Maneki Neko Japanese Restaurant

Good variety of ramen and excellent lunch combos. My family loved the Tom Yum seafood ramen and oxtail soup. I tried and liked the shio ramen, miso ramen, salad, and chicken teriyaki. Service was friendly and fast. I'd be curious to try their desserts.

I love the name and the image, Maneki Neko means the Beckoning Cat. The atmosphere reminded me of typical Japanese Mom and Pop restaurants. The food was good. I only gave it a 4 star because the bento was not your typical bento where you had a choice of teriyaki chicken, salmon or eel, a couple of gyozas or dumplings, couple of California rolls. Japanese sticky rice, fresh salad, and miss soup. My hubby had the lunch bento. I had the Soba Udon and Tempura Shrimp and vegetables. The tea was the toasted rice green tea. My Tempura Udon Meal was delicious, except I wish there were 3 shrimps versus 2. Typically, in Asian culture, odd numbers are considered lucky. The bento meal while delicious was not as robust as typical Japanese bento. The meal price was decent, and we would go back and probably order from the Special Menu, which catered more to Okinawan cuisine. We lived in the Kanto Plain in Japan, and we're up for trying Okinawan cuisine. '

I had a fantastic experience at this restaurant! They undoubtedly offer the best ramen in the area, and the creative desserts like the raindrop mochi are a must-try. The service was excellent, and the cozy atmosphere added to the overall dining experience. The only minor issue was that the seating was tight, and it was difficult to have a private conversation at my table. However, that didn't take away from the overall experience, and I would love to go back and try more dishes.

What an awesome place to have nearby. I’m a big fan of traditional Japanese sushi - not the fried, mayo and sugar sauce coated creations so common now. If you also share a love for simple, clean sushi made with very high quality ingredients by a chef who respects tradition, go here! On top of it all they are super friendly and nice. Chef Tao came out and played with my daughter at one point which was great. Update: after 6 months living in the area now, I’ve probably been here 15 times. It’s always good. It’s not the fanciest place, but it just feels comfy and welcoming, and the food is just awesome especially for the price. If you want great authentic Japanese food without all the fuss, come here!

Genuinely one of the best restaurants in nova. I have literally never had an issue with this establishment. Me and my best friend have always loved this place. They do cook daily specials but their entire menu is amazing. Deserves better than a 4.5 on Google and I hope they never leave falls church because they are an integral part of this city.

This place deserves more than 4.5 stars. Everything is fresh the food is amazing and reasonably priced compared to other restaurants. I LOVE this restaurant 😍

Ordered a sushi deluxe tray with Nigiri assortment and tuna roll. Miso soup came out quickly and tasted good. Sushi was very good and fresh. Wasabi was very strong. Very satisfied with the good quality of Fish. Only complaint would be the small amount of meat in the beef noodles. $42 - dinner for two.

Reminds me of a Family style Restaurant that they have in Japan! Small and cramped location that was packed of patrons. There are better ramen places and better sushi restaurants around, but this location is charming since it has items that you can't find (such as soba noodles, brown rice, japanese curry and katsudon). Service is pretty good too and there is parking in the back. Eat like a local!

Such a cute Japanese restaurant in the city of falls church. Parking and entrance is in the back near northside social. When you walk in, it's like traveling to Japan. It's beautifully decorated, with fans, cats, and traditional attire featured on the wall. The lunch special, comes with so many choices! The pricing is good too! I had the tempura udon, which came with a side salad, and tuna maki. The fish was so fresh and made to order. The broth was hearty and delicious! Descriptions of our order: see picture Top left: Sansai udon (vegetable udon no meat), tuna roll, comes with salad Top right: sushi, and tuna roll, comes miso soup Bottom left: tuna roll, tempura udon, comes with salad Bottom right: Katsu, tuna roll, comes with miso soup Everything was delicious!! The service was quick and they came to check in on us often and remove any dishes. I will definitely like to come back.

LOVE this place. Always great service and the food is amazing. The style inside is also on par with a Japanese sushi bar/restaurant. If you like sushi, it's great. Not a fan of raw fish? They have chicken teriyaki! The servers are always on top of their game with refills and seeing how everything is going. Very friendly too. Price wise, not too bad on the wallet either and I alway walk out feeling full.

This place deserves All its roses, I've been going here since I was a kid and the main head chef still recognizes me LOVE this place, fish is so fresh and I have ordered it so many times my family loves this place and we ordered takeout from it once a week during covid because we didn't want it to go out of business !

Delightful spot in falls church! Good for families but it is a tight space. The sushi and chirashi were good and looking around their hot items seemed really popular too. Would definitely come back to try other hot items!

Terrible Experience - This was by far the worst restaurant service I have ever experienced at any establishment. The male server was unprofessional and confrontational, creating a very uncomfortable dining environment. After reading other reviews, it's clear that this is not an isolated incident. First and absolute last time dining here! There's many more worthy restaurants in Falls Church.

This place is small. Be prepared for the tiny accommodations. I was surprised at how good the ramen was because often that can be hit or miss in this area. The service was decent. Would definitely come back again.

My family loves this place for take out & get it regularly. They love the edamame, miso soup, chicken teriyaki, and several of the sushi's. I finally added an order and got the gyoza (yummy) and Japanese Chicken Curry (enjoyed but could have used a bit more spice). I'll be joining my family again in future take outs!

Maneki Neko is one of my favorite go to spots for dinner when I don't feel like cooking. I recently went and as per usual, the service is great. They always ask how the meal is going. The place is really cute and cozy with a small bar to sit at. I get the tonkotsu with some tuna rolls. It's not fancy sushi but honestly gets rid of my cravings. The fish is clean and fresh. The combination of all the food is really great for two people and honestly, I don't mind coming here every other week for dinner.

The rice was too sticky, very mushy, hot, and could not hold its shape, I couldn't even pick it up with chopsticks without it losing its shape and falling right into the soy sauce. Wasabi is too artificial tasting, has a very noticeable tint to it, almost blue-green- tastes mostly like horseradish with a bit of real wasabi as filler. I ordered the rainbow roll, it was 14.45 for 6 pieces, the rainbow roll felt like they were stretching the toppings out as there was a noticeable gap of rice on my rainbow roll, along with it being poorly cut ( I had to pull it apart by hand because rice was still sticky and mushy) it began to fall apart completely. :/ Other than that, the staff is hospitable, attentive, nice and welcoming! I only go during their happy hour mostly, this review is for their sushi, have yet to try the rest of the food, but looks good!

Very disappointment with our last takeout order. Unfortunately items were missing from the order. When we asked staff to resolve this issue, we were taken aback by their response. Instead of receiving an apology, we were accused of stealing the missing items. Shocking... Not only upsetting but also extremely rude and unprofessional. We used to order takeout from Maneki almost on a weekly bases. Needless to say, this was our last time doing business with them

We tried take out here for dinner one night at the recommendation of a friend - ordered a deluxe sushi and deluxe sashimi. Though prices are very reasonable, the fish quality is not. Half of the pieces of fish smelled fishy and tasted fishy. The ahi tuna were massive pieces but the salmon pieces were very thin. This is comparable to sushi yoshi, sweet ginger, or sushi yama in the area. We likely wouldn't come back - rather pay a bit more for quality fish.

Cute place. We entered through the back entrance where there is some parking. We got nigiri, the Sashimi deluxe, and a couple rolls. They had some HH prices for the Nigiri. Mackarel was $1.75/piece. Tamago was $3.50/piece. Flying Fish Roe and Octopus was both $5.50/piece. We also got some Eel and Squid. For our rolls, we got the Tuna Avocado Roll and the Surf and Turf. The Surf and Turf isn't exactly what I was expecting but overall the food was pretty good. Great service and the staff is really friendly!

We enjoyed a great lunch there this past week. A $14 bento box that was generous and tasty. The included miso soup hit the spot of a cold day. Octopus appetizer was 3 whole tiny critters, not just tentacles. Tasty. This place is friendly, snug, small, sweet spot of a family restaurant.

Some friends were visiting from out of town and we wanted some Japanese food, so we went to Maneki Neko in Falls Church. The place seemed pretty small from the outside, and when we stepped in the first thing I noticed is how tight the seating felt. It was a little cramped in my opinion, but the place was almost full so it makes sense that they wanted to seat as many people as they can. The interior had a very cozy vibe and the decorations looked good, they reminded me of other good Japanese restaurants I'd been to. Soon after we sat a server came to see what we wanted to drink and get any appetizers we might want, and I was glad he came so quickly. He seemed very busy though, and he checked on us pretty infrequently which I didn't like. I'm not sure if they were understaffed, but it seemed like he was one of the only servers taking care of most of the tables which seemed odd. I haven't had much Japanese food, so I wasn't sure what to pick from the menu. Lots of things looked good, so I eventually decided to get tonkatsu, as I've heard that's a good classic Japanese dish. They also had pork cheek as one of their specials, so I decided to get that too. It took a while for our food to come out which I didn't like; I wasn't that hungry so I didn't mind, but I did notice how long it was taking. Once the food came out, I was a little disappointed with how it looked. I'd never had tonkatsu before, but for fried food it looked pretty dry. The salad that came with it just looked like some leaves in a bowl with some kind of paste sauce dropped onto it. Honestly the tastiest looking part of the meal was the white rice which is not a good thing. After starting to eat, my visual assessment was proven right. The tonkatsu was indeed dry, and while I wasn't sure what good tonkatsu should taste/feel like, the tonkatsu I was eating didn't impress me at all. The salad wasn't good, it was honestly just leaves in a bowl and I didn't like the paste sauce it came with. After we'd been served our food and started eating, the pork cheek I ordered came out, so the wait for that was really long. The pork cheek was interesting, it was a little tough and tasted decent, and it immediately became my favorite part of the meal. After eating we were ready for the check, and it took a while for our server to come back so we could ask for the check. All in all my experience at Maneki Neko wasn't the best. I was a fan of the decorations and how the interior felt, but this was basically the only thing I liked. The seating felt tight, the service was slow, and the food wasn't very good. It isn't the worst place I've been to recently, but it was closer to the worst one than the best one. I want to try more Japanese food in the future, but hopefully it'll be better, and I won't be getting it from here.

A solid little lunch spot in Falls Church that encompasses all of your Japanese needs from ramen to sushi to donburi to teriyaki. They have indoor dining available, but you can opt for seating on their porch or their newly opened corner by the parking lot. Lunch boxes are a great deal -- $10.50 for miso soup, salad, rice, choice of katsudon, chicken teriyaki, tempura, ramen or udon. We were able to get a decent sized meal for a great price. My daughter absolutely crushed her salmon teriyaki! Service is a bit slow because ... pandemic life. But as my daughter said "we had a lovely meal!" and the fact that it is walking distance to Cherry Hill Park is a bonus!

I ordered the dinner bento box - the food was prepared quickly and portions were generous. It was pretty quiet on a weekday night and the service was good.

3.5 stars, but 0.5 star boost since the service is exemplary especially if you have young kids and it's a fun neighborhood place to frequent since it has lots of namesake cat themed tchotchkies scattered throughout the restaurant. I was particularly impressed with the fact that they prominently featured craft fruit beers from Hokkaido, which are crisp and refreshing without being overpowering. Very delicate fruit bouquet that pairs well with the light dishes offered here. They specialize in Okinawan soba, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and various ramen with a rotating marker board of specials. Food is straight forward and reasonably priced. Not mind-blowingly delicious, but reminds me of what a home cooked meal would be akin to in Osaka.

Our family eats at Maneki Neko every so often. My normal go to is the tonkatsu. The last time we

This place has amazing sushi. Melt-in-your-mouth salmon nigiri that we get about once month and it's always great. We love the miso soup too. We get takeout mostly, but the restaurant itself is cute and clean and the staff is friendly. I definitely recommend.

Always great service in restaurant and for take out. Their sushi is one of the ones with better quality in the area. Wonderful takeout prep too!

I am fierce supporter of small businesses and always prefer Main Street over the chain restaurants . So,this is even harder to give a 2 stars, but 2 stars is generous for this food/price ratio. The only positive thing was a service,attentive and professional. Place had a strange Clorox type smell,it was clean but shabby. Worst of all were sushi by itself, cold and clumped rice, unremarkable fish variety, dry and all taste same rolls. And to add insult to injury was a bill,91 dollars for three without any drinks. Special rolls are all some types of California rolls and there is only 6 rolls for 14 dollars. Price is simply impossible to justify for this type of supermarket quality.

The sushi and udon were both delicious and the service was great! I loved the udons flavor and the tempura. I would definitely go again :)

Do not order Food safety issue Raw seafood is one thing you should never ever slide on freshness and this place serves spoiled raw fish

Not sure what happened to this place.. ordered bunch of rolls and nigiris just now, we couldn't even finish them. Sushi rice were so mush and all raw fish were warm, like they have been sitting out in the room temperature for a long time. Btw, today was a warm day, 98 degree. Hope im not going to get sick. Our bill was $140 and the owner said there are nothing wrong with the food.

Meh. I really wanted to like this place since it's within walking distance but I wasn't overly impressed. Service was friendly but it's a small place so seating is pretty tight. My food was okay but nothing amazing. The steak teriyaki was a little tough but pretty good, the california rolls were tasty, the fried pork chop was also a little tough but did the job. My wife's chicken teriyaki on the other hand didn't really get the job done. It was fatty dark meat chicken that wasn't what you'd expect in Japanese food so skip the chicken. They're really friendly here and I'll come back sometime for another meal but this isn't at the top of my list to check out again in Falls Church.

I dinner there last night for the first time and I was underwhelmed. I ordered the house wine and there was an after taste to the Cabernet. Then , I ordered seaweed salad (which is my favorite) and the portion was very small and put on a bed of spinach. Then I ordered the Bento box with beef teriyaki and California rolls. The California rolls were meh and the beef was not savory at all. The rice was not good I was put off that the restaurant has sumo wrestling playing at dinner time. Especially, when families are eating with kids . The tables are also so close together that you can hear others conversations. I did enjoy that there is free parking and in the city of falls church.

Wow! This restaurant has been here literally forever. We live across the street now, and I go often. However they still close 2:30-5pm, so I have to plan early if I want to eat there. I'd eat sushi everyday if they were open during those hours so maybe it's a good thing. Their food is the same. Sushi is solid, $1.50 per nigiri (salmon, tuna, tamago, rockfish, mackerel, shrimp) on week days. I usually go for this. Although I like this restaurant, their ramen is still meh sorry to admit. It tastes briney. Takoyaki, tempura, and tonkatsu are good. Most chicken dishes are made with dark meat which hubs doesn't like. Conclusion: go for sushi!

It was my first time trying Maneki Neko and I wasn't disappointed! The sushi sampler was the perfect size and the pieces of fish on top were a great size compared to the rice. I also had the crabby patty roll which had lobster salad and avocado in the middle and was topped with seared scallops. My only complaint is that I wish there was more lobster salad on the inside, it felt like it was mostly rice other than the scallop on top.

I used to come here regularly for years and decided to come back again after so many years. I ordered the okonomiyaki (cabbage based pancake) and sushi deluxe. The okonomiyaki is just as good as I remember it and the sushi was way better than before. I will definitely be back again soon.

No frills but Maneki Neko has a very friendly staff, they're quick, and they host a wide variety of options on their menu, including lots of changing specials -- I'm a fan. Their lunch deals are pretty solid -- you get your choice of main, including teriyaki, katsu, udon, ramen, etc -- with a roll or selection of sushi or sashimi, along with a salad or miso soup, all for a reasonable price. Parking for Maneki Neko is in the lot that you turn into off of Maple Ave, and you can enter right from the back.

This is an adorable, delicious place to get sushi! I went on a Wednesday afternoon around noon. There was only me and one other table of people eating at the time that I was there. The wait staff was kind and immediately approached me and took my order. The sushi was ready before I even had a chance to find something distract myself. Since I was there during their happy hour (M-Th, 11:30-7:30), I splurged on some pieces of salmon nigiri (only 1.10/piece.) it was very fresh and high quality! For those prices, I'll be back in a heartbeat and I'll bring friends, too! The atmosphere is small and intimate. This could be a great spot for a date night!

Such a gem for quick, kid-friendly table service and reliably tasty typical favorites. The cozy casual atmosphere works just as well whether I'm on a quick lunch date with hubby or bringing the kids for a treat after the library, playground or shopping in town.

Sushi rice is very mushy. Makes all the sushi taste the same and hard to finish. Sashimi is okay, doesn't taste freshest. Overall food experience is kind of bland and overpriced for the quality you receive. Service is okay.

Disclaimer only for TOGO order... I was so hungry. I walked into Maneki Neko hoping maybe I could just get a bento box however my mistake was ordering Togo....especially since when things are presented in the actual box they look bigger. Sadly after paying what I received was a half butt thrown together box refer to attached photo....only thing not pictured was the spicy tuna roll because I had to eat that on the go I was so starving. Don't get me wrong flavorwise it was okay. I was suppose to just have the donburi katsu....but they give me the donburi oyako...I mean I asked him what it was but then I repeated I'll take the katsu. Atleast the oyako tasted good. Portions wise it was tiny. I didn't even get the miso soup that was listed perhaps that is only for dine in. Either way lesson learned. Just eat there then they might give you all the stuff. This box set me back about $12. Perhaps other dishes to go are better or maybe they just aren't a togo place.

This restaurant can not get any better! I've been going here for over 10 years and it has never once failed me. This is the first time I tried delivery and it had been amazing! The best delivery I've had! The food was perfectly packed (surprised? #Japan) and the food was impeccable! I got the tuna ratio don, salmon skin roll (by far the best salmon skin roll I've ever had), beef tongue, yaki udon, and salmon jaw (again, the best I've ever had!). Great job chef Tao!!!

Came here for lunch during the week and enjoyed it. Although they have lunch bento boxes, the spicy salmon donburi was calling my name. It was quite the deal for $11.95 as you get a good amount of spicy salmon on top of the sushi rice. After ordering, the waiter came back to clarify if I wanted my spicy salmon "spicy or American spicy". Definitely went with spicy, but I found my dish wasn't spicy at all. It did have a hint of spiciness to it, though. Now I'm curious to know how spicy "American spicy" is. The salmon was fresh and minced nicely. The sushi rice was cooked well and not too vinegary. Service was friendly and attentive, with our waiter checking on us a few times throughout the meal. We arrived at the restaurant about 10 minutes before opening, but they didn't turn us away. Parking is adequate behind the restaurant. Looking forward to trying other items on Maneki Neko's menu. I'm talking about you duck ramen, chirashi deluxe, specialty rolls!

Fresh buttery fish! Everything here is top quality and well prepared. I came here with a large party. We ordered 2 sushi deluxes, jumbo clam, tuna, uni, salmon roe, yellow tail, New York steak, and live scallop. We all enjoyed the jumbo clam and live scallop the most because how fresh it was. Seating here is very limited and the place is small expect a long wait during busy dinner times. There is plenty of parking in the back. I had some local friends recommend this place. Very glad we dined here. Everyone left happy and full. Will definitely be back to try their other rolls and hot food. If you're looking for a good sushi spot in Falls Church this place will not disappoint

Average. Decent. Nothing spectacular, nothing horrible.. stuck right in the middle. I would not recommend coming here for sashimi though - if that's what you like. The fish had a "it's gone" taste. Only the salmon was decent. Everything else was a bit.. off. As if it had been out for too long at room temperature. This is actually the only restaurant I've seen that has featured oyakodon, which is why I was excited to have it. The texture was fine, but the flavor was on the bland side. Normally you want the sauce to have a fullness to it. Salty with a slip of sweetness. This one was pretty watered down. The bento boxes looked appetizing and it seemed like others in the party enjoyed their meals. I can say that the tempura was crunchy and tasty, but truthfully... it isn't difficult to make delicious tempura. Perhaps I will try the bentos and the other dishes at another time. But, I won't be actively seeking to return.

Maneki is a casual and low key local Japanese place. We have been going here to get our neighborhood sushi and tonkatsu fix (for the kids) for years. They also have some udon and ramen dishes. It's not fancy but a good neighborhood place.

We really wanted to like this spot! The interior was cute and service was helpful. However, the sushi and sashimi were lackluster. We got the sushi and sashimi combo platter. At other restaurants, this is typically a large variety of fish. Here, it was only about 5 types of fish. The slicing was uneven and off. The quality of the tuna and salmon was really mediocre. The sashimi broke easily due to the bad cuts. The rice in the California roll we got was badly mushed together and poorly made. I was surprised to be told by the chef that the salmon we got was salmon belly. It did not have the rich buttery delightful texture and taste that we are used to from salmon. This sushi and sashimi was bland and watery. Hopefully this is just a one off issue, but we will not be back to try again as other reviewers seem to have noted similar issues.

Absolutely delicious! I got the miso ramen, and it's some of the best ramen I've had in the area. Will Definitely be ordering again, thank you!

Quickly became my go-to-sushi spot for the quality of the sashimi and sushi. Have tried a variety of sushi spots in the area and this place takes the cake when it comes to quality and value. The Maneki Medley in particular is huge, usually leaving leftovers for the following morning. If you are a sushi addict as I am, this place is definitely one to try.

Excellent Japanese spot that I can't wait to dine-in one day! We usually get their sushi when we have that craving. The fish quality is good. The regular rolls are sometimes heavy on the rice but still delicious. I recommend their nigiri and speciality rolls for maximum deliciousness. We tried the bento boxes once and this is where they truly shine. Their pork tonkatsu is SO good!! I can't recommend it enough. We've only done pick-up thanks to COVID but they've always been very kind and had our order ready on time.

I ordered dinner for pick up on 4/27 through Ubereats. I really wanted to like this place given that it's the neighborhood sushi joint but it was really bad. The sushi didn't look or taste fresh. It was also oddly salty; so much that I ate it plain without soy sauce and still thought it was salty. We honestly couldn't eat it and threw it in the trash. What a waste of money.

Excellent and fresh fish! The staff is friendly! Definitely plan to go back there again! Make sure to check their daily specials!

Great hidden spot! The Japanese lasagna roll was wonderful, and I can't say enough about the service. Super attentive wait staff and kind demeanors. I just had foot surgery and am using a scooter/boot.. staff was so kind to make sure I was in a comfortable table. Look forward to coming back soon!

The spicy rolls have a kick. We enjoyed the rainbow rolls. Quiet spot with nice decorations.

I enjoyed my ramen from Maneki Neko! I got the shoyu ramen, which was generous in size. I couldn't finish the whole bowl and it was full of chashu, mushrooms, and noodles of course. I enjoyed the broth, I felt it was rich enough but not too oily It was really good. The atmosphere is also nice, it's pretty cozy and nicely decorated. The service was also good, prompt but not overbearing. I'd come back!

My favorite Japanese Restaurant around me. They have a cozy space, nice staff, and of course good food. The aged dashi tofu is my my favorite.