melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Yakitori Platter: A great selection of chicken breast, chicken thigh, chicken meatball, pork belly, tenderloin, and short rib, all grilled to perfection with a savory-sweet marinade that elevates the dish. Wagyu Hambagu: This Japanese-style wagyu beef patty is served with a savory sauce and paired perfectly with white rice and a fresh house salad. Shrimp Mentaiko Cream Udon: Udon noodles enveloped in a rich, creamy buttery sauce, topped with three succulent pieces of grilled shrimp and mentaiko (fish roe). The combination of textures and flavors is simply...

Back in May and June 2025, the food was outstanding. For the small portion, but high quality we happily returned in September after a long overseas trip. OMG what happened? The good chef left????

Chirashi with five much lower quality fish pieces and worst of all the rice was done incorrectly (I’ve lived in Japan and eaten high quality sushi many many times all over the world). The low quality of the rice is at best amateurish and can only fool the paisan nouveaux riches majority in NOVA. I prefer marufuji supermarket chirashi much more to this… and poor Wegmans sushi is on a par… I wouldn’t even pay half price for this…

Nothing impressed us so that’s the end of it. It’s so very unfortunate that the once high standard dropped so quickly. We almost took our friend there …

to your response: there is no way a professional sushi chef would do rice like this… It has nothing to do with taking out. By the way we also took out in May — and it was of a different quality level. I am sorry but something must have happened that day. I looked at a few recent pictures — it’s clear you do have someone who knows how to do a proper job. Just not on the...