About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
Omakase Room by Tadayoshi. 699 14th St., NW.
Chef Tadayoshi Motoa has cooked all over the world from his native Japan to Copenhagen, Jakarta, Dubai, Madrid, and London. Now, he’s arrived in DC to open Omakase Room by Tadayoshi with the Group NYC, which also operates La Grande Boucherie and Olio e Piu downtown.
Motoa previously earned a Michelin star for his restaurant in Spain, Toki, and he says he already his eye on another. His omakase room will serve a 20-course menu of nigiri and prepared dishes for $200 per person at a 12-seat counter. (There’s also a room with tatami mats for groups up to eight coming soon.)
Motoa describes his approach is super traditional: “Modern Japanese cuisine is you put the jalapeno onto the sashimi and green sauce with oil, la, la, la, la, la. That kind of thing I don’t do.” Rather, the meal will start with a series of appetizers such as liver-marinated spot prawn, deep-fried monkfish, and chawamushi egg custard.
The menu will feature 12 pieces of nigiri—half with a classic sushi rice vinegar, and half with a modern vinegar. Sushi was historically made with a fermented red vinegar and no sugar, once an expensive commodity in Japan. Now, however, sushi vinegar is typically sweetened and Motoa uses a blend of white and red vinegar. The modern sushi rice has a more mild, balanced flavor that Motoa will pair with delicate fish like young sea bream and lean tuna. The traditional sushi rice has sharper notes that pair with uni or fattier tuna.
Motoa will source all his fish from Japan. “Actually, this is my first time using Japanese fish in another country,” he says. “I think [in the] US, we have a high, high quality of local fish. But when I receive the fish from Japan, it’s one more step up.”
Kumika Tamada, who oversees the drink menus for NYC Group’s omakase rooms in New York and Chicago, is behind the 20-plus premium sake selections. Bottles range from $86 to $850, with glasses starting at $27 and carafes starting at $91. A handful of wines and beers are also available along with tea.
While the food is serious, Motoa doesn’t want the atmosphere to be. He says he’d like for the experience to be relaxed and educational. He will host two seatings per night at 6 and 8:30 PM.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
