Kusshi North Bethesda Pike & Rose — Restaurant in North Bethesda

I need to preface the review with the fact that I know the owner of the establishment. I want to add that I never announce my intention to eat here, and while the owner has been there a majority of the time, my experiences have never been different whether or not they knew I was present. I have been extremely satisfied with every aspect of my dining experience on a consistent basis. The food here is excellent. I have had the fatty tuna several times, and I can't recommend it enough. It is such an amazing way to start and/or end a meal. I have had a variety of the regular and specialty rolls, and I am always blown away at how quickly they can produce such quality food (in both presentation and taste). I need to add that I haven't had some of the local flavors (Baltimore, Chesapeake, etc.), but if I do, I will update this review to reflect that. I am not a huge appetizer person (outside of the fatty tuna, which is amazing), so I cannot reliably review those at the moment. That being said, you are definitely getting your money's worth here for the quality you are getting.

The wait staff do a solid job. They have always been attentive, efficient, and knowledgeable about recommendations; we don't drink often, but our waitress (from a previous visit) had several choices that fit our tastes quite well. This has been my experience every time I have eaten here, so I feel confident that this is the norm for the wait staff here.

The location is relatively busy, but I've never felt crowded, even as somebody who doesn't typically doesn't enjoy being around crowds. There is outdoor seating as well, and while that felt a little bit tighter, I need to point out that a local fundraiser bringing in roughly 35-40 more people for one group definitely contributed to that. The interior was slightly dim at 10-11PM, but that is definitely expected/welcomed, and there were no issues reading the menu or finding the restroom. I have been here in the afternoon, and there was plenty of natural sunlight, and the lighting was adjusted...

The sushi rice has gotten significantly better!! As has the server knowledge. We especially recommend the shishito peppers!! Service is still a little slow even during lower traffic times but I'm sure that can be improved. Unfortunately the sushi fish quality has dropped a little, particularly the king salmon. Maybe because this was Sunday afternoon. The miso soup like many of our previous kitchen items was still too salty, make sure to ask for a cup of hot water to dilute it. Otherwise, I think it's heading in the right direction :) If you're willing to travel more, Taipei Tokyo is closer but Yuraku (Germantown) and Tachibana (McLean) are still best :D

Soft opening: The only good thing is the King Salmon. Skip everything else. Ramen might be good, didn't get to try. 2 stars because almost everything is terrible but they are still learning and management is nice. Actually 1 star for most of the food. 4 stars for the wasabi. 3 stars for King Salmon.

All kitchen items we had were bad and salty. Do not get anything with lobster or the chicken skewers. Do not get the soft shell crab. They need to tone down the salt in the kitchen. They also need better quality seafood and redo their sushi rice recipe, especially for rolls. We arrived at 8pm to a 1.5hr wait. After being seated at 930pm, we were told 20 minutes for sushi when it actually took an hour. They need to either close the sushi bar by a certain time or communicate more accurate waiting times. The wait staff needs to be more attentive or they needed to hire more. The wait staff has not been fully trained on their computer system. Water was not refilled for 30min, at which point we refilled it ourselves since no refilling bottle of water was placed at our table.

I highly suggest you go much later in the year or at least order one dish at a time, at...

Wow something new, fresh, beautiful, and delicious has hit the streets of Pike and Rose!

I knew about this new place opening up but haven't had the chance to dine in until recently. I decided to come check it out with a friend on Friday night. Yelp Reservations made it super easy to, well, reserve a table.

We got a table outside as it was a beautiful evening. The hostess got us situated and our waiter helped us out with their menu. Very nice and friendly staff. After pondering over between udon noodles and chicken teriyaki, I decided to get the chicken teriyaki. Along with some sushi because you have to get sushi at a sushi bar. HA.

While we were waiting for our food, I went to the restroom. As I walked in, I began to really notice and admire how beautiful the inside was. It was fairly large and reminded me of the traditional sushi shops in Japan but with a 21st generation modern twist to it. Big tv screens playing, sushi bar, aesthetic wall decor, and their constantly busy kitchen.

I returned back to our table and the food was already out. So fast! All our dishes were out and I started with some sushi first. This tasted so fresh. I enjoyed every bite. The chicken teriyaki surprised me the most. They gave SO MUCH! I've been use to small portions for these entrees but nope. Not here. These guys really know how to fill up that plate. The chicken was cooked just right and had that perfect charcoal texture that I love. Super filling.

Also customer tip: if you check in on Yelp, you get a free appetizer! I checked in and got free Pork Gyoza. Annnddd they were very good as well. Lots of meat inside and the sauce they provide really adds that extra kick to it that's so tasty.

Very delicious food. Awesome staff. Super pleasant dining environment and atmosphere. Would...