Spices Asian Restaurant And Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Washington

Lovely place. Very nice atmosphere and design. Gives an intimate/cozy feel while also being very spacious and open. The acoustic aspects are amazing - unlike so many restaurants sounds don’t overwhelm, and no annoying music. The entire atmosphere is very calming and aesthetic.

The food is delicious, nothing “blah” about it, and in addition to the traditional Japanese sushi cuisine there’s some remarkably interesting fusion cuisine choices. Excellent if you want sushi but also something a bit different and/or are with people who are not sushi enthusiasts.

Their green tea is phenomenal and I love the way it’s served. Definitely get an order of tea, complements the cuisine. If I lived locally I’d stop by just for the tea alone.

Also a nice alcoholic beverage selection including the traditional sake and Asian beer choices, as well as cocktails.

As someone who loves sushi but is utterly bored with the “same old, same old” this place stood out. Some very creative and delicious specialty rolls and fusion dishes - something new in one of my favorite cuisines. And it’s so very difficult to find sushi and/or Japanese restaurants that stand out and offer both variety and novelty. Because no matter how much you may love something there are only so many rainbow rolls you can eat. Incidentally the rainbow roll served here is exceptional (the rainbow roll being the “I can’t decide what fish I want and/or I want them all”).

Their simple maki rolls (1-2 ingredient ones i.e. salmon roll etc.) do not disappoint either. The fish is super fresh and chilled and generally what sushi fish should be in its ideal, the rice and nori is perfect. And if you want a slightly different take on those, order them as a ‘hand roll’ those same ingredients in the different configuration create a different culinary experience, the different in how the textures combine as you’re eating them - hand rolls are great when I want both my favorites and something a bit different. The hand roll options aren’t limited to the regular maki and this restaurant can create a variety of hand rolls, even custom designed. And the chefs assembled some absolutely delicious options based on my very vague requests.

The pricing is very reasonable. We went after my brother’s graduation, six of us. As a celebratory meal, ordering everything and anything based solely on preference (not item price), six hungry people who very pleasantly sated not stuffed (except my mother whose “eyes were bigger than her stomach” as she likes to say). And the cost came to something around $200. Admittedly, we didn’t get desert - too full from the meal for it; and as this was a lunch, my brother & I opted to save our celebratory drinking for the evening, and my parents aren’t big drinkers, so it was just a large order of sake. Both factors that significantly decrease the final bill. Usually, for a social (esp. celebratory) restaurant meal I have several alcoholic drinks (for Japanese it’s generally sake for a starter shared, then a cocktail with the meal, maybe a second depending on the length of the meal and if the other party is having dessert then a final sweet cocktail - tmi, I realize). However the pricing of their drinks were something in the ($5)$8-$15 range from what I recall.

This place is definitely worth trying. I’m so glad my sister is a D.C. native and an avid fan of eating out, & thus the responsibility of finding and reserving a restaurant for this meal fell to her. (Having to accommodate 6 picky/particular eaters who all expected quality and novelty, with the only restriction being my brother’s choice of cuisine type - as the meal was in celebration of him: that could not have been...

Had a truly wonderful dinner here! Food was exceptionally well prepared and nicely presented, portion sizes were quite generous, and the service was attentive and friendly. In general I am leery of "pan-ethnic" restaurants, but this one is a real winner. We started with a wilted ginger and shredded cabbage salad that was redolent of fresh ginger, cold, crisp, and refreshing. Vietnamese summer rolls were perfectly prepared, as was the accompanying fish sauce-based dipping sauce. Scallion pancakes and kimchi dumplings were delicious, and very nicely fried. Our vegetarian daughter had vegetable fried rice and sautéed wrinkled string beans, both of which she (and we) loved. My spicy chicken and eggplant was perfectly seasoned and spiced (note, made with ground, rather than sliced, chicken as I am used to having it at other Chinese restaurants.) I asked for it extra spicy, and at first I thought perhaps they had gone too light on the spicing, but then the very nice "afterglow" kicked in and I realized that it had been spiced perfectly. My wife had, and very much enjoyed, Vietnamese-style grilled shrimp and vermicelli, which she said was comparable to ones she's had at top tier Vietnamese restaurants. Green tea cheesecake with a mango sauce and toasted coconut ice cream rounded out an excellent meal. We left there satisfied and happy (and with enough leftovers for two substantial lunches). ...

Yes. This food is good. The sushi is very, very satisfying. I got 6 pieces of Nigiri sushi, a spicy salmon handrolled piece, and the vanilla mochi ice cream... and it was all very delicious.

The dishes had beautiful presentation, the fish had a lovely bite and texture, the rice wasn't overly dry like you might find with grocery store sushi, the handrolled piece had a lovely layering to each bite, and it was all just very good. It's a pretty plain opinion from me about this: this place has great sushi.

The mochi ice cream was also treated with respect: in terms of its presentation and my enjoyment of it.

The restaurant itself was fairly open and spacious. There were many small tables, to one of which we were seated. I didn't check the bathrooms, unfortunately, so I can't comment on cleanliness or maintenance. Overall, however, the place seemed well kept and generally well treated.

I really have no complaints, from my perspective on the sushi itself. The server was courteous and checked in from time to time. She accidentally gave us the wrong receipt at the end, but thankfully I checked it before she realized.

This is a simple review. Excellent sushi. You pay per piece, if you want Nigiri, otherwise pay by the roll or entrée. I hope my included pictures help entice you to try this restaurant. I recommend everything pictured, and hope to come back for more in the future. 5/5...